It's Freebie Friday!

Last week's winner is JESSIE! Jessie, drop us an email letting us know what scrub you want, and where you'd like it shipped.This week's freebie - one tin of our amazing, super-moisturizing Body Butter (your choice of scent). I NEED this stuff in the winter - if I don't use it, I'm itchy and dry and cranky. This is amazing for massage too :).

If you'd like to win the item - you must leave a comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.


IN OTHER NEWS! The amazing Sara is also doing a blog give-away, of some of our baby products! She is a super-cool mama, and has an amazing blog, with loads of thoughful writing. Check it out!

We have a little ice storm happening here now. I left work early, in hopes of escaping it. It seems we've had LOTS of ice storms already this year, and we're really quite tired of it. *sigh*

Local animal lovers -we need help!


A local fellow has had 2 sort of accidental litters. There are 2 litters of puppies - one is purebred Jack Russel Terrier, the other is 1/2 Jack Russel, 1/2 rat terrier. They REALLY need homes. They are about 8-10 weeks. One Jack Russel puppy is deaf, so will have some special needs.They are free.

Folks, these are high-energy, very intelligent dogs, with a long lifespan. IF you are ready for that responsibility,and are wanting a puppy, please do call or email us. Phone - (515)438-4268, email, shop at prairielandherbs dot com. We will put you in contact with the fellow. He really does need help finding them homes. We are hopeful he has learned his lesson.

I have posted these pics before, but someone was asking about our order packing area, so I am re-posting. We pack loads of orders in a tiny area, which is very possible - when you are organized. Our packing area takes up the footprint of a 6-foot long table. On the top of the table is a small pine shelf which holds all 5 sizes of priority mail boxes and enelopes that we use, plus padded envelopes. We also have rolls of packing tape on the shelves, plus 2 colors ofelectrical tape that we use to seal lids and bottles. The small white plastic shelves hold 4 sizes of plastic bags, used to seal and ship anything that can leak. A small organizational tray holds all manner of USPS forms. We have lots of scisscors, and pens, and our shipping scale lives under the pine shelf on the table. The file on the right holds all the organizational brochures we ship out with our products. Under the table: box of recycled/reused peanuts, box of bubblewrap, and shipping boxes to be reused. All items for any given order are gathered, brought here, and can be safely and efficiently wrapped in a very short amount of time.


This is one order. Yes, really. It would be daunting to pack if we didn't have a system in place!

Shown here is a typical days' worth of mailing boxes. Actually, it's maybe a bit less than usual. If we don't spend at least $100 at the post office every day, our postal staff gives us a hard time about how they're going to lose their jobs. :)

It's Freebie Friday!

last week's winner is BELLE! (our first commenter!). Belle, drop us an email letting us know what lip balm flavors you want, and where you'd like them shipped. :)This week's Friday Freebie - an 8 oz. jar of one of our salt or sugar body scrubs (your choice).

I LOVE these scrubs in the winter. If I don't use them, my legs get so dry I will scratch them until they bleed. Not on purpose - it just happens. But with these scrubs, I can avoid that icky bad dry skin. SO, folks, you know the drill:


If you'd like to win the item - you must leave a comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

Spring Class!! Make your own natural cleaning products: Want to do something good for the environment and your budget? Learn how to make natural cleaning products with basic, easily available supplies. Join Maggie and Donna from Prairieland Herbs to learn the techniques and try your hand at making samples of laundry detergent, tub scrub, and window cleaner. You'll go home with several safe natural products, and recipes for them and others --"green" and simple! Class cost - $19.00 Supply cost is $15 ; bring an empty spray bottle for the window cleaner. Tuesday, Feb. 3rd, 6:30-8:30

YOU MUST REGISTER THROUGH DES MOINES ADULT EDUCATION

Class will be held in Des Moines, at Merrill Middle School.

Just passing along some information we got from our neighbors at Picket Fence Creamery.

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Happy New Year from Picket Fence Creamery!

Just a quick note to wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year, and to let you know what's happening around the farm as we usher in 2009!!! The "ladies" are snug in the barn, along with 13 bottle calves, with about a dozen more cows to calve in the next month. You're welcome to bring the kids and walk up to the barn to say hello to all of them!

The store is full of goodes for your New Year's celebration, and is also hosting a special event...

Jill's "39th" Birthday Party"

Wednesday, Dec. 31

At the store, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Enjoy FREE birthday cake and ice cream!

You're invited to browse to store for some yummy local foods - great for the big football games too!

