sudstress: The Evolution of Lavender

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Evolution of Lavender

Recently I discovered Full Sail beer from Oregon. (I swear this will lead to Lavender) It retails for the same price as the watery domestics, but tastes exponentially better. They have a series called LTD that uses a different recipe each time. Sort of like I do with my soap. It's part of what keeps it fun and fresh. As a side note, I fell in love with the LTD 06 - Black Bock over the holidays. It was De Lici Ous! From their website:

LTD means Limited Edition. But around here it means something even more: Live The Dream. We're doing something every brewer dreams of: Concocting an ever-changing series of small batch beers, available for a limited time only. Each new LTD Series brew will showcase an original lager recipe, busted out by our ace crew of libationary wunderkinds.
LTD is dedicated to everyone who's livin' the dream whatever that dream might be. We started Full Sail to make killer beer - goes without saying. But more importantly, we started it to live our dream: To seek that perfect balance between work and play, art and commerce, friends and family. It's not always easy being independent. In fact, it's almost never easy. But there's no other way we'd have it. If you're living your dream, props to you. Peace. - The Full Sail Crew.

As I learned about this concept, my thoughts drifted to my Lavender soaps. I've don't believe I've ever made the same batch twice. Each time I make a new batch, I play with a different blend of essential oils, while keeping Lavender as the main focus.

The latest batch was inspired by the spring season. Halfway into my first year living in the Denver climate, I have been reminded at how intense spring fever can be when you have an actual winter. The other day, I got the spring cleaning bug and spent almost 4 joyous hours cleaning with the windows wide open. At a mere 55 degrees, I realize I'm building a tolerance. Denver 55 is much warmer than Atlanta 55.

Thoughts of planting an herb garden and maybe some lettuces in the back yard raised bed garden definitely influenced this blend. There's a hint of basil and a couple of other goodies. I was tempted to include some black pepper, but I think I'll save that for the next one. This recipe is garden fresh and the quintessential spring scent.

Lavender is a beloved scent and is a great little bar of love to give to Mom for Mother's Day. You can find it in my etsy shop while it lasts.

And now... presenting... The Evolution of Lavender according to Sudstress:

seems it's also the evolution of my photography and editing skills... yipes!