This Situation

Words & Photography
by Olivia Jane



Something I’ve been focusing on lately is the gift of this time. And please don’t misread me. I’m not saying the pandemic is a gift or that this period has been without challenges and difficult feelings. What I mean is, for me, this crisis has created an opportunity. A chance to slow down and recalibrate. To practice living in the present.

I think there’s opportunity in this situation for all of us. To check in with ourselves. To give thought to our ways in order to better understand what’s working and what’s not. And to realign accordingly.

I think there’s opportunity in this situation for all of us. To check in with ourselves. To give thought to our ways in order to better understand what’s working and what’s not. And to realign accordingly. My hope is that we won’t overlook the growth this situation holds for us, because I believe we all have the potential to be more present and intentional versions of ourselves.

Just One Thing

Words & Photography
by Carrie Huseman

Yesterday the sun shone in, and it was enough. Today the sun is tucked away behind the clouds, but I’ll find something else.

Yesterday the sun shone in, and it was enough. Today the sun is tucked away behind the clouds, but I’ll find something else. Tomorrow it might be my children’s laughter, and the next day perhaps yet another batch of freshly baked cookies. I just need one thing. What about you? What small things are getting you through each day?

Proactive Vs. Reactive

Words & Photography
by Olivia Jane



I’ve been a little quiet over here because I’m still processing and trying to get my bearings. Opening up this app feels like information overload right now - and that’s not to say what’s being posted isn’t helpful or creative or uplifting or worth reading - I just haven’t felt ready to take part.

You know, not allowing conditions or circumstances to dictate my response but instead taking the time to pause and then choose how I want to respond to the conditions and circumstances.

I’ve been thinking a lot about being proactive vs. reactive. You know, not allowing conditions or circumstances to dictate my response but instead taking the time to pause and then choose how I want to respond to the conditions and circumstances. So I’m here, sitting in that pause, considering how we might make it through the next little while.

Hope you’re all taking care, making smart choices, and looking for the good. In this together, just not together.

Your Five Senses

Words & Photography
by Yana Khostariya



Want to make your day instantly better? Let’s play a game. Wherever you are, make a quick list (on your phone, a napkin, or old receipt) of one thing you’ve perceived with each of your five senses today, that you’re thankful for! ⁣

⁣I’m currently in my dining room loving the smell of my coffee, and in the sight of a snow falling, and the sound of me typing on my laptop keyboard.

I’m currently in my dining room loving the smell of my coffee, and in the sight of a snow falling, and the sound of me typing on my laptop keyboard. This morning I was so grateful for my delicious avocado toast with scrambled eggs, and the feel of my comfy sweater. ⁣

What’s on your list?⁣

Waste Not

Words & Photography
by Alyson Morgan



On our low waste journey, we’ve found many uses for our food waste. With this seasonal shift, I tend to save good scraps for stocks and broths, adding herbs and medicinal mushrooms for extra immune support. Some other ways try to reduce our food waste in the colder months: feed it to our worms (we have a vermicompost bin in the basement, great for indoor or small space composting), or give it as snacks it to the chickens that comes back in the form of eggs. Or sometimes all three!

On our low waste journey, we’ve found many uses for our food waste. With this seasonal shift, I tend to save good scraps for stocks and broths, adding herbs and medicinal mushrooms for extra immune support.

If you can, put your food waste to good use and let it rot or nourish you, because food waste is overlooked as a driver of climate change.

Did you know:
+ In the United States 40% of food is wasted, 33% globally.
+ When you put food waste into a landfill it generates and releases methane gas.
+ Methane gas is 20 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
+ If food waste were a country, it would come in third behind the US and China as the largest greenhouse gas emitter.
+ Growing and transporting food that goes to waste emits as much pollution as 39 million vehicles, not to mention the freshwater resources and land wasted to grow the food we waste.

This is astounding. But it also means food systems and waste has a huge potential to reduce our environmental footprint. It’s an invitation for small changes we can all try to make in our homes.

These Are The Things That Will Change Your Life

Words & Photography
by Amber Baker



It’s the smallest habits that make the biggest difference.
How you spend your mornings.
How you talk to yourself.
What you choose to read, to watch, to listen to.
Who you share your energy with.
These are the things that will change your life.

Using Her Voice

Words & Photography
by Elena Caron

And let’s write some letters to our Congress about this! They have to do something about all the trash on Raleigh streets.

My strong, sensitive child!!! Recently, while we were driving on Atlantic Avenue we saw a lot of trash being dumped in the side of the street.

V: Let’s adopt this street to clean!
Me: Yes, that’s awesome!! Let’s do it!
V: And let’s write some letters to our Congress about this! They have to do something about all the trash on Raleigh streets.
Me: YEEESSS!!!!

