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In this episode, Dr. Steve Judson and Dr. Drew Henderson talk about what it looks like to burn the ships — no running shoes, no backup plan, just twelve hours in Crocs and Birkenstocks because a man in a wheelchair is doing it harder than you ever will. Dr. Drew didn't do it to prove anything. He did it because James Hearn is still in that wheelchair, and the least you can do is make yourself uncomfortable for a day. That's empathy. That's service. That's the race of life — and nobody runs it alone. Tape up your toes and get back in. It's time to Wake Up Humans — stay connected, do hard things, and keep more fire than anything else has water. How's your Atlas? Learn more at drstevejudson.com and check out Steve Judson's books and gear.
EP. 495 Best to the Nest: Podcast LIVE! Thank you to all the Nester's who welcomed us to Apple Valley, Minnesota. You asked great questions and laughed in all the right places. We had so much fun hanging out with all of you. Also, thanks to the kind people who sponsor our little podcast: Healing Insight. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at healinginsightonline.comSchuler Shoes. It's all about sandals at Schuler Shoes. Buy 1 pair of sandals, save 10 dollars. Buy 2, save 30 dollars. Buy 3, save 60 dollars until June 28th. Birkenstocks, Hoka, and Ugg excluded. Find out more at schulershoes.com.Hennepin County Trees. Hennepin County has set a goal of one million trees planted by 2030. And we're half way there. 500,000 trees planted. You can help plant 500,000 more. Planting a tree is as easy as 1, 2, Tree. Pick the right tree, plant it, and take care of it. Find out more at Hennepintrees.org.Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088997968155776/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What do shoppers actually want in 2026? Do brand vibe, culture, and ethos matter more than the clothes? Is experience-based fashion just better marketing? And what does “integrated fashion” look like when your wardrobe is built around music, sports, clubs, video games, vintage, coffee shops, and the internet?On this episode of Pair of Kings, Sol Thompson and Michael Smith break down the largest survey they've run on fashion preferences, shopping habits, and taste: 1,500+ responses on how people look for, select and justify clothing today. The duo use the season's thesis of “integrated fashion” to interrogate why brand culture matters, how shoppers decide between buying piece-by-piece vs building a full aesthetic, why brand storytelling still works, and what makes a fashion brand captivating enough to hold an audience.We get into Rick Owens, Kozaburo, Rolling Dub Trio, Lost Control cowboy boots, Undercover, Comme des Garçons, Celine, Hedi Slimane, CC41 wartime tailoring, vintage band tees, Bruce Springsteen shirts, KMFDM, Electronic Research Department / ERD, Daft Punk, and controversy-driven fashion marketing.Sol and Michael also discuss Everlane's sale to Shein, sustainability fatigue, ethical fashion, cost per wear, quality vs longevity, resale liquidity, wardrobe economics, consumer inequality, and why the modern fashion industry is selling lifestyles as much as clothing. Further, they ask what sparks the desire to buy: Honey Dijon at Coachella, Saturday Night Fever, The Batman motorcycle jackets, FKA twigs, Interplanetary Criminal, video games, old magazines, X-Files tees, Julian Carter, and archive fashion grails.Other topics include: NYC summer style, Havaianas and flip-flop discourse, Birkenstocks without socks, finance guys in Lululemon khakis and On Running shoes, Kangol hats, men's matching sets, white jeans, World Cup style, vintage soccer jerseys, Newcastle kits, Nike Total 90s, Puma Speedcats, Big Red Boots, brand pop-ups, shock drops, fashion coffee shops, Instagram style discovery, raves, punk shows, clubs, flea markets, Harajuku, Santee Alley, gay clubs, furries, online fashion communities, The Devil Wears Prada 2, whether good marketing can compensate for bad clothes. We hope you enjoy just as much as we did recording.Lots of love!Sol---Episode Tags: fashion podcast 2026, integrated fashion, fashion survey, menswear, streetwear, high fashion, archive fashion, shopping habits, brand culture, experience-based fashion, Rick Owens, Kozaburo, Everlane Shein, sustainable fashion, vintage fashion, World Cup jerseys, Nike Total 90, Puma Speedcat, Celine #fashion #fashionpodcast #rickowens #archivefashion TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro: 1,300+ Person Integrated Fashion Survey 1:09 — Sol & Michael Introduce the Episode 1:53 — New York Summer Fashion and the Style Reset 2:23 — Fit Check: Birkenstocks, Kapital Denim & Vintage Bruce Springsteen Tee 6:37 — KMFDM Shirt, Vintage T-Shirt Care & Washing Old Tees 7:14 — ERD Daft Punk Shirt, Vintage Resale & Controversial Fashion Marketing 11:42 — NYC Summer Style: Flip-Flops, Havaianas & Birkenstocks 16:27 — Finance Guy Fits: On Running, Lululemon Khakis & No-Show Socks 18:07 — Kangol Hats, Lower East Side Trends & One-Weekend Menswear Fads 20:22 — Matching Sets and Summer 2026 Menswear Predictions 21:16 — White Jeans, Vintage Soccer Jerseys & World Cup Style 25:05 — Everlane, Shein and the Future of Ethical Fashion 26:29 — Sustainability Fatigue and Rick Owens Sustainable Cotton 27:23 — Consumer Economics: Who Fashion Brands Actually Sell To 29:15 — AI Data Centers, Consumption and Environmental Cost 31:10 — Fashion Survey Begins: How Young Shoppers Buy Clothes 32:07 — Do Brand Vibe, Culture and Ethos Matter? 32:44 — Rick Owens, Kozaburo and Buying Into Brand Worlds 35:17 — Wardrobe Building: Piece-by-Piece vs Full Aesthetic 36:06 — Rick Owens Harness Boots and Buying in a Vacuum 40:03 — UJ Militaria, CC41 Wartime Blazer & Archive Menswear 43:00 — Brand Storytelling: Undercover, Sustainability and Fashion Narrative 45:24 — What People Consider Before Buying Clothes 46:14 — Cost Per Wear Debate 50:15 — Sustainability, Ethics, Price, Fit, Resale Liquidity & Durability 52:16 — What Makes People Want to Buy Clothing? 52:41 — Honey Dijon, Coachella, Saturday Night Fever & Cultural Inspiration 56:09 — CDG, Archive Fashion and Mental Catalogs of Grails 56:42 — FKA Twigs, Interplanetary Criminal, Video Games & Fashion Inspiration 57:39 — Do Fashion Influencers Actually Influence Fashion People? 59:38 — The Batman, Motorcycle Jackets & Style Obsession 1:01:13 — Hedi Slimane's Celine “The Dancing Kid” Beanie 1:03:15 — Experience-Based Fashion: Drops, Pop-Ups, Coffee Shops & Activations 1:06:02 — Influencer Gifting, Clothing Waste & FOMO Marketing 1:08:41 — Big Red Boots, Puma Speedcats & Hype Products That Disappear 1:10:01 — Nike Total 90, Slim Soccer Sneakers & Footwear Trends 1:10:20 — Where People Experience Fashion: Raves, Flea Markets, Clubs & Coffee Shops 1:13:37 — Instagram as a Fashion Scene and Style Discovery Tool 1:17:44 — Clubs, Raves and the Anti-Commercial Fashion Scene 1:19:04 — Song of the Week 1:21:58 — The Devil Wears Prada 2, Fashion Movies & Reboot Culture 1:26:37 — Speed Racer, Style Nostalgia & Closing Thoughts 1:26:59 — Outro #FashionPodcast, #Menswear, #Streetwear, #Fashion, #Style, #FashionCulture, #FashionCommunity, #FashionDiscussion, #FashionAnalysis, #FashionCommentary, #MensFashion, #MensStyle, #ArchiveFashion, #FashionArchive, #VintageFashion, #FashionHistory, #DesignerFashion, #LuxuryFashion, #FashionResearch, #FashionWriting, #IntegratedFashion, #FashionTheory, #FashionConsumer, #FashionShopping, #FashionTrends, #FashionIndustry, #FashionMarketing, #BrandCulture, #FashionConsumerBehavior, #FutureOfFashion, #RickOwens, #CommeDesGarcons, #Undercover, #HediSlimane Sol Thompson and Michael Smith explore the world and subcultures of fashion, interviewing creators, personalities, and industry insiders to highlight the new vanguard of the fashion world. Subscribe for weekly uploads of the podcast, and don't forgot to follow us on our social channels for additional content, and join our discord to access what we've dubbed “the happiest place in fashion”.Message us with Business Inquiries at pairofkingspod@gmail.comSubscribe to get early access to podcasts and videos, and participate in exclusive giveaways for $4 a monthLinks:InstagramTikTokTwitter/XSol's Substack (One Size Fits All)Sol's InstagramMichael's InstagramMichael's TikTok
EP. 494 Best to the Nest: StrangersStrangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden is number two on the New York Time's hardcover nonfiction bestseller list. It has been on the list for 18 weeks, and women readers are buzzing about it. We have thoughts, and we hope you will share yours with us as well.Also, thanks to the kind people who sponsor our little podcast: Schuler Shoes. It's all about sandals at Schuler Shoes. Buy 1 pair of sandals, save 10 dollars. Buy 2, save 30 dollars. Buy 3, save 60 dollars until June 28th. Birkenstocks, Hoka, and Ugg excluded. Find out more at schulershoes.com.Ramsey Recycles. If you are a Minnesota resident, more than likely, you can drop of your household hazardous waste for free at the Ramsey County Environmental Center in Roseville. Find out more at RamseyRecycles.com/EC. Hennepin County Trees. Hennepin County has set a goal of one million trees planted by 2030. And we're half way there. 500,000 trees planted. You can help plant 500,000 more. Planting a tree is as easy as 1, 2, Tree. Pick the right tree, plant it, and take care of it. Find out more at Hennepintrees.org.Healing Insight. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at healinginsightonline.comOur Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088997968155776/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Episode 228. Join Beth and Jayme as they dive into the ever-evolving world of trends, exploring everything from the resurgence of baggy pants to the quirky charm of Birkenstocks.On this episode >> smutty dragons >> curls for days >> AI hate__________Join the Geriatric Millennials Community! Instagram: @thegeriatricmillennialsFacebook: facebook.com/TheGeriatricMillennialsTheme music by The Finley Ghost__________Connect with Beth:Instagram: @eransofarInstagram: @paperwhale_paper whale: www.paperwhale.comConnect with Jayme:Instagram: @justenjoyjaymeFacebook: facebook.com/jayme.jones.75__________Beth and Jayme are long time friends and geriatric millennials. Relish in their unique perspectives as you workout, commute, fold laundry, or just need a break from the reality of this timeline! Listen in as they tell stories, discuss every topic under the sun, and just enjoy being in conversation with a friend. Designed to be the soundtrack for the mundane.
