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I had a really interesting zoom conversation last night with my sisters -in- law and we were talking about the difficulties experienced as women trying to stay safe and keep our families safe during Covid, when so many are seemingly loosening up their personal boundaries and personally interpreting the guidelines. We talked about feeling ashamed for not speaking up when someone who isn’t wearing a mask gets too close, or comes too close when wearing the mask improperly. The endless mansplaining about how we're being too careful or taking this too seriously without listening to our concerns. About being so... Continue reading

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My Dear Friends, I hope that May finds you safe, healthy and warm.... I have found real solace in my kitchen, family and my garden. It feels wonderful to be spending this much time at home.. I feel like a little bit like a Brambly Hedge mouse! I’ve been enjoying Zoom sessions with my family and I’m sure that many of you have been too! Tea parties with my friends and happy hours have become the new normal. Thank goodness we have this wonderful technology to enjoy each other with. And then there's the garden! I’m building a huge victory... Continue reading

“Tra la, it's May, it’s May, the lusty Month of May That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray Tra la, it's here, it’s here, that shocking time of year When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear Whence this fragrance wafting through the air? What sweet feelings does its scent transmute? Whence this perfume floating everywhere? Don't you know, it's that dear forbidden fruit, Because…. It's May! It's May! The month of "yes you may," The time for ev'ry frivolous whim, Proper or "im." It's wild! It's gay! A blot in ev'ry way. The birds and bees with all... Continue reading

My Dear friends, My goodness, what 7 short days can do. Last week at this time I was planning my herb gardens, reiki sessions and tea parties and then suddenly the world was upended by an invisible marauder. First, because so many of you have written to ask me about my son and his wife. After many pleas from myself, my sister and my nephew in Paris I finally received the call from Alex a couple of weeks ago. “Mom, we want to come home for awhile. New York feels really frightening. We don’t know how to do it though…even... Continue reading

Good afternoon everyone! Wherever this finds you , I hope that it finds you well and happy, safely surrounded by your loved ones! I've written this article in response to an email that has been making the rounds concerning the possibility of elderberry products exacerbating the dangerous phenomenon that is known as the Cytokine Storm, which we are hearing about constantly right now as we are learning more and more about COVID-19. This email was sent to me last night, but this wasn’t the first I’d heard of the concern about elderberry and cytokine storm. I'm a herbalist who likes... Continue reading

For me, the holidays are a blend of magnificent, fragrant sensations. Because I'm a cook, herbalist and perfume obsessed writer, the smells of the season tend to blend together for me in a gloriously fragrant stew starting from Halloween through the New Year. There are so many fragrances that I love that are synonymous with this time of year, but I've tried today to keep it to 6 of my favorites...Not an easy feat! Most of you who read my fragrant musings know that from November the 1st until January the 2nd, I will only wear Caron's magnificent Nuit de... Continue reading

Hasn’t it been an incredibly beautiful autumn? Watching the leaves turn their magnificent shades of russet and gold puts me in the mood for fires, feasts and long evenings spent with my family, eating comforting foods and quietly enjoying each others companionship. Because the holiday season is soon to be upon us I’m already planning my menus and of course trying to decide how to set my tables, which is for me always the most fun of all! I’ve been thinking for quite sometime now about family gatherings, and what they mean to us. As I was growing up, there... Continue reading

I will never forget the Thanksgiving when my friend John and his beautiful wife Emily came for a surprise with their darling son Xander. I was so looking forward to having them join us because I knew that it would be just the right antidote for the holiday sadness I was beginning to feel. Those first couple of holidays after my mother passed weren't the easiest. It was a crazy time, I was trying so hard to have everything just right, juggling my sons and father completely opposing schedules. My father was in a nursing home and by 10:00 am... Continue reading

Bide The Wiccan Law Ye Must, In Perfect Love, In Perfect Trust. Eight Words The Wiccan Rede Fulfill: An Ye Harm None, Do As Ye Will. And Ever Mind The Rule Of Three: What Ye Send Out, Comes Back To Thee. Follow This With Mind And Heart, And Merry Ye Meet, And Merry Ye Part. Oh… there you are , come gather around the fire with me. Don’t be afraid, just notice all of the little things, the sounds, the smells..all of the things that you can’t quite put your finger on…breathe them and this luxurious feral night in deeply.... Continue reading

I love the colorful drama of Autumn, but when the last pumpkin is carved and the candy corn is all gone, I begin think about the daunting task of planning for the holiday season that lies ahead. Even for someone like me who has spent their entire life in the business of making dreams come true, planning endless parties and events can be overwhelming! I get asked all of the time for ideas to help create a wonderful holiday season for family and friends all while enduring the frantic pace of everyday life! One of the most important things that... Continue reading

I stumbled upon this review of Magie Noire that I wrote in 2007. It is as true for me today as it was when I wrote it...No perfume has ever made me as hungry as this one, at least not until recently when I discovered Liz Moores amazing new ode to passion and seduction, a bewitching little perfume called Bengale Rouge which I will write about on Samhain, the only day of the year where I could possibly do it as much justice as it deserves. (BSG) I am a woman with a past. I won’t say anymore than that... Continue reading

My mothers Coalport Indian Tree Coral. I never tire of using it and remembering just how much she loved it. These things are made to be used, not hidden away for a another time. Another time never comes. Use them now and don't worry about it! Once upon a time my family owned a beautiful gift business, what would have been known in days past as a carriage trade store. Schreibman Jewelers was full of gorgeous china, crystal , silver and everything else beautiful. We had the largest bridal registry in Northeast Ohio and I spent my days setting tables,... Continue reading

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Harmony and balance in your life allows wellness and beauty to glow and grow from within. With stress as a leading factor for general and chronic health issues, a simple solution that provides a means to counter these outside influences is what I offer. I am a healer who loves to play and work with the universal energy that is in and around everyone. Through powerful visualization and energy work I can help you build and sustain balance and harmony in your life. This is done through a very simple process that can be delivered to you utilizing a practice... Continue reading

" Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine. Scarborough Fair/Canticle - Simon and Garfunkel Today I’ve decided to take a fragrant and flavorful journey with the genus Salvia....more commonly known to us as Sage. Sage is the herb that I love the most passionately and if I ever (God, perish the thought!) had to choose just one culinary herb, besides my beloved roses to spend the rest of my days with, it would be the Salvia Officinalis or the Common or... Continue reading

My mother liked to say "Always remember to stay interesting dear because if YOU bore yourself to tears can you imagine how anyone around you will feel?" Brava Bellissima! Continue reading