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Where Do You Spend Most of Your Time? If you're like me, it's the workplace. And I’ve been incredibly fortunate to find what I lovingly call my mothership. For the past 20 years, I’ve worked in the same place, surrounded by a group of women who started as coworkers and evolved into chosen sisters. I’ve always been nerdy, goofy, and loud—and this place embraced all of it. The women I work with are some of the most intelligent, confident, and hilarious people I’ve ever known. They’re supportive in ways that go far beyond the office walls. We celebrate each other’s highs, lift each other through the lows, and laugh—oh, how we laugh. I hope this kind of environment isn’t rare, because it makes work not just bearable, but joyful. Still, I know that for many, transitioning from “work friends” to “real-life friends” can be tricky. Life is busy—family, responsibilities, church, travel. But here’s how we make it happen: we plan. We live by our calendars. We have a cleverly named group text that’s funny only to us. We schedule events that always start with food and build from there. One night it was dinner, drinks, and arts and crafts. Another time, breakfast followed by a spa day—each of us booked our own treatments, and between sessions, we lounged by the pool. We’ve thrown baby showers, engagement parties, and spontaneous lunches. We've even taken pickle ball classes together. We've celebrated, commiserated, and mourned together. And when we can’t meet in person, we flood the group chat with memes, TikToks, inside jokes, weekend photos, and all the tea. Busy women have busy schedules. But when you’ve got a crew like this—women who are not only colleagues but confidantes—you grab that calendar and make it happen. Because life is better with your girls than without them. So how do you and your girlfriends stay in touch and what is your favorite thing to do together?

"My Head Spa" in Austin .....a must visit

I’ve always thought of myself as silly and fun. But if I’m honest, I can look back and see all the moments I passed up—things I should’ve tried but didn’t. Maybe it was fear. Maybe I was too tired. Maybe I was just embarrassed. Whatever the reason, I’ve decided that this stage of my life is going to be different. This is the season of *yes*. Recently, that mindset led to a wild little adventure. My coworker Lindsay (at instagram briefandbooked) and I were flying out of our small-town Tennessee airport, headed to Austin, Texas for a weeklong conference. When we arrived, the airline offered us $1,000 each to drive an hour down the road and fly out of a different airport. We negotiated (because why not?) and got them up to $1,500 a person. We said yes. We drove over the mountain, caught our flight, and landed in Austin with what we considered “free money” to play with. Now, I’m typically a creature of habit. But on this trip, Lindsay and I made a pact: we’d say yes to everything (well, almost everything) in between our conference sessions. The first “yes” was ditching our usual bedtime and heading to a late-night comedy club. I laughed until I cried. And if you’ve ever laughed like that—really, truly belly-laughed—you know how healing it is. It’s like your soul gets a deep tissue massage. Next up: scooters. Our town doesn’t have those rentable mobile scooters, but Austin does. So we said yes. And let me tell you, zipping around the city on those scooters was pure joy. I felt like a kid again. My only advice? Zig and zag with caution. Then came the mechanical bull. I’ve seen them before and always thought, “That looks fun,” but I never had the nerve. In Austin, I said yes to the bull. It took what felt like a forklift to get me on it, and I lasted maybe a blink of an eye. I landed on the inflatable mat laughing so hard I actually peed a little. I said yes to the bull—and I have zero regrets. We said yes to Voodoo Doughnuts. We said yes to calories be damned. We said yes to late nights, new experiences, and laughter that echoed down Sixth Street. And then—we said yes to bats. Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world, with up to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats roosting under the Congress Avenue Bridge. We joined a crowd of tourists from all over the globe to watch them take flight at dusk. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie—thrilling, surreal, and slightly chaotic. We may or may not have felt bat guano sprinkling into our hair, but we didn’t care. It was magical. And finally, we said yes to indulgence. We booked our first-ever scalp massage—85 minutes long at "My Head Spa" in Austin, Texas. I remember thinking, *How great could this be? And how on earth can it take that long?* But let me tell you: I would do it again a thousand times over. It was soothing, grounding, and unexpectedly emotional. A full-body exhale. A thousand times yes to the scalp massage. This trip wasn’t just about fun. It was about reclaiming something. About choosing joy, spontaneity, and the kind of memories that make you feel alive. So here’s to saying yes—to scooters, to bulls, to bats, to donuts, and to every moment that reminds you how good it feels to live wide open. What have you said yes to this year that you normally wouldn't have or what is something new that you would like to say yes to?

Austrian Doughnuts

Had to try it at least once.

It’s that time of year again—when fall festivals roll into town and Christmas markets begin to sparkle across the globe. Festivals are everywhere, from your own backyard to the far corners of the world, each offering a unique blend of culture, community, and culinary delight. Two years ago, my daughter and I fulfilled a long-held dream: we journeyed to the Christmas markets of Germany and Austria. *Wunderbar!* To call it magical feels like an understatement. The sights, the smells, the people, the traditions—we soaked it all in. Every treat was a work of art, every recipe steeped in history. It was a full-on sensory celebration. But you don’t have to cross the pond to experience the magic. This year alone, I’ve explored: - 🎨 **Heritage Festival** in Rogersville, Tennessee - 🏰 **Ohio Renaissance Festival** in Waynesville, Ohio - 🍺 **Oktoberfest** in Asheville, North Carolina - 🐛 **Wooly Worm Festival** in Banner Elk, North Carolina Each one offered its own theme, flavor, and regional charm. Whether it’s kettle corn, funnel cakes, apple dumplings, chicken on a stick, mead, or a local brew—you’re bound to find something sweet or savory to tickle your taste buds. So get out there. Explore what your corner of the world has to offer—or venture a little further down the road. Enjoy a beautiful day filled with art, crafts, laughter, and mouthwatering treats. And I’d love to hear from you: **What’s your favorite festival? Where is it—and what’s your go-to festival treat?** Keep kicking the chaos, **Kaylin**