Christmas Shopping from Monastic and Cottage Businesses

I was going to assemble a post like this ... but I see that The Anchoress is waaay ahead of me (I'm not surprised!). I'm a sucker for fruitcake and mustard which I see among the offerings but I've got to admit I'm very intrigued by this lip balm and the lavendar hand lotion.

I’ve already proclaimed the lip balm made by the Dominican Nuns of Summit, NJ to be the BEST. Lip. Balm. Evah but I have to tell you the more I use their lavender scented hand lotion, the more I love it. The scent is light, the glide is smooth, the ingredients are pure and a little goes a looooong way. I like it as a whole-body lotion, too, not just for the hands. The sisters are getting very creative with their little shoppe, introducing a line of Christmas-themed soaps and pump-action room sprays in delicate scents. I haven’t tried the room sprays, yet - I’m not much of a girl for those things, as a rule, but they sound worth a shot. They also have balm/lotion samplers, soap gift crates and more. As the sisters are engaged in raising money to meet their day-to-day expenses, but they’re trying to make repairs to their growing house of prayer, and so they’re especially grateful for their customers.

I may be doing a lot of shopping from the folks in her post.