The Willow Grove

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Our body oils are getting a makeover! We will be changing them to massage oils with specific intentions behind them. We are leaning towards 4 scents and so far people have voted for De-Stress, Sensuous, Relaxation, and Invigorating. Let us know what you think! And keep an eye out for the new product! #massage #aromatherapy #willowgrove #essentialoils 🌺🍃

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We have restocked on all of our natural insect and tick repellents. All of our tick products are safe for adults, children, infants and dogs! We have a salve (best for longest staying power) a stick for convenience and a spray (awesome for clothes, shoes, pets, and a quick fix). We also sell pure geranium essential oil. These products will prevent ticks from getting on you or your loved ones. Our Bug B Gone spray is essential for keeping away mosquitoes and other flying insects. #willowgrove #noticks #keepawaybugs #natural #essentialoils #nontoxic

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Our natural bath salts are being phased out! These are a great way for your body to soak up minerals that are good for your skin ❤️ Refreshmint(peppermint), Lavender, and Spirit's Wisdom (eucalyptus) they are on sale for only $9 each! #aromatherapy #bath #willowgrove #feelgood

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Tie Dye Eggs

We made tie dye eggs for a something fun and new in our Easter traditions this year. Here we will share instructions with you in case you want to try it too!

You will need:  White eggs Mini muffin or muffin tin Paper Towels Twist Ties or tiny elastics Gloves  Food Dye Glass or metal bakeware Spray Bottle with water in it

Preheat your oven to 325F and put your eggs in the muffin tin. When the oven is up to temperature, bake your eggs for 30 min.  When they are baked, immediately place them in a bowl of cold water and keep them there for 10 min.

After the eggs have cooled wrap a piece/section of paper towel around each egg and twist at one end, securing with a twist tie or small elastic.

Put your gloves on (so you don’t dye your hands) and drop bits of food coloring around each egg. I try to put colors next to each other that will blend well together (i.e. red and green will make brown, which wasn’t a color I was looking for).

After you drop the colors on, take the spray bottle and spray the paper towels on the eggs. This will cause the dye to spread out. The more water you spray the paler the colors will be. After you spray, gently squeeze the egg, this will allow excess water to drip out as well as press the paper towel into the egg shell.

Now is the waiting time. You need to wait for the paper towels to dry. I put my eggs in a glass baking dish and set them outside, the sunshine dried them in a couple of hours. You can also place them inside and aim a fan at them, or simply let them sit overnight.

When they are dry, simply unwrap them and enjoy! 

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The Willow Grove would like to present you with a recipe and step by step instructions to make your own filled chocolate eggs!

I took a trip to my local craft store (they have all kinds of baking and candy making things) and I purchased candy melts (color fun, cheesecake, and chocolate) and a Wilton silicon egg shaped mold. 

Before I add any photos, I will give a list of what I used to make mine:

Butter (i used about a half a stick total) Cream Cheese (1/2 cup or more) Half and Half (about 2 tbsp) 3 bags of candy melts (chocolate and then any other flavors/colors you want) 1 bag of dark chocolate morsels silicon candy molds (egg shaped and regular truffle shaped, or whatever you want!) Tiny rubber spatula Measuring cups/glass microwave safe bowls Double boiler

We started by melting the regular/dark chocolate in the microwave with about 1/2 tbsp of butter added to it. We melted it by 20 second increments. After ever 20 seconds of melting time, be sure to take it out and stir it. Do not over heat it or it will seize up and make you sad. After it was melted well, we used a tiny spatula to line the inside of the chocolate mold.

While one person was filling the molds I mixed up the filling. Using a double boiler I emptied some of the fun color and cheesecake candy melts, about 3tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp of half and half and about a half a cup of cream cheese. (More cream cheese will make a more solid filling after they have been chilled. I stirred the ingredients together with a wire whisk until everything was melted and well combined.

Once the candy molds were lined with chocolate, and the chocolate had set (if you want to rush it, just place the mold in the freezer for 1-2 min) I poured the filling into the molds.

We placed the filled mold into the freezer for about 5 min, just so everything would set. Once we took them out, we put another layer of melted chocolate on top. If you need to re-melt the chocolate start with a small increment of time (8-10 seconds). 

After the molds were covered with chocolate we placed it in the freezer for another 10-15 min (you can keep them in there longer if you want to). After they have set in the freezer you can push them right out of the candy mold, and eat them! Mine had a very loose, creamy center (like any chocolate creme candy or even like a cadbury, but filled with flavored candy instead of fondant).

I hope you enjoy making yours too!

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Sunday Morning Roasters

At The Willow Grove we are all fans of caffeine, in its many forms. On Sundays in my particular section of the grove we brew two pots of coffee in two different ways, one with a percolator over the stove and the second with our drip style coffee maker. 

Sundays are a great day for reflection. Many people use this day to digest the events of the past week and plan for the new events to come, some relish in the ability to sleep in, others still take the day as an opportunity to finish off chores or preparations that need to be finished before Monday comes back.

This Sunday I am thinking about family, traditions, and new traditions that become instilled (aka excuses to see family). Last night we “grovers” had a family get-together so celebrate St. Patricks Day (which was Friday). Over the past year we have had a few medical scares in the family, and so cherish the time we get to share. Yesterday we celebrated being together by playing a variety of games (including, but not limited to Utter Nonsense, Tsuro, and Zombie Dice) as well as eating all kinds of food and consuming a variety of libations and generally laughing, hugging, yelling and having a silly fun time.

I am doubly grateful for the amount of coffee in the house today

That being said I would like to know what kind of family celebrations (big or small, traditional or new) you have been enthralling in lately, or will be soon! Please share with us.