When it comes to health and wellness, we all need to learn a thing or two from LA-based, Jessie DeLowe. Jessie has an impressive pedigree of talents – Certified Yoga Instructor and Art Therapist Jessie De Lowe provides life-enhancing, enriching, and enlightening experiences to clients across the globe (and a new mom to a gorgeous baby girl, to boot!). We had a chance to sit down with her in an candid Q & A you don’t want to miss.

Name:

Jessie De Lowe

What’s manifestation? 

Manifestation happens when you align with your true, highest self, and are able to experience reality from that expansive, abundant lens. Your perceived limitations are lifted and your energy flows effortlessly, yet intentionally, towards whatever you choose.

Where does your glow come from?

My glow comes from love, nature, and deep appreciation for simple day to day pleasures.

What does your typical Beauty Routine look like?

I take a glorious shower every morning to wake up all my senses, always ending with a  refreshing cool rinse. I use Playa natural hair care (shampoo and conditioner), exfoliate my body and then lather on True Botanicals body oil. For my face, I am obsessed with Goldfaden MD eye cream and Vintner’s Daughter Face oil. I use a tinted sunscreen by Well People and then RMS living luminizer for extra glow.

How do you balance work, mom, wife, life (tips / rituals)? 

I make sure to take time for myself, taking care of my body and my own needs so that I can be a well of positive energy to offer others. Regularly practicing yoga is the ticket for me.  Luckily I have chosen a career path that lends itself well to living a balanced life and I am really grateful for the way my work and personal life so seamlessly coexist. I have been able to include my daughter Amelie in some of my work lately which has been so much fun and I hope to continue more of that.

My husband Brian and I prioritize each other and our relationship before all else— even before our daughter, because if our union isn’t super strong then that is going to negatively effect everything else. We have at least one date night every week and are both really present for one another, expressing gratitude regularly and never taking each other for granted.

What was the last book you read? 

These days I am obsessed with cookbooks!! I am determined to be an incredible chef like my own mom, so I have been studying! I just got this book “Once upon a Chef” and the recipes look awesome.

Perfect day…is? 

On a tropical beach with my family, in and out of the warm ocean, eating fresh fruit and fish tacos, massages, yoga, outdoor bath tub, lots of kissing and snuggling. Watching the sunset while drinking a beautiful bottle of wine. Amelie sleeping peacefully through the night. Bam.

When you need to destress what is your go to?

Aromatherapy (lavender) and the ocean!

What is your favorite room in your home?

My bathroom might be my favorite. It has a large meditation area that used to be a cedar tub. Its funky and fabulous.

What advice can you offer new moms? 

Get outside as often as you can. Sometimes leaving the house feels like a daunting task, but I found that Amelie was always so much less fussy once she got some fresh air. And it makes you feel less isolated and more like yourself.

Best advice anyone has given you is…? 

Don’t sweat the small stuff. First thing you do when you wake up, is? Say thank you for another day. I have a gratitude practice every morning where I lay with one hand on my belly and one on my heart and just appreciate the blessing of a brand new day. I visualize the day unfolding and set my intentions for what I would like to attract and what energy I want to radiate throughout my day.

Last thing you do before you go to sleep, is? 

Tell my husband I love him and thank him for loving me.

Any tips/advice for people looking to start their own business that you’ve learned along the way? 

If you want to start something, start telling people! The more you talk about it, the more opportunities for it to come into fruition will arise.

Jessie is the co-founder of the highly acclaimed blog, How You Glow, and Manifestation coach.

 


Name:

Andrea Faulkner Williams co-founder and Head Mama of Tubby Todd Bath Co.

Why Tubby Todd?

My husband, Brian Todd, was the biggest baby ever born in the San Jose Hospital (11 pounds… ouch!) When he was born the nurses called him “The Moose” because he was so big. Years ago we had been working on formulas but weren’t sure if we really wanted to launch a bath soap company (mainly fear was holding us back!) and then one day he came home from work and said, “We are going to start a children’s bath soap company and we are going to call it Tubby Todd!” And I was like, “Yeah we are!” It was one of those pivotal moments we both remember.

