You guys, I’ll be so for real with you: this week kind of sucked.

I was solo parenting for part of it while Murray battled yet another ear infection-cold-deep-cough combo, which meant very little sleep, maximum tantrums, and me running on fumes. At this point it will shock absolutely no one to hear he is getting tubes. Ear tubes hallelujah. Just in time for swimming season, and I am deeply hoping this means longer stretches of a happier toddler who is not constantly in pain.

I had grand plans to create a ton of content this week and simply… did not. Between some aggressive imposter syndrome and a general case of the saddies, the execution was not executing.

I did manage to share a cute little April recap, plus a feature with one of my pistachio milk partners, so not a total wash. More importantly, I launched my first digital product (!!!): LinkedIn Personal Brand Playbook — a step-by-step training for professionals who want to build visibility, credibility, and career leverage without sounding deeply embarrassing online. If that sounds like you, please go take a look.

This weekend, I’m headed to Newport for my best friend’s bridal shower on Saturday, and truly no one deserves to be celebrated more. At night I’m doing dinner with a few couples, and on Sunday Danny heads out for another business trip, so Murray and I will likely be at a local park eating ice cream and causing minor public disturbances. My second Mother’s Day is also on the horizon, and I plan to keep requesting the same gift for as long as humanly possible: one solo night at a hotel in downtown Boston with robes, room service and reality television. Frankly, I cannot imagine anything more healing.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

A mix of career strategy, generational discourse and absurd wealth voyeurism that make me want to pace around my kitchen with my AirPods in pretending I’m in a board meeting.

🎧 Why Young People Don’t Have “The Hunger” for Work (And What Leaders Need to Hear) with Dr. Eliza Filby on A Bit of Optimism with Simon Sinek (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — I am begging leaders to listen to this before making one more lazy comment about Gen Z not wanting to work. The most interesting part of this conversation is the argument that younger generations are not broken or entitled, they’re responding rationally to the world they inherited. A world where loyalty to institutions has objectively paid off less, housing is less attainable, and burnout has been modeled as standard operating procedure. You may not agree with every take, but it’s a useful reminder that “kids these days” is not analysis.

🎧 The 16 Words That Will Change How You See Yourself Forever on Becoming You with Suzy Welch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one was catnip for me because you all know I love anything values-related. The premise is that most people are operating with a completely underdeveloped understanding of what they actually value, which is why they keep building lives and careers that look right on paper but feel wrong in practice. I found the framework genuinely useful, particularly because it pushes beyond vague answers like “freedom” or “success” and forces more specificity around what actually drives your decisions.

🎧 How the Ultra-Rich Spend Their Money with Olivia Ferney on Hot Smart Rich with MSR (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Pure voyeurism, yes, but also weirdly insightful. Beyond the obvious entertainment factor of hearing how billionaires spend money like it’s Monopoly cash, what stuck with me most was how proximity to wealth has shaped Olivia’s thinking about money, confidence, and leverage. There’s a reason people say environment matters. Spend enough time around people operating at a certain level and your perception of what’s normal starts to shift.

🎧 What Hiring Managers Actually Think (But Will Never Tell You) with Deepali Vyas on Ambition 2.0 with Amanda Goetz (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This episode is essentially a reminder that most people are still playing career checkers while assuming merit alone will save them. Deepali gets into what actually happens behind closed doors in hiring and promotion conversations, and unsurprisingly, talent is only part of the equation. Visibility, positioning, relationships, and timing matter more than people want to admit. If you still think “if I work hard enough someone will notice” is a strategy, respectfully, please evolve.

🎧 How MERIT Grew to $200M in Only Five Years on Hot Takes Big Stakes (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — I loved this one because it’s not founder porn masquerading as strategy. It’s an actual look at how a modern brand gets built with intention. What stood out most was how disciplined MERIT has been in resisting the usual pressure to chase trends, over-discount, or build around one hero product. A good reminder that boring consistency often beats chaotic creativity when you’re trying to build something durable.

Honorable Mention: Because I am a huge fan of Bridget Bahl, she was the guest on On Purpose this week. I am not a Jay Shetty fan, so I didn’t listen to the full episode, but the clips are worth a watch if they cross your feed.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is soft, feminine, and frankly a little suspicious in how expensive everything looks relative to what some of it actually costs. First and most important, I’m deeply considering buying this little picnic basket so Murray and I can have aesthetic park lunches this summer.

Second, there are genuinely good sales happening right now, so I currently have this green embroidered set from LOFT in my cart (top, bottoms). I’m also obsessing over these sunglasses that are very YSL-without-the-price-tag. I found similar versions at both Zara and Revolve, so choose your fighter.

I need dresses for an upcoming bridal shower, baby shower, and my best friend’s wedding. Current favorites include: this jewel satin mini, this asymmetrical lace dress (on sale), this linen Reformation option, this striped Nantucket dress, and this lime green maxi.

And if you know me, you know I will always be vulnerable to a matching set. This red-and-white printed set (top, bottoms) is almost certainly coming home with me, as is this mint green Tanya Taylor suiting set (jacket, shorts) for a more elevated event. For pool and beach days, I’m eyeing this blue-and-white printed top and shorts set with these slides and I already purchased this absurdly affordable tote bag plus this peplum top for date night.

Don’t forget to browse my Mother’s Day gift guide on both shop my and Amazon, plus a poolside round up and a new Target home haul, as well. Happy shopping!

👣 What I’m Coaching: Chaos Reveals Character

A lot of my clients right now feel like they’re operating in a pressure cooker. AI is reshaping roles in real time. Companies are clawing back perks people were told to count on. Reorgs happen every other quarter. Return-to-office mandates are being rolled out with all the warmth of a hostage note. And in startup environments especially, the lanes are so messy that many people default to doing everything they possibly can just to prove they deserve to stay.

What we’ve been talking about in coaching is this: chaos reveals character. Not in the inspirational poster sense. In the very real sense that pressure exposes your default coping mechanisms, fast. If your instinct under stress is to control everything, overfunctiong, handhold, micromanage, placate, or insert yourself into every problem, that is useful information. It means chaos is showing you exactly where your patterns still run the show.

Because a lot of what high performers call “being proactive” is actually just anxiety with a blazer on. And here’s the kicker: most of that behavior is not even productive. When you make yourself the checkpoint for every decision, the cleaner of every mess, the emotional regulator for every team dynamic, you do not become indispensable. You become the bottleneck. The work may look helpful in the short term, but over time it slows everything down and burns you out in the process.

The goal is not to become unaffected by chaos. The goal is to notice what chaos pulls out of you, and decide whether that version of you is actually effective.

📚 What I’m Reading

Everything I read this week kept circling a similar idea: a lot of what we call burnout, reinvention, or “being stuck” is really the collision between old systems and the reality of modern life.

✨ The Self-Care Industrial Complex Is Gaslighting Moms (Scary Mommy) — This piece makes the brutally fair point that women, and especially mothers, are being sold increasingly expensive “solutions” to problems that are fundamentally structural. We are told to buy more products, optimize harder, and self-care our way out of burnout when the actual issue is that many people are trying to survive systems that were not built to support them in the first place. Hard to read without nodding aggressively.

✨ The Truth About Starting Over in Midlife (Happy on Purpose, Substack) — This is ostensibly about reinvention in midlife, but the real takeaway is that many people don’t hit a breaking point because they are unstable. They hit one because they spent years building a life based on what looked right instead of what felt right. The whole thing reads like a reminder that ignored discomfort eventually collects interest.

✨ Do Less, Ask for More: How to Make Life Easier as a Working Parent (NPR) — A practical reminder that many working parents accept logistical misery as fixed when it often is not. The article pushes parents to negotiate more proactively with employers and lower standards where possible, but what stuck with me most is the broader truth underneath it: many people are suffering quietly inside arrangements they never stopped to question.

✨ They Say Inner Child Work Is Required, But What If You’re Not Cut Out for the Job? (How I See It, Substack) — What I appreciated most about this piece is how honestly it captures the way productivity can function as avoidance. Not ambition. Not discipline. Avoidance. The idea that some people are not overworking because they love work, but because stillness would force them to feel things they have been outrunning for years, is… uncomfortably compelling.

✨ Your Office Is Not a Strategy (Forbes) — My favorite line in this entire piece is: if leaders cannot explain what the office is actually for, then the office is not a strategy, it is a lease. Exactly. Proximity alone is not collaboration. If your team is commuting in to sit silently on Zoom calls all day, congratulations on your very expensive waiting room!!

✨ Women Aren’t Behind on AI. But We Need to Talk About Where We’re Headed (Chief) — This is one of the more nuanced takes I’ve seen on the “women are behind in AI” conversation. The argument is not that women are absent, but that many are being funneled into governance and oversight while others dominate strategy and product. A very smart reminder that being adjacent to power is not the same as holding it.

✨ Rage Against the Machine (Good Work, Substack) — A thoughtful take on what human differentiation may actually look like in an AI-saturated world. The central argument is that as outputs become easier to generate, what will matter more is the weird, imperfect, deeply human stuff: perspective, taste, judgment, personality, creativity. In other words, the robots may take your formatting, but hopefully not your flavor. 😉

Notable Mention: I also loved the Taylor Swift interview with The New York Times. I am always fascinated by hearing highly successful creative people break down their actual process because talent is almost never as effortless as people pretend it is.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Do I Actually Need to Be This Online?

This week’s spiral is brought to you by the increasingly unsettling realization that somewhere along the way, ambition became synonymous with being chronically online. There is now this ambient pressure to constantly “show up,” build a personal brand, share your thoughts, post your process, package your expertise, and generally behave like your own unpaid media company on top of having an actual job or business to run.

To be clear, I do think strategic visibility matters for some people. There are absolutely careers, businesses, and goals where building a public presence just makes sense. Some people genuinely want to share their expertise, build community, teach, create, and be known for their ideas. But somewhere along the way, that very valid path started getting sold as the path. As if everyone should want to become a public-facing thought leader regardless of industry, goals, temperament, or actual interest.

And that is where it can get messy. Because many ambitious people are not burned out from building. They are burned out from performing. From feeling like they need to constantly appear visible, relevant, polished, insightful, and “in progress” just to prove they matter. Not everyone needs a personal brand. Not everyone needs to turn their thoughts into content. Some people would be far better served logging off and focusing on the actual work that makes them excellent.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

Saw this dress and fell head-over-heels.
Huge fan of my girl Stassi (and her second act).
If you’re into astrology, you’ll want to see this.
Loving this influencers style so much!
This couple is adorable! I can’t get enough.
Oooof - I’m crying.
Reminder that transformation requires grief.
II literally am in love with this creators side table aesthetic.
Kate Hudson on being a young mom.
The vibes I’m channeling for all the bridal events I’m attending in May.
IInstantly purchased this collapsable furniture for my back porch.
Did you watch my embarrassing story?
Okay, I need to try and make this drink asap.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Sometimes We Prefer the Chase to the Reality

My group chat has been passing around an essay about why people often feel safer chasing uncertainty than receiving the thing they claim to want (by ). The core idea is that uncertainty can feel strangely safer than real possibility because as long as something remains hypothetical, you stay in control (!!!). You can fantasize about the promotion, the business, the opportunity, the big next move, without ever having to fully risk being seen in pursuit of it.

What hit me most is the argument that many of us are not actually afraid of failure. We are afraid of participation. Because once something becomes real, once the opportunity is in front of you and not just in your imagination, you have to show up for it. You have to risk being visible, imperfect, underqualified, exposed, or disappointed. And for a lot of high performers, that vulnerability feels more threatening than staying in limbo.

It made me think about how often people say they want more while unconsciously backing away the moment more becomes possible. Not because they lack ambition, but because wanting something in theory is much easier than letting it become real. Yikes, felt this one in my core.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I’ll leave you with a gentle but firm reminder that Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching, so if you have not purchased gifts yet and would like to avoid panic-buying something deeply uninspired from CVS, I have both my ShopMy and Amazon Mother’s Day gift guides ready for you.

Also on my mind: Meredith Hayden of @wishbonekitchen is starting her summer garden, as seen here, and as someone deeply susceptible to aspirational domestic content, I am taking this as my sign to start mine too.

And finally: I am counting down the seconds until the first Monday in May because the Met Gala is upon us. This year’s theme is Costume Art with a Fashion Is Art dress code, which means expectations are high and I will be judging accordingly from my couch. Also, in perhaps the most offensively effective piece of marketing of all time, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is out this weekend and yes, I will be seated. That’s all. 👀

Have a great weekend, lovelies!

xo,
Kelsey

You guys, you guys! I was SO productive this week.

I finished my first digital product, How to Build Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn Without Feeling Exposed, Cringey, or Like You’re Risking Your Job. It’s getting a few final design touches, and then I’m hoping to share it next week for you to download. I genuinely love being able to take what I’ve learned in my career and actually make it useful for you. And I know so many of you aren’t posting because it feels cringey or like you’re going to sound stupid to colleagues or clients, so I’m going to show you how to do it in a way that actually works.

Outside of work, I escaped my house for a girls dinner, tried the viral crème brûlée latte from a local coffee shop, went to Target with the budget police, and tested a ton of new content across Instagram and TikTok. I’m kind of proud of myself. I’ve been SO in my head about sharing more of my story, my opinions, and my favorite things online, and the fact that I followed through, stayed consistent, and still managed to stay at the same follower count made me really proud. See, I told you I got shit done.

Anyway, this weekend I really hope the weather turns warm because it’s almost May and I wore a hat, jacket, and turtleneck all week and honestly I’m pissed. I am so over this weather.

I need a crisp glass of Sancerre (in these exact wine glasses), a pool, and my Kindle. Instead, I’m headed to a local farm with my friends and our kids where I’ll likely have a beer instead, while Danny plays golf in an all-day tournament. It kind of sounds like a pedicure and some mom-alone time on Sunday is coming my way, and I will absolutely be taking that. Okurrrr. Onto the good stuff:

🎧 What I’m Listening To

A mix of group chat energy, honest motherhood conversations, and a few very real reminders of what it actually takes to build something under a microscope.

🎧 Welcome to the Group Chat on Just Us Girls (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This is a brand new podcast and it feels exactly like what it promises. It’s light, funny, and a little chaotic. I started listening because I’ve followed Katie for a while, but stayed for the dynamic between all three of them. There’s something about the way they bounce between minivans, weddings, books, and random opinions that makes it feel like you’re half listening, half eavesdropping on a group chat you wish you were in. Not everything needs to be optimized or deeply insightful to be worth your time. Sometimes it just needs to feel good to listen to.

🎧 Motherhood, Marriage, & Mayhem ft. Alexandra Madison on Long Story Short with Nicole Pellegrino (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one is very unfiltered in a way that I think a lot of motherhood content still avoids. They get into postpartum, marriage, working with your partner, and the decision to keep parts of your life offline. What stuck with me is how intentional that last piece is. Not showing your child online isn’t framed as secrecy or fear, it’s framed as a choice about what parts of your life are yours to keep. In a world where sharing everything is the default, that kind of boundary feels both obvious and weirdly radical.

🎧 Matilda Djerf: What Really Happened at Djerf Avenue (& How I Kept Building My $36M Brand!) on Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This is one of those episodes where you can feel how much pressure sits behind a polished brand. Matilda talks about knowing a negative article was coming (iykyk) and having to keep operating anyway, which is a very specific kind of stress most people will never understand but a lot of founders quietly carry. The part that stuck with me is her comment that people don’t care about context. Once something is out there, it just is. There’s no perfect explanation that fixes it. You still have to lead, make decisions, and keep the business moving while everyone has an opinion.

🎧 The Only Female Founder in Beverage History to Pull Off a $2 Billion Exit with Allison Ellsworth on WorkParty with Jaclyn Johnson and Marina Middleton (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — There are a lot of “founder story” episodes that all start to sound the same, but this one doesn’t. Allison talks very openly about the scale of mistakes it took to scale, including tens of millions of dollars that didn’t work. And instead of positioning TikTok as a lucky break, she frames it as a bet she made when other people were telling her not to. What actually stuck with me is how she treated employees leading up to the exit. Making them stakeholders wasn’t just a feel good move, it was a decision about who gets to benefit when something works.

🎧 What No One Tells You After Having a Baby with Caro Chambers on Rattled: When New Parenthood Shakes You with Dr. Becky Kennedy (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one is very different from what I usually listen to. They get into the parts of early motherhood that people don’t really prepare you for. The identity shift, the constant hyper-awareness, the feeling of not recognizing your own life for a minute. And the part I loved: When things are okay, let them be okay. It sounds obvious, but it’s actually hard to do when your brain is constantly scanning for what’s wrong.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s shopping edit is giving cohesively put together for a new season. Like, I honestly just want to purchase every single item because there are so many interesting ways to mix and match all of it!

To no one’s surprise I’ve fallen head over heels in love with the color chartreuse, and I’m not sorry about it. For instance, can’t you picture this dress with these pumps at your next dinner on a patio with your bestie? Because I can. She’d be wearing this dress, these pumps and these earrings.

I dropped into Bloomingdale’s this week to spy on my future favorite bag (hint, hint, Daniel! Mother’s Day is fast approaching). And I think it’d just be the sprinkle on top of a very relaxed fit—like these jeans and this blouse!

I’m VERY into big bauble necklaces right now, so this one is currently on its way to me now. I’m thinking this might be my new favorite scent, this might be my new favorite handbag, and this might be my new favorite candle. There’s also a ton of pretty dresses for all of your impending spring and summer events! I have two showers and a wedding in the month of May, so I’m thinking this, this, this and this are all going to live with me soon.

And lastly, if you aren’t aware, Target launched so many new home + decor pieces that are super chic and super affordable. You can find my favorites right here. And I’ve updated my swim edit with some beautiful pieces! C’mon you know you want to look. Swimsuit weather is right around the corner.

👣 What I’m Coaching: Momentum Is Hard to Build and Easy to Break

A lot of the women I’m coaching right now are lacking what I am going to define as momentum. They’re doing good work, but it’s inconsistent. A strong week followed by a scattered one. A few days of focus, then back to reacting. And it’s subtle, but it matters. Because momentum isn’t built on big wins, it’s built on the quiet repetition of small, strategic actions done consistently enough that things start to feel easier, faster, and more obvious over time.

What’s been clicking in our sessions is understanding that momentum is not something you wait to feel, it’s something you protect. And that’s the hard part. It requires doing the same types of things over and over again, even when you’re bored, even when you’re tired, even when no one is clapping for it yet. Most people lose momentum because they keep interrupting themselves. New ideas, shifting priorities, constant context switching. And every time you reset, you’re starting from zero again.

The shift is treating momentum like an asset, not a byproduct. Looking at your week and asking, what are the few actions that, if I do them consistently, would make everything else easier? And then actually protecting those. Not overloading your plate, not chasing ten things at once, but staying close to what’s working long enough for it to compound. Because once momentum is there, everything moves differently.

📚 What I’m Reading

Everything I read this week kept circling the same tension. The gap between the life you think you should be building and the one that actually feels like yours.

✨ The 20/30/40 Framework Explains Why You’re Spiraling About Your Career (The Everygirl) — This article basically gives structure to something that feels very personal and chaotic. The idea that your 20s are for trial and error, your 30s are for refining, and your 40s are where clarity clicks sounds obvious, but it lands differently when you’re in it. Especially in your 30s, where you’re supposed to be “building” but still feel like you’re questioning everything. The point is not that you should feel settled, it’s that you’re finally making decisions that actually shape something long-term.

✨ 1000 Women Told Me How to Stay Hot in Your 30s (Behind the Femme, Substack) — This reads like a list of beauty advice, but that’s not really what it is. The throughline is that the women who feel the best are the ones who changed their lives, not just their routines. Leaving relationships that drained them, taking their health seriously, building habits that actually support how they want to feel day to day. The skincare and supplements are just the visible layer. The real shift is how they’re living.

✨ The Rise of Fractional Work: The Mid-Senior Career Move Nobody Is Talking About (Going Places, Substack) — This is one of those shifts that’s already happening, but most people are still thinking in outdated career paths. It’s not corporate or entrepreneurship, it’s something in between. Companies are buying judgment and experience on a part-time basis, and for people with real expertise, that changes how you think about income, leverage, and control.

✨ Self-Sabotage Starts as Self-Protection (Things You’ll Learn the Hard Way, Substack) — This explains a lot of behavior that gets mislabeled as lack of discipline. Avoiding, overthinking, procrastinating. It’s not random. Your brain reads growth as a threat and tries to keep you in what feels familiar. The shift is not thinking your way out of it, it’s acting before your brain has time to shut it down and doing that enough times that it stops feeling like a risk.

✨ Design a Life You’re Disgustingly Obsessed With (The Balanced Edit, Substack) — The core idea is simple but most people don’t actually do it. You can’t expect your life to feel good if you’re not intentionally designing it. Not just your career, but your time outside of work. If you don’t decide what your time is for, work and fatigue will take it by default. And then you end up with a life that feels fine on paper but empty in practice.

✨ She Followed Her Intuition and Left Airbnb to Open a Cafe (False Start, Substack) — On paper, her career was exactly what most people are working toward. Google, Airbnb, business school. And she still felt like she was building someone else’s vision. That tension is hard to ignore. The move wasn’t about chasing something bigger, it was about wanting something that actually felt like hers and being willing to build it from scratch.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: When Someone Else’s Life Challenges Yours

I’ve been seeing so much (negative) discourse about Emma Grede while she’s on her book tour and I’m not going to lie, it caught me off guard. I’ve always loved her. Her story, how she operates, how direct she is about money and ambition. So watching people pick her apart in real time feels a bit disorienting.

What shifted this for me was reading this Substack piece that reframed the reaction entirely. The argument isn’t that people are wrong to have opinions, it’s that a lot of the reaction isn’t actually about her. It’s about what she represents. A version of womanhood, motherhood, and ambition that doesn’t follow the script most people were given.

And it really does explain the intensity of the response. She’s not just saying things people disagree with, she’s expanding what’s possible in a way that forces people to confront their own choices. And that’s where it gets complicated. Because if someone is living in a way that contradicts what you’ve built your life around, it can feel like a rejection of your decisions 😐.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

The most delightful duo.
If you live in the Boston area, you need to try this.
How to manifest everything you want.
Shit, this could not be more true about (most) women.
This is super fucked up, imo.
This made me realize being a girl dad is no joke (!!)
God, this made my heart hurt.
Obsessed with this creator I just found.
Already so excited for DWTS next season!
Asking for grace is key.
This post just made me so excited for New England summer.
I love how hot this is.
Why, yes, I’ve watched this 100x.
If your brain never feels done, this is why.
Would you try Margot Robbie’s nachos?

💬 The Group Chat Says: When You Can See Both Sides

My group chat has been sending around Reese Witherspoon’s AI post and the reactions are split. On one hand, her point is pretty straightforward. If AI is going to change how we work, and women are already behind in using it, that’s not a small thing. Historically, every major shift in money and technology has left women playing catch-up, and it’s usually because we either weren’t included or we opted out. So the argument is: learn it, understand it, don’t get left behind.

On the other hand, people are not wrong to push back. The same technology she’s encouraging people to use is actively disrupting industries built on creative work. Writing, publishing, art. Work that a lot of women built careers in. And there’s something off about someone whose entire brand is rooted in books and storytelling telling people to get on board with a system that’s trained on that exact work.

Both things can be true at the same time. You can understand why learning it matters and still feel uneasy about what it means. You can respect the people opting out on principle and also recognize that not everyone has the luxury to do that depending on their job.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I’ll leave you with this Justin Bieber’s Coachella track that hasn’t left my head since it started trending on TikTok. I dance every time it comes on my FYP, without fail. God, I’m such a hussy for that man.

I’m also leaving you with the preorder link for Nara Smith’s new cookbook, HOMEMADE, because yes, I’m absolutely buying the hardcover version of my favorite ASMR videos to watch after I indulge in a little THC gummy.

And now I’m going to lean into the millennial urge to shut down completely, put on my favorite obscure comfort show that went off the air 20 years ago (Gilmore Girls ahem), and make some popcorn.

Have a great weekend, lovelies!

xo,
Kelsey

Happy Friday! Whew, what a week. My house is on week two of a brutal cold and cough, so I’m really hoping we’re finally at the tail end of it.

This weekend feels like the first time in a while that we don’t have anything major planned, and honestly, I’m excited about it. The weather is supposed to be all over the place, so I’m picturing some spring cleaning, family walks, maybe a meal at our golf club, and getting back into a normal gym routine. This week was also the first time in what feels like forever that I had full days to myself to actually lock in and get things done, and I forgot how good that feels. When we were in Charleston, Murray was only in daycare until 1 PM, then napped, so the days always felt a little choppy. We were also trying to fully be in it while we were there. Then we came home, hosted my in-laws for Easter, went straight into a family wedding in Connecticut, and it’s just been a lot (in a good way)! So I am fully embracing a slower couple of days.

The weather this week was incredible, so we spent a ton of time outside while Danny was traveling for work, and it made me so excited for what’s coming. If you live in New England, you know April is unpredictable at best. It’s either freezing or randomly 85 and sunny. But the consistent spring and summer days are so close I can feel it. It also put me in the mood to plan a girls night out last night and I started pulling together some summer shopping for you. I just shared a swimsuit edit that I’m very into right now.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

A mix of conversations on relationships, ambition, and the patterns we stay stuck in even when we know better.

🎧 Marriage Expert: Three Questions That Replace Years of Miscommunication & a New Way to Think About Resentment That Could Save Your Marriage on IN IT with Jordan Harper and Ashley Buckler (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This podcast just launched this week (!!!) and I’m already obsessed. Hosted by two of my favorite women to follow on Instagram, Jordan Harper and Ashley Buckler. For this episode, they bring on couples therapist Dr. Tracy, who has spent nearly 20 years working with couples with young kids and busy careers. She breaks down the patterns that keep couples stuck and reframes resentment in a way that actually clicked for me. And the three questions she shares that couples can ask each night are simple, but feel like they could replace years of miscommunication. The advice is clear, grounded, and actually usable. If you’re building a life and trying to stay connected in your relationship at the same time, this is worth listening to.

🎧 Why People Are Switching from Alcohol to Cannabis Drinks with Jake Bullock on Conversations with Cam (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — The rise of cannabis drinks as a replacement for alcohol is happening fast, and this episode breaks down why, so I would call this one is more of a cultural shift conversation. And to be honest, I totally get it. I’ve curbed my own drinking drastically by dabbling in THC. What stood out is how broad the audience is, from Gen Z to people in their 60s, and how much of it is tied to wanting to feel better physically and mentally. They also get into the stigma, especially for women and moms, which is still very real. It’s less about the product and more about how people are redefining what “social drinking” even looks like.

🎧 No Excuses, Just Business with Emma Grede on Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Emma Grede does not sugarcoat anything and I love that. This episode is a really honest look at what it actually takes to build something and lead people well. She talks about high standards, owning your mistakes, and not rushing to turn every failure into a neat lesson. Her take on hiring also stood out. She believes in being slow to hire and quick to fire, which sounds harsh but makes a lot of sense the way she explains it. And the way she talks about focus really stuck with me. Most people think it means doing less. It doesn’t. It means being ruthless about what actually matters.

🎧 Kayla Itsines on Selling for $400M, Starting a New Chapter & Pregnancy After Loss on Working Hard with Grace Beverley (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one is more personal. There’s a full circle moment in hearing from someone who influenced so many early internet careers, but what stood out is how she talks about growth. Not just in business, but as a person. The part that literally stopped me in my tracks was when they discussed patterns: if you stay in the same loop, the same lessons will keep finding you. At some point, you have to stop trying to fix the situation and actually change how you show up inside of it. Mic drop moment!

