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If you are looking to add a bit of fun and adventure into your next happy hour- try seaweed.  Seaweed is gaining popularity in all sorts of dishes mainly for it's high nutritional content and earthy umami flavor but seaweed can also be found in alcohol.

I heard about Marshall Wharf's seaweed beer a few years ago and got very excited-  the idea of seaweed and beer!  Honestly, I'm not a big beer drink but their Sea Belt Scotch Ale is yummy.  It's a dark beer with some lovely ocean notes.

Whiskey is another way to try seaweed.  Celp from Scotland has a piece of seaweed floating in the bottle.  It's the Scottish version of a good tequila.  

And how about changing your Bloody Mary to  an Ocean Mary by adding a rim of seaweed flakes around the glass.  Seaweed salt is easy to make- mix equal parts of your favorite seaweed flakes with a nice sea salt.  For a spicy, slightly celery mix add a bit of Old Bay Seasoning.

To get your happy hour and the weekend started right- join our Plastic Free Friday Giveaway on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/DulseandRugosa/

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I've been using handcrafted soap for years.  I still remember my first bar, Carly gave as a gift.  It was so magical especially as I used a commercial bar full of chemicals.

Here's a list of ingredients found in my commercial soap-

Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate or Sodium Palmitate, Lauric Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Chloride,Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Maltol, Titanium Dioxide

But to my surprise the ingredients are only part of the problem.  I was surprised and saddened by the amount of plastic packaging found in the soap aisle of my local grocery store.  First, liquid soaps have taken over from bar soaps.  There may be times when liquid makes practical sense but it's not good for our environment.  Bottle after bottle of plastic to keep us clean while our world gets more polluted.

Even bar soaps packaged in cardboard boxes were wrapped in plastic.  It's really tough to reduce your plastic consumption and one easy way is to use a hand crafted, low packaged bar of soap.

The roses are starting to bloom on the mainland.  They will be a little later out on Gotts Island and this is always such a sweet time of year.

At  Dulse & Rugosa we use some form of rose in just about every product we make, but some products are especially rich in Maine roses.  The roses we use are the Rugosa Rose.  While not native to Maine and perhaps like the beloved lupine considered invasive, the "beach rose" is part of the seashore in Maine. Starting with the scented petals of deep pink and white by fall the rose hips provide much needed Vitamin C for anyone facing a Maine winter.  Rose hips are nutritious and delicious in teas and jams.

One major benefit of roses is their scent.  It is such a natural, sweet but not cloying scent and no matter the weather evokes a sunny day by the ocean.  Carly has created a rose petal rich roll on perfume oil designed to help calm and relieve tension.  The base is Calendula infused sweet almond oil enriched with lavender and peppermint essential oils and sweetened with rose and chamomile petals.  One of the benefits of being "skincare chefs" is mixing up wholesome goodies for your skin.  Headache oil is aromatherapy for you, not the room. 

Our Island Face Scrub is also rich in handpicked Maine island roses. Our gentle face scrub is beneficial to all skin types but especially helpful for breakouts. Roses have an anti-bacterial property that can help calm irritated skin.  When you combine the power of rose petals with the magic of Maine seaweeds you have a gentle yet effective combination of natural ingredients to keep your face clear and happy.  Natural ingredients are a more effective and safer way to fight pimples then using weird chemical that have the potential to be harmful.

Another way we utilize the benefits of rose petals in in our Rose Witch Hazel.  This is an infusion of rose petals into witch hazel and the results are divine with a heavenly scent.  Witch hazel is another wonderful product for acne prone skin.  Try our Rose Petal Witch Hazel to spot treat an annoying pimple, as a face toner after a hot, sticky day or dab on irritated skin.  

Our Rose Petal Witch Hazel is the base for our Rose Petal Creme which is a great creme for faces that need a bit of moisture but not too much.  It's light, creamy with a dreamy rose scent.  

Treat yourself and your skin to the gift of rose petals.

As always, we want to thank you for supporting our small business.  Reading our blog, following us on social media and especially purchasing our products keeps our small business in business.  

World Ocean Day is Wednesday June 8th.  The theme this year is plastic. According to http://www.worldoceansday.org/  "The ocean and its wildlife is choking on plastic and we need to not only clean it up but stop this pollution at its source."  Sadly, the source is us.

The first thing that needs to happen in reducing our plastic consumption is awareness.  Becoming aware of how much plastic you use is sobering.  In this day and age I'm not sure it's possible to completely plastic free but you can change your behavior and be single use plastic free.  Single use is any plastic used only one time- think straws.  According to Adrian Grenier, star of HBO's Entourage, "in the US we throw out about 500 million plastic straws a day." These straws break down into tiny, attractive "food" for many small sea creatures.  It's possible to buy reusable straws made out of bamboo or steel.  And you need to let food servers know that you don't want a straw or stirrer in your drink.  It sounds relatively simple, but it will take some awareness and forethought to be 100% successful.  

Another easy way to reduce your plastic use is not ever using a plastic shopping bag.  Keep a couple of spare bags in your car or purse.  Of course, it will be inconvenient- you will forget your bags and have to walk back to the car or just load your items in the shopping cart without any bags.

Sometimes when the news is so daunting it seems like there is nothing you can do.  But, every small step helps and spreading the word about our current overuse of plastic is vital.

Get outside to your nearest ocean, river, lake or stream and enjoy the beauty of water.

Here are some links for more information

http://www.worldoceansday.org/

http://www.refinery29.com/2016/05/111091/adrian-grenier-water-pollution-whales-essay

http://www.lonelywhale.org/foundation/