Organic All-Purpose Surface Scrub - or as Corina calls it: My new miracle cleaner

Please promise me you won't judge me when you look at the pictures in this post. Okay?  Please don't judge me!  Okay?
This post is about cleaning with Honey Bee Holistic's Organic All-Purpose Surface Scrub.

Now, let me first tell you that I am the daughter of a German mother. A mother whose mission in life is to clean, and then to clean some more. Things were spotless when I grew up. I don't know how she managed this with four kids in the house.
 I have three kids and a farm, with lots of soil and dirt and manure. I should be the one concerned about cleaning.

The sad truth is: I am not obsessed about cleaning. I wish I were, but I do realize that if I took my home making duties as far as my mother did, I would be hospitalized in a mental institution. While my house is reasonably hygenic, it's very messy and untidy. I put one thing away, and my four-year-old drags it out on the carpet ten seconds later. I make a home cooked meal from scratch every night, and after cleaning the pots and pans and dishes, the next day still looks like a bomb detonated in my kitchen. Every now and then, I dust in the living room. Then my husband makes a fire in the wood stove, and dust gently spreads all over everything immediately. Do you see what I'm saying? I give up.

So let's talk about my stove. It's a very nice stove, stainless steel and heavy duty. I cook on it a lot, and I take pride in creating nourishing meals for my family. You can imagine what this workhorse looks like, what with all the stuff that drips down and boils over. Cleaning the stove is one of those things I don't like to do because it is such a futile activity. It's so hard to do and takes a lot of elbow grease. I don't like the standard cleaners you buy at the store, with all their harsh ingredients and chemical smells (another excuse not to clean the stove!).

So when Honey Bee Holistic came up with her all purpose surface scrub, I resolved to make my oven look like new. This is what I started with.  Yucky, I know.  Don't judge me, okay?

This scrub has only natural ingredients in it, and a total of 16 essential oils, if I counted right. It smells awesome!  It's like cleaning in a garden scented with peppermint, thyme, rosemary, lavender, oregano, pine....  It comes in a cute little mason jar with a pretty sticker on top and looks like a paste. It's not gritty, but smooth, and I wanted to lick it, it looked so appetizing.

I can't believe how gentle it was on the stainless steel. Previously, when I cleaned the stove with a scrubbie, it left fine scratches on it, which are still there. But using this cleaner, it didn't scratch at all – neither the stainless steel nor my skin. That's right: I didn't wear gloves, because I really wanted to feel everything in order to write a thorough review. Maybe Melissa should market this scrub as an exfoliant for hands?

Okay, I am getting carried away here. I want to show off my “new” stove, looking clean, smelling clean, and oh-so-shiny!  My mother would be proud of me.

This is now officially my new miracle cleaner.  Believe me, it's a big deal to get someone like me excited about cleaning!  I love this stuff.  You will, too, even if you don't like cleaning.  

NOW for YOUR chance at snagging a jar of your own!! Follow the entries below to get entered to WIN one of your own jars!! This would come in VERY handy to all of us who are cleaning for the Holidays before company comes to visit!!

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Introducing the Newest Member to the Honey Bee Holistics Team..........Corina Sahlin!

Hello to all of my blog followers! I am happy to introduce you to the Newest Member of the Honey Bee Holistics Team............ Corina Sahlin!

Corina is a Work-at-Home-Mom just as I am, and not only writes for her own blog about her life homesteading, but runs an Etsy shop with all of her handmade wool goodies!!

As my business grows, I am proposed to include other Work-at-Home-Moms who are working hard to make an extra income for their family while raising their children! I see this as an opportunity for you to learn about my products, and get to know Corina! Corina will be my new Product Tester which will entail a detailed post on each product I create that she tests! Along with detailed information on these products you may not have tried before {but will now want to after you hear her descriptions!!} , each reader & follower of the blog will get a chance to WIN a Product that has been tested for themselves!!

Now I am passing the post to Corina, since you know a little about her, and let her work her magic with words to entice you to HAVE to try my Organic Coconut Citrus Scrub!!

Hello, everyone!  I feel so honored to be one of the official product reviewers of Melissa's creations!  Melissa and I are on the same wave length about many things, including how to take care of our bodies.  I have made my own body care products, so I know how much knowledge and care goes into her products.

Before I review her amazing Organic Coconut Citrus Scrub, let me briefly introduce myself.

I am a mother of three kiddos, whom I home school.  I also grow a lot of our own organic food on our five acre homestead close to the wilderness.  We raise goats, and I make lots of goat cheese and goat milk soap.  In addition to all the kid and goat stuff, I am a fiber artist and obsessive compulsive knitter and spinner.  You can see my creations at my website, where you also can find out about all the other things I do (transformational life coaching, teaching cheese making), and so much more.

