For someone who is obsessed with skincare, my routine is extremely simple.  I have only a few great products in my rotation.  In the morning, I cleanse with Pai's cleanser, followed by an oil of my liking, then Ursa Major of VT sunscreen.  In the evening I do the same sans the sunscreen - that’s it.  I will occasionally add in a serum or an extra oil, and I do a mask once a week.  My skin loves simplicity and has been so much calmer since I stripped down my routine.  I still get breakouts, but they’re usually less severe, and when I do get them, I just allow my skin to be where it wants to be.  

I recently started to use F. Miller Skincare products, and I am in love with everything I’ve tried so far.  I’ve been using the face oil day and night, and my skin loves it.  My skin has been less red/irritated and very hydrated and dewy (without being greasy).  I’ve also noticed a reduction of the small comedones I get on my chin and forehead.  It doubles as a beautiful essential oil blend to inhale before applying - with neroli, jasmine, frankincense, and bergamot.  These are some of my favorite essential oils, and they smell so delicious together.  

I’ve also been using the eye treatment oil.  I especially love the stainless steel roller - it’s incredibly cooling and refreshing to the touch.  The skin around my eyes is easily irritated, and I often get eczema on my eyelids, which is why I can only use select oils/creams on my face.  Typically, when I try something new, it’s an immediate no.  This product is so gentle, and it has the opposite effect - it’s calming, and it reduces my puffiness in the morning.  I'm completely in love! 

The body oil is so yummy and luxurious.  I’ve been using it after every shower, and it soaks easily into damp skin.  Try it.  You'll love it.

I’ve never used hair oil, and I have no idea why because I have very coarse, frizzy hair.  This hair oil does not make my hair greasy at all, and calms my frizz.  I use it on both my naturally-dried and blow-dried hair.

Not only is this line ton-toxic and cruelty-free, it's also independently owned by an incredible woman, Fran.  I had the pleasure of meeting her recently, and she's amazing.  If you try any of these products, your skin and hair will thank her.

I’ve always known this intellectually, that I am enough.  I am whole on my own.  I don’t need anyone or anything to aid in being enough.  Yet, as I’ve been examining areas and experiences in my life, I’m finding that I’m not fully “there” yet.  I still at times experience guilt and shame for simply being me.  This is absolutely from past conditioning, which I’m working on stripping (it’s a process), hence the name of this series. 

When I dove into the feeling of not being enough, I realized that it has in the past manifested as presenting myself a certain way in order to be seen for who I am.  This has typically been tied to my possessions, not my personality.  It was extremely difficult to accept this as true because I’ve never used my “things” to prove anything to others.  But I have used my things as a way to feel like myself.  Perhaps it was filling myself with a false sense of authenticity - even if the objects resonated with me.  This is why I stress that this work is rooted in the relationship we have with our objects, not the objects themselves.  I can only be myself and feel like myself in my nakedness.  So when I’m seeking something from them (objects), I am unable to seek the same subject or theme from myself.  In simpler terms - I’m looking in the wrong places.  I have everything I need within, so when I look to external sources, even for self-confirmation of any kind (even if the sources are healthy people we love or ethical objects we love), I’m reverberating that in some capacity, I am not enough.

Lately, I’ve been going through the process of ridding myself of almost all of my things.  Not because I made the decision to, or wanted to, but because in a higher sense I am being asked to.  I’m simply choosing to follow that nudge.  At the same time, I’ve had some illuminating, painful, and beautiful realizations and “aha” moments (through Unblocked Reparent, meditation, and other intuitive work).  I realized that growing up, I had to deny so many parts of myself in order to exist in my environment - I was not able to simply be me.   The process I’m going through now - while incredibly uncomfortable - feels like a beautiful gift.  A gift of being born again, in order to rise as my true self.  I’ve been given a clean slate, to metaphorically go back into the womb, as a gestation period.  So rather than adding things into my life to fill any emptiness I may be feeling, I’m shedding life as I know it (ideas, ways of being, things) in order to open the space for me to be enough without any of it - with nothing but my naked self.  I have no crutch to fall back on, and I don’t need one.  No one does.

This work is not about curating a perfect lifestyle.  It’s about warmth and invitation - to yourself.  Your needs, desires, fears, flaws.  It’s an invitation to all of it.  To examine it so that you can form a new relationship with yourself in order grow.  Just like our relationships with people, our objects are our mirrors.  Examine each one of your objects.  First check-in with yourself, and then ask the object - what are you here for?  What are you showing me?

If you are looking to go deeper into this work, you can book a one-on-one session here. 

Photo by Claire Cottrell.

I love warm, creamy white tones, but I don't forego this color palette in the winter.  I embrace it.  Perhaps because I live in Los Angeles, and we don't get snow here.  Whatever the reason, the items pictured above are soothing and cozy for the colder months.  For those of you who are afraid to wear white, I added a few light neutrals into the mix.  I am someone who spills and cannot keep things clean, but I always have Dr. Bronner's with me, and it works wonderfully for getting rid of stains.  Browse all items below while listening to this dreamy playlist.

