In the community

De-Stress essentials coughed it up for the annual Santa Barbara Fur Ball!

Having just launched my store, what better way to kick-off the giving spirit with a donation of de-stress items nicely displayed for silent auction goers at a Gala Event benefitting the Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation for the homeless and injured animals in our county. The Foundation works in collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Animal Services and its volunteers in efforts to move forward to fulfill their goal -- to make the all the shelters in the county "no-kill" for adoptable animals. The Foundation is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that supports the homless animals in all three of our local county shelters.

We adopted our very pampered pooch, below, who might otherwise have been euthanized in one of our county's animal shelter so we're very happy and lucky she's with us today... and I couldn't resist shamelessly promoting our bundle of joy... http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=861. What does all this have to do with de-stress. Alot. Our pets are instrumental in de-stressing us. They love unconditionally, they get us out and their quirks make us laugh.

This is my small leap in response to ethical consumerism and responsible capitalism by helping those whose voices cannot be heard. I started on this venture by combining my skills and talents to create a store that provides wellness and stress relief to a stressed-out world. My intention has since naturally evolved further by blending my experiences in my non-profit background into a for-profit world. I started out raising major gifts for the metro Washington, DC area public TV and classical radio station http://www.weta.org then went on to business development at http://www.pbs.org in Alexandria, VA where I worked with the the brightest and kindest people in the business, and in Santa Barbara, CA at http://www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org, where I was so lucky to be a part of a small group of passionate caring and dedicated people. My non-profit career was slowly waning with the Girl Scouts http://www.gstc.org and Sansum Diabetes Research Institute http://www.sansum.org and my internal compass was leading me again to something different... but still keeping grounded in the non-profit world. So, here I am today working on blending making people feel good and to do good. Be well.

How do you de-stress?

Today, I'm talking de-stress. We're already into the 2nd quarter of 2006 which makes it a good time to reflect how we've all done taking care of ourselves and how we have de-stressed ourselves. Here are some ways I do it and some tips to practice today. How do you de-stress?

- For me, saying "No". It's a hard lesson for me to say this one word, but I'd rather say it than dissapoint. Try it, it's a pretty big stress reliever.

- Relax, do nothing and be still. Practice breathing deeply. Do this several times a day for a few minutes or more as your schedule allows. Start in small doses until it becomes a natural part of your day.

- Have a plan for your day/week/month. When you anticipate, you can cope better.

- Just know that there will always be bumps in the road. Take the burden off you and acknowledge that. That's what makes life interesting!

- Go for a walk. It increases your mood level and de-stresses a stressful day.

- Play with your dog or pet!

- Have people you can count on in your lives. We can't go it alone, we're social beings.

- Get organized -- get rid of stuff and clutter.

- Being thankful, keeping postive, and most importantly staying away from negative people helps me to lead a stress-free life.

"Natural", what does it really mean?

When I started on this journey to start using "natural" products and then offering these products on my store, I felt more confused about what it really means. No longer... here's my philosophy on what "natural" is.

- the bath & body products I choose and call natural contain no artificial color or synthetic materials or fragrance
- contain only what's absolutely essential to the performance of the product.
- it's ok if there are natural preservatives; the product will go rancid quick if there aren't (natural preservative: safflower oil, high in vitamin E)
- are cruelty-free, are not tested on animals

Here's a few natural ingredients you'll likely to find in our natural skin care products:

- emulsifying wax – This comes from fats and esters and helps keep natural skin care products from separating.
- Stearic acid – Found in animal and vegetable fats, this is an emulsifying agent that lends a cooling effect and a waxy feel to lotions and deodorants.
- Coconut oil, almond oil – These are bases as well for various shampoos and added to body lotions and bath beads.

Natural products are more readily available as more shops like mine are responding to the rising demand and consumer affluence. Take your time trying out different natural products that work for your skin. You might pay a little more for natural but what you put on your skin is as important as what you put under it. Have fun experimenting with natural!