Mother's Day Soap Sale today!

Did you know Mother's Day is fast approaching 

on Sunday, May 8th? That's less than 2 weeks away! 

At my soap shop, we have lovely sets ready for your gift giving! We are offering a natural cedar wood soap dish PLUS three new soaps made especially for Mother's Day at a special price.  We are also selling the soap dishes separately.  They are gorgeous and handmade by a local artisan especially for us!

Plus.... the rest of the shop is now 20% OFF! 

Quantities are limited!  

The sale starts at 9:00 am PST at

www.shadowhillshandmade.com

SOAP SALE TODAY!!

Good morning friends, I just wanted to alert you that I'm having a soap sale at 9:00 am PST TODAY!  You can take a look at what I'm offering at www.shadowhillshandmade.com. 

Quantities will be stocked at the sale time!

This is my last BIG sale for awhile, so feel free to STOCK UP!!

 

Praying for Lexi - please help!

Friends, I am putting out an urgent plea for help.   

Rusty and Summer Page are longtime friends of ours and a precious family in our church.   When Rich and I were first married, we met Rusty as a small boy as we attended Bible Study in his parents' home.   After Rusty and Summer married we continued that relationship. Over the years we have been blessed to have spent some time with them both in our home and theirs and have always been blessed by their sweet family.   Recently as the director for The Master's Kids, our church's mommy-and-me preschool program, I got to have Summer, Lexi and her brother Caleb in the program.  Summer was a patient and loving mama with them, and I have always highly admired their family and approach to parenting.

Yesterday, their 6 year-old foster daughter of over 4 years, Lexi, was abruptly removed from their home because the Pages lost a years-long court battle for the right to adopt her.  The Pages have taken her into their own home, provided her with the only mommy and daddy and siblings she has ever known.  They have provided not only stability and love but have FOUGHT HARD to adopt her.  It is very complicated, but Lexi is 1/64th (1.5%) Choctaw Indian by descent, which gives the Choctaw tribe in Oklahoma the right to dictate where she lives.  They chose to place her with a distant relative of Lexi's birth father (both her birth parents have long given up their rights).  These relatives are not blood related OR even of Indian descent, and she will not be raised in the Indian culture.  This is a terrible abuse of the intent of the Indian Child Welfare Act which eventually culminated in DCFS (Department of Children Family Services) coming to the Page's home yesterday with no designated appointment time.  Within about 10 minutes flat, 3 strangers removed a crying and distressed little child and drove away.  I can't think of anything that I've ever seen personally that has been more devastating than that.  How I wish I hadn't seen it.  It keeps playing over and over in my head.  It was beyond heart wrenching and a very rude reminder of the evil in this world.    

We as a church body, along with members of the community set up a peaceful demonstration at a corner near the Page's Santa Clarita home starting Sunday morning.   Groups gathered with their families to pray and sing hymns, and to stand with and encourage the Pages and one another.  It was a blessed time to bond together and focus on the truths of God that we know - He is sovereign and good no matter what.   He loves Lexi more than we do.  He knows what is best.  His plans won't be thwarted by evil men.  He has promised "in this world we will have trouble" but that He will one day rescue us from it.   Prayers were heartfelt and desperate as we depended on God's grace and mercy to protect Lexi and comfort our breaking hearts.

That said, I want to enlist as much help for the Pages that I can using the platform of my blog.  Please take a moment of your time to sign the petition below and PLEASE SHARE.   The Pages know this is not just about Lexi but the hundreds of children that are victims of this abuse of power.  Please help BRING LEXI HOME.

Here is the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/keep-lexi-home

Also, please follow along on these Facebook Page for updates and to see what you can do to help.

https://www.facebook.com/saveourlexi/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/TroyTheLocator/

This is a most thoughtful and accurate letter written by Matt Hand, Rusty's brother in law:

https://www.facebook.com/matt.hand.146/posts/10156705644035442

Thank you!

Gender Reveal for grandbaby #2

We got to find out the gender of our next grandbaby in such a fun way!

Drew and Stephanie had found out the gender about a week earlier at their ultrasound, and gathered both sides of the family together at our home to share the BIG announcement.  They got a big black balloon and filled it with the proper gender color confetti.   

