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As you probably read in the newsletter alert email,
I co-hosted the most fun birthday party.
A group of 5 girlfriends gather rather frequently to celebrate our friendship.
Last Thursday was Lynne’s birthday, so of course this was the perfect excuse for another party.
After our first flower activity, we paused for a classic girl’s lunch and laughter.
Followed by another flower activity that was a surprise to them all.
And it actually turned out much better than I dared hope.
Wednesday night I made a lemon cake with strawberry filling with smooth coating of my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting — a perfect canvas.
Then another batch of frosting I tinted with two shades of green and a pink and peach.
I stealthily set the stage, Melanie’s kitchen island, with 5 pieces of parchment paper, a plastic palette from Hobby Lobby loaded with the colors of frosting, and a plastic palette knife from Dollar Tree.
I had watched a couple of YouTube videos and led this grand experiment.
It was so much fun and turned out great — thank goodness I stressed we were going for an impressionistic look. But we were all quite amazed at how well we did
(considering only two of us are really crafters).
If you plan a party like this, these flowers take way less frosting than piped flowers,
we could of gotten by very easily with one dollop of each of the four colors.
I was behind this car at a stoplight and laughed out loud when I saw their decal.
So I snapped a quick picture with you in mind, hoping to make you smile.
But of course, I couldn’t leave it to just that.
A quick trip to my favorite platform of small shop owners and I found multiple sources, like this one, and this dachshund and this one available in many sizes..
This led me to put together a collection of
Road Trippin” Essentials and Wanna-Have’s.
Mother’s Day is this weekend, and for many of us, that means a family gathering. And as much as we love them… you know. 😄
This year especially, getting through the day feeling more connected to your people — not less — takes a little intention. So I spent some time at Builders Movement, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging divides, and pulled together a few things that I think can actually help.
Start with the right mindset. Before you even walk in the door, decide that your goal is connection, not winning. Get curious about the people around that table — ask what shaped their views rather than jumping to counter them. And remind yourself: these are your people, even when they drive you a little crazy.
Come prepared. Have a few conversation bridges ready to go — favorite family memories, questions about someone’s life, a funny story. And if you know certain relatives have a gift for steering things sideways, have a gentle redirect ready. “Speaking of that — how’s your garden this year?” goes a long way.
If things get tense, try the 3 Cs: Curiosity (“What brought you to that view?”), Compassion (remembering they’ve got a whole life of experiences behind that opinion), and Courage — the kind it takes to simply refuse to engage when a conversation turns toxic.
Some conversation starters I love for Mother’s Day specifically:
- “What’s your favorite memory of our family growing up?”
- “How has mothering changed across the generations in our family?”
- “What’s the best piece of advice a mother figure gave you?”
And if it still goes sideways? Validate and pivot: “I can tell you feel strongly about that — hey, speaking of passion, I have to tell you what happened last week…” Share something from your own “side” that you’ve found unreasonable — it lowers defenses faster than almost anything. And don’t underestimate a well-timed funny story. Laughter is a reset button.
You’ve got this. Go enjoy your people.
My Road Trip Favorites
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Enjoy your Mother’s Day weekend — hope the gatherings are warm and the conversations fun & easy.
Go celebrate the women who have mentored, nurtured and loved you!
