What is a solid lotion bar?

I get this question a lot when I'm at craft shows. Here is how the typical exchange goes:

Customer: What is a Solid Lotion bar?

Me: Well, its a convenient portable alternative to lotion. It's a combination of lip balm and body butter. I use a combination of Organic Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Organic Virgin Coconut oil and Beeswax. So, its super moisturizing. This also makes them more heat stable than a typical body butter, but not as waxy as a lip balm. They are great for moisturizing cuticles, elbows and dry hands. The tin they come in is light weight which makes them great for purses, desks, and travel. And you can reuse or recycle the tin.

Customer: That sounds kind of great.

Yep, they definitely are.

To get your own -go to my Etsy shop.

Yeah for CSA!!!

Because Mister and I cannot have a garden of our own (at least not the size we want) and the farmers market has turned into a crazed Costco like experience (the only pleasant part being the fresh papusas) we have decided to join a CSA. For those that dont know (I didnt really know what that meant until a few months ago), CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It creates a direct relationship between customer/community and farmers. A group of people pledge support to a farmer, covering anticipated costs of operating the farm, and in turn they get fresh produce and the satisfaction of knowing exactly where their food comes from. For more in depth description/history click here.

There are a lot of great reasons to join a CSA. For Mister and I, joining a CSA is a way for us to support organic agriculture, support a local business and eat more seasonally. Over the course of the last year, I having been making every effort to eat more organic whole foods, at times this can be very difficult (especially because I like sweet treats, pizza and hot dogs). For us, the CSA simplifies part of this process. Eating more seasonally has also become important to us, especially after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma (this is an amazing book, I highly recommend it). Mister is a little worried about some repetition in our box but I think it will be a fun challenge to come up with different recipes.

The hardest part of the process was choosing a CSA - especially for us because we are so indecisive and there are so many options. We did online searches, read reviews on Yelp, went through all the farmers websites and finally decided to join either EatWell or Terra Firma Farms . EatWell had a waiting list so we've joined Terra Firma.

I am now impatiently waiting for my first box to arrive...

To find a CSA near you check here or here. If you are in the SF Bay Area check here.