🛒 What I’m Buying

My weekly shopping edit sparks so much joy! It’s full of color and will have you in the mood to look super chic for your next date night or girls brunch.

For instance, pair these blue and white patterned shorts-and-tank set with this punchy red bag for a day out on the town.

Pair this beautiful patterned dress with these pale blue espadrilles and these green sunnies for your next bridal or baby shower.

I also kind of love this unique blue, red and black pattern shift dress with matching purse for a spring wedding!

I purchased these fun gardening tools to plant bulbs on the next sunny day and this delicious new vanilla scent for the change in seasons. I may even rock this pale yellow dress and matching bandana for a whole gardening vibe. It’s giving Martha Stewart.

I have my eye on these dangling sparklers for Mother’s Day (hint, hint Daniel)!

And of course, I created this ongoing swim edit as I start to think what sort of vibes I plan to bring into summer with me. This suit, this suit and this suit are all in my cart just waiting for me to pull the trigger! Also, this hat and this hat are already in my closet patiently awaiting their respective debuts.

👣 What I’m Coaching: You Are in Control of Your Calendar

A lot of the women I’m coaching right now are not just struggling with workload, they’re struggling with time management. They’re constantly in their inbox, reacting, responding, checking, toggling, and context switching. And it’s not productive. It’s fragmented, reactive work that keeps them busy all day and then they’re wondering why the things that actually matter never get done until after the day ends. The shift we’ve been making is simple but not easy. Time blocking. Not as a rigid schedule, but as a way to decide in advance what your time is for, instead of letting your inbox decide for you.

What’s been working is treating your calendar like scaffolding, not a to-do list. Mapping out focused blocks for real work, protecting time for thinking, and being intentional about when you are and are not available to respond. Most people assume they don’t have time for this, but the reality is they’re losing hours to low-value tasks. When you actually structure your day, even loosely, you start to see how much more control you have. The goal is not to be perfect about it, it’s to stop defaulting to reactivity and start creating space for the work that actually moves things forward.

📚 What I’m Reading

Everything I read this week focused on the idea that what we think are personal struggles are often patterns, systems, or truths we haven’t fully faced yet.

✨ When You’ve Outgrown Your Old Life, But Haven’t Met Your New One Yet (A Tini Bit of Advice, Substack) — This is about that in-between phase where your current life no longer fits, but the next version isn’t fully defined yet. No clear path, no clean explanation, just a lot of internal tension. And we’ve all been there. What stood out is how she frames this time. Not as something to rush through, but as a period of preparation. Building discipline, structure, and capacity before there’s anything external to show for it. It’s uncomfortable because it’s invisible, but that’s also the point.

✨ I Stumbled Across My Boyfriend’s ChatGPT and It Ended Our Relationship (Lindsey Hall Writes, Substack) — This one is brutal in a very quiet way. The author finds her boyfriend’s ChatGPT history where he’s been questioning their relationship and it completely changes how she sees him. It reminded me of that Friends episode where Rachel finds Ross’s pro and con list of whether to date her or not. It’s not loud betrayal, it’s something harder to recover from. Once you see how someone thinks about you when they’re being completely unfiltered, there’s no going back to how it felt before.

✨ Rule Followers: We’re Cooked (Going Places, Substack) — This articulates the cost of being “the one who does everything right.” The people who were taught to prepare, follow the rules, and wait their turn are often the ones hesitating the most right now. She shares a real example of losing a $6K opportunity because she was still refining a pitch while someone else just reached out and got it. The point is not to abandon standards, it’s to recognize when preparation is actually avoidance.

✨ 15 Tiny Tweaks Every Woman Should Consider After 35 (The Female Edge, Substack) — This highlights how much basic, useful information women are not being given. Hormones, energy, sleep, metabolism, and how small adjustments can actually shift how you feel day to day. What makes it compelling is that none of it is extreme. It’s all simple, evidence-backed changes that are rarely explained in a practical way.

✨ The Strategic Cost of Self-Neglect (Drop More, Hold Less, Substack) — This reframes self-neglect as a performance issue, not a personal one. When you’re depleted, your thinking narrows, your decision-making becomes more reactive, and your ability to lead effectively starts to erode. The work still gets done, but it costs more than you realize. It’s a good reminder that your capacity is directly tied to how well you’re taking care of yourself.

✨ Workplaces Are Pushing Out Working Mothers — and Paying the Cost (Fast Company) — This reinforces that what gets framed as a lack of ambition is often a structural failure. I know, I talk about this weekly, but it’s important! Lack of flexibility, rising childcare costs, and outdated expectations are pushing women out of the workforce. And companies are losing experienced, high-performing talent because of it. It’s not an individual problem. It’s a system design issue.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: When There Is No “Right” Decision

I saw this quote on Instagram and I’ve sent it to so many people.

“If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another. The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.”

It challenges something most of us operate from without realizing it, which is the belief that there is a right choice and a wrong one, and if we just think hard enough, we’ll be able to predict the outcome.

That belief is what makes everything feel so high stakes. It turns normal decisions into something loaded, like one wrong move is going to quietly ruin everything that comes after it. So you overthink, you delay, you stay where you are, and you call it being thoughtful when it’s really just avoidance. The pressure to “get it right” is often the thing that keeps you from moving at all.

What this reframes is that there isn’t one perfect path waiting for you to find it. There are a lot of possible paths, and the moment you choose one, you start building something around it. The outcome is less about the decision itself and more about how you show up after you make it. It doesn’t make decisions easy, but it does take away the idea that you’re one wrong move away from messing everything up.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

This couldn’t be more spot on, my god.
Watch this day in the life of a L.L. Bean tote stitcher!
Lindsay Arnold is so older sister coded and I love it.
Endlessly inspired by Mary Lawless Lee.
So happy for Remi! I’m crying.
Lauren Conrad on why she left reality television.
Questions to ask when you don’t know what’s next.
I see this matching moment (with Murray) in my future!
If you can’t find me, just know I’m here.
Danielle can do no wrong when it comes to her style.
Pretty sure Emma Grede is wearing my dream outfit.
Need these for spring as soon as humanly possible.
This dress is perfect for a summer wedding.
Totally trying this over the weekend. Stay tuned!
Okay, but why is Joe Jonas so freaking funny?

💬 The Group Chat Says: You Don’t Have an Idea Problem, You Have an Execution Problem

My bestie sent me this piece about the gap between having ideas and actually doing something with them. The author talks about being someone who always had ideas, got excited about them, maybe even started, and then quietly abandoned them the second it got uncomfortable or someone else did it better. It’s that exact pattern so many people are stuck in. Not because they’re not capable, but because they never actually get past the point where it requires real action.

What I haven’t stopped thinking about is how much of that gets disguised as being “strategic” or “not ready yet.” Planning, researching, thinking through every angle. It feels productive, but it’s often just a way to avoid the part where you have to put something out there before it’s perfect. Dagger to the heart, honestly. This has absolutely been me recently (!!!). And I have a feeling it happens to a lot of entrepreneurs.

The shift she makes is simple but hard. Lower the bar, create some stakes, and just start. Not when you have a full plan, not when you feel confident, just when you have enough to take the next step. Because most people are not stuck because they don’t have good ideas, they’re stuck because they don’t follow through on them.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I’m leaving you with a few things I’ve saved this week that feel very spring-coded! First, a cashew crunch salad with sesame dressing (from pinch of yum). It’s perfect for a low-effort dinner that still feels put together.

Second, I’ve been eyeing this new dog bed for Daisy (influenced by )! It’s one of those pieces that actually looks good in your house.

And lastly, a small reminder after what feels like a lot of chaotic, mean girl energy on social media this week. You know what’s underrated? Letting people be. Letting them mispronounce a word, talk too much about something they love, or get excited about something you don’t understand. You don’t have to get it, just be kind. Everyone has something that lights them up, so let them have it.

Wherever you are this weekend, I hope it feels easy, a little indulgent, and not that serious.

xo,
Kelsey

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend! Ours was a little chilly and rainy, so we spent most of it inside, but Murray was very into his Easter basket and outfit, which made it all worth it.

This week has felt a bit all over the place between work, family visiting, and getting ready for a weekend away. Danny and I are heading to Connecticut for one of our best friends’ weddings, and we are so excited. Daisy has been shipped off to a babysitter, and Murray will be home getting spoiled by his grandparents.

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that you will never find me at a music festival. I don’t hate them, they’re just not my thing, so I’ll be following Bieberchella from afar. That said, I do have a bucket list event, and it’s the Masters. Specifically, the merch tent. Let me loose in there and I’m single-handedly funding their year. I am dying over the Tory Burch collab. So in between wedding festivities this weekend, Danny and I will absolutely be finding a bar, watching golf, and enjoying a few drinks. Hoping the weather warms up, but spirits are already high.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

A mix of culture, career, and a few conversations that made me think a little harder about identity, ambition, and what we actually want out of all of this.

🎧 Jim Nantz on The Masters, John Daly’s Guide to Life, Moon Eras, TikTok Algorithms & More on New Heights (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This is just a fun listen, but also weirdly insightful. I’m a huge fan of The Masters, so to hear The Jim Nantz discussing his incredible career that spans decades is delightful. It’s a great reminder that longevity comes from consistency, not constantly reinventing yourself. And then John Daly comes in with the exact opposite energy, which somehow also works. A good mix of discipline and not taking any of it too seriously.

🎧 Episode 4: Publicis’ Sara Newton on The Femme Forward Podcast (Spotify, Apple) — I’m biased (friend here!), but this is a must listen. Sara has been in the corporate trenches and you can feel that in how she talks about leadership. It’s not theoretical. It’s real. She gets into self-advocacy, navigating power dynamics, and what it actually takes to grow without losing yourself in the process. I’m really proud of her for this one.

🎧 TEAM LC on Let’s Be Honest (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — If you didn’t know I was hardcore Team LC when Laguna Beach ruled our lives in high school. And to have her paired up with her archenemies to really talk about everything is the most nostalgic moment. And here she is! Lauren Conrad talking about stepping away from the chaos, choosing privacy, and being really intentional about what she lets into her life now is refreshing. Especially in a world where everyone is trying to be more visible. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to share everything to be successful or relevant.

🎧 Morgan Stewart on Wanting to Be Famous, Dropping Out of School & Rich Kids of Beverly Hills on Not Skinny But Not Fat (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one is lighter but still interesting. The through line is identity. Wanting to be famous, becoming known, and then figuring out what actually matters once you get there. Also some honest takes on motherhood and anxiety that feel more real than the polished version you usually hear. Also, I just love listening to Morgan talk about her clothes, other peoples style and her successful newish fashion line.

🎧 You Know What You Want. So Why Can’t You Get There? on Becoming You with Suzy Welch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one is very aligned with how I think about careers. Knowing what you want is not the hard part. Closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be is. There’s a difference between clarity and movement, and most people get stuck in the space between the two.

🎧 Whitney Wolfe Herd on How To Build a Billion Dollar Business, The Future of Relationships & AI, Entrepreneurial Burnout, & Balancing Motherhood on The Bossticks (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This goes beyond the typical founder story. What stood out is how much pressure comes with building something at a high level and how success doesn’t remove that, it amplifies it. Also her perspective on motherhood changing how she leads and prioritizes is worth listening to if you’re thinking about both career and family.

🎧 What It’s Like Being Married to a Stranger (with Belle Burden) on The World’s First Podcast with Erin and Sara Foster (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Have you read Strangers yet? It’s going crazy viral and everyone has recommended I read it asap! So I’m going to start it this weekend. The author gets into relationships in a way that’s less about romance and more about reality. Red flags, power dynamics, what we ignore, and why. It’s uncomfortable at times, but in a way that makes you think about what you tolerate and why. Must read and must listen!

🛒 What I’m Buying

A mix of recent favorites, spring dressing, and a few things I’ve been wearing on repeat.

» The Pastel Edit has been updated with all the light colors for a Masters party, a bridal shower or a weekend getaway to Palm Beach.
» Tried & True Purchases from March — breaking down all my choices here.
» Amazon March Favorites
» In My Cart at Zara — I’ve been sitting on some great pieces from Zara that are in my cart just waiting for me to check out. So I decided to create a little Zara round up of all my recent favorites. I love this checkered spring trench, this pale pink dress, these embroidered white slingbacks and this pink corduroy jacket the most.
» From My Notes App, Vol. 35 — this week’s edit is a compilation of unique pieces your closet needs asap. I am dying for this floral green sweater, these ankle strap heels and this pink bag! I also curated the edit so that you can clearly see how some of the pieces could pair together (like this chartreuse sweater, fringe pants and strappy sandals). I also can’t wait to wear these dairy boy pajamas.

👣 What I’m Coaching: Stop Asking What’s Next

A lot of the women I’m coaching right now are either circling a next step or have no idea what it is yet, but they are very clear on what they are not willing to give up to get there. Their lifestyle. Their income. Their stability. So instead of forcing a dramatic pivot, we’ve been focused on building leverage on the side. Testing ideas, expanding networks, and creating options before making any big move. And instead of asking what they want next or what their five year plan is, I keep bringing them back to their values.

The biggest shift has been the question we start with. Not “what should I do with my life?” but “what feels dishonest about how I’m living right now?” Most people don’t lack clarity, they override it. That question cuts through the noise and makes the next step a lot more obvious.

📚 What I’m Reading

Everything I read this week hit the same nerve. You can be incredibly self-aware, deeply capable, and still completely stuck. At some point, it stops being about what you know and starts being about what you’re actually willing to do differently.

✨ Artemis II Is Competency Porn and We Are Starving For It (Airplane Mode, Substack) — This put language to a feeling I’ve had for a while. Watching people be good at their jobs, calm, capable, clear, felt emotional in a way that’s almost embarrassing to admit. But it’s because we’re so used to chaos, bad leadership, and constant tension that competence now feels rare. If you’ve been feeling more on edge than usual, this explains why. It’s not just you. It’s what you’ve gotten used to tolerating.

✨ What You Don’t Change, You Choose (How I See It, Substack) — This one made me uncomfortable, which usually means it’s right. There’s a difference between being self-aware and actually being honest with yourself. A lot of people can name every pattern they have, explain exactly why they do what they do, and then stay exactly the same. At a certain point, awareness becomes a crutch. If nothing is changing, it’s not a lack of clarity. It’s avoidance.

✨ You’re Gonna Hate Me For Saying This But It’s Not Midlife’s Fault (Mother Says, Substack) — This is slightly chaotic but there’s something in it. We are very quick to blame age, circumstances, or external factors for things we’ve quietly stopped trying to improve. Not everything is mindset, but not everything is fixed either. The uncomfortable question this brings up is how much you’ve accepted as “just how it is” without actually challenging it.

✨ Why Moms Are Built for Self-Employment (Advice with Erin, Substack) —
This reframes a problem a lot of women think is personal. The tension between career and motherhood is not because you’re bad at balance. It’s because most workplaces were never designed with you in mind. So instead of forcing themselves to fit, more women are building careers that actually match how they work. The bigger takeaway is simple. If something feels impossible to sustain, it might not be you.

✨ The Workplace Runs on Dysregulated Women (Drop More Hold Less, Substack) — This one was written a while ago, but once you read it, it sticks with you. A lot of what gets praised as high performance is really just chronic stress that’s been normalized. Being constantly on, responsive, and composed is not always strength. It’s often survival. And the part that hit hardest is this. Once you step out of that state, you start to see how much you were tolerating that never actually made sense.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: When Suffering Becomes the Strategy

Katie Citron writes about being in a job that, on paper, was working. She was performing, getting rewarded, doing everything “right.” But behind that, she was anxious, overextended, and completely absorbed by the job. Still, she stayed. Not because she had to, but because she believed that was the cost of success.

The line that stuck is when she says her primary emotional state was anxiety, and her secondary was “a sick and twisted form of pride.” That was a light bulb moment because I’ve felt it myself and it’s something people don’t talk about. Feeling depleted but also proud of how much you’re handling. Like the suffering itself becomes proof that you’re committed, capable, and doing it right.

And the uncomfortable truth is that it works. You can build a career that looks impressive while quietly giving up your time and autonomy to maintain it. What she eventually questions is not whether she can handle it, but whether she wants to keep living like that just to sustain it. At some point, you have to ask what all that resilience is actually for.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

The duo we never knew we needed.
I am not a Coachella person, but I am a Master’s person! So excited.
Also, find me buying all the golf merch I can find. So charming!
Bucket list item: trying the Masters menu for $20, like Mere is.
Wish this was a real thing.
Totally understand if this gives you the ick, but I want Danny to make me one of these.
Bury me in this exact outfit. Pink perfection!
I am an actual puddle after watching this.
I couldn’t stop giggling at this trend that Danny and I tried.
Lauren Conrad on the Laguna Beach reunion special.
Anyone want to go to France?
Cannot WAIT for this book release next week.
Okay, if you love Southern Charm, tell me laughed HARD at this.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Freelance Freedom or Forced Flexibility?

A friend sent me this article from Business Insider on the rise of freelance work for women, and it pokes a pretty big hole in the “flexibility win” narrative. I will be the first to say freelancing can offer autonomy and control over your schedule, which a lot of traditional jobs still don’t. But what the article actually highlights is that for many women, this wasn’t a choice. It was a response to layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and systems that still don’t support how people actually live.

That’s the part I haven’t stopped thinking about. Freelance work is being framed as this empowering shift, but in a lot of cases, it’s happening because the alternative stopped working. And while it can create flexibility, it often comes with tradeoffs like less stability, fewer benefits, and quietly becoming the default parent at home. Just because something looks like freedom doesn’t mean it wasn’t forced. Sometimes it just means the system never adjusted, so people had to.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I’m leaving you with a fire Spotify playlist by Ina Garten, Ina’s Mini Cooper Ride, because honestly, this is the energy I want heading into the weekend. Windows down, music on, no agenda. Whether you’re driving somewhere fun or just running errands, it’s a good reminder that not everything has to be so serious all the time.

Wherever you are this weekend, I hope it’s warm, fun, and a little indulgent. I’m heading out on our drive to Connecticut, so catch me on Instagram and TikTok for outfit updates and whatever else unfolds.

xo,
Kelsey

Hi y’all (can you tell I just got back from Texas?). Sorry for the radio silence over here! The end of March into April has felt nonstop in a really great way. After a February that felt really heavy, between being stuck inside, grieving, and just generally feeling off, I definitely didn’t enter March in the best place. Add in Murray being constantly sick, and it felt like we were dealing with something hard all the time. Like, when does this get a little easier?

And then, slowly, it did. Charleston sunshine, 80-degree weather, a girls trip, incredible food, and a final little getaway to Texas after Charleston. Somewhere in all of that, I started to feel like myself again.

This past weekend was so much fun. Our friends hosted a birthday fiesta with tequila tasting, and I can confirm I was feeling no pain by the end of the night. So Easter was a bit more low key. An indoor egg hunt thanks to freezing rain, honey baked ham with my in-laws and brother, and a lot of chocolate.

This week, I am determined to get back into a routine. I feel my best when I’m organized and focused, even if my to-do list currently feels eight miles long. At the end of the week, Danny and I are heading to Connecticut for a close friend’s wedding, and Murray will be home getting lots of love from his grandparents. Pray for them.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

A mix of creativity, career strategy, and a few honest conversations about what it actually takes to build something.

🎧 Grace Is Back! (With Big Book News!) on Bad on Paper (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — I loved this one. Grace Atwood comes back on the pod to talk about writing her first novel, and it’s a conversation that makes a big goal feel a little more tangible. If writing a book is even remotely on your list (it’s very much on mine), this is a good reminder that everyone starts from zero and figures it out as they go.

🎧 What to Do in the First 90 Days of Any Job to Change Your Career Trajectory Forever on Working Hard with Grace Beverley (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This is practical in the way most career advice isn’t. The first 90 days are when people either position themselves as strategic or accidentally lock themselves into being seen as purely executional. A good listen if you’re starting something new or feel like you need a reset in how you’re showing up at work.

🎧 Alex Taylor on What Founders Aren’t Saying Out Loud on Offline with Alison Rice (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This goes deeper than the typical founder story. It’s about the parts no one posts about, the doubt, the rejections, the tension between vision and reality. What stood out most is how much of building something comes down to staying committed before there’s any real proof it’s going to work.

🎧 The Secret to Building a Loyal Community: Vulnerability with Cameron Rogers on Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — There’s a lot of talk about “building a personal brand,” but this actually gets into what that requires. Taking risks, trying things before you feel ready, and being willing to be seen while you’re still figuring it out. It’s a good push if you’ve been sitting on something you know you should start.

🎧 The Power of Ritual on the goop podcast (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one is about the small routines that keep you grounded when everything else feels chaotic. Less about optimization, more about having a few things in your life that bring you back to yourself consistently.

🛒 What I’m Buying

A mix of recent favorites, spring dressing, and a few things I’ve been wearing on repeat.

» Current lip favorites — the exact combo I’ve been wearing all March.
» The Pastel Edit has been updated with all the light colors for a Masters party, a bridal shower or a weekend getaway to Palm Beach.
» Kiawah packing list — everything I wore on a recent girls getaway in South Carolina.
» Old Navy purchases from March for both me and Murray (toddler, 18 months). My favorite is this navy set (top, bottom).
» From My Notes App, Vol. 34 — a very extensive roundup after a couple weeks off. Includes a cheap tote that looks expensive, two perfect hats (here, here) for summer, a new cookbook, whimsical clutches (here, here), tasteful stripes on everything (dress, bag, sports bra), a new rug, chartreuse heels, my new favorite leggings, bright red details (dress, bag, sandals), a little southwestern moment (boots, clutch), pretty jewelry (watch, ring), a mulberry colored jacket, and a lot more.

👣 What I’m Coaching: Ambition Isn’t Dead, It’s Exhausted

Most of the women I coach are not lacking ambition. They are some of the most ambitious people I’ve ever met, but they’re running on empty.

They’re navigating environments where they have to constantly prove themselves, course-correct other people, manage dynamics that have nothing to do with performance, and still somehow show up as calm, polished, and easy to work with. Over time, that wears you down. Not because you don’t care, but because it starts to feel like the effort required and the reward you’re getting back are completely misaligned.

And that’s where people get stuck. Not because they’ve lost their drive, but because they’re questioning whether the way they’ve been taught to succeed is even worth continuing.

My job in those moments is not to tell them to push harder or care less. It’s to help them get more precise about where their energy goes, what they’re willing to tolerate, and how to build a version of success that doesn’t require them to constantly overextend just to keep up.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week’s reads all point to the same thing. No one is coming to define your career for you anymore. Not your company. Not your manager. Not the old playbook. Which means how you work, what you prioritize, and what you’re willing to take ownership of is what actually determines where you go.

✨ How I Balance Client Work and Creative Work (New Motives Substack) — This one is not aspirational, it’s operational. Ali breaks down exactly how she restructured her business to protect her writing, and the takeaway is simple: you cannot do everything well at the same time. Something has to be the center, and everything else has to orbit it. Most people say they care about something deeply, but their calendar tells a different story.

✨ You’re Not Stuck Because of Your Company. You’re Stuck Because of Your Working Style (Create & Cultivate) — The difference between people who complete tasks and people who think beyond them is very real. But most people were never taught to think that way, so they stay in execution mode and wonder why nothing changes. If you want different outcomes, you have to start asking better questions about the work you’re doing and how it connects to something bigger.

✨ enough. (Notes to Self Substack) — This one is painfully familiar if you’re a high performer. The constant feeling of not doing enough, even when everything on paper says otherwise. What hit most is how the traits that make you successful early on eventually start working against you. The perfectionism, the self-criticism, the need to prove yourself. At some point, those things stop driving you forward and start breaking you down.

✨ No one cares so take bigger swings (Anna Mack’s Substack) — Anna has a weekly ritual where she reaches out to people “out of her league,” and the premise is simple: rejection feels louder to you than it does to anyone else. Most people are not thinking about you nearly as much as you think they are. Which is freeing. If no one is paying that much attention, you might as well take the shot.

✨ Taking Back Power: Deborah Liu & Yardley Pohl on Boards, Bias, and the New Rules of Leadership (Greenough) — The biggest takeaway here is the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. Advice is easy. Advocacy is not. The people who move forward usually have someone in the room speaking on their behalf when they’re not there. Also, a simple but important reminder: if you’re not contributing in meetings, you’re invisible. And invisible doesn’t get promoted.

✨ The Career Ladder is Dead, the Career Garden is Here (Advice with Erin Substack) — Careers are no longer linear, they’re something you build and maintain over time. Skills are expiring faster, roles are less defined, and the people who win are the ones who can adapt and clearly communicate their value. You can’t just follow a path anymore. You have to build one.

✨ Why “Burnout Feminism” Is Replacing the Girlboss Era (Bloomberg) — We’ve swung from hustle culture to a version of ambition that almost feels apologetic. And while the old model was broken, the reaction is starting to feel like an overcorrection. Opting out entirely is not the same thing as building something better. Ambition didn’t disappear. It just got quieter.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: When You Don’t Climb, You Get Chosen

I came across this LinkedIn post and had to reread it multiple times because I genuinely couldn’t believe it. A 25-year-old, three years out of college, was just appointed CEO of Lean In after joining in January (what the fuck?).

At the same time, a quarter of the staff exited, including two of the highest-paid women executives who, on paper, are far more aligned with what you would expect for that role in terms of experience, leadership, and institutional knowledge.

I cannot stop thinking about the optics of that. Lean In has built an entire platform around the idea that women don’t advance at the same rate as men, that the pipeline breaks early, and that access to sponsorship determines who moves up. And yet this decision doesn’t just sit outside that system, it bypasses it entirely. This isn’t about whether she’s capable. It’s about what it signals when experienced, qualified leaders are passed over in an organization that has spent years advocating for more equitable advancement pathways.

The truth is, this is how power actually works. People get chosen. Sponsorship and proximity matter more than the slow climb we tell people to trust. But that’s also exactly the kind of access most women don’t have, which is why this feels so misaligned. We tell people to build, prove, and earn their way up, but moments like this expose a different reality. In many cases, you don’t climb. You get picked.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

New favorite entrepreneurs: @buttergirlnyc and @rollinindaisesbakery!
This crisis communications tool you need if you work in marketing.
A good reminder that you can reinvent yourself at any moment.
Totally agree with Gary Vee here.
Here’s how Lorelai-Lauren-Graham makes her coffee.
This makes me SO excited for the Masters!
The defiance compass is a tool to help you find your way through difficult decisions.
Lauren Conrad (my OG favorite person) is on the cover of People (my OG job)!
I love this couple so much.
This was oddly comforting.
The hierarchy of meaning in work.
This Emma Chamberlain x West Elm collab is amazing.
This is a wild fucking story!

💬 The Group Chat Says: “Girl Math” Is Getting a New Job

A friend sent me this Atlantic article about prediction markets, which are essentially platforms where people place money on the outcome of real-world events. Not just sports, but things like elections, pop culture moments, economic shifts. The idea is that you’re “predicting” what will happen, but in practice, you’re still putting money down and either winning or losing based on the outcome.

What’s interesting is how these platforms are now trying to market themselves to women. Instead of positioning it like traditional betting, they’re wrapping it in the language of “girl math,” lifestyle content, and casual decision-making. The message is less “this is gambling” and more “you’re already informed, you might as well benefit from it.” It reframes risk as something light, social, and almost harmless.

And that’s the part that stuck with me. Not because women shouldn’t participate, but because the rebrand is doing a lot of work. The product hasn’t changed, the risk hasn’t changed, but the packaging has. It’s a good reminder that just because something is marketed in a way that feels familiar or approachable doesn’t mean it’s actually low-stakes. Sometimes it just means someone got better at selling it.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I’m leaving you with this hilariously brilliant TikTok from Meredith Hayden (@wishbonekitchen), who stayed on FaceTime while her boyfriend went through airport security and somehow took us on a full journey through the conveyor belt.

