MORE ABOUT ME!

peaceful garden
Some say I am obsessed with Dahlias! Well, Yes, maybe? Only dream about them 5 times a day.

Social Media Influencer @ Cocoon Raw

Founder of the Blooms to Prosper Method Academy

University of Florida Graduate with a Bachelor of Design, College of Architecture

LINKEDIN

A successful 28 years of design experience in the upscale International Hospitality and the Retail-Mixed Use design industries. I currently run my own social media lifestyle company, Cocoon Raw; blog, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook, and built the Blooms to Prosper Method.

MY STORY

Read about my story of battling with an immune disease most of my life and how it inspired me to build a garden to transform my life on ‘IMMUNE SYSTEM PLANTS | My Story on Healing.

VISION: ‘A COZY LIFESTYLE LIKE NOBODY ELSE’S
This blog will be one to make your life better, a place to CREATE YOUR OWN ESSENCE. A Cozy ‘Cocoon’ inspired by the ‘Raw’ feel of Nature. Whether you are home decorating or gardening, find nature’s ‘Raw’ inspiration to incorporate into your daily life.

‘BLOOMS TO PROSPER METHOD ACADEMY’

Blooms to Prosper Method Academy helps the overwhelmed gardener dealing with wellness issues and craves the peace of mind. Creating a meaningful outdoor space to feel nurtured, to go from being paralyzed by the fear of not knowing where to begin, scared of moving forward, stuck in confusion to feeling ‘EMPOWERED”.

Identifying the purpose to create their own outdoor space and garden by incorporating emotional and meaningful personal daily rituals to can achieve confidence. The haven for healing that brings true joy, a life-changing mindset, and bloom await you.

COCOON RAW HAS BEEN FEATURED AT:

* Hometalk
* Thistlewood Farms
* PEACOCK Ridge Farm

I get asked by my husband; do you want to go basket shopping? Well yes!!! Bring those vintage baskets please!

My Gardening Love!

I have become a master at fitting a whole lot into my small garden.

Why? Because I could not give up flowers to grow food, I want it all!. And having a cozy outdoor living area was critical also.

After all, I need a space to hang out with my flowers and a cup of coffee every morning.

Read up on some tips for you if you are beginning your adventure of creating a garden ‘Gardening for Beginners | You Must Know this First!

Well, Maybe I am Obsessed. I am okay with it!

Why did I create the Cocoon Raw Blog?

To understand why you have to know that I grew up in the Caribbean with 3 brothers that kept life interesting every single day. They loved to surf, skateboarding, the water, nature, and animals, it is what we all had in common and shared daily. But even with this wonderful life I suffered daily starting when I was young, with an immune disease.

Gardening became an excellent form of dealing with it all, an amazing stress relief. But I needed to dive deeper and understand what to grow in the garden to benefit in the most effective way. Planning the design of the garden to be able to use every square foot available was critical. Yes, I wanted a beautiful garden to heal my soul, but I needed to also boost my immune system with plants by growing the critical plants I needed to improve my well-being.

vegetable colors
When the time comes to harvest, I am like a kid! Nothing makes me so happy. Frank knows he will be eating healthy for a while. Not sure he is as happy about it!

It is not a linear path, it took trial and error, but today I keep improving methods and understanding that a more holistic approach to the garden counts; on planning, nature connections, and adding immune system plants. Even the air I breathe feels fresher and the colors brighter, it is home.

immune system plants before and after

If you are suffering from an immune disease, you are not alone, so many of us are. The healthcare system let me down and I was determined to find ways to get the most out of my garden. Let me share some of what I have discovered.

Visit ‘IMMUNE SYSTEM PLANTS | My Story on Healing’, I speak more about my living with Hashimoto’s.

My older brother was also an inspiration. He would save a frog by giving it chest compressions, whatever needed to be done! He taught me to love and respect every living being. My love for nature was born at an early age, but my love for design, flowers, and plants was born from observing my Mom’s unrelenting love for making her house a home and her garden a part of it. I learned so much from her! She still helps me in the garden to this day!

cocoon Surfin
My brother’s tried to show me how to surf!
Cocoon Nature Family
Curious is how you would best describe me, always!

My Babies

Kai, my English Angora and my Quails have become so important to my family.

Kai is such comfort and allows me to take a moment to rest and spend time with her.

I began raising quails as part of my healing journey in 2022. The eggs are packed with nutrition and raising the birds has been an unbelievable experience, a reminder of the fragility of life.

Read up ‘Urban Homesteading for Beginners | The real meaning will surprise you! to learn more about my journey with quails and creating my Mini Homestead.

unique pets to own

A Creative Journey

This blog is a place to continue the creative journey that has been a part of most of my life.

Whether I am decorating, painting, photographing, gardening, camping, sailing, cooking or working on crafts, nature is a part of it all.

I want to share the knowledge I have gained through the years and inspire you to create your own cozy ‘COCOON’ lifestyle using ‘RAW’ materials inspired by nature.

air plant wall display

Our home is our Oasis, our safety net, our emotional ‘COCOON’ and our entertainment.

COCOON RAW will provide you with a place of well-styled ideas for inspiration that will transport you.

Outdoors is where I try to spend the most time. Frank always knows where to find me! He just hopes I don’t ask him to spend time with me, because it means, ‘gardening’

You will find ideas that will make you think you are on Staycation, just like a luxury spa or luxury resort can inspire your home or garden. I will show you some tricks of the design industry that can transform your space from anybody’s home to your ‘Own’ personal ‘Cocoon’.

I love to be inspired by nature. Read this blog post to learn what it means to me, ‘What does it exactly mean to achieve a Home Decor Nature Inspired!’

GARDENING TOOLS
Not sure how the fish in the pond feel about me, but I pay them a visit every morning to have my coffee. They can’t go anywhere and are forced to hear about my plans for the day!

Make your space feel balanced and with a touch of nostalgia.  Bringing you into the design transforms the feel to an intimate one and makes it ‘Like Nobody Else’s’. 

dahlia arrangements floral design
Vintage is my Jam! They say to live in the present, but I can’t help looking at old family photos and integrating them in my Decor. The past is a good thing in my home, it transports me!

We all can find so many beautiful things, they are more accessible than ever but here I want to show how to, not only, bring the Design together to speak of ‘You’.

By thinking as a Designer you can take it to the next level.

COZY HOME DECOR

My philosophy is that we are surrounded by true beauty, when nature inspired designs becomes our lifestyle”. It is not only about what we decorate with, but how they fit in our everyday life, our daily rituals.

mindful gardening

If you agree with my philosophy, I can’t wait to support you in your journey! Join me and be part of the ‘COCOON RAW’ community and create your own Essence and have some fun while learning!

You want to learn more about me?

Here is a little Manifesto that goes more in-depth about my background and design philosophy. READ HERE!

(note that I am no longer employed at the firm on the Manifesto)

Your Cocoon Awaits You,

Stay Creative!

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