sugar scrub, tulips, and hyacinths, oh my!

For body scrubs, I usually smush together some sugar and grapeseed oil, along with essential oils and whatever other goodies tickle my fancy. But I was in the mood to try something new today, so I tried some whipped sugar scrub (the original recipe is here.)

Whipped Sugar Scrub

1/2 cup coconut oil (available at the grocery store, if you don't happen to have several pounds of it lying around, as I do)
a cup or so of sugar - enough to get the scrub to the desired texture
a few drops of essential oil (I love peppermint for an invigorating scrub)
1 tbsp water

Whip your coconut oil with a stick blender until it's creamy. (You may have to heat it for a few seconds in the microwave if it's really cool and firm.) Add in the water while it's being whipped, which will contribute to the fluff factor. Pour in sugar (or salt) as you continue to whip, until you have the desired consistency. Add a few drops of essential oil, and you're all set! If you're using a stick blender which you use for food, mix in the essential oil by hand so your soup doesn't taste strange. Because it was all that we had on hand, I used fancy-schmancy fair trade organic cane sugar from Just Us, which gives it the lovely beige colour. I can't wait to try it in tomorrow's shower! These sugar granules are quite a bit larger than regular sugar, so I may have quite a rough scrub.
I ordered a bunch of bulbs last fall when Vesey's had a special deal on - 50$ worth of bulbs for... 50$. By the time tax, shipping and handling were added to the advertised 25$ price, that is. Anyway, white tulips are my all-time favourite flowers (I'll probably say that about the peonies when they're in bloom) and I'm happy to report that these babies seem to have had a productive winter.

We looked out this morning to see that our hyacinths (ordered at the same time) have colour! I swear, yesterday they were all greenish. Lovely!
And I made a batch of hot process Oatmeal, Milk and Honey soap after work today. It's firming up in one of my loaf molds. Orange and vanilla make it smell just like a Creamsicle. Mmmm!

Mr MacBook, our computer, is still being repaired - I've had to resort to using an old laptop and my little camera. I'm so spoiled! We had to send it away, but I'm hoping it will come back to us soon.