Friday, November 20, 2009

Santa's Newest Helper

Christmas is truly a magical time - a time of giving; a time to show our appreciation for each other; parties and bubbly.

It can also be extremely stressful.


Let us help you ring in the holidays with our
Holiday Decorating & Gifting Service.


We have garlands for draping over doorways, mantels, staircases, and decks. What about doing up your planter boxes and Garden Urns in evergreens?
We also make Wreaths & Swags of magnolia, birch, alder, and red willow. Our garlands and wreaths are made fresh from local evergreens, red and white pine, cedar, and balsam.

For me working with fresh evergreens helps me forget the stress of the holidays. Grab some friends and come out to the country for a wreath-making class; the smell will whisk you away (at least for a little while).


We have unique and useful gifts for your clients, staff, and business partners like a jar of No-Crack hand cream, perfect for dry hands (and especially perfect given the flu season). Boxed, gift-wrapped, and delivered to your door or shipped to your destination - what could be easier?

In fact we even have a present for you – a free 1-hr co
nsultation.

Please call us at 475-3551 to schedule your free custom consultation and see how our Holiday Decorating & Gifting service can work for you. We are booking consultations through November 30th.

We're also at the Artisans Northwest show at The Valhalla Inn, Saturday Nov21st and Sunday Nov 22nd so come out and see us if you can. Remember that your best selection of products is at our store location on Hacquoil Rd, a scenic 10 minute drive form The Airport, south on Hwy.61, left on Hacquoil Rd. Phone ahead to check our hours.

See you in the country.






Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Preparing for the Holidays: Self Care

As a kid who hasn’t heard the refrain “make sure you wash your hands before…”? It was always such a pain because invariably I’d forget and get totally involved in what I was doing only to be interrupted by my mother or the maid saying “Camille did you wash your hands?” I’d contemplate lying for an instant before I’d sigh, decide it wasn’t worth the trouble, then go wash my hands.

Now with flu and H1N1 prevention being top of mind, washing my hands is almost as essential as breathing. The downside is that my hands can sometimes feel like sandpaper…not so attractive.

The upside: No-Crack Cream.

Containing allantoin, camphor, menthol, lanolin, corn oil, and urea, along with alcohol based sanitizers, the No-Crack cream works to moisturize the dry area and helps to restore natural oils.

“I am a physical therapist in a hospital. I wash my hands so frequently at work they quickly become dry and rough to the point where my fingertips will crack. I’ve tried numerous lotions, balms, etc. over the years, but always find them too greasy or the fragrance overpowering or it quickly washes off. I seldom “endorse” a product, but your hand cream certainly meets my needs.” K. L., Forks, WA.

Call or email me if you’d like a free sample.

In keeping with the prevention theme we also have essential oil blends as well as various elements to help you recreate a spa atmosphere within the privacy and comfort of your own home. Deepak Chopra says it best, “The mind and the body are like parallel universes. Anything that happens in the mental universe must leave tracks in the physical one.”

It’s amazing how much stress can impact on our well-being. I sometimes think we wear our busy-ness and stress like a badge of honour – “you think you’re busy? Well I have blah blah blah…” And the more we race to get everything done, the worse it is for our health and well-being.

Anyways, quick tips to keep you vital, help you reenergize, and stay in good health:
- Designate a room within your home (and only pick the bathroom if you’ve 2 in the house) for your treatment
- Make a date with yourself for at least 15 mins
- Place a few drops of essential oil in the diffuser of a cool mist vaporizer or warm air humidifier
- Gently lay a heated flaxseed and lavender pillow on the tense areas of your body
- Inhale deeply, allowing yourself to drift away to your happy place (for me it’s a tropical paradise)
- Breathe deeply, using deep diaphragmatic breaths, letting the belly rise up as you breathe in, and fall as you breathe out (note: do not tangent and think disparaging thoughts about your belly).
- Continue this deep breathing process for as long as you can, ideally to the soundtrack of water lapping on the seashore.

In stock right now: Peppermint (my favourite and great for getting me energized), Litsea Cubeba (similar to Lemon Verbena), Eucalyptus Radiata, Orange, Sinus Clear (fantastic for allergies), Respair Synergy, and Warming Winter Synergy.

Well I’m going back to the battle…ok not quite…I’m going to stretch and then back to the frontline (blind consultation, custom arrangement for a front foyer, and the list goes on).

Escape the bustle of your life…come out to the country (experience my hustle and bustle and I guarantee you yours won’t be as bad...oops there I go again wearing my badge).