First, to keep us in suspense even further, Drew gave a little speech saying how blessed they were to have so many loving family members to care for their new little one.  It was sweet and all... but we just wanted to find out the gender!!  Come on!! Excitement filled the air.

 

And then Stephanie popped the balloon and out came BLUE!!! 
Yay for little boys!!!  
It will be so fun to have one of each!!

Handmade Lotion Bars

A friend gave me a lotion bar for Christmas... and I loved it! It looks like a bar of soap (no wonder I like it!) but you rub it on your skin as lotion.  Brilliant!

I decided to try a recipe I found on Pinterest.  These couldn't have been easier! All you do is mix equal parts beeswax, coconut oil, and cocoa or shea butter.  I used cocoa butter because I don't love the smell of raw shea butter.   You just melt everything together on low heat, and pour into the moulds of your choice.  I used these silicon muffin moulds and the bars easily popped right out.  You can also add essential oil if you like.  I added some tangerine and they smell lovely. With such great ingredients, these will surely combat dry winter skin.

What a sweet Valentine's day gift these would be!  

Recent news...

BEST NEWS FIRST!  

I am SO happy to share that grandbaby #2 is on its way!  We don't know yet whether it's a little boy or girl, but we are extremely excited for Drew and Stephanie!  She is due early August.  

Darsy can hardly wait to have a cousin! (she's 9 months; the babies will be about 15 months apart)

And of course, we will now have an Auntie Em :-)

 

Speaking of Darsy, she eats pretty much anything but I'm especially glad she shares my affinity for good BREAD!  She will work a piece of bread for a LONG time.  Don't worry, Emma feeds her healthy otherwise :-)   I may be extremely biased, but I think she is quite cute.

 

Oh!  And speaking of BREAD... the Back Door Bakery in Sunland reopened! Hooray! They seriously have the BEST croissants on this earth.



So, let's just say I have been making a lot of soap these days... our January sale was spectacular and we're gearing up for a March one.  Also, I'm thrilled that my soap will be sold at the shoppe at Shepherds' Conference in March!
(This is a sneak peek at what's coming to our sale in March -- a new carrot complexion soap)

 

And lastly, we celebrated this lovely's birthday - I can't believe Kait is 23 and MARRIED!

WDW - Einkorn Wheat Pancakes & Muffins

I've made the switch recently from spelt flour to Einkorn wheat.   Einkorn is one of the earliest cultivated forms of wheat, which is beneficial since today's modern wheat has been hybridized to the moon and is problematic in many ways.  

Einkorn is higher in protein and is more nutritious overall.  Some studies have even shown that people who must refrain from gluten can more easily digest this wheat, since it has a lower gluten toxicity.  If you're interested more about the benefits of Einkorn, I recommend this article.

I made some banana muffins with it recently, and my daughter noticed how great they tasted with the Einkorn.  She then in turn purchased some (they have it ground at Whole Foods; I buy mine in berry form from Azure Standard and grind in my vitamix).   She made some pancakes with a recipe she found, and quickly sent me that recipe saying I must try it.  I just happened to be thinking about what to make for breakfast so I immediately gave them a try.  The pancakes were absolutely delicious!

Here are the two recipes!


Einkorn Banana Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cups Einkorn flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt, regular or Greek
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (or use chocolate chips for all the nuts, or a portion)
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place paper baking cups in 12 regular size (2 1/2-inch) muffin cups. Spray paper baking cups lightly with cooking spray.

Place flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir to combine; set aside.

Place egg, sugar, yogurt, oil, banana and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix well. Add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Stir in nuts and oats. Divide batter among muffin cups.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until browned and toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins

Einkorn Pancakes

makes about 8 medium 

1 large egg
1 cup milk (I used almond; Emma said plain water worked fine)
2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 Tbsp. honey 
1 cup Einkorn flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt    

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.
Pour wet into dry and whisk gently just until mixed.
Let batter sit 2 minutes before cooking on buttered griddle.   

