Thursday, February 16, 2012

Today in my warmer; Creamsicle!

                            My husband usually views my candle obsession with a warm indifference. He doesn't mind that I melt tarts and burn candles, but wouldn't miss it if I stopped. Usually when he walks into a room, I get "Whats that smell?" or "Are you burning a candle or something?"
I've gotten to the point where as long as he doesn't complain about a scent, I would consider it a winner. And to my surprise Creamsicle was the first scent he said he liked!

Creamsicle arrived in my tester box from Crabby Candle Co. It's not a personal favorite, but it's one that my friend likes best. So I decided to melt it because it reminds me of her. (Kind of lonely being in a foreign country sometimes.)
 This little wax cube sure does pack a punch! It has a great cold scent and strong throw when melted. This is spot on to a real creamsicle.  A perfect blend of sweet orange citrus and cream.
Crabby makes very high quality tarts at reasonable prices, and if Creamsicle continues to be available I will definitely be ordering more. 



Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Finally....WAX!

                                It has been a long three months, and I'm so excited to have tarts again. Three boxes full of scented goodness arrived over two days. The first box was from Crabby Candle. I've been a part of their monthly tester group for a while, and Rebecca (owner) was nice enough to hold onto my packages until I was able to have them shipped. Because of the amount of time it took to move and get settled, I got January and February's testers together. Double the goodness!
From the top, left to right
Intrigue, Sweet Jasmine, Pink Amber, Adam & Eve, Fuzzy Navel, Pink Sugar, Melon Cream, Cherry Pez, Cherry Cola, Twilight Woods, Orange Peach Marmalade, Creamsicle, Blue Sugar, Summer Lovin', Cacoa de Mint, Blue Raspberry Bubblegum, Ginger Lime, Butterfly Garden, Hawaiian Breeze laundry soap, Passionate Kisses, Vanilla Cardamom, and Salty Dog. (Blue Sugar wasn't in the tester boxes, I added it onto my order because I love it so much)


The second order was from Haley Candles and arrived in two packages. Haley Candles is a vendor that I haven't tried before. Some friends in my wax group mentioned her great prices and cute products, so I couldn't resist. I sent the owner a quick message making sure it would be okay to place an order (international shipping is lame).  I really appreciate that she was willing to help me find the best shipping option. 
As a side note shipping makes no sense sometimes. I can pay 15 dollars for a small box, or 48 dollars for a medium box. So obviously, to save 18 dollars we shipped the order in two small boxes.
This is a photo of the first box.

From the top, left to right
Pink Sugar Cookie Loaf, Zucchini Bread Toast, Zucchini Bread Cups, Pink Sugar Loaf, and Fluffy Pink Cake Pieces.


The second box came the next day. As you can see from the photo I couldn't wait to try out the Vanilla Pumpkin Pie.

From the top, left to right
Buttercream Loaf, Vanilla Pumpkin Pie Loaf, Red Velvet Cake Loaf, Birthday Cake Cake Pieces, and a Birthday Cake Cup.

Crabby Candle Co has been a favorite vendor of mine for a while now, so it goes to say I highly recommend them. Haley Candles is new to me, so I'll go into more details as I try more of their product. I will say though, that these scents were so strong I could smell them through the box when they arrived.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Beaded Sweatheart Soap?!?

I was cleaning my bathroom and was about to move the Sweetheart bar and I noticed something really neat. The entire bar had a beaded look to it! I'm assuming it's because of the moisture from the bathroom, but I've never seen any of my other soaps do this before.
I took some close up photos because I thought it looked so pretty.
You can kind of see where I touched it with my finger. LOL!

If you look close you can see the spot I touched.




Sunday, February 5, 2012

My soaps!

Blue Sugar, Pink Sugar and "Purple" Sugar scents
                               I really wanted to do my own soaps for a while now, but I don't have the equipment for cold process (yet anyway). So I bought some Goats Milk melt and pour base and went to town!
I got a 2 pound slab, a couple of molds and a bunch of fragrance oil to play with. First batch that I've made turned out quite well. I have oval bars in my favorite Blue Sugar scent. A few heart shaped bars in Pink Sugar and "Purple" Sugar (a combo of Blue Sugar and Pink Sugar). I added a bit of Diamond Dust Mica for sparkle. You can't see it very well, and it probably would have been better in clear glycerin soap rather than the Goat's Milk. Although I did put it in a bit of lotion, and the sparkle comes through beautifully.
So I will be making more soap soon. I found this really cute sheep shaped mold that should be coming in the mail any day now. I want to do 2 different batches. I will do a white batch in the Oatmeal Milk and Honey scent, and a red batch in the Best Friends scent. I can't wait!
We're going to be up to our eyeballs in bars of soap. Thinking my friends and family will be getting some of the extras. Soap makes a good gifts right? :P

Life in Australia 02/06/11


The novelty of living in a new country is starting to wear, and it now feels more like home. That being said, I've never felt more like a foreigner. Even more so, considering we live in a very Chinese neighborhood. (Ironic we moved across the world to Australia and we get more of asian culture than an Australian one)  At least when living in England we had the comfort of 3 Air Force Bases close by and the community they provided.
We're getting more used to the higher cost of living here, and are increasingly thankful for the housing allowance provided by Tyler's employers. The prices of rent in Australia makes real estate in California feel like a bargain.
Amazingly, we save more on groceries here than we ever did back home even when you add in the coupon savings. The trick? Just about everything is made from scratch. No mixes, no prepacked items. The tradeoff for cost is time, but I am in a position where that isn't an issue anymore. I find that cooking is more rewarding this way as well. Everything that comes out of my kitchen is all me. Not every recipe has been a success but that's to be expected.

I miss my country more than I thought I would have, but in exchange we have an opportunity to save that we would have had otherwise. If we continue on our current path, not only will we be able to pay off all our debts (no credit card debt, but student loans and the like) we should have a sizable down payment on a home as well.
Overall we are very happy, but I admit I am doing a countdown to when I can come home to my country, my family/friends and my kitty. One month down!
Raspberry Flavored Candy Mushrooms?!?
I saw this in the grocery store today. I picked it up because it tickled me. Yeah its candy, but what would possess them to make Raspberry Flavored gummy mushrooms? The picture is kind of cute too.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Valentine's Day Soap from Lush; Sweetheart.

Full slab from Lush.com
              Valentine's Day will soon be upon us! Where does all the time go? About  a week ago I saw that my local Lush store was selling a special limited edition soap. At $5.95 (that's Australian Dollars) per 100g, it was a little expensive for my taste. However, Valentines Day comes around only once a year...so why not?

White and pink, my little chunk almost looks like a fat piece of cake. While it's cute in it's own little way, the full slab is much cuter. The heart image and text is lost when cut into smaller pieces, and would be unrecognizable if given as a gift. Perhaps it would have been better if it was sold as individual bars with the design intact.

Slab cut into pieces.
  As far as smell goes...this is likely the sweetest bar of soap to have ever existed. I'm fairly certain I got a touch of diabetes on the aroma alone. I almost declined to purchase it, but curiosity got the best of me.

Lush describes their product as "Shaped like a giant love heart, say it with soap this Valentine's Day and buy a chunk for your sweetheart."
Scent description; "A sensual blend of jasmine, mandarin, and vanilla to gently inflame the passions and get things moving in the right direction."

As a soap, this bar is amazing. It's moisturizing, and lathers beautifully. The scent is much better on the skin. It mellow to tolerably sweet levels, with a faint underlying notes of floral (likely the Jasmine).

My chunk of "Sweetheart"
While I don't regret my purchase, I will not likely be getting another next year.