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At markets we meet so many people who are interested in our Maine seaweed rich products.  Especially if they have a skin condition- itchy scalp, adult breakouts, super dry skin or red patches.  But they want a bit of time to go to our website and read about seaweeds and in particular how shampoo bars work.   They ask if we’ll be back next week.  Well, we won’t.  Instead of being a regular vendor we guest vend at a bunch of really great markets.  This gives us a chance to introduce Dulse & Rugosa seaweed rich skincare to lots of people and it’s fun to be part of some many markets.

Here is our schedule-

Aug 12/13/14- Maine Boats Home and Harbor show right in downtown Rockland.  This is our first year with this show and we love the fact that it is right in beautiful downtown Rockland.  Here’s what happening-” Each year we gather Maine's finest artists, architects, boatbuilders, craftsmen, designers, furniture makers, jewelers, and marine gear vendors together in ONE place at ONE time! Meet them in person at the 14th Annual Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show.”

Aug 13- Blue Hill Farmer’s Market, Carly was born in the town of Blue Hill so we have a special fondess for this market.  Last time she was next to Smith Family Farms- Mount Desert’s Island Dairy and she raved about their cheeses.  If you don’t want to take Carly’s word for it- how about Martha.  Here is a link to Martha Stewart’s visit http://www.marthastewart.com/254114/smith-family-farm.

Aug 14- Newburyport Farmer’s Market.  This is a bit of a hike for us but we love this quaint town and the support and interest in our skincare.  It’s at the Tannery Marketplace from 9-1.  The market’s mission is to “ support our local farmers, fishermen, chefs and creative community through hosting the weekly market and creating compelling events that educate, inspire and delight our community.” What a thoughtful and generous mission.

Aug 18- Portland Food Coop.  We’ll be at the Coop to talk about how amazing our Seaweed Shampoo Bars are.  I started my seaweed journey because I was looking for a natural solution to a chronically itchy scalp.  I discovered that seaweed is a superfood for your skin.  An added benefit of shampoo bars is no plastic bottle to clutter our world.  I can’t wait to meet coop members.

Aug 20 York Gateway Farmer’s Market.  This is a fabulous market filled with produce, flowers, yummy foods and unusual crafts.  An added plus, York is a BYOB town.  That means Bring Your Own Bag because single use plastic bags have been banned.  Yeah York!

Aug 21- Kittery Community Market.  This is our 2nd year at the Kittery Market and we love it.  It's friendly, well run and always has great music.  Last time I was there it was a rainy Sunday and the music by Elijah Clark really fit the mood.  And they have prizes- a kayak donated by Portsmouth Kayak Adventures.  Everyone gets one free entry a week just for showing up!

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Lavender is such a versatile plant, it’s a lovely perennial in your garden, has healing properties and you can cook with it.  Lavender, what’s not to love?

Let’s start with the garden.  Lavender is fairly easy to grow.  Personally, I love any plant that doesn’t mind getting a bit dry.  It relieves some of my garden guilt.  I’m most familiar with the English Lavenders especially a variety known as Munstead because it is quite hardy here in coastal Maine.   If you want to plant some Lavender I do not recommend starting plants by seeds as it is very challenging.  It’s easier to buy plants and when you plant in the spring you ensure  a long growing period to get established.  I recommended buying plants from a local nursery or even better a farmer.  That way you know you have a good quality plant that has not be dosed with tons of chemicals.  The one tip that I always follow here in Maine with our unpredictable winters is to cover the plants with evergreen boughs in late fall.   

It’s so easy to harvest Lavender.  Once the flower stems become deep purple start cutting.  Lavender is lovely fresh but it’s such a great dried flower I rarely use in summer flower arrangements.  Instead dry your Lavender buds and tuck them inside your drawers and with your sheets and towels.     To harvest small bouquets of Lavender I use a rubber band around the stem and hang upside down.  How long to dry really depends on where you live, humidity and where you decide to dry the bunches.  In general, try a cool, dark location is best.  

You can also cook with Lavender.  I love to put a few fresh cut springs in my herbal tea mix.  Later in the winter, I like to add a dried sprig to my teapot.  In my opinion, Lavender and chocolate pair really well together.  Lavender also looks really pretty floating in any summer drinks including lemonade.  A Lavender simple syrup is a wonderful way to add a bright dash of lavender to drinks.

