Well we re-opened last week after dealing with the worst flooding in Ridgecrest since I have lived here. Everything is back to normal. Funny thing though, I have been wanting to do a little of redecorating the boutique for the last couple of months but could not imagine moving all the furnishings and products. Well, since the the flood pushed me into doing so anyway, I decided to go ahead and make some minor changes. The boutique actually looks better then it did before. So some good did come out of this mess. Most of you know how much I love green and neutral colors based on the decor of the boutique. I recently found some nice images from a recent Better Homes & Garden issue about designing with green and thought I would share some of the images with you.

Raining in the Desert......
Well what I thought was going to be a relaxing Sunday afternoon didn't turn out to be so relaxing. We spent the entire late afternoon and evening removing flood waters from our store. The entire town of Ridgecrest looked much like this in many areas. Balsam street was hit pretty bad. It only took a short amount of time for the rain to create a literal river througout the city.

Pretty much every business on my street was filled with a river running through it. The city pretty much did nothing to assist. Cars kept driving up and down the street in front of our businesses causing massive mini waves of water into our stores. We did have some amazing friends and other businesses in the area come with assistance.

While we did not suffer any merchandise damage our brand new carpeting will probably have to come and be replaced. Some of our antique furnishings and pieces that my husband custom made for the boutique may or may not be water damaged, but we will not know for another day or so. We are greatfull that our damage seems minimal at this point. Many of the other stores on our street were really hit hard and damage seems to be much greater.

Therefore, we will be closed for at least three days and hope to re-open by Thursday. I am hoping that the officials who run this city will finally take into account the impact that this has had on all of us on Balsam street and finally come up with a plan to fix the street and its flooding problems that have been an issue for years. This wasn't the first time this has happen and I am sure this will not be the last.

The picture above was taken by The Daily Independent's staff

The Ojai Spa & Resort
Ojai, CA

Well I usually don't giveaway too many of my secrets, but I thought I should share this one with you. Summer is halfway over and you still have sometime to have some serious fun in the sun along with some serious luxury pampering. Ojai is only about 4 hours from Ridgecrest. They are also running some discount summer rates. Now this resort spa is considered a luxury spa, but there is nothing stuffy about it. Everyone is welcomed.
They offer beautiful accommodations, fabulous natural food, and lots to do there. "Great place with beautiful surroundings and very solid service all round." Lastly, the town is not that big but there is so much to experience in this little town. There are lovely little shops and nice restaurants. My favorite thing though are all the orange blossoms and the lavender fields.
Checkout their website http://www.OjaiResort.com

ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCT
This is a light weight beautiful throw blanket that feels like a luxurious towel. Known in Japan as a towlket; a light breathable blanket; the Yumi & Laurie blanQuette is made from 50% organic cotton and 50% bamboo. It is machine washable, durable, and wonderfully soft and luxurious.

I just found this last night and this will for sure be added to our selection of eco-friendly luxurious products available to you.

They have listed several reasons why their line is so wonderful.

• Y&L Products are naturally soft and luxurious
• Can be used in all seasons, and are machine washable
• Are richly sophisticated and manufactured using the highest quality fibers available
• Are antimicrobial and make for a wonderful night’s rest for those with allergies
• Can be used to wrap yourself up in while reading a book, watching a great movie, lounging at the pool, or as a guest blanket
• Are a new and innovative design in spa bedding
• Can be customized to compliment your environment
• Makes a wonderful and thoughtful gift
• Are wonderful decorative throw that looks great in all decors
• Are made from 100% Certified organic and sustainable materials.

• Seeds 68% Hemp, Pumpkin and Sunflower 2-oz bar

• Dark chocolate with omega-rich hemp seeds, heart healthy pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and a touch of Balinese sea salt. An energetic combination of power foods for body and mind in a base of our delicious 68% dark chocolate.