As a busy mother of three relatively young children, I rarely have time (or energy) to pamper myself.  Sometimes, I don't even wash my hair for a whole week!  So when the chance arouse to review Honey Bee Holistic's Organic Coconut Citrus Scrub, I jumped at the bit.  Here was a chance to do something good for myself - if not pamper myself, then at least get clean.

The first good impression of this product happened at the post office, when I eagerly opened the package and immediately smelled the heavenly scent of coconut and lemon.  It was like a getting a delivery of a coconut-lemon cheese cake.  My family and I were on the way to town in our minivan, and everyone commented on the wonderful smell of the scrub that filled our vehicle.  It took a lot of bribing with other treats to convince my three year old daughter not to eat this scrub.  At one point, my husband took my hand and slowly brought it up to his face.  I felt so touched about this gallant gesture that I thought would culminate in kissing my hand, but all he wanted to do was smell my hand, where the scent of coconut and lemon lingered...

Back home, I carved out some Mommy-alone time in order to fully experience this scrub.  My daughter had collected rose petals earlier, and they were strewn all over the bathroom floor.  I lit a candle before stepping into the shower.  What a way to set the stage!  I am telling you, this was going to be a spa experience!

Melissa warned me to put a towel on the shower bottom so I wouldn't slip, because the scrub might make things slippery.  I didn't do this, however, and I felt perfectly safe.  The texture of the scrub was wonderful – grainy and oily at the same time.  I was a little worried before I tried this that the abrasion would dry out my sensitive skin, but on the contrary!  As I started applying the scrub, I immediately felt how gentle and nourishing it was.  And the smell!  I was transported to a tropical island and felt that these were the best ten minutes I ever spent in the shower!

An added bonus was the fact that shaving my legs was a breeze.  I usually hate shaving my legs, but the oils in this scrub made it so very easy and enjoyable.  

When I stepped out of the shower, my whole body felt moisturized, and not in that sticky, oily way that happens sometimes.  My skin felt deeply pampered and very soft to the touch.

To summarize, I am so glad I got to try this scrub!  I usually wouldn't buy anything like this for myself, but now I know that I will use (and buy) this product from now on!  Way to create an addiction, Melissa!  Job security for you, pampering for me – it's a win-win!

NOW enter below for your OWN 8 oz Jar of Honey Bee Holistics' Organic Coconut Citrus Scrub!

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Wild Nettles and why you should be friends!

So Spring is FINALLY here in the Pacific Northwest! I am BURSTING with excitement to finally get to be outside more! And..... I am also thrilled to find my Wild Nettles coming back!!!!!

Have you heard of Stinging Nettles Urtica dioica before? They are a deep forest green plant that grows EVERYWHERE in the fields and back country here in Western Washington. Known as the Spring Tonic, Stinging Nettle is one of my favorite Wild Edibles!

Here is a pic of my jars steeping with the Nettle tops I picked just an hour ago!


It is known as an everyday nourisher, an energetic changer, kidney/adrenal ally, digestive restorative, hair & skin nourisher, and one of the highest natural non-animal Iron sources at 7%! Wild Nettle is also high in calcium, magnesium and chlorophyll. Each special property is even MORE of a reason to incorporate it into your life!

Since my love for Wild Nettles has grown since I first moved to Washington state 8 years ago, so has my knowledge. When you live around them, see them through the entire life cycle, a sprout to a dried plant in the fall, you get to know the plant and its energies. I have tried to harness these energies to make them available in a consumable form, my Wild Nettle Tea, as well as my Organic Rosemary & Nettle Hair Rinse!



"Wild Nettle Tea?" you are thinking. Yes, tea! It is good to make up a quart each night before bed and keep it in the refridgerator. Put 2 teabags, or 1 teapot bag into a quart jar. Fill up to the top with boiling water. Put on a lid, and store in the refridgerator until the morning. You can drink it all in the morning, OR sip it throughout the day. It reminds me, taste wise, kind of like spinach. Which brings up another point that it CAN replace spinach in recipes!! This is mostly achieved from fresh Nettles, so feasible if they grow around your area :)

And for the hair, it is a downright MUST!! It helps balance overly oily hair, check falling hair, encourage strength and ease itchy scalps! I have steeped the Wild Nettles with Organic Rosemary in this Organic Hair Rinse. I have been using it since my first jar of infusion was made over 1 year ago. My hair is stronger, my scalp no longer itches, and it is growing in thicker where I once had some thinning spots! So amazing! It is available here.

Are YOU interested in learning more about herbs? Check out the recommended books below! I learned a lot from Susan Weed's Wise Women Herbal Healing Wise.

