Happy in a Bottle

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Soap from StoLat Organics.

Treats from A Little Confection. Courtesy photo.

Jigsaw puzzle from Morgan Hill Bookstore. Courtesy photo.

Outfit from Linda Taylor Boutique. Courtesy photo.

Frozen cookie dough from Be Sweet Cookie Dough. Courtesy photo.

Soap from StoLat Organics.

Featured Shop Info

While StoLat Organics is becoming a growing business Gendreau still enjoys putting together custom blends for people who e-mail her with hard-to-treat skin conditions. This month StoLat Organics is offering shipping on all products for only $1.99. For more information visit www.stolatorganics.com.

Most people drink green tea for the internal benefits it provides. Amy Gendreau uses green tea for the benefits it provides externally. She is the genius behind the Bergamot Green Tea face and body bar, one of the many products in her StoLat Organics line of skin care and body products found in specialty shops and online.

How did StoLat Organics begin? My kids have super-sensitive skin and so I spoke to a lot of dermatologists and naturopaths and decided the best way to treat them was to make my own mixtures. I created StoLat Organics and what I think makes us different is that every single ingredient in a product has a reason for being there. We don't use anything artificial to extend shelf life, and no perfumes or dyes are ever used.

What does StoLat mean? It is a Polish word for "May you live a hundred years." In Poland they often say sto lat during a toast or anniversary song. I'm Polish by birth and French by marriage.

What are your best-sellers? Our Shea Butter Lotions for dry to combination skin types is really popular. They come in lavender, which is calming to the mind and also good for calming down rashes and redness. We also make an orange and litsea blend, which just has this bright awakening smell.

What's new this fall? Oh, do you really have to ask? I've actually created two products for people who have dogs who like to chase skunks. I have made a wash and a room spray that eliminates skunk smell. It really works.

True Confession

A Little Confection, 124 1/2 Main St., Concord, is simply devilish. Slip into this little shop and discreetly let your sweet tooth indulge itself. Check out the towering marshmallows dipped and dressed in candy, homemade fudge, cookies that look like flying saucers, handmade truffles and more. And then there are the apples. September's apple of the month is the Granny Smith, slathered in kettle caramel, sprinkled with fresh walnuts, drizzled in milk chocolate and rolled in coconut. Heavenly. Give the gift that has a wow factor and sign up for the apple of the month - the store ships all over.

For more information visit www.a-little-confection.com, (603) 219-0120.

Feel Good Puzzles

Morgan Hill Bookstore, 253 Main St., New London, is a little more than an independent bookstore: It has a reading barn for kids, gifts and magazines and a wide selection of best-sellers including recommended reads and books for local book clubs. It is also the place to find the newly popular Liberty classic wooden jigsaw puzzles (perfect for cooler nights). The puzzles are made with quarter-inch maple and fine archival paper and inks. No two pieces in any puzzle are alike ($30 to over $100). Warning, these puzzles are addictive. There's even a subculture of people who request puzzles in plain boxes.

Visit www.morganhillbookstore.com or call (603) 526-5850.

Look Gorgeous

Linda Taylor Boutique, 59 Deer St., Portsmouth, is where you'll find sophistication and dreamy styles. At some point you will have to leave, the store does close at night, but until then, indulge. Great selection and customer service. Expect high-end, ready-to-wear designer items in sizes 0 to 14. All items handpicked from New York. This is where WAG (Wives and Girlfriends) of sports celebrities would shop. Look for J Brand Jeans (curvy fit is awesome), Current Elliott, Christopher Blue and Goldsign. The store sometimes offers refreshments to men who hate shopping with their SO. Look for the Vince collection of sweaters and leggings this fall.

Visit www.lindataylornh.com or call (603) 433-4333.

Hunka Chunka Do Da Day

Be Sweet Cookie Dough, One Washington Center, Suite 330, Dover, is like a knight in shining armor if you're the one who's volunteered to bake cookies. This frozen cookie dough company makes baking a snap. Cookie flavors include Birken-Cookie (granola, nuts and dried fruit), Straight Up Peanut (peanut butter), Rush Hour (dark chocolate with an espresso rush), Snappy Jacks (molasses) and Hunka Chunka Do Da Day (gooey chocolate chip). One tub of dough makes two dozen cookies. You can find Be Sweet Cookie Dough at Portsmouth and Exeter farmers markets and at Philbrick's Fresh Market in Portsmouth. Walk-in customers welcome, but call ahead.

Visit www.besweetcookiedough.com or call (603) 689-0759.