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Archive for the ‘Life at the Rose Cottage’ Category
Enjoy our new in-store presence!
Monday, October 17th, 2011
We Mean Business.
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
We knew when we stood up to the $17 Billion chemically-based deodorant industry that we were taking on a David and Goliath sized challenge. We were prepared for a fight and protected ourselves, our products and our Duggan Sisters® brand in every way possible. What we didn’t expect was to be undermined in our efforts by those who say they want green businesses, want women-owned companies, want healthy products for their family, want jobs for Americans.
Yet, some of those very folks have been spreading the most damaging misinformation about us. Read on to hear Mary’s response to this ethical dilemma and to learn more about why WE MEAN BUSINESS.
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Dear Jenn,
Guess what popped up on a Google search of bloggers talking about lifestinks® deodorant? You! Hey, I remember meeting you at one of our retail spa partners. You were getting a manicure while I was there working and I took quite a bit of time with you, explaining how our deodorant works. You identified yourself as a blogger and you promised me that if you decided to write about the Duggan Sisters you would let me know. Hey, you didn’t. No problem. I guess. I have read what you had to say and despite the compliments and links to our site you have given us a not quite fair shake. So, here’s some setting the record straight for your readers. (more…)
From #11 to #11: I need your voice!
Friday, July 29th, 2011I don’t often play the baby sister card, but being the 11th of 11 children makes me a member of an elite group of big babies. Another card-carrying member of this Irish Catholic Last in a Long Line of Siblings Club is the 
inimitable Stephen Colbert. So, in this post Duggan #11 is asking Colbert #11 to give the Duggan Sisters’ message some much appreciated attention.
Isn’t attention getting what baby sisters are supposedly all about?
Mr. Colbert, are you listening?
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Dear Mr. Colbert,
This past spring I watched as you impaled the Dove/Unilever body image damage machine. It was brilliant and I thank you. I implore you to use your acclaimed voice to take it one step further.
Please consider the story of two sisters on the South Side of Chicago fed up with corporate greed and ineptitude who started making natural deodorant by hand in their basement and selling it to their neighbors. Hear their remarkable story of an endeavor that has captured the imagination (more…)
THAT’S WHY WE CALL THEM JUNKIES
Thursday, July 21st, 2011By Mary Duggan
Everyone seems to be buzzing about a story in the Los Angeles Times entitled, “Access to grocers doesn’t improve diets, study finds.” It references a study that confirms what I have long said about healthy eating – access to grocery stores is not enough. Yes, food deserts are immoral and problematic. Yes, economics figure largely into obesity. But, apparently from the results of this substantive study, proximity to fast food seems to be the big determinant in being too big. If it’s there and it’s cheap and it’s fast and it’s delicious who can say no to fast food. WHY? Because fast food is addictive, just like cigarettes, and so we need to call this bad boy by its real name DRUGS, and JUST SAY NO! (more…)
ZUCCHINI WITH INSTRUCTIONS!
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011by Mary Duggan
I just love Jamie Oliver. There are so many voices in the discussion about food; and I admire what many of them are contributing to our national debate. But nobody does it better than Jamie Oliver when it comes to taking it from discourse to the main course. Check out this Jamie O quote from a recent and fascinating Los Angeles Times article entitled, “Access to grocers doesn’t improve diets, study finds.”:
“If you go into most grocery stores across America, the majority of the store is chock-full of processed food calling out to you from the packages, ‘Pick me! I’m tastier and more convenient. And ringed around all this are good old veggies, with no instructions.”
I couldn’t agree more. I hear this CALL FOR INSTRUCTIONS all the time from sincere folks who really want to eat healthier and go to the produce aisle only to be overwhelmed by the wide array of fruits and vegetables available (more…)
What’s with the name already?
Friday, July 1st, 2011By Mary Duggan
The Duggan Sisters have had a ball with the name of our deodorant. For folks who don’t get it, perhaps a bit of history behind the naming of our lifestinks® deodorant would help. Here’s the first layer of the story. In 2007 we pooled all of our available resources to have a sophisticated website built to support the work of our home based healing center – The Rose Cottage in Beverly. We were amongst a handful of people trained in a very unusual system of Manual Lymphatic Drainage and we had lots of other healing techniques in our bag of goodies – from Raindrop Therapy and Far Infrared Sauna to Transformational Reiki and Forrest Yoga. Business was pretty good, but ever the worrier, Mary, was looking at a flagging economy and wondering how long we would survive the looming cash crunch; a website had gone from being a possibility to an essential. So, we gave a reputable designer our last resources (more…)
Lots to be said about armpits!
