Recently, I accidentally discovered one of my favorite health habits. It started with a pair of five-pound dumbbells. One evening, after using them in the living room, I carried them into my bathroom and left them on the counter. The next morning, they were still sitting there. As I brushed my teeth, I looked at them and thought: Well… I live alone. I can do whatever I want. So before I had even really started my day, I picked them up and did a quick set of shoulder presses,

The older I get, the more fascinated I become by the history of ordinary things. Not just great historical events or famous people, but the little things we do every single day without ever wondering where they began. Take mascara, for example. I recently found myself wondering when women first started wearing it. Surely it hadn’t always existed. As it turns out, people have been decorating their eyes for thousands of years. Around 3000 BC, both Egyptian women and men lined t

One of the things I love most about getting older is realizing that life never stops teaching us. The lessons simply become deeper. When I was younger, I thought wisdom came from books, degrees, and experience. Now I think wisdom comes from paying attention. Paying attention to what fills our hearts with peace. Paying attention to what quietly steals it. Paying attention to the moments that change us in ways we never imagined. I’ve learned something else too. Pain has an expi

There are moments in life when we begin to feel a gentle tug. Not a loud voice. Not some dramatic sign from the universe. Just a quiet whisper that says... There might be more than this. Most of us know exactly what happens next. Fear arrives. It reminds us of everything we could lose. The paycheck. The relationship. The routine. The identity we've carefully built. The certainty of knowing what tomorrow looks like. And because fear is persuasive, we often convince ourselves t

A four-day workweek, working from home, becoming "Honey" to my granddaughter, and dating again after several years all taught me the same unexpected lesson: freedom requires discipline. I've learned that I'd rather enjoy an experience alone than spend it wishing I were. Freedom has taught me to protect my peace, cherish my time, and wait for someone whose rhythm naturally fits the life I've already come to love.

The older I get, the more I realize that wisdom and beauty are not separate things. True beauty isn’t perfect skin, a certain weight, or even a beautiful face. It is confidence earned through experience. It is surviving things you once thought might break you and somehow finding yourself smiling again. It is learning what matters, what doesn’t, and refusing to apologize for either. Lately, I’ve found myself appreciating my own reflection more than I have in years. Not because

There is something I need to say out loud because perhaps someone else needs permission to feel it too: I think my life may have truly begun at 55. Not because my younger years were bad. They weren’t. I had youth, beauty, wonderful experiences, people who loved me, children I adore, and so many moments that mattered deeply. But if I am completely honest, I spent much of my earlier life bending gently around the wants, needs, and expectations of others. I changed plans to make

There was a time in my life when I assumed alcohol was part of the magic. A glass of wine before dancing. A cocktail before a date. Champagne during celebrations. Not because I was unhappy or out of control. Quite the opposite, actually. I genuinely loved life. I loved restaurants, music, laughter, dressing up, long conversations, romance, travel, and celebration. Alcohol simply felt woven into all of it because culturally, it often is. Then one day, I slowly realized somethi

The sound alone is enough to stop you in your tracks. For the last two days, the skies over Charleston have thundered with the unmistakable roar of the Blue Angels as they prepared for tomorrow’s air show. Their precision is breathtaking. Their speed almost impossible to comprehend. And somehow, even knowing the science and engineering behind it all, it still feels a little like magic. As I stood watching them soar near the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, I found myself thinking a

There are certain thoughts women have…that we don’t always say out loud. Not because they’re inappropriate. Not because they’re shallow. But because they feel a little… too revealing. And maybe… just a little bit bold. I found myself thinking recently about something so specific, and yet I know—I cannot be the only one. As a woman living with Type 1 diabetes, I wear devices on my body that quietly keep me alive. An Omnipod. A Dexcom. Small, powerful, ever-present. Most days,

