​In the last year or so, I've become interested in the potential benefits of CBD oil. New products and information are seemingly everywhere! I've tried a few CBD oil tinctures, figuring this to be the best delivery option into my system because I've tried other natural options via tincture.  Now, I've discovered a CBD option that I feel is a game-changer...CBD oil in a vape pen. And because I'm in my forties and inevitably losing my cool (just ask my teenage son!), I feel for just a couple of times a day, like I might be getting my cool back. If only for a moment in the inhale and exhale as I vape my CBD oil.
First, I want you to see it...and then, I'll give you my story...

My issue is that I have difficulty getting to sleep, staying asleep, and sleeping soundly. All of it. It's been a life long struggle for me to get a good night's sleep. It's true of most of the women in my family, so I feel I come by it honestly (genetically, I guess!). I've tried everything. Back in my twenties, it was TylenolPM (Tylenol can harm your liver with overuse and definitely don't take it if you consume alcohol), then in my thirties, it was Ambien (I feel we are all familiar with the controversy, but for me it boils down to a desire to not take prescription medications unless truly medically necessary), now in my forties, I've become more naturally-minded, so I've tried  Melatonin (i love that it's natural and a hormone already existing within our bodies, but it only ever works well for me for a few days at a time) and most recently, I've been using Valerian root and sleep patches with Valerian and various other herbs.  I've developed some anxiety in the last few years, so Valerian seemed a wise natural choice, as it is believed to reduce anxiety and it's symptoms.  All in all, It seems I'm always considering "something else" because the thing I'm currently using is not quite getting the job done...I'm still not sleeping well...consistently.   My experience with most of the items I just listed is that they work for a short period of time and then, inevitably taper off to seeming to not working at all in my desperation to truly get a good night's sleep.  And now I hear CBD oil may help. Yes! I'm in.
​
I have tried a few CBD oil options so far (there's no high with CBD at all...treat it like you are taking a vitamin for general well-being). I'm just not sure that I can say I've had success. First, I tried SOLCBD, then another brand (believed to be the same maker, but packaged differently and less expensive, but the WORST taste, ugh!) and now I was ready to go to a straight tincture. I'm fine with the pot taste (yes, once upon a time, I enjoyed it! it now just makes me paranoid!), I don't want/need stevia and any flavor added to mine. I just feel that takes away from the natural aspect of CBD. Hello disposable CBD vape pen!

Admittedly, after two tincture bottles of CBD, each a month's long course, I was weary about continuing and buying & trying another brand (different potencies or different growers...may have a different effect?).  My experience with CBD oil felt the same same as all my previous experiences with sleep aids...I felt I'd discovered the magic only to be disappointed a few days later when my sleep eluded me again. Until I was introduced to the vape pen!  My younger sister I were discussing her knee pain (soccer in her early years and now the aches and pains that come along with getting older) and I suggested CBD oil (she also has the genetic-can't-sleep-ever issue).  Another benefit to CBD oil use, and I think probably it's most important benefit, is for relief of pain (what this can do for the replacement of opiods for pain! but that's a blog for another day...) Because I didn't love the brands I'd tried so far, I didn't have a recommendation for her, so she started doing some research and found disposable vape pens! This particular brand does an amazing job explaining the benefits of using a vape pen over ingesting a tincture.

​a note about bioavailabilty from their website - 
​
​Did you know that when you ingest CBD orally, the amount of CBD that will reach your bloodstream is only around fifteen percent?
However, when you are vaping or smoking CBD, nearly fifty to sixty percent of the compound will enter your blood circulation! When you vaporize CBD, it enters your lungs and circulates directly thru your entire bloodstream.
Of course, when you ingest it orally, the CBD must first pass through the gut and liver. Liver enzymes break down the concentration of bioactive compounds during an occurrence called the “first pass effect.” When you smoke or vaporize it, though, CBD bypasses this first pass effect, delivering the result you desire much faster and more efficiently.

My long story short is that....it works! I've been sleeping pretty darn well. For me, the CBD oil vape pen works best. But, I believe the experience is personal and different for everyone...the CBD oil tincture may work best for you...or the balm...or maybe you have a pet in chronic pain (they've got CBD for that, too!).  My goal in using CBD oil was to sleep better, but along the way, I have discovered the other benefits it offers. My general anxiety is greatly reduced, as are the aches and pains that I attribute to age and also being a diabetic (I'm a Type1 and high blood sugar can hurt  - if you are a diabetic, you understand). And this CBD oil brand is grown organically (so important!) in Colorado, uses organic coconut oil as the oil base for their CBD...and provides all the specific and relevant information you need to make an informed decision for better health or your continued good health.  