Lavender Simple Syrup

1 cup water

3 tablespoons Lavender buds- fresh or dried, it’s best if they are picked right before full bloom

2 cups sugar

I always feel like cheating on the sugar and honestly often end up with bitter concoctions so I recommended following the proportions first before altering.

Maine blueberries are extraordinary and these great qualities provide us with some valuable life advice.  

Embrace Diversity- Maine blueberries are genetically diverse, a mix of colors from a medium blue to a purple almost black.  This mix makes for a rich, sweet vibrant flavor.  We need diversity in our lives.  Diversity is easy to find by mixing it up, changing some habits, taking a class, smiling at strangers, traveling or trying a new food.  If you want to try a healthy new drink check out this blog about making Kombucha.  You could even make a blueberry Kombucha.  

Bigger is not Always Better- Maine blueberries are not big but they are mighty.  Maine blueberries can have up to 2X the nutritional benefits of cultivated berries and yet they are tiny.  So, no matter your size, shape or height- embrace and love yourself.  Learn more about finding your best self at La Dolce Vita Lifestyle.

We’re Better in Bunches- It takes a lot of Maine blueberries to make a pie.  That’s OK because we are better in bunches.  We need each other to reach our goals.  Here’s a great blog about empowerment.

Be a Bit Wild-  Maine blueberries are wild, they are not cultivated.  They are cared for and tended but remain wild.  Being wild is OK for us humans too.  Of course with everything moderation is the key but kick back with a Maine inspired cocktail.

After the Wild Comes the Sweet- Maine blueberries have an intense sweet flavor.  They are perfect for pancakes, muffins, coffee cakes and pies.  Here are recipes for cooking just about anything with sweet Maine blueberries.

Made in Maine- Maine blueberries are America’s finest.  And Maine Made, products made right here in Maine are America’s best  You’ll find a wide variety of high quality crafts at the Maine Made site.

I hope you're inspired to live life to the fullest and to eat more blueberries.

Making changes in your life to be more environmentally aware is vital.  Sometimes it means working to change a habit.  For me, one I am currently working on is giving up coffee drinks with single use straws.  We make these changes because we want a better, healthier world for all creatures including our beloved pets.  Going “green” with your dog isn’t as complicated as giving up single use plastic and future dogs will thank you for the greener world you left them.

Dulse and Rugosa is a company and of course we are going to sing the praises of our Maine Seaweed Shampoo for dogs.  It’s a great shampoo for all dogs but super beneficial to dogs who have skin conditions including hot spots, itchy patches or just plain old sensitive skin.  In terms of being “greener” there are two great benefits to our dog shampoo.  First, packaging.  Instead of a plastic bottle our shampoo is a round bar similar to soap and packaged in recycled tissue paper.  There is no plastic bottle to recycle.  Actually with plastic the correct term is “downcycle” because unlike glass or metal plastic can not be recycled into another bottle or container.  It gets “downcycled” into carpet or plastic wood.  Let’s say you use a bottle of shampoo every three months- that’s 4 less bottles per year.  Over time that really adds up to a great savings.  The second benefit is how long your doggie shampoo bar will last- way more than a month.  Of course it depends on the size of your dog and how frequently you shampoo but it will last much longer than any of your bottles of shampoo.  That’s good for the environment and your wallet.

Now for the poop bags.  It can be quite a problem because for most of us humans the first kind of plastic we give up is grocery bags.  But then what do we do with Fido’s poop?  The best blog I have read on environmentally friendly poop bags is from Dogster Magazine.  Their online article “7 Green Poop Bags Reviewed” was extremely detailed and well researched.  The author, Julia Szabo didn’t just examine the bag but looked at packaging, if plants were involved were they GMO as well a chemicals and biodegradability.  The article is a bit old, published in 2012 but full of useful information.

Then there is plastic used in all sorts of dog toys.  A great article to read is “Plastic and Your Pets” found on the Life With Dogs website.  One of the biggest problems for humans and dogs is the chemical BPA- Bisephenol A.  According to the author, Susan Stoltz, when you buy plastic toys packaged in plastic there is a greater chance of the chemical BPA being leached into the toy.  Then your dog chews it.  The FDA says BPA is safe but recently studies have lead to a few “cautions”.  It seems like one of the areas where time will tell but for safety choose some toys that are non plastic.  Tree Hugger has a great list of sustainable dog toys or maybe a stick from outside.