A Nice Cuppa

Until recently, the only things I knew about Delaware were my sister-in-law was raised there, the Duponts reside there and major corporations are headquartered there. I had heard about the beaches from friends, but had never really spent any time there. Then my grandmother purchased a house along the peninsula in Bethany Beach. I have spent the last few weeks there with my parents, husband, grandmother, brothers, their wives and their children. As you can imagine, we were packed in and I found myself often escaping to explore.

I definitely thought the Delaware coast would be the last place I would find an inspiring Must Have. As you can imagine, beach culture is usually more about salt-water taffy than coffee and tea. But, one day, I was lunching with my mother and grandmother at this wonderful restaurant called The Buttery. Grandmommie told us about a place called the Soap Fairy where they hand make fragrant natural soaps. She couldn???t remember where it was so we drove around while Grandmommie tried to remember. Finally, we found it.

Located in a defunct ice plant in the old town of Lewes, Delaware the Soap Fairy factory welcomes visitors to watch them make the soap or you can just head right into the shop like we did. Being a caffeine freak and investigator, I was instantly drawn to the green tea flavored soaps and lotions. They smelled phenomenal and I was thrilled to see all the product are vegetarian and contain shea butter which is important for parched and sensitive skin like mine. I also loved the milk and honey (perfect accessories for tea) and the bergamot flavored products (the main ingredient in earl grey tea). At the end of the day, we all made out like bandits and have been taking very relaxing baths ever since.

*Handmade soaps and lotions are available online at www.soapfairy.com