-Click on any of the pictures above to be taken to the website to read more...
- it is an affiliate link, so I will earn a bit for introducing you to this amazing CBD product and company...
#cbdoil #cbdoilvapepen #type1diabetic #type1 #happy #feelgood #sleepwell #sharethelove

A friend recommended this simplified version of quickbooks to me about a year ago now.  I felt, at the time, that it wouldn't be simple enough for me because I didn't have the time to "learn" the program. I had always heard that there was a bit of a learning curve with Quickbooks.  But, I have FINALLY signed up and it has changed my entrepreneurial life. I dread the bookkeeping part of small business...and it's taken me a long time to admit it, but I'm not as organized as I'd like to be.  I sell on ETSY, too...and reconciling those numbers monthly was such a chore that I avoided it entirely last year! Yup, so last month, after seeing a special offer on ETSY for one month free and $5.00 a month after that (it'll go to $10.00 after 6 months, I think), I had to give it a try.  I made a New Year's Resolution to, at least TRY, to get organized in 2017! WOW. I'm so thankful I did.  The program makes it easy to link to sites that you sell your goods, and ETSY of course, and it sticks all the numbers in the appropriate places. If you advertise on ETSY, it'll drop that monthly figure into the advertising expense...no work on your part. And it puts all the other small listing fees in to the right places...it's all an automatic sync.  I was so pleasantly surprised to realize that I could backtrack into 2016 (it automatically pulled that info from ETSY when I signed up) and add expenses & other sales in 2016.  I sell WiLDWooD CoLLeCTiF on Amazon Handmade, too, and they don't offer a link to there yet, plus the program does not pull my ETSY wholesale expenses from my ETSY account, so I've had to manually input those to get true figures for the year.  AND...the program also gives you your quarterly tax payment estimate. YAY. It's mobile, too, so you can take pictures of receipts (you don't have to) and log all expenses and sales as you go!  All for $5 a month.  

Quickbooks Intuit Self-employed is so well worth it!! Perhaps I will succeed in getting organized in 2017. At the very least, I'll be a little less stressed come tax season next year!

Here's a link to take a look or get started. You'll get the same deal I have.

Happy New Year!
.................Brandy

Just so you know, I'm a devoted local shopper...and a night owl, too, and so, I'm most productive late at night.  Unless I want to head to the 24-hour place that starts with a W (I won't shop there, ever!), which I don't want to do anyway because I'm already in my cozy pajamas, it's a good time for me to scratch things off my list heading into the next day. So, often, I'm a lone midnight online shopper.  then looking forward to getting that kid-at-Christmas feeling seeing a package on my doorstep a few days later when arriving home after work...yay!

So...I've recently discovered this great natural, wellness website (there seem to be so many to choose from now) called iHerb that I'd love to share with you! They have really fantastic prices on all you need in the natural, organic, wellness, and supplement realm.  It really is a good find.

Here's a link to iHerb. Click through and take a peek.  You'll want to sign up...the prices are that good!  If you sign up through the link, you'll get $5 off your order...and they offer free shipping (I'm such a sucker for it!)!  To get it, you only have to spend $20 (how awesome is that?). And you'll receive 10% loyalty credit for each order placed. So, I placed my first order this morning for $22.85 for Omega 3, Coenzyme Q10, and castille soap (just over $20 to take advantage of the free shipping offer!) and now have $2.29 in loyalty credit to apply as a credit towards my next order. As a single mom, I'm all about saving a few bucks wherever I can. AND...they have samples that you can add to your order...super cheap...like  smaller quantities of a supplement you're considering, but aren't ready to invest in 90 days and a lot of money worth.  Some are 7 days worth, some are 30 days worth and many numbers in between, but the bonus is that they are deeply discounted when you order. You can add 2 samples at a discount and if you add more than 2, you're paying the "regular" sample price (not discounted).  I LoVe little packages!!!
​
So....I just checked a bit further...on the other iHerb perks and pluses...when you sign up and get $5.00 off, I get $5.00, too! Plus, I'll receive 5% of the total for whatever you order as credit towards my future purchases. And then, they even donate $5 to charity. How awesome. And just think, if you fall in love with the site as I have, you can then recommend it to your friends and family and YOU earn all of these same bonuses!  What a great company!

This is a picture of my most recent iHerb order (October 2016). I am so amazed at how good their prices are!  I paid $23.14 for all of this...and of course, got free shipping because I met the $20 minimum order threshold.  I had a few dollars in loyalty bucks that I used, too...
Y'all need to check this site out if you purchase supplements and wellness products regularly.  They are a well-rounded natural online store...along with supplements, you can purchase essential oils, castille soaps, nuts, coconut oil, ghee, flours, snacks...and so much more...and all ORGANIC and NATURAL. With no tax ;) ....and the FREE SHIPPING gets me every time!  Here's the iHerb link again....start exploring...I hope you love it.​

I have a 14 year old teenage boy.  Teenage boys are dirty.  Mine has a favorite chair that he sits in to watch TV.  I'm going to be straight up with you here...he sometimes uses the chair arms as a napkin.  The chair is so dirty.  It's a pretty off-white and grey IKAT cotton (when clean)...and it's desperate for a cleaning.