I mean...the fact that she wants to use her voice to make a change is pretty inspiring.

Nettle Soup

Words & Photography
by Alyson Morgan



Nourishing our bodies and uplifting our spirits after a day of gloomy, wintery weather with this spring recipe from Herbal Academy for nettle soup.

It’s so important for me to bring herbalism into our everyday rhythms, to teach the kiddos how to care for themselves and our earth. 

I was so grateful to harvest nettles from our garden with the kiddos yesterday and incorporated my favorite plant ally in this meal for the whole family. It’s so important for me to bring herbalism into our everyday rhythms, to teach the kiddos how to care for themselves and our earth. As the plants are coming up, our learning and relationships with them are deepening.

As for this meal, everyone was satisfied and loved it. Topped with fresh cut chives from the garden, food is truly medicine.

A Triggered Reaction

Words & Photography
by Melissa Landrus



A reminder that nothing they do is worthy of a triggered reaction.
Pause, calm, listen, and lovingly respond
and it WILL go well with you.

Being Fully Present

Words & Photography
by Nina Plummer



One way to make our life more rewarding is simply to learn to be fully present when we are in other people’s company. It can be helpful to develop a practice of using every opportunity to give the people around us our undivided attention – free from external distraction and free from self-focus. We might not succeed every time but there is merit in fighting the urge to pick up our phone in other people’s company or the urge to frequently bring the conversation back to our own stories.

We might not succeed every time but there is merit in fighting the urge to pick up our phone in other people’s company or the urge to frequently bring the conversation back to our own stories.

Full, undivided attention is the greatest gift we have to give, made all the more poignant in a distracted world where our attention is increasingly used as currency. The act of being fully present with another person reduces the distance between us to the smallest possible space, and offers one of the most rewarding ways of truly breaking out of solitude.

Being Gentle

Words & Photography
by Lisa Ramirez



This body of mine is working some major overtime these days, and I’m just trying to go with it. Although I have my moments where I want to do ALL the things RIGHT now, I’m forcing myself to rest more and enjoy this time.

I’m a worker and a doer and constantly have a million and one ideas and thoughts running through my head. But these days I’m reminding myself to take care of me. Because like the saying goes, "You can’t pour from an empty cup."

Being gentle with myself has never come easy. I’m a worker and a doer and constantly have a million and one ideas and thoughts running through my head. But these days I’m reminding myself to take care of me. Because like the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

So if you’re like me, and find it hard to take a moment to enjoy some rest, this is me giving you official permission to do so.

Journaling

Words & Photography
by Ashlyn Postier



Do you journal? I’ve been journaling since I was a kid - on and off - but for the most part pretty consistently! It’s therapeutic to me and I love getting my jumbled-up thoughts on paper! I’ve been approaching journaling with a slightly new method so I thought I’d share in case anyone wants to journal, but doesn’t know where to start!⠀

Next, I write what I’m thankful for!..Our ice maker working, hot coffee, and silk pillowcases made my list this morning.

1. First, I brain dump - anything on my mind I write it down. This might be random thoughts I’m thinking, things J does, memories I don’t want to forget, etc.

2. Next, I write what I’m thankful for! There are so many studies on how this impacts your life. I simply thank God for the big and very small, micro things I’m thankful for! Our ice maker working, hot coffee, and silk pillowcases made my list this morning. I’m serious about those silk pillowcases!⠀

3. I write out what I want to accomplish today and how I want the day to go! I have recently incorporated this step this year and I LOVE it because it helps give the day some direction! I will even meal plan the day here if I haven’t already and it makes me feel more prepared for the day!

If you’re not journaling I 100% think you should give it a try! It’s one of the first things I do in the morning - it’s so therapeutic. Plus I know a gal who makes cute journals.

All That This Body Holds

Words & Photography
by Melissa Landrus



I could speak about all the things which I do not love, of these skin and bones. The broad shoulders, the chicken legs (as they were deemed by peers growing up), the freckles, the crook in my nose, the scar above my belly button (product of a piercing gone wrong). The very details I—out of anyone—am most critical of.

My daughters will notice. They will begin to second glance and pick apart their own reflection. Because they see the way I look at the imperfections...the ones that cause me to cringe. OR, I can admire and revere its strength. The legs, the feet that carry me. The hands that hug, hold, and feel. The nose I have the pleasure of smelling flowers and freshly baked bread..the imperfections that bring me delight: full of memories, of the past and hopes for the future.

I will honor this body...my ever-changing, strong, curious, beautiful vessel full of curves and sharp edges and softness in which my soul inhabits, where I grew two beautiful humans, where heaven met earth with my third.

