Make Up Monday- Bath Time Fun!!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know this last weekend I was in Hot Springs, AR.  Home of the true gangster, thermal healing water, Bath House Row and family fun.  I wish I had be able to carve out some time to visit one of the two bath houses that are still operating in the city.  But we were busy bees.  The trip really inspired today's blog.  There were several bath shops in downtown.  I visited one that I fell in love with every product in there!!  I broke down and finally bought a bath bomb!!  It smells like coconut heaven!  I typically stick with my bath salts and Epsom salt mixtures.  I went to buy a new sugar scrub and came out with bath bombs for Red and me.  No sugar scrub!

I have several posts about detox baths, foot soaks, and sugar scrubs.  I have poured my heart out about how much I love a local lavender farm's sugar scrub that softens the skin and smells so yum!

So here are some of my current favorite bath products.  Of course, after an amazing bath, you will need a beautiful summer color on your nails.

The Magnolia scented lotion is made from goat milk.  It smells so clean and fresh you will want to lather your body in this after a good hot bath.  It is made by Bathhouse Soapery and Caldarium in downtown Hot Springs.  The shop actually sits across the street from Bathhouse Row.  Perfect spot!  The Bathhouse Soapery also made the bath bombs  and small bar soap in the picture.  The white bath bomb in coconut scented.  I cannot wait to use it!! Red chose the blue one and I can't remember what scent she wanted.  They have hand scrubs, bath salt mixes, bar soaps, deodorant, body butters, shaving tablets and pretty much anything else you could use in the bath!!  Tons of scents to choose from too.  I really loved the milk and honey scent as well as their magnolia.  Gardenia was another scent in the hand scrub that I might just have to order!  The bar soap in this picture is vanilla oatmeal. 

 

The sugar scrub in this picture is my favorite by far.  It is locally made and smells so relaxing.  I love to use it after I shave.  My legs feel so good, I don't have to use lotion.  The link is above to the review post.  You can click on it to read more of my review as well a link to shop for it!

 

The cute sign is from Kirkland's.  It's true..A nice hot bath does solve most anything.  Nail polish is from Essie and currently one of my favorite shades-"Happy Wife, Happy Life." 

 

So relax, you made it through Monday.  Reward yourself with a relaxing bath this week.  Treat yourself and order one of these awesome products.  Feeling crafty?  Click on one of the links above to make your own!

 

Hugs y'all!

Melissa

"What did I Miss?" Saturday

It's been a week since I have returned to the blogging world.  When I started this blog, I had names/ideas for each day. During my blog break, I decided I wanted to reformat some things.  I wanted to add more DIY stuff, more recipes, and  more ideas to make our lives easier.   Make up Monday may change from time to time and become Mom Monday or Make It Monday (craft projects). I am hoping that the new ideas will work and make people want to read this blog. Feel free to leave comments letting me know what you think about a particular post! 

What Did I Miss Saturday is coming to you today as a recap of the week.  We have a giveaway going on too!!!  You  didn't miss much on Monday.  I introduced the ginger behind the blog to our new readers and followers.  Tuesday was by far the most popular post of the week!!  My daughter and I had the chance to stay in a shabby chic camper for a girls' nght out. We were the first ones to try it out!  Wednesday was simple Halloween cookies that were cute and tasty!  Thursday  had a recipe for caramel apple cider.  It is delicious!! Make sure to check out the individual blogs for details.

                

Make sure to visit Friday's post and enter the FIRST giveaway for the blog!!  You could win store credit, a custom koozie, LSG leather tassel earrings and some fall goodies!  Have a happy Saturday!!

Hugs y'all!

LSG

         

Texas Tuesday- Shabby Chic Getaway

Texas Tuesday is back on the blog!  I am so excited about this one.  I have written before about my favorite lavender farm so it should be no surprise that it is back on the blog!!  They have a new feature on the farm that is tons of fun for a GNO or a mommy/daughter trip.