A tale of three bowls

Bowl #1.  Acai bowl from The Harvest Bar in Sherman Oaks.  They call themselves a "superfood cafe" and this was a welcome lunch after a long and annoying government agency appointment in Van Nuys.  This wonderful bowl had 21 grams of protein and included: acai, peanut butter, hemp protein, hemp milk, dates, banana, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, cacao nibs, bee pollen, and fresh raspberries!  It was like a healthy ice cream sundae with the most delightful flavors and textures! The next day I was sure to stock my house up with all the needed ingredients to make this and it's been on repeat for breakfast or lunch ever since.  I add spirulina powder so my bowl is green, not purple! Yum!

Bowl #2 satisfied a strange craving.  I wanted to eat something that LOOKED just like this.  I don't know what got in my subconscious mind to form this craving - maybe I saw something on Pinterest?

Nonetheless, this SUPER easy and DELICOUS dinner hit the spot.  Basically it's just a bowl with cooked quinoa on the bottom, topped with sauteed kale + chard, and oven roasted butternut squash.  It is topped with a tahini dressing simply made by throwing a few tablespoons of tahini, a couple of garlic cloves, the juice of one lemon, a pinch of salt, and a little water into a mini chopper.  The secret is roasting the squash on high temperature so it gets all yummy and caramelized.   Oftentimes I end up with big bunches of greens from my farm box and this will be my new favorite way to use them.

Ok, so maybe this one isn't EXACTLY a bowl...but more like a platter... but just LOOK at this gorgeous food from Tel Aviv Grill in Tarzana!  This is authenic Israeli food.  Chicken Schwarma, incredible hummous, one of the best falafels I have ever had, and fluffy house-made pita bread.   Not to mention all the lovely condiments. It completely took me back to our trip to Israel a few years ago, and all the amazing food we had there.  

 {P.S. Don't expect to go for dinner on a Friday night or anytime Saturday -- they are Jewish and close to observe Shabbat around 3:30 pm and the Sabbath on Saturday.}

EXCITING NEWS!

I have some really exciting news!  

After years of selling my all natural essential oil soap rather informally on this blog, I have joined forces with my daughter, Emma and daughter in law, Stephanie and we are launching a real business on a real website! :-)

I invite you to visit our brand new soap shop which launches today at Shadow Hills Handmade.  We even have a short film that introduces you to our soap and we hope you'll take a minute to view it.  

In addition, we are having a BIG SALE on Monday, January 25th, 9:00 am PST.  The soaps shown above are part of our Pure Love Collection offered just in time for Valentine's Day! 

It is our goal to keep the shop regularly stocked, and offer seasonal collections that will be limited edition and a lot of fun to try.  We also can take special orders -- just contact us through the website.

We hope also that you'll kindly follow us on Instagram

because there you will not only learn more about our soap but you might also find a free giveaway and/or special offer from time to time! You can find us @shadowhillshandmade

To all my soap friends and customers, I say a warm thank you for all your past support and your encouragement for us to grow. We truly hope that you'll enjoy this new (and easier) shopping experience... and the opportunity to have the soap available more than just once or twice a year!

To those of you who may be new, I hope you'll give us a try and see why we get pretty excited about a bar of soap!

Stay clean!

xo, Karen

12 years with the Lord

  
Today marks 12 years since my oldest child, Brady, went to be with the Lord.  He was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 10 and had a four year battle before leaving this earth and his disease behind at age 14.  Though we prayed fervently that he would be cured and remain with us, God had bigger and better plans for him.  For those of you whose loved ones have gone to be with the Lord, you know the deep seated joy of knowing that they are with Christ in heaven, safe and secure for all eternity.  That is the blessing and reality that I live with daily, and it is so comforting.

James 4:14 describes our life here on earth as this:  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Sometimes it seems that life is long but we must remember this truth.   It will be over before we know.   Even if we live to old age, it will come before we know it.  I am thankful that today I can celebrate that I am 12 years closer to heaven and seeing Brady.  How my heart longs for that reunion.

Rich pulled up this audio this morning as we rejoiced over our son's heavenly home once again.    It is from his baptism at our church at age 13.  It was precious to once again hear his voice and remember his sweet testimony of faith.  

Below is a photo I keep on my desk.  It's one of my favorites of my boys together.  He had such sparkly blue eyes and a great laugh.  Today I remember once again my sweet boy and the mark he left on my heart.  I am so thankful God gave him to me, if only for a short time.