Light and bubbly with notes of pear, lemon, berry, and apple combined with the scent of fresh greens and sweet, sugary nectar.
Fresh, juicy peaches, pineapples, figs, oranges, and melons combined with the subtle notes of vanilla, coconut, and musk - a scent that will surely make you feel like you are sipping cocktails in the afternoon sun.
Creamy vanilla and almond milk mixed with the aroma of toasted pistachio and salted caramel - breathe in the sun, relaxing waves, and smell of the beach with this scent.
The essence of freshly sliced mangos and papayas mingles with the scent of creamy coconut milk to form a tropical delight for your senses.
The fruity smell of fresh passion fruit nectar and agua de coco (fresh coconut water) come together with the sweet smell of jasmine honey and warm vanilla bean to create a zesty, tangy, sweet citrus explosion.
Sweet yet refreshing, honeyed and spicy - a fruity-floral combination that will leave your lips wanting more.
Sweet and tangy - just like you cracked open a guava and applied it to your lips.
Breathe in the aroma of a freshly picked, juicy peach.
The smell of juicy, thirst-quenching melon with a bright fruity punch reminiscent of summertime picnics and backyard barbecues.
Light and bubbly with notes of pear, lemon, berry, and apple combined with the scent of fresh greens and sweet, sugary nectar.
Sweet and nutty with a hint of woodiness, evoking a feeling of warmth and comfort without being overpowering.
Subtle and ethereal, evoking a sense of grace, beauty, and femininity, this floral scent is fresh and delightful.
Creamy, orange, and delicious with a hint of vanilla and marshmallow.
Soft, creamy, and slightly sweet.
A blend of ripe pineapple, coconut milk, and a hint of the flavor of rum (no actual rum included) makes this tropical blend a delightful drink for your lips.
We just wanted to say THANK YOU to our amazing Farmer's Body Family for supporting us in 2023! It has been ANOTHER *record breaking year* because of your support.
We are so excited to see what 2024 brings, and we hope that you'll stay with us for the adventure!
Now onto the BIG reveal ... this might be a tricky one to guess, but we're so excited to tell more people about this amazing part of our business.
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Our Sustainable Essentials Refill Gift Set is the perfect choice for the eco-conscious shopper. Crafted with both style and sustainability in mind, this set contains a foaming glass jar, a lotion glass jar, and a hand-crafted ceramic tray.
The Sustainable Essentials Refill Gift Set set comes unfilled so you can fill them with one of our foaming hand soap refills and one of our lotions or use your own!
(All materials used in the handcrafted trays are lead-free and non-toxic; glazes used are from US based manufacturers.)
Our Refill & Reuse Foaming Set comes with our glass dispenser and a foaming hand soap refill - 4 refills for every pouch! Our eco-friendly set gives you more suds for your money and is sure to take your hand-washing routine to the next level of fabulousness!
Say goodbye to single-use soaps with this set!
Our Sink-Side Tray is handcrafted in creamy white and is the perfect addition to your sink space. Its artisanal craftsmanship features delicate flowers embossed into the ceramic tray. This beautiful piece was crafted exclusively for Farmer's Body. Its versatile design makes it ideal for holding all of your soap and lotion.
Our Sink-Side Tray also pairs beautifully with our glass re-fillable foaming soap and lotion dispensers or with our regular bottles!
10,000 years ago! What was even happening on Earth around 10,000 years ago? Earth was moving out of its last ice age and the melting of massive mineral rich glaciers formed these outwash plains that are excellent for growing blueberries. The sandy, rocky nature of this soil makes it easier for rapid root development, which is critical for the success of blueberry bushes. These areas where blueberries grow are called “barrens” because the conditions are too harsh for most plants to prosper. Pretty cool, huh?!
Interestingly, even though they are considered wild, these blueberries were harvested for centuries by native people (Wabanaki, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Abenaki, Micmac, Maliseet) before English settlers arrived in the 1600s. The native people not only taught the settlers how to take care of the blueberry fields, they also showed them the many ways to use blueberries.
