The April 2025 Edit

sober curiosity, journal prompts, new skincare, and the Rick & Chelsea of it all

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." - William Shakespeare

The month of April is a giant metaphor for my life right now. In my garden (and life), I have amended soil, fertilized, planted seeds, watered daily, and seen the small sprouts of my efforts.

I'm working my way out of the rut I’ve been in, and this past week has honestly been one of the best I’ve had in years. I’ve been unpacking some old, limiting beliefs, soaking up inspiration from others, and taking action that actually feels aligned. And you know what? It works. The other day, I was venting to a mentor about feeling stuck, and they asked me—very simply—why I wasn’t coaching myself. After a long, dramatic, martyred pause, it hit me: I do have the skills to coach myself. I just hadn’t had the motivation to use them.

Before we get into my edit this month, I wanted to remind you about a completely complimentary cooking class I am hosting in my kitchen on May 7th from 5-6:30pm PST. Last month’s class was such a blast, and we learned, laughed, and prepared a meal together. This month I am teaching herby chicken meatballs with a pistachio arugula pesto risotto and a simple butter lettuce salad with a shallot dijon vinaigrette. Its fancy enough for a dinner party, but simple enough to make on a weeknight.

Will you join me? I am capping this class at 20, and there are a few more spaces left so that each of you have enough time to ask questions and get personal feedback. I am hoping to do classes like this once a month or so, and I plan to keep them complimentary as I build this brand and community.

Here are some of my favorite discoveries and moments from April, using the six pillars of The Recipe for Being Well as my guide.

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The Emotional:

When I first became a mother, I was struck by the overwhelming thought that every person I now saw was once a tiny baby, just like the one I was holding. In that moment, I felt a new sense of tenderness toward humanity.

I listened to a Ted Talk on describing obscure emotions and it was delightful. John Koenig coined the word sonder, which he defines as the profound realization that each human we interact with is living a life as vivid, complex, and unique as your own. It's the awareness that every person you encounter—stranger or not—carries their own dreams, routines, fears, and memories, even if you'll never glimpse them.

It's a powerful reminder of our shared human experience. We're all searching for meaning, and sometimes a single word can open the door to understanding the vast landscape of emotion we each carry.

The Physical:

I have been silent about my skincare as of late, as I have been experimenting with a lot of new products — most of them disappointing. I do have two new products to report that have been added/swapped in my routine. My plan is to do a full roundup of my morning and evening routine in the next few weeks, as this is a question I get often on Instagram.

Mandelic Acid has been currently swapped for Acid Potion to the first step in my routine in the evening. It is gentle enough to use daily, unlike my previous product, and I have seen a difference in my skin texture.

I am loving my Dieux Instant Angel moisturizer. Unlike my holy grail, this moisturizer is a bit more slippery and shiny and aides in my goal of glass skin. Bonus points for coming in a sustainable metal tube with a key to cleanly push the product down.

As I promised myself, I will be buying a new hat each spring season so that I can slowly start a hat collection for when I am retired and living in my garden. This year I bought the Cove hat from Lack of Color. I can barely see anyone to my right or left, but my face is completely covered from the sun which is the whole point.

The Spiritual:

Prayer is how you talk to the Universe and meditation is how the Universe talks to you.

I was complaining to my dear friend Josh the other day and in his perfectly southern accent, he said, “Well, have you been meditating?”. Sheepishly, I answered no— I had slipped away from my hypnosis and meditation practice. He took my phone, and downloaded an app where I could access his collection of Deepak Chopra’s 21 day meditation challenges. I am working through this one, and as always with meditation and so many other actions that are amazing for our souls, I forget why I ever stopped.

The Vocational:

I recently listened to a podcast that shared three daily journaling questions. I’ve adapted them slightly to focus on work—because I coach some of you reading this, and I know things are challenging out there right now for all sorts of reasons. What surprised me most when I answered them myself was that most of my responses had nothing to do with work at all. Let me know what comes up for you.

• What is the most important thing you have to do today?

• What is one thing you deeply appreciate about your work life?

• What quality do I want to show my world today?

The Relational:

If you don’t watch White Lotus, feel free to skip this section, but I was devastated by the dynamic between Rick and Chelsea. Lily Montasser wrote a lovely piece on their relationship that is worth a read.

The Rick and Chelsea of it all

I’ve spent the past few weeks ruminating on their yin-and-yang dynamic, and then—light bulb moment—it hit me: it was a mirror of a toxic relationship I was in from 2010 to 2013. The most tragic part? So many of us Chelseas walk around believing we can love someone into wholeness. That if we pour enough into them, they’ll change. That our love will be the glue that seals their cracks. But dear readers, this is a lie, from personal experience.

What did you think of the Rick and Chelsea dynamic? Soul mates or toxic lovers?

The Authentic Self:

For years, I have been sober curious. For me this means that I have gone off and on with drinking alcohol. Currently, I am off. As someone who makes their living from wellness and nourishing others, I realized that my drinking was no longer aligned with who I am becoming and not nourishing me. It’s an action with lots of consequences, like bad sleep and a very grumpy mood, that ultimately wasn’t giving me any rewards other than the hours surrounding the imbibing.

I have discovered a few new drinks that I am loving, if you too are curious about sobriety. This is the best N/A Cider I have ever had. Topo Chico plus Figlia over ice with a lot of lime has been on repeat. And, of course, I am making my own shrubs that I serve with fizzy water and fancy ice!

Until next time,

KBW

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