Also linking a practical guide to having better ideas, especially if you feel like your thinking has been stuck in the same loop. It’s a good nudge to break out of your algorithm bubble and consume something different for once.

Alright, I am now going to focus on getting shit done, spring cleaning, and resetting before a fun weekend of wedding celebrations. Ta-ta for now!

xo,
Kelsey

Get ready to be sick of me, because I am fully living my most Nancy Meyers life this weekend. I’m in Kiawah Island for my best friend’s bachelorette, and it’s exactly the kind of girls weekend we all need right now. Less party rock, more long walks! And good food, fancy cocktails, and a lot of wine. We’ve been friends since childhood, so this is the kind of time where the stories get better, the laughs get louder, and you remember just how much life you’ve actually lived together. Marriages, fights, family holidays, losses, great loves, kids. All of it. I feel really, really lucky to have them.

Last weekend was a little more chaotic. We went to a golden retriever meetup on Sullivan’s Island, which was exactly as chaotic and joyful as it sounds, but poor Murray got absolutely taken out by mosquitos and no-see-ums the night before and broke out in hives. So we spent most of the weekend doing oatmeal baths, calamine lotion, and cuddling on the couch watching Go Danny on YouTube. When we did make it out to brunch at Poogan’s Porch, Murray had a full stage five toddler meltdown, we moved tables mid-meal, and he ended up with vanilla ice cream so I could finish my chicken and waffles in peace. My nervous system has honestly just recovered.

We head back to Boston at the end of the month, which I am both excited for and mildly dreading. I’m hoping the snow is gone and the sun is out because I am very ready for spring. I’m also very ready for full-time daycare again and to finally kick off my community, which I’ve been building behind the scenes. More on that soon!

🎧 What I’m Listening To

A mix of career clarity, confidence, and a few much-needed perspective shifts this week.

🎧 Fitness for Busy Moms with Chloe Gottschalk Bounds on Sunday Sports Club (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A very real look at what staying active actually looks like when you have kids, a partner, and approximately zero extra time. The two influencer moms get into working out during pregnancy, shifting expectations, and how fitness evolves in different seasons of life. It’s honest, low-pressure, and a good reminder that consistency doesn’t have to look perfect to count.

🎧 Bozoma Saint John on How To Build Unshakable Confidence on The Bossticks (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Boz does not miss. This is part career masterclass, part reality check on what it actually takes to advocate for yourself at the highest levels. She talks about owning your value, navigating rooms where you’re the only one, and why confidence is something you decide, not something you wait to feel. Come for the career advice, stay for the energy shift.

🎧 Olympic Medalist Chloe Kim on Not Skinny But Not Fat (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A surprisingly candid conversation about pressure, performance, and what happens after you achieve the thing you’ve been working toward your entire life. Chloe and Amanda talk injuries, identity, fame, and the in-between moments that don’t get talked about enough. It’s less about snowboarding and more about being human in high-pressure environments.

🎧 How to Change Careers Without Starting From Scratch on Aspire with Emma Grede (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — If you’ve ever looked at your career and thought “this makes sense but doesn’t feel right,” listen to this. Emma breaks down the difference between burnout and an actual signal to pivot, and why most people make career changes way more dramatic than they need to be. It’s practical, grounded, and cuts through a lot of the emotional noise around “starting over.”

🎧 How To Become The Most Interesting Person In The Room on The Everygirl Podcast (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — This one reframes what “interesting” actually means. It’s not about being the loudest or most impressive, it’s about being intentional with how you think, what you consume, and how you engage with the world. A good nudge to stop passively consuming and start building a life that actually has texture.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week we’re working with two product roundups: my typical From My Notes App, Vol. 33, and The Pastel Edit, which is really a homage to light colors with neutral accessories, Easter Sunday brunch or spring wedding picks, and some athleisure wear that will make you so happy for warm temps.

» If you’re going on a trip, wear this pink Alo set in bubblegum pink (top, bottoms).
» For a spring bridal shower, wear this green and white striped mini with these glasses and this bag.
» For a spring wedding, pair this dress and sweater with these shoes.
» For Easter brunch, wear this dress with this bag and shoes.
» If you’re going to the gym and want to feel something, wear these shorts with a matching pullover and a chic little tote.
» This mesh dress and hat are perfect for a poolside reading sesh. Go ahead and splurge. I dare you.
» Going to the Masters? Or a Masters party? Wear this dress with white sneaks. » Otherwise, this is such a cute little going-out top.
» A very affordable brown suede bag.
» I’m heading to Dallas shortly and fully plan to buy this fringe mini skirt and jacket.
» I’ve heard this oil does wonders for sleep.
» I’m still crushing on basics like this striped shirt, black dress and these flats.
And please, please do yourself a favor and purchase my current lip obsession.

👣 What I’m Coaching: Time to Climb Cringe Mountain

This Substack essay stuck with me this week because it’s something I’m constantly coaching my clients. The classic resume and cover letter are not going to cut it much longer (which is a good thing imo, they suck). The thing that will is a personal brand. And I know. It’s annoying. It takes time. It asks you to create, share, and sometimes be a little vulnerable when you already feel maxed out.

So people put it off. My clients do this all the time. Not because they don’t get it, but because they don’t want to feel cringey while they figure it out. But that phase is not optional. You do not get to skip straight to polished and confident. The only way through is to be a little uncomfortable and do it anyway.

And while you’re waiting to feel ready, someone else is posting, building visibility, and creating opportunities you will not have access to if you stay invisible. I hope this is the kick in the butt you need to start posting!! And no, it doesn’t have to be on LinkedIn. Find your community. Find your platform. Find your people.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week is a fucking doozy. I don’t say that lightly. Here are a few pieces on ambition, fear, burnout, self-belief, and the quiet art of coming back to yourself.

✨ Everything Is a Win When the Goal Is to Experience (sentimental being, Substack) — It starts with the writer peeling an orange in the kitchen and turns into a meditation on how exhausting it is to treat life like something you have to earn, optimize, or turn into a story. The line that stayed with me is the title itself. Everything is a win when the goal is to experience. It’s such a simple idea, but it really got under my skin. A needed reminder that not every day has to be productive or impressive to count.

✨ You Have the Talent, What You Need Is the Audacity (Crystal Clear, Substack) — This piece is for anyone who has spent too much time hovering near the thing they actually want instead of fully going for it. She writes about “shadow artists,” or people who orbit their creative dreams without fully claiming them, and makes the case that audacity matters just as much as talent. Honestly, I see this everywhere. So many smart, talented people stay stuck because they are waiting for proof before they believe in themselves. Meanwhile, people with half the skill and twice the nerve are out there building the life they want.

✨ I Forced the Spark Back Into Me, and It Worked (Learning to Live Fully, Substack) — I loved how honest this was. The writer basically says all the soft, slow, “listen to your body” advice was not working for her, so she tried the opposite. She committed to marathon training and found that forcing herself to do hard things brought her energy, confidence, and creativity back online. The takeaway is not that everyone needs to go run 26.2 miles. It’s that sometimes your spark comes back when you stop waiting to feel ready and start showing up anyway.

✨ do it scared (Rach’s Digital Diary, Substack) — A thoughtful piece on how fear quietly runs so much of modern life, from how we speak, to what we pursue, to how often we hold ourselves back in the name of being careful. What I liked most is that it does not pretend fear disappears. It just argues that a full life requires learning how to move alongside it. That part felt important. You do not need to feel fearless to be honest, take a risk, or make a change. You just need to stop asking fear to make the decision for you.

✨ How to Recharge Without Quitting Your Job (The Recharge, Substack) — This one felt very relevant for anyone fantasizing about burning their life down but still needing to pay rent. It is practical and grounded, not delusional. The advice is built around small “micro-recharges” rather than dramatic exits, with reminders like work is a transaction, your job is not your identity, and rest does not have to be earned through collapse. A very good read for anyone who is exhausted but not in a position to walk away.

✨ I Haven’t Written in a Year and Here’s Why (Emmy’s Substack) — This is part reintroduction, part breakup essay, part reminder that the internet needs more actual honesty and fewer polished facades. What stayed with me most was not even the heartbreak, though that part is beautifully written. It was her refusal to flatten herself into a fashion-only persona when she clearly has more to say. The whole piece feels like someone choosing substance over performance, even when it is messier, sadder, and harder to package. Which, frankly, is usually where the good writing lives.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Everyone’s Work Is Starting to Look the Same

I read a Substack by Miranda Shanahan this week about how algorithms are quietly flattening our thinking and why so many ideas are starting to feel the same. It also had some of the most practical advice I’ve seen on how to actually have better ideas. Find it here!

The more experienced you are in your industry, the more locked in your patterns become. And now the algorithm is reinforcing it, feeding you the same ideas, aesthetics, and references on repeat.

And I’ll be honest that my content falls into this trap too. I can feel when I’m pulling from the same pool, seeing the same formats, and starting to sound like everyone else. And it’s an exposure problem.

If you only look at your industry for inspiration, you will keep producing work that blends in. The best ideas are coming from outside your world. Different industries, different audiences, different ways of thinking. If you want to create something that actually stands out, you have to get out of your own bubble first.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

Need this cheese grater for myself and all my friends.
Okay, Stassi looks hotter than ever.
Giggling so hard at this. Kids be humbling their parents, always.
Sometimes baddies get saddies.
First of all, I know I’m going to love anything Grace writes. But second, I love that she shared it before it’s ready!
Every working mom fighting for their lives at 8 am.
I feel this so deeply.
No, like why am I crying laughing at this. And Miley’s reply.
Dadtok can fuck off.
This is the vibe I want to emulate for summer.
Breaking this stigma is so important. Bravo Cam!
Julia Fox gets it (!!!!)
The Gredes are building the LMVH of influencer brands.
Genius Amazon find for summer if you have kids.
Obsessed with this new company my friend Lyanne launched.

💬 The Group Chat Says: The Great Millennial Career Crisis

A good friend recently texted me Janel Abrahami’s essay in The Everygirl. Her core argument in the essay is simple: Millennials are realizing the career path we were sold is not delivering what it promised. I felt this deeply after leaving my role as Global Head of Social Media at Nasdaq (and wrote about it more eloquently here). tl;dr: I did everything right. And still, I was unhappy, unfulfilled, and resentful in a structure I thought I was supposed to want.

Millennials are blaming themselves for a system that shifted beneath them. We are internalizing structural failure as personal failure. Beating ourselves up for not feeling fulfilled when we hit the milestones we were told would make us successful, as if we are the problem, not the formula.

The line I cannot shake is this: Build a life that holds joy in places your job cannot touch. Your job was never designed to fulfill you. The longer you expect it to, the more disappointed you will be.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

This Charli D’Amelio TikTok perfectly sums up how I’m feeling going into this long weekend. I’d compare this feeling to the last day of school before winter break. We’re toasting one of our best friends, a May bride-to-be, riding bikes to town and the beach, eating good food, and catching up in that effortless way you only can with people who have known you forever.

And honestly, this is the kind of weekend that makes me love being a girl. Give me the Nancy Meyers, 90s nostalgia energy. LL Bean totes, Jenni Kayne sweaters in off white, and f*ck ton of chilled Sancerre.

xo,
Kelsey

Hello from Charleston, South Carolina. If you noticed things were a little quiet from me last week, it’s because I was busy leaning into joy. The weather here has been warm (think 80s!!!) in that early spring way that makes you want to stay outside all day, and I’ve been soaking up every second of it. Between the food, the coffee, and the restaurants, Charleston continues to be one of those places where life just feels… easy in the best way.

If you’ve seen my Instagram lately, you know we’ve been fully leaning in. Danny and I have had a few date nights, we’ve spent afternoons at my sister’s pool grilling outside, hit the beach a couple times, and taken long walks that somehow stretch on forever. There’s something about the Charleston area that just slows everything down a little and reminds you how good life can be when you let yourself enjoy it.

Next week I’m heading to Kiawah for my best friend’s bachelorette party, which I’m ridiculously excited about. But before that, this weekend already looks pretty great: a golden retriever meetup on Sullivan’s Island, some St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, a date night at a new restaurant we’ve been wanting to try, and hopefully a lot more sunshine.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

This week I listened to Instagram's CEO explain how the algorithm actually works, a conversation with the woman running Cosmo in the age of rage bait, my new favorite food creator talking about the stuffed sweet potato that made her internet famous and more.

🎧 Adam Mosseri Returns (Head of Instagram) on Armchair Expert (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Adam Mosseri is back to break down how Instagram actually works. He and Dax talk about being the suit in a family of artists, building emotional affinities for brands, and why his approach to design is rooted in problem solving. They get into using intelligent technology to evaluate safety at scale, how the Instagram algorithm actually works, and the arms race of detecting AI-generated content. I’m not a fan of Dax Shepard as a person, but I love his podcast and this episode delivers.

🎧 Navigating A New Era of Virality, Rage Bait, and Gen Z Content with Cosmopolitan’s Editor-in-Chief on Let’s Get Dressed (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Willa Bennett (a previous intern of mine!) and Liv Perez talk about running a legacy magazine in a culture driven by viral discourse, instant backlash, and internet-speed opinions. They get into what it felt like to take over Cosmo, what an Editor-in-Chief actually does day-to-day, how she decides who and what gets visibility, why story matters more than star power, the Sydney Sweeney cover controversy, whether editorial rage bait is real, how viral culture shapes modern media, what Gen Z readers actually want, and why taste might be the most important skill in journalism right now.

🎧 Kahlana Barfield Brown: Founder of KBB by KAHLANA on Second Life (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Kahlana Barfield Brown is the founder of KBB by Kahlana, but before she became a designer, she was an icon in the editorial world. Hillary Kerr talks to her about working her way up from intern at InStyle to the publication’s first-ever beauty and fashion editor at large, earning Editor of the Year from Harlem’s Fashion Row, leaving in 2018 to build her personal brand online, and making the leap from reporter to designer in 2022 when Target tapped her for the Future Collective. After her first collection sold out quickly, she launched her own brand, KBB, exclusively with Target. Her designs continue to be wildly successful, and Target is expanding her collection to over 500 locations nationwide this year.

🎧 Courtney Cook: The Sweet Potato That Broke the Internet on More to Say (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Courtney Cook is a high school English teacher and mom of four who posted a stuffed sweet potato recipe that racked up millions of views and turned her into one of TikTok’s most beloved food creators. Amber Venz Box talks to her about navigating sudden internet fame, big sister energy, and how comfort food turned into a cultural moment. I’m such a fan of Courtney Cook and this episode is perfect.

🎧 Alex Cooper: What Nobody Knows About Call Her Daddy and my $100M+ Media Empire on The Burnouts (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Alex Cooper breaks down the business side nobody sees: how she and her husband Matt built Unwell up from a scrappy startup, how podcasting revenue really works, and what rules she learned the hard way negotiating $60M and $125M deals. They get into live events, merch, and the Unwell creative agency as revenue engines, the differences between the Spotify and Amazon deals, agents and fees, keeping incentives clean, the biggest mistakes around trust and documentation, hiring top operators, PE and acquisitions, how she and Matt split decision-making, and handling narratives about ambition, success, and being misunderstood.

🛒 What I’m Buying

Weekly ShopMy Edit, Volume 32 — This week’s edit is all about adding pops of color and texture to shake off winter. I’m loving this bright reddish-orange anorak, two satin printed scarves, a chic updated denim jacket with tie waist, new Loewe sunnies, a fun spring athleisure skirt, strappy pink kitten heel sandals, bold green stud earrings, a bunch of rugby/sweatshirt-type shirts, an essential black going-out top and oval silver clutch, a super flattering Target one-piece I bought for a bachelorette, and a very expensive-looking burgundy rain trench. Full edit is live right here.

The other product edits I’m still loving include:
♡ Pastel Edit — My ongoing collection of soft, dreamy spring pieces.
♡ Abercrombie Wish List — Still salivating over everything in my cart.
♡ Charleston Inspiration Edit + Street Style Board on Pinterest
♡ February Purchases I’m Obsessed With
♡ Amazon Everything in My Cart — A true array of options.

👣 What I’m Coaching: Stop Waiting for Permission

Danielle Moss wrote about the invisible load of motherhood this week. She described the constant mental tab (!!!) that never closes: the logistics, the social calendar, the medical follow-ups, the playdates, the RSVPs, the birthday gifts, the magic-making. She’s the one who knows who needs winter boots, what appointments are coming up next month, and how everyone in the house is actually doing beneath the surface. She wrote about the difference between helping and owning something, how she’s had to make that invisible work visible, and how choosing this life doesn’t mean she has to love every part of it. And immediately, I thought about my clients.

They are carrying the same invisible load Danielle describes and they are exceptionally good at it. They manage the details of everyone else’s lives with precision. Nothing falls through the cracks. They anticipate problems before they happen. They keep the wheels turning for entire teams, households, and organizations. But when it comes to their own lives, something strange happens. They freeze.

They look at me like they need permission to take a step toward something new. Permission to invest in themselves. Permission to want more. Permission to fill their own cup without feeling selfish or irresponsible. And I keep telling them the same thing: You don’t need my permission.

The same brain that can manage a household, a career, and everyone else’s needs is more than capable of deciding what you need. The invisible load you carry every day is proof that you can handle complexity. You already do. No one is going to hand you the space to prioritize yourself. You have to take it!

📚 What I’m Reading

✨ AI, anxiety, and taking matters into your own hands (Anna Mack’s Substack) — Anna logs onto Twitter for a Traitors finale discussion and gets swallowed by AI doomsday prophecies instead. She and her tech boyfriend use Claude and Cursor daily, and she’s sitting with the uncomfortable, yet very valid, question: what happens when your core skills have no market value anymore? She gets into the moral imperative to figure out who you are outside your job description, why the ones who’ll navigate this shift best aren’t locked into five-year plans, and how real human connection might be the thing AI can never replicate.

✨ If everything is performative, then everything is marketing (Quenched Substack) — Google searches for “performative” hit an all-time high last year and haven’t come down. This piece argues that if everything online is a performance, then everything is marketing, including personal accounts. When there’s no distinction between living and documenting life, every action becomes a signal. The problem for brands? You’re competing with every person’s self-marketing operation. The solution isn’t pretending it’s not content. Create something worth their attention even though they know exactly what it is.

✨ The Disappearing Act of Exceptional Women (The Noosphere Substack) — In 1917, the Met bought a portrait for $200,000 believing it was painted by Jacques-Louis David. It was later reattributed to Marie-Denise Villers, a lesser-known French female artist, and suddenly critics found faults in its “feminine spirit.” This piece walks through the heartbreaking pattern of women’s art being misattributed, destroyed, or erased. Women have always created and shaped the world. The difference is that our names and contributions have too often disappeared.

✨ Why are ambitious women quitting their jobs? (Anna Mack’s Substack) — More than four hundred thousand women in the USA exited the workforce in the first eight months of 2025, and 52% left by choice. Some are sick of endless meetings. Some are former girlbosses crumbling under impossible expectations. Some chose to stay home because childcare is prohibitively expensive. And then there’s a growing group who’ve realized there’s another option: independent work and the portfolio career. For the first time ever, a credible monetization pathway exists outside of having a full-time job or being a full-blown founder.

✨ The Hidden Cost of Being a Capable Woman (Valeria Lipovetsky Substack) — Valeria started therapy thinking she was going in to fine-tune things, but a pattern surfaced. She realized how much of her identity had been built around being capable as a survival skill. Figure it out, don’t be a burden, be strong. It worked. It built a life. But therapy showed her that the thing that once protected her has slowly become the thing exhausting her. She writes about how we absorb responsibility simply because we can handle it, how your nervous system never powers down, and the quiet emotional disconnection that happens when you override your feelings to keep functioning. This one punched me in the chest.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Gen Z Is Bringing Parents to Job Interviews

GULP: A recent Newsweek report found that 20% of Gen Z workers say a parent has joined them during a job interview (seriously, wtf). Fifteen percent said this happened in person. Five percent virtually. Beyond that, 44% had parents help write or edit their resumes and one in five said a parent contacted a potential employer on their behalf (!!!).

Look, I’m all for parental support. Getting advice on your resume? Smart. Practicing interview questions with your mom? Sure, okay. But bringing a parent into the actual interview room signals something deeper than needing help. It signals an inability to operate independently in a professional setting.

HR consultant Bryan Driscoll nailed it when he said the long-term risk is that Gen Z never develops self-advocacy in the workforce, which they’ll need when negotiating raises and pushing back on bad managers. You want leverage in the job market? Learn your rights, know your worth, and build collective power with your coworkers. That’ll do a lot more for your career than having mom as your co-interviewee. At some point, even a baby bird gets pushed out of the nest.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

It’s time for businesses and leaders to support women’s emotional load.
So inspired by this vibe and these fits.
Cracking up at this.
Going to lean into this trend so hard (sorry Danny).
I don’t even feel bad saying I ran to the comment section.
Anyone else enamored by romanticizing your home life?
Wait, this is so tea.
My inspiration for spring.
This moment between Lauren Graham and Carson Daly healed me.
Loving Ladies Who Launch.

💬 The Group Chat Says: AI's Lonely Promises

I can’t stop thinking about a piece from Connection Error about the lonely promises of AI. The argument that stuck with me was this: we’re building tools to help us become better students, workers, patients, parents. Some research even shows they work. AI can reduce anxiety, improve learning, enhance fitness. But almost none of those studies measure what happens to our relationships when we start turning to machines for the things we used to turn to each other for. The risk isn’t that AI doesn’t work. It’s that it works well enough that we slowly stop reaching for other people.

The writer shared a moment from a brutal week snowed in with her kids when she felt completely shut down. Numb. Dead inside. Later she learned there’s a name for that state: dorsal vagal shutdown, when your nervous system gets so overwhelmed it essentially powers down.

When she told her husband about it, her four-year-old walked over, placed her hands on her cheeks, pressed her forehead to hers, and the dead-inside feeling started to melt. Her therapist called it co-regulation, the way human connection can pull us back from a frozen state. AI could probably help someone regulate on their own. The tools exist for that. But that’s also the problem. The more effective those tools become, the easier it is to turn toward technology instead of toward each other. Maybe curing loneliness has always required a little mutual inconvenience. And maybe AI’s greatest strength, convenience, risks giving us solutions that work while quietly making us more alone.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

Do you guys follow Ina Garten and her newsletter? I love her. I constantly find myself daydreaming of living in an Ina Garten-slash-Nancy Meyers world and never leaving. It feels so calm, beautiful, safe, and cozy. All the things I truly value these days. This week I found myself immersed in barefoot contessa and when I saw her Duke’s Cosmo recipe, I thought to myself, coming right up please! So I’ll be enjoying a pitcher or two of those this weekend. You too?

xo,
Kelsey

Hi there. 👋 So you might’ve noticed I went silent there for a week or so. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, I shared more about our recent pregnancy loss here. The last two weeks have been brutal. This unexpected and heartbreaking loss was followed by a record-breaking Boston blizzard that I swear we’ll be digging out of until Memorial Day. Between the grief and being buried in snow, I genuinely feel like a prisoner in my own brain and my own house. My toddler finally went back to daycare yesterday and it was the first real moment I had to myself to actually sit with everything that happened in February.

Luckily, my little fam leaves for Charleston on Saturday morning and all of us are SO ready. We’ll be reuniting with our golden retriever, Daisy, who’s been staying with my sister while we sorted out logistics. My husband and I own a condo there but it’s currently rented out, so we grabbed a small Airbnb at the top of King Street instead.

What I’m most looking forward to is getting out of my house and walking (!!!). Just walking for miles without thinking about it. I can’t do that here with the snow and cold and I desperately need it for my mental health.

We’ll also be right next to two of my favorite bakeries, The Daily and Welton’s Tiny Bakeshop. Murray will go to a local daycare so that we can keep some routine. We plan to hit the golden retriever meet-up on Sullivan’s Island, try new restaurants that’ve popped up since we were last there, and go for the longest walks of our lives downtown. There’s also a bachelorette party in Kiawah thrown in there somewhere for my best friend.

While I’m deep in the midst of grief, I feel lucky and grateful to know we have some time away as a little family. Warmer temps and space to feel all the feels until we get back to Boston in April.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

🎧 World’s Greatest Climber: If I Had One Last Climb It Would Be... on The Diary of a CEO (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Alex Honnold is the guy who free-soloed El Capitan, 3,000 feet up with no ropes, no safety net, just his hands and a brain that apparently processes fear differently than the rest of us. Steven Bartlett sits down with him to unpack how you rewire your nervous system when failure literally means death. They talk about visualization (not the Instagram kind, the kind where you mentally rehearse every single hold for years), the “10-year grind” required for true mastery, and why his brain scan showed almost zero amygdala activation during fear responses.

🎧 I Let AI Build My Business… Here’s What I Learned (and you can do it too) with Cat Goetze on Hot Smart Rich (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Cat Goetze used AI to build a $750K business in six months, and this episode is the actual behind-the-scenes breakdown most founders won’t share. She and Maggie Sellers Reum get into the exact prompts she used, which AI models she still relies on (ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini), and how long it takes AI to actually learn you. They also dive into fake influencers, AI flooding social media, whether it’s making us dumber or just changing how we work, and why women are using AI less than men (and how that needs to change). If you’re building anything online, this is the playbook.

🎧 Paige DeSorbo on Redefining Your Timeline on Broad Ideas (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen sit down with Paige DeSorbo from Giggly Squad to talk about modern timelines for women, self-discovery trends, and managing anxiety with more clarity. Short, sweet, and perfectly timed if you’re feeling behind on some arbitrary life checklist that doesn’t actually exist.

🎧 Episode 28 - Courtney Cook - The Sweet Potato That Broke the Internet on More to Say (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Courtney Cook is a high school English teacher and mom of four who posted a stuffed sweet potato recipe that racked up millions of views and turned her into one of TikTok’s most beloved food creators. Amber Venz Box talks to her about navigating sudden internet fame, big sister energy, and how comfort food turned into a cultural moment.

🎧 How Monica Padman Became a Podcast Powerhouse on Conversations With Cam (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Monica Padman went from nannying for Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard to co-hosting and producing Armchair Expert, one of the top podcasts in the world. Monica sits down with Cam to talk about imposter syndrome, her Golden Globe nomination, dream guests, and the protective instinct she feels over the people they interview. If you’ve ever wondered how someone finds their voice on a platform that big, this is it.

🎧 Why You Should Start Your New Year in March (Yes Really) on Working Hard (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Grace Beverley makes the case for a spring reset if January was a blur and your goals already feel disconnected from real life. It’s permission to start over without the pressure of New Year’s momentum, which honestly feels more realistic for how most of us actually operate.

🎧 Hilary Duff: Life & Love After Lizzie on Call Her Daddy (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Alex Cooper sits down with Hilary Duff to talk about on-and-off relationships, trying to do it all as a mom, maintaining intimacy in long-term partnerships, and the most iconic 2000s moments. She also reflects on her Disney Channel days and sets the record straight on some old headlines. Nostalgic and surprisingly grounded.

🎧 Julia and Thomas Berolzheimer on Why the Future of Shopping Will Run Through Creators on Inspired (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Julia and Thomas Berolzheimer turned a fashion blog into a multi-platform e-commerce empire over 15 years. Alexa Von Tobel digs into how they built one of the most trusted brands in the creator economy, why curation beats creation when it comes to commerce, how they manage content and technology as a team, where AI fits (and where it doesn’t), and what the next decade actually looks like for creators. It’s strategic, practical, and a masterclass in building something sustainable when everyone else is chasing virality.

