Boho Girl

Yesterday my boys and I took the ferry over to Lummi Island. Its such an enchanting and magical place. When we spend time there, we continue to find such beautiful offerings from the sea: stones, shell pieces, sea glass, colorful seaweed and driftwood. I plan to create a couple of art pieces from our finds for our home and also will send pieces to some dear ones in my life. Oh how I enjoy those moments when my boys and I are side by side but in our own little creative zone, listening to the shore coming in and gazing at the mist surrounding. This is one of my most favorite places.

New Years Eve is tomorrow and as it approaches, I find myself moving into this new space, new age of consciousness with a deeper awareness of self, of my family and each of our needs. 2012 for me was a time to cocoon with my family, to let go of so much in my life that didn’t feel in alignment with what me or my family needed and to keep it simple by being as present as I could for my boys. This meant being away from the screen as much as possible and close to nature and flesh. It meant remembering how life flowed before social media and finding a rhythm that felt safer and cozier for my heart in regards to how, why, what and with whom I shared my heart. It was my year of quiet, gentle, safe, listening, paying deep attention and inner, inner, inner work.

All of this leads me to my next post to come (in a few days) written by both me and a dear soul in my life. We talk about walking through darkness and what darkness means for each of us. A different perspective on it entirely. Both her and I let go of so much in our life in 2012: ways of feeling, thinking and believing, relationships and social medias, that no longer felt life bringing and with that there is grief and longing and unraveling and renewing and rebirthing. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Until then, I will think of all of you as me and my boys and my dear brother in law and his new wife gather around the bonfire on New Years Eve as the moon and stars shine down on us and we let go, let go, let go and create intentions for 2013.

red barn lavender farm

When I was in my late twenties, I lived in downtown Pleasanton (Northern California).  It was an old house turned into 4 apartments.  I lived in the one at the top and directly across from me was my best friend from younghood.  She was newly married and looking for a place to live and as soon as that spot opened up, I was on it.  It was our dream.  We had always joked about living near one another the rest of our lives, literally next door…so we were able to live that dream for a good year or so.  Often as we were bustling about getting ready, we would open the door and say good morning, have a little chat, close the door, begin our days.  I remember clearly one time she had wanted to show me the first published copy of Real Simple magazine.  I had just got one too and was thrilled about this new magazine.  There we sat on the bench seat between our apartments, flipping through our copies.  What drew us in the most was the cover page.  It was a lavender farm somewhere back East.  The four or so page spread was about a couple who were deeply entrenched into the corporate world, wealthy and living a gorgeous life in the city.  But they began to feel a bit empty and decided together to take a leap, leave the corporate life, as well as their finely coiffed home and buy a farm in the country.  Their little green cottage sat in the middle of massive amounts of lavender.  In their workshop, they made lavender-everything to sell in their darling little store.  People would come from miles away to walk the fields and pick their own bunches. Amy, my friend, and I sat and dreamed about what that would be like.  The image of their cottage surrounded by lavender made such an impression on me.  I think of it so often and have since been attracted to lavender and dreamed of planting loads of it near my home.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I heard from our local friend Forest that he met the owner of a similar lavender farm about 20 minutes from here.  For months I’ve wanted to go and for some reason it never worked out but finally, FINALLY was able to go when my sister was here last week.

When we pulled up, it was utterly dreamy. The couple that owns the farm were walking down their lavender draped hill with a wheel barrow full of multi colored purple bundles they had just picked and tied. They waved to us with their garden gloved hands and pointed where we should park. Each of them greeted us with gentle smiles. We got a bit of a tour and the history. The gentleman went on to share that there were many species of lavender plants and the light pink ones were the most fragrant and the ones most used for essential oils in products. I had no idea there was such a thing as light pink lavender! It ended up being my most favorite.

So we were handed scissors and ties and sent off to walk the fields and cut our own bunches. Cedar was so enchanted. Especially at the bees and how gentle they were. I caught him crouched down observing their dance on the flowers. At one point he went off by himself to a patch of dirt and when I approached and sat near him, I noticed he planted a lavender stem into the ground. “I’m planting more, mama”.

The energy in those fields was so tranquil and lingered with us. The drive home was lavender scent soaked and my sister hung our bunches on a string above the kitchen table. Now over a week later, I have placed the dried lavender in our old vintage bottles and mason jars scattered throughout the house.

Boho Boy and I are now dreaming up our own hill of lavender behind our house. I had a wee bit of practice at the blue cottage. If any of you have tips on growing lavender, I am all ears.