Het is heet. Té heet. In deze aflevering hebben de jongens het over zweten op feestjes, slapeloze nachten, airco-oorlogen, verbranden in de schaduw en waarom iedereen ineens een andere persoonlijkheid krijgt zodra de zon schijnt. Van all-in hitte tot ventilatorpaniek en mensen die vrijwillig gaan sporten bij 30 graden: welkom in de collectieve zomermisère.00:00 Rosé, barbecue & een slecht feestje02:09 Het probleem met clubverlichting05:07 Wanneer een feestje te lang duurt07:36 De eerste hittegolf van het jaar10:08 Een auto als oven11:45 Hitte in België14:10 Zomerergernissen in de wagen16:07 Taxi's met open ramen18:52 Zweten op het openbaar vervoer22:40 Wat mag je dragen bij warm weer?29:10 Birkenstocks, slippers & zomermode33:12 Slapen tijdens een hittegolf35:02 Airco of geen airco?40:02 Winkelen in de hitte43:55 Zonnecrème, shorts & overleven tot de herfst
EP. 493 Best to the Nest: Who Knew? We're chatting about what we learn when we travel. Well, if it's Japan, we learn a lot about Seven Eleven. Yes, we do! And yet, there's more. Also, thanks to the kind people who sponsor our little podcast: Healing Insight.Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at healinginsightonline.com Schuler Shoes. It's all about sandals at Schuler Shoes. Buy 1 pair of sandals, save 10 dollars. Buy 2, save 30 dollars. Buy 3, save 60 dollars until June 28th. Birkenstocks, Hoka, and Ugg excluded. Find out more at schulershoes.com.Ramsey Recycles. If you are a Minnesota resident, more than likely, you can drop of your household hazardous waste for free at the Ramsey County Environmental Center in Roseville. Find out more at RamseyRecycles.com/EC. Hennepin County Trees. Hennepin County has set a goal of one million trees planted by 2030. And we're half way there. 500,000 trees planted. You can help plant 500,000 more. Planting a tree is as easy as 1, 2, Tree. Pick the right tree, plant it, and take care of it. Find out more at Hennepintrees.org.Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088997968155776/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dressing for the summer is no easy feat, no matter where in the world you're located. On this special episode, Nicole and Chioma are joined by contributing writer and former Vogue staffer Liana Satenstein. Liana, who heads up the Addressed column where she tackles all kinds of fashion dilemmas, came on to talk through all of the most pressing summer dressing issues. “I like to write about the more saucy sides of what to wear and what not to wear,” Liana told the hosts, referencing one of her first installments in which she answered the question of whether or not a bra is mandatory for the workplace. The short answer: it depends. But the group was in agreement that the overly padded push-up bra or the “chicken cutlet” bra as Vogue Runway's Sarah Mower termed it, is generally not the move. They then moved on to the very toe-pical conversation of the summer shoe. Recorded on the heels of Mathieu Blazy's Chanel resort show in which he debuted the controversial anti-shoe, feet were a hot topic. “Phalangeal fodder for the ages!” was Liana's assessment, “I have to choose my words carefully, but those are deliciously demented demi-sandals.” The verdict was that this shoe was not intended for the filthy city streets, but might find a home on a red carpet or beach sometime soon. Instead, for those looking to show some toe this summer, Birkenstocks and kitten heels might be a more pragmatic choice. Then came the evergreen dilemmas of what to do with unwanted hand-me-down from a loved one (“an albatross around my neck”) and how to clean and maintain a closet with limited space. Liana's advice is to give yourself a time limit. “60 seconds, find one thing that you do not wear—I'm sure you can do it. Do that once a day for seven days, and at the end of the week you have seven pieces that you can part with.”Other summer sartorial plights they addressed included how to put together an office appropriate outfit in the sweltering summer, what is on their summer shopping wishlists, and what the modern rules are for what to wear to someone else's wedding. For more nuance than “don't wear white”, tune in. The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Summer is finally here, and in this episode we're sharing all of our current summer favorites, from Birkenstocks and clean sunscreen to bug spray that actually works. We also talk about our go-to summer drinks, nostalgic memories like root beer floats and sun tea, and the little things making this season feel extra special. We chat about upcoming adventures, spending more time outside, and soaking up everything that makes summer fun, simple, and memorable. Grab your favorite iced drink and come hang out with us for a fun summer conversation. Let's dive in!
EP. 492 Best to the Nest: May 2026 WRLHappy watching, reading, and listening! Margery: Watch: VEEP HBO Max Read: The Best American Essays 2020Listen: The soundtracks to La La Land and The Greatest Show Eat: Bone Broth, Kale, Carrots, Garlic, Noodles, and Blueberry Cake Elizabeth: Watch: The Secrets of Bees on Disney/HuluRead: Awaken Your Highest Self by Danny Morel Listen: Travel Squad Podcast Eat: Ferndale Farms Turkey Sausage Schuler Shoes. We are so happy to share our love of Schuler Shoes with you. Stop in and check out their top brands for spring and summer: Dansko, Taos, Ecco, Keen, Vionic, Clarks and Birkenstocks. Experience Schuler Shoes service, selection, and proper sizing at ten locations in Minnesota or online at schulershoes.com. Mark June 4, 2026, we are coming to the Schuler Shoes Apple Valley location for to record the podcast live!Ramsey Recycles. Yay to this mission! If you are a Minnesota resident, more than likely, you can drop of your household hazardous waste for free at the Ramsey County Environmental Center in Roseville. You can drop off household hazardous waste, electronics and small appliances, plastic bags and wrap, household recycling (bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, and more), food scraps, and even properly prepared scrap metal. Find out more at RamseyRecycles.com/EC. Healing Insight. Founded by Dr. Senia Mae, Healing Insight is based in St. Paul Minnesota. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. The team at Healing Insight will guide you through all stages of life whether it's pregnancy preparation or perimenopause. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at https://healinginsightonline.com/.Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/besttothenest/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Five people are dead, including two suspects, after a shooting at a San Diego mosque. U.S. President Donald Trump says he's paused an Iran strike after Tehran sent a proposal through Pakistan. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie faces a fierce primary challenge after defying Trump. Trump drops his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in a deal that creates a $1.8 billion fund for victims of political "weaponization." Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Beijing to deepen Russia-China ties. And Birkenstock loses its footing as its luxury ambitions unravel. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ASX-listed Tuas has seen its shares fall 63% after Singapore's regulator warned that its $1.5 billion merger is on the ropes. Birkenstocks are falling… falling more than 14%.... and hitting record lows…as its luxury status is being called into question. Everlane, the brand that built its whole identity on radical sustainability, has just been acquired by Shein. _ Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
EP. 491 Best to the Nest: Has Spring Break Gone Too Far? Yes, we have strong feelings about this. What was your spring break like as a child? What memories do you want your children to have? Does it even need to be a special time? Let's discuss amongst ourselves. Schuler Shoes. We are so happy to share our love of Schuler Shoes with you. Stop in and check out their top brands for spring and summer: Dansko, Taos, Ecco, Keen, Vionic, Clarks and Birkenstocks. Experience Schuler Shoes service, selection, and proper sizing at ten locations in Minnesota or online at schulershoes.com. Mark June 4, 2026, we are coming to the Schuler Shoes Apple Valley location for to record the podcast live!Healing Insight. Founded by Dr. Senia Mae, Healing Insight is based in St. Paul Minnesota. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. The team at Healing Insight will guide you through all stages of life. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at https://healinginsightonline.com/.Ramsey Recycles. Yay to this mission! If you are a Minnesota resident, more than likely, you can drop of your household hazardous waste for free at the Ramsey County Environmental Center in Roseville. You can drop off household hazardous waste, electronics and small appliances, plastic bags and wrap, household recycling (bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, and more), food scraps, and even properly prepared scrap metal. Find out more at RamseyRecycles.com/EC. Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088997968155776/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
EP. 490 Best to the Nest: Well Rooted Teas Rachel Banken, the founder of Well Rooted Teas, joins the conversation today. Rachel is an inspiration. We touch on a little bit of everything, and you will feel better for having listened to this chat. We are so grateful Rachel has crossed our path! Find out more about her shop and her mission at wellrootedteas.comRamsey Recycles. Yay to this mission! If you are a Minnesota resident, more than likely, you can drop of your household hazardous waste, electronics and small appliances, plastic bags and wrap, household recycling (bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, and more), food scraps, and even properly prepared scrap metal for free at the Ramsey County Environmental Center in Roseville. Find out more at RamseyRecycles.com/EC. Healing Insight. Founded by Dr. Senia Mae, Healing Insight is based in St. Paul Minnesota. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. The team at Healing Insight will guide you through all stages of life. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at https://healinginsightonline.com/.Schuler Shoes. We are so happy to share our love of Schuler Shoes. Stop in and check out the top brands for spring and summer: Dansko, Taos, Ecco, Keen, Vionic, Clarks and Birkenstocks. Experience Schuler Shoes service, selection, and proper sizing at ten locations in Minnesota or online at schulershoes.com. Mark June 4, 2026. We are coming to the Schuler Shoes Apple Valley location to record the podcast live, and we would love to see you!Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088997968155776/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
NYC just got its 1st electric air taxi flight from Joby on Uber… It's the “1,000-Foot Economy”Birkenstock launched cosmetics for your feet… cause the road to Gen Z is through skin.Dubai just quit OPEC, the cartel that controls oil prices… it's reflects a new world order for the economy.Plus, the 1st ever AI-run store just opened in San Francisco… so we went.$JOBY $BIRK $CLWOONEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
EP. 489 Best to the Nest: April 2026 WRLHappy watching, reading, and listening! Margery: Watch: Rooster HBO Max Read: Pride and Prejudice by Jane AustenListen: Elton John Eat: Plain Greek Yogurt, Honey, Goji Berries, and WalnutsElizabeth: Watch: Palm Royale on Apple TV Read: French at Heart: Recipes that Bring France Home Listen: The soundtrack from Shrinking Eat: Smoked Salmon Toast Thank you to our sponsors:Schuler Shoes.We are so happy to share our love of Schuler Shoes with you. Stop in and check out their top brands for spring and summer: Dansko, Taos, Ecco, Keen, Vionic, Clarks, and Birkenstocks. Experience Schuler Shoes service, selection, and proper sizing at ten locations in Minnesota or online at schulershoes.com. Use the link APRIL COLLECTION for $15 dollars off select women and men's shoes. Healing Insight. Founded by Dr. Senia Mae, Healing Insight is based in St. Paul Minnesota. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. The team at Healing Insight will guide you through all stages of life whether it's pregnancy preparation or perimenopause. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at https://healinginsightonline.com/.Organic Lawns By Lunseth.Change the way you care for your lawn with help from Organic Lawns by Lunseth. Their lawn program supports soil health, biodiversity, and long-term results—not quick chemical fixes. Not only will you have a beautiful lawn, but in time the pollinators –– the monarchs, the birds, and the bees will come back. Find out more at OrganicLawnsByLunseth.com. Fill out the short form at the website and let Shay and her team help you build a better lawn this spring. Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/besttothenest/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Får man bära Birkenstocks i Paris i maj? Är Prada loafers med loggan ett långsiktigt köp? OCH hur uppar du din jobbstil i vår? Timglas-kavaj och de perfekta kostymbyxorna - Vi svarar på era stilfrågor varje måndag. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In der 110. Folge treffen Anja, Tabea und Josi virtuell auf Uranus, einen Altersruhesitz mit Heizung und eine entzückende Kioskdame mit Pfoten. Ab und zu wird Stoßgelüftet und Orangentee getrunken während die Championsleague-Duelle diskutiert werden. Random question: woran glaubst du an das niemand anderes glaubt und ab wann wird man eigentlich erwachsen? Zum Schluss warten die Einführung einer neuen Kategorie:“Kannste dir nicht ausmalen“ und Anjs Do's and Dont's aus den USA. Birkenstocks an - es geht nach Rio zum 10 jährigen Olympia Jubiläum!
No agenda, no framework — just Jess and Kelly doing what they do best: talking real life. This week it's all about what we're actually wearing this season (barrel jeans turned cutoffs, gold Birkenstocks, and a strong prediction for the summer's biggest shoe trend), how to stay warm and somewhat cute when you live somewhere that goes from 40 to 70 degrees in 48 hours, and the completely unhinged Trader Joe's tote experience that somehow turned into a lesson about just getting in the line. Come for the fashion chat, stay for the chaos. In This Episode Jess's barrel jeans era — and why it lasted approximately five minutes before she grabbed the scissors Why jelly sandals and jelly flip-flops are about to be everywhere this summer (tortoise shell, specifically) Kelly's cold-weather layering system: merino-adjacent thermals, stretchy jeans, Sorel boots, and a Hunter coat that sold out everywhere Heated vests, heated gloves, heated pants — and the glowing logo that accidentally became a cold-weather parent uniform at every Chicago sports game Secondhand shopping smarter: The RealReal, Poshmark, and thrifting as a real strategy (not just a trend) Does your closet reflect your values? A quick riff on intentional spending, capsule wardrobes, and letting go of fast fashion The Trader Joe's spring tote situation — the line, the bins, the resellers, and the old woman with opinions about Takis "If there's a line, get in the line" — Kassidy Lynn Social's advice that honestly applies to life Free Download
This week on the Shoecast we're bringing back Rory Fortune, founder of Los Angeles-based Goods & Services, which continues to be one of the most interesting footwear operations out there. We had Rory on back in 2024, and with the Goods & Services business and product range expanding like crazy, it seemed high time to get a closer look at exactly how Rory and team convert sneakers to a resoleable welted construction—yes the video version of this episode is up on Youtube—and catch up on plenty more. How is the role of the modern footwear designer misunderstood? What's going on in a rapidly shifting sneaker culture? How'd a collaboration with Red Wing lead to rethinking the Postman shoe? When does a workshop founded on customization need to pull back on it—and does that hinder creativity? How do you find and train the people needed to grow that workshop? And why won't Rory customize your Birkenstocks, right now?https://shopgoodsandservices.com/ Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
This week comedian Chris Lamberth comes down to the NNFA turtle lair for a hilarious episode that starts with fake spring weather, what it brings, we ask if the CEO of McDonald's really bit that burger, and why are all the CEO's eating on camera now? Dave's apology for the week leads to the debate of Crocs vs Birkenstocks, the trauma of being a spoiled kid, weird retail job hypotheticals, and the absolute worst question you can ask a comedian. Chris also talks about his new stand-up special, teaching theater in Chicago at 22, and why some Italian restaurants might secretly be laundering money by hosting comedy shows. Plus Dave reveals why he thinks he was too ugly to work retail at the mall, Derek shares a wild story about his grandma's malpractice settlement, and the guys debate whether a rich life actually means anything.DON'T FORGET TO LIKE, SHARE & SUBSCRIBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLAUp-4rTF4q4XLujbJ51YQ TOUR DATES https://www.linktr.ee/nnfaMERCH https://nnfa.creator-spring.com/ BONUS CONTENT https://www.patreon.com/c/ImDaveTemple?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink -----------------Follow host Derek GainesIG https://www.instagram.com/thegreatboy/ Follow host Dave TempleIG https://www.instagram.com/imdavetemple/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@DAT46Follow guest Chris LamberthIG https://www.instagram.com/chrislamberth/ YouTube Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtg9c6H6_8w Follow No Need for ApologiesIG https://www.instagram.com/nnfapodcast/ TT https://www.tiktok.com/@noneedforapologies FB https://www.facebook.com/noneedforapologies/Produced by Teona SashaIG https://www.instagram.com/teonasasha/TT https://www.tiktok.com/@teonasasha -----------------To advertise your product on our podcasts please email jimmy@gasdigitalmarketing.com with a brief description about your product and any shows you may be interested in advertising on.SEND US MAIL:GaS Digital StudiosAttn: NNFA151 1st Ave # 311New York, NY 10003"No Need for Apologies" - NEW Episodes every Saturday at 3PM/ET on YouTube-----------------YouTube Chapters00:00 Intro00:40 Welcome to the show02:12 Chris Lamberth Joins the Show06:49 McDonald's CEO Eats on Camera10:33 Paris Protest Video Discussion12:33 Dave's Weekly Apology: Burger King Dads19:30 Too Ugly for Retail21:25 Could You Work at a Girl Store?23:58 Crocs vs Birkenstocks Debate34:00 Teacher Gets Hit by Kid's Car Prank44:30 “My Father Is Also My Uncle” Video49:46 Chris Lamberth's New Stand-Up Special55:24 The Worst Question You Can Ask a Comic1:03:17 What Does a Rich Life Mean?01:15:30 OutroSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
New Book: Climate Capital — Investing in the Tools for a Regenerative Future | An Interview with Tom Chi | An Analog Brain In A Digital Age With Marco Ciappelli What if the economy isn't broken — just badly designed? Tom Chi, Google X founding member, inventor of 77 patents, and venture capitalist at At One Ventures, joined me on An Analog Brain In A Digital Age to discuss his new book Climate Capital: Investing in the Tools for a Regenerative Future. From the streets of Florence to the strip malls of Silicon Valley, from the mechanics of attention capture to the physics of ecological economics, this conversation goes far beyond climate. It's about how we design the systems we live inside — and whether we have the will to redesign them before it's too late.