🛒 What I’m Buying

Weekly ShopMy Edit, Volume 31 — This is an eclectic edit you’ll love exploring. It’s sort of everything I saw scrolling in the past two weeks: this swirly little ring, this Aritzia belt, this wildly affordable trench, a pink little number I’m eyeing for an April wedding, the new Rhode products (lips + skin), this fucking fabulous scent and matching candle, plus much more. Full edit is live right here.

Abercrombie Wish List — A short list of items currently sitting in my cart because I am salivating over them. This matching tank and striped cardigan are the most perfect colorway and are screaming for me to wear them in Charleston, maybe with this skirt in navy and bag. Find it all right here.

Charleston Inspiration Edit + Street Style Board on Pinterest — In an effort to pack intentionally for our month away, I pinned my street style inspiration for the looks I want to emulate. I’m constantly updating it when I’m bored and don’t want to toxically scroll. Think stripes, cozy sweaters, elegant neck scarves, loafers, sneakers, flats, and the cutest little bags. I created a shopping edit of products inspired by my board and then bought a lot of it (lol). You can find those in my February Purchases I’m Obsessed With.

February Purchases I’m Obsessed With — There’s no shortage of obsessions in this list: my new Nantucket hat, my new favorite Citizens jeans, my new brown Adidas, my Carolyn Bessette Kennedy–inspired sunnies, T-shirt Skims dupes from Amazon, and all the little scarves (like this Hermès-looking dupe). This list also has random favorites like my new grape cutter and my son’s new firetruck.

Amazon Everything in My Cart in February — Self-explanatory. An array of options! As always, bookmark what sparks something, skip what doesn’t, and circle back when you’re actually in the mood to treat yourself.

👣 What I’m Coaching: How to Handle Condescending Questions Without Losing Your Cool

In case you missed it, during a press conference after winning her second silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, a reporter asked Eileen Gu: "Do you see these as two silvers gained or two golds lost?" To which the five-time Olympic medalist answered: "I am the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that is an answer in and of itself." Mic drop. Watch it here.

This week, I've been coaching clients on how to handle these kinds of condescending questions in the workplace without losing their composure or over-explaining themselves. The instinct is to justify, defend, or prove your worth all over again. But what Gu did so brilliantly was redirect with facts and confidence, refusing to engage with the framing of the question itself. When someone asks you a question designed to undermine you, you don't owe them a dissertation. You owe them the truth, delivered clearly, and then you move on.

State your track record. Reframe the narrative. And let the work speak.

📚 What I’m Reading

✨ The Power of Stories About Work, Family, and Care on Screen (Better Life Lab, New America) — This is a massive, 57-page deep dive into what American streaming audiences actually want to see on screen when it comes to work, family, and caregiving. The research is clear: 92 percent of viewers say it’s important to see realistic scenarios around work and family woven into characters’ everyday lives, and 65 percent are more likely to subscribe or stay subscribed to a streaming service that features these stories. What stuck with me is how hungry people are for stories that reflect their actual lives. Not the trad-wife fantasy or the girlboss grind, but the messy middle where people are working, caregiving, managing mental health, navigating financial stress, and trying to hold it all together. The data also shows viewers want diversity across income levels, household structures, and racial backgrounds. And despite the myth that we all just want escapism, people who’ve faced work-family challenges are the most eager to see those experiences on screen. It’s a strong case for why storytellers and platforms should lean into this content, not just for social impact, but because it drives real engagement and loyalty.

✨ The State of Women’s Health Might Be Worse Than We Thought—What New Data Reveals (The Everygirl) — O Positiv Health released a report on menstruation, pleasure, menopause, OB/GYN care, and pregnancy, and the findings are bleak. Only half of women were taught about menstruation before they got their first period. 96 percent don’t know the phases of the menstrual cycle. 70 percent feel shame after masturbating. Only 35 percent feel their OB/GYN is “on their side.” The education gap starts early and never closes, fueled by cultural stigma and a healthcare system that treats women’s pain as optional. The article breaks down why the mistrust runs so deep, from medical gaslighting to rushed appointments to decades of research gaps, and what needs to change.

✨ 20 women with PCOS on the one thing they wish they’d known pre-diagnosis (Stylist) — This piece collects firsthand accounts from 20 women living with PCOS, and the through-line is frustration with a system that fails them at every turn. Women talk about doctors dismissing their symptoms for years, being told to just lose weight without any real support, and how PCOS affects every part of their body, not just their reproductive system. The lack of education, resources, and follow-up care after diagnosis is staggering. One woman said she was told she “might be infertile, but we won’t investigate that until you try and have children.” Another described being jokingly told to starve herself by a gynecologist. It’s a reminder that for conditions that predominantly affect women, the medical system is still wildly under-resourced and under-informed.

✨ Why “lineage” is more important to patriarchy than parenthood (It’s Not That Bad, Substack) — This piece dissects the recent cultural obsession with men panicking about fertility rates and “lineage,” from Steven Bartlett’s podcast to Elon Musk’s dystopian talk about building a “legion” of children. The argument is sharp: men who claim to care deeply about passing on their genes often have little interest in actually raising children or being present parents. It’s not about parenthood. It’s about ego, control, and patriarchy. The author contrasts this with how women talk about wanting kids, which is almost never about legacy or bloodline, but about love, purpose, and raising kind humans. The kicker is that if there’s a fertility crisis, it’s not about women refusing to have babies. It’s about structural inequality making parenthood unattainable, unappealing, or unrealistic for many.

✨ What Makes a Company “Successful?” Thoughts on Glossier and More (New Motives, Substack) — This one asks a deceptively simple question: what actually defines success for a company? Is it staying big indefinitely? Never doing layoffs? Profitability? Cultural impact? The piece uses Glossier’s recent 50 layoffs and Vegamour’s struggles as jumping-off points to explore how we measure success. The author argues that even if a company doesn’t hit the numbers investors want, if it shaped culture, created copycats, and influenced an entire generation’s preferences, that’s a success marker on its own. Boy Brow wasn’t just a product. It defined an aesthetic. WeWork may have crashed and burned, but Adam Neumann rebranded work as identity and fun, for better or worse. It’s a useful reframe, especially in an industry obsessed with hypergrowth and exits.

✨ Why some conversations rearrange your brain (Velvet Noise, Substack) — This is one of those essays that stops you mid-scroll. It’s about how the right question, the right moment of deep listening, can completely reshape your understanding of someone. The author talks about neuroscience research on “brain coupling,” where two people in conversation sync up neurologically, creating a shared mindspace. When someone really listens, your vagus nerve softens, your stress lowers, and your capacity to think freely expands. The piece argues that we often compress people into convenient narratives, especially those closest to us, and stop being curious. But everyone contains “secret cities,” and all it takes is the right pause or the right kind of attention to unlock them. It’s a beautiful reminder that transformation doesn’t happen in solitude. It happens when someone believes change is possible and sees a version of you you’re still growing into.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Reshma Saujani Named TIME's Woman of the Year

As you can probably imagine, I’ve been spiraling minute-by-minute about my own life this month, so let’s spiral about something really fucking cool: Reshma Saujani being named to TIME’s Women of the Year.

Saujani, 50, is the founder of Moms First, a nonprofit that advocates for mothers through paid leave and affordable childcare, and Girls Who Code, which has worked with more than 760,000 students since 2012 to close the gender gap in coding and tech employment. She recently stood beside Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as they announced a $1.7 billion investment in universal childcare for kids under 5 in New York. She pinpoints her attention-grabbing confrontation with Trump as an inflection point that led to major strides for the affordable childcare movement, including this massive announcement.

What gets me about Saujani is that she’s not just talking about systems that need to change. She’s building the infrastructure to actually change them. She’s shown up for mothers, for girls, for an entire generation of people who’ve been told to figure it out on their own. Watching someone use their platform, resources, and relentless energy to move the needle this significantly feels like proof that the work matters. That showing up matters. That refusing to accept the status quo as permanent can actually shift it.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

A reminder that equality starts at home.
The next era of venture is taking shape.
There is no reason to copy others when you trust your work.
The truth in powerful storytelling (especially about yourself).
As a corporate employee, have you looked into your conflict of interest policy?
Baby, baby, baby oh!
An expert shares her #1 prompt for Chat.
Obsessed with these two.
Enlightened to learn how fragile our food system really is.
The hilarious life of a research librarian.
Why are bosses still terrible in 2026?
The hidden cost of being a capable woman.

💬 The Group Chat Says: “New-Collar Job” Trends

For most of us, the script was clear: get a degree, then a job, climb the ladder, prove yourself through titles and tenure. But that playbook is breaking down faster than we can keep up with. There’s a growing category of roles called “new-collar jobs” that prioritize skills and experience over a four-year degree. They’re not blue-collar or white-collar, they’re their own thing. Mostly in tech, healthcare, marketing, and cybersecurity. By 2030, 60 percent of jobs won’t require a four-year degree.

I went to both college and grad school, plus I climbed the ladder, so I’m not here to trash traditional paths. But the world’s changed enough that we need to be open to the fact that the ladder isn’t the only way up anymore. Teachers are pivoting to technical writing. Admins are moving into IT support. Retail managers are becoming project managers. You’re not starting over, you’re pointing what you’ve built in a different direction.

Obviously it’s not perfect. Some companies still gatekeep leadership without a degree. Freelancing gives you freedom but not always stability or benefits. You’re on your own for upskilling. But if the traditional path doesn’t fit your life anymore, this is worth looking into.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

If you’ve ever traveled with a toddler, you know I’ll be holding my breath until we land in Charleston. Until then, I’m packing every snack we own, downloading every episode of Sesame Street, and praying I can keep my feral 18-month-old from screaming at full volume in front of a plane full of strangers.

My husband and I started Love Story this week and I’m completely hooked. First show that’s grabbed me in years. The acting, the storyline, the ‘90s nostalgia, plus seeing all my old Manhattan neighborhoods on screen has me feeling wildly sentimental for that era.

What I’m most looking forward to in March is wearing actual color again after months of black and gray and sharing it all with you on TikTok and Instagram. Here’s to glimmers, warmer temps, a peek at spring, and finally feeling like myself again.

xo,
Kelsey

Okay, this week took me out. I spent two full days going from the bathroom floor to my bed, drinking an insane amount of electrolytes and trying to function. It was the first time my Oura ring told me I had “major signs of biometric stress” appearing to strain my body. I was like what the fuck does that mean? And then I was like yup, there it is. I’ll spare you more details. Today is the first day I feel semi back to normal and I am genuinely so grateful to be upright.

Which is good timing because tonight I have a Galentine’s dinner with some of my best friends at a chic restaurant in a neighboring suburb. This weekend is Valentine’s Day and also the ninth anniversary of meeting my husband. More on that here. I am also trying a head spa for the first time ever. If you have seen them trending all over TikTok and Instagram, you get it. A scalp massage with a girlfriend in the middle of this crummy, cold stretch of winter feels like exactly the treat I need.

The three day weekend is throwing me slightly with daycare closed, but I am hoping for cozy family time at the gym or library, breakfast with heart pancakes, and maybe even a walk outside if it is warm enough. This week really reminded me that health is wealth. When your body is down, everything feels harder. When it cooperates, you remember how good normal actually is.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

🎧 The Cost of Playing Small: Why Visibility Is Non-Negotiable on The Jessica Burgio Show (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A timely reminder that growth doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. Jessica pulls back the curtain on what visibility actually looks like after years of showing up consistently, long before the results feel obvious. She talks about why playing small quietly costs more than being seen ever will, the difference between busy work and needle-moving work, and why identity has to come before strategy. It’s less about hacks and more about who you’re becoming when no one is clapping yet.

🎧 Parenting, Divorce & Radical Honesty with Scarlett Longstreet on Tell Me Everything with Danielle Moss (Spotify, Apple) — Danielle interviews writer Scarlett Longstreet about growing up as the daughter of addicts, how it shaped her mental health and relationships, and what it looked like to leave a marriage as a stay-at-home mom of three. They talk about financial independence, dating with kids, female friendships, value alignment, and the uncomfortable clarity that comes with radical honesty. It’s candid, practical, and deeply relatable without being performative.

🎧 How to Live a Purposeful & Authentic Life with Dr. Suzy Welch on Conversations with Cam (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Bestselling author and NYU professor Dr. Suzy Welch breaks down her “Becoming You” framework for identifying your values and aligning your career around them. They dig into why so many people feel lost chasing purpose, the myth that women can “have it all,” the Four Horsemen that hold us back, and her 10-10-10 decision-making method. It’s grounded, strategic, and a helpful reminder that reinvention isn’t reserved for your twenties.

🎧 Practicing Love in a Fear-Filled World with Marianne Williamson on QUESTION EVERYTHING with Danielle Robay (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A surprisingly practical conversation about choosing love when fear feels louder. Marianne Williamson reframes “miracles” as mindset shifts, not mysticism, and talks about how to take ownership of your inner world even when the external world feels chaotic. They explore forgiveness, intention, manifestation versus magic, and what it actually looks like to practice what you believe in daily life.

🎧 Your Job Is Made Up & We Float on a Rock on Clock In with Emily Durham (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A needed perspective reset for anyone spiraling about work. Emily breaks down how workplace pressure is often manufactured, why overidentifying with your job fuels burnout, and what is actually worth caring about long term. Boundaries, mental health, financial stability, and protecting your peace without checking out. Equal parts grounding and liberating.

🛒 What I’m Buying

Weekly ShopMy Edit, Volume 30 — This week’s edit is a mix of special pieces and truly elite loungewear. I’m fully obsessed with this blue Target lounge set (pants + button-up). It looks expensive. It is not. Also… tell me this navy Target jacket does not scream quiet Lulu dupe energy. I included the full set if you’re interested! I’m also looking for a reason to wear this pink sparkly mini or this forest green silk number that’s on major sale. Feel free to invite me to any of your swanky events! I’ve been influenced into loving this affordable belt after seeing Cameron Oaks wear it. And yes, I’m into the bondage trend coming back in a more polished way. CB is leading that charge. This leopard sherpa pullover may or may not be coming to Charleston with me, paired with this delicious sweater. Full edit is live right here.

I also updated my January favorites and did a visual round-up on Instagram. Twenty-five products that genuinely lit up my life last month include the robe I’m living in, the lipstick I can’t stop wearing, the butter dish I melt over and a handful of other small things that are making winter feel a titch better.

Valentine’s Day Edit — Pink. Red. Flirty. Cozy. A little impractical. A little indulgent. Things you absolutely do not need but very much want. Something for your partner, your best friend, yourself, or all three.

As always, bookmark what sparks something, skip what doesn’t, and circle back when you’re actually in the mood to treat yourself.

👣 What I’m Coaching: When Being “The Glue” Becomes a Liability

More and more of my high-performing clients are stuck in what I now to refer to as “the glue role.” They translate across teams, catch breakdowns before they escalate, mentor quietly, absorb gaps no one officially owns, and make instability invisible. From the outside it looks like excellence. Inside, it feels like constant expansion without authority, protection, or recognition. The better they perform, the healthier the system appears, even when it isn’t.

I wrote about this on Substack earlier this week, but here’s the distinction that changes everything: strengthening a system is not the same as hiding its weaknesses. Glue work often does both at once. Over time, contribution becomes concealment. And sometimes the most strategic move a high performer can make isn’t pushing harder. It’s stepping back long enough for reality to surface.

📚 What I’m Reading

Apparently this week I chose light, breezy topics like wealth inequality, workplace age bias, freelancing after layoffs, and whether any of us actually know what we’re doing. You know… beach reads. 😉 Enjoy!

✨ Looking rich has never been easier. Feeling rich has never been harder. (Your Brain on Money, Substack) — This one is the clearest explanation I’ve read of why the “status game” feels so loud right now. Hanna’s point: the visual markers of wealth have been fully democratized (dupes, BNPL, points, filters), so the actually-wealthy shift the goalposts to things you can’t fake or finance. Think: being chronically offline, privacy, time freedom, calm energy, physical performance, access to fun, and the most brutal one of all… traditional stability (homeownership, kids, retirement). It’s smart, slightly unsettling, and made me ask the annoying-but-useful question: am I chasing what I want, or what I’ve been trained to want?

✨ Be more easily influenced (Good Work, Substack) — I loved this because it flips the “don’t be influenceable” advice on its head and makes it adult. The framework is simple: separate your core belief system (values) from your working belief system (your current POV about work), then let new information update the working system without destabilizing who you are. She gives a practical filter (Parse → Evaluate → Integrate) and an exercise that basically says: pay attention to what actually gets through. It’s work therapy, but in a way that feels useful instead of corny.

✨ The argument for an age-agnostic workplace (Fast Company) — A strong case for why “age” is a lazy proxy at work. They break it into chronological age (a bureaucratic number), biological age (your body’s actual wear and tear, shaped by stress, job conditions, and inequality), subjective age (how old you feel), and professional age (how long you’ve been doing the craft). The point that stuck with me: two people can be the same age and have wildly different capacities and trajectories — and workplaces that don’t adapt are going to get more unfair and waste more talent. Also: “experienced beginners” and “young experts” is such a real thing, and corporate systems still don’t know what to do with either.

✨ I Went Freelance After a Layoff — Here’s What Helped Me Finally Make an Income (The Everygirl) — This is a very human post-layoff freelancing story with actual useful tactics buried inside. The throughline isn’t “manifest your dream clients,” it’s: stop treating networking like a humiliation ritual and start building real relationships. Research people, find common ground, ask for wisdom, exchange stories, be clear about what you want, and stay in touch. It’s basically the reminder everyone hates but needs: your network will do more for you than polishing your resume into oblivion.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Watching the Guard Change in Real Time

Chloe Malle took over as editor of American Vogue in September, stepping into the most prestigious role in fashion media while her predecessor, Anna Wintour, still works down the hall as global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer. The New York Times interviewed them side by side, and the contrast was peculiar and clearly intentional. Chloe is nothing like Anna, and she is not trying to be. She is open about her anxieties, says she does not want to be intimidating at kindergarten drop-off, and speaks comfortably about being more forward-facing and digital-first. Anna still embodies the mythology of Vogue, sunglasses, corner office, name at the top of the masthead. It is not a clean break. It is coexistence.

It was refreshing to hear Chloe speak openly about investing more in the app team, giving the social team more time off and paying staff more. Having come from publishing, with intimate knowledge of shrinking budgets, cost-cutting, and constant re-orgs, hearing that felt genuinely surprising in 2026. You could see the tension between legacy prestige and the reality that digital and social now drive everything. Millions are still poured into spectacle, into the mythology of the September Issue and overinflated events, while the teams building the brand online are the ones carrying it forward. Watching the two of them together felt less like gossip and more like a quiet study in what happens when the industry changes faster than its power structure.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

This perfectly encapsulates my entire February so far.
This is my new favorite internet queen. Thank me later.
I swear Zara Larsson is Lisa Frank brought to life in human form.
Do y’all subscribe to this morning jump trend that’s going around?
Okay Aritzia Spring is giving me alllllll the good feels.
LOVING this everyday fit.
A really interesting conversation on relationships, just in time for Valentine’s.
Nothing says Valentine’s like some unhinged spicy books.
Mini-portraits of the things that 18 different people keep in their nightstands.
Have you been following the DWTS tour? These two melt my heart.
Okay, wow, I did not see this coming.
Why is everyone on the internet going to Din Tai Fung and why do I want those chocolate dumplings in the worst way?

💬 The Group Chat Says: Everywhere Online, You See Extremes

Everywhere online, you see the extremes. The trad-wife fantasy on one end, all softness and sourdough and “returning to tradition.” The hyper-ambitious “girlboss” on the other, all grind and independence and never needing anyone. Both are aesthetic. Both are loud. And both flatten women into caricatures that don’t reflect how most of us actually live.

What’s missing is the middle — the seasonality, the recalibrating, the quiet negotiations inside real partnerships and real careers. This is why I value voices like Neha Ruch’s (she’s been on The Grey Areas Podcast, and I genuinely love her work): she refuses the binary and talks honestly about stepping back without disappearing. These are the conversations we need to drop into our group chats. Ask your friends what they actually want, not what the algorithm says they should want. The more we normalize nuance, the weaker the extremes become.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I’m excited for a few plans this weekend, but I’m also officially in countdown mode. We’re packing up and heading to Charleston for the entire month of March, and I cannot wait. Our golden retriever, Daisy, is still with my sister down there, so a reunion is very high on the priority list. We own a condo in Charleston but it’s rented through the summer, so we grabbed a cute little spot at the top of King Street instead. Warmer temps, farmers markets, pastries from a new-to-me bakery next door, and a full break from snow and gray skies feels like exactly what we need.

Until then, when I’m not intentionally forcing myself out of the house, you can find me in full blanket burrito mode on the couch. I hope your weekend feels soft in whatever way you need it to.

xo,
Kelsey

New month, new energy, people!

February feels like a hinge. There’s a little more light, a little more hope, and just enough momentum to believe the year might actually start moving now. Between Super Bowl excitement (Patriots-adjacent, always), Valentine’s Day creeping up, and my very modest request that this snow melts into anything above freezing, I’m choosing to lean into the small things that feel good.

This month also marks the start of the Year of the Horse, which is all about movement, confidence, independence, and trusting your instincts. That feels right. There are some exciting work endeavors taking shape, a Galentine’s dinner on the calendar with women who make life lighter, and a strong temptation to indulge in a head spa situation that promises a scalp massage and a blowout, which honestly feels like self-care and productivity combined. If January was about getting through, February feels like permission to look ahead.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

🎧 The Social Rules Everyone Broke (And Why We’re All So Awkward Now) on Question Everything with Danielle Robay (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Danielle Robay talks with modern etiquette experts Elaine Swann and Sarah Jane Ho about why decorum feels so confusing right now and how social norms quietly collapsed after the pandemic and life online. They unpack why “just be yourself” stopped working, what’s actually considered rude now, and how to move through dating, group chats, work, and social situations with more confidence and clarity without becoming a pushover.

🎧 It’s All a Mess: Meet Emily Kirkpatrick on WORK Conversations with Erika Ayers Badan (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Erika sits down with former New York Post reporter and Substack writer Emily Kirkpatrick to break down what’s happening inside media right now. Side note: Emily was a previous colleague of mine at People! They talk about the collapse of SEO, shrinking discoverability, power shifts inside media companies, and why so many journalists are leaving legacy institutions to build independent businesses. A sharp, candid look at a system in real transition.

🎧 Angelica Nwandu Survived the Unthinkable, Then Built The Shade Room on ASPIRE with Emma Grede (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Angelica Nwandu opens up about surviving childhood trauma, building one of the most influential media platforms in culture, and the emotional toll of running a company at the center of conversation. She reflects on ownership, responsibility, criticism, and the evolution required to lead something with real cultural impact.

🎧 Analogue Life: Why We’re All Craving It (And What Dopamine Menus Have To Do With It) on Working Hard with Grace Beverley (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A thoughtful look at why analogue habits feel so appealing right now and how dopamine menus can help create healthier relationships with work, screens, and stimulation. Practical, realistic, and grounded in the reality that most of us aren’t actually logging off anytime soon.

🎧 Claire Foy on Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Claire Foy joins Jessie and Lennie for a cozy, funny conversation about acting, ambition, health, food, and life outside the spotlight. Afternoon tea, Cosmo preferences, dream meals, and reflections on work without any performative seriousness. Comfort listening in the best way.

🛒 What I’m Buying

I’ve been in a very specific mode lately: noticing what actually made life easier, prettier, or more enjoyable instead of impulse buying things I’ll forget about. These are the pieces I genuinely loved last month, plus the edits I’m still building and returning to.

Weekly ShopMy Edits, Volume 29, Part 2 — Heavy on shoes, sweaters, and jeans, with a handful of inexpensive accessories mixed in.

14 Things I Loved in January — A mix of practical, sentimental, and quietly luxurious favorites that truly earned their place. A Charleston-coded bathrobe I refuse to take off. The tablet car holder that saved our nine-hour drive with a toddler. A BaubleBar ring with Murray’s birthstone that I now wear daily. Kitten heel sandals I lived in while in Florida. A butter dish Ina Garten would approve of. Aviator reading glasses. A shockingly good Hermès-style mini bag from Amazon. My prized possession Aura ring. Rose-colored tapered candles for Valentine’s Day. A luxe leather makeup travel case. And a few more small things that lit up January in a very real way.

Beauty Wish List — My 2026 beauty list keeps growing! Thoughtful, interesting products I’m genuinely excited about, not just saving out of habit.

Valentine’s Day Edit — A little something for every woman in your life. A partner, a friend, yourself, or all three.

As always, save what you love, ignore the rest, and come back to these when you’re actually in the mood to buy something.

👣 What I’m Coaching: When “Opting Out” Is Actually Being Pushed Out

More and more of my clients are quietly asking the same question: is corporate life actually compatible with the reality of their lives? Reading the data on women leaving the workforce this week was jarring, not because it was surprising, but because it confirmed what I see in real time. Women are leaving corporate because flexibility is disappearing, childcare is unaffordable or unavailable, caregiving demands are rising, and companies are pretending this is an individual problem instead of a structural one.

The coaching work right now is less about motivation and more about honesty. What is this system asking you to absorb that it refuses to fix? Many clients are not trying to “have it all.” They are trying to survive roles that quietly require unpaid labor, constant availability, and impossible tradeoffs. Some are choosing to step back. Others are renegotiating, redesigning, or exiting entirely. The throughline is clarity. When the cost of staying outweighs the support offered, leaving is not a failure of commitment. It is a rational response to a system that stopped working.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week’s mix is equal parts career strategy, midlife reinvention, and a surprisingly comforting reminder that your social life wasn’t doomed by adulthood.

✨ Where The Jobs Are In 2026—And How To Actually Land One (Forbes) — This is one of the more useful “future of work” reads I’ve seen because it doesn’t spiral into AI doom. The message is pretty clear: the jobs haven’t disappeared, but the way you get them has changed. Healthcare, skilled trades, logistics, and tech/data roles still have real demand, but the market has shifted from volume hiring to precision hiring. The best part of the piece is the practical strategy: build visibility (so you’re not just a resume), get closer to decision-makers (warm networks > cold applications), and tell a future-focused story (where you’re going + why you’re a fit now). It’s basically the polite, Forbes-y way of saying: stop begging an algorithm to pick you.

✨ If You Leave Me Now… I’m Going To Be Absolutely Completely Fine. (Joie de Vivre, Substack) — A raw, funny, furious essay about being left after a long marriage and the surprising part isn’t the heartbreak. It’s the speed at which she moves from shock to clarity to “wait… I’m not actually going to let this ruin me.” It turns into something bigger than one divorce: a pattern she’s seeing everywhere of women in their 50s coming into their strongest, most self-possessed era… and men quietly falling apart around that. It’s not a neat story. It’s a women-don’t-shrivel manifesto with teeth — and a reminder that sometimes the life you pictured gets taken off the table, and you still don’t become small.

✨ A Predictor of a Good Social Life? Your Parents. (The New York Times) — This one genuinely surprised me. A decades-long study (published in JAMA Pediatrics) found that teens with the strongest family connection scores ended up with much higher social connection in adulthood, even two decades later. The numbers were stark: high adult social connection was more than twice as common among those with the strongest family ties compared to the weakest. It’s basically saying: adult loneliness isn’t just about willpower or “put yourself out there.” It’s developmental. Which is both heavy and… kind of relieving? Like, maybe the problem isn’t that you’re bad at friendship. Maybe you’re just trying to re-learn something later than most people.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: When the People Who Tell the Truth Start Disappearing

This may surprise some of you, but I went to graduate school to become a journalist. I trained in investigative reporting and long-form storytelling, learning from editors who had worked on the Boston Globe Spotlight team. It was the hardest year of my life. Many of my classmates went on to become beat reporters and newsroom journalists. I took a different path into digital media, but the work was still rooted in reporting and telling the truth in real time.