If they have been harvested for hundreds (or even thousands) of years, why are they considered wild?
Another great question! They are considered wild because fields can have over 1,000 genetically distinct blueberry plants that vary in flavor, shapes, and colors. Because wild blueberries have to fight so hard for their survival, they are more potent and nutrient-rich than commercially grown blueberries. They are also much smaller than commercially grown blueberries and tend to have a more intense flavor.
We love to support local farmers (check out our partner farm page!), and we are so happy that we are able to use local, wild blueberries in our products.
If you’d like to read more about wild Maine blueberries or support local blueberry farmers, go here: https://wildblueberryheritagecenter.org/.
And click here or the button below to indulge in our Wild Maine Blueberry foaming hand soap, hand & body lotion, and lip balm. Yum!
The cows and other animals that Kerry and Stephen (pictured above) raise are loved and named. They graze on fresh grass, are fed a well-balanced diet, and are housed in a bedded pack barn with fresh sawdust. These cows are humanely raised.
On the farm, Kerry and Stephen don’t use any electric machines – only old-fashioned horse-drawn farm implements – so that they can avoid introducing pollutants from emissions into the fields. The manure from the cows is used as compost for their no dig garden – an all-natural way to fertilize the fields.
We can't sing our praises loud enough for Cedar Mountain Farm and all of the amazing things they are doing. To learn more about Cedar Mountain Farm, their wonderful animals, and their farming practices, click here.
And while we do think the tallow that we use in our products is an important, sustainable ingredient for those who aren’t vegan, we also understand that some people prefer to avoid animal products altogether, which is why we do offer many body care products that are vegan (no tallow, beeswax, honey, or dairy).
(Also, just in case you missed the previous newsletter describing the many benefits of tallow, click here.)
Tallow from Cedar Mountain Farm can be found in the following Farmer's Body Products (pictured above): Lip Balms, Bar Soaps, Hand & Body Lotions, and Body Butters.
I’m sure some of you already know that tallow is animal fat. Specifically, tallow is beef fat that has been cooked down (or rendered) to remove impurities. If you’re not familiar with tallow, you might be familiar with lard, which is pig fat that has been cooked down in the same way as tallow. Lard has been used as a cooking fat for centuries and is still used today in some baked goods (like certain donuts) and savory dishes (like refried beans).
Similarly, tallow has been used for thousands of years as an essential part of skincare. The earliest records show that tallow was used to make soap by Sumerians and Babylonians over 5,000 years ago. Additionally, the ancient Egyptians and Romans used tallow not only as a cleansing and moisturizing agent but also as a cure for burns, scrapes, and other ailments.
So why isn’t tallow used in more commercials soaps and skincare products today?
Great question, friends! The most straightforward answer is: cost. It is both easier and cheaper to produce products with chemicals, petroleum, vegetable seed oils, and other synthetic ingredients.
If you have been around here for a while, you already know that we only use the most natural ingredients possible – our body care products include ingredients that you know and can pronounce.
You might still be wondering - why tallow though?
Interestingly, tallow shares similar oils with our skin so its many restorative properties are easily absorbed. It can penetrate our skin’s lipid barrier allowing it to nourish the skin more deeply, unlike products that are water or plant-based, which have a tendency to just sit on top of the skin.
What ARE tallow’s restorative properties?
I’m so glad you asked that question!
What can tallow NOT do?
It IS pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Besides having so many benefits for your skin, tallow is sustainable and environmentally-friendly because we are using a byproduct of beef production that would normally NOT BE UTILIZED. That’s right – it would be thrown away. We are thrilled to be able to ensure that as much of the animal is used as possible and is respectfully not wasted.
You will find tallow in the following Farmer's Body Products: Hand & Body Lotions, Body Butters, Lip Balms, and Bar Soaps.
Next up: Where do we get our locally-sourced tallow?