What do a clump of goldfish, a ruined wedding cake, and toe-stained Birkenstocks have in common? They all made it into our February highlight reel. This month was unhinged in the best way. From morally questionable decisions to overpriced Facebook Marketplace chaos, we pulled together the best moments from February's episodes.00:00 Intro00:12 The Ultimate Pizza Topping Draft05:04 The “Good Listener” Deserves a Trophy09:18 What's Your Price to Ruin a Wedding Cake?12:47 We Guessed Prices for the Weirdest Stuff on Facebook MarketplaceFollow Funny Business on Spotify for weekly episodes.More at: https://beacons.ai/funnybusinesspodNote: The opinions expressed in this show are the hosts' views and not necessarily those of any business or organization. The podcast hosts are solely responsible for the content of this show.
Finally connecting with a high-school friend.By outdoorhorny. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Desiree should have been born in the 60’s. Everything about her reflected a kinder, gentler, and groovier vibe than the 90’s were comfortable with; in short, she was a hippie. She wore patterned peasant skirts, thin cotton T-shirts with mandalas and such, beads all over the place, Birkenstocks, and course, a peace-sign medallion. All of these things drew my eyes to her right away, but they in no way hid the luscious body beneath and behind them. She had long brown hair that fell in soft curls below her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown, her lips deep red and shaped like Cupid’s bow. Full tits and wide hips stretched her garments tight in all the right places. Best of all, her skin was translucent and flawless, even in the dead of winter.We were both new students in school during our senior year. She had been kicked out of boarding school, and my parents had retired to a small town in the eastern part of the state. That made us the only 2 students in our grade who hadn’t been there all 4 years. Actually, the rest of the student body pretty much grew up together, but since the high school served 3 towns, only a third of them had been in school together all 12 years previously. Still, it was enough to make us feel like total outsiders.That alone was enough to bond us, but we also had a lot of classes together. There were only small sections of upper-level classes in English, history, math, French, and science, and we were in all those together. She was always somewhat spacey, but a good student, a good lab partner and homework buddy, and a pleasure to talk to, even if the conversations took odd turns.She was dating a guy named David who had already graduated. I spent the fall pursuing the only other single girl in our upper-level group, but she was still kind of seeing her old boyfriend from a few towns away, so that wasn’t a regular thing. We all went to the same parties, hung out after soccer and basketball games, and went to the nearest big town once in a while for some wild nights of pizza or McDonalds and a movie.It wasn’t until winter came that I realized how badly I wanted to be with Desiree. There was a lot of snow that winter, and she called one afternoon to tell me that her 18th birthday party was moved from the Science Museum to her own house; that way, no one had to drive 45 minutes in bad weather.When I got there, Des was dressed up for a change. There was still a hippie vibe to her outfit, but her parents had friends over as well, and everyone was dressed for a holiday party. It turned out that her family had scheduled both things, but combined them to save everyone a drive. Anyway, she looked amazing; her hair was silky and somewhat straighter, she had on a little makeup, and her outfit made her look older and more beautiful. I was glad I had taken some pains to dress up as well; some of our friends didn’t get the memo and showed up in our usual teenage gear. She told me how nice I looked, and I made sure to compliment her as well.Because of my mother’s job, I was accustomed to spending time with adults at parties like this one. I chatted with her parents, and with some other adults who were parents of kids at school, or people I had met around town. Even the damn principal of the high school was there, which was a little weird for all of us! I saw Desiree working her way around the room as well, and my eyes kept straying her way as I admired her outfit, her flashing eyes, and the soft ripples of laughter that I knew so well. She caught me looking every once in a while and smiled at me.When I finally broke away to hang out with my friends, her mom stopped me to say how glad she was that I had come. She complimented my poise, told me I was very grown up, and gave me a peck on the cheek. I grimaced, blushed, and thanked her before disengaging as gracefully as I could. When I got out of the kitchen and headed for the den where the kids were hanging out, Desiree was headed out as well.“Wow; you’re quite the hit with the mom-and-dad crowd, dude” she teased me.“Just working the room, ya know?” I said in my most pompous voice.“I’m sorry if my mom embarrassed you,” she said apologetically. “She can be kinda over the top. I keep trying to get her to mellow out, but she always comes out with something trippy!”“No problem; I can handle moms pretty well. My mom used to drag me to parties all the time for her old job, and you just kind of get used to the chit-chat.”“Well,” she began, taking my arm, “I was very impressed with your poise!”I blushed again. “Oh, you heard that, did ya?”She laughed happily and squeezed my arm, her tits pressing against me closely.“Yes, I did. I was thinking how grown-up you were, too. When I noticed you checking me out, I kept thinking it was some creepy older guy, but then it was you, and it just made me feel good.”I had no idea what to say to that, so I fell back on flattery.“Des,” I told her, “I’m sorry about that, you just looked so beautiful and natural chatting away with all those people that I couldn’t help but look at you!”A pleased smile appeared, and she squeezed me again.“Does that mean you didn’t think I was beautiful before?”“Oh, no, not at all!” Did I mention I was far from smooth back in those days?“So tell me, dude, how long have you been thinking I was beautiful?”At that point, I realized that she was completely messing with me, but I couldn’t stop myself.“Since day one of school,” I told her earnestly.I think my serious tone took her aback somewhat, but again the pleased smile appeared.“So it wasn’t just because I’m all dressed up and wearing makeup instead of being my usual crunchy self?” she asked. This time, the teasing quality of her voice was more apparent.“Nope. Crunchy Des is beautiful all the time, I just never get a chance to tell you.”“I can see why you’re such a hit with the moms,” she murmured just before we entered the den.She let go of me to rejoin the group, and we relaxed into our usual roles, joking around as a group and devouring the pizzas her mom had ordered for us. We stayed there for three or four hours, watched a movie, and at the cake her mom brought in. All in all, a good birthday party.The adults had drifted off before the movie ended, so the house was quiet when Desiree’s party was over. Everyone hit the road, but I stayed behind to say goodbye to her parents; again, my mother’s training was kicking in. She thanked me again for spending time with the grown-ups and, to me embarrassment, gave me another peck on the cheek, turned me around toward Des, and said, “Isn’t he great?” in a loud voice. “And handsome?”“Oh, he certainly is!” Des affirmed, desperately trying to keep a straight face.“Well, goodnight, thanks again for having me,” I muttered and headed for the door.Des caught me before I got my coat on completely. She grabbed my arm in the hallway, her eyes filled with laughter.“I’m sorry; I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist!”“No big deal,” I assured her somewhat truthfully. “It’s your mom; she’s just a little, ”“I know. I’m sorry. But she was right about one thing, ”“You Are very great and handsome,” she said softly. Then she stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on my lips. Her eyes were deep and serious, and she pulled back a few inches, watching me, waiting for my reaction.“Des,” I replied in a low voice, “I was serious when I said you look beautiful all the time. I’ve always thought so, it’s just that tonight, I saw you looking beautiful in a different way and it made me realize, ” My words trailed off.“Realize what?” she asked, holding herself just inches from my face.“How much I want to do this,” I told her, crossing the space between us and kissing her back, letting my arms wrap naturally around her slender waist.Des hummed happily, then broke our kiss to smile up at me. “Far out!” she said softly.Her mom was still moving around the living room and kitchen collecting glasses, so Des urged me out onto the broad bluestone steps and closed the door behind us. The outside lights were on and it felt like snow again. I pulled my coat all the way on, then opened the front and she stepped gratefully into the shelter it offered her from the cold. Her body was warm and lush against mine, and I felt every curve plastered against me as our lips met again.Away from prying eyes, her lips parted quickly and her tongue darted playfully into my mouth. I responded in kind, and our eyes closed for what seemed like an endless moment as we shared that thrilling rise of passion for the first time. I could feel my whole body responding, and Des shifted her weight, clearly feeling the same ripples of pleasure in her core.“I’ve got to help my mom,” she said apologetically.“I’ve got to get home, too,” I told her. “I don’t want to go, though, ”“I know, I don’t want you to go!”Stepping back into me, Des kissed me hard one more time, then pulled back and looked at me sadly. “I guess we’ll have to finish this some other time,” she said.“Yeah, definitely!” I said urgently.“Come back tomorrow if it doesn’t snow,” she said quietly.She smiled, then stepped back and opened the door. I watched her go and then turned down the icy stairs. Driving home, my mind was filled with possibilities, and I was grinning like an idiot.Thankfully, there was only a dusting of new snow when I got up the next day. I told my parents I would be hanging out with Desiree and working on a lab report. They nodded, told me to be careful and be home for dinner, and went back to whatever they were doing.The twisty back roads were gritty with salt and sand as I raced toward Des’s house. Pulling into the driveway, I noticed fresh tracks from the garage to the street. When I tapped the bird-shaped knocker, there was a long pause before I saw a flash of movement through the prisms of glass beside the door. I heard a click, and the door swung open a few inches. I could see one of Desiree’s dark eyes, a trace of a smile on her lips, a cloud of brown hair framing her face, a flash of bare thigh, and a thick bathrobe belted tightly at her waist.“Yes?” she asked in an imperious tone, raising an eyebrow playfully.“Good morning, miss,” I said earnestly. “Is your mom home? She told me yesterday that I should come by this morning. I believe that I was so poised and well-spoken at her party that she wanted to spend some more time with me, ”“You’re disgusting!” Des snorted, swinging the door open wider. “You probably would go after my mom!”“Not when you’re here,” I told her, stepping close once the door was closed behind me.Desiree grabbed the lapels of my winter coat and pushed them back off my shoulders. As the coat slid down my arms, she closed the distance between us, pressing her warm body against mine. Our lips met, softly at first and then with increasing passion.“Come upstairs,” she said after pulling back to catch her breath.“Parents?” I asked.“Gone for the day” she replied with a wicked smile.“Good!” I said fervently. “Let’s go!”She turned with a smile and a swirl of dark hair. Her bare feet were almost silent on the wooden treads as she flew up the central staircase. My hiking boots left melting snow behind as I rushed after her. I almost tripped because I was trying to run upstairs and watch her enchantingly bare legs as I went; the bathrobe was long, but I could see a lot of her beautiful form from that angle.When I got to her room, Desiree was standing on the far side, the neatly made double bed between us. Posters, tapestries, dried flowers, and a lingering whiff of sandalwood competed for and lost my attention as I halted just inside the door.“You can come in,” she said mockingly, a trace of that same sexy smile on her lips.I walked to the edge of the bed opposite her.“This is where I wanted to bring you last night,” she said. “Once I saw you with my mom, ”“Don’t start. I was just being nice, but I’m glad you noticed me, finally!”“I always noticed you, we just had other stuff going on.”“Yeah,” I replied with my usual brilliance.“So now, ” she began.“Now I’m all yours!” I told her with my best smile.“Good. I want to show you something!”I nodded and told her “Anything you want!”Her smile grew wider. Then she lifted on knee up onto the bedspread.“After you left last night, I came up here when everything was done.”She leaned forward and put her palms flat on the covers. Her other foot came off the floor, and she drew herself toward the middle of the bed, sitting with her knees together, feet tucked under her, and the bathrobe lying in soft folds on her lap. My eyes were drawn to her bare thighs, then moved slowly upward, taking in the swell of her full tits under the thick terry cloth. When I reached her face, I noticed both a smirk on her lips and a smoking, sensual glimmer in her eyes.“I was wishing you were here with me,” she continued. “So I threw my clothes over there.” She gestured with her chin, and I glanced at the outfit she wore last night piled in reverse order on the chair. “And then I climbed into bed, ”Her hands pulled slowly on the bathrobe belt. When it came undone, the lapels fell apart a few inches, drawing my eyes to the soft valley of her cleavage. Desiree shrugged her shoulders then, and the soft fabric slipped back off her shoulders. Her hands came up to cover her tits as they were exposed, but she kept up her narration.“And I started thinking about what I would do if you were with me, ”I stood there in awe as she used her palms to graze her nipples, making small circles without fully revealing herself to me.“I got so fucking horny!” she said more intensely. Her hands fell away from her chest, and as she shoved the bathrobe off her lap and away behind her, my heart beat faster and I drank in the sight of her tits: pale globes with dark, tight nipples and wide areolas. They were as gorgeous as my teenage fantasies had imagined them, and my hands itched to reach for them.Des dropped her hands to her lap then, and shifted herself to widen the space between her knees. I followed the motion and was treated to a glimpse of dark curls before one hand blocked my view. I thought for a moment she was being modest, but then I noticed her hand moving slowly, caressing herself with slight up and down motion.