So seeing the Washington Post layoffs all over my feed this week hit harder than I expected. These are people who chose a brave, underpaid, deeply consequential career because they believe in truth, accountability, and public record. What’s frightening is not just the layoffs, but what they signal. We have somehow allowed the entire journalism ecosystem to rest on a few national papers, fraying regional outlets, scattered newsletters, and a creator economy that was never designed to carry civic responsibility.

I don’t have solutions. I have watched readership soar and revenue models collapse. I have watched institutions owned by billionaires get smaller anyway. But I believe this with my whole chest: a democracy without sustainable journalism does not slowly weaken, it erodes. And I hope we figure out a real path forward, because our country depends on it.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

A Winter Olympics viewing guide with every medal event and major game.
A reminder that if January didn’t go the way you planned, February can be your fresh start.
The marble bathroom of my dreams. No notes. No budget.
Already planning to copy this exact coffee table setup for spring.
Gen Z wants nothing to do with workplace drama.
Who wants to go in on a Cotswolds cottage with me? I’ll bring the sweaters and unrealistic expectations.
The Halley Kate court drama is giving Legally Blonde, but unhinged.
Nothing funnier than watching your man’s home decor slowly turn… feminine.
A jarring reminder of our current reality.
The Moltbot conversation is really freaking me out, people.
So happy that Whitney’s opening night was a smashing success. The good news we need more of!

💬 The Group Chat Says: Succession, But Make It Corporate Disney

I didn’t drop this into my group chats, but the Disney CEO announcement has been quietly rattling around in my head all week. After months of speculation following Bob Iger’s second tenure, Disney named Josh D’Amaro as the next CEO. The town hall sounded warm. The messaging was polished. Everyone hugged. Everyone praised continuity. And still, something about it gave me an immediate ick.

I admire Bob Iger more than almost any modern executive. If you asked me who I would want to go to lunch with to pick their brain, he would be near the top of the list. But come on. He already handed the company to the last Parks chief, who famously flamed out. And once again, the top job went to the man over the woman — who has spent decades in the entertainment business itself. And yes, Dana Walden was elevated. Yes, the communications team worked overtime to frame them as equals. But it still felt inevitable that Josh would get the job, and inevitability is usually where bias hides best.

What’s sticking with me is not whether Josh will be a good CEO. He probably will be. It’s how familiar this story feels. The anointing. The reassurance. The insistence that this process was healthy and unifying. This is the movie I want to see. The book I want to read. The inside version of how power actually moves when everyone in the room insists the playing field was level. Cuz Dana, girl, you deserved this role and I’m not convinced this was a fair choice.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

This weekend feels very “hunker down and enjoy the moment.” On Friday, I’m looking forward to Danny’s braised short ribs, a cozy night in, and watching Olympic athletes celebrate the opening ceremonies in Italy. I’m also quietly working on convincing him to make this bolognese at some point.

I’m also =excited for the Super Bowl! We’re a 49ers–Patriots household, so at least one of our teams made it to the end. I’m rooting hard for Drake Maye (but more so for his incredibly talented baker of a wife)! But to be so for real I honestly really just want this win for Coach Vrabel.

Anyways, have a good weekend. Eat something comforting. Watch something fun. Let yourself enjoy it.

xo,
Kelsey

Well, hello. It’s been a minute.

The last Friday email I sent was all holiday energy and Florida packing. And then we actually went. We spent a month in Naples, came home last week, and somehow lived about fifteen lives in the process. Murray had two ear infections and didn’t sleep through the night once. We road-tripped from Florida to Charleston as a full family unit, including Daisy, which went shockingly well. Daisy is now living her best life in Charleston with my sister Shannon, blissfully toddler-free and not trapped inside during what has turned into a truly aggressive Boston winter.

Being snowed in with a 17-month-old has been… a lot. We quietly celebrated my birthday with cinnamon buns and iced coffee on a snow day, stayed under the covers, read books, and watched the world turn into a snow globe outside the window. It was cozy for about a minute. I am now very ready for March and the slightly warmer promise of Charleston.

It also feels impossible to write anything right now without acknowledging the state of the world. Carrying on with normal life while so much is actively not normal is disorienting. Checking your privilege matters, but so does doing something with it. Calling your representatives. Making your voice heard.

January has gotten this year off to a muddy, lethargic start. Honestly, the last few Januaries have felt that way for different reasons. For me, this one has been less about momentum and more about consolidation. We’re back in Boston until March. Danny is traveling for work. I’m home, hunkering down, thinking seriously about what 2026 looks like for Grey Areas, for our family, and how I want to move through it. More on that soon.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

🎧 Selling My $22M Company Didn’t Fix My Life—It Exposed Everything Wrong With It on Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Jaclyn Johnson reflects on what actually happens after the big exit no one warns you about. She talks candidly about selling (and buying back) her company, Create & Cultivate, the identity collapse that followed, and how a breast cancer diagnosis forced a total life reset. Divorce, starting over alone, rethinking ambition, this episode is a sober look at money, health, and success when the shiny milestones stop working. If you’ve ever believed the next achievement would finally make you feel okay, this one quietly dismantles that idea.

🎧 How Cosmo’s Youngest Editor-In-Chief Is Reinventing a Legacy Brand on Work Party with Marina Middleton and Jaclyn Johnson (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — EIC Willa Bennett breaks down what it really takes to modernize an iconic media brand without hollowing it out. She gets specific about editorial strategy, platform shifts, and leading creative teams through cultural change while still protecting Cosmo’s DNA. This is less “media gossip” and more a masterclass in reinvention, taste, and leadership for anyone navigating legacy systems that weren’t built for what comes next.

🎧 Mandy Moore on Conversations with Cam (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Mandy Moore opens up about motherhood, early fame, and learning how to protect her sense of self while staying visible. She reflects on touring with *NSYNC, the long shadow of A Walk to Remember, returning to work postpartum, and raising three kids while staying grounded. It’s warm, reflective, and refreshingly normal, especially if you’re in a season of redefining who you are outside of the version the world already knows.

🎧 Barefaced’s Jordan Harper on How to Make People Obsessed With Your Brand on Superwoman with Rebecca Minkoff (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Jordan Harper explains why most skincare advice is noise and how building trust — not trends — became Barefaced’s real growth engine. She talks about serving people before selling, expensive mistakes, and the unglamorous decisions that led to a 90% retention rate. If you’re building a brand, product, or reputation and trying not to lose your integrity along the way, this one is both grounding and practical.

🎧 Eight Lessons From a Year That Changed Everything on CEO School with Suneera Madhani (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Suneera reflects on the boundaries, relationships, and mindset shifts that shaped her 38th year. She talks about shrinking your circle, saying no without guilt, protecting energy, and redefining success beyond constant output. This episode feels like a quiet permission slip to stop performing growth and start building something that actually sustains you.

🎧 Leslie Tessler: Founder and CEO of Hanni on Second Life with Hillary Kerr (Spotify, Apple) — Leslie Tessler shares her nonlinear path from fashion and beauty leadership to founding Hanni after years of burnout. She talks about leaving the U.S., staying in Argentina for a decade, and eventually returning to launch a bodycare brand that reframes everyday rituals. It’s a reminder that stepping off the expected timeline isn’t failure. Sometimes it’s the only way clarity shows up.

🛒 What I’m Buying

Even though I’ve been a little quieter lately, I’ve still been updating my shopping lists and saving the things that genuinely caught my eye. This is a living archive of pieces, products, and ideas I keep coming back to.

Beauty Wish List: This is my 2026 beauty wish list in progress. The best of the best, the most interesting products, and the things I’m genuinely excited to try this year.

Valentine’s Day Edit: A little something for every woman in your life, whether that’s a partner, a friend, yourself, or all three.

Hot Weather Outfit Edit: Because some of us are choosing SPF and linen over frostbite and another holiday sweater.

My Birthday Wish List: An ideal list to I sent to my husband and my family so no one had to guess. A mix of practical, sentimental, and a few things I’d never buy for myself but would happily unwrap.

Books I’m Reading in H1: This list came together slowly from recommendations via podcasts, YouTube interviews, conversations in passing, and things that kept getting mentioned by people I trust.

What I Want Right Now (Amazon): A fun, honest mix of needs and wants. Some practical, some completely unnecessary, all things I clearly thought about more than once.

Weekly ShopMy Edits, Volume 28 & Volume 29: Both volumes are a little eclectic, very me, and pulled straight from my notes app. These are mood-board lists more than strict edits.

As always, save what you love, ignore the rest, and come back to these when you’re actually in the mood to buy something.

👣 What I’m Coaching: Managing Through Systems, Not Emotion

A lot of the exhaustion I’m seeing in client work right now isn’t about capacity. It’s about compensation. People are burning out because they’re being used to compensate for missing structure. When roles, ownership, and decision rules aren’t defined, individuals become the system. The coaching question we keep returning to is specific: what system would make the constant follow-ups, emotional labor, and reactive decision-making unnecessary?

Instead of managing personalities, the work has been about managing through structure. Clear owners. Written requests. Defined timelines. No verbal drive-bys. No decisions made in passing. If it isn’t documented, it isn’t actionable. What shifts is how clients show up. They stop buffering chaos and start operating inside a professional system. The work stays demanding, but the exhaustion stops being personal.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week’s mix is basically a field guide to 2026: AI anxiety, executive stamina, the self promotion trap, nervous system rewiring and hybrid careers.

✨ What You Need to Know If You Want a Job in 2026 (Still Wandering, Substack) — Alex McCann lays out the future of work in a way that feels less like doom and more like a strategy memo. The big takeaway is not “AI will take your job.” It’s “AI will change what your job is, and the people who learn to direct it will separate fast.” He also calls out the rise of fractional and portfolio careers as the quiet shift nobody is ready for, plus the collapse of true entry level hiring and what that breaks long-term. If you have been feeling like the ladder is wobbling, it absolutely is.

✨ The Emotional Stamina Women In Executive Roles Will Need In 2026 (Forbes) — This article argues that the hardest part of executive leadership for women is not getting the role, it’s sustaining it. The pressure does not come in short bursts. It is constant. Women face higher scrutiny, more isolation in decision-making, and are still expected to carry emotional labor for teams while being criticized for being too direct. If you are aiming for senior leadership, this piece explains what actually wears people down and why preparation needs to start earlier than most women are told.

✨ Women Less Inclined to Self-Promote Than Men, Even for a Job (The Harvard Gazette) — This study shows that when men and women perform equally, women consistently rate their own performance lower, even when they know their exact score and even when pay or hiring decisions depend on it. The gap is not explained by confidence. It’s driven by social norms and penalties around self-promotion. The implication is uncomfortable but important: systems that rely on self-evaluations and subjective narratives are biased before anyone is reviewed. This is a “change the system,” not “fix the women,” problem.

✨ The Nervous System Reset That Changed My Life (Take Your Time, Substack) — Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen writes about Brainspotting in a way that is both vulnerable and weirdly practical. The real point is not the modality. It is the admission that talk therapy can give you insight without giving you change, especially when your body is still running the old program. If you have ever thought “I understand my patterns, why am I still doing them,” this is an interesting look at what it means to rewire instead of just reframe.

✨ How Employees’ Strengths Make Your Company Stronger (Gallup Business Journal) — Gallup is doing what Gallup does, but there are a couple stats in here that are hard to ignore: people who use their strengths daily are far more engaged, and a truly tiny percent of employees strongly agree their workplace is actually strengths oriented. The subtext is brutal. Most companies are still managing people like interchangeable parts, then acting confused when engagement craters. If you manage others, this is a reminder that performance problems usually come from unclear systems, not incapable people.

✨ We’ve Officially Entered the Era of the “Forever Layoff” (The Everygirl) — The term is dramatic, but the pattern is real: small, quiet cuts that keep people in permanent fight or flight at work. It puts language to the slow drip layoffs that never let a team exhale, and it nails the downstream effects: trust collapses, collaboration dies, and everyone starts operating like scarcity is the company culture. If your workplace has felt tense and weird without a single headline moment, this explains why.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Carrying On Like This Is Normal

I read a Substack post this week about what to do when the chaos becomes too much, and it was helpful because it refused to treat the chaos as abstract. The current state of the world, particularly in the U.S., is not just stressful or unsettling. It is destabilizing. Government gaslighting. ICE raids treated as administrative noise. Protests, violence, humanitarian crises folded into the daily scroll. And at the same time, we are expected to keep functioning at work, meeting deadlines, planning weekends, and behaving as though this is a normal environment to live inside.

What the piece articulated clearly is that feeling overwhelmed right now is not a personal failure or a lack of resilience. It is a rational response to prolonged cognitive dissonance. Being asked to maintain “business as usual” while systems behave in ways that are openly harmful wears people down. The value of the Substack wasn’t in offering solutions or optimism. It was in naming that self-care right now is not disengagement. It is a way of staying grounded enough to keep seeing clearly in a moment that depends on people numbing out and carrying on.

👀 What I’m Scrolling & Saving

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

Hot girls leaving men the moment they’re disrespected.
Adding a very chic white office chair to my vision board.
Completely obsessed with this couple’s style.
Anything and everything related to Zara Larsson.
Following Alex Taylor, co-founder of Perelel, and loving the behind-the-scenes of building a brand and a life at the same time.
This man’s extremely earnest butter reviews.
This mom’s daily outfits. Effortless, chic, no notes.
Saving marble bathrooms I want to have.
Bucket hats making a confident comeback.
Summer Fridays’ new lip liners and stains. Immediate add to cart energy.
Keeping tabs on new restaurants and stores opening on King Street in Charleston.
Watching Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette when it hits screens on February 12.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Everyone Wants to Go Analog (But No One’s Logging Off)

The thing that keeps popping up in my group chats right now is the idea of “going analog in 2026.” Fewer screens. Less doomscrolling. More books, watches, handwritten notes, and boundaries that don’t live inside an app. I dropped an article about being less online into the chat this week and it immediately split people into two camps: “this sounds lovely” and “be serious, my phone is basically an organ.”

What made the conversation interesting wasn’t whether anyone is actually ready to log off. It was the shared admission that being online now feels less like connection and more like exposure. Constant news. Constant opinion. Constant pressure to react. The article didn’t pretend it’s easy or virtuous to disengage. It framed being less online as something that now requires intention and strategy because everything is designed to pull you back in.

The takeaway wasn’t that we all need to disappear or romanticize an offline life that doesn’t exist. It was that the craving to go analog is a signal. People are tired of having their nervous systems hijacked by devices that never rest. Even if we don’t radically change our habits, paying attention to that urge matters. It’s not about discipline. It’s about noticing when the cost of being constantly online starts to outweigh the benefit.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

If you need a low-stakes weekend project, I’m planning to try making popovers for the first time. Specifically, The Lost Kitchen popover recipe. Eggy, not too sweet, and allegedly foolproof. They don’t need much beyond butter, jam, or both, which feels like the right level of effort for a Sunday. This has also sent me down a rabbit hole where I am now considering a completely unnecessary butter cutter from Amazon. No regrets.

Anyways, have a good weekend. Make something cozy. Log off a little if you can.

xo,
Kelsey

We are deep in holiday season and I’m convinced this is the best the year ever feels. Everything is sparkly and slightly unhinged, and I’m eating it up. The lights, the gifting, the general merriment — it all makes December feel alive in a way the rest of the year never quite does.

This week we went out to dinner with neighbors and hit a dinner party with all new couples, meaning we pretended to be adults with actual social stamina. Then Danny traveled for work, our parents tag-teamed childcare, Murray embraced his full toddler-challenge era, and Daisy came back from grooming looking like she charges appearance fees. I’m juggling clients I’m excited about and pulling warm-weather clothes out because we leave for Florida next week and my brain is already halfway there (!!!).

Before we get on that plane, we have one more holiday party, Danny is suiting up as Santa for a friend’s family Christmas, and we’re ending the weekend at the Patriots vs. Bills game.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

🎧 This Is Why You’re Still Burned Out with Jennifer Moss on Ambition 2.0 with Amanda Goetz (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Jennifer Moss breaks down why burnout in 2025 is worse than it was mid-pandemic and why face masks and “self-care” will never fix a systems-level problem. She gets into ageism, toxic productivity culture, RTO myths, and the real signs you’re slipping into burnout, plus what you can realistically do when you’re depleted but can’t afford to quit. If you’re tired, cynical, or confused about why work still feels impossible, this episode gives you language, boundaries and a way forward.

🎧 Kimora Lee Simmons Is Back in the Fab Lane on Not Skinny But Not Fat with Amanda Hirsch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Kimora returns to reality TV after 14 years and talks turning 50, raising five kids solo, navigating her daughter’s headline-making relationship, and stepping back into the spotlight on her own terms. She opens up about dating, motherhood, work, and what reinvention looks like when your legacy is already iconic.

🎧 Inside Rachel Zoe’s New Era: RHOBH, Divorce, and Reinvention on Lipstick on the Rim with Molly Sims (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Rachel Zoe gets candid about joining RHOBH, rebuilding her identity post-divorce, co-parenting, and dating again while stepping into her boldest career chapter yet. She talks about the emotional toll of starting over, the Real Housewives chaos she walked into, and the glam that keeps her sane. It’s fashion insight, reinvention honesty, and classic Rachel Zoe confidence wrapped into one.

🎧 I Hope You Dance feat. Sophia Sansone on Probably A Podcast with Shannon Ford (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Sophia Sansone shares her path from Nashville newcomer to managing Luke Combs, plus the personal challenges she navigated behind the scenes. She opens up about career breaks, faith, heartbreak, resilience, and what it takes to build a life you’re proud of while working in an industry built on pressure.

🎧 What Founders Aren’t Saying Out Loud with Alex Taylor on Offline, The Podcast with Alison Rice (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Alex Taylor gets real about the invisible weight founders carry: investor rejection, the tension between vision and viability, and the emotional labor of building something before the world believes in it. She and Alison talk feminine power, boundaries, community, and what it means to lead with depth instead of performance.

🎧 How to Win in the Golden Age of Entrepreneurship with Harley Finkelstein on Aspire with Emma Grede (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Harley Finkelstein breaks down the difference between having ideas and actually executing them, why failure has never been cheaper, and the habits shared by the most successful founders on Shopify. He talks courage, resourcefulness, and what it really takes to scale something in today’s creator economy.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This is the winter edit for people who want to feel warm and unbothered. Favorites include this navy Ralph Lauren set (hoodie + joggers) that will make errands look elegant, the autumnal Paige silk dress that feels like a soft flex, the RAILS red satin bow dress that is pure confidence, the crimson Staud boots that could turn a sidewalk into a runway, and the furry brown Citizens jacket that solves the “I want to be warm but not shapeless” problem. I added the espresso Lecroy pajamas because they’re absurdly comfy, plus the waterproof boots and puffers that actually look chic.

Alongside this weekly edit, there are three more drops: the warm-weather holiday edit for anyone fleeing winter, my Amazon cart from the last two months and my personal gift guide full of things I truly want, but don’t really need (here’s looking at you, husband). If you want everything in one place, The Holiday Shop on my ShopMy is updated constantly! So finish your holiday shopping by perusing my 17 gift guides.

👣 What I’m Coaching

The theme that kept surfacing in my client sessions this week: answering too fast. Saying yes without thinking. Jumping into fix something no one actually asked you to own. Filling silence because you’re afraid someone might interpret it as incompetence. It’s the reflex that burns people out more than the workload itself.

So I’ve been encouraging them to work on a micro-pause. Five quiet seconds before you answer. Long enough to check in with yourself, short enough that no one registers it as hesitation. In that pause you get to ask the questions most people skip: Do I actually want to take this on? Is this mine? Is this urgent? Is this aligned with what I’m trying to build?

What clients are realizing is that the pause isn’t about being careful. It’s about taking back your agency. When you stop reacting on autopilot, you make cleaner decisions, you communicate more clearly, and you stop creating commitments you resent later.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week’s mix is very on-brand: corporate backsliding, female ambition getting properly funded, horny lit-girl chaos, practical planning tools, and a reminder that “finally arriving” will not magically fix your life.

✨ Women’s Professional Advancement Is Slipping, New Research Shows (LinkedIn News x McKinsey & Lean In) — Fresh data on the Women in the Workplace 2025 report and how companies are quietly de-prioritizing women’s advancement. If you’ve felt like the corporate energy around DEI and women’s leadership has cooled, you’re not imagining it. This breaks down the new “ambition gap,” why sponsorship still tilts toward men, and how policy rollbacks (remote work, sponsorship, development programs) are creating a slow erosion instead of a dramatic collapse. It’s infuriating and also clarifying ammo if you’re planning your next move.

✨ Steven Bartlett Just Backed This Breakout Female Founder (Forbes) — A look at Maggie Sellers Reum and Hot Smart Rich as a creator-led, female ambition media company getting a seven-figure strategic investment.
This isn’t a “cute influencer got a brand deal” story—it’s a case study in turning content, community, and conviction into an actual company. Maggie is building a movement around female ambition, not just an audience, and the deal structure + community strategy read like a playbook for any woman who’s tired of waiting to be picked.

✨ Hello, Horny Lit-Girl Winter (The Cut) — A delightfully unhinged guide to the season’s most “educational and lustful” book-to-screen adaptations.
If your brain is fried from Slack and you need something smarter than reality TV but more feral than a quiet literary drama, this is your menu.

✨ How to Answer 3 Big, Scary Annual Planning Questions (MKT1 by Emily Kramer) — A tactical breakdown of how to tackle annual marketing planning without disappearing into a 50-tab spreadsheet. If you work in marketing or adjacent to it, this is basically a survival guide for “What’s your plan for next year?” season. Emily walks through how to define your big bets, ballpark a budget, and sanity-check revenue targets in days instead of months, with tools you can actually use.

✨ 40 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Year (Steph Ango) — A simple, powerful reflection ritual you can revisit annually. This is one of those frameworks that looks basic until you actually start answering the questions and realize you’re low-key rebuilding your life. It covers everything from money and relationships to what kept you sane and what you wish you’d done more of. If you’re craving a more intentional year ahead, this is a great place to start.

✨ The High-Achiever’s Paradox: Why Reaching Your Goals Won’t Make You Happy (Fast Company) — A clear, grounded look at the “arrival fallacy” and why big wins never feel as life-changing as we hope. If you’ve ever hit a milestone (promotion, new job, entrepreneur life) and thought, “Wait…why do I still feel off?” this explains it without being condescending. It reframes goals as direction, not destination, and makes a strong case for finding joy in the actual day-to-day instead of the next checkbox.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: My Out-of-Office Is a Lie

I saw that Girlboss Instagram post about how women aren’t actually “OOO for the long weekend” — they’re navigating a work culture that runs on the assumption someone else is handling the caregiving, the logistics, and the crisis-of-the-week. It reminded me how absurd our polished OOOs sound compared to reality. We write, “offline for a bit!” when the truth is closer to: “I’m holding together responsibilities this system refuses to acknowledge, and I’m still expected to act like I’m fully resourced.”

Nearly half a million women have left the workforce since January and it’s not because they lack ambition. It’s because the math of modern work and modern life simply doesn’t add up. This isn’t a personal failing — it’s a structural one. And the more glaring it becomes, the harder it is for organizations to pretend otherwise. You’re overwhelmed because you’re operating inside systems that depend on invisible labor while acting like they don’t.

👀 Who I’m Following

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

This makes me SO excited for Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper’s CNN New Years Eve broadcast.
Kendall Jenner’s new mountain house featured in Architectural Digest is an absolute dream.
This man has been singing for animals and their response is so damn cute!
Need to try this french onion soup potato recipe asap.
Salivating over the new Gap x Summer Fridays collab. Brilliant partnership.
A really good reminder for this time of year.
One day I dream of trying this new coffee shop (by Danielle and Aloni).
Really great 2026 marketing and social media predictions.
The millennial career crisis is alive and well.

💬 The Group Chat Says: HR Can’t Preach Values It Doesn’t Practice

I dropped the SHRM verdict in the group chat this week and the reaction was immediate: “If the HR organization can’t follow its own rules, what hope does anyone else have?” A jury found that SHRM discriminated against and retaliated against a former employee who reported racial bias, awarding her $11.5 million. The details aren’t subtle. She was promoted, raised concerns about discrimination, and was fired weeks later. SHRM insists it did nothing wrong. The jury disagreed. And this woman breaks the situation down really well.

What sent our group chat into orbit wasn’t just the lawsuit. It was the pattern. SHRM has spent years distancing itself from DEI while simultaneously positioning itself as the authority on ethical workplaces. They invited anti-DEI speakers to DEI conferences. They removed “equity” from their own language. They issue statements about values and then behave like an organization that doesn’t want to be held to them.

HR is supposed to model accountability, not dodge it. If the industry leader can retaliate internally and still claim “integrity and transparency,” no wonder employees everywhere feel unsafe reporting anything at all.

This isn’t about one lawsuit. It’s about the gap between what companies say they value and what they actually do. And the people living inside these systems feel that gap every day.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

If you need a reason to laugh this weekend, watch this TikTok of a dentist trying to understand why certain everyday phrases have new sexual meanings. I was in the daycare pick-up line losing it. And while you’re there, go read the comments on this thread where people describe their ex as a store. The standout for me so far: “Microsoft. Micro and soft.” Sometimes, I fucking love the internet.

Anyways, have a good weekend! Go touch grass.

xo,
Kelsey

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed the Black Friday and Cyber Monday chaos. My Amazon sale picks are linked if you still want to browse what I actually bought for myself and my family.

I skipped last Friday’s email because your inboxes were already overflowing with sales messages. Our Thanksgiving was beautiful and slightly chaotic. Murray came down with a double ear infection, which meant very little sleep. Danny and I snuck out for the Celtics game and tried a new cocktail bar called 89 Charles. We sent out our Christmas cards with photos from the Seaport shoot. Thanksgiving Day was spent with football, family and more food than I will ever admit. My parents hosted their annual Christmas party, which has been a tradition for almost forty years. We also got our first snowfall. It felt charming in December and will feel terrible in January.

This week begins our sprint into the holiday season. Danny and I have back-to-back parties this weekend and we are very excited to dress up and celebrate. We are flying south for Christmas and New Year’s. My parents live in Naples, so we will be there for a month with sunshine and palm trees instead of windburn and darkness at four in the afternoon. I have already started ordering toddler water toys and warm-weather outfits, which I will share next week.

Work has been busy in the best way. I am finalizing several new digital products that will launch on the Grey Areas website in early January. I have also received so many kind client referrals this month. If you are curious about what career coaching could look like for you, reach out and we can set up an introductory call.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

This week I’ve been deep in conversations that hit on truth-telling, boundaries, career reinvention, money power, and the kind of psychological insight that makes you rethink how you communicate with every person in your orbit.

🎧 Secret Service Agent: Never Label Someone a Narcissist with Desmond O’Neill on The Diary of a CEO (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — A former Secret Service interrogator breaks down how to have hard conversations without losing your power. He explains why labeling someone a narcissist backfires, how gaslighting actually works, the body-language cues most people miss, and the simple framework he uses to stay regulated under pressure. If you’re navigating conflict at home or at work, this one gives you tools, not theories.

🎧 How to Make Your Own Luck in Your Career with Erika Ayers Badan on Ambition 2.0 with Amanda Goetz (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Erika Ayers Badan, former CEO of Barstool Sports and now CEO of Food52, lays out the most honest career playbook you’ll hear all year. She talks about making your own momentum, surviving chaotic jobs, managing men without becoming “the alpha,” and why emotional regulation is an underrated leadership flex. It’s tactical, candid, and gives you permission to build a career that actually works for you, not your résumé.