Gwen had told me of their plans to renovate an old camper trailer a while back.  I knew if anyone could make it greatness she could!  When it was just about ready, she invited my daughter and I for a stay.  Let me say it did not disappoint!  The sweet little camper sits back in some trees.  The area has been cleared for the camper, a patio set and a hot tub.  The camper is situated perfectly under a huge tree.  Gwen had a custom paint job done on the outside but inside, it is all Gwen (with probably some help from Mike;)

My lovely daughter doing her best "Vanna White" impersonation.

Now remember this is a 1969 model.  It's not a 24,000 square foot penthouse.  It's a camper.  It's meant to be compact.  To make it more comfortable, things have been reconfigured.  The bathroom has been removed but there is one close by.  Both my daughter and I were worried about that but it ended up not being an issue.  Gwen provides a flashlight just in case you need to make a midnight bathroom run.  In the spot of the old bathroom is a comfortable bunk bed set.  We laid in bed all evening and watched movies on the TV that faces the bed.

Red chilling on the top bunk before dinner.

The view from the bed.  This was the morning after.  Unfortunately, we had to get out of this cozy spot to get back to reality.  

There's even a cute kitchen complete with a microwave and fridge!!

This little gem is perfect for a few friends to have their girls' night there.  If you don't want to sit in "Gwen's Grotto," you can sit outside under the beautiful tree, try out the hot tub OR walk about the property!!  It's a beautiful farm with lots of things to see.  They are working a new treehouse too!  Sit out front of the silo and enjoy the sweet breeze of the blooming lavender (which is my favorite thing to do there!). As you walk the farm, see if you can find fun little photo booths. 

This one was tucked in the trees!

This one, I have noticed, changes places.  I love that they had the frame facing this way.  Love the lavender in the back!!  I wished I had brought our good camera so that I could capture the true "cuteness" of Gwen's Grotto.  The phone camera just doesn't do it justice.

So get a couple of friends together and book your night!!! Or do like I did and make it a mother/daughter night!  Make sure to visit the silo and load on your bath salts, sugar scrubs, and lavender essential oils!!  Every time I go, I get my jar of sugar scrub!  I big puffy heart that stuff!!!!

Savannah's Meadow, LLC

4473 FM 903

Celeste, Tx

www.savannahsmeadowllc.com

Check them out Facebook too!!!

Tell them the Lone Star Ginger sent you!!

Hugs y'all,

️LSG

Texas Tuesday- 3 of my favorite spots

How on earth do I narrow down my favorite places in Texas to 3?  It was not easy as one might think.  So don't be surprised if in another year (or month), I come up with another list of favorite spots.  What if I venture to somewhere else this fall or next summer that becomes blog-worthy??  So for today's blog, here are 3 of my favorite places as of today.  These are in no particular order.

1.  AUSTIN:  How can you not put our beautiful capital in this list?!  How un-Texan of me if I had left it off!  The capital is a gorgeous structure that just makes your drop jaw when you think about the history and beauty of the building.  

But a couple of my favorite places in Austin that are family friendly were the reasons for choosing Austin.  First of all, the University of Texas campus!!!  How could you not take a walk around and wait for the bells to ring (they ring a lot)?!  Music from the top of the tower fills the air on Mondays, Wendesdays and Fridays at 12:50.  The large bell rings every hour while you can also hear he pealing of bells every 15 minutes.  Maybe because I am a longhorn fan is the reason I find it amazing.  We like to take our kids to different college campus grounds just to look around.  The UT campus has been my favorite so far!  Pictured below is the tower that stands over the campus.  If you stand at the tower and look down the street, you can see the capital.

Another fun family activity is to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue bridge.  It is an amazing sight!!  The Ann W. RIchards Congress Avenue bridge is home to at least 750,000 Mexican Free-tailed bats every spring to summer!!  During peak bat watching season, there could be 1.5 million bats!!!  The bats stay from approximately March to October.  Who can say they have witnessed North America's largest urban bat colony?!  This girl can! The beauty of this activity is it is FREE!  Take a camera with good resolution!  Ours did not take a good picture...you couldn't even tell there were bats!  I promise there were bats in this picture!!!

