I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
I wish this was some kind of belated April Fools joke, but it sadly isn’t… I fell down the garage stairs a few days ago, breaking my foot and bruising myself up pretty good.
I will spare you the x-rays, haha.
Initially I had planned to reopen my Etsy shop later this month after getting vaccinated - up until this point in the pandemic I didn’t feel comfortable risking all the extra trips to the post office or going out buying supplies, so for the past year I’ve just done wholesale orders to keep things simple and minimize my errands. I was looking forward to reopening the Etsy shop and offering my hand-etched birch ornaments and vintage finds again, but that will now have to wait a little longer as I am currently unable to drive, stand at my saw, or put sufficient pressure on the wood burning tool for hours at a time.
I’m looking forward to healing up (hopefully soon!) so I can finally reopen the shop after this year-long hiatus. Stay tuned for more info, and in the meantime feel free to check out our items locally at one of our Stockists.
We’ve lived in New England all our lives, but I’m ashamed to admit we’ve never tried maple sugaring ourselves until now. We have several family friends that own large-scale sugar shacks so we’re familiar with the process and had some great resources to ask questions. We kept it very small scale and simple, but you can get more technical with the process to make really consistent, great maple syrup. If you want to try this at home, I’d recommend doing your own research first to make sure your syrup is made safely and well. | This post contains affiliate links |
I didn’t take too many photos of the process but we started by tapping the trees. We drilled into sugar maples at a slight upward angle so the sap will drip out, tapped in special metal spigots (also called spiles) with hooks, and hung buckets to catch the sap. It's important to do this at the right time of year when the sap is running, usually late winter/early spring when the days are above freezing and the nights are cold.
Once we got a total of 5 gallons of sap, which only took a day or two, we started boiling. It’s a good idea to boil outside as it takes a while and makes a lot of steam and you probably don’t want that much moisture inside your house. We used a stainless steel pot on a propane stove ring in our driveway to boil. Once the liquid was reduced by half, we added more sap, and just kept boiling it down until it was a good color/consistency.
Serious maple sugar makers would reccomend you use a hydrometer to test the water content of your syrup to make sure it's at the right consistency. However, we totally just winged it and kept reducing until it looked pretty good. We prefer a lighter, more honey-tasting syrup so we didn't reduce it down to a dark amber syrup.
It takes a lot of sap to make a little syrup. We boiled down about 3+ gallons of sap to get the maple syrup you see in the jar. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time, but it was a fun experience for the kids and now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Mmmmm, pancakes!
Disclaimer: This was a very quick overview on the process we did to make maple syrup. If you decide you would like to give it a try, I recommend researching it on your own and asking an experienced producer for advice before starting.
Recently I realized “Crap. I’m almost in my mid-30’s… and it’s all downhill from here. Time to start proactively taking care of my skin!” Up until this point I was just washing my face and maybe using some moisturizer some days and that was it. Thankfully I don’t really have any wrinkles or fine lines to speak of - yet - but I know they’ll be coming on soon. After some trial and error and consulting some friends that are really into skincare products, I settled on a simple routine that I’m enjoying so far and feel as though I’m getting the best bang for my buck. The best part? Most of these are inexpensive drug store finds, with just a few high-end heavy hitters. | This post contains affiliate links |
Simple Mid-30's Skincare Routine - Everything I’m using as the moment, including occasional treatments.
Disclaimer: I am not a “beauty blogger” or skincare expert, just sharing what I’m using and loving so far. It’s a good idea to consult your dermatologist or a skincare expert for more specific recommendations for your skin type and lifestyle. Also make sure to consult your doctor if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, as certain skincare ingredients should not be used during those times.
AM Routine
Simple Mid-30's Skincare Routine - AM
Step One:Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleanser Every morning I start with using this Neturogena Naturals Cleanser, I really love this one because it's very gentle on my sensitive skin and smells amazing.
Step Two: CeraVe Vitamin C Serum (not pictured.. I started using this after I first published this post) After I cleanse and before I moisturize I put a little bit of this Vitamin C Serum on my skin. I feel as though it's made a big difference in evening out my skin tone and brightening. I also really love the way it feels!
Step Three: Clinique Moisture Surge Moisturizer I have been using this moisturizer for years and LOVE it. It's so light and a little goes a really long way. While it is a little on the expensive side, one jar lasts me forever so I definitely get a lot bang for my buck with this one.
What I'm Missing:SUNSCREEN This is a huge hole in my daily regimen and I know that... I have been trying to find a light, mineral based sunscreen for daily wear and haven't found the right one just yet. Once I find one I like I will update this post - and if you have any you love, please let me know!
PM Routine
Simple Mid-30's Skincare Routine - PM Routine
Step One: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water This cleanser is perfect for end-of-day cleansing and removing makeup. I use the Blue verison since I sometimes wear waterproof mascara and it works like a charm to take it all off (the Pink version is reccomended for regular cleansing and non-water proof makeup removal). I just put a little bit on a cotton round and wipe it all away, no rinsing needed.
Step Two: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum This serum has come highly reccomended to me by so many people as an important part of their daily skincare routine. It has hyaluronic acid which is supposed to help moisturize your skin and reduce fine lines. While I can't attest to wrinkle reduction (I don't have any yet), it does make my skin feel amazingly smooth afterwards and I'm hoping it will keep fine lines at bay in the future. This serum can be expensive but I find a little goes a long way and I haven't made much of a dent in the bottle at all yet.
These are things I do occasionally, maybe once every 2-4 weeks or whenever I feel like it. I never use both masks in the same weekend though - I spread them out.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrogel Mask This is a great, refreshing, hydrating mask. Love using this when my skin might be feeling a little dull or dry.
Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask This mask is amazing for deep cleaning pores! It comes as a powder and you mix a little in a bowl with some warm water to make the mask - you can also mix it with a little bit of Apple Cider Vinegar to give the mask a little more power. Since you mix it yourself you can stretch one jar for a long time.
Vanicream Lite Lotion I got this as a sample and love it for spot treating any extra dry spots that occasionally pop up, especially after doing a mask. It's fragrence-free too which is a nice break when my skin might be feeling sensitive.
Important Buying Tip: When purchasing “higher end” brands (such as Clinique or Estée Lauder), always make sure you’re purchasing directly from the company or from an established department store chain (such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, etc) to make sure you’re getting real, legitimate products. While you may be able to find high-end brands listed for sale on other online retailers (yes, even the big ones), these products are often knock-offs sold by third party sellers and who knows what could be in them.
So excited to have some of my custom ornaments heading down to ACK 4170, a beautiful gift shop located on the island of Nantucket! They are currently closed for the winter, but in the meantime you can shop their store online and then in-person again when they reopen for the season in April.
I wish I could mail myself down there with the ornaments - I haven’t been to Nantucket (yet) but have always wanted to visit!
Just stumbled across this sweet mention of our Ornaments on the Artists & Makers Page of Wiglesworth’s Mercantile’s website - thank you so much Anne! I was so honored to be a part of the opening of your shop and through your first Christmas season.
If you’re ever in Portsmouth NH, please be sure to check out Wiglesworth’s Mercantile in person - they cater to carrying New England-made products and have “Give Back” weekends once a quarter where they donate 10% of sales to local charities (how wonderful is that?!).
In January of last year I wrote a post about how one of my big goals for the year was to use less plastic in our daily lives…. but then as you know, everyone’s daily lives changed a lot due to the Covid Pandemic. Even though it was a very strange year that changed our normal, we still made some good progress towards our goal to use less plastic. | This post contains affiliate links |
Below are the improvements we planned to make in 2020, and how well we carried them out one year later… and how we could have done better:
Reusable Water Bottles. We did great with our goal to use reusable water bottles and not buy bottled drinks when out... it especially helped that we didn't go out much for most of the year, so drinking water at home was very easy.
Reusable Grocery Bags. Through March we used our reusable grocery bags for every trip, but once the Covid Pandemic started our state banned reusable bags in order to try to curb the spread of germs. They have since allowed reusable bags again, but many stores still won't use them at this time. So until the pandemic is over and everyone feels comfortable about reusable grocery bags again, we plan to ask for paper over plastic.
Reusable Produce Bags. This fell to the same fate as Reusable Grocery Bags above, and I have been just using the store-provided plastic produce bags. Though, I did write to the grocery store chain to ask them to make the switch to compostable produce bags... hopefully they will eventually.
Reusable Travel Mug for Coffee/Tea. This was quite easy again since we didn't go out much this year. We made a point to avoid unneccessary stops and we didn't stop at coffee shops much... instead, if we were going for a drive we would make our coffee at home and take it to-go in one of our own reusable mugs.
Silicone "Plastic" Bags. Last year I told myself I would purchase some reusable silicone plastic bags for our kids' lunch boxes once we started to get low on our plastic bags (we had a very large box of them), but then school was cancelled soon after that and we haven't had the need for them yet. However, I have since come across these Compostable Wax Paper Bags, and once school is open again I think I will probably use these until our kids are a bit older and I know they won't throw away the expensive silicone ones by accident.
Silicone "Plastic" Wrap. We ended up getting some Silicone Covers and have loved them - they work great for covering leftovers in the fridge or cut-up fruit and it saves us from using a lot of plastic wrap.
Glass or Metal "Tupperware". We were planning on waiting on this one as we still have very functional plastic Tupperware and don't need to replace it yet. Once we need some new containers we will make a point to get more eco-friendly, non-plastic options.
Sustainably Made Wooden Toys. Our kids are still loving and playing with the wooden toys they have gotten in the past. I don't think we added any new ones this year, but I still think that getting some heirloom quality, sustainably made wooden toys for young kids is a great idea.
A tradition I started four years ago was to donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end to Charity. I’m so happy to say that this year we were able to help support Gather NH as well as The Nature Conservancy. I chose to support Gather NH because food insecurity has become an issue for many more families this year due to the economical impact of the pandemic. I chose The Nature Conservancy because turning to nature and time outside has become such a saving grace for many during this time and it’s more important than ever to protect our natural resources.
Thank you so much for all your support this past year, it has definitely been a strange year for Birch Landing Home too with less Etsy sales (due to me temporarily pausing my Etsy storefront) and less partnerships and projects on the blog. Nevertheless, I am thankful for my Wholesale Accounts and continued traffic on my blog to make these donations happen. I hope to continue to grow Birch Landing Home and be able to give back more each year in return. Thank you all!
This year sure has been different, including for Birch Landing Home. This year there was no New England travel guides from day trips. I worked with far, far less brands than usual. I put my Etsy shop on hold for the time being. I also didn't do nearly as many DIY projects as I would like, for the simple reason I've been avoiding shopping in-stores as much as possible. BUT instead of focusing on what I couldn't do, I tried to enjoy what we have: We are thankfully healthy. We had more time than ever at home, lots of quality time with our kids in our backyard, and time exploring local trails together. Lots of time working on our garden. Not taking for granted simple things like groceries and mail delivery. Appreciating family and friends so much more now that we can't be together, and looking forward to the day we can hug each other again.
2020 helped make us appreciate what we have, and I hope 2021 will better and brighter because of it. Wishing you all health and happiness in the New Year. Best, Sarah