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These shampoo bars have been a long time coming ... and of course, there’s a story behind their creation. 😉
My maternal grandma turned 99 years old at the beginning of June. (Can you even imagine living for 99 years?!) In the fall of last year, she asked me to make shampoo bars for Farmer’s Body. I'd been working on shampoo bars for a while (I get A LOT of requests for them), but I wasn't happy with any of the formulations. BUT I knew I would make it happen for her. And I had a solid goal in mind - get them ready to sell by her 99th birthday.
So, here we are, a final product I'm in love with and we are ready to release these amazing, luxurious shampoo bars for all of you to try!
We have two shampoo bars for you - an everyday gentle, effective clean (pink bar) and a detox bar for a deeper clean (black bar).
And in honor of my two extraordinary, beautiful grandmothers, the shampoo bars are named: Marilyn and Shirley.
Marilyn, my maternal grandma and the one who requested these shampoo bars, was always known as the “spiky-haired grandma” when we were little (see pic above for her current spiky hair 🙂).
Shirley, my paternal grandma, is the one who made the beloved quilt that inspired our new logo (read more about that here).
Both of my grandmothers have had a huge impact on my life and on my company, and I am thrilled that I get to honor them by naming these fabulous shampoo bars after them.
These all-natural shampoo bars are the ultimate solution for luscious, healthy hair. They are formulated with the utmost care and are enriched with nourishing kelp and calendula (from women farmers!).
The ocean ingredients, like kelp, are another way to honor, my grandmother, Marilyn’s legacy. When I was a child, my sister and I would visit her in Oregon, and we would poke sea anemones on the beach. This memory of my childhood inspired the inclusion of a woman-owned kelp farm - a sustainable resource with fabulous haircare qualities that would remind me of these beautiful beach memories while also providing our shampoo bars with nourishing ingredients for healthy hair.
Sea kelp contains vitamins A and E, which help prevent dry, itchy scalps and repair damaged hair follicles, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, which add moisture and shine to your hair.
Our Marilyn Bar, which is formulated for everyday use, cleanses your hair and scalp gently and effectively using natural cleansing agents that will leave your hair feeling refreshed, revitalized, and beautifully radiant.
Our Shirley Detox Bar is intended for those who have oily hair or for an occasional deeper clean for those with normal or dry hair.
To use either bar, you will gently rub the bar on your wet scalp and use your fingers to lather and spread the suds around your hair. Repeat on the underside of your hair and then rinse thoroughly. Because our shampoo bars are so concentrated, they will last you for months if stored properly – allow them to dry completely between uses.
Click here to try out our new shampoo bars. And happy hair washing!
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This line was inspired by the beautiful produce that we have all been eagerly waiting for during those long, cold winter months. These scents are bright, fresh, and juicy just like the fruits and herbs they were inspired by.
These scents are sure to be loved by all as they bring some of the beauty of the summertime harvest to your home.
My mom loves the Pink Grapefruit hand & body lotion. She's even keeping it old school with our previous bottle shape and logo! Thanks for always supporting me, mom!
(The picture above is of Maggie Ashworth, co-owner of Four Tails Honey & Apiary, where we get our beeswax. Read more about Maggie and her business here.)
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Modern Marigold began more than a decade ago, during founder Mary Wood’s senior year in college, as a way to earn money on the side. It has grown over the years to become a flourishing handmade jewelry and gift business, utilizing the highest quality materials and incorporating designs that you (or the gift recipient) will cherish forever. There are so many options to explore on their website, but you can check out their newest arrivals here: https://modernmerrigold.com/collections/new-arrivals.
Marika Wendelken, owner and founder of MW Calligraphy, has been in love with lettering since she was a little girl who created fanciful letters for her school work. Now, she creates beautiful pieces of art for her clients – custom chalk designs, keepsake canvases, business signage, and more. She lives and works in North Carolina, but you can always contact her at the link below if you don’t live in the area and would still like to work with her: https://www.mwcalligraphy.com/contact.
