Down the Yellow Brick Road.....

wow.... how things have changed since i last blogged! really, obviously, blogging doesn't come first nature for me! lol. i spend tons of time online, and i can totally get behind facebook, twitter, pinterest {oh my, how i need a pintervention!}, etsy, goodsie, you name it..... but blogging...blogging is hard for me! we have a renewed passion to open a brick and mortar, now that we are in Branson, so, this renewed passion is the launching pad to journal making our dreams come true!

so, you ask, why do we want a brick and mortar? for starters, while we love love love our little at~home studio, we really want to grow the business in a practical and logical way. we don't have the space to have employees come to the house to help during the peak seasons, and we really want a space that will allow us to interact with customers and get the product in the hands of {and on the hands of} our clients. Branson is THE perfect place for this! The downtown historical district is alive and thriving with the recently built Branson Landing and has really brought the downtown a much needed boost of money and traffic. we were just down there today, and for the second weekend in February {typically smack dab in the middle of the 'off' season}, there was hustle and bustle about that just made me want to be a part of it. so. that's the why!

now that you know the why, let me explain the how! last night during a late night biz brainstorming session, we stumbled upon kickstarter. wow.....what an awesome site that is! if you aren't familiar with kickstarter, let me enlighten you! kickstarter is a site where you can pitch your artsy~smartsy ideas to peeps around the world and offer them incentives to help back your project. i love love love this idea! .....and, it's just what we need right now.... an injection of capital to help our dreams take flight. now. don't get me wrong.... the site is not a place to fund your life, or pay off bills, or a place to grab wads of cash like winning the lottery. there is still work involved like promoting your project, finding backers, updating progress along the way, and, of course, having a good, solid plan in place. we submitted the preliminary information and it will need to go through some vetting prior to the actual campaign going live. we are saying our prayers and holding this dream in the highest of intention so that we can see it all take shape!

so. for tonight let me leave you with this vision.... imagine a small, little whitewashed house built in the 30's. lots of windows to wash the shop in a warm glow. bundles of lavender hanging to dry along the wall. whitewashed cabinets and tables leading to an old bankers table turned cashwrap. a custom perfume blending bar lining one wall. amber glass apothecary jars, marble, herbs, and essential oils stir your senses. this is our dream, and i just know we will get all the backing we need for it to take flight! tomorrow, i will show you pictures of the little house we found..... it's the perfect spot and is owned by an investment group looking to turn the historical houses into wonderfully eclectic shops. we would be situated near a salon, a wellness center, a photography studio, and a boutique. they have plans to host a farmers market every weekend and live music, wine, and gallery type walk in the evenings on the weekends. the house we are interested in is in the process of being remodeled, so, i will tell you now, you gotta have vision to see it working.... but, don't worry, we have enough vision for us all!

sweet dreams my friends, xoxox ophelia

turning over a new leaf!

hello loves! i know, i know...... this blog was abandoned long ago....and i keep making promises to start blogging again, and don't follow through. so, in an effort to try something new! i've am giving myself the 21 day challenge. it takes 21 days to make a habit, so let's check in 21 days from now and see just how consistent i've been!

i do have some news to share..... our standalone .com site is filled and up and running! you can find a link over to the right with our fabulous bluebird soaps..... the link will take you directly to our shop! we will be continuously updating it with new things as we add to our etsy shop. maybe, one day, eventually, we will get moved over entirely! that's our goal anyway! so, you can help with that, by stopping over there and bookmarking it! when you start to run out of your favorite apothecary goodies, please go check over there, and try ordering from our secure online shop....it's just as easy peasy as etsy!

secondly.... we have our second feature on heartsy.me coming up tomorrow! i'm super excited for all the new friends we will meet and all the new addicts we will create! so so much fun meeting new peeps that love buying handmade treats!


and, thirdly! we have started creating antibacterial hand gels and soaps on the go! perfect for all these summer activities and weekend get~aways! get your's now by visiting our shop! we have tons of fragrances for you to grab for all the summer picnics and shopping trips!

