TRIP N°6
MindVacayTest
First, an update from my uterus
The perimenopause convo, continued
Introducing "two polyps and a cyst." My latest (internal) house guests, announced to me by my OBGYN last week. Yucky news, but it makes more sense why my Goddess Moon Cycle has felt so extra lately. And as I understand it, one of these things will either explode or just go away. Hoping for option #2.
I have no intention to make a habit of blasting this information on a regular basis, but after receiving so many personal email replies to last week's newsletter re: perimenopause, this felt like the most natural way to open this week.
All of this to stay, your thoughtful emails meant a lot. I feel way less alone. So to return the favor, Christina (previously mentioned as “marketing person”) is sharing her tried & true hormone-balancing remedy. And this shit really works.
Hormone-Balancing Daily Tea
Bulk Recipe: 1-month supply
- 1 cup Raspberry Leaf
- 5 tbsp Nettle
- 1/2 cup Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 3/4 cups Dandelion Root
- 2 tbsp Dong Quai
- 1 3/4 cups Rose Petals Or Buds
Optional: 1 1/4 cup Licorice Root (I use more for flavor, but it has a ton of medicinal benefits)
A little witchy & 100% worth-it hormone-balancing ritual
This homemade loose leaf tea recipe is the ultimate hormone-balancing act. It’s adaptogenic, so the benefits come from ingesting small amounts, on an ongoing basis, over a prolonged period of time. Translation: one serving size daily. It only works if you stay regular, so make it your morning ritual & stick to it. Once you begin to feel the benefits around the 2-week mark, sipping this tea each morning becomes something to enjoy. To be clear, I am not a morning person. I'm more feral animal than human most mornings, but since I began this routine, I have all the energy. Even the week before my period.
Prep & Storage
Buy herbs in bulk: Scarlett Sage in SF & Flower Power in NYC were my go-to’s for bulk herbs when I lived in each city
Batch the blend once a month: This way, you prep once/month vs. daily. Daily is too tedious.
Store your monthly blend in a large mason jar with a lid.
Do You Know How to Behave? Are You Sure?
Since forever, I’ve been told I don’t know how to behave. Or, at least, how to behave well enough.
Sound familiar? If so, share your bad behavior (or so it's been told to you) in the comments section below.
I suppose I think I’m just a little too much for most people, but perhaps that’s why I love this recent piece. Although I would never send an Edible Arrangement (#14), there’s quite a few rules on this list I’m breaking.
Creating a repeat rhythm
Process
As I’ve mentioned a couple times on Instagram, I’m reshaping my existing fabric by the yard collection into something entirely new. Originally, my idea was to repurpose elements from past Jen Garrido paintings & turn them into fabric repeats. I thought it would be easy. I tried & tried, but it never felt right.
Instead, I'm leading with my desire to create harmony & find rhythm between the two parts of me I've never fully allowed to dance.
My existing collection of fabric by the yard is very much Jenny Pennywood: flat shapes, screen-printed onto fabric & dyed in single colors.
I'm creating designs that capture details brushstroke, layering & color variation - the same elements that guide me around composition when I paint.
Where I've landed instead is a place that feels exciting & really good. Instead, I am It goes back to knowing that I’m ready to find the place where my painting and my textiles can meet, but making sure that it feels really right and really good when they finally do.
What I’ve realized during this process is that I want to create fabrics that offer rhythm and bring rhythm into spaces in the same way that my paintings do. Patterns that create flow & energetic continuity rather than patterns that physically begin & end only where they exist. It’s less about being that thing in the room with pattern, and more about a rhythm that pulls things together.
Our specialized digital printing techniques are allowing us to capture meaningful nuances like brushstroke, so patterns feel living & breathing rather than repeated & flat. I'm so excited for you to see what we're creating. More soon.