The Wellness Business

 Source: a friend over at The Elliot Homestead.

Ok you guys, confession time: I started up a business over the past few months, and it's taken up a lot of my time and energy (in the best possible way)! Like many of you, I have a deep interest in natural and homeopathic wellness. And, like many of you, I have played around with botanicals in a (sometimes failed) attempt to be my own healer. (AND, I suspect like many of you, the sight of a medicine cabinet filled with home-brewed potions and salves gives me a thrill.) So, I've done the damn thing. I'm now a "wellness advocate" for doTERRA essential oils, and I'm so in love. 

I think last year's visit to Salem did me some good, too, because I lucked into meeting a doTERRA leader who needed to fill a (highly lucrative) spot on her essential oil team. We chatted for a bit over the phone, and really hit it off, and within a week I was transferred to a leadership spot that pulls in around $2000 a month (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on a variety of factors). You guys, that's crazy. That's how much I make at my full-time career. Plus, I'm absolutely obsessed with the essential oils I get to work with. I truly prefer them to the other brands I've used over the years (Aura Cacia, Nature's Alchemy, and Mountain Rose Herbs, for those of you keeping count). In fact, because my nose is hypersensitive, and I've now adjusted so completely to doTERRA's lavender oil, I actually had to throw out two bottles of Aura Cacia's lavender because the smell seemed so off. It's tough to believe reviews like that online, but man, the smells are spectacular.

So anyway, that's what I've been up to. Right now I'm helping one of the ladies on my team plan out her next few months so that she can replace her income with her doTERRA biz. I still kind of can't believe that that's actually possible, but I'm living it, so...

What does this mean for One Weird Moon? Not a ton. I'm still going to be terribly flaky and forget to post, but now you'll occasionally also see honest reviews of the oils I play with. It took me months to commit to the idea of trying oils that I couldn't smell in the store first, so if you ever want me to send a small sample bottle of an oil to ya so you can see what they're like, feel free to shoot me an email or leave me a comment. I'd love to start a circle of ladies who want to meet on Skype or something on nights of the full moon to talk herbal remedies, so if you want to be one of those ladies, hit me up.

Until next time. X

Sunday Comforts and Living Intentionally

Sometimes, the soul needs comfort food. Sunday was drizzly and slow, and filled with hot coffee and 50s music. The pup (recovering from some nasty puppy virus) curled up under the couch and napped on-and-off.

Family-life has been a little crazy and a little sad lately. Boyfriend played Fallout (I'm not a huge gamer, but man, post-apocalyptia is somehow soothing when shit hits the fan), and I lounged with the recovering pup and pulled out the ol' tarot cards. Sunday was a big thinking day, and I think I'm better off for it.

I've been playing a thought exercise: What would it look like if my aspirations and aesthetics (no matter how indulgent) were fully realized? What elements of that life speak the most to me? Why not try to make that a reality? I love my 9-5 job, but I've been tinkering with the idea of picking up a side gig that would, admittedly, be a little indulgent. I can't jump wholeheartedly into something without considering it from all angles, though, so that's where I'm at. Investing (literally) in a new project is a scary prospect -- we have a mortgage now, after all. At the same time, it's nice to have this business-life yang to balance out the family-life yin.

How are you doing, honestly? What would your ideal lifestyle look like? Why not chase that?

View from the office

I spend 40 hours a week in my office, so I'm sure as hell going to make sure it's a place that I enjoy. On my way out tonight I grabbed a few pictures of my favorite bits.

We're lucky in my company; when I got my promotion, the office manager told me that I have a decorating budget. A decorating budget! I had never heard of anything so luxurious. I haven't spent at dime, though, because my office also happens to have a big closet full of unclaimed art. I picked three big pieces for my office, and they go a long way towards making the space feel hospitable.

This lovely lass was a gift from one of my old editors. When I left the company for a job at my current publishing house, my editor-manager gave me this arrowhead plant and a kind note. The arrowhead lives on top of my bookcase, and her note is pinned to my bulletin board.

I keep a bottle of lavender essential oil on hand. It's silly, but sometimes a small break to smell some lavender is all it takes to get me back in the swing of things.

I'm in touch with people all day, be it professors, authors, or folks from other departments. I'm a big believer in thank-yous, and keeping this box of cards on my desk reminds me express gratitude (it also reminds me to be thankful for my job, because I really do enjoy it.)

This is Cal. Cal is a palm tree that was going to be thrown out because it got too big for its old home somewhere else in the building. My end game is to turn my office into a literal jungle, so I quickly relocated Cal from the dumpster to my room. Cal is just big enough to live on the floor and be visible from behind my desk.

Bowls are hot commodities in our shared kitchen. Between salads and soups, I use a bowl with almost every lunch, so I decided to drop $6 on this gem from TJ Maxx. When it's not holding soup, this bowl lives on my book shelf as a decorative piece.

During college, my two friends spent a semester in Los Angeles. I flew out to visit them, and we spent a day bopping around all the hip, curated stores you'd expect to find in LA. I can't walk away from a candle (ever), so I brought this one back with me. Seriously, this thing smells so good. These guys have an Etsy shop, and I recommend getting at least one of each of their scents. I can't light this at work, but it makes my office feel more like home.

Do not underestimate the power of a nice desktop background. It ties all of my office decor together and gives the room a nice ~vibe~, but more importantly it encourages me to keep my desktop clear of unnecessary folders and files.


I love hearing about how other folks make their space their own; what's your workspace like?