Fall Goddess Retreat

Fall has always been my favorite season. It brings fairs and festivals, Friday high school football, college football atmosphere, and the changing colors of the leaves. This year, there is more to that for me; I had a wonderful time attending Fall Goddess Retreat in West Lansing, last Saturday. The retreat was hosted by Shannon Branstner, a massage therapist, and Chef Jen Riebow of Presto! Personal Chef and Event Planning Service.

The objective of the retreat was to help women ease into the seasons of harvest and hibernation. The session included learning about ourselves, introduction to Ayurvedic Medicine, aromatherapy, bath salt & salt scrub making, reading meditation, cooking a healthy tasty meal, wine tasting, and fire circle.

It was a very beautiful day, the weather was Fall perfect. I went with my friend, L. In the beginning of the session, we learned about one another. I even got to know more about L..

Some of us took advantage of the great weather and accommodating venue by riding the zip line.

Then, we got to learned about essential oils from Bonnie Schnautz, a nutrition and wellness coach from B-Renewed. I loved smelling and learning about all those oils!

We then chose oil of our choices to make salt scrub or bath salt. I made salt scrub with orange essential oil. It smells so refreshing and delicious at the same time :)

We had quite relaxing time, but also had so much fun moving on from one activity to another. Later in the evening, we all got in the kitchen and did some cooking together for our dinner. Chef Jen provided such fantastic menu, recipes, and cooking guide. We made salad with green goddess dressing, lentil & winter vegetable soup with parmesan crostini, and spiced raisin apple crisp.

Lentil & Winter Vegetable Soup

Soup and dessert were being cooked up.

Making Our Dessert

Spiced Raisin Apple Crisp - YUM!

After dinner, we had Riesling tasting. We started from dry one, then semi-dry, and sweet one to finish. We shared stories, laughter, and friendship around that dining table. What a great time!
Read more about the retreat on Chef Jen's blog.

When I signed up for this retreat I didn't really know what to expect! But taking the time to retreat from my everyday world, to create space to engage with the sense of self, I discovered some rejuvenation and renewal. It was a real nice experience.