There’s a moment — a quiet, undeniable click — when you finally reach the “it’s not me, it’s you” stage of letting go. That’s the moment real freedom begins. Looking back, it’s easy to remember the fun parts, the photos where you looked adorable together, the way outsiders thought you were the perfect fit. But when you let the highlight reel fade, you can feel the truth underneath: the times you were hidden, placed last, made to feel small, or asked to shrink so someone else

There’s something that happens when a series finds you at exactly the right moment — when it brushes up against memories you forgot were still sharp, and hopes you didn’t realize were still glowing softly under the surface. Watching Love Story has been that for me. I was alive when John and Carolyn were dating and married, and I remember with heartbreaking clarity the night their plane went down. That tragedy left its mark on the world — but this series, their love story, r

Valentine’s Day makes me smile. Not because I believe February 14th holds some mystical claim on love. But because love — real love — is far more interesting than a holiday. This year, I am spending Valentine’s Day in a chapter I didn’t expect to last this long. My solo chapter. And here’s the truth: It is bringing me more peace… and more happiness… than I ever imagined it could. Do I long for someone to kiss? To reach for my hand across a table? To wrap his arm around me whi

There’s a particular kind of magic in the moments before the snow begins to fall — that hush in the air, the stillness, the invitation to slow down and savor what’s right in front of us. Today, my granddaughter is watching soft flakes drift down over Lake Oconee, and my parents are looking out over the golf course in Augusta, watching their backyard turn into a quiet winter painting in WestLake. And here in Mount Pleasant, the cold has settled in — crisp, clean, and full of p

Living Without a Pancreas, Trusting Your Gut, and Learning from Sourdough One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in this wild, beautiful life-after-pancreas is that our bodies are always working for us — even when the rulebook gets rewritten. And trust me, mine has been rewritten from cover to cover. When you live without a pancreas, your entire inner world shifts — your hormones, your digestion, the way your hunger feels, the way your blood sugar behaves. And yet somehow, y

Today is my Whippleversary — January 24th — a day I’ll always remember, and a story I’ll always carry with a full and grateful heart. Seven years ago, in 2019, I rolled out of surgery with more tubes than style points… and still managed to throw up my arms like a tiny-but-mighty superhero. Then came eight rounds of chemo, long days, long nights, and an 18% five-year survival rate staring me down like a bad Dr. Seuss villain. But y’all know how this story goes. I thunk my thou

There are seasons in life when everything you thought you understood starts to shift—quietly at first, then all at once. Lately, I’ve been leaning into that shift with wide-open curiosity. I’ve been reading more, listening more, learning more… not because anything is missing, but because something inside me feels ready. Ready to understand life in new ways. Ready to grow. Ready to see what else my heart has room for. I’ve been a fan of Will Bulsiewicz, MD, for years, and list

A life lesson on authenticity, courage, and choosing love without permission Somewhere between choosing yourself and refusing to explain your heart, you realize this: the right life — and the right love — doesn’t ask for approval. It recognizes you when you walk into the room. The right love won’t ask you to shrink, soften, or second-guess yourself. It will meet you exactly where you stand — confident, crafted, and entirely your own. At some point, if you’re paying attention,

Why 2026 Is the Year Men Lean Into Style, Strength & a Little Chest Hair Somewhere along the way, men were told they needed to choose: rugged or refined, masculine or stylish, laid-back or well dressed. Thankfully, that era is over. Lately, I’ve been noticing a delicious shift—one that feels confident, grown, and quietly intoxicating. And yes, I’m going to give credit where credit is due: Brad Pitt seems to have single-handedly reminded the world that a man can be relaxed

by Honey — Lively by Honey There’s a quiet but powerful truth I’ve learned over the years: serving others fills you; pleasing others empties you. At first glance, they may seem like the same thing — both are about giving, helping, caring. But they couldn’t be more different in the way they feel in your soul. When you serve, it’s from a place of love and wholeness. When you please, it’s from a place of fear and need. 🌿Service Flows From Strength Service is a beautiful express