How many baths per week?

I find the number of baths per week I take has significantly decreased as I have added more children into the equation. I still get to sneak one or two in a week. Because… priorities.

What does your typical Beauty Routine look like?

I try and wash my face both morning and night, moisturize and use the Goldfaden Elixir. Sometimes I fall asleep before I wash my face and so the next morning I use your exfoliater to make up for neglect. If I go two nights of falling asleep without washing my face I put on your mask.

How do you balance work, mom, wife, life (tips / rituals)?

What was the last book you read? I’m currently reading “The Magnolia Story” by Chip and Joanna Gaines. I know, I know… three years after everyone else. But I still cry every single time they talk about putting it all on the line and starting their business together. Shiplap and soap don’t have much in common, but our stories feel similar in so many ways about working together as a couple.

Perfect day…is?

Hmmm. Sleeping in. Hiking outside, getting a few hours of work done in the morning and then doing something with my kids we both enjoy (like going to the pool, or to the beach) and then at night we get a babysitter and we go out. Let’s just say I sneak a nap in there too.

When you need to destress what is your go to?

I have written in a journal since I was 12. I try to spend a few nights a week meditating and writing feelings and lessons learned down. I have always had a lot of feelings (maybe more than I’ve known what to do with, ha!) and my journal is a safe place to put them all and make sense of things.

What is your favorite room in your home?

My favorite room in my home is my kids room. We have a chair in there that we bought when I was pregnant with my first child. Every single night we all pile on it and read books together. The kids poke me in the ribs and beg for more books and I tell them to go to bed but, those are for sure my absolute fav mom moments.

Favorite Tubby Todd product?

Ummmmm it’s always changing but I’m currently so obsessed with our All Over Ointment. Every single day we receive hundreds of testimonials of how our Ointment has changed the lives of the families who use our products. It’s like the Windex of baby products–works on everything.

Where does your inspiration come from?

My babies. And that is the best part of my job. The best thing I can do for our company is spend time with my family. A lot of my inspiration also comes from other female business owners. I spend a lot of time talking to other women about their social strategy and creative process, I always come way so jazzed and full of ideas.

First thing you do when you wake up, is?

Ugh. These kinds of questions are so embarrassing because they highlight what a lug I am. I dream of being the type of mom who’s dressed before her kids get up, but every single day one of my 3 kids or our 2 month old puppy wakes us up. And it’s always like a screaming in my ear, or a jumping on my back, type of awakening. So, the first thing I do is probably tell them to be quiet, or roll out of bed and get them breakfast to get them to be quiet. And, if I wake up on my own the first thing I do is check Instagram and try to take of any emails I need to get out. Because, mama gotta take care of business.

Last thing you do before you go to sleep, is?

Say a prayer. My husband and I try to pray together and then I pray on my own. See, I HAVE ONE GOOD HABIT. Thank you for ending on this note.

 


Lunya
is reinventing sleepwear for women, by women. Their collections are made up of advanced fibers that some specific sleep problems – hot sleepers, cold sleepers, etc. Each piece is designed to work together and meet the individuals sleeping needs. We love everything and the fabric just melts you. We sat down with founder, Ashley Merrill, to find out more about her inspiration and what it’s like to balance work, life and kids.

GFMD: Why Lunya?

Ashley: I could relate to the problem because I was someone who was wearing my husband’s shabby old clothes in an effort to be comfortable, so I was passionate about solving it.  I had a strong vision for what I believed was possible and felt there could be a great business to be had in solving it well. 

GFMD: Where does your inspiration come from?

