Last weekend I was able to hug my parents for the first time in over a year. And it. was. glorious. I sat and visited my grandma for over 2 hours, drinking in the gift of her time (she's 95 and I want to be her when I grow up). My childhood home is in the wilds of Michigan and it will forever be one of my favorite places in the world. This magical place is why Nature's Trace soaps are so nature-centric.
Those Michigan woods are where my mom took me to sketch the trillium when I was just learning to draw. That's where my my dad taught me to identify trees so I could greet them all by name. That's where you'll find the field where I watched 1000 sunsets, endlessly delighted by it's splendor. Or where I could sit and cry when the ache of the world felt like too much, and the breeze in the fields and the sun's fading light without fail would ease my soul back to rest. Michigan is where the apples come from for my Wild Orchard Soap, and where my bee keeping dad planted the desire for my own apiary that now supplies our soaps with honey and wax. This is where I learned to harvest and dry flowers, and appreciate the simplicity and beauty of natural colors.
I brought all of that love for outside to Chicago and poured it into my little Chicago micro farm. I feel like I have the luxury of both worlds here surrounded by micro versions of all my favorite things.
As I am sure many of you can attest, last year was ROUGH. The beauty of soap and sharing my creations with all of you was a balm to my sanity and my soul. So thank you.
And speaking of hugs!! I will be back at the Farmer's market again soon. So if you're in Chicago you should come and see me! More info on that soon.