Rustique Essentials

02/07/2026

Y’all! We are so blessed to now have a location in Springfield! We’ve stocked a cabinet at Pappy’s Knives and Antiques right on Main Street. Y’all, why have I never known about this place?! It has a TON of stuff and several local vendors we all know as well. They have soaps, cast iron ware, soy candles, vintage quilts, CorningWare, Revere ware, vintage books, vintage decor, clothing, comics, records, like…. Y’all…. I could seriously go on and on with what all I saw in there. It’s got a fun nautical theme inside too! It looks like it’s going to be small from the outside but it’s huge! With a place this large and with such a wide variety of vendors I’ve circled our spot in the last picture that I took while standing in the doorway. Y’all come check them out. You may end up like me and walk out with way more than you anticipated 😅 Hey, we gotta support other small businesses too right? That’s what I’m going to tell my husband 🤣🤣🤣

❤️

02/04/2026

Want to come make soap with me? Y’all come on! 😅

02/03/2026

The soap shop sure does look pretty but I’m SO ready to have my normal non-icy shop back 😆 Oh I’m beyond thankful we got the roof fixed before all this hit. Im not going to lie, I’m a little scared to turn the water back on to her. A few years back we had a crazy cold spell and ended up having to gut the shop due to a massive water leak from frozen/busted pipes. Learning from past mistakes, this time the lines are pex not copper, I shut the water completely off before the snow hit, and I drained all the water out of the pipes. Should it be absolutely perfectly fine to turn the water on and make soap today? Yes. Will my anxiety listen to my brain and all it’s logic? No . Absolutely not 😅 I mentally need my husband here to turn it back on just in case the bottom falls out again 🤣 Is anyone else like that or is it just me? 🥴

01/31/2026

01/21/2026

It’s wild having a child in college that’s hours and hours away from you. She’s always been here with us so when weather like what’s coming hits I’ve been able to handle everything. I remember the 94 ice storm. My momma was a waitress and said the interstates shut down so her restaurant couldn’t get more food in… which wouldn’t be an issue except Wilma Rudolph Blvd had power when no where else did so people were driving there to get hot meals when they couldn’t cook at home. When the grocery stores ran out of food (interstates shut down so no semis coming through) even more people came to the restaurant. Momma said by day 3 they were serving salad and ice cream for breakfast bc that’s all they had left. For whatever reason our apartment got power back when the other units didn’t and I remember people all over the house- on the couch, chairs, and on the floor on blankets sleeping so they could stay warm. A tree fell on a neighbors unit and my dad had to go cut a path so she could get out. I remember in another winter power outage (once we had “a real house” lol!) my momma blanketing off the hallway and kitchen and everyone sleeping in the living room. She cooked soup in a pot on top of the kerosene heater. I remember her turning on the battery radio and listening to when school would be back in session or how bad the roads were so we knew if going to town was safe.

My daughter hasn’t had to live through anything even close to what I did. I’m not sure she’d know what to do just bc she’s never experienced it. So… this is what I’m telling her

1. Get a battery radio. Cell phones will die and wifi won’t be available. A radio will let you know weather warnings, road conditions, and break up the silence in no power.

2. I’d have candles on hand- unscented if possible as ten different scents going in different rooms at the same time is a headache waiting to happen. She can’t have candles in the dorm so I’m sending her hot hands and an emergency blanket (so she can make a tent over her bed to hold heat in if it gets cold in her dorm- she should have a back up generator but even those can fail or run out of fuel if needed long enough)

3. Get some back up water. If electricity goes out the pipes can burst. Burst pipes = no water. No bathing, brushing teeth, cooking, washing hands, flushing toilets (pour enough water fast into the bowl and it’ll flush without you even touching the handle), drinking (making coffee- I need my cup of coffee 😅), etc.

