Thursday, January 31, 2013

Sunshine Lavender Farm Etsy Shop

We have finally taken the plunge and decided to open an online shopping opportunity for the entire "lavender lovin" world! We have spent many hours creating the shop in Etsy and are VERY excited about the results so far. All items will be listed on an individual basis and the shop will be updated daily. So, the second you know of lavender item need, check out our Etsy site-

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunshinelavenderfarm.



 We will be disabling the shopping cart on our website by the end of this week. We encourage all of our farm friends to browse our new Etsy site ASAP and please, as always, let us know what you think! We LOVE constructive criticism...it's one of the best ways to improve ourselves!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Lavender Devonshire Cream

I must confess, the Downton Abbey craze has really hit us hard. Not only do we dream of lush fields of lavender but also of fabulous English teas...including yummy scones and clotted cream!

Why not marry our two obsessions and make some fabulous lavender infused devonshire cream?


Lavender Devonshire Cream
makes enough cream for 16 scones
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 Tbsp Culinary Lavender Buds
1 container (4 oz. size) mascarpone cheese
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar

  • In a medium size saucepan, combine together the cream and lavender buds.
  • Once the cream begins to boil, immediately reduce the heat to low.
  • Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and using caution not to scald the cream.
  • Remove from the heat, strain the lavender buds from the cream.
  • Discard the lavender buds and place the lavender infused cream into the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Once the lavender-infused cream is completely cold, place it and the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl.
  • Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture begins to thicken and is light and fluffy, about 8-12 minutes.
  • Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

What are your obsessions? Please do share, we love to hear from our farm friends!


(recipe from page 221 of 'The Lavender Gourmet- Culinary Recipes for Entertaining and Every Day' by Jennifer Vasich)

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Beautiful Painting of Our Farm

We received an email earlier this week from one of the artists, Justin Holdren, that visits our farm every June during the Harvest Celebration. On eBay, he is selling one of the paintings that he completed of the farm. Please click on the caption link below the painting to see the actual eBay listing...



Holdren Art Impressionist Realism Original Painting Lavender Field


From eBay listing- "This is an original acrylic painting that I did on location at Sunshine Lavender Farm in North Carolina during their annual harvest festival. I go to this farm every year to paint and I could do 100 paintings there. It is a beautiful place. This piece is being offered for a limited time at an affordable opening bid! Don't miss out on the chance to own this piece for a fraction of the usual retail price! I hope you enjoy viewing this piece as much as I enjoyed creating it! This piece will ship for FREE in the USA and a certificate of authenticity and artist packet will be included."

We feel so honored to see for sell a lovely painting of our sweet lavender farm. We just might need to add it to our collection.

This painting makes us LONG for the Harvest Festival...how about you? Stay tuned for a save the date for this June 2013!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Lavender Filled Bathroom

 
Seems like a small thing but who doesn't LOVE a fresh smelling bathroom? Does that mean you need to clean each bathroom from top to bottom every single day? PLEASE, who has time for that?
 
On Pinterest last week, I saw a quick way to introduce the soothing and lovely fragrance of lavender into your bathroom.  It was so easy!
 
When it was time add a new roll of toilet paper, I first sprinkled a bit of lavender essential oil on the inner cardboard of the roll. I added approximately 8 drops.
 

Now, every time you pull a piece of toilet paper off the roll, the fragrance of the oil is re-released into the air.
 
With a full house of busy people, our rolls of toilet paper don't last too long. Although, I can attest to the fact that on day 3, the lavender essential oil was still working every time the roll was spun!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Welcome to 2013...

Welcome to 2013, our dear farm friends!





The lavender fairies and I have spent the last few weeks planning our strategy for this year. We have several new and exciting plans to share with you SOON. For now, I will say that we are focusing on making our little lavender farm your favorite place to visit and share with your friends!
 
 
We are so honored to begin another year with you!