2.  SHINER:  No, not the beer!    But the town is absolutely adorable!  Don't drive in to town expecting a huge metropolitan city.  This is a tiny town full of local businesses and, of course, the Shiner Brewery.  It is a sweet little town with buildings that have history.  We stopped in at a small bar/gift shop called Antiques, Art and Beer.  It is totally unsuspecting from outside.  But once you step in and hear the original wood floor squeak under your feet, you know you've found a cool place. I walked around the gift shop probably 50 times...each time, I saw something I did not see the first time around.  The sweet lady who owns the place is a pleasure to be around.  We went several years ago but I still remember her sweet hospitality.  She popped popcorn for the kids and served me Root Beer since I don't drink beer.  Don't worry, the hubs drank my part (haha). So make sure to pull up a bar stool and take it all in.  Be sure to drink a Shiner (you can get a "diploma-like" document certifying that you drank a Shiner in Shiner!)

3.  Savannah's Meadow:  Now, I haven't stayed in many treehouses or been to many lavendar farms...but hands down, this one is the best!!!  It is perfect for a family or just a getaway for the mom and dad.  We've done both!  The first time we stayed it was just the hubby and I for our anniversary.  We immediately booked two more nights-one for the summer and one night in the fall.  We took the kids both of those times.  What is Savannah's Meadow?  It is a lavendar farm located outside of Greenville, Texas.  This is not just any lavendar farm.  You can stay in a beautiful, fully furnished treehouse!!  When I say fully furnished, I mean there is a fridge, oven and all the other comforts of home...EXCEPT A TV!!  Staying there separates you from the world!!  Trust me, it is a wonderful feeling!!  You can walk the farm and observe nature.  Enjoy the peace that nature brings.  One of the best things is waking up and being able to catch the sweet smell of lavendar growing in the fields. (www.savannahsmeadowllc.com) Pictured below is the walk up to the treehouse.  Pictures just do not do this place justice!

The master bedroom "wing" is unlike any other!!  The walls actually roll up letting a cool breeze blow through!

The kids love to sleep in the loft at the top of the living room.  The view is amazing!!

I like to include family friendly places.  We rarely go anywhere without our kids.  If a place is not kid-friendly, then it is usually not a place we want to be.  With everyone having their own schedules and busy all the time, it is nice to go somewhere, be together and share memories.  The kids won't be kids forever!

 

Hugs y'all!

LSG

Make up Monday...Yep, I am in Heaven!!

The past few Mondays I have blogged about exercise and getting in shape.  This week I thought I would change it up.  I don't know about ya'll, but after being to the beach and suffering through the Texas heat, my skin gets dry.  I had blogged a month or so ago about making your own sugar scrub.  But let's say, you don't want to make it yourself for whatever reason...  I bought some of the best!!  I had been using a popular "lotion and soap chain store" sugar scrub ever since we got back.  Between the sun and ocean water, my skin was dry so I had been using the sugar scrub religiously (especially after shaving!) I am terrible about putting lotion on after a shower (in that I don't).  I was ok with the popular chain store's scrub until.... cue my favorite local lavender farm!!!

We happened to go out one night to our local lavender farm for an outdoor music concert  Of course, their gift shop was open...which I LOVE!!  It smells so good in there.  We have become friends with the owners so she was showing me around, talking about the new products added to the store.  I listened and nodded, taking the sweet aroma of peacefulness (is that word?)  Then she got to the sugar scrub!!! Oh my word...it smelled like heaven in a jar!!  Not only does it smell good, but it feels good too!!  Even better?  It is made from the lavender on their farm and you can pronounce ALL the ingredients on the jar!!!   You cannot go wrong with local grown lavender and all natural ingredients.  My husband said it had kind of a root beer smell...I don't know about that, but it does smell awesome.  It feels even better going on your skin.  My skin felt so smooth and re hydrated that there was no need for lotion.  I bought a jar twice the size as the popular chain for the same price (actually, I think it was cheaper!).  The link above will take you to their products which also includes lip balm, bug balm and lots of other great products!  If you are looking for great homegrown products that are great for your skin, this is the place to check out!!

Hugs ya'll!
LSG