Most of you have heard the news that we closed down our Youngsville location a couple of weeks ago. It was a tough decision, but we are excited with the changes we are bringing to Bain Amour! We have been working behind the scenes to bring you an immersive shopping experience with some make your own products, more parties and classes, and meeting the animals that help support our farm and business. With this being said, we are also going to take a little break in mid June to refresh ourselves while our awesome farm hands keep a close eye on all the animals. The hubby and boys have worked so hard during the last few weeks, helping move so many things and resetting our making area to include room for our awesome customers to come experience our "Mad Lab" as we affectionately call it. 
Stay tuned for more announcements as we make awesome upgrades to your shopping experience!
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September is national Self Care Awareness month... who knew? 

I know we are all guilty of not practicing enough self care. Man, oh, man am I guilty! Stress, life, kids, farm, work... it all plays a toll on the body and I for one can say that I am feeling the effects of the weight of the world. What do you do in this situation? 

Self Care is more than a want, it is a need. For mental health. For physical health. As a society, we place a lot of pressure and stress on ourselves. From demands at home and work to the ever growing stress of keeping up with the Joneses with their picture perfect Instagram and Facebook posts, we are constantly trying to push ourselves to do more... to be more. And at what cost? 

Over the past week or so, there have been a lot of events that have really hit home. From a friend losing her husband in a freak accident to another who had a stroke, it has really made me sit back and think "am I really taking care of myself?"  The answer was a loud and clear, NO! As someone who is in the business of taking care of others and doing my best to make them feel their best, I have been neglecting myself. I can see and feel it taking a toll. So what is the solution?  SELF CARE!

Self care can be as simple as going out for coffee with a friend, locking the bathroom door and taking a long bath (we have great products for that), or going for a walk. Of course, there are other great options such as setting up an appointment with your massage therapist or heading out for a relaxing weekend away. Whatever it takes to recharge your batteries and be your best, that is what you need to do. Unplug and unwind. As tough as it is, try to turn off your phone for a few hours and get out in nature. Take the dog for a walk or play hide and seek with your kids. Whatever it takes, take care of yourself. Like the saying goes, you can't pour from an empty cup. Take the time to refill your cup. Life is too short to take the simple things for granted. 

Believer me, I get it... I get that taking time to do things for your self brings guilt, especially if you have a partner and/or kids. I get that money may be tight. I get that your schedule is jam packed full from the moment you drag your weary body out of the bed in the morning until you collapse from exhaustion at the end of the day. I totally get it! You are not alone, mama! Somewhere in that busy day, give yourself 5 minutes. Even if it is sneaking away into the bathroom or staying in the car just a few moments more when you are alone. Sit quietly, and focus on your breathing. Close your eyes. Breathe in from deep in your stomach and exhale through your nose. Concentrate on your breathing, even if for just 60 or 90 seconds. It's going to be ok. You are amazing! You are beautiful! Your family and friends love and adore you! You just need to remember to love and adore yourself. 

Fill your cup, even if it is one drop at a time. Just don't forget to fill it. 

<3 Theresa

As some of you know, we made a tough decision last month. We decided the time had come to part ways with the Acadiana Mall and open a stand alone store in Youngsville, LA. Our time at the mall was coming to a close as our lease was up on June 30th. I went back and forth with myself about where I wanted the business to go next. I have been longing for the ability to have a spot where I could host parties, teach, and offer different events for our amazing customers. An opportunity came about in Youngsville. This amazing community has welcomed us with open arms and we are thrilled to have a beautiful location right on Chemin Metarie Road in the Metarie Center. The store has an amazing feeling to it. You feel relaxed the moment you walk in the door. The energy is so much different from our mall store. You just have to come in and experience it. 
The new location allows us to host classes and parties for kids, young adults, and adults. We hosted our first craft time and had a wonderful turn out. We made some cute dream catchers and the kids had a great time creating something special for their rooms.
We are also working on a calendar to begin parties and classes. We will even feature some "Sip and Soap" events where our clientele can come and make a product to take home and enjoy.  While they are making, they will be able to enjoy their favorite beverage and share time with their friends. I am looking forward to those events!
We invite you to come check out the new store and party area. We can't wait to see each and every one of you here.  

