Tag Archives: outdoor boudoir

May 19, 2024

Persephone Unleashed Retreat | Holly Farm 2024

At the precipice of the Spring Equinox, a group of women traveled to Carmel Valley for a retreat centered around healing our throat space. They arrived as strangers, and left as sisters. Forever bonded by the experience.

Each Persephone retreat is unique and unlike any retreat that came before it. But this retreat was the first to have a theme, which brought the women closer in a way I hadn’t witnessed before. Throat Space healing is best done alongside wounded soldiers, otherwise who is there to witness your voice as it emerges louder and stronger than ever before?

We spent five days amidst the serene oasis of The Holly Farm, being handed cocktails and fed magical meals by La Creme.
Our mornings started with gentle yoga led by Nikki Stromsoe, followed by a Throat Speace Healing Workshop co-led by Nikki and Jade, where we got curious about our voices, journeyed to spend time with them, and cleared out many roadblocks along the way.
Our afternoons were spent lounging, getting massages & energy work or getting glammed up by Rhyan & Juju for a photo shoot with yours truly.
Our evenings were spent gathered around a beautiful table, being nourished and spoiled by the La Creme team.

It is truly impossible to describe the essence of this retreat, and the transformations we all witnessed in one another. But the photos can definitely help…. see for yourself.

Interested in attending a Persephone Unleashed Retreat someday? Join the Persephone Post email list at the bottom of the home page.

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January 19, 2024

Goddess of Land & Sea Part II | San Luis Obispo Boudoir Photographer

There once was a goddess who reclaimed her life.
Where there was Heartache,
She now finds Strength.
Where she felt Small,
She now feels Seen.

Her once-wrecked boat carried her safely to shore,
Where she rebuilt from the ground up.
She followed her heartstrings,
And brought her dreamscape to life.

“There is nothing you can’t do,
No one you can’t be,”
Said the core of her being.

And so she did.
And so she is.

(see Part One of this goddess’ bare session journey)

November 17, 2023

Persephone Unleashed | Maui Retreat

When I first started down the path of realizing my dream of taking Persephone Unleashed to Maui, the first thing on my to-do list was to find a venue. This task turned out to be much more difficult than I anticipated. For weeks, I scoured the internet for retreat venues, but the only ones that fit what I was looking for were outrageously out of my budget. Then one day, I found myself thinking about a beautiful banyan tree on Kauai that I visit often in my mind. Suddenly my fingers were typing “Banyan Tree Vacation Rental Maui” in the search bar. And there she was. Something much greater than myself paved the path, pulled the strings, and I watched the most incredible retreat start to take shape before my very eyes.

Nicole and I arrived to the venue one day early, and we were barely inside the front gate before we were kicking off our shoes and being magnetically pulled to the far side of the house where we beheld the very tree who called me to me through the ethers all those months before. As I placed my hands on her roots, silent tears fell down my cheeks. For 12 whole months, I had planned this retreat from across the ocean, but it never felt real. Until that moment. Until the tree whispered to me, “You made it. I’ve been waiting for you. You did the planning, now let me do the rest.” And oh, how she did.

I will never be able to find the words to aptly describe what transpired over those 5 days. The healing, grounding, connection, and unconditional love we received from the island herself as well as the women around us. This particular group of women ranged in age from 30-somethings to 70-somethings. We had three mother-daughter pairs, myself and my mama included among them. Sharing Persephone with my mom is experience I won’t soon forget.

We floated in the ocean, swam with sea turtles, danced in the rain, soaked in the sun, and were wholly nourished body & spirit.
Thank you, Maui for inviting us onto your shores. For giving us the gift of your medicine. And just weeks before you experienced a great, fiery trauma.
I can only hope we gave back to Maui in some way while we were there. Because she gave so, so much to us.

If a retreat of this magnitude tugs at your heart strings, consider signing up for the Earth Medicine retreat on Whidbey Island in May.
This is the stuff that can change the whole course of your life. I can’t explain it. But I’ve seen it happen, time and time again.
And it can happen for you, too.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE TEAM WHO BROUGHT THIS RETREAT TO LIFE (especially the local babes!):
Venue: Banyan Bed & Breakfast | Private Chef: Kyra Bramble, Lotus Chefs | Florals: Tara Lei | Vintage Chairs & Styling: Kelsi Van Velden | Yoga: Danielle, Maui Mobile Yoga
Massage: Alchemy Therapeutics | Hair & Makeup: Rozetree Bridal | Shamanic Healer: Jade Lotus | Stationer & Hype Girl: Nicole Joy

>> EXLORE 2024 PERSEPHONE UNLEASHED RETREATS <<

February 24, 2021

Light Goddess | Outdoor Boudoir Photographer

There once was a Goddess of Light.
She knew how to soak in it’s golden brilliance,
and how to dance in it’s shadow side.
It was in between the two places,
where it was easiest to get lost.
But she always found her way back again.
In truth, she was a traveler,
a light seeker on a pilgrimage to discover
new beauty within the Light’s waves.

{there are still spaces available for the Spring & Fall Persephone Unleashed retreats! claim your own light today}

January 14, 2020

Air Goddess – San Luis Obispo Boudoir Photographer

There once was a goddess who’s lungs were full to the brim.
She flew through her life, with the wind in her curls and the road beneath her wheels.
Her path led her through forests and earth, and brought her to the edge of the continent.
There, her lungs greeted the sea with the deepest of exhales.
And upon the exhale, a pause. And upon the pause, an inhale once more.
As the wind rose to meet her, she was reset.