Pansy is my favorite underwear brand.  I don't wear underwire bras for health and comfort reasons, but I would live in Pansy regardless.  Their pieces are soft (visually and to the touch) and beautiful.  All of their products are made ethically of organic cotton.  You can purchase this set or others here.

This rug from Faire Studio looks like the coziest place to meditate, practice breathwork on, or simply walk across.  I love the texture and pattern, and if you're looking for something even simpler, they offer a pattern-free version.  Their rugs and pillows are sustainably made with recycled materials - designed in Paris and woven in the Iberian mountains.

If I could only own one item of clothing, I would get rid of everything but my Kamm Pants (I realize I'd then be topless, so I'd have to keep a Pansy bra as well).  Kamm pants are my absolute favorite staple in my wardrobe.  Yes, they are an investment, but they will last, and you will wear them multiple times per week (I live in mine).  They are classic and chic, and you can wear them casually with sneakers or dress them up with heels (also to mention, they're incredibly comfortable and durable).  I am loving this style (the Ranger) for the colder months, when I want my legs to be protected.  If you're apprehensive to wear a true white but want the same look, here they are in natural.  Jesse Kamm designs her collections here in Los Angeles, where the clothing is also produced.  

Lite + Cycle is a beautiful company that creates fragrances for the home and body made of therapeutic-grade essential oils.  They also donate a portion of every sale to charities that help bring solar-power light to communities around the world in need of electricity.  Their candles are designed with so much attention to detail - purchase here.

I love small bags that feel like second skin.  Especially this one,  because it ties around the waist -  it will stay with you.  Are Studio bags are designed and hand-made in Los Angeles.  Here is the Disc photographed by Alexis Nelly.  

Leaves and Flowers creates handcrafted herbal infusions and premium small batch teas.  I've been drinking their sleep tea all winter.  I steep it with my tea infuser before bed every evening.  Not only is it potent, but it's also beautiful and fragrant - it's smooth, warming, and minty.  You can purchase it here.

You may already have picked up that I love ceramics.  Anything with an earthy texture will get me.  The Terra Surface mount from Cedar and Moss is no exception.  It lived in the kitchen of my last home, and I miss it dearly.  It comes in many colors, but my main crush is for the "bone" finish.

Tune in here.

This past summer I was with my friend Lacy and describing some of my health issues to her, when she said "infusions!  You have to try infusions!"  She told me that I was most likely mineral deficient and that drinking nettle infusions saved her skin and aided with some of her other health ailments.  I was not immediately able to implement them into my then nomadic lifestyle, but as soon as I settled down in one spot, I knew it was time to start. 

While searching youtube videos to learn how to make the infusions, I found Susun Weed.  I immediately fell in love with her, read extensively about infusions, and started to implement nettle as an everyday staple in my life.  Just three weeks later, my eczema (that I've had on and off for years, and persistently for the last two years) went away.  It didn't just subside - it completely vanished.  I have been eating a processed-free, incredibly clean diet (the basis being no gluten, no refined sugar, very minimal dairy) for five and a half years, and I have tried every natural eczema remedy to no avail.  Thank you Lacy and Susun!  

Infusions are made from herbs steeped with hot water for a long period of time.  They are extremely rich in minerals and vitamins, which are easily absorbed by our bodies (unlike taking them in other forms).  I've taken minerals in supplement form in the past with no results.  Nettle is incredible for the skin, adrenals, kidneys, and overall immunity.  I've been making a half gallon sized nettle infusion every night before bed, so that it's ready in the morning to drink all day.  When I know I will be out and about and not home, I make a quart instead.  I drink this all day instead of plain water.  Or, I fill up my cup half-way with the infusion and top it off with water.  The taste is quite earthy, which I actually really enjoy, and sometimes I'll add fresh mint for a flavor boost.  You will most likely only need a quart.  I am dealing with some extreme health issues from autoimmune/mold exposure, so I'm consuming it overzealously.  

I also recently started to add oatstraw into the mix.  This herb is incredibly calming.  It's nourishing to the nervous system and helps with anxiety, insomnia, and stress.  It's full of B vitamins, calcium (good for bones and teeth), and it's also known for increasing libido.  I love to infuse the oatstraw with lavender to sip before bed. 

In the mornings upon wakening, I drink a full cup of infusions (half nettle and half oatstraw).  Then I sip the nettle mixed with water all day, and switch to the oatstraw around 8:00 pm to help calm my energy for the evenings.  

Infusion Recipe 

• Put approximately 4 heaping tablespoons of nettle (or oatstraw/herb of choice) in a quart sized canning jar.  

• Boil water and pour into the jar, filling it to the top

• Close the lid and let the infusion steep for 4+ hours

• Strain the infusion through a tea strainer and into your cup. 

* For a half-gallon jar I add 6 heaping tablespoons.  

I like to drink them room temperature, but many prefer to have them iced.  Be sure to consume within 36 hours.  The infusions will ferment and may cause stomach upset beyond that time (you will notice if they've gone bad by a funny smell).  You can also mix different herbs together into one jar.  I'm eventually going to add more herbs into my infusions, but for now I'm introducing them one-by-one and keeping them separate so I can see how each herb effects my body/health.   Shop necessary products below.