We have been busy little elves here at Bain Amour both in the store and in the production shop. We have been working tirelessly getting ready for the official kick off of the holiday season. From new seasonal fizzy scents (available now on the website) to gift sets, we have been hard at work. I can't thank my team enough for all the hard work they have put in prepping for the holidays! It is definitely a team effort and we couldn't get it done without everyone doing their part. From our fizzy/bomb production team cranking out fizzies and bombs (Mindy and Deidre), to my production assistant, Hope, helping me get out all of the other products and pushing me on the days when my get up and go has got up and went, I am forever grateful.  To my amazing store managers, Ashley and Jeanell, and our tight crew of associates: Chloe, Eboni, Randi, and Toni, who will be busting it out on Black Friday with me to make sure we take awesome care of all of our customers and provide excellent customer service each and every day; I can breathe a little easier knowing they can handle the pressure that comes with Black Friday in a retail store. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing team!

If you are going to be shopping with us via the website for Black Friday, we will have a special code to receive a discount on purchases of $30 or more. If you make a purchase of $30 or more, you will receive a 15% discount by using the code BF2018. You will also receive a free gift with purchase (while supplies last). 

​We want to thank each and every one of our customers for keeping our dream alive and shopping small! We appreciate you and are humbled by your support. 

-Theresa

Summertime. While most are out taking their family vacations, we are gearing up for baling hay. This past weekend, with triple digit heat indices, we met up with a friend who had just finished baling some square bales. Just what we need for our goat herd. We piled up in the truck with the cattle trailer behind us and headed to Henderson. When we made it to the field, there were square bales on the ground, waiting for loading. My husband, Jon Paul, and my 3 oldest boys, Jean-Luc (11), Tristan (9), and Dylan (7) made a game plan and decided how they would man the trailer to get the hay loaded. Jean-Luc and Tristan would be in control of stacking, Dylan would move the bales to them in the trailer, and Jon Paul would pick up each bale in the field and throw them into the trailer. Hay bales are not light. They weigh around 60 lbs each, which is a little less than my boys weigh. They ended up loading 52 bales in the trailer, which is pretty impressive. I got the easy job of driving from one bale to the next with my trusty side kick, Ethan (4) telling me when to go and stop. 


The real work begins tomorrow when we start cutting pastures for round bales of hay for the cows and goats to get them through the winter time. Bless my husband for sweating it out over the next couple of weeks to get the hay baled. It is tough farm work that a lot of people take for granted. Cutting and baling usually doesn’t start until close to lunch so the morning dew has a chance to dry off the grass. With the heat index being so high, I always worry about him drinking enough water and staying hydrated. It’s hot dusty work, but it’s nice to know we have the ability to feed our animals. 


Yesterday, we were able to take a break from the heat in our new living room addition in our house. We’ve been living in a construction zone for a while now, and it is nice to finally start moving things in the new living area. We still have work to do, but we got the furniture moved in and my husband got the tv mounted above the fireplace for now. The boys enjoyed hanging out, watching movies, and eating ice cream during the heat of the day. I call that a great end to the weekend! 

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Good Sunday afternoon! On my quest to bring new blog material every week, I decided to try to keep the content fresh. It is pretty hard trying to come up with content that you will like. I decided that I would throw in some easy to make at home bath recipes. You may have most of the ingredients around your house. If not, don't fret, they can easily be found at your local grocery or health food store.

Today, we will make a simple bath salt recipe. For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
*Epsom Salt
*Sea Salt
*carrier oil such as olive, coconut, grapeseed, or any other vegetable oil you have available
*essential oil or body safe fragrance oil

Recipe:

8 oz Epsom Salt
8 oz Sea Salt
1/2 tablespoon carrier oil
1/4 teaspoon essential or fragrance oil (if using essential oils such as peppermint, wintergreen, or other sensitizing essential oils, reduce the amount by half)

In a clean bowl, pour in measured out salts. It is important that you weigh the salts and not just use a 1 cup measuring cup as the fragrance load is calculated by weight. In a small glass container, combine the carrier oil and essential or fragrance oil and mix well. Add oil to salt and mix thoroughly with a wire whisk until completely combined. Place salts into an airtight container. If using essential oils, glass containers work best as essential oils can react with plastics and affect the stability of the plastic. 

Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salt into hot bath water. Soak for at least 20 minutes for full benefits.

While some recipes include the addition of food coloring, I do not. Food coloring is not safe for cosmetic uses and a bath salt is considered a cosmetic. Also, food coloring can stain not only the skin, but your bath tub. 

You can add dried herbs like lavender buds, peppermint leaf, or chamomile for an enhanced experience. 

Did you hear the news? We now have an activated charcoal goat milk soap! Activated charcoal boasts many benefits. It is being used in everything from toothpaste, to soap, to salves. It has many uses, which can be easily found on the interwebs. I chose to make an activated charcoal soap with some wonderful essential oils and incorporated the moisturizing power of goat milk. With olive oil, rice bran oil, cocoa butter, and more, the soap feels amazing on the skin. The essential oils I chose are tea tree, lavender, listea cubeba, and patchouli. I love using it as a facial soap, but it is perfect for any part of the body. The creaminess of the lather along with the moisturizing makes it a new favorite soap of mine. 
The soap is now availble on our website and in store. 

One year... In the grand scope of things, one year isn't a very long time, but when you open a store, it is a major milestone. This past year, we've had a lot of changes. It has been a huge learning experience for someone who doesn't have a retail background. It was by mere chance that I found this location at the mall and decided to take a chance on opening a storefront. From managing employees to keeping up with making product, it's been a challenge. It's been hard letting go of employees who have moved on to other things because we have a pretty tight crew that have been with us since the beginning. We are looking forward to new staff coming on soon and joining our adventure. We've been riding the tide through the ups and the downs and are starting to hit the smoother water. With a full year under our belts, we are able to better understand the sales trends and when we need to have a lot of extra product and staff in the store. 

Now is the time that we, as handcrafters, have to start thinking about Christmas and getting soaps made so we have time to cure and wrap before the rush. With the store doing so well, we had to make a tough decision about shows this year. We decided that it was in the best interest of the store, our online store, and our retail partners (and our sanity) that we sit this year out and put all of the product that would be dedicated to shows into the holding area for Christmas time. We had a really tough time keeping up with demand last year and don't want to fall short again this year. 

We really want to send out a huge thanks to everyone who has shopped with us over the past year. It has been so amazing to get such wonderful feedback and to be able to be a part of this amazing community. We can't wait to see what the future holds for the next year and are excited to be working behind the scenes on some new products we hope to introduce before the holidays!

Thank you so much for being a part of our adventure and allowing us to live our dream! 

I'm a mom. I totally understand putting my own needs on the back burner for the rest of my family, my business, and my friends. There are never enough hours in the day to do all the things we want to do and someone or something is always pulling you in different directions. It's a never ending cycle. As time goes on, you notice an ache or pain, a sense of overwhelming exhaustion mentally and physically, or you notice that you are getting ill more often. It's so easy to overlook these clues, but eventually they catch up. 
Self care is not a selfish thing. I know that indulging in a massage or pedicure feels totally selfish, but these small acts make such a huge impact on your mental and physical well being. Self care can be as simple as making a commitment to meditate 10 minutes a day or it can be as elaborate as taking a weekend spa trip. Whatever you do, take time to take care of you. You cannot be at your best potential when you are running on empty. 
Massage therapy is personally my favorite self care regimen. I purposely carve out time every few weeks (or more often when I am having pain issues) to get a massage. Not only does massage help relax the body and relieve muscle aches, it also gives me a bit of a mental "reset". I am able to clear my mind and focus on allowing my body to heal. 
Don't underestimate the power of a long, hot bath! A bath is my go-to for quick relaxation. I make the water extra hot, add in some bath salts, a bath bomb, light candles, and relax for about an hour. I wait until all my kids are in bed so I can have that time for myself. It makes a huge difference and I find I sleep so much better afterwards. 
Whatever you choose, don't feel guilty. Your body and your mind will thank you for replenishing it. 
What is your favorite self care ritual? I have recently started accupuncture and love it!
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​-Theresa