4. Stock up on soups- either in a can or the just add water ones. It doesn’t take much effort to cook soups. I like the just add water ones bc it’s about $0.50 per serving. You can boil water or your soup on a grill burner outside, portable camp stove, if you’ve got a camper you can do it in there (and we did live in our camper one year when the power was out for a few days bc we still had heat- no water, but good heat and the ability to cook), or even over a candle. We have those fondue pots with the gel burners in the metal cans that you put under and those cook pretty good in a pinch.

5. Have blankets on stand-by to block off door ways and windows to keep the cold out and heat in. I got some door insulation barriers on Amazon that I love bc even when the door is open it keeps the cold out. SO worth the money. Looks a little ugly but I don’t care if it saves me money on my electric or keeps my house warmer lol!

Oh, and don’t forget to have some fun! Make all the snow man and snow angels. Make a batch of snow cream. Sled like you’re never going to sled again. Have a snowball fight or build an igloo and have all the fun there is that comes with snow.

01/15/2026

Bellhollow Beef is restocked! 🎉

01/13/2026

Miss Lucille's Marketplace is restocked! 🎉 Ill be getting more loofah soaps made this week but everything else should be good to go 😊

01/09/2026

We’re open today (Friday January 9th) from 1:00-5:00 and tomorrow from 10:00-3:00

Good Friday morning y’all! The farm store is OPEN today, Friday January 9th from 1:00-5:00 and tomorrow from 10:00-3:00. Oreo the house lamb will be in the farm store so y’all come on out and say hello! We’ve also got a fresh batch of bitty baby piglets that will be available to pet this weekend.

We will be running the $2.00 off per pound for any meats with the Butcher Block processor label on it. We’re fully restocked on soaps, shampoo bars, moisturizers, bath bombs, and so much more! It’s going to be an awesome weekend. Have a great day!

01/08/2026

jsmeatsandmore is restocked! 🎉 Look at me go yall 😆 Bellhollow Beef will be restocked later today and I’ll be all caught up ❤️ Oh! And the girls are running a sale on their bracelets. Only $1.00 each on the items in the tray! Wow! Did you know buying a handmade bracelet directly supports the girl’s lamb show fund? They work so hard hand making each and every one of them in order to earn their own money. Man I know momma and daddy sure are proud of those girls bc I sure would be!

01/07/2026

Miss Lucille's Marketplace is restocked! 🎉

01/05/2026

So far, 2026 is more than I could ever ask for ❤️ Soap shop has a new (well old but new lol!) roof so it shouldn’t rain inside the shop anymore 😅 New insulation, added plywood, all new wood to replace the bad, secure tin, and we have a local guy coming out for flashing and gutters. It’s been 6 years yall of not having the funds to make this happen to the beautiful 100 year old ex-corn crib turned soap shop and we’ve finally saved up enough that it’s becoming a reality 🥰

Have you ever been at a stoplight beside a semi truck that started rolling but even though you weren’t actually moving it felt like you were going backwards momentarily? That’s what stage I feel like I’ve been stuck in. Not moving anywhere but the illusion of constantly falling backwards. I couldn’t keep a thought in my head. I couldn’t stay caught up. I was in a freeze response for a long long time. I’m not sure if it’s bc my husband saved up enough time at work that he could take off a couple weeks to help me catch up or if it’s just that the energy changed. Him being here was an absolute blessing. Does anyone else have a person in their lives that mends all the brokenness and have a way of holding the pieces you’re trying to carry together so the load is lighter? He’s mine, and for once we had an entire week of him being here both when the sun came up AND went down which is rare bc he leaves at 4:50 am for work and doesn’t get home until 5:15 pm every single work day.

Now that I’ve got breath back in my lungs be on the look out for regular fresh booth restocks. Our farm page Whitehead Farms has some awesome stuff happening as far as diy homesteading on a budget or on little to no land tips and tricks. It’s going to be a great year yall ❤️

01/04/2026

The soap shop is getting a new roof and we have the BEST helper! (She thinks my husband is her momma… can you tell? 🤣)