I will honor this body...my ever-changing, strong, curious, beautiful vessel full of curves and sharp edges and softness in which my soul inhabits, where I grew two beautiful humans, where heaven met earth with my third. Where I have been able to live a life of wonder and song and joy and passion and discovery. THIS—all that this body holds is what I want my girls to see in the mirror. This is beautiful.

Food Waste

Words & Photography
by Alyson Morgan



Making the most of it. We’ve got big snowflakes falling from the sky and I’ve got a pot of veggie scraps broth on the stove. This is one way we reuse food “waste” in our kitchen. Scraps can go to the chickens, the vermicompost bin in the basement, the outdoor compost, and into our veggie broth. Coffee grounds usually go to the plants.

This is one way we reuse food “waste” in our kitchen. Scraps can go to the chickens, the vermicompost bin in the basement, the outdoor compost, and into our veggie broth. 

We freeze the tasty bits (turmeric and ginger peels, carrot tops, left over onion and garlic skins) until we’ve gathered enough and when are ready, we toss them in a pot with water. To this, I added some wilting celery, bay leaves, burdock, rosemary, reishi, and an extra carrot. We’ve been making nourishing veggie and bone broths all winter to use in soups and for sipping, and saved a few dollars and reduced waste from those tetra pac broth containers.

Showing Up

"None of us really know what we’re doing

but the beautiful thing is that our kids don’t need perfection,

they need connection and a willingness to show up

whether we’re feeling strong or weak,

happy or sad, competent or completely lost...

Why? Because you are the answer. Your presence."

- Tracy Gillett

[Photography by Jackie LeBlanc]

Spread Love

Words & Photography
by Sarah Holstrom



Do you ever have those days where you feel like you could cry at any second? Well I’m only three months postpartum so truly I feel entitled to the tears without reason whenever I want! BUT today feels different. I just feel so grateful.

I have so many hopes and desires for my life, for our future- for my kids- for my husband, but today I just feel so damn lucky to be right here, right now. The world can be such a yucky place. There is so much hate all around, but we don’t have to be swallowed up by it. Instead, we can choose love. Love never fails. Love always wins.

Let’s make our love wild and messy. Let’s paint outside of the lines and let’s let our love spill over onto everyone around us! Let’s not be afraid! Let’s pull people in, add chairs to our dinner tables, and smile at strangers so they know that you see them!

Let’s make our love wild and messy. Let’s paint outside of the lines and let’s let our love spill over onto everyone around us! Let’s not be afraid! Let’s pull people in, add chairs to our dinner tables, and smile at strangers so they know that you see them! Let us not underestimate the power of tiny gestures made out of great love! Spread the love and make someone smile today!

Transparent Screen Time

Words & Photography
by Jensine Lee

They rarely see me pull out a checkbook to pay bills or flip through an address book for a friend because I do it all on my phone, so I’m hoping to habitually share with them what I’m doing behind this mysterious screen...

An intention for my #musclememoryyear is to make my screen time transparent, especially in sight of my kids. They rarely see me pull out a checkbook to pay bills or flip through an address book for a friend because I do it all on my phone, so I’m hoping to habitually share with them what I’m doing behind this mysterious screen, which also magically plays paw patrol and youtube videos.

Thank Yourself

Words & Photography
by Nancy Florence



Here is a revolutionary practice for you. Every day when you finish work, instead of feeling like you haven’t done enough, do this: thank yourself. Thank yourself for the work you have done, and the people you have served. Thank yourself for showing up…yet again.

Here is a revolutionary practice for you. Every day when you finish work, instead of feeling like you haven’t done enough, do this: thank yourself.

You will close the laptop and start your evening in a completely different energy. Life is for living, gorgeous.

Expanding My World

Words & Photography
by Kasturi Wren



I would never want to stop learning or growing.
Learning new words, making new interesting plans
and slowly but surely expanding my world
beyond my known boundaries.

A Seemingly Small Goal

Words & Photography
by Olivia Jane



Tell me, do you set New Year’s goals? For the past couple years I’ve chosen one simple, achievable but significant change to make in my daily routine.

Last year, my resolution was to read Hank a book each day because I noticed I wasn’t reading as much to him as I had to his older brother. We met this goal nearly every day, and in the process Hank has become a super verbal kid who absolutely loves books. Two years ago, my goal was to drink a big glass of water first thing every morning. It’s now become a daily habit.

Last year, my resolution was to read Hank a book each day because I noticed I wasn’t reading as much to him as I had to his older brother. We met this goal nearly every day, and in the process Hank has become a super verbal kid who absolutely loves books.

All this is to say that a seemingly small goal can make a big impact. Something I’m keeping in mind as I set my intention for 2019.