So would YOU like to try some Wild Nettle Tea for yourself? Would YOU like to see if the hair rinse will work for you? Comment below how Wild Nettles could help you and get in the drawing for a FREE 6 pk of Wild Nettle Tea AND an 4oz Organic Rosemary/Wild Nettle Hair Rinse!! Don't forget to put in your email address so I know how to contact you if you win!

**Winner pays shipping.Open Worldwide.Drawing to be held Monday April 1st.You have 24hours to claim your prize, if not, another winner will be chosen.Please list your email address, even if it is with the "@" sign spelled out.**

Spring is almost here, so lets Celebrate with some refreshing Organic Lemon Creme Lotion!

Here at Honey Bee Holistic's Farm, we are anxiously awaiting the days when the ☼SUN☼ comes up at 6am and hangs around till 9pm! Each Spring the Rhubarb starts popping up near the pump house.....


And the dainty volunteer Daffodils start coming up to show us their bright faces!



It is always a very exciting time tending the garden, pruning the herbs, and making sure to take time for the sun! My hopes are high this year on the variety of herbs and veggies we will grow! We are even planning on getting some laying hens for fresh eggs! Oh, my.....Fresh eggs! SOOO excited for that! My little one is excited too as she has been learning about farm animals! She keeps talking about "feeding scratch to the chickens"! It will be great to see her face when we get them!

Being able to be a Work-at-Home-Mom and not miss those cute little moments, is exactly why I work so hard at my business keeping everything fresh & new!

So speaking of fresh and new......Does the color YELLOW make YOU feel happy?

I know I feel so cheery when I look at the color yellow! It is said that the color yellow is good for despondent and melancholy conditions. In Ancient societies, yellow was the animating color for life suggesting joy, gaiety, merriment. No wonder why my entire Kitchen is COVERED with Sunflowers!!

So when I got a call from my Mom who reported she had access to fresh ORGANIC Meyer Lemons, I JUMPED on the chance! This would allow me to make my own Organic Lemon Extracts and incorporate them into my products like my Organic Lemon Creme Lotion!

Soon after they arrived, my daughter kept smelling them all day, counting them as she pulled them out of the box & when she put them back!


After processing the lemons by washing with water only, cutting, juicing, and removing the pith, my windowsill was riddled with jars full of the cuttings!


The rind cuttings cure for 4 weeks in my farmhouse windowsill in the sun until it turns a pale yellow! It is ready to be turned into a Lemon Delight!

Today I will tell you about my Organic Lemon Creme Lotion!


It is like a Lemon Pie topped with fresh vanilla whipped cream! I have teamed up the power of the Lemon Essential Oil, and my own Handmade Organic Extract, with REAL vanilla bean to give the tartness a creamy edge!
It is great for balancing Oily skin, as well as revitalizing under-active mature skin! This revitalizing comes from the Lemon Oils abilities to exfoliate dead skin cells and improving circulation!
This circulation boost is also great for helping to eliminate wastes, such as cellulite!
Who doesn't need the help of some good circulation and exfoliation?? I know I sure do!! Especially after the dry WINTER skin that needs to be removed for the new SPRING skin to be revealed!
Not only is it good for the body, but the hands as well! It helps keep your nails & cuticles in tip top shape by moisturizing and strengthening brittle nails!

Rene from www.thesimplemoms.com did a short review on the Organic Lemon Creme Lotion here

What is YOUR reason for loving LEMON??
Leave a comment below, then enter to WIN an 8oz Jar of YOUR OWN Organic Lemon Creme Lotion!! Visit my website homepage here to get more entries!

Coming next....... A review of my newest Organic Orange Vanilla Set great for an Easter Gift!

A giveaway of my Organic Coconut Banana Lotion!

So another year has passed, as well as another wonderful year for not only my Family, but my business as well!
I have used my blog as a way to highlight others, introduce new products, and give you a little peek inside of my world! I do love to share with you what my business is all about, and I look forward to sharing more with you!

I see my business changing as time goes on. My exposure from Word-of-Mouth has proven to be my best form of advertising!
The end of 2012 brought one of my new products………Organic Coconut Banana Cream Pie Lotion!

It was a sunny but cool Autumn afternoon. I wanted to incorporate coconut with something else, but what?
Some bananas were on the counter, smelling very ripe. Sweet, but caramel-like……That’s it, BANANA!

It all started! I began experimenting with just HOW could I extract the great smell of the ripe banana.
Of course this is the part of the story where I write the recipes down in my secret book, and continue from there!

So then it finally worked! I was able to extract the awesome banana smell from an Organic Banana! YEAH!

Now the hard part was over! I combined the extract with my already buttery & smooth Organic Coconut Lotion, and OH MY GOODNESS!! It was if you could eat it!

Next step was to convey this through my photograph of the lotion! I got it in my mind that the only extra prop in the picture HAD to be an actual Organic Coconut Banana Cream Pie! Fresh Whipped cream and all!