and finally, we are wanting to open the door for all of you wonderful friends and customers, to help us keep the blog going. do you love one of our products? are you a bath and body junkie? yes....... fabulous! we are looking for guest bloggers to submit articles for our blog. tells us about your experiences, favorite products, favorite ophelia's gifts, anything, really.... we would love to hear from you! email us your article ideas and we will schedule your stories to publish! don't be shy! contact us by leaving a message or post here, and we will get in touch with you to contribute...... {who knows, there might even be a fun rewards system to help get you going!}

right.....tomorrow is a big day in the apothecary! don't forget to head over to heartsy to snap up a VIP deal! xoxo, ophelia

That which we call a rose,By any other name would smell as sweet

hello lovelies! So, today's blogpost is all about how we got our name. it's sortof a long story....but, i'm sure you will find some of it rather entertaining! When i was young, about 5 years old, my parents gave me the barbie perfume maker....and thank goodness for google, i found a pic for you! Now, this really was the beginning of crafty little me! how it worked, you put the perfume bottle into the yellow tulip in the middle, then placed a little fragrance stick...those are the heart and round shaped things on each side, into the notches on the tulip. then, there is a little button that you would press that would cause the tulip to rotate back and fourth, thus mixing the fragrance into the 'fragrance blending solution'....ok...i made that part up. it was blended into water! I would then take a huge funnel i snagged from my mother's kitchen, and funnel it into her previously full avon bottles. i say previously, because i dumped them down the bathroom sink. i'm sure the fumes i inhaled in that little project were just one notch this side of toxic! anyway....i then took my newest fragrances and sold them at recess at school.

this didn't go over well. but, as you can see, it never deterred my pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors. years later, in highschool we read Hamlet. oh how i was in love with Shakespeare! I was even more entranced by his lovely character 'ophelia' and it was even more cool that she had her own little apothecary!

so, fast forward another 20 years.....and here we are. i recently described our little apothecary in an exchange with a client~friend....and i would like to share this vision with all of you! ...'in my head, 'ophelia's apothecary' is in a small, coastal town....with white washed walls, and beautiful herbs hanging from the rafters drying. the cobalt blue bottles line the walls, and a little bell over the door rings to announce your entry. its a simple little store...but, its filled with love of all things nurturing and balancing.'

we hope you enjoy our little apothecary as much as we do!

Baking is a Cure for being Snowed In!

ok, so this is day four of being snowed in during the blizzard of 2009. granted, we did make it to the grocery store today....which is why i'm bringing you this recipe....but, still...you can't beat having 9 inches of snow for having an excuse to be lazy and BAKE! most of you know that i love to fill my house with cozy fragrances...especially during the bitter cold days of winter! i like to bake pumpkin bread, brownies, cinnamon muffins...you name it! when i ran across this recipe for one of my favorite desserts...well, i just had to put a spin on it to make it all mine!

for todays baking pleasure...Delish Vegan Carrot Cake feel free to take the recipe and make it your own!

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown vegan sugar
• 3/4 cup vegan sugar
• 3 eggs worth of Ener-G egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 1/2 cups carrots, shredded
• 1 cup water (if too thick)
• Walnuts, couple hand~fulls of coconut, and a handful of Craisins.
  

Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, spice, salt) in one bowl. In a second larger bowl, mix Energ-G egg mix and water (according to package) and mix in brown sugar and sugar and apple sauce until creamy. Add in the previously mixed dry ingredients. You may need to add some water if the mixture is too dry. Mix in the carrots. Pour into greased or floured dish. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting: {or sprinkle with confectioners sugar}

• 1 package vegan cream cheese softened
  
• 1/3 cup vegan soy butter (like Earth Balance), softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups vegan confectioners sugar
  

Beat cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla, then add sugar.

I like to put frosting in a bag and pipe it onto muffins, cakes, and brownies...you can, of course, do either!

you can find my carrot cake lip balm at Ophelia's Apothecary on Etsy ...its a great calorie free alternative...and it too, is vegan! Hope you have fun trying the recipe...feel free to come post comments afterward, I would love to know if you liked your carrot cake!