“Just thinking about having you up here last night made me want you so badly, I ended up sitting just like this, wishing it was you playing with my boobs, and I was touching myself like this.”Her free hand came up and I saw her pinch her own nipple delicately, twisting it as she did. Her other hand pressed more firmly into the shadowy depths of her lap, and I knew her fingers were curled underneath her, stroking the furry lips of her cunt.“Show me, ” I whispered, finally contributing to the conversation.Des smiled again and rose up to her full kneeling height. From knees to neck, her body was a symphony of pale olive skin and alluring curves. She kept her hands in place, but seemed to savor my admiration while I took in the narrow waist, the long muscles of her thighs, and the rippling bounce of her tits.Again, she spoke as she played with herself: “My nipples got really hard thinking about you pinching them, and I started playing with my clit because I was already so wet for you!”Looking down, I saw that she had two fingers extended and they were making tight circles at the base of her mound.“Sometimes, ” she resumed, “I put my fingers inside to get them wetter.” Her hand curled lower for a moment and then went back to lavishing attention on her most sensitive spot. “Is that what you would have done to me last night?”“God, yes!” I told her immediately. She smiled, but I wanted to raise the stakes a little more.“I would have started like that, Des, I wish I could have come upstairs and seen you naked like this! I would have kissed every inch of you and pinched your nipples and rubbed your clit exactly the way you’re doing it now!”“What else?” she asked in an urgent whisper, her back arching a bit and her eyes half-closed.“I would have pushed you back, though, so I could taste you,” I said.“Umm, I love that idea!” she assured me with a sexy smile.Her hand left her lap and she brought the two fingers she had been using to play with herself up to her lips. “I do that all the time!” she said happily before licking each finger individually. Then she sucked them both at once, slowly getting every trace of her juices off.As I stood beside the bed and watched this erotic display, my cock was achingly hard inside my jeans. I could think of nothing to say; my mind was gripped by the show in front of me, and I was fantasizing about those beautiful lips sucking me instead, and I was imagining the taste as well.Fortunately, Des kept things moving forward. “When I was thinking about what I wanted you to do to me last night,” she began, “you weren’t wearing all those clothes!”As quickly as I could, I unlaced my boots, shucked off my jeans and underwear, and whipped both sweater and T-shirt over my head. All this was hampered by the face that Des was naked in front of me and I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her!When I was as bare as she was, Desiree took the initiative again. Bracing her hands on the bedspread, she slipped her feet in front of her and moved them off the bed. Her legs parted even more as she scooted forward until her ass was just on the edge of the mattress. This position revealed her fully; wide-open thighs framed the neatly groomed, silky curls that covered her mound and along each side of her opening. Her earlier actions had turned her on, and her inner lips glistened with her arousal.“What were you going to do to me?” she asked enticingly.In a heartbeat, I fell to my knees on the soft rug beside her bed. My hands went to her inner thighs, pushing them wider apart while my thumbs did the same for her labia. Leaning in, I licked her from bottom to top, my tongue broad as I repeatedly lapped up her juices.Desiree groaned with pleasure, and her arms wrapped around my head, pulling me into her.“Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed. “Fuck me with your tongue!&rdquo
Finally connecting with a high-school friend.By outdoorhorny. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Desiree should have been born in the 60’s. Everything about her reflected a kinder, gentler, and groovier vibe than the 90’s were comfortable with; in short, she was a hippie. She wore patterned peasant skirts, thin cotton T-shirts with mandalas and such, beads all over the place, Birkenstocks, and course, a peace-sign medallion. All of these things drew my eyes to her right away, but they in no way hid the luscious body beneath and behind them. She had long brown hair that fell in soft curls below her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown, her lips deep red and shaped like Cupid’s bow. Full tits and wide hips stretched her garments tight in all the right places. Best of all, her skin was translucent and flawless, even in the dead of winter.We were both new students in school during our senior year. She had been kicked out of boarding school, and my parents had retired to a small town in the eastern part of the state. That made us the only 2 students in our grade who hadn’t been there all 4 years. Actually, the rest of the student body pretty much grew up together, but since the high school served 3 towns, only a third of them had been in school together all 12 years previously. Still, it was enough to make us feel like total outsiders.That alone was enough to bond us, but we also had a lot of classes together. There were only small sections of upper-level classes in English, history, math, French, and science, and we were in all those together. She was always somewhat spacey, but a good student, a good lab partner and homework buddy, and a pleasure to talk to, even if the conversations took odd turns.She was dating a guy named David who had already graduated. I spent the fall pursuing the only other single girl in our upper-level group, but she was still kind of seeing her old boyfriend from a few towns away, so that wasn’t a regular thing. We all went to the same parties, hung out after soccer and basketball games, and went to the nearest big town once in a while for some wild nights of pizza or McDonalds and a movie.It wasn’t until winter came that I realized how badly I wanted to be with Desiree. There was a lot of snow that winter, and she called one afternoon to tell me that her 18th birthday party was moved from the Science Museum to her own house; that way, no one had to drive 45 minutes in bad weather.When I got there, Des was dressed up for a change. There was still a hippie vibe to her outfit, but her parents had friends over as well, and everyone was dressed for a holiday party. It turned out that her family had scheduled both things, but combined them to save everyone a drive. Anyway, she looked amazing; her hair was silky and somewhat straighter, she had on a little makeup, and her outfit made her look older and more beautiful. I was glad I had taken some pains to dress up as well; some of our friends didn’t get the memo and showed up in our usual teenage gear. She told me how nice I looked, and I made sure to compliment her as well.Because of my mother’s job, I was accustomed to spending time with adults at parties like this one. I chatted with her parents, and with some other adults who were parents of kids at school, or people I had met around town. Even the damn principal of the high school was there, which was a little weird for all of us! I saw Desiree working her way around the room as well, and my eyes kept straying her way as I admired her outfit, her flashing eyes, and the soft ripples of laughter that I knew so well. She caught me looking every once in a while and smiled at me.When I finally broke away to hang out with my friends, her mom stopped me to say how glad she was that I had come. She complimented my poise, told me I was very grown up, and gave me a peck on the cheek. I grimaced, blushed, and thanked her before disengaging as gracefully as I could. When I got out of the kitchen and headed for the den where the kids were hanging out, Desiree was headed out as well.“Wow; you’re quite the hit with the mom-and-dad crowd, dude” she teased me.“Just working the room, ya know?” I said in my most pompous voice.“I’m sorry if my mom embarrassed you,” she said apologetically. “She can be kinda over the top. I keep trying to get her to mellow out, but she always comes out with something trippy!”“No problem; I can handle moms pretty well. My mom used to drag me to parties all the time for her old job, and you just kind of get used to the chit-chat.”“Well,” she began, taking my arm, “I was very impressed with your poise!”I blushed again. “Oh, you heard that, did ya?”She laughed happily and squeezed my arm, her tits pressing against me closely.“Yes, I did. I was thinking how grown-up you were, too. When I noticed you checking me out, I kept thinking it was some creepy older guy, but then it was you, and it just made me feel good.”I had no idea what to say to that, so I fell back on flattery.“Des,” I told her, “I’m sorry about that, you just looked so beautiful and natural chatting away with all those people that I couldn’t help but look at you!”A pleased smile appeared, and she squeezed me again.“Does that mean you didn’t think I was beautiful before?”“Oh, no, not at all!” Did I mention I was far from smooth back in those days?“So tell me, dude, how long have you been thinking I was beautiful?”At that point, I realized that she was completely messing with me, but I couldn’t stop myself.“Since day one of school,” I told her earnestly.I think my serious tone took her aback somewhat, but again the pleased smile appeared.“So it wasn’t just because I’m all dressed up and wearing makeup instead of being my usual crunchy self?” she asked. This time, the teasing quality of her voice was more apparent.“Nope. Crunchy Des is beautiful all the time, I just never get a chance to tell you.”“I can see why you’re such a hit with the moms,” she murmured just before we entered the den.She let go of me to rejoin the group, and we relaxed into our usual roles, joking around as a group and devouring the pizzas her mom had ordered for us. We stayed there for three or four hours, watched a movie, and at the cake her mom brought in. All in all, a good birthday party.The adults had drifted off before the movie ended, so the house was quiet when Desiree’s party was over. Everyone hit the road, but I stayed behind to say goodbye to her parents; again, my mother’s training was kicking in. She thanked me again for spending time with the grown-ups and, to me embarrassment, gave me another peck on the cheek, turned me around toward Des, and said, “Isn’t he great?” in a loud voice. “And handsome?”“Oh, he certainly is!” Des affirmed, desperately trying to keep a straight face.“Well, goodnight, thanks again for having me,” I muttered and headed for the door.Des caught me before I got my coat on completely. She grabbed my arm in the hallway, her eyes filled with laughter.“I’m sorry; I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist!”“No big deal,” I assured her somewhat truthfully. “It’s your mom; she’s just a little, ”“I know. I’m sorry. But she was right about one thing, ”“You Are very great and handsome,” she said softly. Then she stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on my lips. Her eyes were deep and serious, and she pulled back a few inches, watching me, waiting for my reaction.“Des,” I replied in a low voice, “I was serious when I said you look beautiful all the time. I’ve always thought so, it’s just that tonight, I saw you looking beautiful in a different way and it made me realize, ” My words trailed off.“Realize what?” she asked, holding herself just inches from my face.“How much I want to do this,” I told her, crossing the space between us and kissing her back, letting my arms wrap naturally around her slender waist.Des hummed happily, then broke our kiss to smile up at me. “Far out!” she said softly.Her mom was still moving around the living room and kitchen collecting glasses, so Des urged me out onto the broad bluestone steps and closed the door behind us. The outside lights were on and it felt like snow again. I pulled my coat all the way on, then opened the front and she stepped gratefully into the shelter it offered her from the cold. Her body was warm and lush against mine, and I felt every curve plastered against me as our lips met again.Away from prying eyes, her lips parted quickly and her tongue darted playfully into my mouth. I responded in kind, and our eyes closed for what seemed like an endless moment as we shared that thrilling rise of passion for the first time. I could feel my whole body responding, and Des shifted her weight, clearly feeling the same ripples of pleasure in her core.“I’ve got to help my mom,” she said apologetically.“I’ve got to get home, too,” I told her. “I don’t want to go, though, ”“I know, I don’t want you to go!”Stepping back into me, Des kissed me hard one more time, then pulled back and looked at me sadly. “I guess we’ll have to finish this some other time,” she said.“Yeah, definitely!” I said urgently.“Come back tomorrow if it doesn’t snow,” she said quietly.She smiled, then stepped back and opened the door. I watched her go and then turned down the icy stairs. Driving home, my mind was filled with possibilities, and I was grinning like an idiot.Thankfully, there was only a dusting of new snow when I got up the next day. I told my parents I would be hanging out with Desiree and working on a lab report. They nodded, told me to be careful and be home for dinner, and went back to whatever they were doing.The twisty back roads were gritty with salt and sand as I raced toward Des’s house. Pulling into the driveway, I noticed fresh tracks from the garage to the street. When I tapped the bird-shaped knocker, there was a long pause before I saw a flash of movement through the prisms of glass beside the door. I heard a click, and the door swung open a few inches. I could see one of Desiree’s dark eyes, a trace of a smile on her lips, a cloud of brown hair framing her face, a flash of bare thigh, and a thick bathrobe belted tightly at her waist.“Yes?” she asked in an imperious tone, raising an eyebrow playfully.“Good morning, miss,” I said earnestly. “Is your mom home? She told me yesterday that I should come by this morning. I believe that I was so poised and well-spoken at her party that she wanted to spend some more time with me, ”“You’re disgusting!” Des snorted, swinging the door open wider. “You probably would go after my mom!”“Not when you’re here,” I told her, stepping close once the door was closed behind me.Desiree grabbed the lapels of my winter coat and pushed them back off my shoulders. As the coat slid down my arms, she closed the distance between us, pressing her warm body against mine. Our lips met, softly at first and then with increasing passion.