🎧 What No One Tells You About Getting Fired with Laura Brown & Kristina O’Neill on Lipstick on the Rim (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Two legendary editors who were fired at the peak of their careers talk about the shame, the shock, the money panic, and the reinvention that came after. They share the behind-the-scenes reality of losing your identity overnight and the mindset shifts that helped them rebuild something better. If you’re in a reset, forced or chosen, this episode feels like a hand on your back.

🎧 Money, Power & Confidence ft. Maggie Sellers Reum on Well with Arielle Lorre (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Maggie breaks down what it actually means to be “hot, smart, and rich”—financially, emotionally, and energetically. They get into angel investing, equity, conscious spending, leaving the wrong relationship, reframing anxiety, and building long-term wealth by getting honest about what you value. It’s half financial education, half identity work, and all clarity.

🎧 Meet the Oxford Student Who Built Three Multimillion-Dollar Brands by 25 with Grace Beverley on The Burnouts (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Grace talks openly about scaling TALA, Shreddy, and her other businesses before turning 25, plus the pressure, bias, grief, and public scrutiny that came with it. It’s an unfiltered look at ambition, burnout, fundraising as a young woman, and the invisible costs of “success.” If you’re building something big and feeling the weight of it, this one hits.

🎧 Ina Garten on Good Hang with Amy Poehler (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Pure comfort. Ina and Amy talk Jeffrey CIA conspiracies, New Yorker cartoons, and how to make store-bought Thanksgiving food look intentional. It’s warm, funny, and the exact kind of mental palate cleanser you need after absorbing everyone else’s chaos.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is all about effortless French energy. This chocolate-brown fur flap hat and matching mittens are giving “cold weather, but make it glam.” The comically big Diptyque rose candle is pure indulgence and makes your whole space feel pulled together. For holiday dressing, this Velvet Peplum Strapless Tudor Blouse is the hero piece — sharp, elegant, and zero effort required. The STAUD Aida Silk Top feels like the classic millennial going-out top we all secretly miss. This Moon Suede Hobo Bag in burgundy is simply delicious. No other word works to describe it. And if you need a cocktail-party look, pair the Velvet Chiffon Mixed Media Cape Leah Dress with the Gala Hand-Embellished Bag in Garnet. My favorite little purchase this week: the Gaston Scarf “Margaret Print” from Sézane is a chic hanky I’m dying to wear with a red cashmere sweater. Full edit linked here.

My gift guides are still growing. All seventeen of them get updated daily, along with my edits for holiday decor, holiday hosting, and holiday outfits for every event. If you need ideas, I’ve probably added more by the time you finish reading this.

👣 What I’m Doing

This month almost every client conversation has come back to visibility. Not in a loud or performative way. In the real leadership and career-growth sense. Visibility is uncomfortable because it requires you to be seen on purpose. It nudges all the fears we try to ignore. The fear of being judged. The fear of saying something slightly off. The fear of looking like you are trying too hard.

What I keep reminding clients is that discomfort does not mean you are doing anything wrong. It means you are stretching into a new season. Modern work rewards people who allow themselves to be visible. That is how you build trust. That is how people recognize your expertise. That is how opportunities find you even when you are not in the room.

So we have been focusing on systems instead of motivation. Block twenty minutes for visibility. Choose two insights to share. Comment thoughtfully once a day. Speak up one beat sooner in your next meeting. You do not need a personality transplant. You need small, consistent reps.

Visibility will always feel a little awkward. The awkwardness is temporary. The benefit is long-lasting. This week, try showing up in a way that feels honest and sustainable. Someone in your orbit needs to hear what you already know.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week I fell into a mix of pieces that made me think about motherhood, ambition, work, and what it means to build a life that isn’t constantly draining you.

✨ The Fantasy Mother: The Mothers We Would be If We Were Supported (The Motherland, Daphne Delvaux Substack) — A raw look at the gap between the mother you are and the mother you could be if you were supported instead of stretched thin. Daphne writes about the grief inside that gap, the guilt that fills it, and the pressure to live up to a version of motherhood that only exists on Instagram. If you’ve ever felt like your kids get the exhausted version of you, this will land.

✨ Why Millions of Women Are Choosing Entrepreneurship (Forbes) — A data-heavy explanation of why women are leaving corporate roles at record rates to build careers that feel aligned, flexible, and actually secure. It breaks down the values shift, the appeal of autonomy, and why entrepreneurship now feels safer than depending on a company that can restructure overnight. Helpful if you’re questioning what’s next.

✨ GenZers Opting for “Career Minimalism” Are Happier, Healthier, and Wealthier (The Everygirl) — A clear breakdown of career minimalism and why younger workers are choosing stable jobs, strong boundaries, and identities that don’t revolve around work. It reframes the shift as a strategy, not a lack of ambition. If your own relationship to work is changing, this helps explain the cultural moment.

✨ I’m the Woman Who Ruined the Workplace (Ariel Dumas, The New Yorker) — A sharp, unhinged satire about how women get blamed for everything from office culture shifts to simply existing at work. It punches at the absurdity of workplace gender politics without being heavy. A solid reset if all the serious career content starts to feel like too much.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: I Know He’s Right, I Just Don’t Want to Hear It

I was scrolling TikTok on my phone like a responsible adult avoiding my to-do list when this guy shows up telling me my attention span is trash because I avoid discomfort. And I felt completely called out. He talks about how we drop long-term goals the second something feels boring or slow, and honestly he has a point. Wanting everything to feel exciting is what happens when your brain has been trained by constant stimulation, burnout and a million tiny demands all day.

What actually comforted me was his reminder that not enjoying something doesn’t mean you’re doing life wrong. Sometimes the middle of the process is just uncomfortable. It doesn’t mean you’re not meant for it. It doesn’t mean you lack discipline. It means you’re tired and human and adjusting to a season that asks a lot from you. You’re allowed to move slowly right now and still trust that you’re headed somewhere real.

👀 Who I’m Following

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

Olivia Dean in Bustle talking about the power of being cringe and being free.
ChatGPT wrote an apology letter for its em-dash addiction and guided users on how to change this via settings.
A woman’s notes app is a strange place, which feels fitting considering the name of this newsletter.
George Clooney on New Heights casually swooning over his wife.
I leaned into the “it’s very important to” trend because my meet-cute with Danny deserves its own cinematic universe.
“Disturbing during do not disturb.” We all do it. Made me laugh.
Brooke Shields’s daughter is unhinged and so, so funny on TikTok.
The ongoing struggle of having expensive taste when your bank account says “please be serious.”

💬 The Group Chat Says: Motherhood Completely Warps Your Sense of Time

This week I dropped an article into the group chat about how time changes once you have kids and everyone immediately thumbs-upped it. Before kids, your hours were yours. After kids, the day is carved into tiny windows shaped by naps, pickups, and a never-ending loop of small needs. You stop managing time and start managing everyone else’s bodies, moods, and logistics.

We collectively loved that instead of spiraling the whole time, the article gives small resets that actually help, like staging mornings the night before, protecting your attention the way you protect sleep, and naming the season you’re in so you stop expecting yourself to operate like your pre-kid self.

Our group chat went quiet for a minute. Then someone said, “So basically we’re not delusional, the clock is.” That’s exactly it. You are not failing at time. You are living inside a season that is full and fragmented, and it will shift even if today felt like twelve Tuesdays stacked on top of each other.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

In the last few days I bounced between Greg Isenberg’s breakdown of where AI is taking us next and Joe Jonas being effortlessly hilarious on tour. Greg had me genuinely rethinking how different the internet will look in a year and Joe had me laughing every time he showed up on my feed. Together they felt like the perfect mix of curiosity and levity, which is all I’m really asking for from the internet right now. Here’s to more of that.

Enjoy the weekend! See you back on Monday with a scandalous essay from my past.

xo,
Kelsey

This week felt like the calm before the holiday storm! Danny was traveling for work again, Murray was finally back at daycare and my in-laws have basically become the glue holding my entire schedule together. I’m prepping to host both sides of the family next week which means the house is in a constant state of “clean-ish,” and I’m pretending that counts.

The weather turned colder, in that New England “it gets dark at 4 pm, so good luck” kind of way, but honestly I’ve leaned into it. Every night we’re under blankets watching Christmas movies. I watched the new Champagne Problems on Netflix while drinking champagne, which felt deeply correct. Two of my best friends had babies in the last two weeks, and I would like to publicly announce that I am ready to smother these boy moms with love. And, the secret I couldn’t mention in last week’s newsletter: we weren’t just in Newport for our anniversary. We were there to celebrate my best friend’s engagement!!! It was perfect. Tears, hugs, family, friends, drinks, all of it.

Somewhere in the middle of all this: I finished my gift guides (and keep adding more), Danny and I visited Rosecliff Mansion (our wedding venue) and my favorite diner (Atlantic Grille), my 15-month-old discovered the art of testing my boundaries, and I got curtain bangs. Oh, I also ordered my Thanksgiving outfit (this skirt, this sweater and these boots). Next week starts the parade of holiday visitors. Pray for us!

🎧 What I’m Listening To

This week I’ve been deep in conversations led by women who are telling the truth about ambition, boundaries, money, healing, and what it takes to grow a life that’s actually yours.

🎧 Dianna Cohen on the goop podcast with Gwyneth Paltrow (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Gwyneth sits down with Dianna Cohen, founder of Crown Affair, for a conversation about building a beauty brand rooted in ritual and intention. Plus, why she stepped away from the CEO role to reconnect with the work she does best. They get into identity, creative seasons, and how clean beauty can feel luxurious without compromising experience.

🎧 Navigating Grief and Healing: Finding Love Beyond Toxic Family Ties with Jeffrey Marsh on Tell Me Everything with Danielle Moss (Spotify, Apple) — Danielle and Jeffrey talk honestly about going no contact with toxic parents, the grief and guilt that follow, and how chosen family can become the foundation for healing. Jeffrey even flips the script and asks Danielle a few questions. It’s raw, grounding, and full of reassurance for anyone navigating complicated family dynamics.

🎧 Don’t Let Anyone Control You With Money with Reese Witherspoon on Aspire with Emma Grede (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Emma sits down with Reese to talk about ownership, reinvention, and the moment she stopped waiting for permission. Reese shares how she built a billion-dollar empire, the biggest money mistakes women make, how to know when it’s time for a pivot, and why independence, not wealth, is the real power. If you’re in a transition, this one lights a fire.

🎧 Ariana Grande on Good Hang with Amy Poehler (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Pure serotonin. Amy and Ariana talk game nights with her mom, her Eugene Levy impression, feeling grounded inside massive success, and why she gets her best work done in the bath. It’s fun, warm, and a nice break from the heaviness.

🎧 How to Build Your Million-Dollar Life with Rachel Rodgers on Ambition 2.0 with Amanda Goetz (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Rachel Rodgers breaks down why women are taught to budget instead of build wealth and how she rewired that belief to grow an eight-figure business. She and Amanda get into risk, failure, turning your natural talents into income, hiring help before you burn out, and the mindset shifts that make wealth creation feel possible instead of punishing.

🎧 Disagreeing with Isla Fisher on Dear Chelsea (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Isla and Chelsea talk about building a post-divorce support system, ignoring your kids from the bathtub (relatable), and the art of disagreeing with your friends. Then they dive into callers dealing with play-date politics, sibling chaos, and messy family boundaries, with Isla and Chelsea taking very different stances.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A few of my favorite beauty staples are on pre-Black Friday sale, like The Body Essentials Set from Nécessaire, the Wonder Blading Lip Peel, and the Saie concealer brush duo. I also bought this pink puffer (under $30!) with this matching beanie. You’ll also find my entire Thanksgiving outfit — reddish orange, cozy, and so flattering! Plus the track pants I am livvvving in, the towels I’m obsessed with, and the boots that are so comfortable I now own them in three colors. Shop it all here.

And remember that my gift guides are still growing. All seventeen of them get updated daily, along with my edits for holiday decor, holiday hosting, and holiday outfits for every event. If you need ideas, I’ve probably added more by the time you finish reading this.

👣 What I’m Doing

This week almost every client conversation circled the same thing: making space for all the feelings at once. Not in a crisis way. In a very human end-of-year way. People are trying to finish projects, show up at work, prep for holidays, manage family dynamics, attend events, keep routines intact, and still find a minute to breathe. And the emotional overlap is real.

So we talked about being intentional with it. Letting the excitement and the stress sit next to each other without deciding one cancels out the other. Feeling proud of how far you’ve come this year while also feeling completely over it. Wanting rest and wanting momentum. Loving the holiday season and also needing everyone to stop asking you to bring a dish. All of it gets to be true.

And because this season is supposed to be fun, I kept reminding them of the rule I’m using myself: you only have so many f*cks to give, so hand them out like a limited edition holiday collectible. Save them for the things that actually matter. Let the rest slide. Don’t spiral over every inconvenience. Don’t give away your joy because someone else is in a festive panic. The goal isn’t to be perfectly regulated. The goal is to not let the noise drown out the parts of the season that actually feel good.

📚 What I’m Reading

I didn’t read one big cohesive theme this week so much as a bunch of different truths about being a person with responsibilities, ambitions, emotions, and a brain that’s tired of the internet. These pieces live in different corners, but each one shook something loose.

✨ Melinda French Gates and Her Daughters Give Their First Ever Joint Interview (Vogue) — A rare three woman conversation about wealth, values, motherhood, reproductive rights, and what it actually looks like to raise grounded kids inside an absurd level of privilege. The parts about shielding the kids from Bill’s fame and then bringing them into advocacy work as adults are worth sitting with if you think about legacy or “using your voice” at all.

✨ “Microshifting” Is Changing the Workforce Forever — Here’s What That Means For You by Alyssa Towns (The Everygirl) — A breakdown of microshifting as a work model and why Gen Z, parents, and caregivers are pushing for non linear days. Helpful if you are trying to decide whether flexible blocks are freedom or just a sneakier version of the infinite workday.

✨ Everything Is Television by Derek Thompson (Substack) — A tight cultural theory on how every platform keeps evolving into the same thing: endless video, background noise and “flow.” It connects the attention crisis, loneliness, and politics in a way that will absolutely make you rethink how you consume content and why everything feels so loud and so shallow at the same time.

✨ In Defense of the Mama’s Boy by Daphne Delvaux (The Motherland, Substack) — A brutal and beautiful read on how we emotionally wean boys too early, shame their closeness with their mothers, and then act shocked when grown men cannot feel or communicate. If you are parenting boys, partnered to one, or untangling your own stuff with men, this one hits hard.

✨ Before You Lose the Urge by Carolyn Yoo (See You, Substack) — On what happens when you keep ignoring the nudge to make something. She ties procrastination to the Zeigarnik effect and this idea that every abandoned project quietly shrinks your sense of self over time. It is a very gentle slap in the face to stop “sitting on” your ideas and just make the thing.

✨ Building a Model of Work That Works for Women by Brea Starmer (Katie Couric Media) — A founder story that zooms out into a bigger argument for blended teams and flexible careers that do not punish women for having kids or needing seasons. It is very much in conversation with the “leave corporate or stay” narrative and shows what it looks like to rebuild work on more human terms.

✨ All the Cool Girls Get Fired: How to Let Go of Being Let Go and Come Back on Top by Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill (Amazon) — A practical, funny guide for anyone who has been laid off, fired, or quietly pushed out and is trying to figure out who they are now. It treats getting fired like a plot point, not a personality flaw, and focuses on both the emotional fallout and the very real strategy of turning that exit into a comeback.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Not Every Woman Wants to Burn Her Career Down

I came across a LinkedIn post from Jess Galica that pushed right up against the noise I keep seeing in media and in the posts I highlighted in my last newsletter. The internet is obsessed with the idea that women are sprinting out of corporate in record numbers and that leaving is the enlightened choice because the systems are broken. And to be clear: the systems are broken and change is necessary. But it’s still not the full story.

Jess makes the point that keeps getting drowned out. A lot of women are choosing to stay. Not because they are afraid. Not because they lack imagination. They stay because the work is meaningful, the challenge is real, the paycheck matters, the healthcare matters, the identity matters. Some women genuinely like building inside a large system. They like leading teams, shaping strategy, and modeling ambition for their kids. Those choices deserve the same respect as the choices of the women who walk away.

The part that keeps spiraling in my head is how fast these conversations turn into prescriptions. As if leaving is liberation and staying is settling. It’s the same pressure wrapped in new packaging. Women are tired of being told which version of ambition is the correct one. The truth is simple. Both paths are valid. Both require guts. Both require tradeoffs. The real win is having the clarity to choose your own direction without having to apologize for it.

👀 Who I’m Following

These are the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

The Thanksgiving vibe all our husbands channel.
Like this combo that needs to medically studied.
When Pinot starts to act up.
My girl @sophworkbaby on how to project authority and leadership.
This clip of my favorite author talking about my favorite book!
This holiday look! Navy is such a stunner.
These websites that everyone should know about.
The dynamic country duo we didn’t know we needed.
Saying goodbye to the @ bff pod.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Women Are Redefining the Girls Trip

One of my best friends got engaged last weekend, which obviously sent our group chat into immediate planning mode. Dresses, venues, parties, timelines. But the only thing that actually got all of us excited was the idea of a girls trip. And not the early-20s version. No Vegas. No Nashville. No bottle service that ruins your entire digestive system for 72 hours.

She said she wanted somewhere warm, quiet, and luxurious where we could drink wine, read by the beach or pool, and have a chef cook dinner for us. Within five seconds all of us were feral. Because at this stage of life most of us have kids, mortgages, and hangovers that feel like near-death experiences. We want the intimacy and hilarity of a girls trip without the chaos. We want silence. We want sunshine. We want to not make a single PB&J. We want to be taken care of for once.

So I dropped this Bloomberg piece into the chat like it was the Holy Grail: a women-focused Canyon Ranch wellness resort opening in Austin. Medical care, longevity support, hormone education, sleep, nutrition, beauty, recovery. All framed around women’s actual physical and emotional needs instead of weight loss culture, bootcamps, or collagen smoothies pretending to be empowerment. It made something click for me. We’re entering the era where women are no longer apologizing for wanting real rest, real support, and real luxury. We’re choosing experiences built around how we actually feel, not how we’re supposed to perform. If our husbands get to stay home wiping butts while we drink wine in 80-degree weather and pretend we’re rich? Even better.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

My personal joy this week came from two very specific places.

First: the Jackass trend on TikTok. I made two versions and honestly had way too much fun dragging my old corporate habits and my husband! It is rare for the internet to hand me a trend I actually enjoy, but this one? Elite.

Second: my lunch break ritual. Every day around noon, I sneak onto YouTube like it’s a guilty pleasure and watch either Molly Mae or a random podcast interview. But this week I’ve been fully obsessed with Meredith Hayden’s (Wishbone Kitchen) Friendsgiving video. She is so real, so unfiltered, so accidentally hilarious, and the menu was perfection. Homemade Parker House Rolls, roasted squash salad, festive roast chicken, sausage and sourdough stuffing, mashed potatoes, whole roasted brussels sprouts, pumpkin spiced maple pie. I mean… come on.

Her video made me excited for the holidays in a way I haven’t felt in years. It even inspired Danny and me to start building our own menu for next week, which is already getting out of hand in the best possible way. So, here’s to tiny rituals, good food, stupid internet joy, and letting yourself be entertained by things that have nothing to do with productivity. We need more of that.

xo,
Kelsey

This week, the internet really delivered. I couldn’t stop consuming things — saving posts, sharing screenshots, sending links, spiraling in group chats, all of it. It felt like the entire culture cycle woke up at the same time, and for once, it was fun instead of exhausting.

Meanwhile in real life: Murray’s daycare was closed (perfect timing, as always), but my in-laws were here and basically saved my entire workload. Because of them, I could actually focus on my coaching clients, my Substack, and everything I’m building right now.

And in the middle of all that, Danny and I celebrated our four-year wedding anniversary. He had to be in D.C. for work, so I went with him, and we turned it into a mini parents’ getaway! We had dinner at NOBU, an upgraded suite at the Marriott, perfect weather, and ghost-town airport lines (I genuinely don’t know what the news is talking about). He woke me up with my favorite breakfast sandwich and iced vanilla latte. I was deep in nostalgia this week, recapping our wedding on social and remembering how wild and beautiful that day was.

Now we’re packing up for Newport, Rhode Island, where I went to college, where we got married, and where one of my best friends still lives. We’re planning to bar-hop, eat our way through town, wander the shops, and let ourselves just… be. It’s my favorite little city by the sea, and it always feels like stepping back into a different version of my life.

🎧 What I’m Listening To

This week I kept gravitating toward conversations about identity, confidence, and what it looks like to grow into a version of yourself that actually feels aligned instead of impressive.

🎧 Penn Badgley: Gossip Girl, You and Being a Dad of 4 on Not Skinny But Not Fat Podcast with Amanda Hirsch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Penn talks about fatherhood, newborn twins, aging, being a child actor, and his real feelings about Gossip Girl and You. He is thoughtful without trying too hard and honest about the parts of his career he has outgrown.

🎧 Become the Main Character of Your Life with Mimi Bouchard on Taste of Taylor (Spotify, Apple, Instagram) — A deep dive into self image psychology and why some people seem to move through life with ease. Mimi breaks down how she rebuilt her identity after a dark season, how she created the Activations app, why avoiding Instagram first thing matters, and how to shift the way you see yourself so your external world can follow.

🎧 RHOLDN Returns! Juliet Angus on Her Friendship with Amanda Cronin on Wednesdays with Sophie Habboo and Melissa Tattam (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Pure comfort listening. The girls break down the Lily Allen and David Harbour drama, Sophie’s hospital bag chaos, and then Juliet Angus comes in with the best Real Housewives of London tea.

🎧 Perfecting the Performance Review with Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando on HR Brew’s People Person with Kate Noel (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — If you care about workplace structure, this is fascinating. Barbra explains why she built Pando, how to level set performance reviews, what managers get wrong about feedback, how alignment drives performance, and where AI fits into the whole system.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is cozy and cute. I love this heart beanie, pink puffer jacket, Boston tote and sweatshirt and birthstone ring, but let me be honest with you: most of my time and brain cells went into building this year’s gift guides. Two full days of curating, linking, organizing, and stress-snacking… and they are finally live! Seventeen guides, all tailored, thoughtful, and actually useful. This is the first round and I’ll be updating them weekly, but you can shop all of them right here:

for the homebody
for the wellness girly
for the traveler
for the corporate baddie
for the coastal grandma
for the guys
for the gals
for toddlers and babies
for stocking stuffers
for gifts under $50
for gifts under $25
for in-laws and grandparents
for dog parents
for couples and hosts
for coworkers and employees
for teachers
for your besties

👣 What I’m Doing

This week had me in back-to-back client calls, and something kept popping up that I can’t stop thinking about. So many of the smartest, most capable women I work with are quietly terrified of being visible online. Not because they don’t have anything to say. They have decades of experience, receipts, impact, but because they’re afraid of the backlash. The side-eye from colleagues. The judgment from friends. The “be smaller, stay quiet, don’t make waves” messaging we’ve all absorbed.

And I get it. That fear is real, and honestly, completely understandable. But part of my job — the part that genuinely lights me up — is helping them move through that fear without pretending it isn’t there. Helping them realize that visibility isn’t self-promotion for the sake of it; it’s leadership. It’s legacy. It’s saying out loud what other women are afraid to name. Every time one of them takes a step toward owning what they know, it reminds me how many of us are fighting the exact same internal battle. And every time one of them hits publish? It feels like a tiny rebellion I get to witness up close.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week everything circled the same question: what actually happens when women, Gen Z and anyone without power collide with a labor market that keeps moving the goalposts.

✨ No, Women Didn’t Ruin the Workplace. Weak Leadership Did. — I wrote about that reckless NYT headline and how quickly the conversation turned into a gender blame game instead of an honest look at leadership, incentives and systems. The point is simple, if uncomfortable, weak management created this mess, not the women trying to survive it (See here, here, here and here for more discourse).

✨ What Women Really Want: Work Boundaries by Corinne Low (New York Times) — This one puts data behind something every corporate woman already knows in her bones. Women are not begging for yoga ball flexibility, they are begging for predictable hours that end, so childcare, rest and real life can exist. The line that stuck with me, people would give up almost 40 percent of their pay to avoid a job where the employer controls their hours at will.

✨ “There’s Just No Reason to Deal With Young Employees” by James D. Walsh (New York Magazine) — A brutal look at how AI is gutting entry level work and making it harder for Gen Z to even get on the ladder. It covers consulting, coding, media, the rise of “vibe working” and the very real fear of training the exact systems that will replace you.

✨ The labor market is even more complicated than you thought (HR Brew) — SHRM breaks down “occupational mismatch” and why we can have unemployed people and unfillable jobs at the same time. One in three openings cannot be filled by someone with matching experience, one in four job seekers cannot find a role in their field, and HR is stuck trying to duct tape skills gaps on both sides.

✨ Another “she-cession” is rearing its head (CNN) — Prime age women are leaving the labor force at some of the highest levels on record, especially highly educated mothers with young kids and Black women. Childcare costs, RTO mandates, cuts to public sector work and policy choices are all part of the story, and the long term scarring is going to show up in women’s earnings and in their kids’ outcomes (see Instagram for more).

✨ White House actions seem unlikely to move the needle on workplace fertility benefits (HR Brew) — On paper, employers can offer IVF as a standalone benefit, in practice it does not magically make fertility care accessible or affordable. It is framed as a big move, but the experts basically say this tweaks the packaging more than it changes the reality for most employees.

✨ Freeing the Wild by Paisley Hope (Amazon) — After all of that, my brain needed a cowboy romance. Country star meets grumpy ranch guy, rescue horses, small town tension, past hookup history, the classic will she stay or will she go.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: 2012 Was Our Last Carefree Year

I read a piece this week (I told you the internet delivered) declaring that 2012 was the last carefree millennial year (by ) and it hit in the most oddly comforting way. Because honestly… I was so in the zeitgeist back then. I had my Blogspot lifestyle blog, my peplum tops, my sock bun, my Valencia filters, and absolutely zero awareness that the internet would one day become a full-time performance review. My twenties were confusing and chaotic, but looking back they were also unintentionally iconic.

We were out every weekend, documenting nonsense, matching outfits with our friends, posting random thoughts to Facebook, and living life with a kind of feral confidence that only comes from not knowing any better. We weren’t curating; we were vibing. We were basically golden retrievers with student loans and a mild obsession with Pinterest. And no, I don’t want to rewrite any of it or relive it. But the nostalgia is a reminder of something simple: it felt good to be loose. Unpolished. Unstrategic. Maybe the real assignment now is to bring a little of that energy back. More real life, less algorithm brain.

👀 Who I’m Following

Instead of sharing creators this week, I’m sharing the posts that actually stopped me mid-scroll.

📰 A new-to-me account @wallstreetmemoir curates the most deliciously chic photos from the business, finance, and Wall Street worlds of the 80s and 90s. Power suits, old money energy, real leather briefcases, over-the-top fashion. It’s giving time capsule meets corporate greed.

💍 Jourdan Sloane and Wells Childress’ San Diego mountaintop wedding appeared in Vogue and the influencers who attended unleashed their behind the scenes photos (re: Emma, Shea and Danielle) like they had been waiting in the shadows for permission. It was the Super Bowl for people who care about aesthetic event planning.

🎶 Kelsea Ballerini released a new EP that millennial women are already claiming as a personality trait. Heartache, clarity, growth, lyrics that sound like they were pulled from group chat voice notes.

📺 The Mormon Housewives press tour for the release of Season 3 has begun and the interviews were unhinged in the most reliable way. Outfits, indirect jabs, chaos you can set your clock to. A gift.

