Friday 25 April 2014

Special Feature Friday: Simple is Pretty Shop

Edition 26

Simple is Pretty Shop is a shop that specializes in wool drying balls, lavender sachets and wedding favors. Sandra is a stay at home mom, who always wanted to run her own business. She found it difficult to buy the proper laundry detergents for her son sensitive skin, and as a result Sandra began experimenting laundry solutions. Her goal was to reduce the harsh chemicals in laundry detergent and dryer sheets. Through time and experiments Sandra came up with homemade recipes that work! 



I did not learn about dryer balls until last year, so I will give a quick explanation on them. Dryer balls are made out of 100% wool, they are used in the drying machine to help your laundry dry faster. This reduces the time you need to dry the clothes. It is both good for your electric bill and the environment. Dryer balls can replace laundry sheets and fabric softener, they do not contain chemicals so they are great for people with a sensitive skin. The dryer balls can be used many times. In addition they can also make for great pet toys, if you don't mind to replace them sooner. The dryer balls can be made scented or unscented, the scent lasts a couple of weeks but you can add some essential oil to them to make them smell wonderful again. 



Next to laundry balls you can also find a great selection of lavender sachets in Simple is Pretty Shop. These can be put in drawers and closets, to really insure your clothes smell wonderful without chemicals! Sandra also sells little sachets that can be given away as wedding favors. These sachets with organic lavender will last a long time, and will make sure your guests will think about your wedding for a long time to come! It is also possible to have the lavender in a ring bearers pillow, all for your great day! 


Sandra has been very sweet to give a discount code of 15% of the readers of the blog: SPRING2014
The code is valid until the 15th of May 2014.

Sandra also has a facebook page and a blog with great tips!

Monday 21 April 2014

Îles du Frioul: île Ratonneau

This easter weekend we wanted to go to a new place, I have been curious for a long time about the îles du Frioul, 4 islands close to Marseille. Whenever I leave my front door these are the islands I see first. They look small and insignificant from Marseile, yet there is a lot to discover. One of the islands, île d'if we already visited on our first vistit to Marseille, it is a small island with a big fortress on it. Some of you might know it because it was the inspiration for a book by Alexandre Dumas, named "The Count of Monte Christo". It is a populair place for tourists and fans of mister Dumas. This island is great to visit, but I did not feel the need to go again. so we stayed on the boat to the next stop.

Île de Pomègues and île de Ratonneau are two islands connected by a mole. We chose to start at île de Ratonneau and then head over to île de Pomègues later. The islands are not big, and it should be doable to visit them both in one day. However once we started at Ratonneau we quickly found ourselves in a abandoned fortress. We have often been surprise about how easy it is to enter ruins in France, and this was another example. There was a walking path right trough the fortress, but it was easy to stray off and check out the rest. The fortress was build between 1886 and 1889. In 1944 the Germans started with adding canons to the fortress, but this work was never completed. 



 The fortress is a great place to explore. Because it is on the top of the hill you will get a great view on the bay of Marseille and the surrounding hills, as well as the city itself. We went in via the back, and when we left we went trough a big gate on the front. We had to descent quite a bit to get to sea level again, and when we arrived there we decided to have some of our lunch in a silent spot.


On the island you can find many small beaches to sit and swim. If you go in summertime it is certainly a good idea to bring your swimming clothes and a towel. The water on these shores is beautiful, and there is a lot of fish around, a diving mask might help you discover this world further. Unfortunately the weather for us was not really good enough to swim. After our lunch we decided  to walk on to the Hôpital Caroline. This hospital was build to quarantine people coming to Marseille by boat, when there would be suspicion of diseases like the pest or the yellow flue. It was built between 1823 and 1828. The buildings where destroyed in 1944 when Marseille was under attack by air. It stayed empty until 1971, when the islands where bought by the city of Marseille. Today there is work done to restore the buildings to their old glory. From time to time cultural events are organised. The buildings are not opened for public.

About this time we decided it was slowly time to head back, we had taken a lot of time at the fortress so there was no time to discover île de Pomègues. Instead we rested in the village, there is a little boulevard with restaurants and ice cream shops. It is a nice place to rest. The way back was not easy, it was very busy and there was no place for us on the first boat, so we had to wait for the second boat half an hour later to get back to the mainland. Still, I am happy we went and I hope we can go and visit île de Pomègues soon. 

  

Friday 18 April 2014

Special Feature Friday: Ding a Ding

Edition 25


When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding: sweet lovers love the spring.


This is the wonderful phrase we can find right in the shops banner of Ding a Ding UK, and when you take your time to look around you will discover this phrase fits with the shop very well.