So I spent a few hours that afternoon, making the pie completely from scratch! I heard comments from my family that it would be easier to just buy it for the picture. Well, maybe, but I find it hard to take a picture of my Organic Coconut Banana Cream Pie next to a Chemical Pie that CLAIMS to be the real thing! PLUS, then we can actually EAT it once I was done using it as a prop! GENIUS!

Oh, and by-the-way, it was DELICIOUS!! Sooooo good!

I have had it listed in my shop for a while now, and I have sold some already! Each person who tries it falls completely in LO♥E! At this time I am only selling them in 8oz sizes due to not only the time invested in it, but that is my batch size. This ensures that my lotion wouldn’t sit and go bad!
You know that is how all of my orders are, Don’t you? I make each order fresh so you have the maximum shelf life on your lotions! It hasn’t been sitting in some warehouse, like most conventional lotions, it was freshly made right before being packed & shipped off to you!

So you can order my Organic Coconut Banana Cream Pie lotion HERE

Enter to WIN an 8oz Jar of your very own below! Please comment on this post for an automatic entry! Other options are for additional entries in addition to the one for commenting!

Visit my website Home Page to enter!

Stay tuned for another review!

$20 giveaway & New Product release info♦Organic Coconut Banana Lotion♦Organic Raw Honey Face Mask

I have been formulating new products, and TRYING to keep up with the increased demand! I am so elated to share with you one of the many reviews to come for the end of the year! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the SimpleMoms.com blog is a review of 3 of my lotions, PLUS a giveaway of a $20 gift certificate to my shop! I of course would extend it to some of the website exclusive items that do not appear on my Etsy at this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The newest editions to my shop are: ♦Organic Raw Honey Clay Mask♦

This is a spin-off of my Organic Glaciomarine Clay Mask!

I customize each one to match your skin type: Dry~Oily~Normal Each skin type responds to different essential oils, so I kept that in mind when choosing the varieties. Visit my post here to get more information on how I hand harvest the clay from here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a map to show where I get it and more information on its origins! Then I added in some Local Raw Honey to add in moisture as well as honey's ability to draw out toxins from your pores! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up to be released this weekend....... Organic Coconut Banana Cream Pie Lotion!! I have taken my Organic Coconut Lotion and incorporated REAL ORGANIC Banana Extract I make myself! Most banana smells are artificial, which I am against, so I set out to make my own! Why not? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried 2 times to make my Organic Banana Extract and success!! PLUS the pie you see in the picture......I made it homemade JUST for the picture! I wanted to convey the PURE creaminess of the coconut mixed with the tropical highlights of the banana♥ Pure nose delight!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I use only Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil from Nutiva! They have the BEST coconut oil and I am pretty much obsessed with it! Visit them here for great deals as they ship free with any $30 purchase, which is easy to achieve! It is great to cook with as well as 100's of uses and MIRACLE properties that literally will boggle your mind! It is SO delicious and I do not see using any other Organic Coconut Oil because I have found mine!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I also only use Certified Organic Bananas! Why Bananas, you ask? Bananas help in making the skin soft and supple, plus provide exclusive enzymes to help reduce inflammation! The anti-inflammatory properties calm irritation while vitamins and antioxidants increase circulation for healing, and the antibacterial properties heal any infection. SO when paired along with the Organic EV Coconut Oil, which is anti-inflammatory/anti-bacterial as well makes for a lucious smelling AND beneficial cream! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will post on my facebook page here when it is available for sale this weekend, so link up! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have a great weekend everyone!

Check out my picture entered in the drawing and more info on a special prize pack if I win Grand Prize!

So I hope everyone is enjoying their Fall weather! It has been quite rainy and cold here in the Pacific Northwest! One thing we did do was visit the local farms that provide Organic Fruits, Veggies AND Organic Grass Fed Beef! Here is the picture I took of one of the Hemlock Highlands! I was so excited my little 2 1/2yr old daughter could see the cows up close!

This is one of the Bulls we met! He kept mooing at us very loudly in-between taking mouthfuls of hay! I got this shot when he was licking the hay from his lips! Which by chance is my entry into the local Farmers Supply Photo contest! I need YOUR help to WIN! Come vote for my picture in the photo contest!! Please "like" the page then vote for my picture! It is titled, "Highland Bull from Hemlock Highlands Farm " by Melissa Carr http://a.pgtb.me/qffhvC I am on page#7 at the bottom left! You will see the picture! If I win the Grand Prize, I will have an exclusive Blog Prize Pack of my products worth $50!! So go visit the link now, come back and comment that you did, so YOU can be entered! The gift basket will be given away if I win, so share with your Facebook friends to get more votes on my pic! Thanks for your help! I look forward to winning and giving the Gift basket away!