*Elk sticks, elk and pepper cheese summer sausage, and elk ring bologna

*Neva's famous cheese ball

*Cheese curds

*Iowa wines, including Penoach Winery's "Tickled Pink" champagne

*Salsa, chips, snacks

*Chocolate milk

*Deal's cider

*Chevre, Brie, Limburger and local Gouda cheeses

*Pumpkin pies

Super Deals

*90% lean ground beef, $3.49/lb. with 10 lb. purchase (Reg. $3.99/lb.)

*Apple crisp and quart of ice cream - $10

*WOW! Buy any jar of local salsa and get a bag of fresh round tortilla chips for $1!!!

You're welcome to stop by if you're traveling through this week or weekend; we'll be sampling Iowa wines! Our hours:

New Year's Eve - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Year's Day - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, Jan. 1-2 - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A bit of shameless self-promotion here. Well, sort of shameless. Some folks have been asking when I'm going to get new stuff in my Etsy store, and I did - so here are some choice listings!

Everything here is naturally dyed - the scarves and hankies are silk, as are the shawls.


There are also a few pieces of rust-dyed cotton fabric, perfect for sewing or quilting.

Happy Freebie Friday!

We hope you all had a delightful holiday - whatever you celebrate. We sure did! We had our annual Christmas Eve soup and pie dinner (Donna made this absolutely AMAZING Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie - I cannot STRESS how divine it was) and much fun was had. :)

The winner of last week's freebie (an 8 oz. bottle of Lavender & Vanilla Mist) was ASTER!! Aster, drop us an email with your address and we will ship that out next week!

This weeks Friday Freebie is - a 5-pack (Your choice of varities) of our handmade lip balms!! Our lip balm was one of the first products Prairieland Herbs ever created, and I still believe to be one of the best. Vanilla Bean is Donna's personal favorite - I am partial to the Tea Tree and Mint.
Anyway, as usual, here's how it works:

If you'd like to win the item - you must leave a comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

In other news - Prairieland Herbs is CLOSED until next Tuesday, Dec. 30th. We almost never, ever, EVER take any time off, so we are treating ourselves to a few luxurious days of vacation.

The weather here is FANTASTIC. After an extra cold, snowy, and icy start to December, we are suddenly gifted with a 50 degree sunny day. I've been cleaning my garage in a t-shirt. Go figure, huh? Our 10 inches of snow is, of course, rapidly melting and turning EVERYTHING into mud - and when it goes down to 29 degrees, as it's predicted to tonight, the whole world will be a solid sheet of ice. So that stinks. But still, you gotta enjoy a little warmth and sunshine while it's here.

Today is your last day to order e-gift certificates for Christmas delivery! We'll be at the shop until 5 PM CST and will be emailing gift certs. until then!

Last minute folks, we're open today, but closed tomorrow, so this is your last chance for shopping before Christmas!

Our $5 shipping sale runs through the end of the year, however.....so you can treat yourself to some great goodies at a fantastic shipping rate.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pick up ingredients for my favorite holiday recipe - Mulled Berry Wine. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy too!

Mulled Berry Wine

1 pint cranberry (or raspberry) juice cocktail
3/4 cup sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
6 whole cloves
1 bottle (4/5 qt) Burgundy wine
1 lemon, thinly sliced (unpeeled)

Combine ingredients in a crock-pot. Heat on low 1-2 hours. Strain, and serve hot. Can be refrigerated and reheated again if it is not all consumed at once.

I just sent the LAST of the holiday gifts out at the post office today!! Whee!!

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Top Seven Signs it's Christmas at Prairieland Herbs (in no particular order)

1). We are, like, BFF with the local postal crews. We see them once or twice a day, and could wallpaper our shop with the reciepts we get from the post office. (That, folks, is absolutely NOT an exaggeration).

2). We are on nearly as good terms with Paul, our fantastic UPS guy. He is at our shop nearly every day dropping off boxes of bottles, jars, pails of shea butter, etc.

3). We go through what we consider to be astonishing amounts of raw "stuff". In the past month, we've used about 8 lbs of lavender essential oil (Consider that it's used at approximately 3% dilution in most products....and just ponder how many bath salts and oils that is!), 400 lbs. sea salt, about 20 gallons of base oils, and 25 lbs of shea butter. Running a herb shop requires more heavy lifting than you would imagine.

4). We forget what day it is - because we're at the shop nearly every day, shipping orders. (not a complaint!)

5). Donna and Maggie overdose on Diet Dr. Pepper and carbonated water (respectively), forget to eat, and then consume mass quantities of handmade candies because that is the only food we can find. (sad, but true).

6) There is a solid layer of packing peanuts, bubble wrap scraps, tape bits, and gift-basket shread on the floor at nearly all times. We sweep thoroughly at least once a day, but, by the end of the day, a fresh new layer has settled on the floor again, as if by magic.....