At Ding a Ding UK you can find a lovely collection of plants, not just everyday plants but plants in wonderful whimsical planters. The look of the shop is fresh, light and original. Things that will definitely reflect on your home when you decide to order from Ding a Ding. The plants you can choose from are appropriate for all places in your house, but I think they will do especially well in bathrooms. Air plants need a lot of moisture, and  this makes a shower or bathroom a wonderful environment for plants like these.

   
This is an air plant that is growing in a shell, every shell is different so you might not get exactly the same one as pictured, but in their own right every one of them will be charming!



An original egg shaped ceramic container, it comes with hemp cord to hang it on your wall. The plant is not included, but this makes that you can plant in there whatever you find appropriate. 

Ding a Ding is a new shop to Etsy, it opened only 7th of March 2014. Yet they already have a good amount of sales, showing there is a real market for these items. I understand why, these pots will look great in any home, and will make for an interesting addition to your home decor. 

Because this is a new shop there are not many items yet, but I talked to Jie, the shop owner, and she told me she is still working hard on getting all the items on, it is useful to keep an eye on the shop to get to see the newest items!

Jie has kindly offered a 5% discount for the readers of the blog, you can use ISHJESBITS when you check out. There is no minimum spend requirement, but it is over the items only and does not include shipping costs. 

Friday 11 April 2014

Special Feature Friday: The Mystic Soap Company

Edition 24

I really like the fact that there is a great amount of bodycare items for sale on Etsy, most of the time homemade and unique. The Mystic Soap Company is one of the shops that sells homemade cosmetics. Lisa, the owner of this shop, loves natural products, especially skincare products. This is how she decided to take a chance to begin to sell her natural products, like soaps, scrubs and masks.

The ingredients Lisa uses are always based on quality, not price. This makes that her skincare products are very high in quality. The ingredients used are all cruelty-free, and Lisa uses organics ingredients where possible.  Lisa specializes in Rose scented Castile soap. Many of her soaps are especially made for sensitive skin.


This is a dead sea salt acne soap bar, it is made from a Castile soap base of extra virgin olive oil, orangutan friendly palm oil, safflower oil, lavender, lemongrass, patchouli and rosemary. Dead sea salt is added for healing and softening properties. Sea clay is also a important ingredient of this soap, it is full with skin beneficial minerals. A blend of bacteria fighting essential oils help against clogged pores and acne.



This Lemon Rosemary soap is made from extra virgin olive oil, orangutan friendly palm oil and safflower oil. this oil does not contain coconut oil and is especially made to prevent acne or clogged pores. This is a very gentle soap, and a good thing to try if you have skin problems.

Lisa always puts samples with all the items she ships out! There is also a website if you want to read more about her shop and the process of soap making. 


Wednesday 9 April 2014

A new chapter

Here is a little preview of what is to come to the shop soon. I have been wanting to add jewelry to the shop for a long time now, but I never had the time and means to get started. Lately I have been investing money in materials and tools. Now I also actually have the time to work on new pieces as well! This is a great new thing to work on. Today I got some materials together and made my very first pair of earrings. They where ment for a friend that is leaving, so I gave them away the same day. But I find it a good start! There are still some points I need to work on, but overall it is just a lot of fun! 




Jewelry: soon to come to Vallon des Trésors


Friday 4 April 2014

Special Feature Friday: Sa Jolie

Edition 23

I first noticed Lindsay's shop Sa Jolie in one of the many teams on Etsy. Lindsay is an expat from the UK, now living in the US, She started her jewelry store in February 2013. Lindsay found it a struggle to find the right jewelry in shops, this inspired her to start her own shop. New and vintage items can be found in the shop, this means that you can find a diverse range of jewelry and accessories. Each piece is about making a statement! The jewelry is made for every day life, but also special occasions like weddings and parties.


A lot of jewelry in Sa Jolie is up-cycled or recycled, the items will be wrapped as a gift before shipping.
Besides jewelry we can also find key chains, bookmarks and hair accessories. Lindsay's big inspiration is France, and she keeps this in mind whenever she works on a piece.


If you are into jewelry making yourself I would suggest you have a look at the shop as well, because Lindsay also offers a nice range of jewelry supplies. If you wish to package your jewelry nicely you will find a lot of supplies for this in the shop, twine, tags and burlap bags will make for a lovely wrapped items. Without using paper or tape, this is a great economical and easy way to wrap gifts, and it looks luxurious as well!

Lindsay offers a coupon code for the readers of this blog, it is a 15% discount: springisintheair15
If you order over 30 dollars you will also get a free surprise gift! (after discount, excluding shipping)