Review: Natural Soaps from Tapaahsia Farm

It’s always fun to find a great product that’s made locally, which is why I was interested in checking out the products from Tapaahsia Farm. Located in Liberty, Indiana (not far from my workplace), they’ve been making natural soaps for more than nine years.

What intrigued me even more about Tapaahsia Farm is the story of why they got started. Here’s what owner Karen Baldwin told me about how they got started:

“My husband, four children and I have managed a small farm for the last ten years located in Liberty, Indiana. Our main purpose for farming was to help feed the family. We produce some of our own meat products including, chicken, eggs, milk, yogurt and some cheese. We also home school and felt that farm life would aid in their educational experience by directly connecting them to their food source. We try to produce most of our own food products through gardening, meat (animal) production, laying hens and dairy goats. We learned very quickly that in order for the farm to be financially self-supportive we needed to produce a product that would help pay for farm related expenses. Nine years ago I pursued an interest I have had for some time in soap making. The soap has for the last three years paid for the farm and is growing every year, even in this stressed economy.”

How cool is that?!?

Karen was kind enough to send me some of their products to check out. A couple of things I particularly enjoyed were the Citrus Cream and the lip balms.


My husband and I both struggle with chapped, cracked hands all winter long, and we’re always on the lookout for something that will help. The website describes it as “A luxuriously soft face cream lightly scented with rose water, Ylang Ylang and Orange Essential Oils.” I like to put it on before bed, and wake up with my hands nice and soft!


I also really like the lip balms – not just for me, but for my kids. My kids LOVE chapstick, and honestly I kind of cringe when I see them putting it on because I know some of it’s going to be ingested – and really, what’s in that stuff? But since this lip balm is all natural, I feel much better about them using it!

Tapaahsia Farm has a whole line of soaps, lotions and creams. They even have baby products – their Blushing Bottom cream is made with zinc oxide, jojoba oil, avocado oil and olive oil. That sounds like a great baby shower present to me! Their products are sold at local markets, retail locations, directly from the farm and online.

To learn more, check out their website and become a fan on Facebook!

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Easy-Peasy Comfort Food

I’m really enjoying my gig as a member of the Shared Tastes Panel (go ahead, click and check out my fellow panelists!) for ReadySetEat.com.   I mean, fer realzies, they are paying me to cook dinner, what could be better?  And the recipes are delicious!   Here were my two favorites I tried this month:

Cheesy Chili Mac

This Cheesy Chili Mac was the easiest thing I have ever made in my life.  And it was SO good!  Just a box of regular old mac & cheese mixed with a can of Wolf Brand Chili – ta da!  Quick, easy, wonderful comfort food!  It was a real hit at my house and definitely one I’ll be making again. Possibly today for lunch ’cause MAN that photo is looking good right now!  And I still have both ingredients in my pantry!

My next favorite  – Spanish Rice – seriously had me running back for seconds.  Happily, I made a whole bunch of it and was also able to have some leftovers the next day which were just as amazing as when the meal was fresh!

Spanish Rice

What made this meal even more fabulous was that it was E-A-S-Y to make – literally just dumpedabunchofstuffinaskillet and let it simmer.  And it was soooo good my mouth is watering as I’m writing this!  So, so, SO good.  I know Spanish Rice might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of comfort food, but put a little colby jack on the top of this dish and it is extremely comforting.  Let me tell ya.  And look at all those veggies in there!!   Tomatoes, corn, peppers – it’s a winner!

Part of the reason Ready, Set, Eat meals like the ones I’ve talked about are so easy to make is because all of the recipes on the site are seven ingredients or less!  And many are all made in just one pan or skillet so clean-up is a snap.  I’ve gotten to the point where I look for recipes on the site based on what I’ve got in my pantry and I can almost always find a simple fit – it doesn’t have to be when I’m cooking for review.  The site is so easy to use that I’m going to it a couple of times a week.  I love the recipe box feature and the fact that you can search by keyword, ingredients, and how much TIME you want to spend preparing the meal.  There are so many great features that make finding a recipe for and preparing dinner as simple as possible.

So, if you haven’t checked out ReadySetEat.com yet (but surely you do everything I recommend, right??), GO FOR IT!  It really is where you’ll find hundreds of answers to that age-old question: “What’s for dinner?”

Check it out, and let me know what looks good to ya!  OR what you’ve already tried!

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As I mentioned, I am being compensated for my work on the Shared Tastes Panel.  But I pinkie-swear I am telling the truth about these recipes.

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Review: Lands’ End Kid’s Swimwear

As you know, I love love love love love love LOVE Lands’ End.   And I always have Lands’ End on my bod at the pool during the summer, as does my little girl, Sophie.  She’s had nothing but Lands’ End suits the past two summers and they are phenomenal!  We go to the pool several times a week and her suits always look great – never faded!  They stay put and keep her comfy, too.  So when Lands’  End asked me if I wanted to review a spring kids’ item, I was thrilled that the girls’ ruffle suits were available!  Here’s Sophie in her new suit!  Even though it’s FREEZING here today, I can’t get it off of her!  She’s been wearing it for a couple of hours now.

socks not included 🙂

I’m a big fan of the tankini for myself and also for Sophie. This two-piece is very easy to get on and off, yet it’s modest AND adorable. And I know, because I’m a Lands’ End loyal customer, that this suit will look as good at the end of the summer as it did at the beginning.

I tried to get Sophie to tell me why she likes her swimsuit, but she was more interested in seeing herself on video! But, I promise you, her favorite part is the ruffles! And she’s been dancing around in it all afternoon so I guess it makes her feel good!

If you’re looking for the perfect suit for your kids this summer, I HIGHLY recommend you shop Lands’ End! You won’t regret it, and your kids will love their suits!

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I received a Lands’ End girls’ bathing suit for my daughter for review.  All opinions about the product are mine and Sophie’s.

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