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011The wonderful Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune opened a conversation about women and their armpits in her Friday article.http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-01/news/ct-met-schmich-0401-20110401_1_underarm-armpits-unilever opened a conversationAs the Duggan Sisters, we clearly have lots to say about armpits! We implore you – our lifestinks deodorant users – to reach out to Mary Schmich at mschmich@tribune.com with your armpit stories! You’ve shared so many of them with us, please share them with her! We’ve shared Mary Duggan’s response below…
100% Committed to a Judgment-Free Living Foods Lifestyle
Friday, May 14th, 2010Mary Applauds Victoria Boutenko’s Message
Victoria, thank you so much for this article. I think this is such an important concept for the raw foods community to embrace. I maintained a 100% raw lifestyle for 22 months, lost 65 pounds and experienced extraordinary improvements in my health. I was inspired to do this as I had seen my sister Annie saving her own life with a strict raw regimen. By the end of 22 months we were in high demand to teach others how to make the same changes in their life with raw foods – so we added raw foods classes to our already rigorous work schedule. It was rewarding and completely exhausting. And then we crashed. Why?
We Can’t Survive Summer Without Watermelon Gazpacho
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Updated July 6, 2012.
We found this recipe years ago in RAW FOOD REAL WORLD by the incomparable restaurant owners and cookbook authors Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. We plain and simply do not know how anyone survives summer without this soup. As I am typing this blog it is over one hundred degrees in Chicago. There is a kind of nausea and wilting that goes with that kind of heat, even for those of us blessed with central air conditioning. I can’t eat just any old thing. It has to be light and fresh and satisfying and this really fits the bill. This is pretty much my standard contribution to any summer parties we are invited to. I carry it to the party in 2 gallon jugs and then bring a wonderful bowl or tureen for serving. I always get requests for this recipe.
We agree with the authors that 
you need to do your best to steer clear of theseedless/tasteless watermelons (or seedless anything for that matter) as the recipe hangs on the balance of the sweet watermelon paired with the acid of the summer tomatoes. We love organic sugar babies, as the seeds are so few that there is no seeding required and the size is perfect for this doubled version of the recipe.
In doubling Raw Food Real World’s Original recipe I use an entire small sugar baby watermelon. Once I get my ingredients out and get chopping I want to end up with a really big batch. Plus I don’t like to have left over watermelon as it gets pulpy really fast. This recipe is great for a party, to feed a big group, or in our case to have two meals wrapped up with one episode of sweating in the kitchen.
I use a really large stainless steel bowl for this recipe. I hate to measure, so I just use the entire melon and it turns out nicely. I pack my Vitamix with watermelon as this will become the liquid for the soup. Then I chop the remaining melon and the rest of the ingredients. I am careful to give it a really good stir before I put in the watermelon liquid. Don’t skimp on the fresh ginger (actually I go a little heavy-handed on it as it makes the soup.) Being Irish and all, we like our double recipe to still include only 1/2 of a jalapeño. But, hey if you are a hottie, go for it with the jalapeño. Once you pour the blended watermelon over the chopped ingredients you have a divine meal that is fragrant and satisfying beyond belief. We enjoy it two ways: 4 or 5 bowls room temp from the Vitamixer and and then 4-5 bowls nicely chilled later. Scrumptious!
WATERMELON TOMATO GAZPACHO
6 cups watermelon (1/2 small watermelon) chopped and pureed in a blender
1/2 watermelon, diced small
2 large or 3 small seeded tomatoes, diced small
2 cups peeled, seeded cucumber, diced small – (1 English cucumber or 2 whole Kirbys)
1 and 1/2 red or orange or green bell pepper, diced small
4 TBSP lime juice
2 small handfuls cilantro leaves. lightly chopped
2-3 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
2-3 green onion, white and 1 inch of green, minced
2-3 teaspoons sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pour watermelon puree over the chopped ingredients. Stir and serve, room temp or chilled. This is a great meal-in-one bowl affair; but if you want heavier fare pair it with guacamole and chips – DIVINE!