Neely and Chloe Burch began their accessories line with the consumer in mind - to create classic, timeless pieces that could be used season after season. All of their products are created with the highest quality leather from Spain and Portugal. Check out their luxurious accessories here: https://neelyandchloe.com/collections/all.
According to their website, owners Joe and Clare “create beautiful, handmade rollable photography backdrops, perfect for food or product shoots, at a price that won't break your budget.” Besides selling these amazing backdrops, they are also passionate about helping their customers take their photography to the next level by providing informative blog posts, behind-the-scenes Instagram reels, and in-person photography workshops. Check out their beautiful backdrops and other offerings here: https://poppybeesurfaces.com/.
Anna Bond and her husband began Rifle Paper Co. in 2009. From the website: “Anna’s hand-painted illustrations and distinctive color palette are the heart of Rifle Paper Co. Beginning when designing her own wedding invitation and invitations for friends, her love for illustrating stationery turned into the idea to start a brand with a look unlike any other in the market.” They have expanded their business to include more than just stationery; they now offer home items, accessories, and apparel (including these really cute shoes!). Check out all of their absolutely gorgeous offerings here: https://riflepaperco.com/shop-by/pattern.
Sleeves in a Bag was launched in 2015 by Joanne Litz, co-founder and main designer of the sustainable fashion brand Steel Pony. You will never be cold with these handy sleeves in a bag, which can easily fit inside your purse and travel with you anywhere. The sleeves come in black and white as well as a special color of the month: https://sleevesinabag.com/products/sleeves-in-a-bag.
This nail polish company was started by Pam Rodgers after discovering that other people were making their own nail polish, and she decided she could make her own fabulous, cruelty-free, carcinogen-free long-lasting nail polish. Check out this amazing nail polish: https://www.stellachroma.com/collections/all.
After working for the CIA for 10 years, Tara Dawn Chapman left the government world to pursue her passion of becoming a beekeeper. She now owns her own Honey Ranch, east of Austin, Texas where you can find her taking care of her bees, teaching beekeeping classes, and creating fabulous products with the honey and beeswax from her bees. Two Hives also hosts tours, tastings, and events at the Honey Ranch. If you’re in the Austin area, you don’t want to miss out on this piece of honey heaven: https://www.twohiveshoney.com/.
From their website: “Hedgehog Fibres is an independent dye studio located in Co. Cork, Ireland. Beata Jezek is the company founder/artistic director/dyer in chief/queen of all things. After starting the company single handedly from her kitchen, she now has a great team and a custom fitted studio in Little Island, Co. Cork.” This absolutely beautiful yarn with the brightest colors and the best materials will make your next yarn project a true delight: https://shop.hedgehogfibres.com/collections/all.
Hello Love, Inc. began in 2021 when co-owners Emmy and Mique decided to launch a personal beauty brand that would surpass its competitors with its creative, unique, and super cute styles of nails. The first products were released in 2022, and they have released so many fabulous new designs over the past year that you won’t know which to buy first. Even better, you can sign up for their newsletter to find out when new styles are released or sign up for a monthly subscription box. You won’t regret checking out these styles: https://helloloveinc.com/shop.
Indio is a small boutique shop in Durham, North Carolina that carries a variety of items that are perfect gifts for someone else (or yourself), including home goods, jewelry, and items handcrafted in North Carolina by local artists/artisans. Owner Wendy Sease opened Indio in 2015 in Brightleaf Square near downtown Durham. Peruse the website to find a great gift here: https://indiodurham.com/.
Michelle began MamaSuds as a way to bring healthier, safer bathing and cleaning products to her own family and then decided to share all of her research and hard work with moms who want the same for themselves, their families, and the planet. Check out these extraordinary cleaning products here: https://www.mamasuds.com/collections.
This month (and every day of the year!), we honor all women across the globe and all of their amazing accomplishments both presently and throughout history.