7) We have a blast shipping presents, helping folks pick out the perfect gift, meeting visiting family members, and generally enjoy the holiday cheer, because our customers are the best folks in the world and we adore them!!!

It's ridiculously cold here.

AND.

It's going to get colder in the next 24 hours. GAH!

The low for tonight is -5, with windchills as low as -30. We had lovely whiteout/blowing snow conditions driving home from the farmer's market today - always delightful.

The HIGH temp for tomorrow is -1, (can anything negative actually be called HIGH?), again, with delightful -30 windchill factor.

The low temp for tomorrow night is a wicked -14. I seriously cannot fathom it. I will be cuddled in my house, on the couch, with cats piled all around me. (The good thing about living with 8 cats - your lap never gets cold).

Right now, we're watching the wind - we have no specific plans to cancel tomorrow's Sample Sunday due to weather, BUT - if there's loads of blowing snow, our driveway or road could drift shut. I will post here on the blog if that is an issue.

Are you tired of listening to me whine about the cold? Okay. I'll post something slightly more interesting.Some of you may notice that we are slowly updating our website photos, from old crappy ones I took (hey, I did the best I could with zero photography skills and an ancient camera) to really nice spanky new ones, such as you see above.

They look pretty nice, huh? clean and professional.

Well, they were done by our resident "king of cheap DIY lighting and photo gear" guy. He can do amazing things with sheets of glass gotten for free off craig's list, yogurt lids, sticks-in-coffee-cans-full-of-cement, and bits of remnant fabric and pvc pipe.

For example, this photo above was taking in my living room - here is the "setup shot" (complete with coffee mug and dog food bowl).



This gorgeous photo was taken in a simple basement room. (see photo below).


There are loads more of these product and setup shots, complete with notes and info, on John's Flickr, if you're interested. I just think it's fascinating to see the setup behind the photos, and thought you might too. Enjoy!

First and foremost - I'd like to announce last week's Freebie Friday winner - MATT! Matt, we'll send you an email to get your address. Congratulations!!!!


And - this week's "Friday Freebie" - an 8 oz. bottle of our "Tranquil Sleep" Body & Linens Mist. Because we all need to take a deep breath and chill out, after the craziness of the holiday season! This is a perennial best-selling item in our store, and we have heard countless people tell us that it really does work!! Plus, it smells great. :)

Da Rulz:

If you'd like to win the item - you must leave a comment on that day's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

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Weather news: We seem to have escaped the huge ice storm they were predicting for yesterday. We have snow, and some ice, and last night were treated to "thundersleet" (ah, the weather in Iowa - always interesting!!), but overall, things aren't too bad. The fellow who is supposed to plow out our driveway and parking lot at Prairieland Herbs seems to be MIA though. We have left 2 messages and have yet to hear from him. So if you come to our shop today, please be careful!!!

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Business news: We're getting ready for the farmer's market tomorrow - should be loads of fun!

Sunday we're having an impromptu Sample Sunday, in conjunction with our neighbors at Picket Fence Creamery - and it's going to be a doozy!!!

At Picket Fence, they're sampling wines from TEN LOCAL WINERIES (!!!) and oodles of cheese! Local gouda, limberger, chevre, brie, cheese curds, spreadable holiday cheeses, their famous cheeseball, and more!!

At Prairieland Herbs - we will be sampling divine handmade candies (peanut butter bars, english toffee, and cashew crunch) as well as a selection of locally made gourmet jams and jellies. Candy and jams both sell for $5 and under - it doesn't get much bette than that. Guest vendors will be on hand with unique handmade jewelry, and handmade pens. If you need a last minute gift (or three) and want to avoid the malls, rural Woodward is the place to be! We'll treat you right, and feed ya good. What more can you ask for??

We'll be open 12-5 on Sunday - see you there!!!

GOOD NEWS regarding the proposed FDA regulations that would have made it very, very difficult for us to stay in business!

Weather here has been insane. Sunday, we had an actual temperature drop of 50 degrees (yes, really) in about 12 hours - but, it *felt* like it dropped about 70 degrees, because of the wind chill factor. At 9 AM Sunday morning it was a balmy 50 degrees. By 1 pm it was 17 degrees, and by about 10 PM it was 1 degree with a windchill of around -20. Only in Iowa!

We are gearing up for the Des Moines Farmer's Market this Saturday. Hours: 9-2. It's a WONDERFUL market, I encourage everyone to stop by for fabulous local wine, food, jam, and gifts! If you'd like us to bring anything in particular for you, please do email or call! We bring a very random selection of items every time. The store WILL be open so feel free to come on out to the farm and Donna will be delighted to help you!!

HOLIDAY Shippping & Hours Info:

Last day to order for holiday shipping: Sunday, Dec. 21st. (earlier is better!)

