Eden's Revered

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve checked in, so I wanted to share a little life update. ✨

We’re no strangers to deployments, but this is the first deployment in nearly a decade of marriage where I’ve had the support of family within driving distance. My children and I have been soaking up this extra family time for the last month, and it has been such a gift. ♥️

This year has been a challenging one for Eden’s Revered. As a first-year business owner, I’ve learned so much— not only about building a business, but also about my own limits and what it means to create something while navigating a very full season of life.

This past year brought more challenges than I ever expected and everything was completely unexpected. Between a medically complex pregnancy, welcoming our baby, navigating NICU and PICU stays, caring for our other children, and my husband’s deployment, Eden’s Revered naturally had to take a back seat. In total, I’ve spent about four months away from my business. 💔

Since most of my sales come through in-person markets, the combination of deployment, NICU/PICU stays, meant stepping away entirely from my main source of income and many opportunities to continue growing Eden’s Revered.

▪️This most recent time away has given me space to reflect on what ER needs to look like moving forward. I love what I’ve created, and I’m excited to find my way back to it—but in a way that feels more sustainable for our family and for the business itself.▪️

With that being said, I don’t have every detail of what the future of Eden’s Revered looks like yet. We will still be here, but we’ll be moving forward with intentional decisions that honor both this business and the season of life we’re in.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Eden’s Revered. Your encouragement has meant more than you know, and I’m so grateful for each and every one of you. 🌿

Did you know that calendula is one of the most researched herbs for skin care? 🌼

It’s been traditionally used to:
🌿 Support dry skin
🌿 Comfort irritated skin
🌿 Nourish the skin barrier
🌿 Leaves skin feeling soft and supported

All of these reasons are exactly why I love using calendula in my skincare routine!

Have you ever used calendula before? 🤍

I’m back to social media after a little break! 🌿

Behind the scenes, I’ve been spending time refining my infusion process.

One of those changes has been moving to a more concentrated infusions, increasing from a 1:8 ratio to a 1:5 ratio. 🌼

While my formulations remain unchanged, this allows me to incorporate a more potent infusions in future products.

After foraging, what’s next? 🌿

You’ve seen the foraging baskets and glimpses of the forest, but what happens after we arrive home?

The first step is carefully sorting through each plant and gently removing any soil, insects, or debris. Once cleaned, the herbs are cut down to fit into the dehydrator.

Drying is an important part of the process. By removing moisture, we preserve the herbs and extend their shelf life and quality for future use.

Not all plants dry at the same rate, so each herb is given the time and patience they need.🤍

Once fully dried, we put them into jars labeled with their names and harvest dates—a small but important step that helps me keep track of each season’s harvest, ensuring quality and freshness.

Here’s some freshly dried yarrow I’ve been working on over the past few nights. 🫶🏼

What is Gentle Revival? 🌿

Gentle Revival is a beautifully whipped body butter crafted with nourishing mango and shea butters, calendula-infused jojoba and sweet almond oils, and vitamin E.

*If you like vanilla, you’d love our Vanilla Crème scent variant, it’s scented with vanilla oleoresin 🧁 😉*

It was created to deeply moisturize without feeling heavy or greasy, it leaves skin feeling soft, velvety, and comforted.

Our blend of calendula-infused jojoba and sweet almond oils absorbs beautifully into the skin, helping to nourish dry areas while bringing the soothing benefits of one of herbalism’s most beloved flowers🌼

Skincare doesn’t have to be complicated, return to what’s good, natural, and clean!🫶🏼

Etsy: https://edensrevered.etsy.com/listing/4394094443

In a world where Ai has taken over, books will always win….🌿

As an avid forager and someone who harvests wild plants for my products, I’d like to talk a little bit about plant ID apps.

I’m not here to say that plant ID apps are bad, I think they can be incredibly useful resources. I use from time to time myself. 🌿But I do NOT rely on them blindly and I don’t want you to either!

Plants are nuanced and every tiny detail matters. An accurate plant ID can all completely change based on leaf arrangement, stem shape, taste, scent, habitat, and even the season you find it in. And Ai can only work with the information you give it.

So here’s a list of things to help your robot botanist give you a correct ID🤖:

•Take clear photos in natural light.
•Include leaves, flowers, stems, and berries.
•Take close-ups, multiple shots, and wider shots to include the habitat.

When you receive an ID from your robot botanist, be sure to look at lookalikes and compare photos!

But no matter how convenient those apps may be, I always find myself coming back to my Peterson field guide. 📕

It’s user friendly, works with or without signal😉, uses a color coded system to quickly nail down an ID. And books often teach something’s that apps can’t, like scent, texture, or lookalikes and subtle details.

🥬 Example: Wild Lettuce(Lactuca virosa), the underside of its leaves have tiny hair-like structures that run along the center vein.

And books are just a better and more grounded way to help us learn plant ID. Using all of our senses encourages our brains to retain the information on a deeper level than snapping a photo.

Happy foraging and I cant wait to share our seasonal forest products with yall!👩🏽‍🌾

Current product using locally foraged plantain: https://edensrevered.etsy.com/listing/4374060460

Can you identify this “skin” protective plant? 🌿

Hint: It grows the most beautiful clusters of vibrant magenta berries!

I’ve spent many miles hiking through the Croatan, identifying and observing the plants that grow here. And BOY! Those mosquitoes and gnats can be relentless. 🦟

This is one plant I always look for when I’m out. I love crushing the leaves in my hands and rubbing them along my arms, legs, hair, and even around my face when the bugs become intolerable. It makes my time out there so much more pleasant!

Take a guess in the comments 🌿

Out in the Croatan today🌿

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)
Plantain (Plantago major)

Look at how massive the plantain is! Absolutely blessed to source select species locally!👩🏽‍🌾

We will be sending over mimosa and yarrow to Crown & Mortar Apothecary ! Go check out his tinctures, teas and salves!

Softness & Resilience🌿

Just sharing the simple beauty of the yarrow I grew. Now, onto harvesting the wild yarrow for this season! 👩🏽‍🌾