We have moved our blog over to http://apothecaryadventures.wordpress.com!... » Read More

Earlier today Michael & I worked on creating this awesome recipe. It's an exotic & nourishing undereye cream, a wrinkle cream, and a scar cream! We made it from shea butter, (both unrefined and refined), for tons of creamy texture; coconut oil, for intense moisturizing; grapeseed oil, for vitamin E & antioxidants; tamanu oil, because this wonder-oil is anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, promotes healing, and more; and calendula extract, to reduce puffiness and inflammation. Perfect for a mother's day gift! Contact us if you're interested, we can make it to order in whatever size you need.... » Read More

Michael and I have struggled with making incense sticks for over a year now. Though well over a year ago we created eleven different incense blends from herbs, woods, resins, and essential oils, nothing we did would make them stick to bamboo sticks or even form into burning cones (our cones would barely burn before going out, and they were shaped oddly..)We contemplated leaving it as it was, loose incense, to burn over charcoal. Tried it. I HATE charcoal, gives me such a headache, and it was too smoky to be burned indoors (and I'm not a person that minds a ton of incense smoke, either). So, we wrapped them in lokta paper in tibetan style and braid... » Read More

A quick bit of introduction before I begin. This idea came to me one night while sitting on the back porch and was immediately so obvious to me that I was surprised to find nothing on the topic. I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.                A horned or antlered god is a stereotype of religions across the world, from Native Americans to the Shinto of Japan but the one that is best known but to we Celts and Druids is known simply as Cernunnos. Why is this idea of a horned man so prevalent throughout the world? What gives the Horned God his power over the psyche? Best of all, why does it matter? Hop... » Read More

Awhile ago, I put this note up on my facebook. It sparked a good bit of discussion, and I thought I would place it here for all of those who are interested in paganism and spirituality in general./|I have often been asked, "what religion are you?" "what does eclectic paganism mean?" "what do you believe?" and, inevitably, "do you believe in god??"  Well, one night not too long ago I sat down and described exactly what I felt in religion, and it is a little long, but hopefully it is thought provoking, interesting, and worth reading.    With that said, I start out with one of my favorite quotes : ' My beloved is three- Three yet only one; Ma... » Read More

These corn dollies and harvest guardians are a new joint project in our household. Michael made the dolls from corn husks (found on the Hispanic food aisle for now, the plan is to get husks off fresh, local corn in the near future) and now he and Lacy are in the process of making clothes for them. Corn dollies are an ancient idea that is shared by both the Native Americans (who worked with corn much like our own) and the Native Europeans (working with barely and wheat) as a way of celebrating the gods and goddesses of the harvest and for giving the children a new toy from these great times. The corn dollies that we are making are more in line wi... » Read More

 I (Lacy) have been playing around with different beading stitch methods for awhile, and since I spend so much time at work serving (and you now know where I work) I was inspired to make myself a little change purse to carry around my money. Now, ignore the terrible stitching on the edges, because I did it quickly and that wasn't the point! The point was to learn to stitch designs into fabric with glass beads. The beads are size 11 czech seed beads and the design is done in running stitch. There is a red zipper stitched into the top of the change purse, and the bead stitching is backed on the inside by another piece of fabric so that the stitchi... » Read More

This is my (Michael's) personal staff. This staff will never be complete because it picks up a new object/story/painting every time I live through a new revelation. To be honest, I do not know what kind of tree he came from but I think it is related to an ash due to his bark (which was stripped) and flexibility. The wood came to me one day while walking around the woods behind our apartment (the same ones where the fox was found) and, after scraping the loose bark off, required no additional cutting. The ram-horned snake that adorns his head is a symbol of Cernunnos and his connection to nature. In addition to being hand carved, the snake is pai... » Read More

Herne here is called 'Pizza-Box Herne' because he is made completely from cardboard pizza boxes. Michael had the idea, and we got to work drawing the various pieces onto cardboard boxes. He is made of several pieces of cardboard- two body pieces of the head and neck, a piece on the back for the mount, a nose piece, a shoulder piece, and an antler/head piece.  All the pieces lock together to form his deer-like image.We spray-painted him with a base coat to cover all the pizza box designs, then sprayed him with color. After drying, we brought him inside and put him together and hung him on the wall. He currently sits in our living room.... » Read More

One night, while Lacy and I sat on our back porch overlooking the marsh, we heard two animals fighting. I recognized the animals as foxes based on memories of being at my grandmother's and hearing the the foxes battle for land and food in the cow fields.A few days later, I was walking around near the marsh where I found the body of the losing fox. It was a beautiful gray fox stretching nearly 4 and a half feet (1.3716 meters) from nose to tail. I stopped and said a prayer and something told me that I needed to take a memorial piece from this evasive creature.I waited weeks before I decided to go out and reap the memento so that the carrion and ant... » Read More

Our old blog (which will go defunct in a number of days) hosted a number recipes which Lacy and I created or used for holiday celebrations. I couldn't stand the idea of losing all of these so here they are!Potato Chickpea Soup16 oz chickpeas1 yellow onion, chopped4 russet potatoes, chopped2 green onions, chopped1 quart vegetable stock1/3 cup oil1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or coconut, soy or cow's milk, I just prefer almond)1/2 tsp paprika1/2 tsp fennel2 oz whiskeysalt & pepper to tasteCook chickpeas and onions in oil for 5 minutes or until onions are soft. Add seasonings, potatoes and vegetable stock, boil for 30 minutes or until potatoes are s... » Read More