Remember to stay tuned for more women-owned businesses we love . . .
The National Sleep Foundation began this campaign as a way to remind people to focus on ways to improve their sleep patterns and recognize how their sleeping habits affect their overall mental health.
Interestingly, Sleep Awareness Week begins the day we all lose an hour of sleep (except for those living in Arizona because they don’t fall back or spring forward). That’s right, it’s almost spring forward time. In the wee hours of the morning on March 12th, the clocks on our phones will *magically* move forward an hour, thus taking an hour of sleep away from all of us.
Remember (not too long ago) when we used to have to actually change the time on our clocks BEFORE we went to sleep on Saturday so that we wouldn’t wake up on Sunday and realize that we were already an hour late for something?! Now most of us sleep near our phones and wake up with the new time already on the screen. Pretty wild how quickly things change, huh?!
Around here at Farmer’s Body, we also love sleep – some of us more than others (ahem, Lindsey) – and want you to get your best sleep!
But Meggan, how can bodycare products help me sleep?
Oh boy, do I have some great news for you guys! We have a BRAND NEW Sweet Dreams Bedtime Gift Set that will lull you to sleep with the weight of the luxurious eye pillow and the aromatherapy from the body butter and lip balm. One of the options is our lavender with wildflowers scent, which will add an extra sleep benefit as lavender contains plant components that help relieve anxiety and stress as well as increase sedation.
AND we have another NEW GIFT SET – Relax and Restore Bath-time Gift Set – that would be an excellent way to relax your body and mind before crawling into bed. This gift set includes our soaking bath salts, which will relax your muscles as well as calm your mind, silky sugar scrub to remove dry, dead skin cells, a natural bamboo pouf with our bar soap to gently cleanse your skin, moisturizing hand & body lotion to nourish your skin after your bath, and a luxurious eye pillow to help you fall asleep after this amazingly restorative bath.
The Billings Farm & Museum was “established in 1983 as a way to preserve the historic Billings Farm as well as the character and heritage of rural Vermont.” Today, the Woodstock Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit institution, owns and operates the farm and museum.
The Billings Farm first began operating as a Jersey dairy farm in the 1870s. Frederick Billings bought the land in 1869, and then began importing Jersey cattle directly from the Isle of Jersey in 1871. He was the first farmer in Vermont to do this (which I imagine was a wee bit tricky at THAT time as the Isle of Jersey is located in the English Channel off of the coast of France).
So why would Frederick Billings import cattle from the Isle of Jersey?
Jersey milk is high in butterfat, has a greater nutritional value, produces the highest yield (of milk), and is more efficiently processed into cheese.
“With the Jersey, we have an animal that is smaller, uses fewer natural resources and produces a smaller carbon footprint. We have a cow with a longer productive life that produces a more nutrient-rich milk that consumers are demanding and are willing to pay for.” James Ahlem, past-President, National All-Jersey Inc.
You can still visit Jersey cows on the farm today, along with draft horses, steers and oxen, sheep, goats, and chickens. They have tons of information about their animals on their website; you can also check out lots of beautiful pictures of the animals! The Billings Farm & Museum website also has detailed information about their dairy farm, artisan cheese, farm exhibits, adult and children programs, sunflower and farmstead garden, the 1890 farm manager’s house, and the visitor center theater.
There is a calendar of events here, but they are closed for the month of March and will reopen on April 3rd. The spring hours are 10am to 4pm, and the cost ranges from free for members (and children under 3) to $17 for adults (ages 16-61). There are discounted prices available for seniors, students, children, military, AAA card holders, and educators. Check out more information about hours and admission here.
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What does Maple Season in Vermont look like?
Well, it’s late winter or early spring. There’s probably still snow on the ground.
THIS is the prime time for tapping maple trees ... the temperatures at night are still below freezing, but during the day they warm up to the 40s. This is the perfect weather for sap collection, which usually lasts about 4-6 weeks (depending on the weather fluctuation that season).
