A Mother’s Glow


Zoë Buckman and Cleo by Kelly Stuart for The Glow

Mom’s are pretty great. They blow on cuts to take the sting out. Read bed time stories. Cut the crusts off sandwiches. And teach us all what true love looks like. The lovely site, The Glow, captures that special bond between mother and child with breathtaking images and inspiring advice from some very stylish moms.


Ramya Giangola and Chiara by Laura Stuart for The Glow

A collaboration between photographer Kelly Stuart and editor Violet Gaynor, The Glow is both gorgeous and poignant. Along with the show stopping images, each mother shares her experiences, advice, and favorite things that collectively capture what it is to be a mother.

“My most humbling moment as a mother was when I looked at my children and realized I cannot control their destiny. For the first time in five years, I have started to let go and let them each become the person they want to be. Not to say that I don’t influence their lives—believe me, a pair of Crocs will never enter this house!” Christina Hutson

“The most surprising thing about being a mother is what it does to your capacity to feel things. I thought that I was loving with all of my heart before, but now that I have a child I’ve discovered a whole new depth of love (for my baby, my husband, my parents).”
Zoë Buckman


Busy Phillips and Birdie by Laura Stuart for Coach’s collaboration with The Glow

For Mother’s Day, The Glow has collaborated with Coach to present a glimpse of real moms using unconventional Coach baby bags. A truly special gift for mom for sure! You know. If you are still looking for that perfect thing…

We’d like to wish all mothers a wonderful Mother’s Day! And send a very special thank you to our own moms. Ira, Jill, and Sandra. We love you.

Icons of Beauty: Mikaila Ulmer of BeeSweet Lemonade


Mikaila Ulmer and her BeeSweet Lemonade stand. Photo by Patrick Wong.

If you haven’t met Mikaila Ulmer yet, prepare to be blown away. This 7 year old, social entrepreneur runs possibly the cutest lemonade stand (and inspiring business) we have ever come across. Inspired by a recipe found in her 88-year-old great-grandmother Helen’s vintage 1940s-era cookbook, Mikaila adds honey and her own secret ingredients to create BeeSweet Lemonade with Flaxseed. Yum! We can see why it won “Most Creative Lemonade” in Austin’s 2011 Best Lemonade contest.


BeeSweet Lemonade and Mikaila sharing her award winning lemonade. Photo by Patrick Wong.

When not behind her stand extolling the digestive benefits of flax seed or sharing her true love for bees, you can find Mikaila donning a bee suit and harvesting her own fresh honey for BeeSweet Lemonade. Clearly we have found a kindred spirit! In fact, inspired by our encounter with the girls, she put together her own poster to educate people on bee friendly flowers. And if that weren’t enough, after each production of honey lemonade, she composts the lemon rinds for her backyard butterfly garden.


Mikaila’s poster on bee friendly flowers.

Having started her stand at the ripe old age of 4, she was the youngest speaker at this year’s SXSW, where she spoke about balancing a business with second grade! Oh and one more thing. She donates 20% of the profits from her lemonade sales to the Texas Beekeeper’s Association to help save the bees. See, we told you. Blown. Away.

An entrepreneur who gives back, with passion and creativity. An educator and a student. And simply cute as a button. Mikaila is a true icon of beauty!

If you live in Austin, you are in luck. Mikaila will be participating in National Lemonade Day on Sunday, May 6. Her BeeSweet Lemonade stand will be located at the Hope Farmers Market from 11 to  2 p.m. You’ll find her next to the Round Rock Honey booth. Round Rock Honey is sponsoring Mikaila by providing local Texas wildflower honey. Stop by and enjoy. We wish we could join you!

Behind the Scenes with Sarah DeShaw

As we wrap up our month of celebrating the bounty of nature (and the critical role of bees), we thought you might enjoy seeing this behind the scenes video of our photo shoot. The amazingly talented Sarah DeShaw joined us on our adventure as we met “the girls,” donning a bee suit and going into the hive with Suzanne to capture every moment. Talk about going above and beyond! She helped us put together the most charming honey inspired spa day party. And was simply a delight to work with. We can’t thank her enough.

Everyone’s favorite part of the day was hands down the iced tea pedicures! Perfect for a warm, summer afternoon. To see how to do your own iced tea pedicure (make sure it is unsweetened so it doesn’t get sticky), pop over to Southern Weddings to see the full instructions!

We’d also like to say a special thanks to all of the amazing vendors who helped make the day truly special:
Photography: Sarah DeShaw and Brent DeShaw
Photo Styling: Sarah DeShaw
Venue: Hampton Island
Flowers: Holley Jaakkola
Beehive Cake: Serendipity Bakery
Clothing: Go Fish
Hair & Makeup: Katherine Taylor

Paper Goods: A Darling Day

In the Land of Milk and Honey

Cleopatra is known as one of the most beautiful women who has ever lived. Her beauty treatment of choice? A milk and honey bath. Milk and honey beauty treatments have endured the test of time, for a simple reason. They work!

Milk contains lactic acid, a gentle, yet effective alpha-hydroxy acid that eliminates toxins from the skin. It also exfoliates the top layer of your skin, leaving skin soft and smooth with a marvelous, youthful glow. Yes please.

Honey, a natural elixir, has been used for centuries to moisturize and reverse the effects of aging on the skin. Fresh, raw honey has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, acts as a humectant (which means it pulls moisture out of the air), reduces inflammation, helps the skin to heal more quickly, and has an impressive array of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Wow!

So you can see why these two are a match made for beautiful skin—gentle exfoliation + hydrating moisture = great beauty. Caesar never stood a chance!

Create your own luxurious milk and honey bath at home. Drizzle a bit of honey (1/4 cup is ideal)—and remember the purer the honey, the better the treatment—with 2 tablespoons of Brand New Day into hot bath water to soothe and soften the skin. Follow with a Skin Savior Beauty Balm for a decadent experience that will give your skin a beautiful,
healthy glow.

All photos by Sarah DeShaw

the manifesto

  • We embrace the simplicity and the knowledge that you can achieve more with less.
  • We believe in the power of the beauty ritual to renew, relax, and transform.
  • We trust in the healing power of plants.
  • We are advocates for earth's most gentle members: children and the families who care for them.
  • We declare that love is the greatest, most powerful force on earth.