Notice the light pink beauties on my shelf?

spending time with nicole and alex

I am noticing that when I have time away from Cedar, whether it is when he is napping (which is very rare these days) or when he is in his woodland preschool 3 days a week, I carry this unnecessary guilt around that unless I fill this time with housework or house projects, that I am being too indulgent. I am not sure where that pressure comes from. Its not coming from my husband, although given a hormonal day, I will think it is. My husband has his own business and he works from home in an office downstairs, so we are fully aware how hard he works from morning until evening with mini breaks in between to play with Cedar or practice archery out back. It is important to me that my husband knows we honor and appreciate his efforts to support our family so well and it is important to me that he views my nurturing Cedar and our home and our bellies as an equal effort of contribution to our family’s well being. I lived on my own for so long supporting myself, as well as had my own business after we were married, so getting used to not contributing financially to my family can play a bit of a mind trip on me and my self worth as a woman.  I know it won’t always be like this  because I have some projects on the horizon but at this stage in our journey of wellness and of nurturing Cedar, it needs to be for the time being.

It is good for me to remember that the moments I take for myself are not only for myself but are for my boys too. Meaning, if I want to sit for an hour to browse online for wisdom that interests and fulfills me, then I will be a more present mother and wife. What I am learning about myself as an Introvert, is how crucial alone time is for me and being a mother of a toddler and a wife of a stay at home working husband, alone time is more precious to me than it has ever been in my life. I cannot always fill my alone time with cleaning and picking up the house or grocery shopping or errands. This can feel so very draining for me. So I am trying to rethink and balance my new-found alone time while Cedar is in school three days a week for a few hours. I am most recently wanting to give myself permission to allow some of this time to go towards activities that fill my soul. And this is perfectly okay and good, so good for Cedar and my husband to witness. Part of why I am sharing these feelings in this space is to shoo the guilt away and to grow deeper into an awareness of my needs.

Today I chose to spend some time online, which I don’t do often these days and when I do, it needs to be with an intention or I get overstimulated or spiral down with comparison gremlins. I was on the couch and my dear husband suggested I sit in our mud room-turned dining area. He said there was sun shining in there. He even pulled the table and chair out for me just right. My heart warmed at this gesture because he could easily resent this time of hush for me but rather, he supported and encouraged it. So, I snuggled under the sun and spent time on my friend Nicole’s website: Whole Food Meal Plans (see photo above). I joined her and her husband’s program (they are new sponsors) and I am thrilled to begin with their recipes and natural health ideas next week. So far this past hour browsing their program, I have already learned so much from them and have been led to other blogs/sites with food and natural product recipes that feel so doable to me. I am a newbie at making my own salves and tinctures and mists from what surrounds me in nature. I am a huge supporter of purchasing my friend’s and sponsor’s natural products but seem to notice I have not been confident enough to make my own. Well, that is going to change and I feel so supported by the blog community in regards to this shift in my life living here in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by nature’s medicine.

Heal-All (Prunella Vulgaris) around our home

My friend was over the other day and pointed at all the Prunella Vulgaris growing around my house. I had no idea their healing properties! Remember I shared that this is my year of the Deer…of gentleness and healing for me and my family? Well its so fitting that these precious Prunellas are surrounding us in a purple cocoon of wellness. They are also referred to as Heal-All or Self-Heal.  Of course they are.

{important correction!  just found out from an herbalist friend of mine that this plant is actually called Lamium Purpureum (aka Purple Nettle)!  see?  we are all learning together in this space.  and this is a beautiful lesson for all of us how important it is to check with experienced herbalists when harvesting our own plant medicine.  Lamium has its own healing properties that our family needs.  so truly, its perfect}

I have always loved Spring but I don’t think I quite ever cherished it as I do now. After months of darker tones and shades of grey and blue surrounding me, any slice of colorful beauty that comes from the earth and the sky up above is like MEDICINE. Truly. And it is now that I am seeing how my body and soul respond to the seasons. Living in California and most recently Southern California for years, I didn’t quite feel as connected to the seasons as the changes were few. I didn’t notice the massive shift I have noticed since being here. Meaning, the deep need to cocoon in the Winter and now the craving to be out and exploring and moving my body in the Spring. And along side the seasons, my spiritual growth being in alignment with what is happening in and around Mother Earth. With this Spring I feel such a sense of renewal, of being reborn after months of resting and peeling. I am sure all of my life this has transpired, as living beings all follow the rhythm of our environment but this year, I felt so much more conscious of it. Its beautiful to witness this rhythm and to guide Cedar to awareness of it as well.

Mmmmmm…but Spring, oh Spring! I love you so.

A warm hello to all the Boho fans. My name is Latisha, herbmama. A giant thank you to my sweet friend Denise for giving me a chance to talk about what I love in her beautiful space.