“Come upstairs,” she said after pulling back to catch her breath.“Parents?” I asked.“Gone for the day” she replied with a wicked smile.“Good!” I said fervently. “Let’s go!”She turned with a smile and a swirl of dark hair. Her bare feet were almost silent on the wooden treads as she flew up the central staircase. My hiking boots left melting snow behind as I rushed after her. I almost tripped because I was trying to run upstairs and watch her enchantingly bare legs as I went; the bathrobe was long, but I could see a lot of her beautiful form from that angle.When I got to her room, Desiree was standing on the far side, the neatly made double bed between us. Posters, tapestries, dried flowers, and a lingering whiff of sandalwood competed for and lost my attention as I halted just inside the door.“You can come in,” she said mockingly, a trace of that same sexy smile on her lips.I walked to the edge of the bed opposite her.“This is where I wanted to bring you last night,” she said. “Once I saw you with my mom, ”“Don’t start. I was just being nice, but I’m glad you noticed me, finally!”“I always noticed you, we just had other stuff going on.”“Yeah,” I replied with my usual brilliance.“So now, ” she began.“Now I’m all yours!” I told her with my best smile.“Good. I want to show you something!”I nodded and told her “Anything you want!”Her smile grew wider. Then she lifted on knee up onto the bedspread.“After you left last night, I came up here when everything was done.”She leaned forward and put her palms flat on the covers. Her other foot came off the floor, and she drew herself toward the middle of the bed, sitting with her knees together, feet tucked under her, and the bathrobe lying in soft folds on her lap. My eyes were drawn to her bare thighs, then moved slowly upward, taking in the swell of her full tits under the thick terry cloth. When I reached her face, I noticed both a smirk on her lips and a smoking, sensual glimmer in her eyes.“I was wishing you were here with me,” she continued. “So I threw my clothes over there.” She gestured with her chin, and I glanced at the outfit she wore last night piled in reverse order on the chair. “And then I climbed into bed, ”Her hands pulled slowly on the bathrobe belt. When it came undone, the lapels fell apart a few inches, drawing my eyes to the soft valley of her cleavage. Desiree shrugged her shoulders then, and the soft fabric slipped back off her shoulders. Her hands came up to cover her tits as they were exposed, but she kept up her narration.“And I started thinking about what I would do if you were with me, ”I stood there in awe as she used her palms to graze her nipples, making small circles without fully revealing herself to me.“I got so fucking horny!” she said more intensely. Her hands fell away from her chest, and as she shoved the bathrobe off her lap and away behind her, my heart beat faster and I drank in the sight of her tits: pale globes with dark, tight nipples and wide areolas. They were as gorgeous as my teenage fantasies had imagined them, and my hands itched to reach for them.Des dropped her hands to her lap then, and shifted herself to widen the space between her knees. I followed the motion and was treated to a glimpse of dark curls before one hand blocked my view. I thought for a moment she was being modest, but then I noticed her hand moving slowly, caressing herself with slight up and down motion.“Just thinking about having you up here last night made me want you so badly, I ended up sitting just like this, wishing it was you playing with my boobs, and I was touching myself like this.”Her free hand came up and I saw her pinch her own nipple delicately, twisting it as she did. Her other hand pressed more firmly into the shadowy depths of her lap, and I knew her fingers were curled underneath her, stroking the furry lips of her cunt.“Show me, ” I whispered, finally contributing to the conversation.Des smiled again and rose up to her full kneeling height. From knees to neck, her body was a symphony of pale olive skin and alluring curves. She kept her hands in place, but seemed to savor my admiration while I took in the narrow waist, the long muscles of her thighs, and the rippling bounce of her tits.Again, she spoke as she played with herself: “My nipples got really hard thinking about you pinching them, and I started playing with my clit because I was already so wet for you!”Looking down, I saw that she had two fingers extended and they were making tight circles at the base of her mound.“Sometimes, ” she resumed, “I put my fingers inside to get them wetter.” Her hand curled lower for a moment and then went back to lavishing attention on her most sensitive spot. “Is that what you would have done to me last night?”“God, yes!” I told her immediately. She smiled, but I wanted to raise the stakes a little more.“I would have started like that, Des, I wish I could have come upstairs and seen you naked like this! I would have kissed every inch of you and pinched your nipples and rubbed your clit exactly the way you’re doing it now!”“What else?” she asked in an urgent whisper, her back arching a bit and her eyes half-closed.“I would have pushed you back, though, so I could taste you,” I said.“Umm, I love that idea!” she assured me with a sexy smile.Her hand left her lap and she brought the two fingers she had been using to play with herself up to her lips. “I do that all the time!” she said happily before licking each finger individually. Then she sucked them both at once, slowly getting every trace of her juices off.As I stood beside the bed and watched this erotic display, my cock was achingly hard inside my jeans. I could think of nothing to say; my mind was gripped by the show in front of me, and I was fantasizing about those beautiful lips sucking me instead, and I was imagining the taste as well.Fortunately, Des kept things moving forward. “When I was thinking about what I wanted you to do to me last night,” she began, “you weren’t wearing all those clothes!”As quickly as I could, I unlaced my boots, shucked off my jeans and underwear, and whipped both sweater and T-shirt over my head. All this was hampered by the face that Des was naked in front of me and I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her!When I was as bare as she was, Desiree took the initiative again. Bracing her hands on the bedspread, she slipped her feet in front of her and moved them off the bed. Her legs parted even more as she scooted forward until her ass was just on the edge of the mattress. This position revealed her fully; wide-open thighs framed the neatly groomed, silky curls that covered her mound and along each side of her opening. Her earlier actions had turned her on, and her inner lips glistened with her arousal.“What were you going to do to me?” she asked enticingly.In a heartbeat, I fell to my knees on the soft rug beside her bed. My hands went to her inner thighs, pushing them wider apart while my thumbs did the same for her labia. Leaning in, I licked her from bottom to top, my tongue broad as I repeatedly lapped up her juices.Desiree groaned with pleasure, and her arms wrapped around my head, pulling me into her.“Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed. “Fuck me with your tongue!&rdquo
Finally connecting with a high-school friend.By outdoorhorny. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Desiree should have been born in the 60’s. Everything about her reflected a kinder, gentler, and groovier vibe than the 90’s were comfortable with; in short, she was a hippie. She wore patterned peasant skirts, thin cotton T-shirts with mandalas and such, beads all over the place, Birkenstocks, and course, a peace-sign medallion. All of these things drew my eyes to her right away, but they in no way hid the luscious body beneath and behind them. She had long brown hair that fell in soft curls below her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown, her lips deep red and shaped like Cupid’s bow. Full tits and wide hips stretched her garments tight in all the right places. Best of all, her skin was translucent and flawless, even in the dead of winter.We were both new students in school during our senior year. She had been kicked out of boarding school, and my parents had retired to a small town in the eastern part of the state. That made us the only 2 students in our grade who hadn’t been there all 4 years. Actually, the rest of the student body pretty much grew up together, but since the high school served 3 towns, only a third of them had been in school together all 12 years previously. Still, it was enough to make us feel like total outsiders.That alone was enough to bond us, but we also had a lot of classes together. There were only small sections of upper-level classes in English, history, math, French, and science, and we were in all those together. She was always somewhat spacey, but a good student, a good lab partner and homework buddy, and a pleasure to talk to, even if the conversations took odd turns.She was dating a guy named David who had already graduated. I spent the fall pursuing the only other single girl in our upper-level group, but she was still kind of seeing her old boyfriend from a few towns away, so that wasn’t a regular thing. We all went to the same parties, hung out after soccer and basketball games, and went to the nearest big town once in a while for some wild nights of pizza or McDonalds and a movie.It wasn’t until winter came that I realized how badly I wanted to be with Desiree. There was a lot of snow that winter, and she called one afternoon to tell me that her 18th birthday party was moved from the Science Museum to her own house; that way, no one had to drive 45 minutes in bad weather.When I got there, Des was dressed up for a change. There was still a hippie vibe to her outfit, but her parents had friends over as well, and everyone was dressed for a holiday party. It turned out that her family had scheduled both things, but combined them to save everyone a drive. Anyway, she looked amazing; her hair was silky and somewhat straighter, she had on a little makeup, and her outfit made her look older and more beautiful. I was glad I had taken some pains to dress up as well; some of our friends didn’t get the memo and showed up in our usual teenage gear. She told me how nice I looked, and I made sure to compliment her as well.Because of my mother’s job, I was accustomed to spending time with adults at parties like this one. I chatted with her parents, and with some other adults who were parents of kids at school, or people I had met around town. Even the damn principal of the high school was there, which was a little weird for all of us! I saw Desiree working her way around the room as well, and my eyes kept straying her way as I admired her outfit, her flashing eyes, and the soft ripples of laughter that I knew so well. She caught me looking every once in a while and smiled at me.When I finally broke away to hang out with my friends, her mom stopped me to say how glad she was that I had come. She complimented my poise, told me I was very grown up, and gave me a peck on the cheek. I grimaced, blushed, and thanked her before disengaging as gracefully as I could. When I got out of the kitchen and headed for the den where the kids were hanging out, Desiree was headed out as well.“Wow; you’re quite the hit with the mom-and-dad crowd, dude” she teased me.“Just working the room, ya know?” I said in my most pompous voice.“I’m sorry if my mom embarrassed you,” she said apologetically. “She can be kinda over the top. I keep trying to get her to mellow out, but she always comes out with something trippy!”“No problem; I can handle moms pretty well. My mom used to drag me to parties all the time for her old job, and you just kind of get used to the chit-chat.”“Well,” she began, taking my arm, “I was very impressed with your poise!”I blushed again. “Oh, you heard that, did ya?”She laughed happily and squeezed my arm, her tits pressing against me closely.“Yes, I did. I was thinking how grown-up you were, too. When I noticed you checking me out, I kept thinking it was some creepy older guy, but then it was you, and it just made me feel good.”I had no idea what to say to that, so I fell back on flattery.“Des,” I told her, “I’m sorry about that, you just looked so beautiful and natural chatting away with all those people that I couldn’t help but look at you!”A pleased smile appeared, and she squeezed me again.“Does that mean you didn’t think I was beautiful before?”“Oh, no, not at all!” Did I mention I was far from smooth back in those days?“So tell me, dude, how long have you been thinking I was beautiful?”At that point, I realized that she was completely messing with me, but I couldn’t stop myself.“Since day one of school,” I told her earnestly.I think my serious tone took her aback somewhat, but again the pleased smile appeared.“So it wasn’t just because I’m all dressed up and wearing makeup instead of being my usual crunchy self?” she asked. This time, the teasing quality of her voice was more apparent.“Nope. Crunchy Des is beautiful all the time, I just never get a chance to tell you.”“I can see why you’re such a hit with the moms,” she murmured just before we entered the den.She let go of me to rejoin the group, and we relaxed into our usual roles, joking around as a group and devouring the pizzas her mom had ordered for us. We stayed there for three or four hours, watched a movie, and at the cake her mom brought in. All in all, a good birthday party.The adults had drifted off before the movie ended, so the house was quiet when Desiree’s party was over. Everyone hit the road, but I stayed behind to say goodbye to her parents; again, my mother’s training was kicking in. She thanked me again for spending time with the grown-ups and, to me embarrassment, gave me another peck on the cheek, turned me around toward Des, and said, “Isn’t he great?” in a loud voice. “And handsome?”“Oh, he certainly is!” Des affirmed, desperately trying to keep a straight face.“Well, goodnight, thanks again for having me,” I muttered and headed for the door.Des caught me before I got my coat on completely. She grabbed my arm in the hallway, her eyes filled with laughter.“I’m sorry; I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist!”“No big deal,” I assured her somewhat truthfully. “It’s your mom; she’s just a little, ”“I know. I’m sorry. But she was right about one thing, ”“You Are very great and handsome,” she said softly. Then she stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on my lips. Her eyes were deep and serious, and she pulled back a few inches, watching me, waiting for my reaction.“Des,” I replied in a low voice, “I was serious when I said you look beautiful all the time. I’ve always thought so, it’s just that tonight, I saw you looking beautiful in a different way and it made me realize, ” My words trailed off.