👠 We finally got a first look of The Devil Wears Prada 2 and it did not disappoint. The nostalgia. The fashion. The promise of Meryl Streep stomping through a scene with purpose. We needed this.

🛒 Meadow Lane finally opened. The TikTok updates, the slow build, the test batches, the decor choices. Watching it come to life felt like a tiny internet victory. Go Sammy!

💬 The Group Chat Says: This Conversation Is Everywhere Right Now

Every major outlet I read this week was talking about the same thing: women are leaving the workforce in huge numbers. Not drifting. Not losing ambition. Leaving. And Melinda French Gates launching a sixty million dollar challenge to fix it tells you everything about the scale of the problem (via Fortune, girlboss and the Skimm).

Here’s the truth no headline wants to say out loud. Women aren’t exiting because they can’t hack it. They’re exiting because the math no longer works. The cost of childcare, the pressure to do everything, the bias, the slow path to leadership, the burnout. At some point you stop calling it a personal problem and start calling it what it is: a system that was never built for you in the first place.

And maybe that’s why this story hits so hard for me. I tapped out too. Not because I didn’t love my career, but because the lifestyle I wanted didn’t fit inside the structure I was told to tolerate. Seeing this everywhere this week felt less like news and more like confirmation of something women have been whispering for years: we didn’t fail the system. The system failed us.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

And finally, have any of you seen the video of someone reading a random man’s résumé at a Jonas Brothers concert? Well the internet did what the internet does, the Jonas Brothers commented on it, and next thing you know Scott Kelly himself was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon talking about his résumé going viral. Absolute chaos. Absolute kismet.

The best part is that Scott was at home in Syracuse taking an online class when a friend texted him that he had somehow become America’s most eligible hire. And the brands jumped in like it was the Super Bowl. Clorox called him the cleanest person they’ve ever met. Laneige said his skincare routine alone deserved the job. Old Navy said he dresses professionally. I mean… what a week to be named Scott Kelly.

If nothing else, it was a reminder that you can be quietly living your life, minding your business, updating your résumé like a normal adult, and the universe might still tap you on the shoulder and drop you into the most absurd plotline imaginable. Honestly, I love that for him. We need more harmless internet joy.

Here’s to surprise wins, weird plot twists, and letting yourself enjoy the ridiculous stuff. Life is heavy enough. Let Scott Kelly’s accidental fame be the sign you needed to take things a little less seriously.

xo,
Kelsey

This week was chaos with a side of glimmers. Danny left for a week-long sales training in San Francisco, which meant I was solo parenting for five days straight while juggling work, daycare, and daylight savings fallout. Between the time difference and his marathon schedule, our conversations were basically limited to “love you” and “good luck surviving.” The good news: he crushed it and got to see his parents. The bad news: Murray caught a cold, turned it into an infection, and decided sleep was optional.

There were a lot of long nights, tiny tears, and toddler negotiations. But there were also the bright spots that make the exhaustion feel worth it. I made banana bread with chocolate chips! And we put up the Christmas tree (no ornaments yet — we’re testing boundaries), and when I first turned on the lights, Murray just stood there in awe whispering, “woooow.” It was pure magic.

This weekend, I’m planning to do as little as possible. We’ll hang around the house, reset, and prep for what’s next — a wave of visitors, early Thanksgiving chaos, a quick D.C. getaway, and our four-year wedding anniversary in Newport. November feels like it’s already sprinting, but at least there’s something good waiting at the finish line.

🎧 What I’m Listening To (and Watching)

This week I kept gravitating toward conversations about identity shifts — the end of certain career chapters, the exhaustion of always pushing, and the courage to build a life that feels good instead of just looking impressive.

🎧 What Happens When Your Business Dream Dies on Work with Erika Ayers Badan (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Christina Fagan Pardy, founder of Sh*t That I Knit, talks honestly about building a brand you love and then realizing it’s time to step away. No hero spin, no martyr energy — just real talk about grief, ego, identity, and choosing a new chapter before the old one swallows you.

🎧 The Relaxed Woman Revolution: Redefining Success Without the Stress on The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Psychologist Nicola Jane Hobbs breaks down why ambitious women feel allergic to rest and how to unlearn hustle as a personality trait. Grounded, honest, and refreshingly tactical if your brain equates “slowing down” with “falling behind.”

🎧 Elyse Myers: Writer, Comedian, and Creator on Second Life with Hillary Kerr (Spotify, Apple) — Elyse shares her pivot from running a design business to becoming one of the internet’s most beloved storytellers. She talks neurodivergence, anxiety, and building a public career without losing yourself in the algorithm. Thoughtful, funny, and very real.

🎧 All Things Love and Confidence with MAFs Star Jamie Marinos on Tell Me More with Olivia Molly Rogers (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — I listened because I followed Jamie’s MAFS season on TikTok like it was my job. She talks confidence, public scrutiny, and rebuilding your identity after reality TV. Lighthearted and honest, it’s a good one if you like a little nostalgia with your self-awareness.

🎧 How Maren Taylor Went from Intern to Styling Paige DeSorbo, Olivia Culpo, and More on Let’s Get Dressed with Liv Perez (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Stylist Maren Taylor shares how she built her career working with some of the most visible women in fashion. Real insight here: cold-emailing, assisting, tailoring, and why “effortless” style is actually incredibly intentional. Less aesthetic inspiration, more actual playbook.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is wildly sophisticated and unapologetically seasonal. We’ve got outfits for every holiday event — high tea with the girly pops, dinner with the in-laws, your festive book swap, Friendsgiving, and Thanksgiving itself. Plus, I found the softest pajamas (top + bottom), a few beauty products that feel like instant luxury, and some seriously bad-ass jackets (like this and this). Shop the full thing here.

I updated the Holiday Outfit List with new showstoppers — a bubblegum pink dress, a fuchsia number to die for, and one that’s Elsa-coded (in the best way). Each look has matching shoes, bags, and jewelry because we’re doing complete main-character energy this season.

And for my budget girlies, I dropped a full Gap Factory and Old Navy haul — unboxed live with my TikTok audience — now up on ShopMy.

Next week, the real fun begins: all my holiday gift guides go live in the Holiday Shop on ShopMy. Consider this your warm-up round.

👣 What I’m Doing

Can I just tell you — I love being a career coach. Helping women in the grey areas of corporate America is so deeply fulfilling for me. Every single time I get off a client call, I have the biggest smile on my face. Lately I’ve gotten the kindest messages from people who follow my story or love what I’m building, and it means more than I can explain.

This isn’t a humble brag. It’s a declaration. Because even though this has been one of the hardest chapters of my life, it’s also been the most aligned. The one that finally makes sense to my core. It also reminds me just how many women are silenced, burned out, or unsupported by systems that were never built for us. And if I can be even a tiny bit helpful to the women navigating that… I feel like I’m doing the work I was meant to do.

So I’m sharing this for two reasons.
1️⃣ If you’re sitting on a business idea, a big move, or a life change — stop waiting. Happiness is on the other side of action.
2️⃣ If you love someone’s work online — tell them. Those little messages of encouragement are pure rocket fuel, and they often land on the exact day someone needs them.

Also, my clients? They blow me away. Some of the most brilliant women in media, marketing, and tech and every time I hang up, I’m convinced we could take over the world together.

If you are looking for a coach or know someone who is, you can find updated posts about me, what you can hire me for and my why on Instagram!

📚 What I’m Reading

This week, the through-line was control. Who has it, who thinks they do, and what it actually looks like to reclaim it without burning your life down in the process.

✨ Only 45% of Workers Feel In Control of Their Career (LinkedIn News) — LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey found that less than half of Americans feel they are steering their career right now. The lowest control scores came from marketing, media, and customer support. Translation: the people expected to create magic out of chaos are also the ones feeling most powerless as the ground keeps shifting. Feeling stuck does not mean you are failing. It means the system is wobbling under its own weight.

✨ The Hidden Costs of “Like It or Leave” Culture (Indeed) — Companies are cracking down, cutting flexibility, and calling it culture. Meanwhile, only one in four employees is thriving at work. The data is not subtle. Happy employees outperform the market. Rigid leadership does not build innovation; it builds exits. This one felt like a quiet middle finger to performative “back to the grind” energy.

✨ My Manager’s Kids Hardly Knew Them (First Things First Substack by Colin Rocker) — A partner’s child stared at him through a Zoom window because they barely recognized him. That moment shifted Colin’s entire career. He did not rage quit. He just paid attention. Eventually, he chose a wall worth climbing. If you need a gut check on ambition, identity, and presence in your real life, read this. It is tender and sharp in the same breath.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Daylight Savings Is a Scam

Every year I tell myself I’m going to handle the time change like a mature adult, and every year I turn into a Victorian child who needs broth and a fainting couch at 4:37 PM. The sun taps out early, my brain thinks the world is closing for business, and suddenly I’m questioning my purpose, my productivity, and whether humans were actually meant to live north of Virginia (drama, drama, drama). Yes, I know “it’s temporary” and I’ll adjust. I will. But right now it feels like seasonal whiplash and everyone’s pretending they aren’t walking around in a mild state of existential shock.

I found a Substack this week called Hot Tip by . She has a refreshing take on this season: don’t fight the darkness, buffer it. More lamps, warm drinks, comforting routines, actual hobbies instead of doom-scrolling, and a reminder that it’s okay to build life around coziness, not constant go-mode. It’s not about pretending you love pitch-black afternoons; it’s about refusing to let this weird, depressing time warp turn you into a shell of yourself.

👀 Who I’m Following

This week is all about people who don’t contort themselves to fit the internet. They’re living their lives, not performing them. Warm. Rooted. A little chaotic. Deeply human.

🧺 Remi Ishizuka (@rrayyme) — Remi is living the life half the internet claims they want, but actually doing it instead of aesthetic-posting it. Farm mornings, bowls of food that look like love, a baby on her hip, animals everywhere, and absolutely zero “I need to be perfect for the camera” energy. She and her husband (yes, the one with a 27-pack) are building something slow, intentional, and deeply rooted in culture and family. No filters. No performance. Just real life, real food, and a pace that makes you want to cancel every meeting and move somewhere with soil.

🎢 Rini Frey (@ownitbabe) — Motherhood in all directions: joyful, tender, maddening, hilarious, bone-deep tiring, and somehow still the most meaningful thing you’ll ever do. Rini doesn’t pretend it’s polished. She doesn’t hide the cracks. She articulates the emotional whiplash better than most therapists. One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re nodding like “yeah, I cried in the pantry this week too.” Vulnerable and lighthearted at the same time. No performance motherhood, no martyr motherhood either. Just… truth.

☁️ Victoria Morse (@victoriamorse) — Victoria left her 9-to-5 to build a cozy life in Denver, and somehow the coziness comes through the screen. Think kids outside in the sunshine, slow mornings, outfits that feel lived-in not forced, crafts, travel, everyday rituals. She shares her world without trying to sell you anything, which honestly feels like a hug in today’s algorithm circus. It’s comforting, not consuming. She makes you want to soften your shoulders, grab tea, and remember why you care about building a life that actually feels good.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Sometimes Showing Up Is the Work

I read a piece about social anxiety in everyday life, and the specifics didn’t matter (school concert, networking event, office off-site, neighborhood cookout) because the feeling is the same no matter what.

You can be warm and high-functioning and still feel your brain running surveillance in the background: “how do I stand? was that joke weird? do I look like I’m trying too hard?”

The old move is to mask it and pretend you’re fine. Instead of pretending it’s not there, acknowledge it, steady yourself, and stay in the moment. You don’t have to spill your whole emotional diary! Just be real.

Here’s the takeaway for all of us, parents or not: being human isn’t deleting anxiety, it’s showing up anyway without performing perfection. “I’m here, I care, my nervous system is noisy, and I’m still participating” is a legitimate way to live. If you’ve ever smiled through a moment while your insides felt like static, you’re not failing — you’re paying attention.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I am so freaking happy it’s holiday season. I’m one of those people. I know. Don’t judge. I put the tree up, lit my evergreen candles, turned on the electric fireplace, and blasted Mariah Carey’s Christmas playlist like it was a religious experience. And honestly? It made me supremely happy. It reminded me that these are the moments that make life worth livingggg. Give me this beautiful, sparkly, over-the-top season. I’m all in.

Another thing that sparked joy this week: Hilary Duff on the Therapuss podcast with Jake Shane. For all my fellow ’90s nostalgics, you’re going to want to watch it here. Trust me.

Here’s to small joys, early lights, and letting yourself love what and who you love — loudly.

xo,
Kelsey

Happy Halloween!

Halloween feels like the perfect mood for a Friday newsletter. A holiday on a Friday is elite energy. Costumes, candy, trick-or-treating, and then no alarm tomorrow morning. Murray is beyond ready. I am mentally preparing to negotiate candy limits with a toddler who believes Reese’s are a constitutional right.

Our neighborhood is fully committed this year. One family in Needham literally made the news for changing their Halloween display every single day. That kind of dedication deserves a trophy and a municipal budget. It has been the highlight of our daily walks and honestly, it’s the type of wholesome suburban drama I can get behind.

This week was a mix of softness and real life. I finished Breathe With Me and I am still recovering. I picked up a hockey romance and ended up in a full emotional excavation. Infertility, love, partnership, the parts of motherhood we do not post about. It was honest and sharp in a way that sat with me. So instead of powering through a to-do list like a machine, I moved slower and let myself feel all of it. Sometimes being human is the work.

And in between the introspection, we lived. We took family Christmas photos in Seaport. Murray got his first haircut and acted like a professional adult while the kid next to him auditioned for a horror film. We went to a friends house for a Sunday Funday, where there was smoked meat, a bounce house, and a lot of parents pretending they were relaxed. We tried our local library and it instantly became a cold activity staple. We did the town spooky walk and Murray discovered Reese’s like it was a spiritual awakening. We even squeezed in one last outdoor meal before Boston decided to skip fall and head straight into January. It was not a week of crushing deadlines. It was a week of being present. I will take it.

🎧 What I’m Listening To (and Watching)

This week I fell down a rabbit hole of ambition, reinvention, and the women who refuse to be defined by the rooms they once fought to enter.

🎧 The Leighton Meester Episode on The World’s First Podcast With Erin & Sara Foster (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Leighton has that calm celebrity energy: grounded, self-aware, quietly iconic. She talks Gossip Girl, marriage to Adam Brody (aka the internet’s hot rabbi), motherhood, fan culture, and the weirdness of revisiting your past self on screen. It’s nostalgia meets emotional intelligence, and she somehow balances humor with real honesty about identity and boundaries in Hollywood.

🎧 From Dorm Rooms to $8 Million in Funding on Ambition 2.0 With Amanda Goetz (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Phoebe Gates & Sophia Kianni built Phia from a Stanford dorm into an AI startup backed by Hailey Bieber and Sheryl Sandberg. They speak candidly about fundraising, friendship rules as co-founders, and why personal brand now rivals capital as currency. A smart listen if you’re building anything — a business, a reputation, a life that works for you instead of impresses others.

🎧 Andy Cohen: The King of Bravo on Call Her Daddy (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Alex heads to NYC and sits down with the mayor of Bravo-land. Andy’s stories about Housewives reunions, confidence, friendship, and rebuilding a dating life in the public eye are peak entertainment, but the takeaway is bigger: you can go from assistant to empire-builder if you stay curious and decisive. It’s messy, honest, and just fun.

🎧 Why I Quit the Perfect Wall Street Job for Reality TV on Hot Smart Rich With Maggie Sellers Reum (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Mary Holland Nader gets brutally honest about leaving Deutsche Bank for reality TV, pretty privilege, corporate politics, and why fame now sits next to finance as leverage for women in business. She breaks down brand deals, burnout, and betting on herself even when the math didn’t look safe on paper. Refreshingly transparent and a must-listen if you’re wrestling with identity vs. expectation.

🎧 Brittany Snow on Turning 40, Mental Health, and Reinventing Herself on Not Skinny But Not Fat with Amanda Hirsch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Brittany Snow defined an era (Pitch Perfect, John Tucker Must Die, Hairspray), but this conversation is all about what comes after the spotlight. She talks The Hunting Wives, aging in Hollywood, friendship resets, and starting over without apology. A reminder that “cool girl energy” ages best when it turns into self-acceptance.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is another beautiful grab bag — part holiday prep, part seasonal coping mechanism. I’ve been deep in “making the house smell like a Christmas movie” mode, burning this fireplace candle on repeat and drinking coffee out of the prettiest holiday mug I’ve ever owned. It’s festive, but quietly expensive.

I also pulled together a holiday dress edit that’s honestly dangerous. Think satin, sequins, and a few pieces that could absolutely double for New Year’s Eve.

And because I’m in full fall shopping mode, I rounded up the 15 things I loved in October — including a toddler winter coat, that random Amazon sweater I can’t stop wearing, and the best coffee pod flavor I’ve ever had. I also made my monthly Amazon edit of everything I bought (or seriously considered), which… let’s just say, it’s extensive.

Basically, it’s peak “add to cart for emotional support” season. Shop the full edit here! ✨

👣 What I’m Doing

I have been pushing my coaching clients to stop waiting to feel confident before they show up online and start building their personal brands now. Confidence comes from action, not sitting on drafts. And they are doing it. I am seeing real outreach, posts getting written, opportunities being created instead of hoped for. That is the kind of progress that compounds.

I also received feedback that made me pause in the best way. A client told me our sessions feel like a weight off their shoulders, like a place to finally exhale. Someone else called it a “therapy-adjacent clarity session.” I never want to replace therapy, but I do take pride in helping high achievers think clearly, feel supported, and remember they are allowed to take up space. It reminded me why this work matters.

The rest has been preparation. Resetting systems, mapping out November, tightening the screws before things speed up. Productive, but not frantic. Just intentional.

Tonight, we will bundle up, go trick-or-treating, and soak in the magic of a kid’s first real Halloween. It feels like the right way to end the month.

And on Sunday, Danny heads to San Francisco for work until next Friday, so send me patience, snacks, and the strength of every mother who has ever tried to do bedtime solo with a toddler hopped up on chocolate.

📚 What I’m Reading

PSA worth sharing: removepaywall.com is my new favorite internet hack. It pulls articles from public archives, letting you actually read them instead of hitting yet another “subscribe to continue” screen. I’m all for supporting good journalism, but some of these work trend pieces should be free for anyone trying to keep up.

This week, every piece touched on time: who controls it, who wastes it, and how to stop confusing urgency with importance.

✨ Women’s Pay Is Falling Behind. Is the Return to the Office to Blame? (The Wall Street Journal) — The pay gap is widening again, and it’s not because women got lazier. It’s because flexibility is still treated like a favor. Women are being pushed back into commutes and daycares that barely exist, or taking pay cuts just to keep their sanity. It’s a reminder that equity doesn’t mean opportunity if it still costs women their peace.

✨ We Found Companies With 4-Day Workweeks—And Yes, They’re Hiring (The Everygirl) — This one gave me hope. Turns out 90% of companies who’ve tested a four-day week are keeping it. Basecamp, Buffer, Kickstarter! Actual names, not fantasy startups. The best part: it’s not about laziness; it’s about designing work around energy, not hours.

✨ As In-Office Attendance Reaches a Post-Pandemic High, HR Should Reconsider What Employees Want From Their Work Life (HR Brew) — Attendance is up, morale is not. The piece nails it: people don’t mind being in the office. They mind being in without a point. If companies want culture back, they’ll have to make it feel worth the commute again. (Free cold brew isn’t culture.)

✨ Most Employees Aren’t Productive the Whole Workday. HR Can Help Them Get the Most Out of It. (HR Brew) — Only 18% of people are productive for a full eight hours. Everyone else is pretending. We’ve built an entire system around performative busyness and then wonder why burnout feels inevitable. This article reframed it perfectly: maybe the goal isn’t to optimize every hour. It’s to finally admit which ones actually matter.

✨ Nearly a Quarter of American Workers Didn’t Take Any of Their Vacation Days This Year (CNBC) — Twenty-three percent of employees didn’t take a single vacation day in 2025. I felt this one in my bones. Guilt, coverage gaps, culture cues—it all adds up to people too scared to rest. The quote that stuck with me: “PTO is part of your compensation, not a favor.” Are you listening? Take yours!

✨ “It’s PR, Not the ER”: Gen Z Is Resisting the Workplace Emergency (The Washington Post) — “We’re saving PDFs, not lives.” The best line I’ve read all week. Gen Z isn’t lazy; they just refuse to panic over fake fires. I love that. Calm is the new flex. Urgency culture is starting to look desperate, and this generation knows it.

✨ How I Finally Stopped Measuring Myself Against Everyone Else (Camille Styles) — The antidote to comparison that actually works. She doesn’t tell you to delete Instagram or move to a cabin. She just reminds you that success feels better when it’s yours. The part that hit me: “Real-life love, laughter, and community will always outweigh digital validation.” Screenshot-worthy, tbh.

✨ Breathe With Me (Becka Mack) — I don’t usually cry over hockey romances, but this one completely wrecked me. Cara and Emmett are the couple everyone thinks has it all, until they face infertility and have to learn what “team” really means when the scoreboard stops mattering. It’s tender, devastating, and honestly one of the most grounded portrayals of love I’ve read in a long time.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Other People’s Versions of You

This week’s spiral was brought to you by the phrase: “The version of you someone created in their mind is not your responsibility to maintain.”

Intellectually, I know this. Emotionally, I still catch myself trying to control other people’s perception like I’m auditioning for Employee of the Year in a company I no longer work for.

It’s wild how fast my brain goes from confident adult to “wait, do they still think I’m who I was five years ago?” Or worse, “do they think I’m someone I never was in the first place?” That tight little panic that says: be smaller, be agreeable, don’t disrupt the mental file they placed you in.

But here’s the truth my therapist is having me sit with: People will always build versions of you based on their comfort, their biases, their timeline. That isn’t yours to fix. And shrinking yourself to match an outdated storyline doesn’t make you safe, it just makes you resentful.

So this week’s spiral wasn’t about changing my reputation. It was about releasing the imaginary job of managing it. I don’t owe anyone continuity with a past version of me. And neither do you. Let people update their mental software or fall behind. That’s their work, not ours.

👀 Who I’m Following

🐂 Kait Davis (@kait.davis) — If you love a cowboy romance, Kait feels like the real-life version of a Paisley Hope, Lyla Sage, Elsie Silver heroine. She’s honest about her fitness journey, grounded in her identity outside her husband’s PBR career, and impossible not to root for. What I love most: she doesn’t flinch when people underestimate her. She built her own brand, her own voice, and turned a “buckle bunny” insult into a badge of humor and confidence. Western chic, but make it independent woman energy.

🏡 Alexander Widener (@alexander_widener) — Alexander just hit 100K on TikTok after leaving NYC corporate life to open the most charming interiors shop and guest cottage in coastal Maine called the Widener Company. Think Nancy Meyers meets New England antiques and fresh paint in a sun-lit kitchen. He and his husband moved to Wiscasset, ME to build a slower, more intentional life, and the shop feels like a love letter to beauty, objects with history, and starting over on your own terms. If you romanticize fresh starts and well-made things, follow him immediately.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Stop Saving Your Life for “Later”

I dropped a post in the chat this week about using the good mug and burning the nice candle instead of saving everything for a “holiday party” or a “better moment.” Half the replies were “lol I needed this” which is basically adult code for “I am drowning in tasks but I still want pleasure and I refuse to apologize for it.”

We are all spinning plates. Careers, events, goals, groceries, bills, ambitions. There will never be a day where everything is done and the universe gives you permission to enjoy yourself. So take it anyway. Drink from the good mug. Wear the sweater. Have the chocolate at 2 pm. This is your life, not a dress rehearsal for the day you finally feel caught up.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

I know it is still technically spooky season, but tomorrow is November 1 and I am mentally plugging in the Christmas lights. If you see twinkle lights, tree inspo, or gift guides from me next week, just pretend to be surprised. I am who I am and I refuse to apologize for early holiday joy.

Before we sprint into Mariah Carey season, one important note. As Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends, I saw two women I follow share recent scares and diagnoses. If you are 40 or over, please schedule your mammogram. Do not wait. We make time for everything and everyone else. Make time for your health (and follow @jaclynrjohnson and @drbeachgem10 to support them).

Have the best Halloween weekend, eat the candy, and enjoy the energy of a Friday-night Halloween. See you next week.

xo,
Kelsey

The spooky dinner party was a hit — as seen on TikTok — and somehow my black Amazon napkins arrived twenty minutes before guests did, completing the vision just in time. The table was moody, the martinis were strong, and the fireball was overflowing in the group shotski.

We’ve been outside as much as possible lately. Something about crisp air fixes everything — especially a cranky toddler. Murray officially took his first steps this week (!!!), and while he’s still figuring out shoes — as in, taking them off every five minutes — the sight of him wobbling around in tiny white Nike Air Forces might actually break me.

I’ve been leaning into cozy rituals: my Santal candle burning, iced coffee in hand, that “Jazz for Autumn” playlist on repeat. When I do get a quiet moment, I’ve been binging Molly-Mae’s latest Amazon Prime series — her aesthetic, work ethic, and fall obsession are kind of intoxicating for her young age of 26.

Tomorrow we’re doing family photos in Seaport, Murray will be sporting blue corduroy and his fresh kicks, before a jam-packed weekend of a town spooky walk (he’ll be a “moo cow”), a Halloween party at the golf club, his first haircut, and a Sunday night cookout with friends. The house smells like fall, the calendar’s full, and somehow it all feels exactly right.

🎧 What I’m Listening To (and Watching)

This week’s theme? Fulfillment, fame, and what happens after you’ve built the life or career everyone else wanted — but you’re still trying to feel like yourself inside it.

🎧 Maya Rudolph Talks Loot, Casting The Fonz, and Working on SNL on Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Maya Rudolph is exactly as funny, grounded, and chaotic as you hope she’d be. Over chicken schnitzel, she talks about stealing her character’s wardrobe from Loot, being part of the Wendy’s dynasty, and learning what “balance” looks like when you’ve lived multiple creative lives. It’s pure serotonin with a side of honesty — proof that even icons crave normalcy.

🎧 How Christina Tosi Built Milk Bar and Stayed in Love with Her Work on Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Christina Tosi built a dessert empire on joy and chaos, and somehow still loves baking after all these years. She talks about what it’s like to be copied without credit, how to stay creative when success stops being shiny, and why chasing fun might actually be a survival skill. It’s equal parts sugar rush and reality check.

🎧 You Achieve Your #LifeGoals … Then What? on Becoming You with Suzy Welch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — What happens when you’ve “made it” and still feel restless? Suzy Welch sits down with creator-turned-MBA student Kate Bartlett to unpack what comes after ambition. It’s a smart, self-aware conversation about purpose, alignment, and that uncomfortable question we all hit eventually: is this actually the life I wanted, or just the one I built well?

📺 Molly-Mae: Behind It All (Amazon Prime, Season 2) — I binged this in one sitting. Molly-Mae Hague’s return to the spotlight is raw, surprisingly relatable, and full of those quiet, human moments that never make the grid. You see her juggle the empire, motherhood, and the pressure of millions of opinions — all while trying to stay soft in an industry that rewards armor. It’s influencer culture meets real life, and it’s impossible to look away.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is a total hodgepodge of things I’ve loved, saved, shared, and maybe… almost bought. It’s part wish list, part coping mechanism — because sometimes adding to cart is self-care, even if I never check out.

Case in point: we’re heading to Naples for Christmas, and it’ll likely be in the 70s and 80s. Tell me this isn’t a vibe — a navy satin mini paired with my Jennifer Behr earrings (the same ones I wore for our wedding), these Staud Wally boots, and this random-but-stunning silk chain scarf. It’s luxe, it’s sassy, it’s unreasonably good — and yes, Danny, if you’re reading this, please don’t tally the total.

