We are thrilled to introduce our readers and community to the EIGHT new mamas who have joined the Charleston Moms Blog team! Each of these women have something unique to offer and we can’t wait to read what they have to say! We are honored to have them on board!
Amber Allen
Amber was born and bred in Iowa, but she is proud to call Charleston her new hometown. Amber is a mom to two kids, Penelope and Evan, wife to Drew and doggie mama to Mookie. She graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in journalism, thinking she would spend her days toiling over newspaper copy and getting her hands dirty with ink. These days, Amber has found her true life’s passion in helping local moms through her postpartum doula and yoga business, Bright Heart Mother Care. When she is not hauling her kids around town, teaching yoga or blogging, she is connecting with her favorite friends, paddle boarding, riding her bike, walking on the beach, gardening or making her kitchen entirely too hot from cooking or baking.
Julie Beatty
Julie attended The College of Charleston and graduated with a B.A. in Communications with a focus in Mass Media and a minor in Political Science. After graduation, she decided to make the Lowcountry her permanent home! Julie has worked at several news stations around town as a Commercial Producer as well as a Media Producer for a software company. Julie is married to Brian and they welcomed their first daughter, Ellie, in September 2014. Julie is now the Marketing Manager for The Brian Beatty Real Estate team. She has a passion for good deals, knitting, reality TV and cats.
Elizabeth Carra {Events Assistant}
Elizabeth is a world traveler who recently settled in Charleston, SC and she could not be happier to find such a beautiful city. She enjoys boxing, running, swimming and finding restaurants that serve delicious gluten free food.
When she was younger Elizabeth never pictured herself as a mother. However while living in Germany she and her husband had their first beautiful baby boy and their world completely changed. Elizabeth fell in love with everything motherhood has to offer. She is now the mother of two handsome boys ages one and two. They impress and challenge her every day and keep her in the best shape of her life!
Elizabeth has worked in marketing, event planning and sales for nine years and spent one year as a stay at home mama.
Lauren Falini
Lauren, originally from Houston, Texas has also lived in Louisiana, Delaware and Scotland. She lived in Scotland for thirteen years before attending the University of Delaware. Lauren and her husband, Jeff visited Charleston in college, fell in love with the city and decided they would move to Charleston after finishing graduate school. Leaving their families and friends was difficult, but Charleston has become their new home and they are excited to raise their family here. In December 2013, Lauren and Jeff welcomed their daughter, Avery into the world.
This year provides a big change for Lauren and her family, she has decided to leave her teaching job to stay home with Avery. Lauren has taught 3rd grade, Kindergarten and has been a reading specialist. Lauren loved teaching and being a part of the teaching community for the past seven years, but she is looking forward to spending time with her daughter. Lauren is passionate about traveling, education, literacy, learning to cook and meeting new people.
Cynthia Huggins
Cynthia is a Summerville stay at home mom originally from Long Island, New York. She loves yoga, exploring, bike riding, crafting, eating, baking, cooking, and taking walks in small towns. She’s always in search of local events and fun things to do for her family. Cynthia is a trained pastry chef and has worked at top rated restaurants in Charleston. She is a wife to a devoted and loving man that travels 90% of the year for work. Her beautiful quirky daughter is 4 and is special needs. She also runs a vegan household full of compassion and love.
Rachael James
Rachael is a native to the beautiful island of St.Thomas in the U.S.V.I. but has been living in Charleston since she was 6 years old. In addition to being a homeschooling mama, Rachael is also a writer, entrepreneur, and integrative wellness coach focusing on holistic plant based medicine. She is married to chiropractor and musician Justin James, who has a private practice in Summerville. Rachael and Justin have four wild and free children; Noah, 13, Ellis, 7, Lily, 6, and Henry, 4.
Rachael is a foodie, a wanderluster and hippie mama who’s soul is called by the ocean. Natural parenting is one of her biggest passions and she feels like one of her life purposes is to help mothers find their way on natural mothering path and to help guide them as they discover the ancient wisdom of motherhood that she believes lies within each mother. Rachael shares her wild, free and nontraditional lifestyle on Instagram under the username of @theculturedfamily, feel free to follow along!
Shara Ray
Shara taught special education in Rockville, Maryland before moving to the Charleston area to settle down. In 2009, she and her husband Dave welcomed their oldest daughter, Jayna, and Shara decided to become a stay-at-home mom. She started to chronicle her family’s life and share pictures online for extended family. But instead, her DIY posts, recipes and parenting tips took over, and her blog, Palmettos and Pigtails was born! In 2011, Amelia was born, followed by Lincoln in 2014. Three active kids under 7 keep her very busy, but somehow Shara still manages to teach her readers how to do simple projects at home, give parenting tips and share all of the fun things her family does! She also loves to sew for her kids, and sells her baby accessories at many craft shows in the LowCountry.
Sarah Trottier
Originally from Upstate New York, Sarah and her husband, Scott, became Charleston transplants in the summer of 2010. Their Charleston love affair promptly began and grows by leaps and bounds each year. They welcomed their first native Charlestonian, Max, almost 3 years ago and will welcome their second baby boy this December. Food is a sensitive subject for Sarah (no pun intended); her son has peanut and egg allergies and she was personally diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2014. Navigating this city of culinary delight while keeping her family safe has been a challenge and a mission. Sarah is passionate mother, wife, and pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist. In addition to spending quality time with family, she enjoys writing on her blog Charm of Charleston, Zac Brown Band, exploring Chucktown, and gluten free cupcakes.