Why is this the perfect weather? See illustration below …
But what IS tapping?
According to Barred Woods Maple (which is where we get OUR wonderful maple syrup!): “Tapping is the process of going to each maple tree, drilling a very small ¼” hole in the tree, and inserting a spout (also called a spile) into the hole to collect the sap coming out of the tree.”
So then what happens?
Well, if it’s just you tapping a tree and collecting sap, you put a bucket up to that spile, soak up the sweet smell, and get ready to boil the sap down to syrup over an outside fire (bc there will be TONS of water evaporation!).
But that’s not how it works for places like Barred Woods Maple. They have a system!
“To harvest maple syrup, you start with putting up tubing in the woods to transport the sap to the sugarhouse or collection tank. Around the first of the year, you start tapping trees. It will take a month to tap all 14,000 trees. Once we start getting temperatures above freezing we will turn on the vacuum pump to pull the sap to the sugarhouse. Once the tanks are full, we will start boiling the sap into maple syrup. As it comes off the evaporator, it is filtered and stored in stainless steel barrels. The barrels are stored until we are ready to bottle it.”
So what exactly is a day in the life of a maple harvester like?
Barred Woods Maple told us: “Depending on the time of the year, a day's work can be very different. During the sugaring season, a day consists of getting up early to collect the sap and starting the vacuum pumps up. Getting the evaporator ready to [boil]. This takes about 1 to 2 hours because after each boil, the evaporator is taken apart and cleaned thoroughly. Throughout the whole day, the vacuum pumps are monitored for vacuum and if it goes down, someone will need to go out in the woods and find the leak and fix it. This is generally a daily event. It can be caused by a tree falling on a line or a bear biting the line or any number of things. Once all the sap tanks are almost full, we will boil the sap into syrup and then clean all the tanks and equipment. A big sugaring day can be from 7am to 1am. Meanwhile, in the background, we are still bottling, making candy, sugar, cream and shipping it out.”
Wow! That is a lot of hard work, don’t ya think?! Barred Woods Maple is just one of the many (roughly 3,000) sugar houses that is devoted to growing and maintaining maple trees, as well as harvesting their sap and creating syrup for others to enjoy. And did you know that over 50% of all maple syrup (the good stuff) is produced in VERMONT?!
Lucky for us, this delicious maple syrup is not just for eating with pancakes! It adds quite the scrumptious smell to our Farmer’s Body products – lip balm, bar soap, and foaming hand soap.
Want to know more? Click on the links below for additional information:
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From our family to yours, we hope that your day is filled with love, kindness, happiness, and everything sweet.
We love our Farmer's Body family and are so grateful for you guys. Thank you for supporting us and showing us so much love along the way.
Cacao and Cocoa both come from the same plant – Theobroma Cacao. The difference is that cacao is considered a “raw” food and is far less processed than cocoa. After harvesting and fermenting, cacao beans are roasted at a much lower temperature (nothing above 118 degrees Fahrenheit). Because of this minimal processing, the cacao retains its nutrients and antioxidants.
Cocoa is processed using high heat, after the harvesting and fermenting, which destroys some of the beneficial compounds found in cacao. The most popular form of cocoa is cocoa powder, which is used to make hot chocolate. (See how I tied that into National Hot Chocolate Day so fluidly?!🤩)
Here's a great illustration I found that shows the difference:
Oh! And an interesting tidbit that is mentioned on the illustration above -- English is the only language that has more than one word for the cacao plant. There is speculation that it was misspelled by an English trader and then incorporated into the English language rather than intentionally added to English as a translation of the word cacao. No one really knows which is true, and often the two words are used interchangeably to mean the same thing.
Here is a chart that ALSO shows the difference between cacao and cocoa:
But, Meggan, why would you use cacao in your skincare products?
You mean besides the fact that chocolate is delicious?! Lol. Only kidding -- please don't eat our products. 😉 Cacao DOES have many benefits for your skin.