“Realize what?” she asked, holding herself just inches from my face.“How much I want to do this,” I told her, crossing the space between us and kissing her back, letting my arms wrap naturally around her slender waist.Des hummed happily, then broke our kiss to smile up at me. “Far out!” she said softly.Her mom was still moving around the living room and kitchen collecting glasses, so Des urged me out onto the broad bluestone steps and closed the door behind us. The outside lights were on and it felt like snow again. I pulled my coat all the way on, then opened the front and she stepped gratefully into the shelter it offered her from the cold. Her body was warm and lush against mine, and I felt every curve plastered against me as our lips met again.Away from prying eyes, her lips parted quickly and her tongue darted playfully into my mouth. I responded in kind, and our eyes closed for what seemed like an endless moment as we shared that thrilling rise of passion for the first time. I could feel my whole body responding, and Des shifted her weight, clearly feeling the same ripples of pleasure in her core.“I’ve got to help my mom,” she said apologetically.“I’ve got to get home, too,” I told her. “I don’t want to go, though, ”“I know, I don’t want you to go!”Stepping back into me, Des kissed me hard one more time, then pulled back and looked at me sadly. “I guess we’ll have to finish this some other time,” she said.“Yeah, definitely!” I said urgently.“Come back tomorrow if it doesn’t snow,” she said quietly.She smiled, then stepped back and opened the door. I watched her go and then turned down the icy stairs. Driving home, my mind was filled with possibilities, and I was grinning like an idiot.Thankfully, there was only a dusting of new snow when I got up the next day. I told my parents I would be hanging out with Desiree and working on a lab report. They nodded, told me to be careful and be home for dinner, and went back to whatever they were doing.The twisty back roads were gritty with salt and sand as I raced toward Des’s house. Pulling into the driveway, I noticed fresh tracks from the garage to the street. When I tapped the bird-shaped knocker, there was a long pause before I saw a flash of movement through the prisms of glass beside the door. I heard a click, and the door swung open a few inches. I could see one of Desiree’s dark eyes, a trace of a smile on her lips, a cloud of brown hair framing her face, a flash of bare thigh, and a thick bathrobe belted tightly at her waist.“Yes?” she asked in an imperious tone, raising an eyebrow playfully.“Good morning, miss,” I said earnestly. “Is your mom home? She told me yesterday that I should come by this morning. I believe that I was so poised and well-spoken at her party that she wanted to spend some more time with me, ”“You’re disgusting!” Des snorted, swinging the door open wider. “You probably would go after my mom!”“Not when you’re here,” I told her, stepping close once the door was closed behind me.Desiree grabbed the lapels of my winter coat and pushed them back off my shoulders. As the coat slid down my arms, she closed the distance between us, pressing her warm body against mine. Our lips met, softly at first and then with increasing passion.“Come upstairs,” she said after pulling back to catch her breath.“Parents?” I asked.“Gone for the day” she replied with a wicked smile.“Good!” I said fervently. “Let’s go!”She turned with a smile and a swirl of dark hair. Her bare feet were almost silent on the wooden treads as she flew up the central staircase. My hiking boots left melting snow behind as I rushed after her. I almost tripped because I was trying to run upstairs and watch her enchantingly bare legs as I went; the bathrobe was long, but I could see a lot of her beautiful form from that angle.When I got to her room, Desiree was standing on the far side, the neatly made double bed between us. Posters, tapestries, dried flowers, and a lingering whiff of sandalwood competed for and lost my attention as I halted just inside the door.“You can come in,” she said mockingly, a trace of that same sexy smile on her lips.I walked to the edge of the bed opposite her.“This is where I wanted to bring you last night,” she said. “Once I saw you with my mom, ”“Don’t start. I was just being nice, but I’m glad you noticed me, finally!”“I always noticed you, we just had other stuff going on.”“Yeah,” I replied with my usual brilliance.“So now, ” she began.“Now I’m all yours!” I told her with my best smile.“Good. I want to show you something!”I nodded and told her “Anything you want!”Her smile grew wider. Then she lifted on knee up onto the bedspread.“After you left last night, I came up here when everything was done.”She leaned forward and put her palms flat on the covers. Her other foot came off the floor, and she drew herself toward the middle of the bed, sitting with her knees together, feet tucked under her, and the bathrobe lying in soft folds on her lap. My eyes were drawn to her bare thighs, then moved slowly upward, taking in the swell of her full tits under the thick terry cloth. When I reached her face, I noticed both a smirk on her lips and a smoking, sensual glimmer in her eyes.“I was wishing you were here with me,” she continued. “So I threw my clothes over there.” She gestured with her chin, and I glanced at the outfit she wore last night piled in reverse order on the chair. “And then I climbed into bed, ”Her hands pulled slowly on the bathrobe belt. When it came undone, the lapels fell apart a few inches, drawing my eyes to the soft valley of her cleavage. Desiree shrugged her shoulders then, and the soft fabric slipped back off her shoulders. Her hands came up to cover her tits as they were exposed, but she kept up her narration.“And I started thinking about what I would do if you were with me, ”I stood there in awe as she used her palms to graze her nipples, making small circles without fully revealing herself to me.“I got so fucking horny!” she said more intensely. Her hands fell away from her chest, and as she shoved the bathrobe off her lap and away behind her, my heart beat faster and I drank in the sight of her tits: pale globes with dark, tight nipples and wide areolas. They were as gorgeous as my teenage fantasies had imagined them, and my hands itched to reach for them.Des dropped her hands to her lap then, and shifted herself to widen the space between her knees. I followed the motion and was treated to a glimpse of dark curls before one hand blocked my view. I thought for a moment she was being modest, but then I noticed her hand moving slowly, caressing herself with slight up and down motion.“Just thinking about having you up here last night made me want you so badly, I ended up sitting just like this, wishing it was you playing with my boobs, and I was touching myself like this.”Her free hand came up and I saw her pinch her own nipple delicately, twisting it as she did. Her other hand pressed more firmly into the shadowy depths of her lap, and I knew her fingers were curled underneath her, stroking the furry lips of her cunt.“Show me, ” I whispered, finally contributing to the conversation.Des smiled again and rose up to her full kneeling height. From knees to neck, her body was a symphony of pale olive skin and alluring curves. She kept her hands in place, but seemed to savor my admiration while I took in the narrow waist, the long muscles of her thighs, and the rippling bounce of her tits.Again, she spoke as she played with herself: “My nipples got really hard thinking about you pinching them, and I started playing with my clit because I was already so wet for you!”Looking down, I saw that she had two fingers extended and they were making tight circles at the base of her mound.“Sometimes, ” she resumed, “I put my fingers inside to get them wetter.” Her hand curled lower for a moment and then went back to lavishing attention on her most sensitive spot. “Is that what you would have done to me last night?”“God, yes!” I told her immediately. She smiled, but I wanted to raise the stakes a little more.“I would have started like that, Des, I wish I could have come upstairs and seen you naked like this! I would have kissed every inch of you and pinched your nipples and rubbed your clit exactly the way you’re doing it now!”“What else?” she asked in an urgent whisper, her back arching a bit and her eyes half-closed.“I would have pushed you back, though, so I could taste you,” I said.“Umm, I love that idea!” she assured me with a sexy smile.Her hand left her lap and she brought the two fingers she had been using to play with herself up to her lips. “I do that all the time!” she said happily before licking each finger individually. Then she sucked them both at once, slowly getting every trace of her juices off.As I stood beside the bed and watched this erotic display, my cock was achingly hard inside my jeans. I could think of nothing to say; my mind was gripped by the show in front of me, and I was fantasizing about those beautiful lips sucking me instead, and I was imagining the taste as well.Fortunately, Des kept things moving forward. “When I was thinking about what I wanted you to do to me last night,” she began, “you weren’t wearing all those clothes!”As quickly as I could, I unlaced my boots, shucked off my jeans and underwear, and whipped both sweater and T-shirt over my head. All this was hampered by the face that Des was naked in front of me and I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her!When I was as bare as she was, Desiree took the initiative again. Bracing her hands on the bedspread, she slipped her feet in front of her and moved them off the bed. Her legs parted even more as she scooted forward until her ass was just on the edge of the mattress. This position revealed her fully; wide-open thighs framed the neatly groomed, silky curls that covered her mound and along each side of her opening. Her earlier actions had turned her on, and her inner lips glistened with her arousal.“What were you going to do to me?” she asked enticingly.In a heartbeat, I fell to my knees on the soft rug beside her bed. My hands went to her inner thighs, pushing them wider apart while my thumbs did the same for her labia. Leaning in, I licked her from bottom to top, my tongue broad as I repeatedly lapped up her juices.Desiree groaned with pleasure, and her arms wrapped around my head, pulling me into her.“Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed. “Fuck me with your tongue!&rdquo
The team dive into the romantic stories from around our city; revealing which suburb is home to the most singles, the Coles Singles event, Birkenstocks on Wedding day and Titus' plan for Valentine's Day! Catch Mick in the Morning, with Roo, Titus & Rosie LIVE from 6-9am weekdays on 105.1 Triple M Melbourne or via the LiSTNR app. Mick In The Morning Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/molloy Triple M Melbourne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/triplemmelb Triple M Melbourne TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@triplemmelbourne Triple M Melbourne Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/triplemmelbourneSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode is what happens when the boys hit record while hanging out with Todd Conklin and then decide, “Good enough, let's roll with it.” The Toddfather has definitely been seen rocking Birks, so he gets his very own NOFX song reference.It starts where all serious safety conversations should start: punk records, new tattoos, banjo heckling, and arguing about what “tier” everyone is in. Then Todd shows up and immediately ruins the fun by asking a question that actually matters: "Why does safety keep talking about innovation while mostly just polishing the same old stuff and calling it progress?"From there, things go sideways mostly in a good way. The boys talk about how new ideas don't die because people hate them; they mostly die because nobody keeps pushing them. How safety has gotten weirdly obsessed with full-tilt scientific legitimacy, certainty, and defending itself instead of, you know, making work better. How LinkedIn is not helping. At all. And how most “innovation” in safety is just the same tools with new names and a shitty logo.Todd does what Todd does: calmly points out uncomfortable truths. He's like those old Jello Biafra interviews from the '80s and '90s, just splitting people's minds open. Like the fact that the most interesting innovation isn't coming from safety conferences; it's coming from places like pediatric hospitals, high-risk teams that never think they're good enough, and organizations that actually design around how work happens instead of how they wish it happened. Also, nostalgia is not a strategy, and compliance is not a personality.Somewhere in the middle, they realize (again) that safety isn't the goal, positive change to how we work is. Safety is just what falls out when work is designed, supported, and adapted well. That realization is immediately followed by more sarcasm, some light despair about the future of leadership, and at least one rant about why “waiting for the next big thinker” is probably a losing move.Does this episode solve anything? Absolutely not, even though the fellas definitely claim to. But, like punk rock, it's a reminder of why this stuff still matters, especially when it feels like the field is stuck in neutral.Also: still no new tattoos. Which honestly feels like the biggest failure of the episode. DISCLAIMER: You probably shouldn't take anything in this podcast too seriously. Punk Rock Safety is for entertainment only. It's definitely not a replacement for professional or legal advice, and the fair amount of piss-taking, shithousery, and general ridiculousness ought to clue you into the fact that no one - and no organization - is endorsing (or un-endorsing, if that's a thing) any products, ideas, or other things. Except NOFX. We definitely endorse them.Oh, and give your money to Punk Rock Saves Lives. They're a rad organization that works in mental health, addiction, and human rights. And they're awesome people who can use your help to keep on kicking ass at what they do.https://www.punkrocksaveslives.org/Let us know what you think at info@punkrocksafety.com or on our LinkedIn page.Merch at punkrocksafetymerch.com
Sarah and Vinnie are still giggling about some of the Super Bowl ads. Lindsey Vonn's Olympic moment was not what we were hoping for. The car brands were noticeably absent from Super Bowl ads. Here were our favorite ads from the show. It seems like the adversity he faced made most people root for Bad Bunny. He must be relieved that it's over. Is “Vagueposting” the most annoying trend on social media? Birkenstocks are the new wedding shoes, but you'll need to shell out.
