Living Well Apothecary

12/20/2025

Look up! It’s a meteor shower!

12/20/2025

12/20/2025

On this longest night of the year, my heart is full.
The Solstice reminds us that even in the deepest dark, there is a quiet turning;
a promise of returning light, slow renewal, and new beginnings stirring beneath winter’s stillness.

Today, I want to offer my sincere gratitude to each of you who has supported Living Well Apothecary, whether you’ve visited the shop, shared a kind word, brought home a handcrafted blend,
or simply followed along on this herbal journey.

Your presence, your trust, and your love for the craft keep this little apothecary glowing through every season.

May this Solstice bless your home with warmth, your heart with hope,
and your days with small, luminous moments of magic.
Thank you for being part of this beautiful community.

Blessed Winter Solstice, and thank you for walking this path with me.
— Carla, Living Well Apothecary

12/15/2025

journal entry

This part of the year asks for patience.
For staying.

The light pulls back.
The house grows quieter.
I notice what remains.

Heat.
Steam.
The swirl of petals, roots and pods in my pot…

The solstice is near.
I’m learning how to wait.

12/12/2025

🌿 WINTER RESILIENCE TEA 🌹

A thoughtfully crafted winter blend to support breathing, comfort, and steady energy through the colder months. Warming roots, soothing leaves, gentle florals, and adaptogenic herbs come together in this balanced seasonal tea — finished with rose petals for beauty and softness.

✨ Herbal highlights:
• Ginger — warming, circulatory, gently energizing
• Yarrow — traditional cold-season sinus support
• Plantain — soothes throat & respiratory tissues
• Elderflower — supports lungs & open breathing
• Linden — calming, comforting, chest-soothing
• Tulsi — adaptogenic, uplifting, stress-supportive
• Eleuthero — stamina & winter resilience
• Meadowsweet — natural salicylates for body comfort
• Rose — heart-soothing & harmonizing 🌹

🍵 Steep covered in just-boiled water for 10–15 minutes.
Add honey to taste.

Handcrafted in small batches
Living Well Apothecary

www.livingwellapothecary.com

12/10/2025

Juniper (Juniperus communis) has long been seen as a winter guardian; a protector of thresholds, a clearer of stagnant spaces, and a guide for travelers moving through the darker months. Its berries were burned in old hearth rituals for purification, healing, and spiritual clarity, while its branches were hung above doorways for protection and blessing.

Today, we still lean on juniper for its cleansing, grounding, and warming qualities. A plant that reminds us that winter is not only a season of stillness, but also a time of inner resilience, renewed boundaries, and quiet strength.

✨ Winter whispers through juniper, offering both strength and shelter.
— Living Well Apothecary

12/06/2025

A Victorian Apothecary Revival ✨

Elderberry Cordial, prepared in the old-world Victorian tradition, where herbal tonics were brewed slowly, seasonally, and with old-world reverence.

Steeped with wild elderberries, raw honey, neutral spirits, and a warming blend of apothecary spices, this cordial was once cherished for:

🍇 Supporting seasonal wellness
🌬️ Fortifying the lungs during winter months
✨ Strengthening vitality & resilience
🔥 Warming the body from within
🩶 Offering comfort during cold, damp seasons

In the Victorian era, such cordials were sipped in small amounts, added to teas, stirred into warm water, or enjoyed as a restorative nightcap.

Suggested Uses:
• A teaspoon in hot water as a spiced elderberry “toddy”
• Added to tea for seasonal support
• Enjoyed neat as a traditional cordial
• Blended into winter mocktails or festive cocktails
• Used as a warming tonic during chilly evenings

⸻

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12/03/2025

🌿 Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) & Arterial Health

One of the most underrated herbs for keeping arteries flexible, nourished, and resilient.

Hardening of the arteries isn’t just about cholesterol, it’s also driven by inflammation, oxidative stress, collagen breakdown, and micro-damage inside the vessels.
This is where Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) truly shines.

✨ How Gotu Kola supports arterial health:
• Strengthens arterial walls (collagen + elastin)
• Protects the endothelial lining
• Reduces chronic vascular inflammation
• Prevents oxidation of LDL
• Improves blood flow + microcirculation
• Reduces fibrosis and stiffness
• Supports nitric oxide → better arterial flexibility
• Calms the nervous system, easing cardiovascular stress

A beautiful herb for anyone focusing on circulation, microvascular health, and prevention of arterial hardening.

🌿 Educational use only. Not medical advice.

