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IMG_4088Hello dears. Happy Autumn to you all, I hope the shift has been gentle and the colors are shining all around you.

Today I write, after months of avoidance and distraction from writing. It has been really hard to find time to sit down and lay my thoughts on the keypad this Summer, besides being quite busy traveling, I was really feeling the approaching reality of both our daughters being in school full time for the first time ever, and just really wanting to be present with them and not closed off in my room trying to write in 5 minute increments, which is basically what I have been doing for the last 5 years.

I have been experiencing a really big shift in how I live recently, and the phrase I keep coming back to is this…..‘How am I going to get anything done without the stress of not having time to get everything done?’

Can anyone relate to this feeling? Being a mom to young kids and a partner and a creative person and a business owner means never enough time and always a manic non-stop rush against the clock. This has been my experience. Now, the kids are both in school. We no longer pay for any childcare or shuffle the kids around to meet the needs of our part time work schedules. All of the sudden, I feel this expanse of TIME to get shit done. And I don’t really know where to begin, I’m sort of floating on a cloud and spinning through space. I’m thinking it just an adjustment and just ride the wave.

Life’s a trip. That is always true.

SO through all of this strangeness and change of pace, It has felt right to me to clean house, get rid of shit, dust the corners, decorate with seasonal flowers, and create sacred space within the suspended void of space that I am experiencing. I am preparing for the next stage of my life by working on aligning my outer world with my inner world.

Something beautiful that I recently discovered from a friend of mine is the power of getting things aligned, and then sitting back and waiting for the next thing to find us. Whether it is a new idea, a new project, a new job, whatever it is that we need in life but don’t know where to begin to look. For me, someone who is constantly reinventing and pushing, this knowledge feels like a revolution.

So, let’s see…….Re-learning to operate when the pressure let’s up. This is gonna take some time. In the meantime, getting aligned…….Step one, get my space right.


Creating Sacred Space

When in doubt about what to do in life, I say to myself, create sacred spaces. Find a place and make it beautiful and sparkling, or clean and tidy, or whatever feeds your soul and aligns with your taste and esthetic. To me, recently, this has meant my workspace.

7U6A5091I am currently cutting hair out of my living room. This point alone, the pro’s and con’s of working out of your family living room, deserves it’s own blog post. I will spare you all this for now. The point is, this is my reality.7U6A5099

My partner Jonny salvaged a beautiful hutch for me from his family’s midwest homestead, and he filled it with mirrors, and this is the centerpiece of my little salon. I have slowly been collecting special things to fill it with……Besides my homemade hair products that I use on clients, I have a collection of pretty stones, antlers from my dads hunting days, and a hanging crystal which casts rainbows all around. My tools, brushes and combs are there as well.7U6A5101

We have a low coffee table that sits just under a big window to our front yard, this is where I make floral mandalas and shoot braid videos etc. I like the old wood grain, the natural light and the fact that I can kneel at the table as my alter while I create. Every mandala is a prayer and an intention and this makes my work space feel so nice.FullSizeRender

I spent some time last week making seasonal botanical garlands to hang around the inside of the hutch, and along with a bouquet of flowers from around the neighborhood it feels quite lovely in this space.

7U6A5072I cleaned the mirrors, got rid of some old color and products I no longer use, and set out some new oils that I just finished making. 7U6A4342

On a bike ride, I harvested some cedar boughs and some eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, wild rose, sage…..Some of my favorite herbs and plants. 7U6A4343

I got some twine and scissors and laid the plants in bundles, wrapped the twine around them to create smudge sticks, and let them dry on the table. 7U6A4363

The smell of them was so lovely as they dried in an abalone shell. 7U6A4809

After a few days, I burned one, lighting the end and letting the smoke waft into all corners of my workspace. I have since been in the habit of burning one after every work day, to clear the energy of a days work from my home and reset the vibe back into family home mode.

It make me think of the importance of those of us who work closely with other people’s bodies and energies to cleanse and protect our spaces and ourselves.7U6A5058

While my life feels quite up in the air, my workspace is feeling very sacred these days and It really makes me love what I do.

What makes you love your workspace? How do you shake shake off unwanted energy after a long day on the job?

Thanks so much for being here.

xo, HTHG