Hour 1: Sarah is checking in on our Super Bowl prop bets. Vinnie is revealing the secret ingredient to sugar free brownies. Stefon Diggs and Cardi B didn't get engaged at the Super Bowl - did they break up? PSA: Valentine's Day is THIS SATURDAY. People just don't understand the ocean. Be safe out there! What does the crap in your car say about the state of your mind? Hour 2: Sarah and Vinnie are still giggling about some of the Super Bowl ads. Lindsey Vonn's Olympic moment was not what we were hoping for. The car brands were noticeably absent from Super Bowl ads. Here were our favorite ads from the show. It seems like the adversity he faced made most people root for Bad Bunny. He must be relieved that it's over. Is “Vagueposting” the most annoying trend on social media? Birkenstocks are the new wedding shoes, but you'll need to shell out. (48:14) Hour 3: The SF Marathon is no joke. A horrible update on Savannah Guthrie's mother. On the bright side, Bad Bunny brought the party. There's a little more smoke around the Alix Earle and Tom Brady dating rumors. The gang isn't impressed by this year's streaker. Someone cashed in big on a coin flip prop bet. America ate a lot of wings yesterday. Plus, the best dig of the weekend. Why is it called the Super Bowl anyway? Vinnie still can't believe he has a theatre kid in his house. Here's your daily dose of nostalgia. (1:32:07) Hour 4: The Castro Theater is making its grand return. Lil Jon's missing son has been found dead. The founding guitarist of Cake, Greg Brown, has passed away. The bassist from the 70s band Television has also passed away at 77. Christian McCaffrey stepped in on piano for Zach Bryan at the Chase Center this weekend. Are The Eagles calling it quits? Vinnie says touring is more boring than you think. Don't forget to watch ‘Sinners' for Bob's Movie Club this week! Stupidity at its finest: Donuts on ice. (2:14:56)
What do with think of bridal Birkenstocks? BOOB TUBE: "Wonder Man," we play FUN FACT OR CRAP, and "Bowels of Hell" is the toilet bowl horror film that actually existsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
"Mama always said that dying was a part of life...but I sure wish it wasn't."-- Forrest GumpMy journey as a fan of the Grateful Dead is -- from my perspective -- and interesting one in that I went from the tiny handful of FM-radio hits to Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of the Grateful Dead, and I didn't love it. At all, really.Some time later everything changed.I wasn't certain about the lineup and why the vocals sometimes didn't sound like Jerry Garcia's voice, but I eventually figured it out, and -- in typical fashion for myself -- I fell in love with Garcia's playing, Garcia's voice, and the sometimes-lovely keyboard playing. And that was kind of it.It took me until the formation of Dead and Company to form my admiration and respect of -- plus love for -- Bobby Weir. Seeing the occasional photo of him in Birkenstocks (and ultimately barefoot) on his on-stage rug in addition to the occasional Instagram post of him in yoga poses, etc. really solidified my belief that this was a truly special human being.I struggle with a number of things, and among them is the constant need for the reminder that social media isn't real life. So, when Bobby's passing was shared with the world, I bristled at verbiage in posts that started with phrases like, "I'm devastated."At the same time, I also kind of understood.Bob Weir -- from my vantage point -- was in incredible human, and we are so, so lucky that we shared living moments with him.I say all of that to say this: Nicolette Paige joined me for Episode No. 197 and even though I didn't know her prior to her ringing my doorbell (and scarcely know her now), she seems like a delightful person. She -- I think -- is all about energy and love and positivity, and we could use a few more Nicolettes on this planet right now.Mrs. Paige and I talked about family, growing up with incredibly supportive parents, putting on shows, seeing clients, peddling products, managing screen time, as well as a few of her favorite albums, which were these:Bob Marley's Exodus (1977)Bruised Orange (1978), John PrineJimi Hendrix's The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000)Mama's Gun (2000), Erykah BaduErykah Badu's New Amerykah, Part I (4th World War) (2008)Follow her at @nicolettepaigemusic on Instagram. Check out her Web site, soulchildawakenings.com, and -- if you're so inclined -- you can follow Soul Child Awakenings on the socials we know as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. She's also got two albums -- self-titled + The Other Side -- available via the streaming platforms.A big thank you to Nicolette for the time and the vibes. A super-big thank you to you for supporting the podcast, and a massive thank you to Bob Weir, for being an absolute treasure.copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips featured in this episode. They are snippets taken from the leadoff track of Bob Weir's 2016 record, Blue Mountain. It's a fantastic album, and I encourage you to check it out in its entirety. We have it available to us today c/o TRI Studios LLC, which is distributed under license by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.
Joel landed an Aussie radio exclusive with Dorit Kemsley while she was in Melbourne for Crown Oak’s Day. She raved about Melbourne, Crown’s spa (best massage in 20 years) and described Aussie fashion as “effortlessly chic” while firmly ruling out culottes and Birkenstocks. Dorit shared how she’s archiving designer pieces for her daughter Phoenix, her famously exact drink orders, and reflected on last season of Housewives as “authentic chess.” She also teased her upcoming book (April 7), revealed she was a breakdancer back in the day, and dished on her love of music, running late, and keeping it glam.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BE STILL OUR LESBIAN HEARTS, FAM!! For our final bonus episode of the year, we're breaking out our Birkenstocks, pausing the canning of vegetables, getting off our Harley Davidsons, and HOLDING PATRICK VERY TIGHTLY WHILE WE SCREAM FOR THE NEXT HOUR ABOUT THE AMAZING DOCUMENTARY "Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery, The Untold Story." The real true crime here is that it took 25 years for this doc to happen BUT IT WAS SO WORTH THE WAIT! THE PAULACOLESARAHACLAGHLANTRACYCHAPMANBONNIERAITSHERYLCROWERICADADU OF IT ALLLLLLLLLLLL!!! Also, if you haven't checked out our YouTube channel yet GO WATCH THIS ONE! Patrick is literally levitating 4 feet off his chair the entire time. Find and watch "Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery" on Hulu WE'RE ON YOUTUBE - Want to view the episodes and not just listen? Check our new video feed to see full video episodes starting today. CLICK HERE TO WATCH AND SUBSCRIBE! OUR MERCH STORE IS BACK - AND ON SALE! Missed out on the merch drops earlier this year? From now until the end of the year, you can grab all of our remaining stock of merchandise for 30% off! Shop now!! LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 400 FULL AD-FREE BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW, including our episode-by-episode coverage of popular documentary series like Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God, LulaRich, and The Curious Case of Natalia Grace; classics like The Jinx, Making A Murderer, and The Staircase; and well-known cases like The Menendez Murders, Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery, and The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and so many more! Episode Sponsors: Function - Own your health for $365 a year - a dollar a day! Visit www.functionhealth.com/TCO or use gift code TCO25 for a $25 credit towards your membership. Everyday Dose - Coffee with benefits! Visit www.everydaydose.com/TCO for 61% off your first subscription order! Quince - Upgrade your closet this year without the upgraded price tag. Go to www.Quince.com/tco for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Rocket Money - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to www.RocketMoney.com/obsessed today. Home Chef - Make cooking simple: fresh food delivered, easy recipes to follow and meals that actually taste great. Go to www.HomeChef.com/TCO for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life! Join the TCO Community! Follow True Crime Obsessed on Instagram and TikTok, and join us on Facebook at the True Crime Obsessed Podcast Discussion Group! AND INTRODUCING THE NEW TCO DISCORD CHANNEL AS WELL!!!
On a blustery Thursday, The Valley Today host Janet Michael and Brady Cloven, Executive Director of Friends of Old Town, set out on a spirited adventure through Winchester's historic walking mall. Their mission? To uncover the best last-minute holiday gifts while showcasing the vibrant local businesses that make Old Town a shopping destination. Despite the biting wind, their enthusiasm never wavers as they pop into shops, chat with owners, and gather a sleigh-full of unique gift ideas. A Shop-by-Shop Gift Guide Their first stop, Back to the Media, offers a nostalgic twist on holiday shopping. Mari recommends pre-loved gaming consoles, a treasure trove of vinyl records, and quirky imported snacks—think garlic shrimp Doritos and stuffed-crust pizza chips—for stocking stuffers that spark conversation. Next, at Wilkins Shoe Center, Kendra highlights the perennial popularity of gifting shoes, from Uggs to Birkenstocks, and reminds listeners that a gift certificate is always the perfect fit. The warmth of the store contrasts with the chilly weather outside, making it a cozy haven for holiday shoppers. At Incredible Flying Objects, Drew and Anna introduce a playful selection of gifts, including collectible Sonny Angels, buildable Blokees toys, and novelty sodas and candy canes with flavors as wild as chicken soup and salmon. The store's pinball machines add a dash of retro fun, inviting families to linger and play. Handmade Artistry and Local Flavor The journey continues at Tin Top Art and Handmade, where Jen showcases an eclectic mix of candles, soaps, ornaments, and pottery—all crafted by local artists. Brady raves about the shop's unique t-shirts and postcards, while Janet marvels at the rotating gallery of one-of-a-kind art pieces. The message was clear: if you see something you love, grab it before it's gone. No tour of Old Town would be complete without a stop at the iconic Snow White Grill. Danny Turner, the ever-enthusiastic proprietor, offers up vintage toy cars, branded hats and shirts, and, of course, the legendary cheeseburgers. Gift certificates, he notes, are a delicious way to spread holiday cheer all year long. Personal Picks and Community Spirit Janet shares personal favorites like Winchester Book Gallery, Polka Dot Pot, and Nibblins cooking classes, as well as experiences like tickets to Bright Box shows and craft brewery visits. Art lovers are encouraged to explore the many galleries and artist co-ops sprinkled throughout downtown. At Abija Blue, Susan dazzles with handmade alpaca blankets, shawls, and dog ponchos, along with Turkish towels, jewelry, and whimsical finger puppets. The shop's global selection ensures that every shopper can find something special, regardless of budget. The Power of Shopping Local Throughout their stroll, Janet and Brady emphasize the importance of supporting small businesses, especially during the critical holiday season. They highlight the Old Town Holiday Gift Guide—a comprehensive directory and map available both in print and online—as an invaluable resource for navigating the diverse offerings downtown. Gift cards, they suggest, are not only thoughtful presents but also a lifeline for local shops during the slower winter months. Wrapping Up with Warmth As their conversation draws to a close at Hideaway Cafe, Janet and Brady reflect on the joy of discovering new favorites and the satisfaction of giving back to the community. Their lively banter and genuine appreciation for Old Town's merchants capture the spirit of the season: connection, generosity, and the magic of shopping local.
