It happened slowly, over time, where her light would begin to awaken a sleeping part of me. I would say it started over a decade ago. It began to happen when I was so broken that I needed something larger than myself to feel protected by. It began as a place of refuge and solace subtly at first. Later a curiosity began to emerge. A wondering if indeed we were wired to fall into rhythm with her. Later, practicing biodynamic gardening, kundalini yoga, herbalism, beekeeping, and diving into Celtic practices opened up the doorway to more moon-lore. All these practices had moon wisdom woven i ..read more

For nearly 6 months at the Santa Monica farmers Market, I would sample a bread or cake by a mysterious fairy at one of my favorite stalls Kandarian Farms. I kept asking who this creature was making these treats with no agenda rather than to bring goodness in the world. One day as life would have it I caught the elfin beauty as she was dropping one of the breads. I was thrilled and asked if we could share this recipe on my site. My daughters and I are struggling with some gut issues (who isn’t with all the glyphosate and vaccines in our bloodstreams), so for us to be able to eat something deli ..read more

        To me, a bircher museli reminds me of traveling to Europe as a child, or later in my twenties staying at a first class hotel in New York City. The Bircher muesli just seems so refined yet also hearty. More than just a creamy cereal, it was an old word dish that had beautiful poached fruit, nuts and grains soaked in cream or milk. I was beyond thrilled when I realized the publisher of my book is also the publisher for Amy Chaplin’s latest book Whole Food Cooking Every Day. Amy Chaplin, a James Beard award winning chef, is like a ray of sunshine who can make any vege ..read more

Being on the holistic path as taught me that preventative care is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. In Ayurvedic traditions, everything is about ways in which the body can detox. We have shared many breast-care strategies on The Local Rose Blog, and I’m so happy to share with you our latest by Rachelle Poitras, founder of Metonia. Metonia’s mission is to provide the best tools and most digestible information to empower you in your journey for wellness and breast health. Here, she gives us a recipe for a breast-mask and practical application of preventative care ..read more

Once in a while, someone contacts you out of the blue, and your intuition says ‘just say yes!’ That’s how I felt when I first met Erica the chef and creator of twenty five EIGHT. When Erica asked if I wanted to try her delivery meals, I thought of the meals I’ve tried in the past, and I was a bit skeptical. In this case, though, I was truly blown away. twenty-five EIGHT  “delivers deeply nourishing, hormone balancing, fresh, mood uplifting, organic meals designed for all stages of motherhood,” as finds its clever name from a mother’s job which is even more than 24/7. I may not be th ..read more

I am a side sleeper and with that reality comes the puffiness on one side of my face when I awake. It also can lead to more wrinkles on one side. This is one of the reasons I am literally over the moon with the latest Coyuchi pillow made for beauty sleep. It actually has little resting areas for your ears and the back of your head so you are nestled. I have been a fan of the Coyuchi brand for many years now. One of my favorite posts here on TLR , on fashion with a conscience, has been about the eco-friendly brand that is truly ahead of its time. To truly live a healthy, whole lifestyle ..read more

These hectic times, having peace, calm and softness is the true commodity. Ayurveda practices are weaved into my book Whole Beauty, and have truly helped me calm my Vata dominant Dosha over the last decade. A few years back I brought you all the amazing work of Surya Spa and later Poppy and Someday. Now I’m thrilled to bring you the wisdom of Veda.  I really feel this can be the start of places of refuge throughout our country. My dream is to see places like this all over America. Veda can be a prototype for spaces that will allow us to rebalance and recalibrate our bodies, m ..read more

There were a few years when I chose to be celibate for a while to do some clearing of energy. During this time I was practicing kundalini daily, and my yoni egg rituals. I noticed, during that time that my creativity levels were extremely high. This is the time when my beauty line came to be birthed, and I began to write my book Whole Beauty. Creativity is like a river that can flow, or become blocked due to stagnation. Sexual energy to me can be the water in the river. When we harness that sexual drive, we can basically direct our vehicle towards goals. Yes, being in union with a beloved is ..read more

Once in a while, someone contacts you out of the blue, and your intuition says ‘just say yes!’ That’s how I felt when I first met Erica the chef and creator of twenty five EIGHT. When Erica asked if I wanted to try her delivery meals, I thought of the meals I’ve tried in the past, and I was a bit skeptical. In this case, though, I was truly blown away. twenty-five EIGHT  “delivers deeply nourishing, hormone balancing, fresh, mood uplifting, organic meals designed for all stages of motherhood,” as finds its clever name from a mother’s job which is even more than 24/7. I may not be the mother o ..read more

I’ve shared with you all before on my journey to balancing my hormones. Like many women, I was very estrogen dominant in my thirties. This led to anxiety, swollen breasts, and ovarian cysts. Sadly our environment makes this balancing act very challenging. The benefits of having healthy levels of progesterone are higher and longer lasting feelings of well being and relaxation, being more fertile, increasing libido, preventing loss of bone density, and so much more. I’m so happy to have Madeline MacKinnon share her wisdom and knowledge on how to help us in this realm. She is the founder of Natu ..read more