brooklyn herborium
Have you been sick off & on all spring? And now into summer time / disease time with the “crud”? That nasty harping respiratory thing. Here’s your solution, compliments of my sweet sister Molly whose company Brooklyn Herborium is just marvelous. Can one ever rave about one’s wonderful family enough? One cannot. After having a serious infection that landed me BACK in the maternity ward at the hospital we just birthed at, two weeks later, the entire family is now slewn (slayed?) with a cold. A nasty one. Looks like I’m going to be making some of this! Follow her instructions: Materials 6 quarts of water Elderberries Dried Ginger (or ginger powder) Directions Combine in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Take care not to over boil as it can damage plant material. Lower heat, uncover and simmer for about 3 hours. For a Daily Elixir: Reduce by 1/2 and strain For Medicinal Strength: Reduce by 1/4 and strain Remove from heat (We don’t want to cook the honey) and add Honey (4-8 oz depending upon how sweet you want it to be). Usage Take Elderberry Syrup in small doses between meals. When feeling the start of a cold, take a shot glass at a time as needed. Combines wonderfully with Lemon & Ginger Tea and Garlic Honey to bolster the immune system and avoid contracting the cold! Buy it from her here!
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You know my sister, Molly, the super awesomest of us all who founded Brooklyn Herborium, that I’ve talked about a few times and times. She wrote this guest post over at Well Rounded NY a while back about 5 skins tips for the pregnant woman whose face is being assaulted by her own bod. You know how it goes. — Hormones are amazing. They enable us ladies to become pregnant in the first place, given that they are the body’s chemical messengers. They also are the culprits in some of pregnancy’s less charitable contributions to our skin in the 9 months leading up to birth. The good news is that the vast majority of pregnancy-related skin woes will disappear post-birth. But in the mean time, there are some lovely herbal remedies for alleviating their presence here and now. (I’m writing these recommendations both as a pregnant woman and as an herbalist who makes skincare products.) 1) Acne. As if exhaustion and bloating weren’t enough to think about, acne of pregnancy can be an unfortunate curse for some women. Your hormones can cause your natural sebum (human skin oil) production to go into overdrive (as happens during puberty). This in turn can lead to plugged pores, infection and oxidized papules. Simply put, blackheads and pimples, along with an oily sheen can make your hard days much worse. NOTE: Because of serious risk of birth defects, the anti-acne prescription drugs, such as Accutane and Retin-A, cannot be used during pregnancy (and we don’t think those…
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So we’re all living within some budget, right. And we all compare the generic brand to the fancy and think Really? That much more? And then we grab the lotion that’s on sale, and away our cart zooms down the aisle. That’s how we’ve always done skin care. It seemed like a real luxury to buy anything organic or high end, even, and frankly, a potential waste of moolah. I didn’t care about the vitamin-A saturated wrinkle eye cream (maybe I should have started to earlier?), nor did I really care about what kind of lotion I put on, if any, in the harsh winters after my (infrequent) shower. Two things changed this perspective: SuperBoy’s eczema and my sister becoming an herbalist. I’ll start with the herbalist part. Many of you know about the sister right above me, Molly, who lives out in New York with her two sweet girls. She’s the one I’m always face timing or blabbing to on the phone. Or days like today when we spent an hour on the phone, much of which was spent talking to our children or putzing around our houses. Just hanging out. On speaker (which drives our brother nuts). She is a graphic designer by trade and worked in the field almost a decade before turning her sights to . . . herbs. I’ve blogged about her momma line before, remember? She joined up with her girlfriend Emma at Brooklyn Herborium and does everything that you can visually see (still a…
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My ah-mazing sister, best friend, and organic artisan runs Brooklyn Herborium with her partner, Emma. Their product lines include holistic skincare & home cleansing. We all use ’em everyday. Me. The kids. The man. My parents. My siblings. Anyone who washes their hands in our sink. Anyone who’s lucky enough to get a little gift slipped to them by Molly. She & Emma double-handedly run this company whilst juggling their own babes. And they are working on opening their space in Brooklyn so you can get treatments, products, and loveliness all in one spot. They hand-make it all, through traditional processes with all-organic and natural products. The effect? Something beautiful, safe, and soothing to any skin type. Brooklyn Herborium is a new blog sponsor—-> looking to the bar on the right, peeps. And I received a Momma Moon Collection from my sissie to review for the blog. Even though I’m not an expecting mama (yet), I’m still a mama whose skin is woefully neglected and who’s still nursing. I need all the skincare help I can get. Find them on the web, blogging, facebook, pinterest, & twitter. ——– Here’s the rundown: See the Momma Moon Collection on her site. It includes Reap Your Wild Oats, Massage in a Bottle, and Full Moon Facial Oil. The collection provides a sweet discount for the trifecta collection in lieu of individual purchases. 1) Reap Your Wild Oats. The description on her site is as follows: Reap your Wild Oats is our organic, gluten-free grain-based facial…
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This post applies to any woman out there who’s run down, rabid, raggedy, and feeling like a wreck. Many of those inhabitants of this subset are mothers. Some are workaholics. Some are naturally prone to being hygiene deficient. Others are simply too busy to feel human. Or particularly female. SweetPea is showing off a new dress in her stylish way here! She’s taking the steps. We need to too. 1) Prayer or meditation time. Studies show again and again that taking time away from your busy day for mental prayer or meditation greatly improves your outlook and mental health. It’s a very necessary part of functioning fully as a human being. Connect with yourself; connect with your higher power. For me, this means trying to pray a Rosary daily. In the least, I check in with God in the morning when I wake up, as I trot to SweetPea’s bedroom to do her 5am wake up nursing, and then again in the evening when AA and I pray together. Sometimes it’s just a simple set of prayers. Sometimes we pray something called the Liturgy of the Hours which is ancient and gorgeous. We pray with the kids often throughout the day, at mealtime, bedtime, and nap time. Nap time prayers are specifically for my brother who just deployed to Afghanistan as an infantry officer. SuperBoy loves his Godfather! 2) Take care of your face. Okay. We’re not getting any younger. And if you’re up with kids half/all the night, your…
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