Last day to order online gift cards: Tuesday, Dec. 23rd, 5pm CST.

We WILL BE CLOSED: Wed, Dec. 24th until Tuesday, Dec. 30th.

We WILL BE OPEN: Sunday, December 21st, 12-5

Also: New delicious recipe online! Lavender Honey Biscotti. Divine! Biscotti makes a lovely holiday gift, becasuse it keeps well and ships well. Don't forget our Triple Chocolate Double Orange biscotti recipe too!

CONGRATULATIONS to HEATHER from Nebraska - she is the winner of last Friday's "Friday Freebie" - a 1 lb. bag of laundry soap! Heather, please email us at shop (at) prairielandherbs (dot) com with your address, and we'll ship it right out. :)

This week's Friday Freebie is a Doggie Bag! Valued at $10, this is a great gift for the pampered pooch in your life. If you don't have a pet, surely someone you know and love does!

Once again, here are the rules:
Here's how it works.

Every Friday, we'll post something that we're giving away - entirely for free. It could be something small, or something large - it will vary from week to week.

If you'd like to win the item - you must leave a comment on that day's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

Well, it's official. I've been banned from work. You know it's bad when your mother calls you and says "Keep your germy self at home. If you make me sick, I will hurt you". I'm a good daughter, so I'm doing what she says. And she is at work all by herself today, so if you order, say hi to her. :)


Meanwhile, I'm doing a bit of work from home, working on the "updating the website photos" project, and adding this new and super-cool Natural Laundry Gift Set. For only $32.50 you get a full 1 lb. bag of laundry soap, a set of dryer sachets, a bottle of essential oil to refresh the dryer sachets, and an 8 oz. bottle of body and linens mists. Isn't that just the coolest? Anyone who is interested in "going green" at home would love this set. It's available in 3 scent combos - Lavender, Patchouli, or Lavender/Cedarwood, and with our $5 shipping sale, you can have this set sent to anyone in the U.S. for under $40. I think that' s just really cool.

Well, the storm was not as much as was expected - HOWEVER, it did leave unpleasant and VERY Slippery layer of ice underneath a slightly less slippery layer of snow. A very bad combo. :(

I (maggie) am home with the worst sinus infection I've had in years (big huge raspberry to the germs in my head - don't they know I have better things to do than lay on the couch, feel my head pound, and blow my nose?).

So, while we recover from ice and infections, please - do go visit our friend Tina's blog - She is doing an AMAZING series on "DIY" herbal gifts for the holidays. She is just full of knowledge and creativity - I always enjoy reading her blog to see what she is up to. She is inspiring me - there is still time to whip up loads of handmade holiday gifts!!

The December luxury soap of the month is here!!! "Malachite" is a fantastic blend of amazing, moisturizing butters and oils, with a icy/fresh/herbal essential oil blend of f rosemary, ginger, lavender anise, peppermint, and spearmint. Smells like an expensive rejuvenation spa! We have 60 bars of this fantastic soap (wrapped in handmade paper!) - when it's gone, it's gone!

We're hunkering in here - cold, icy, windy, snowy storm due to hit tonight. ugh. we'll keep you poted......

It's damn cold here - especially for this early in December. The other day, we had rain, followed by snow and rapidly dropping temps. You know what that means - ice. Urgh. :( The only good thing about it, was this gorgeous ice sculpture that appeared. The rain ran off the metal roof on the barn, down onto this bit of chicken wire - then froze. John got a great picture of it just as the low, late-afternoon sun was shining on it. I guess there is always beauty - in any kind of weather!

Happy Friday!!

We've decided to start something new and exciting here on the Prairieland Herbs Blog - Freebie Friday!

Here's how it works.

Every Friday, we'll post something that we're giving away - entirely for free. It could be something small, or something large - it will vary from week to week.

If you'd like to win the item - you must leave a comment on that day's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

I hope that makes sense, and covers everything!

Now, without further ado - this weeks Friday Freebie is a 1 lb. bag of our Lavender Laundry Soap (shown above).

We've been selling this in the shop for months and it's flown out the door so fast we haven't had enough to list online. Karla finally made a nice, big batch, so we have some to offer our online customers! This stuff is fantastic. Use it in this recipe to make your own environmentally friendly, cost-effective natural laundry detergent. It REALLy works too - we make some really stinky oily messes in the shop (think: spilled lip balm, shea butter, and essential oils!), and this detergent cleans it all out. Wonderful stuff.

So, comment away, dear bloggers - and if you can't wait to see if you've won a free lb. of this wonderful soap - feel free to stop by our website to purchase some. Remember, all domestic orders ship for only $5 - all month long.