• We just received our order in today and they are flying off the shelves already. We have 5 new flavors in and the SEED one is my favorite. It is just so yummy. The combination of smooth rich chocolate and crunchy hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Oh and just in case you didn't hear the most updated nutrition news on chocolate, Eating just two small pieces per day gives you a significant amount of sun protection from the inside out. So stop by and pick a couple up. $4.00 per bar. If you purchase 3 or more I will give you 10% off through the end of the month.
  

THE WONDERFUL VETIVER

This just made my day. The UPS man showed up today with my order of vetiver rugs from Bali. I could smell the delicious natural aroma instantly as he walked into the store. I found these while on my buying trip to NYC earlier this month. I have always admired this unusual grass for its rich somewhat masculine earthy scent.

For several centuries vetiver has been commercially cultivated for the scented oil that can be distilled from its roots. This is a treasured ingredient in some of the world's best-known perfumes and soaps and, largely because of its potential as an export commodity, vetiver can be found in at least 70 nations but only a handful of countries produce the oil commercially. The grass is best known for its use for areas with soil erosion problems. These naturally beautiful mats may be used in any room in your home and the natural scent is really soothing and calming to the senses. If the scent begins to fade after a while just wet them and let them naturally dry and the scent comes right back.

Personally, I have been using vetiver for many years. My families French West-Indian background is the reason I was introduced to this wonderful plant. Many years ago when I started making my own natural skin and body care products from home, I began experimenting with several perfume blends using vetiver as the top note. I would blend it with other essential oils such as grapefruit, patchouli, rose, vanilla and tangerine. Since opening the boutique back in 2003 I really have not had the time to spend blending oils and making product. I do feel quite inspired now for some reason to go mix up some great body butter or bath salts with a wonderful oil blend with of course some vetiver oil in it. So make sure to return to see what I may come up with shortly.

Vetiver mats are available now for only $69.00. They are a pretty large size. I am willing to mail these to our customers that are located out of Ridgecrest, CA area.

Just what the body needs. If you haven't already tried one of Trillium organics fabulous body polishes you just don't know what your missing. These at home spa body care treatments are amazing. If you want ageless smooth looking and feeling skin you must get some of this. Men also love these!
They come in lime, pink grapefruit, lavender geranium and clove and clementine.
Available now at Botany's Desire
$25.00 for large size.

Oh they are back and they are bigger and better. Yes, Smile Chocolates are back with incredible new flavors and beautiful packaging. Smile Chocolates are made by an actual chocolatier /Chef. Available in Dark, Milk and White and packed full of antioxidants from Green Tea and Pomegranates. If you mention you read about them here you get 10% off.
$7 a bar

One of my favorite things about NYC is the fact that
Central Park is there. Most people don't think of New York
City as being lush and beautiful. Central Park is about 843 acres
of lush green trees, gardens, water features, architectural elements and
tons of history. Other than finding great new products for my boutique, I really
wanted to spend as much time visiting Central Park. So we decided to take a
three hour bike riding tour of the hudson river and the park.

We are Back!! Oh boy what a rush the last 5 days have been. We are tired, sore and stuffed after visiting NYC. We had a wonderful time finding all kinds of new products for the summer and fall. We just know you are going to be quite thrilled with all the new goodies that will be coming. Now, if you think this trip was all about work your wrong.

We ate and ate and ate. We started at the food show and worked our way through Manhattan and Brooklyn. We started uptown and worked our way down. I took lots of photos to share but please be patient.

I do want to give you a quick taste of what is to come. One of the products we are most excited about is the Hint natural waters. As many of my regulars know, I have been working on adding more and more natural drinks to the boutique especially since we added new spa services in the boutique. We always offer our clients and customers hot tea samples after having a treatment but since it is officially summer and tempartures here in the desert are about 100-108 degrees and rising we thought it would be nice to also offer more cold natural drinks.

We hope to have an order in by next weeks so just look out. Remember, if you remember to mention you read about a new product from our blog we will give you 15% off your first purchase.