After my daughter was born, I went in search of natural alternatives for health and healing for her. Something about the conventional ways just didn’t feel, well, natural for us. And I struggled to know what to do when she was sick. So, I poured myself into learning as much as I could about natural remedies and my understanding and trust in earth medicine grew. The plant people came to greet me and show me their gentle ways and I found myself whole and home again. Now that my girl is older and she is joined by a little sister, I can look back at this time with more understanding. I remember how frustrated and small I felt among the massive amount of information out there. I made it my mission to help mamas feel comfortable and joyful and safe about using natural medicines. What was born out of that frustration was the HerbCraft Camps.

A multi-sensory experience using herbs as medicine the HerbMother way. This isn’t necessarily a class for folks interested in setting up shop as an herbalist, though it could be a great staring point if you are just beginning. The herbmother way is written for the home herbalist. People who want to begin caring for their family and embracing plant medicine as a way of life in the home. Part herbal medicine making. Part crafting. Part re-wilding. Part re-childing. A whole lot of fun.

HerbCraft eCamps are a virtual nature camp for anyone interested in learning about fun, easy, mamafolk methods of herbal craft making. If you’ve ever wanted to start using herbal medicine, but just weren’t sure where to begin. The plants communicate with us through our senses, at camp you will be invited to awaken your childlike expression in the world as we greet our own HomeDirt with fresh young eyes.  It is my hope to pique your curiosity about the greenstuff growing right in your backyard and encourage you to begin using natural remedies in the home with ease and a feeling of security.

HerbCraft Camp is a gentle entry into the world of plant medicine, with a loving guide who wants nothing more than to help you feel success with treating you and your family in a natural way.

I’d love to have you along. I am giving away one free spot in the upcoming Spring Session camp starting Monday, March 19th!

GIVEaway rules:

• To enter, please leave a comment
• One comment per person, please
• Comments will be closed this Friday at 10pm PST
• Winner will be contacted on Sunday to begin eCourse this coming Monday!

WINNER: Congrats to Jennifer Blevins! HerbCraft eCamp starts this Monday…so excited for you. You will be contacted very shortly about details. xoxo

{images of latisha by the lovely georgia cranston of gypsy rae photography}

{scarves worn by me, cedar and eugene the snowman were made by my sister Pamela. fingerless gloves from sundance}

I have only been in the snow a handful of times in my life. The first time I touched snow I think I was about 5 years old. We lived in the bay area in California near San Francisco, so it was a very very rare thing to happen in our neighborhood. But it did. Once in the 25 years that I lived there. I think we went up to the snow in Nevada once as a family (we were more about Summer camping in the woods). And with my girlfriends, I went up to Tahoe a few times, trying to learn how to ski and failing miserably. Then once in Tahoe with my boyfriend in my late twenties, to learn how to snowboard. Ouch. But fun. Especially because that day the sun came out and it was surreal to be snowboarding down a hill with the sun shining on my face (when it wasn’t planted in the snow). When I lived in Dallas for four years in my twenties, it lightly snowed once and was only on the side of the road in dirty chunks. The last time I saw snow was in Victoria, B.C…when my husband and I went there for Thanksgiving the year before Cedar was born. To soothe our achy hearts. It was an unexpected snow storm and we were held there a few days longer (darn) and many stores closed down because they were not prepared (they had one snow plow in whole city). I sat up on the window seat on the 3rd floor of our hotel watching the snowflakes for hours. It was so meditative for me.  It moves me into a safe cocoon.

All this to say, snow is so very precious to me. And I really know nothing about how to live in it, which my husband finds amusing since he grew up with snowed in winters in Ontario, Canada. Last week, we were so blessed to have a handful of days blanketed in snow. We hear that snowfall that actually stays on the ground in our seaside village is a rare thing, so we marinated in it deep. It was such a dream for me…to see neighbors sledding down our street at night. And us as a family sledding down a hill at the park down the street. Boho Boy teaching us how to make a snowman and then me noticing snowmen on every corner. It was surreal, really…and perfect for what I needed.

Being “snowed in” is a bit how I feel right now. Even though the snow has melted. I am pulling in deep and feeling the permission to do so without guilt. There are a lot of emotions I am sitting with, a lot of transition and transformation going on inside of me. I haven’t been able to put it into words but I feel the words coming. Just being in it is what I have allowed to happen. Not really naming it but just letting whatever it is move through me. There has been a lot of change for me in the past few years and with it, I have changed and I am now beginning to find my footing so that I can walk forward into my Heart Quest. I have more to share on this. And perhaps even a video of some good stuff that is coming in my life.

The sun just came out through the window, brushing the side of my cheek. The sun. Another rare thing in these parts during this time of year. I better step outside, breathe deep and drink up its medicine.