I also fell hard for a brown hat that instantly reminded me of my grandmother. And this cowhide belt? Danielle Bernstein-coded without the designer markup.

The rest of the edit is full of cozy-meets-fun finds: bold earrings, kids’ holiday jammies, a flattering swimsuit, a bow-themed mug, a grey cashmere set (top, bottom), a fur coat, and a kissable-lips Saie bundle. Basically, gifts for everyone — or just me, depending on how the week goes. Shop the full edit here! ✨

👣 What I’m Doing

I’ve felt scattered this week, not burnt out, just foggy. Which is weird, because everything’s been moving in the right direction. My clients are thriving, momentum is real, and yet my focus keeps floating off mid-sentence.

In almost every session lately, the same patterns keep showing up: bosses walking back what they said, no budget for learning, leaders who call themselves “transparent” right before they stop being honest. It’s the same corporate déjà vu I used to live through — just from the other side of the table now.

When I start to feel stuck at my laptop, I’ve been forcing myself to move — this week that looked like a full closet overhaul. I filled four bags for donation and finally made space for what’s next (and, let’s be honest, for the holiday sales I’ve been eyeing). Sometimes “getting it together” starts with hangers, not headspace.

📚 What I’m Reading

Before we dive in — a PSA worth sharing: removepaywall.com is my new favorite internet hack. It pulls articles from public archives, letting you actually read them instead of hitting yet another “subscribe to continue” screen. I’m all for supporting good journalism, but some of these work trend pieces should be free for anyone trying to keep up.

✨ Bank Boss Says the Gen Z Job Crisis Is Real (by Jessica Coacci for FORTUNE) — Finally, someone in power admits what everyone under 30 has been screaming for years: the system’s rigged. Quentin Nason, a former Deutsche Bank exec, calls the post-grad job market a “meat grinder.” Degrees, debt, and still no jobs. AI’s now making it worse—bots scanning résumés on one side, ChatGPT-written cover letters on the other. The result? Thousands of people competing for five openings and a generation losing faith that “doing everything right” ever mattered.

✨ Why the Job Search Has Become a Humiliation Ritual: “It Feels Like I’m Just Trying to Make My Robots Talk to Their Robots” (by Sarah Thankam Mathews for The Cut) — The most accurate depiction of modern job-hunting I’ve read in years. Mathews calls it a “humiliation ritual,” which feels generous. Automated rejections, five-round interviews, endless “skills tests,” and no actual humans in sight. It’s not just about unemployment—it’s about the slow death of dignity at work. The more AI takes over, the less anyone feels seen.

✨ When You’re the Executive Everyone Relies On and You’re Burning Out (by Shanna Hocking for Harvard Business Review) — If you’ve ever been punished for being good at your job, read this. Hocking nails the “assignment magnet effect”—the curse of competence. The better you are, the more they pile on, until reliability becomes a liability. Her advice is solid: draw boundaries, clarify priorities, and stop confusing being indispensable with being impactful. Because martyrdom is not a management strategy.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Positive Spiraling

I read a piece this week about “positive spiraling” — basically the idea that if one small thing can ruin your mood, one small thing can fix it, too. Psychologist Barbara Frederickson calls it the “upward spiral effect,” where paying attention to what’s good actually rewires your brain to expect safety instead of stress.

I get it. It’s science. But it also feels a little cute, doesn’t it? Like sure, I’ll just rewire my nervous system by noticing how nice the light looks on my desk while I’m twelve tabs deep in work chaos.

Still, there’s something to it. This week, I caught myself mid-spiral more than once — over a delayed email reply, a weird comment in a meeting, the usual brain noise — and thought, okay, maybe let’s not build a personality around this. I didn’t “spiral up,” exactly, but I did pause long enough to stop digging down. Maybe that’s what positive spiraling really is: not forcing gratitude, just refusing to make things worse.

👀 Who I’m Following

🏡 Amy Havins (@amyhavins) — I’ve followed Amy since 2012, back when we both lived in the land of fashion blogs and rewardStyle widgets. She started as a Dallas wardrobe consultant and built a life that feels timeless; think Ralph Lauren meets effortless Southern belle. Her style hasn’t drifted with trends; it’s just evolved with her — through motherhood, interiors, and a little quiet luxury done right. Her Homeworthy house tour is saved on my “someday renovations” list, and her feed is still a masterclass in staying consistent while everyone else chases algorithms.

👶 Sofia Richie Grainge (@sofiagrainge) — You’d have to be living under a rock not to know Sofia. She’s pregnant with baby #2, just launched her signature SRG line with Revolve, and somehow turned her second Amazon Essentials collab — for babies, toddlers, and moms — into a masterclass in understated luxury. I already ordered the navy down coat for Murray. What I love most, though, is how she’s using her platform with intention. At twenty-something, she’s rewriting what modern confidence looks like (no performative hustle, just quiet control). Even her pregnancy announcement felt refreshingly real: she couldn’t go to her own launch party without admitting she couldn’t fit into anything. Effortless. Iconic.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Everyone Looks Confident Until You Know Them

I have my own versions of social anxiety (even if you’d never know it). Before events, even ones full of friends, I turn into my kindergarten self: convinced no one will want to talk to me, that I’ll say the wrong thing, offend someone, or somehow lose the community I’ve built. It’s irrational and exhausting, and I’m working on it in therapy. But when I read Molly Wadzeck’s piece, “Social Anxiety Is Exhausting, Especially as a Mom,” it made me feel a little less alone and even more aware of what I don’t want to pass on to my son.

She writes about the invisible work of showing up. How we perform calm while our nervous systems are on fire, how our kids feel the tension we think we’re hiding. That line gutted me. Because it’s true: pretending to be fine teaches nothing but pretending.

So this week’s reminder isn’t about confidence; it’s about honesty. The people who look the most put-together are often just managing their own mental gymnastics behind the scenes. And sometimes the bravest thing we can do is stop performing composure and start practicing presence.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

You guys… I’ve been laughing my ass off at the Louvre content on TikTok! People pretending to be the robbers doing unboxings and hauls (this one is a favorite). The internet is truly at its best when it’s unhinged and collaborative.

Outside of my nightly scrolling, I’ve started planning for the holiday season — getting gifts in order, organizing hosting presents for all the events we’ll be bouncing between. I preordered a stack of these flannel wine bags to have ready as grab-and-go hostess gifts, because nothing ruins festive spirit faster than showing up empty-handed.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll start to see more holiday inspiration, gift guides, and little seasonal moments sprinkled in here. It’s my favorite time of year, cozy chaos, full calendars, and all, and I feel really lucky to get to share it with all of you.

xo,
Kelsey

Holy crap — this is Volume 20 of From My Notes App! Twenty weeks. Five months. Somehow it’s flown by and, at the same time, feels like the most grounding ritual I’ve built this year. Whether you’ve been here since the first one or just stumbled into my corner of the internet — thank you. Truly. Writing this every week has become my favorite way to pause, process, and remember what the hell happened between Monday and Friday.

This week? Pure chaos in a cozy disguise. It’s getting darker earlier, Murray’s been up coughing through the nights, Danny had a colonoscopy (marriage: the unfiltered version), and we’re hosting ten people for dinner tonight. I’m determined to make it aesthetic, though — not my usual girly pumpkins or bow accents on the table situation. Think: glittering tablecloths, moody browns, dark purples, a little skull drama. For apps, I’m covering the kitchen island in craft paper and labeling every cheese and jam like a deranged sommelier. Danny’s on steak, twice baked potato and garlic bread duty (his masterpiece). There will be wine. There will be espresso martinis. There will not be bedtime cooperation from Murray, but a girl can dream.

My parents headed back to Florida on Monday, and the house feels quieter without their constant cheerleading — but they’ll be back soon for the holidays. The weather’s looking up this weekend, and if we can survive the dinner party cleanup, I’m manifesting pumpkin beers outside, long walks, football on in the background, and maybe — maybe — Murray’s first haircut (Danny says the top hasn’t “filled in” yet, but the kid’s got flow by the ears that would make a 90s boy band jealous).

🎧 What I’m Listening To (and Watching)

This week’s theme? Resilience, reinvention, and what it actually takes to start over — again and again. These episodes are for anyone rebuilding something, a business, a routine, or just their sense of self, and trying to do it with more grace and less grind.

🎧 The Rise, Fall and Reinvention of a $100M Brand Owner on The Burnouts with Phoebe & Sophia (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Sophia Amoruso built a $350M fashion empire from her bedroom—and lost it all before rebuilding her life from the ground up. In this episode, the original “Girlboss” opens up about walking away from Nasty Gal, navigating bankruptcy, and learning to lead with empathy instead of ego. She shares the untold lessons behind Girlboss, why failure became her greatest teacher, and how she’s redefining success through her new venture fund, Trust Fund. It’s a raw, honest masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and freedom.

🎧 Gambling on Yourself and Oversharing Online with Cameron Rogers on A Lot of You Have Been Asking with Hayden Cohen (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Creator and podcaster Cameron Rogers joins Hayden for an open, no-filter conversation about building a personal brand in real time. From starting as a food blogger to sharing the highs and lows of motherhood and mental health online, Cam dives into what it means to live transparently on the internet. They discuss oversharing, boundaries, the choice not to drink, and the power (and pressure) of building a community that expects your honesty.

🎧 Kris F*cking Jenner on Not Skinny but Not Fat with Amanda Hirsch (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — The one and only Kris Jenner. The momager. The mogul. The icon. At 70, she’s as sharp and self-aware as ever, and this episode is pure entertainment. From aging and facelifts to family dynamics, fame, and the chaos of running a billion-dollar empire—Kris talks candidly about transparency, motherhood, and what keeps her grounded through the madness. Plus: her martini recipe, favorite daughter (for now), and who she calls in a crisis.

🎧 How to Sleep Through the Night: The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia on Lipstick on the Rim with Molly Sims (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Why can’t women sleep? Molly and Emese sit down with leading sleep expert Dr. Shelby Harris to unpack the science behind insomnia—and the fixes that actually work. From hormones and parenting fatigue to CBT-I therapy, supplement myths, and “before midnight” sleep theories, this episode cuts through the noise. Practical, research-backed, and surprisingly validating—it’s a must-listen for anyone craving better rest and steadier mornings.

🎧 Brené Brown on Courageous Leadership on ReThinking with Adam Grant (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — Two of the sharpest minds in leadership unpack what bravery actually looks like at work. Brené dives into her new book Strong Ground, explores the problem with “executive presence,” and offers a reminder that vulnerability isn’t weakness — it’s how real leaders earn trust. If you’ve been second-guessing your voice in the room, this one’s your recalibration.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This week’s edit is all about intentional curation. The goal: fewer frantic “nothing to wear” moments and more pieces that make you feel pulled together before you even zip them up. Think the perfect holiday dinner outfit, that one dress you’ll rewear for years, and a heel that doesn’t make you want to amputate your feet by dessert. Shop the full edit here! ✨

– Pair this blue patterned Hill House dress with velvet suede pumps and a structured shoulder bag — or go for the burgundy evening midi from SEA New York with Tory Burch pumps and a peacock satin clutch.
– Now that it’s getting chilly, this matching chocolate brown loungewear set from Abercrombie (pants + shirt) is perfect for a cozy night in.
– I’m obsessed with this denim set I saw Bethenny Frankel wear — the matching jean jacket and jeans combo is perfection (plus clogs).
– For an easy weekend fit, grab these joggers, a classic tee, and a cap. It’s put-together but still super comfortable.
– Something about this plaid mini skirt, black turtleneck, and plaid jacket combo gives major Rachel from Friends vibes.
– The same print shows up in this mini dress — just add a satin black headband and suede pumps to finish the look.
– And finally, I love how distinguished and timeless this buttoned-up navy dress feels. I’d pair it with tan pumps and a statement bow to make it my own.

Intentional, elevated, and ready for every RSVP that’s about to hit your inbox.

👣 What I’m Doing

Now that I’m working with a full roster of coaching clients, I’m starting to notice patterns I couldn’t see before. So many women are sitting in that in-between space, trying to grow without burning out, trying to be ambitious without disappearing into the noise. It’s been both fascinating and familiar because I’ve been there too.

At the same time, I’ve finally started posting regularly on TikTok. It used to completely intimidate me. I’d overthink every caption, every clip, every word. But now I’m actually enjoying it. It feels creative again, like I’m building something from curiosity instead of fear. This month, I’m just experimenting to see what feels natural and what actually connects.

Work feels steady, which is new for me. I’m not chasing every idea or forcing direction. I’m just paying attention, following what feels right, and trusting that clarity always shows up after consistency.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week’s theme? Time — how we spend it, waste it, and try to control it. Two pieces caught my attention for very different reasons: one zooms out on the future of work, the other zooms in on the limits of our own attention.

✨ The Future of Work Isn’t Remote or Hybrid — It’s “Microshifting” (Forbes, by Caroline Castrillon) — The 9-to-5 is officially gasping for air. Castrillon breaks down how employees are re-engineering their schedules around their lives instead of the other way around. “Microshifting” means working in shorter, flexible bursts — answering emails at 7 a.m., running errands mid-day, then picking things up after dinner. It’s less about where we work and more about when we work best. The real takeaway: the companies that value trust over time-tracking will win. The ones that don’t will lose their best people to burnout and quiet exits.

✨ On Distraction (OK, But How Substack by Bronwen Tate) — A beautiful, honest reflection on why it’s so hard to focus — and why maybe that’s okay. Tate revisits Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman and his idea that distraction isn’t failure; it’s avoidance of our own limits. The line that stayed with me: “Distractions are places we go to seek relief from the discomfort of confronting limitation.” It reframes focus not as discipline, but as acceptance — that our time will never fully “fit,” and maybe that’s the point.

✨ Take This Heart (Windy Harbor Series Book 1 by Willow Aster) — Because every week needs a little spice with its self-awareness. The first book in the Windy Harbor series, Take This Heart follows an enemies-to-lovers story set in a small Minnesota town — complete with family drama, forced proximity, and one sinfully gorgeous man who can’t seem to stay away. It’s steamy, emotional, and exactly the kind of escapism that pairs well with a glass of red and zero guilt.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: The Overreaction Epidemic

Marc Brackett, who runs the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, wrote in TIME that we’re living through an overreaction epidemic. Read it for yourself here.

We don’t regulate, we react. We don’t pause, we pounce. And half the time, it’s over things that were never ours to control in the first place.

I keep thinking about that. How fast I go from fine to full analysis. How quick I am to fill silence with panic, or assume that calm equals complacent. He says the difference between people who spiral and people who don’t isn’t that their lives are easier—it’s that they’ve learned to pause. Just for a second.

👀 Who I’m Following

🌿 Natalie Benson (@notnataliejbenson) — Natalie just had her baby a few days ago (she just posted her birth story!) and somehow still finds time to make motherhood funny instead of filtered. She’s known online as garden mother and she’s building her own edible company from the ground up. Her posts are unhinged in the best way: candid, hysterical, and way too real.

🎬 Emily Sarre (@sarreexcuse) — Emily is fast, funny, and sharper than most people on the internet. She’s got that rare mix of sarcasm and sincerity that makes every video land. A Jersey Shore native now based in New York, she’s worked in communications and media but somehow makes the corporate-to-creative pivot look effortless. Every clip feels like a masterclass in timing, wit, and not apologizing for having a fucking hilarious personality.

💬 The Group Chat Says: Capability ≠ Capacity

So my therapist said something this week that kind of stopped me mid-sentence: Just because you’re capable doesn’t mean you have the capacity.

And it hit. Because we all know that feeling — when you technically can take on more, help again, say yes one more time… but every cell in your body is screaming, please don’t.

You’re not lazy. You’re not dropping the ball. You’re just human, and humans have limits. So as you plan your week, give yourself a compassionate pace. Rest before you need it. Say no before you burn out. Without your health, what do you really have? If this one hits, share it with someone who needs the reminder. We’ve all been marinating in selflessness since birth — it’s time we unlearned it.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

If there’s one thing this week reminded me, it’s that progress rarely feels glamorous in real time. It’s messy kitchens, unfinished ideas, and showing up even when no one’s clapping yet. But those unsexy moments are usually the ones that move things forward.

Lately that looks like lighting a candle before I open my laptop, choosing to post the thing instead of perfecting it, and taking the win when Murray sleeps through the night. Small rituals that make the week feel less like survival and more like a rhythm.

Here’s to trusting the work, enjoying the in-between, and not mistaking quiet progress for standing still.

xo,
Kelsey

Danny’s been traveling again (week three, if you’re keeping score), and the house has that particular kind of quiet that only shows up when someone’s missing. Luckily, my parents are still here—refilling coffee, catching Murray mid-tumble, and making everything feel a little lighter.

Last weekend was pure indulgence—Capital Grille, brunch with my girlfriends, a massage and many “I deserved this” moments. This weekend, I’m craving candles lit, wine poured, the kind of cozy that makes ordinary life feel cinematic.

The neighborhood’s gone full Halloween—giant skeletons, cobwebs, the works—and I’m matching that energy! I’m planning a moody dinner party for next Friday: dark candles, skulls, a little witchy drama. Hosting is my love language, and honestly, I’ll take any excuse to make things beautiful just because.

🎧 What I’m Listening To (and Watching)

This week’s theme? Reinvention in real time — the courage to rebuild, redefine, and keep showing up when the glossy version of success falls apart. These conversations remind us that ambition doesn’t always look like acceleration — sometimes it’s a slow, intentional rewrite.

🎧 Toxic Grit: Building Sustainable Ambition That Honors Every Season on The Entreprenista Podcast (Apple, Spotify) — Amanda Goetz, serial entrepreneur and upcoming author of Toxic Grit, gets honest about the myth of “having it all.” She unpacks her framework, Character Theory, a way to embrace every role, CEO, mom, partner, friend, without collapsing under the guilt of imbalance. It’s a grounded, compassionate look at how to chase big goals while still liking your life.

🎧 Jonathan Van Ness EXCLUSIVE: He Reveals What Happened With JVN Hair on Hot Smart Rich Podcast with Maggie Sellers (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — After a viral video questioned if JVN Hair was the biggest celebrity brand flop ever, Jonathan sets the record straight. He opens up about bankruptcy, burnout, and rebuilding — and it’s raw, riveting, and refreshingly self-aware. This isn’t just gossip; it’s a masterclass in resilience and reclaiming your narrative when the internet writes a different one.

🎧 Kaitlan Collins: Inside the Fast-Paced World of Political Reporting on Trading Secrets with Jason Tartick (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) — CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins takes us inside the chaos of political journalism—from covering both Trump and Biden to pressing world leaders in real time. She opens up about how she broke into politics, the differences between administrations, and what it means to have a direct line to the president. Kaitlan also shares how she learned to negotiate, the average length of a correspondent contract, and what her biggest “Grammy moment” on air has been. It’s a sharp, behind-the-scenes look at composure, credibility, and the cost of staying objective when the world’s watching.

📺 What I’m Watching — Dancing with the Stars has been surprisingly joyful chaos; The Girlfriend is my latest obsession; Black Rabbit is dark and addictive; House of Guinness is pure aesthetic indulgence; The Savant keeps me up way too late; and On Brand with Jimmy Fallon is the kind of easy-watch I’ll defend forever.

🛒 What I’m Buying

This might be my most favorite weekly edit I’ve ever done — it’s the ultimate mix of cozy and elevated: cashmere cardigans, party dresses, and a red sweater matching set (top + bottoms) plan to live in until April.

✨ My Fall Target Haul — The girls who get it, get it: tapered candlesticks, seasonal wine glasses, a navy suede trench, skulls, pumpkins and more.
✨ My Amazon Prime List — This is my curated list for what was Prime Day: everything from cold-weather basics to home staples.
✨ Updated TikTok + IG Section on ShopMy — I’ve been posting my real-time finds all week (and from previous months).
✨ This Week’s Edit — it’s giving main character with impeccable taste and a full calendar.

– This whole outfit is a flex: the dark brown Madewell pant with the ruffle pintuck blouse, the Gap vegan suede navy bag, and Marc Fisher chocolate booties.
– Eyes on this gold-and-black number for a holiday party — the bows? I die.
– The oversized Frankie Shop blazer is one of those pieces that makes everything look intentional. Jeans and a tee? Chic. Slip dress? Elevated.
– These navy blue suede heels are on major sale and are giving Blair Waldorf returns to Yale.
– Considering the Dairy Boy PJ set (blue and white stripes) for my sister’s Christmas gift — classic, crisp perfection.
– Lately, I’ve been crushing on bright orange and creamy brown. Picture this: cashmere sweater with a brown suede mini, both from Banana Republic. Gilmore Girls, but make it rich.
– Bridal or baby showers coming up? The Doen Rhodia dress and these sunnies with ankle booties is the “I didn’t try, but I obviously did” outfit.
– Inspired by Cameron Rodgers, I grabbed the jean mini dress from Madewell and am pairing it with mahogany STAUD boots. I can already feel the confidence boost.
– Couldn’t resist these two Mango earring sets — one purple, one orange — both cheap, cheerful, and exactly I needed.
– And if you’re hunting for a fall dress that screams “I am the moment” — I’ve got you, girl. It’s bold, timeless, and guaranteed to earn at least three compliments before noon. Add to cart!

👣 What I’m Doing

I’m fully obsessed with this age—13 months is magic. Murray waves at every glowing pumpkin and inflatable skeleton in the neighborhood like they’re old friends, and honestly, same. Daisy got a fresh grooming this week and immediately ruined it by going on a muddy hike with her bestie, Anthony. Classic golden behavior.

Work-wise, I felt real momentum—lots of incredible women reaching out about career coaching, which makes me so damn excited for what’s next. I’ve also started bookmarking products for the November gift guides (brace yourself; they’re going to be good).

It’s my parents’ last weekend here before they migrate south for winter, so we’re soaking it in. The weather went from 85 to “do I turn on the heat?” overnight, but I’m not complaining. Fall’s here—and I am fucking thriving.

📚 What I’m Reading

This week’s theme? Permission and protection — from crashing out emotionally to cushioning your career and redefining what it means to lead with complexity. Each piece explores how we can soften without slipping, prepare without panicking, and expand beyond the narrow boxes we’ve been taught to stay in.

✨ The Hot Girls Guide To Crashing Out (Older, Wiser, Hotter by Kristen Garaffo, Substack) — Gorgeous gorgeous girls lose their shit sometimes. Kristen’s hilarious, self-aware essay reframes “crashing out” — the mental and emotional unraveling that comes with burnout — as both inevitable and strangely restorative. She walks through her own almost-breakdown with humor and tenderness, turning it into a manual for meltdown prevention: cry, nap, eat something, and stop trying to be agreeable all the time. It’s chaotic, cozy, and exactly the kind of permission slip you didn’t know you needed.

✨ Employees Are “Career Cushioning” Right Now — Here’s Why You Should Too (The Everygirl) — Alyssa Towns breaks down the latest workforce buzzword: “career cushioning,” or quietly building a professional safety net before you actually need one. It’s less about paranoia and more about agency — updating your résumé, nurturing your network, and pursuing low-stakes projects that keep you sharp. The takeaway: stability isn’t guaranteed, but self-trust can be.

✨ Over Half of Gen Z Wants To Quit Their Job (Newsweek) — A striking look at the tension between burnout and stagnation. Gen Z workers want purpose and flexibility, but they’re staying put out of fear — “reluctant stayers” trapped between ambition and economic reality. Experts note the same truth I see in coaching: loyalty’s a two-way street, and younger workers aren’t buying into outdated contracts that don’t offer growth, equity, or meaning.

✨ Why the Future of Leadership Is Multifaceted (Fast Company) — Tony Martignetti and Jessica Wan make the case for ditching linear career paths in favor of integration. The best leaders now are hybrids — strategist and storyteller, analyst and artist. Their point lands hard: AI may automate expertise, but it can’t replicate humanity. The leaders who thrive will be the ones who connect dots across disciplines and bring their full selves into the room.

🌀 Spiral of the Week: Close Your Loops

Scott Clary wrote something on Threads this week that stopped me mid-scroll:

“The real reason you’re tired all the time: It’s not your workload. It’s your open loops. The text you haven’t answered. The apology you owe. The decision you’re avoiding. The conversation you keep postponing. These run in the background of your mind all day, draining your battery.”

He’s right. It’s not always the meetings or the deadlines—it’s the unfinished thoughts taking up mental RAM. Every “I’ll deal with that later” is like leaving another browser tab open in your brain. So this week’s challenge is simple: close one loop. Send the text. Make the call. Delete the thing that’s been taunting you from your desktop. You don’t need a full-blown life audit—just one small act of closure to prove you can. Energy comes back when your mind stops juggling ghosts.

👀 Who I’m Following

💅 Eli Rallo (@elirallo) — Writer, performer, and professional oversharer, Eli built her following by mixing theatre-kid energy with deeply human reflections on ambition, friendship, and figuring your shit out in public. She’s the author of I Didn’t Know I Needed This and the upcoming Does Anyone Else Feel This Way?, plus the creator of Prose Hoes—a book-club-meets-literary-salon complete with playlists, wine pairings, and existential group chats. Start with her recent appearance on Conversations with Cam, where she talks about imposter syndrome, rejection, and how to be both online and authentic (yes, they discuss Taylor Swift). Following Eli feels like getting front-row seats to a one-woman coming-of-age story—chaotic, charming, and smart as hell.

🏡 Alexa Anglin (@alexa.anglin) — Nashville-based mom of three with the most effortlessly chic home and closet on the internet. Alexa traded her stethoscope for style content after years as a pediatric nurse practitioner, and she brings that same warmth and grounded energy to everything she shares. Think neutral tones, everyday luxury, and a life that feels cozy and attainable. Her feed is a mix of affordable fashion finds, baby must-haves, and dreamy home-build updates—like a best-friend group chat that somehow always leads to you buying new throw pillows.

👋🏻 Kelsey Donlon (@itskelseydonlon) — Shameless plug, but I finally had my first semi-viral TikTok (about pay transparency, obviously). If you like corporate chaos, Diet Coke breaks, and a toddler who insists on “cheersing” with his parents every night, you’ll fit right in. Halloween has officially descended on our neighborhood, Murray’s toes melted my heart, and yes—I successfully pantsed my husband on camera. Consider this your formal invitation to the circus.

💬 The Group Chat Says: How to Boost Your Mood in 15 Minutes

Sometimes you wake up and everything feels a little… meh. The weather’s grey, your to-do list is glaring at you, and your brain’s running on dial-up. Enter Life Kit from NPR’s Science Desk: a research-backed guide to feeling better, fast. The hosts break down simple, science-supported ways to turn your mood around in under 15 minutes—from taking a brisk walk to changing your lighting to calling the friend who actually makes you laugh (not the one who trauma-dumps).

In the group chat this week, we agreed: you don’t always need a full “self-care day” to reset (although they are f*cking amazing). Sometimes the fix is micro—one small, deliberate act that reminds your nervous system you’re safe and your life isn’t as heavy as it feels. Consider this your permission slip to stop spiraling and do something tiny but kind for yourself. Mood: improved.

Or - you could just go grab your favorite (pumpkin spice) donut (see photo above) like I did after a toddler meltdown.

✌️ That’s A Wrap

If last weekend was about indulgence, this one’s about intention. Slower mornings. candles before 6 p.m. It’s basically dark by then anyways, ugh. This season, I’m trying to move through life like I decorate: with warmth, layers, and just enough drama to keep it interesting. Whether you’re hosting, resting, or simply getting through the week, remember — not everything needs to be optimized. Some things are meant to be enjoyed.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a dinner party to overthink and some overpriced candles to buy.

xo,
Kelsey