A Weekend at Beekman

This weekend, David and I will be packing a few things, and heading east to visit Josh and Dr. Brent in Sharon Springs, New York at their home and farm known as the Beekman.

The stately Georgian/Federal style mansion is situated on 60 acres surrounded by meadows, heirloom vegetable gardens, and formal flower gardens. Oh, and let's not forget the goats.

I became familiar with Dr. Brent when he worked for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. It wasn't until a year ago April, during an appearance on the Martha Stewart Show did I become aware that he and his partner Josh owned a farm and made goat milk soap. During that appearance, Brent and Martha discussed (and fed) the goats and worked together to make homemade goat milk soap. When I logged into their website, Beekman1802.com, I was immediately taken in with the beauty of the farm, and their 'experiment in seasonal living.' I've been a avid reader (and customer) ever since, always learning from what they are sharing and adapting ideas into my own gardening and living ventures.

I've watched with great interest as Dr. Brent and Josh have turned their concept of home and farm into an emerging lifestyle and media company. Recent features in the New York Times and Vanity Fair have been key in building awareness of Beekman and the natural and useful product line available through their website. The appeal is far and wide. From coast to coast and from around the world, visitors are making Beekman.com a preferred destination during their Internet travels to learn from their work, while snapping up goat milk soap products, heirloom vegetable seeds and other beautiful items made by local artisans on their e-commerce site. In a most recent development, Beekman soap products will be available in Anthroplogie stores as well as Michael Chiarello's NapaStyle stores in California.

A visit to Beekman seemed like the perfect kick off to summer and the perfect way to celebrate my 50th birthday. I was thrilled when Josh and Dr. Brent graciously invited us to stay at the farm and help them in the gardens (which should be interesting for David, since he's not a gardener!). I want to stroll the grounds, see the goats, gather eggs from the chickens, dig in the dirt and hopefully see the production of their goat milk soap products.

As we drive to Sharon Springs, we're stopping along the way to visit antique shops that we come across. You'll be able to follow along while we're on the road through Twitter and read a complete recap (or two!) here on House Blend when we return. See you soon!