Winter is the season of softness and pause. It kicks off with the holidays where we loosen up on our routine and rituals and take off time for the holidays, celebrations and indulgences. We're all about indulging with intention here at Philosophie but find it so important to invest in wellness rituals to THRIVE during the winter instead of letting it wear you down.
I don’t know what has been up with the SoCal weather lately but it’s left my skin dehydrated and like no other. Also, being pregnant my body tends to suffer from dryness and I find myself with chapped lips all day, every day. EOS Crystal Lip Balm has been a life saver during this winter season.
I try to only use holistic and natural skincare. After all, your skin is your biggest organ! What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in your body. Wellness is a combination of all of the thoughts that you think, the foods that you eat, and how you treat your body. Take a look at my medicine cabinet to see the products I'm obsessed with right now!
I am currently OBSESSED with Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter, and as a result, so are my boys. We can’t seem to keep enough of it stocked in our cabinets. Each jar is filled with passion, natural ingredients, and a whole lotta love- all the good stuff that makes this nut butter nourishing and oh-so-addicting!
Looking for new ways to enhance your daily beauty routine? This week, Sophie highlights this charcoal cleansing sponge from One Love Organics as one of her favorite product alternatives for achieving gorgeous, glowing skin!
Each of our three Philosophie Superfood + Protein Blends has its own unique combination of healing superfoods, but one ingredient that they all have in common is organic Maca root. That’s because Maca is an incredibly potent superfood that has been revered for its numerous health benefits for thousands of years.
follow with our homemade detox soak formula!
Leo's cousin, Omri and my sister-in-love came to visit this weekend! Omri and Leo are only 7 weeks apart and soooo sweet together. Today I was making Philosophie Superfood Smoothies for the hubby, sista, Kai (my toddler) and myself and the babies WENT NUTS for it. We gave them little tastes which then turned into huge gulps. Lots of grabbing and whining for it. They were SO happy and elevated... all of us giggling, jumping, loving-- high on the superfood magic.
Here's the recipe I used (I tripled it for all of us):
BLEND!
In Joy....with those you love most!!!!
The Jaffe Family <3
Cue the music: “I’m a survivor”
My incredible, inspiring, beautiful mother had a huge battle with Stage 4 Breast Cancer. This was almost 5 years ago, and one of the most terrifying experiences of our lives. I’ve wanted to share her moving story but I needed time to pass to heal us all from the wounds this wretched disease created.
How “the cancer” developed
She felt a lump under her left breast for about a year. She and my dad both agreed they needed to get it checked out but both were in denial and waited as long as possible to do so. My grandmother just had a stroke so to say the least, it wasn’t exactly a calm time. My mother decided it was her role to take care of my grandparents (my grandfather was trying to figure out how to care for my grandmother, they were both in their 90′s).
She finally went to see a radiologist 2 weeks after her mother passed away. Indeed, it was a tumor and it metastasized and spread to her liver and lymph nodes. We were all floored. We didn’t know what to do. My best friend from childhood died that year as well, so I felt as though my world was falling apart.
Her biggest advice? “Don’t wait until it’s too late to get a screening. There are simple tests you can get at a young age to see if your estrogen levels could lead to tumors in the future. Get screenings and don’t wait to get questionable lumps checked out. Whether you chose to do so or not and take it seriously is up to you, I certainly didn’t.”
An Inspiration
Phyllis A. Koenig-Aaronson is an inspiration to SO many. In her profession, she has worked her way up to the top, being one of the few women in her industry to produce commercials and currently, to own a commercial production company. She has been in the world of creating commercials and film for over 20 years and does a kick-ass job.
Personally, she is a mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, step-mother, cousin and friend. She is a joy to be around, creating happiness and joy everywhere she goes. She’s kind hearted, loving and one of the most giving and generous people I’ve ever met. She’s been like this her entire life. I learned to give and not expect anything in return 100% from her and my father. The way they engage with people, every person as if they count, no matter who they are, has always inspired me. From a homeless person on the street to a waitress in a diner, they have always been giving and human to all.
My mom is so strong and beyond brave. She has been through her share of life’s curve balls and took them with ease and grace. She intentionally makes it look easy, and she does a damn good job of it.
Her Perspective in Life: How has it changed? How has it stayed the same?
My mother reported she definitely still “works hard and plays hard”but her relationship with others and how she lets (or doesn’t let) their opinions and issues affect her is with far less gravity. She prioritizes her SELF first, her needs, wants and her families and close friends as well. She has more fun than she did before “the cancer”. She “doesn’t give a damn about anyone who’s burdened with negativity or fear.” She also explained that she has a “reset button that’s set to positive that gets pushed every day.” She works incredibly hard so by the end of the day she’s exhausted. She spends time with my dad for sustenance and by the morning her “happy” reset button has been pushed again. She has many trips planned for the future, and if the universe decides its time for her to go, she’ll “buy two plane tickets for me and my husband and I’ll fly around the world until they yell at me to get into bed to die. But I’m hoping that won’t happen for a good long time from now, if ever.” She added that she harbors “zero guilt for others who can’t get their lives together. Don’t get me wrong, I feel badly for them-but I no longer feel responsible. It’s as real as the day is bright. Zero tolerance for those that don’t take responsibility for their own lives. That’s it. It’s simple.”
How her eating habits and relationship with food has changed
Personally, I’ve noticed quite the shift in my mother’s eating habits. Although she always had awareness surrounding healthy food (she was a vegetarian when she was 14 years old, which doesn’t always mean healthy). When she met her first husband (and then again with my dad) they were both meat and potato type of eaters so she cooked like that most of the time leading up to “the cancer”.
When I began learning about raw foods,superfoods, health and nutrition, she was so happy! She felt like she had a partner in (good) crime! During her cancer treatment, she began seeing a famous Chinese Doctor in Santa Monica. He taught her all about relaxation, meditation, but mostly, how to incorporate healthy foods, Chinese Herbs and Superfoods into her diet. Every evening she would drink a special herbal tea meant to heal her body from the inside out. I was so inspired by this that I created the Cacao MagicMushroom superfood blend which includes 3 medicinal mushrooms: Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps. These 3 mushrooms have been used for centuries to heal people and are known as “the ultimate herbal substances”. I began to do more research than ever during the time she had cancer to get to know the magical herbs of the world and using them myself.
She said she’s “so happy that you (me- Sophie!) created several healing powder blends you can feed your family a few times a day to get all those super nutrient dense foods in your body to stave off the creepy cancers that lurk in everyone’s bodies. They lurk. They’re there when you’re born. They say it’s only a matter of time before “they” light up. I’d love to see a world where nobody lights up in that way- ever.”