Wholly Moly - Hold ON

Last few weeks have been a whirl wind - like HOLY MOLY WE ARE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE1

Put on rose colored glasses, hold on tightly to my chair and make sure nothings coming from behind to throw me back into the tornado.

WHEW!  I think we're safe.

Quick recap:

• Brian cut his leg WIDE open (first ambulance ride since we've been together)
• Guide Training (more on that later) week of beating my body to a pulp
• Mom-mom passed - heartbreaking loss, she will be truly missed
• Nikki, my boss at Forrester, left to become the Chief Home Officer for her family
• We started moving into the house we are renting for the summer
• My sister is getting MARRIED this weekend

Oh yeah, and there's that wedding of my own that's getting closer everyday!

Enter major time on the computer, family crafts, and lots of hugs from my new friends in Maine. Trying to convince Brian that getting 20 small tasks that have no looming deadline makes me feel better than doing 1 big thing = my sanity is returning.

Soapwalla Kitchen

Back in middle school I had a friend who's mother was a nurse and switched her to aluminum-free deodorant. And that's when it started - my search for a natural product. Back then I only wanted it because my friend had it. But now I realize my momma blessed me with beautiful skin and don't I owe it to her and myself to keep it safe and healthy?

After years of casually searching for something (those rock sticks you wet, totally ineffective natural producs)that actually worked, I stumbled upon the Earth Friendly Weddings after a recommendation from a friend. Second post I read - all about a fantastic deodorant from where else, but my favorite place Etsy!

Soapwalla Kitchen makes an all-natural, aluminum-free deodorant cream in her Brooklyn apartment. It is fantastic! It smells incredible, is as smooth as lotion, and isn't irritating after showering. I highly recommend it, even if you aren't looking to change deodorants. I forgot to stir it before using and it wasn't very effective, but on the second day after some stirring it worked great. Dry and smelling like roses, I'm HOOKED.

And a bonus, I needed more body oil (way better than lotion in the summer, I put it on one night a week and no slimly lotion skin when you get sweaty, by the way) so I tried Soapwalla's Luxirious Moisturizing Body Oil. It's HEAVEN and smells delicious.

Mmmm...Avacado.

I love food. And right now I'm hooked on this delicious treat:

A fresh, soft roll from the Good Bread @ R Family Farm picked up at the Skowhegan Farmer's Market toasted; topped with melted goat cheese, cool slices of ripe sweet cherry tomatoes, and avacado.

True heaven. And best enjoyed with a glass of Three Blind Moose Riesling.

Try it for yourself - let me know what you thinkg!

Oh Greenville. My Love.

The town of Greenville is the epitome of a classic New England lakeside town. It bustles in the summer with tourists hoping to catch a moose sighting, decked out in their Maine sweatshirts and flip flops. In the winters things quiet down while many shops close up and residents hunker down waiting for the first major storm.

Greenville is why I fell in love with Maine. Our save-the-dates needed to be just as charming. They are the town's first introduction to our family and friends. The solution, vintage postcards.

Vintage photographs of Greenville were reprinted into post cards by a local vendor, Vintage Paper Image. They are perfect. I could print all of the information right on the card, and finished it with a personalized stamp from Sugar Letter on Etsy. Adorable.

Pitter patter...goes my heart.

I know, I know....I've been a terrible blogger. What have I been doing? Planning my all consuming, help me I'm drowning, but I love it so much I can stop starting new projects WEDDING!

Why have I been so selfish and not shared? Cause I've been sucked in and don't want to come up for air. But, all good things must be shared...plus this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, so I'd better let out the secret that I have new found skills. Crafting like a maniac and loving every minute of it. <3

Get ready...

A little-bits crazy - A lotta-bits fun.

This past weekend my sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law came to have some fun in Maine. My used-to-be adventerous, wild and crazy, have no fear sister is now the spitting image of my "we are going to fast, will you just slow down you crazy maniac" momma. Out for a spin on the snowmobiles, she was all bunddled up and ready for a ride. Half way to our destination she was ready to be there and Michael may have been internally bleeding from all the hitting to slow down. But we made it to Jackman.

Refreshed from lunch, it was time for a change. We had to have the sleds back at 4:30 p.m. and at 2:45 with 35 miles to go 20 mph wasn't going to cut it. Laura was bold...she let me drive with her on the back.  Michael rode my 1-up sled and Brian was on the F6...zooom! off we went.

I checked-in a time or two to make sure she wasn't totally freaking out (or had fallen off) and it was smooth sailing. That is till I took a wide corner at 40, slid on some ice and almost knocked her and I completely off. But Laura was the perfect passenger, she stuck her leg far enough out that if we tipped all the way over she wouldn't get stuck and she pushed us back up before we ever stopped forward motion. Whew!

Everyone made it back in one piece, and no interal bleeding for me. Laura's quote of the day, "I didn't hit you to slow down cause I knew you wouldn't care. Rachel'd just get off the sled at the end of the day and ask "why are you such a pansy?""

It was an awesome trip!

So many UPDATES.

What a bad blogger I've been...so much has happened in these past few weeks!

Brian took a new full time job dispatching for Sommerset County. He misses being a cop; and the importance and meaning in his career so he's making his way back to law enforcement. First stop dispatching, next stop police force.

I'm back at Forrester working 15 hours a week. I have my own desk in the Northern office and I can walk down the hall to my computer in my sweatpants. It's been awesome so far. There is even a table full of snacks which brings memories of the girls back in Boston.

And we're looking at camps! With Brian's new job he'll be working a 12 hour night shift which means it's time to move out of our Northern Outdoors apartment. Our one room apartment isn't ideal for opposite schedules. And with no windows its hard to do anything in the daytime without turning on a light or two. Rent up here is just as much or more than a mortgage payment and utilities would be with real estate so cheap so we're looking at camps/year-round homes. That way if we ever want to move we still have a place here for vacation. (And visitors can stay for free!)