2023- Soap Business, Bees, and Things to Come.

It’s not lost on me how crazy the last three years have been. I’ve gone from blogging multiple times a week, to owning a small soap business (The Soap Is A Lye) that feels anything but small. Right now, I’m in the middle of Farmer’s Market season and I am at 3 or 4 markets a week. My life is full of candle/soap making, markets, bees, and trying to remember to eat breakfast. So let’s play some catch-up with what has been going on in my life.

Previously on Baking in Bucks, I mentioned that my wedding was delayed because of the pandemic. As an OG Covid Bride, with an original date of May 1, 2020, then it was October 31, 2020, then May 1, 2021. Finally, we just pushed it back to Halloween 2022. My fiance and I ended up eloping during Halloween 2020 in Philly at LOVE Park, we finally celebrated with our friends and family this past Halloween. Was the national guard hanging out watching, yep. Did the day go as planned? No, not at all. Did our reception go haywire? Yep. Are we thankful for the friends and family we have? Absolutely.

In Winter 2021, we got a flyer in the mail saying that our house was worth way more than we paid for it. We did what anyone would do, we sold our starter home and moved to Jersey. OK fine, not everyone would move to Jersey, but for us, it was just a few towns over from where we moved from. We went from a tiny fenced-in backyard to a larger property, with a view of one of a major creek. We’re using the new backyard more often than we ever did the old backyard. Our neighborhood is quiet and we can enjoy the noises from the local animals enjoying the water. We jokingly call our new home Degoba New Jersey because we have seen deer, foxes, woodchucks, peacocks, wild turkeys, and so many types of birds, snakes, and the occasional lost dog. It’s very peaceful.

My Current Projects:

The Soap Is A Lye– This is my small Soap Business. My pride and joy. I make soap, candles, bath bombs, and limited skincare from scratch. I use top-quality ingredients that are amazing for your skin, and easy to pronounce. A majority of my energy goes into this. This year, 2023, I am a regular vendor at 3 farmers’ markets near me. I am working towards opening a storefront in one of the little town areas near me, I have my eye on a few specific areas. Where ever possible I do use locally sourced ingredients, like beeswax. Currently, the beeswax I use comes from a local beekeeper I know, I am aiming to produce my own in the coming year. You can follow The Soap Is A Lye on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, @SoapIsALye on socials.

The Buzzy Trinity– This is a small passion project of mine. I got two beehives for my backyard a little over a month ago. Every week I notice something new or learn something new about bees and how to help them survive. While I am not expecting to get honey this year, I am hoping to use beeswax from these hives in my soap and skincare lines. In New Jersey, the number of hives someone can have is dictated by the size of the lot. Our house has just under 1/4th of the acre of land, so we can have up to 3 hives on our property. Right now we have Buckinghive Palace with Queen Charlotte and Thunderdome with Queen Tina Turner, I am trying to make a split of one the hives with a new queen, so let me know if you have any good hive or queen names.

Eating Healthy and Living Better– These last few months my husband and I have been very lazy when it comes to making healthy dinner and not ordering in. So, I’m going to brood on the foods that I cover in this blog, I’m going to be working on more healthy foods, more vegetarian feasts, and how to seasonally eat without getting bored. I’ve also been requested to make more canned preserves. So I’m going to be working on a new posting schedule for the rest of the year with a goal of the 1st and 15th of the month, with possible bonus entries between the main posts.

Its a Jeep thing– So I finally upgraded my beloved 2012 Volkswagen Golf. I loved this car. It was a total base model. No Bells. No whistles. That car was there through everything. My dad said when I bought it, that I might need something bigger eventually. So eventually happened. My soap business was too much for the little hatchback and I had to upgrade. I ended up with a 2023 Jeep Wrangle 4XE. I’m still getting used to it, but I love it. I’ve also gotten into Ducking other jeeps. Follow me on TikTok as I put duckies on jeeps.

I’m not going to share a recipe today, but I am going to say there are some exciting recipes to come, including a partnership with a grain company. More on that later. But for now, tell me what you’re looking forward to this summer.