You know how there are some things that you just can’t imagine living without? Maybe it’s an appliance, or your phone, or a favorite food? I was thinking about a few of these things today and I thought it would be fun to list some of my favorites – in no particular order. I would love to have you join in and provide your favorites – but since my blog gets way too much spam if I open it up for comments, I think I’m going to suggest that you add your favorites on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GardenGirlSkinCare). If you aren’t already a fan (or whatever they call it now) – please do click on the “like” button so you can be a part of the community.

Anyway -  here is my random mix of favorite things. Clearly it is not comprehensive or exhaustive, but it was fun to create!

• My family (I know that’s obvious but this list wouldn’t be complete without it)
• My friends (see above)
• Garden Girl products (of course!), my personal “must have’s”: You’re Fresh, Even Stephen, Break Free, Nature Nurture, Super Hero serum, Eye Can’t Believe It, Chill Out lotion, Alive body wash,  Simmer Down bath salts, Hand it to You hand cream and Zippity Do Dah peppermint foot cream
• My new VitaMix!
• Our SodaStream soda/seltzer machine
• White vinegar (for cleaning and laundry)
• My tumble composter from Costco (so easy!)
• My husband’s old (2003) Prius – such a great car
• My BlackBerry
• My laptop
• Facebook
• Mineral makeup
• Greek yogurt
• Chocolate
• Banana Bread
• Smoothies
• Gooey brownies
• Hot fudge
• Ice cream (Brigham’s Mocha Chip or Chocolate Chip are 2 all-time favorites)
• Broccoli (seriously)
• Spinach (again, seriously)
• Juicy tomatoes in the summer – especially with fresh mozzarella and basil! (and crusty bread)
• speaking of bread….CARBS (but I try to squeeze in whole grains whenever possible) – especially chewy, crusty bread and pasta
• A big salad with tons of stuff in there – especially if someone else did all the chopping
• Shortcut dinners like all natural frozen potstickers from Costco, Mama Rosie’s spinach ravioli, Bell & Evan’s chicken, Trader Joe’s mandarin orange chicken, Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice, quesadillas, omelettes
• My rice cooker
• My Kitchen Aid mixer
• My favorite cookbooks: America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Gourmet cookbook, and King Arthur Flour Cookie Book
• Cooking Light magazine
• Epicurious.com and other online recipe databases
• Food Network
• Any good workout I can find that’s 20 minutes or less and that I can do at home
• Our Weber Grill
• My latex mattress
• Central air conditioning (i know – VERY un-eco-friendly but we do keep it on the warm side)
• Caribbean Sol sunblock
• Caribbean Sol all natural self tanner (nice!)
• Trader Joe’s Powerberries (DO NOT BUY these if you are not already addicted – they are so yummy that they are pure evil…)
• Our pizza stone
• Pizza dough from Russo’s
• Actually – Russo’s in general, along with Trader Joe’s (can’t imagine life without it), Costco, and Whole Foods
• Reusable grocery bags (just seems like an obviously good idea, doesn’t it? and now I have finally gotten the hang of always having them in the car…)

I could do an entire list of my favorite food from Trader Joe’s – actually I think I have in the past? And I know I’ve done a “favorite finds at Costco” Facebook posting. Those are always fun!

Anyway – that’s my random list, for better or for worse. It makes me laugh that it is mostly food – apparently I have a one-track mind…

I’m looking forward to hearing what some of your favorites are!

In our procession of new product introductions, this next product has been sampled and tested by many customers and friends, with an overwhelmingly positive response. If you have dry skin or mature skin, this is the product for you. Here is the description from the website:

QuenchCoat anti-wrinkle face cream for dry or mature skin is the newest addition to our face cream family. This baby is so rich and hydrating that you will fall in love. Really. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you!) The reason it work so well is that is packed with hard-working, natural + organic ingredients like:

• Organic aloe, organic jojoba oil and organic coconut oil which deeply hydrate, repair damage and reduce appearance of wrinkles
• Hyaluronic acid which draws in and traps moisture while puffing out wrinkles
• Organic rooibos tea and organic pomegranate, which are powerful antioxidants to fight free radical damage
• DMAE and MSM, both natural skin firming ingredients which help to reduce sag and smooth skin
• Gentle enough even for people with rosacea

Quench your skin’s thirst for hydration with QuenchCoat. It deeply moisturizes even the driest skin, while packing a serious anti-aging punch with Hyaluronic Acid, organic Jojoba, Coconut and Aloe, plus skin-firming MSM and DMAE. Add in repairing antioxidants from organic Rooibos Tea, organic Pomegranate and Vitamin E and your skin will look and feel soft, smooth and amazing! (2 oz.)

Ingredients: Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Cocos nucifera (Organic Coconut) Oil, Rosa damascene (Rose) Distillate, Simmondsia chinensis (Organic Jojoba) Oil, Aspalathus linearis (Organic Rooibos Tea) Extract, Emulsifying Wax NF, Palm Stearic Acid, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Punica granatum (Organic Pomegranate) Extract, Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), Hyaluronic Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Polysaccharide gum (Xanthan Gum), Citric Acid
****If you would like to save $10 off the regular $35 price for the 2 oz jar (this week only), just “Like” Garden Girl Skin Care on Facebook or sign up for our email list.****

Check out my “off the cuff” style interview on the fabulous Econpreneur Avenue blog:

http://www.ecopreneuravenue.com/2009/01/interview-kristin-miller-of-garden-girl/

The blog was started by Andreea Ayers of Tees for Change. It’s a great site with a bunch of interviews of various very interesting entrepreneurs – all with an eco-twist. Take a peek at the others while you’re there!

I just picked the winner of the first Garden Girl product giveaway. I have to say – this was fun and it was great to see all the entries. I loved the creative ones! Next time I might have the winner be “most creative” – but this time it was random.

So here’s the big winner:

Tame (Chrysalis1975) – please email me at kristin at gardengirl.us – I don’t have your email address!

CONGRATULATIONS, Tame!! You chose Smooches chocolate mandarin body butter – excellent choice. My boys think it smells like a Tootsie Roll. I think it’s just plain yummy. And it is a fantastic moisturizer packed with aloe and shea. It’s rich and thick – and free of parabens, phthalates and petroleum products too!

I loved doing this so keep your eyes out for more – might make this a regular thing!
Thanks again to all participants!

OK – I’ll admit it. When I first heard that adults were on Facebook, I thought it was weird. What could Facebook possibly offer adults? Isn’t it for kids just to connect online with their friends? Well – I finally jumped on the bandwagon last month, and guess what? I LOVE it! I am only just starting to learn about things but all of the add-ons that you can utilize are amazing. For me, it has been a great way to get my Garden Girl consultants connected and on the same page (ugh – bad pun).

Plus I’ve been able to connect with neighbors, co-workers and friends from high school. A bunch of people I know use it to play online scrabble (Scrabbulous) and it’s huge thing. There’s all kinds of games you can play with other Facebook members. You can keep photos on there so people can see you, your family etc. It’s a great way to connect without cluttering up your inbox.

I am thinking I need to get my 18 year old niece here for a little tutorial on the in’s and out’s. I have already been informed by both teenage nieces that you don’t “ask someone to be your friend” (ok – yes, that does sound somewhat pathetic and needy) but you “friend” someone. So I guess friend is now a verb!

Anyway – if you’ve been playing around with the idea, check it out. You might find it fun! And be sure to friend me!!