Ashley: We’re inspired by women.  By who they want to be, what their lives look like, how they live, etc.  Our designs celebrate women’s bodies by trying to make them comfortable in thoughtful ways (smooth seams, stay put straps, etc), flatter them (as women we always put on the clothes and make sure we FEEL our best with them on prior to releasing them), and that work with how they live (cell phone pockets so you have your hands free, clothes that can transition in and out of the home as needed, etc).

GFMD: What does your typical Beauty Routine look like?

Ashley: Arcona face wash, Vintner’s Daughter Serum, and Skin Clinical Lotion on top, essentially i use a mild cleanser and try to lock in vitamins and moisture.  As for makeup Im pretty minimal.  In a big day I will softly line my eyes with dark brown shadow and I will top with Benefit They’re Real mascara. 

GFMD: How do you balance work, mom, wife, life (tips / rituals)?

Ashley: I try to think about life in the macro vs on the day to day so I don’t make myself crazy – though I still do lol.  I look at my whole life as a pie graph of time and goals.  I think about how much I want to give to the different slices and realistically when that needs to happen and then I try to allocate my time somewhat in that way.  When I think about buckets like: travel, kids, relationship, friends, career, and community, I can evaluate what really matters and make decisions from that place.   As an example, my husband and I travelled a lot prior to kids and we will get lots of that later in life but kids and career are timely and at this point in my life they dominate my time.  I think this is ok and it gives me some peace about saying no to friends and other things that I would be interested in for the short term.  Balancing between husband, kids and career is a moving target and I wish I knew the right balance.  There is no perfect solution but I do my best to correct when things feel off.

GFMD: What was the last book you read?

Ashley: I wish that I could say some fabulous Historical Fiction because I love those but generally I dont have a lot of time so if I do read it tends to be business related.  I recently read Insanely Simple and found it to have some killer marketing insights.  I loved the metaphor they used for clairity of message…. If someone throws one ball at you then you catch it but if they throw you three balls at once its hard to catch any.  It was  powerful point about being simple with your message.

GFMD: Perfect day…is?

Ashley: Waking up to two kids in great moods.  Heading to work and feeling the energy and passion of the team when they are in sync and working well together.  Then I would workout at lunch… maybe even go for a run along the beach (we work close to the beach).  Then I would work a little more and then pick up my kids from school   Hang with them for snack and then maybe have a little time to myself for art, organizing, or whatever.  Make dinner (I love cooking) and then have a family dinner.  This isnt my actual life but Im happy that my perfect day and my actual days arent miles apart.  I hope that means Im on the right track 😉 

GFMD: When you need to destress what is your go to?

Ashley: I find TV these days to be so quality and immersive that its great to transport me out of a stressful situation. I love Handmaids Tale, This is Us, The Americans, etc. 

GFMD: What is your favorite room in your home?

Ashley: The living room because it has amazing windows.  Oddly its a room Im rarely in.  Perhaps it also appeals to me because its kind of a novelty for me to be in it?

GFMD: Favorite Lunya product?

Ashley: This changes often but I love the Lunya silk robe right now.  Every silk robe looks the same and we were determined to build something better.  I think we really landed on something special and it looks great in and out of the home.

GFMD: What advice can you offer women in the workplace?

Ashley: Find a company you love where you think you can add value and work every day to do that.  Every company will have its pros and cons but focus more on what you can do to make a difference than on all the things the company could do better.  You will be happier, more empowered and more valuable to the company.

GFMD: Best advice anyone has given you is…?

Ashley: Be the change you want to see in the world.  I dont recall where I heard this but its basically my life motto at this point.

GFMD: First thing you do when you wake up, is?

Ashley: Read my email.  I know that virtually every wellness blog says this is a bad Idea.  What can I say, Im a flawed person and I love knocking out email first thing int he morning while my house is still quiet.

GFMD: Last thing you do before you go to sleep, is?

Ashley: Put my cold feet on my husband so he can warm them up.  I dont know how men can run so much hotter but its like sleeping next to an inferno.