For the debut of the series we are thrilled to introduce Trinity Mouzon, a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur & co-founder of Golde, a fun and inclusive approach to wellness & beauty.
Through thoughtful documentation of her experiences and learnings, Trinity provides mentorship via office_hrs, a series focused on helping young people build, launch, and actualize their own businesses.
Below, Trinity shares her thoughts on living well.
Do you have a morning ritual? If so, what does it consist of?
When I wake up I immediately drink water, around half a liter. After several hours of sleep you wake up dehydrated, and the sooner you deal with that the better! I have a Big Berkey water filter at home. It's extremely cost effective compared to a Brita or bottled water, and it's much tastier than tap.
Do you have any self care or beauty habits that you consistently practice?
On weekdays I make a big smoothie for myself and my partner, Issey. It's usually got celery, romaine, frozen wild blueberries, frozen mango, and whatever else is lying around my kitchen! It's such a great way to hydrate and get your fiber first thing in the day.
Describe your home in five words:
Comfortable, lived in, bright, easygoing, historic
Do you have personal practices for living or well-being that create a reduced environmental impact or are zero waste? (share a recipe, practice or how to)
My partner and I store all of our veggie scraps in the freezer and use them to make broth a couple of times a month. The broth is the basis of all of our meals — its adds incredible richness to beans, soups, and even saucy pastas. To make it you just simmer your veg in water for several hours with a little apple cider vinegar. When the veggies look "spent" and mushy you strain them out, and then salt the broth to taste. It stores for about 2 weeks in the fridge, or you can freeze it forever.
Try as we might, humans will inevitably negatively affect the environment in some ways, both on a local and global scale. With this in mind what are some specific intentions and convictions that you hold close?
Honestly, I found that I ended up living a pretty unintentionally green lifestyle by being a broke entrepreneur. We buy our produce locally from the farmers market because that's where it's cheap and good, we don't eat a lot of meat because it's expensive. My partner and I spend maybe $500 a year on clothes between the two of us. I don't travel often. While it's true that there is some "inevitable" stress on the environment, a lot of it comes from the excess and the luxuries of modern life. Stay home, cook your own food, and buy stuff you'll love for years — not months.
What is a project for home or living that you have recently started or finished?
I just repotted all of the house plants! They were a little worse for wear at first, but they're really thriving now.
What distracts you? How do you remain centered?
The internet, usually. I spend large swaths of time without my phone on me, which is a huge help. Technology is the biggest distractor!
How has your relationship with your immediate surroundings and the environment at large adapted or changed through the years?
I think I'm really coming into a newfound appreciation for nature. I grew up in Upstate NY and sort of took it for granted. Now that I live in Brooklyn full time, it's so much sweeter to experience a few days outside of the city.
Describe a practice in living well that you admire from someone in your community.
My dear friend Sophia Roe has told me that she often does her skincare routine intentionally not in front of a mirror. It helps to prevent the obsessive searching for imperfections and allows you to focus more on nurturing your skin. I really love that.
Share a well-loved family recipe:
My partner and I don't have a lot of recipes per se, but one of our favorite meals to make is fresh handmade pasta with seasonal veg. Issey does the pasta making — he uses a pretty simple technique that we learned in southern Italy that's just water and semolina, no egg. The key to getting an amazing "creamy" sauce for the veg is to start it off with pasta water and butter. You can't go wrong from there.