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12/03/2025

A little whisper from the apothecary… ✨
In the New Year, two handcrafted tallow-based tints will be joining the shelves.

A soft, rosy flush called Rosewood,
and a warm, earthy bronzed shade named Oak Ember.
Both inspired by old-world pigments, botanical colour, and the timeless beauty of traditional tallow remedies.

These blends are created to nourish the skin while offering a natural glow — the kind of colour that feels like it belongs to the skin, not on top of it.

More details soon… 🌿✨
Would you wear a tallow-based blush or bronzer?

11/29/2025

✨ Alchemist’s Golden Tonic

Today I’m making a self-care tonic on the stovetop — a slow, fragrant infusion filled with fresh roots and aromatic botanicals.
It feels like tending a warming potion, and the whole house smells magical. I have always loved making stovetop potions! I hope you can make this too!

This blend includes:
🫚 Fresh ginger – bright, stimulating, digestive support
🥕 Fresh turmeric – anti-inflammatory + grounding
🌼 Saffron – mood-lifting + deeply aromatic
🪷 Osmanthus flower – floral, calming, heart-opening
🍦 Vanilla – comforting + aromatic
🌿 Cardamom – digestive support + sweet warmth
🌿 Cinnamon – circulatory support + cozy spice
🌹 Rosebuds – soothing, uplifting, adds softness
🌱 Fresh ginseng – adaptogenic, nourishing, energizing

Simmered low and slow, this becomes a golden, aromatic tonic perfect for restoration, grounding, and warming the spirit from the inside out.

I’m curious…
💛 What would you name this herbal blend?

—
Living Well Apothecary

11/29/2025

The History of Cordials

✨ What’s brewing in the apothecary today? A traditional herbal cordial.
Cordials have a long, rich history — far older than most people realize — and making one feels like stepping into the footsteps of herbalists who crafted these remedies centuries ago.

Cordials were first created in medieval and Renaissance Europe, when apothecaries blended herbs, roots, berries, spices, honey, and alcohol to make powerful tonics. They were believed to “strengthen the heart and spirit,” warm the body, calm the nerves, and support overall vitality.
Over time, they became known as restorative elixirs — sipped in small amounts for comfort, wellness, and seasonal support.

Today I’m brewing my own modern version: a rich, spiced elderberry cordial infused with warming botanicals, winter herbs, honey, and high-proof alcohol to preserve its potency.
It will rest, mature, and deepen — just like the old remedies once did.

A cordial can be enjoyed:
✨ by the spoonful for seasonal support
✨ added to warm water as a comforting drink
✨ or sipped in tiny amounts as a soothing, aromatic treat

This is truly slow, ancestral herbal medicine — revived, honoured, and shared in a modern apothecary.

—
Living Well Apothecary

11/29/2025

Winter Apothecary Fire Cider

✨ I finally made my Winter Fire Cider, a richly layered blend of roots, berries, and botanicals.
Slow-infused for 4–6 weeks, this seasonal tonic is crafted with a thoughtful selection of herbs chosen for their depth and winter support.

This batch includes:
🧅 Onion – antimicrobial + circulatory support
🧄 Garlic – immune-boosting + antiviral
🫚 Ginger – anti-inflammatory, digestive + circulatory support
🔥 Horseradish – sinus-clearing, antimicrobial, circulatory support
🌶️ Jalapeño – boosts circulation + metabolic heat
🥕 Turmeric – anti-inflammatory + antioxidant
💚 Lime leaves – aromatic, antimicrobial, digestive
🌲 Pine pollen – nutritive, mineral-rich, gentle inflammation support
🌿 Thyme – lung-supportive + antimicrobial
🍇 Elderberries – antiviral + immune support
🌼 Elderflower – respiratory + fever support
🌸 Rose hips – vitamin C + antioxidant-rich
✨ Black seed – anti-inflammatory + immune modulating
🌿 Angelica root – lung + digestive decongestant
🌿 Elecampane root – deep lung herb, supports clearing + respiratory strength
🌿 Horehound – traditional expectorant + lung support
🌱 Fennel seed – digestive aid + aromatic balance
🍊 Sweet orange peel – brightens flavor + digestive support
🌿 Ginseng – adaptogenic, energy + immune support

All topped with raw apple cider vinegar and infused with intention, resilience, and winter protection.

This is truly a deep, botanical fire cider, immune-supportive, respiratory-focused, and crafted with purpose.

Slow medicine at its finest. 💛

—
Living Well Apothecary