Cacao is rich in polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant. Antioxidants help protect the skin’s surface from the sun (UV rays) and other harmful environmental effects, like pollution. Antioxidants also have anti-aging benefits for the skin.
Specifically, the polyphenols in cacao, called flavanols, have been shown to inhibit, intercept, and neutralize free radicals that damage the skin and contribute to signs of aging.
Additionally, cacao has anti-inflammatory benefits which contribute to overall skin health and maintenance. Cacao has also been used to help with both acne and wound healing.
Doesn't using cacao in skincare products sound wonderful?! I can't wait to share our new cacao products with you... stay tuned to see when they launch! And read more about our cacao farmer here.
]]>In honor of National Hot Chocolate Day, the Farmer’s Body team would like to share a little bit about their favorite ways to drink hot chocolate.
My all-time favorite hot chocolate recipe is this one: https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/crockpot-hot-chocolate/.
I love to add these marshmallows, which are handmade by a friend of Jill’s: https://www.munchasmarshmallows.com/. (pictured below👇)
Jill likes Ghirardelli hot cocoa in her favorite handmade watermelon mug👇 (made by Ryan Berman in 6th grade).
Tamica’s favorite way to drink hot cocoa is by a warm fire. 🔥
Hannah’s favorite way to drink hot chocolate is to add it to coffee and make a mocha. ☕️
Lindsey’s favorite hot chocolate is the organic hot cocoa pictured below👇 and her favorite way to drink it is on the couch after her kids go to bed (so she doesn’t have to share). 😂
What’s your favorite way to drink hot chocolate? (Leave a comment below.)
Speaking of chocolate . . . we have some exciting new products that we are about to launch with the luxurious ingredient cacao.
What is CACAO and how is it different from COCOA??
Love, love, love this question (just like I love hot chocolate) … click here to find out all about cacao!
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If you live in Vermont, like me, you are surrounded by many feet of snow (for most of the winter and sometimes into the spring -- see pic above from earlier this winter).
Sometimes it can seem difficult to prioritize wellness when you just want to stay curled up under a cozy blanket in front of the fireplace … which is actually a wonderful way to prioritize wellness, if it means you are relaxing!
We are big fans of staying healthy (and sickness free), and since there are still two more months of winter (or more than that, depending on where you live), we wanted to share our top 5 tips for prioritizing wellness.
1. Nourish your body with yummy, healthy foods, lots of water, and vitamins and/or supplements to help your immune system stay strong.
Everyone has a favorite water bottle, right?! Well, just in case you don't have a favorite already, here are some that we love to use to help us stay hydrated throughout the day:
(From left to right: Studio Oh!, Takeya, and Iron Flask.)
2. Make sure you are getting enough sleep! Sleep allows your body to rest, repair, and renew. Getting the right amount of sleep for your body will help improve your mood as well as your memory and overall brain function.
Lindsey, our copywriter, really loves to sleep (although as a mom of 2 boys (ages 5 and 2), she doesn’t get as much as she would like -- I know some of you know how she feels)! She also often asks me when I (Meggan) sleep . . . and that is a great question . . . some of us need less sleep than others. ;)
Although, sometimes we all need a little help getting our best night of sleep:
3. Find a way to stress less and/or continue to exercise despite the weather or limited daylight.
Yoga and meditation are both great indoor activities that can help release stress as well as add movement to your day.
We haven't bought any of these yoga mats yet, but we love the story behind these women-owned companies: Jollie and R-Yolo. DharmaCrafts is another woman-owned business that sells amazing meditation cushions (that we have used and love!) as well as yoga blocks and yoga mats.
This is one way you can keep your mind stress free, even if there is a blizzard outside.
4. Wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands for at least 20 seconds is one of the best ways to protect yourself from getting sick as well as prevent the spread of germs.
Of course we recommend our wonderful foaming hand soap that washes away germs without drying out your skin!