So, yeah...I could go buy some Resolve and spray it on, but I am on a mission. A mission to use only natural products in my house.  So, I get to thinking about how I'm going to clean this chair...of course, I head right on over to Pinterest to find some concoction someone already tried and is deeming it best. The first one that catches my eye is this one titled Homemade Upholstery Cleaner - 3 Simple Ingredients. Awesome.  Vinegar, Alcohol (yes, alcohol), and essential oil. Hmmm, I can do that. I have all 3 ingredients.  And the alcohol!  Who knew!  I've never even considered cleaning with it!  AND...it will sterilize this dirty chair, too!  So, I follow her recipe, make a batch, put it in a mister bottle, and spray it on.  Wait a few minutes and take a sponge (one side has a roughness to it...this is the side I use to start. I mean, this chair is dirty.) And I scrub away!  ...and all the while, thinking there's no way this is going to get this chair clean...it's ruined forever!

​But....Oh. My.  My chair and ottoman look almost brand new!  I now wish I had taken a before picture. I'll share my after picture with you. (I was so skeptical...well, because, ya know...the ingredients are so simple...and it's homemade). This is the real deal, y'all. Give it a try. You'll be happy (and healthier!) that you did!

It's been a while since I wrote a blog here...and I'm looking forward to getting back to it with a renewed sense of vigor.  Since closing the shop in November 2015, I've been busy with marketing and selling, at wholesale and retail, my art, WiLDWooD CoLLeCTiF. You can check it out here on the Artisan East site, and on ETSY.

For more reasons than I can list, the time came to close my sweet little artisan shop.  Some of you who are local know that very soon after opening Artisan East, my son's father passed away, and my life (and of course, my son's life) was forever altered. (This was 4 months after my father passed away suddenly one month after I had opened the doors to the shop and right at the point that I felt my grief was easing).   As a small business owner, especially a new business owner, the work is 24/7.  My son needed me...and the guilt I felt being away so much was just overwhelming. I feared not being there to talk to him right when he had intense feelings of loss and sadness would affect him dramatically and be irreversible.  With both the emotional burden and the financial burden of having a business and being the sole provider for my son being so heavy, I decided to close and regroup...
It's been about 10 months since I've closed Artisan east and it feels like 5 months. Time has flown by. It's been just over 2 years since my son's father passed and my Dad, too.  

That's the bitter. The shop was always my goal.  It was my horizon through my 20s and 30s and I was sure it's what I would do until I retired.  Letting it go has been hard, has made me dig deep, soul-search, and re-examine. But, I have discovered the sweet. It's a longing that I didn't know I needed filled...to be present for my son even more so than I ever was.  The shop was not my utopia, like I had always imagined it would be.  It just didn't fit anymore.  My life course was changed for me...and the irony is not lost on me.  It's exactly where I want to be.
​
I share our story here for those of you who are interested. Thank you to all of you for your support and for rallying for Max.

Along with the website & ETSY, I've also made my artwork available on Amazon Handmade.  Did you know?  Have you heard? Amazon is giving ETSY some competition.  It's just launched...and I'm eager to see if it helps me reach new customers. Take a peek.

Wildwood Handmade Collective..on Amazon Handmade

It's here with a bang!  Summer always comes so quickly here in Nashville.  We have a week, maybe two, of beautiful spring weather with the temperature in the 70's...and then, summer is here to stay...long before June. It's already been in the 90's many days...hot and humid.
And with  that, I start fantasizing of being out in it...by the water, sitting on a local patio sipping cold cocktails, grilling out with family & friends, & getting out in my city to experience all that's happening...
So, for the summer, the shop will be closed on Wednesdays, along with our regular closed day, Tuesday.  Come early September, we'll open back up on that day and go back to being closed on Tuesdays only.

Hours are the same for the days were open, 11:30 -6:30 on weekdays...10-5 on Saturdays and 10-4 on Sundays.  The website, of course, is open 24/7...feel free to order there always. You have the LOCALPICKUP open always to avoid any shipping charges...and I'll have whatever you purchase ready when you're able to get by and pick it up.  I'm always happy to giftwrap and giftbag all purchases...just let me know your desire when you finalize your purchase. For the months that we're closed on Wednesdays, we're offering free local shipping.  Use coupon code SUMMER2015 when you checkout...and order whatever you'd like free of shipping charges.  This is only for customers in TN or shipping to someone in TN.  That coupon will expire on August 31, 2015.

We have some amazing artisan goods coming into the shop over the the next month. I will be posting on Instagram  (@artisan_eastnashville) as they arrive and putting them immediately up for viewing on the website.

Father's Day is June, 21st!  We're stocked with cards for Dad...and stay tuned for some amazing leather goods on their way.  They may just be perfect for your Dad.

#fathersday #eastnashville #artisaneastnashville #shopeastnashville #artisaneast #summerfun #nashville

Wildwood is now available wholesale.  I'm so excited about my new endeavor! 
I've listed with ETSY to make viewing easy...and of course, feel free to contact me
to order directly or with any questions...
Email me to request the wholesale page password. You'll have a direct link to the linesheet.
Opening order is 9 tablets.

But first....goodbye, February!
You were COLD and gloomy...unlike any February I remember here in Nashville. You made for some beautiful pictures...
icicles hanging from the shop awning & planters, and iced-over trees glimmering in the sunshine that ONE day.
I do the loVe the brightness that envelops our surroundings when there's snow all around...it makes the world so serene and beautiful.
But,  good riddance!  Come on spring! It's time for sunshine and flowers!!!