When I saw a pic of these Produce Candles on Nan Myers' Instagram last week, I was quick to leave a comment. I knew I had to blog about them. Lucky for me, the creators, based in Charleston, South Carolina were in Atlanta this past weekend for the Gift Mart so I grabbed my camera and headed over to learn more... Sara Crosby and Beau Burdette are the hard working team behind this new brand. After Beau helped to build the home fragrance brand, Rewined, he took this knowledge and paired it with his love for locally grown food and organic farming. Produce Candles was founded upon strong ideals and deep passion...and it shows. Sara is working close with Beau on the entire project from the everyday production to marketing and branding. Their amazing booth at AmericasMart certainly stood out amongst the fray. I especially loved the white brick facade, vintage bike and mini colander pendants. All of the Produce Candle scents are inspired by local farms, which Beau and Sarah visited countless times.

Sarah, "When dealing with fruits and veggies, it's much easier to fall into an artificial fragrance pattern so we did a lot of back and forth tweaking. We really wanted to be as raw and organic as possible." They also wanted to promote and celebrate that Slow Food mentality of connecting with local growers, buying seasonally and truly experiencing the freshness and beauty of produce. They've created their base candles which will be available year round. These include Carrot, Honey, Kale, Melon, Peanut, Radish and Wildflower. Others will be added seasonally- like this spring you'll also find Rhubarb, Snap Pea and Cilantro and in the summer look for Tomato, Corn and Peach (above). I have to say, my personal favorite is Radish. I've always wanted to name my dog Radish- I love the name, I love the color, their fresh, crispy taste and of course, the smell. I took one of these candles home and its been burning in my kitchen ever since. I'm a fan, to say the least, and excited to try more.

Sara's favorite was Rhubarb, then it was Honey, now it's Cilantro. As she shared, "I have found myself just holding the Cilantro in front of my nose." The incredibly talented Stitch Design Co. in Charleston designed all of their labels which are vibrant, charming and dare I say, adorable. They quickly do their job in making you want to pick one up and see what they're all about. Another thing to love about this company is how they and Rewined both support and hire employees from The South Carolina Vocational Rehab Center. This center helps Carolinians with disabilities prepare for and maintain employment. Learn more about Produce Candles here and please tell your local shop owners about them. I have a feeling these brilliantly conceived (and packaged) candles are about to strike it big... **You can pre-order candles now on their site & they'll be ready to ship directly on February 24th. Photos and Content: Sweet Peach      Additional workshop photos: Produce Candles

In the past, I'd likely have been traveling somewhere up the northern hemisphere visiting my parents during this festive and joyous season. As I scheduled my travels ahead this year (and as as much as I miss the winter hot chocolates and the often ugly holiday sweaters), I've been quite excited about spending summertime here.Venetian Blinds Won'T Close Completely After experimenting with Ottolenghi's soba noodle with aubergine and mango followed by a cooling mango lassi, my family requested a mango cheesecake!Bathtub Drain Stopper Keeps Closing This is not the type of cheesecake I usually make - which is baked and has a super light and fluffy texture (and which also to my surprise is the most popular recipe on this blog!)Best Place To Catch Catfish In North Carolina

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" - 2 Corinthians 9:15 50g melted unsalted butter 200g cream cheese, at room temperature 10g sheets of leaf gelatine (around 3-4 sheets) 50g greek or plain yogurt juice of half a lemon 150g pureed mango (I used a stick blender to puree) 2 mangoes (1 to place in the gelatine layer and 1 to decorate with on top of cake) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 5g sheets of leaf gelatine (~2 sheets) 1. Process the biscuits until they are like crumbs, then add the butter and pulse again. Line the bottom of a 6 inch/15cm tin with a removable base (or a springform tin), pressing the biscuits in with your hands or the back of your spoon. Put the tin in the fridge to set. 2. Submerge the 10g gelatine leaves in a dish of cold water and leave to soak and soften for 5 minutes. 3. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth and add in the sugar, cream and milk and mix until combined and smooth. 4. Transfer the cream cheese mixture into a small pot and place on the stove over low gas and whisk until the mixture is completely smooth.

Take the gelatine leaves out of the water, give them a good squeeze to get rid of excess water, and stir one by one into the cream cheese mixture (they will dissolve instantly). Leave to cool for a few minutes. 5. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and pureed mango into the cream cheese mixture. Leave to cool completely. 6. Pour into the cake pan and smooth down slightly. 7. Leave to cool in the fridge for around 3-4 hours until set. 8. Submerge the 5g gelatine leaves in a dish of cold water and leave to soak and soften for 5 minutes. 9. Put the 150g mango puree, water and sugar and lemon juice into a pot and heat up over low gas. 10. Take the gelatine leaves out of the water and squeeze dry, and stir into the pot. 11. Cut two cheeks from the mango and remove the skin on both cheeks. Cut the mango into around 0.2cm slices. 12. Remove the set cheesecake from the fridge and distribute the mango slices evenly on top. Slightly overlap mango slices in a concentric circle at the centre of cake.