True Glitch in the Matrix Stories. ▾ ABOUT THIS CHANNEL ▾I collect the internet's strangest real-life glitches in the matrix, "simulation errors,” time slips, and impossible coincidences. New videos every Sunday and Wednesday night. ▾ SUBMIT YOUR STORY ▾Have a firsthand glitch or unexplainable mystery? Send it to ► DarekWeberSubmissions@gmail.com(Please include how you want me to credit you)▾ SUPPORT THE CHANNEL ▾Patreon ► https://patreon.com/DarekWeberScaryStories?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkJoin channel memberships ► https://www.youtube.com/@DarekWeber/membershipMerch ► https://darek-weber-shop.fourthwall.com/
The Art of Living Big | Subconscious | NLP | Manifestation | Mindset
In this episode Betsy talks a bit about midlife and 3 things women who are ready to make their mark in midlife typically do. Transcript: 410 reinvention in midlife Speaker: [00:00:00] Welcome to The Art of Living Big, where we explore how to live intentionally and with more joy. I’m Betsy Pake, your host, master, coach, and creator of the Navigate Method. Here to help you listen in to your true desires, elevate your standards, and live life to the fullest. Now, let’s go live big. Hi, welcome to The Art of Living Big. Hi, everybody. I have, I have a couple things to share with you as we get kicked off today, and I wanna do this episode really about being in the middle, the middle midlife, and being in the middle of all the things, the middle verse as I like to call it. And. You know, I, and, and before I continue, I also wanna just remind you, we are doing another fireside chat. If you go to my Instagram in the bio, so if you go to my Instagram [00:01:00] page and you click on the links, there’s a link to the next fireside chat, and it is in January. It’s a Sunday night, I think it’s the ninth, if I remember right. And we really just get together and talk about things that are coming up in midlife. So I have some. Thoughts to share this time. Last time it was just really lovely and I think there was like, I don’t know, 40 people or something there. So, so put it on your calendar. Go check that out. Um, come and join us and today we’re gonna talk a little bit about midlife and all the things. And I’ll tell you, I have the most midlife story ever. So I got this idea. I have been really actively working on all the little things that bring me joy. I have the belief, and you probably have this belief too, that hard things happen and the things that make hard things easier is having a lot of little micro happiness, right? [00:02:00] Little things that can support you through the hard times. This year has been like one of the strangest years. I need to do a podcast on this year, like, like an incredible, incredible transformational year for me, and I can feel myself like. It’s like I’ve gone through the portal, like I can feel myself like just being ejected from the portal. I know this summer I kept saying I’m in the birth canal, like I feel like I’m in the birth canal and I am definitely out now, but the most midlife thing to ever happen to anybody ever on the planet ever happened to me. So I have this idea. About these little things that bring me joy, and one of the things that I really like is I like to color on my iPad. Okay? I like to listen to audio books, right? I want somebody to read me a story. I like to do puzzles. Okay? I haven’t done a puzzle in forever, and I really like doing puzzles. I like [00:03:00] doing like, like those small focused things while I’m listening to music or while I’m listening to. Uh, like I have a YouTube channel that I love that is like my comfort show and. I also like to do it when I listen to audio books, right? So, or podcasts, you know what I’m saying? So something. And so I decided I was gonna get a puzzle and I was really excited about it. I went to the store and I was like looking at all the puzzles and trying to figure out one that would be hard enough, but not too hard, and. Anyway, I found one, it’s like these stickers you would put on a suitcase, right? So it’s all like these travel stickers. So I was like, that’ll be fun. It’s cute, it’ll be easy enough because there’s so much uniqueness to it, right? So each of the pieces will be unique. So. I get it home. I mean, I have it all like laid out. I’m sorting the pieces. I’m like, I am like a professional [00:04:00] puzzler at this point. And so I get to work. I got an I or I got a, an audio book going like, I mean, I’m feeling good about this, right? A, a couple hours go by, I’m standing up because I’m like leaning over the table and organizing it all, and I got the whole like outline together and I’m starting to get like the second and third row of the puzzles and then I’m like, man, I’m getting tired. Like I’ve been doing this puzzle for like three hours and then I go to stand up and I realize that I have been leaning over, sort of like if you were brushing your teeth for three hours. And this midlife back was very unhappy. It was just tired. Do you know what I mean? I, there’s nothing bad that happened, but it was so tired that it was starting to spasm on one side of my back. I mean, I was like, are you joking? I don’t know if you’ve been here for a long time. You might remember I had that back spasm when I was in Iceland like four years [00:05:00] ago. It was that same spot, right? So I just about died, but the thing that I learned from Iceland was not to put ice on it. I needed heat. So I laid on a heating pad and I made it through, and I’m feeling better, much better today. You know, it took a couple days, but I was like, is this not the most midlife thing to ever happen? That I have a puzzle injury, like I puzzled too close to the sun and I had a puzzle injury. With that. I wanna talk this week about being in midlife, but also this reinvention and why this time of our lives. I really believe with the wisdom that we have and. The life lessons that we’ve learned and the experiences and the things that we’ve gone through. We are actually in one of the best possible places ever to have a real invention, reinvention that [00:06:00] creates like amazing change and an arrival of something really new for us. You know? So let’s dive in here. You know, I think. As I was thinking about this, I was like, you know, I, I think when I think about midlife, you know what I think about, I think about. The guy with the sports car, right? Isn’t that what we kind of always think about? At least when I was younger, that’s what I thought about. Like the guy that got a younger girlfriend and had a red sports car. And I also think there is something that we are meant to believe about women in midlife. Which is that we’re going through all these crazy hormonal changes and everything is different and it’s something that you actually have to survive, like something that you have to really get through or endure. And I also think until recently it was something you were supposed to endure like silently. You [00:07:00] weren’t supposed to talk about anything actually happening biologically in midlife. That was sort of taboo until recently. I think even like the last five years, maybe 10 years, but like five years probably. But I am wondering, and these, this is the thing that I always talk to the ladies inside the Navigate Method about is that what if midlife is actually the most incredible, powerful portal that you will ever step into? N not because it’s easy, magical, like birth canal, but because things get stripped away and now you get to tell the truth. And I think every woman that I work with reaches this moment where the performance of life and being a woman, the performance of being a [00:08:00] woman, right? Like I. Of how you’re supposed to be a woman. Let’s say it that way. That performance stops, right? You stop performing stability, you stop performing the roles that you had to, and your roles change. Like maybe you had kids and now your kids are moved out, like you, you, you know what I mean? All these different things happen. You stop pretending. That everything in your marriage is fine or that you can just sweep stuff under the rug that it’s it like it’s fine. Like that. You can stop pretending that the life that you built, even if you put a lot of effort into building it, you get to stop pretending that it still fits. And I think this is a huge breakthrough because we are refusing to whisper. Because we are refusing to stay the same, and we are in a [00:09:00] world that really wants us to stay the same. It wants us to still look 20. It wants us to still have the body that we had in our twenties. It wants us to still be performing all the things and all the tasks and have the energy and all these things, but that’s just not our lives anymore. And I think that, you know. Men in a lot of ways are allowed to age. We say even when men get gray, it’s distinguished. I, I can’t, I, I feel rage. I feel rage even now as I say that. It’s distinguished, but women are supposed to. Sit and put chemicals on your hair, and if you want to do that, I salute you. Do it like I love it. I’m thinking about getting some Botox because I want to, but probably because I’ve been told that I need to do, you know what I mean? Like probably my eyelids are heavy, so I have this idea that I could get some Botox and lift my eyelid a little bit so that I wouldn’t have to get surgery on my eyelids, which a side note I think will probably be a medical [00:10:00] procedure at some point soon. But the point is. That there is a difference between what we do and what we are supposed to do and what men do and what men are supposed to do. Men are supposed to just age and women, we have to evolve in a totally different way, and I feel that too. I haven’t colored my hair in years, but I still look in the mirror sometime and like should I, would I look better? How do I define better? I’m not sure, but I think it has to do with being younger. I think it has to do with looking youthful. And of course I want those things, but why do I, and so I think that this, that midlife starts to feel like a collapse, right? There’s this point where all of your old coping strategies sort of lose their oomph. [00:11:00] So I think that this, this point of midlife is a reinvention, but it’s not a reinvention of starting over. I think it’s a reinvention about becoming the version of you that is renewed, right? It’s about remembering someone old, the version of you that got buried under, you know, e expectations or responsibilities or the, the roles that you had, right? Marriage dynamics, how you operate in a professional capacity, like all of that stuff. And we are layered. So you’re not lost, but this is now those layers starting to peel back, right? Because you’re starting to catch up to your evolvement. So this is all right on time. I really think all of this comes at a place that is [00:12:00] divine intervention for us. When we are listening, and I think I mentioned this last week. Maybe it was last week. I know I’ve talked about it in my groups incessantly, but my friend Jamie and I keep talking about how our body is an oracle. That’s how we’re describing it. Our body is an oracle. We know the truth. When we can get out of our head and listen to our body, and I think with all these changes going on in our bodies, we start really paying attention and it’s like a magical door that opens. Allows us to be able to see something that we were able to ignore, right? That we were able to sweep under the rug before, and now we, we just don’t get to as much. And you know, as we keep talking about midlife. We have a sponsor for the podcast, and I know you’ve heard me talk about Cozy Earth and I wanted [00:13:00] to talk about them in this particular podcast, both because their sheets are magical if you have night sweats, but also because, um, this is gonna go live right in the beginning of December, and right in the middle of December is when their, the coupons that they have on their website are gonna change. So you can use a code. R code. So it’s live Big Betsy, live big Betsy, one word. You can use that and you can stack it. To the discounts that they have on their website. So you could get those sheets, those luxury sheets that I always talk about for 40% off, which I think is crazy. So I want to tell you about the sheets. They have a money back guarantee, so check them out. But also, like if you’re looking for little stocking stuffers, they’re, they’re socks. They have these like cozy lounge socks and I got a three pack. It’s these really pretty pink colors and they’re really like my most favorite socks. [00:14:00] I think maybe I talked about ’em last week. I feel like I talk about ’em all the time though. Like for real, because they’re cozy and I wear ’em a lot with, I have these Tory Birch, um, like Birkenstocks. They’re like Boston Birkenstocks, but they’re Tory Birch. So a little bit different, but I wear ’em with those all the time and I just love ’em. Um, and then of course. The quilted house coat. I mean, if I had sound effects in this podcast, I would have like angels singing. Oh, it’s the, the best thing ever. You’ve heard me say it. Uh, I won’t, I won’t belabor this issue, but it’s the best thing ever. I’m gonna wear it to the fireside chat this next month because, um, it’s cozy. Cozy, and I put it in the dryer and it is a comforter basically that’s made into a. House coat. They call it a house coat. I call it a bathrobe, but on the website it’s called quilted house coat. But it’s lovely and 40% off. I mean, it’s crazy. So the sizing that’s on there is accurate. So check that out. [00:15:00] And like I said, they have this a hundred night sleep trial on the sheets, so you get to try the Cozy Earth sheets, and if you’re not totally in love, you can just return it. They won’t even. Hassle you about it, but you won’t wanna return ’em, you’ll love them. Um, so. 10 year warranty on all the bedding products. You get this a hundred night sleep sale. It’s a, it’s a no brainer, but please get the bathrobe because I want everybody to come to the fireside chat in their bathrobe. Like I’ll be so excited. But I think this is like, one of the things about midlife is we get to do some stuff for ourselves, right? We get to buy the cozy socks and have our quilted house coat and drink our tea or coffee and just do what we want. Do you know what I mean? And I love that for us. So let’s talk about what I think reinvention in midlife actually requires, because I think that who we are becoming. Does require something of you and I [00:16:00] have been through it this year, I feel like I need to do a episode. That would just be a personal download of everything I’ve been through and I think everybody would relate and it would probably be fascinating case study, but you know the person you are becoming, this new version of you that happens in midlife costs you a lot, it costs you the patterns that have kept you small. Like Be reinvention is about making a really honest. Moves forward. It’s not about, I always say the ladies in my program are brave because it takes a lot to look at the, look at your crap, right? But it’s really also about making not just brave moves, but honest moves. And so here are three things that I see again and again in women who really show up and step into this next chapter. First, and I have a little story to tell you too, about last night. Uh, [00:17:00] this is a good little story. A little woowoo story, but let me get through these like first little things. The first thing is they, they stop apologizing for wanting more. I can’t tell you how many time I’m talking to somebody and they’re like, I mean, I feel bad, but I would really like, or it would be nice if they could, right? So they get to have more, they get to have more peace. They get to be in their quilted, housecoat and drink their tea, and everybody can go figure out what they want for dinner. Ketchup packets for everybody. They get to have more connection. They get to feel purpose in a new way, right? So many times women felt purpose when their kids were young or when they were building their careers or things were happening, but now they get to choose what that looks like. They get to choose more alignment. Your body is an oracle. What feels right to you, and this doesn’t come from entitlement. It doesn’t come from like everyone else, be damned. It comes from truth. So the three things I [00:18:00] see over and over again for women that are really ready to step into the next chapter as they stop apologizing for wanting more, and the next thing is they learn how to listen inward instead of outward. You can’t build a new way of being like you can’t build a new life with old validation. Your clarity comes from your inner voice, not from being approved by someone else. And I think a huge part of that comes down to listening to yourself and your body being the oracle. Like how does that feel? That’s such a great directive. And inside the Navigate method, we teach people how to know if something’s a yes or a no. It’s actually really easy when you know how to do it, and then all of a sudden, every decision they’re running through this blueprint and all of a sudden they’re like, oh my God, this feels so good. Right. The third thing is they make micro, micro decisions that feel.[00:19:00] Self-respect. So it’s not these huge leaps. You know how I was talking about having a puzzle and listening to an audio book? It’s not, I’m not going to Vegas for the weekend on a private jet. It’s not little, it’s not big things. It’s little things. It’s not huge leaps. It’s tiny moments of choosing yourself over and over and over again until the whole trajectory of your life starts to change. So reinvention, I think, is a series of quiet choices that start to recalibrate things and recalibrate your future. So. The story I wanted to tell you was last night we had our alumni group. So if you, if you, if you’re a member of the Navigate Method and you go through the Navigate Method, once you are complete, you go into our alumni group and our alumni group, you get certain things and you also get every week, or I’m sorry, every month we meet live. Okay. [00:20:00] So you can continue to get coaching like forever. And I always joke that that’s really for me ’cause I. I get obsessed with everybody and I wanna be with everybody. But one of the last night, there was a woman that was there that I love. She’s been in the program, you know, in the sphere, in the community for two years, and she’s, we did a little visualization exercise at the end of our group. When we got to group and she showed up on camera, I said, you look so pretty. And she’s like, my hair is curly. And I said, I haven’t seen you in a couple months. She was traveling and she’s like, yeah, I feel so good. She said, I feel so whole and complete. Like I feel really good. And she’s like, and the weird thing is, well, for the summer my hair just got curly. She’s like, my hair has always been really straight and fine. And now it’s curly. And I was like, oh, it looks cute, you know? And on with the group we went and at the end of the group I did this [00:21:00] visualization. And at the end of the visualization, she like popped into the camera and she was like, white, like a ghost white. And I was like, how was that? And she said, you did this with me. When I very first started, like two years ago, and she said the woman that came to me in the vision as me had curly hair and I didn’t recognize her. And so I didn’t relate to the visualization at all. And it was really like, how do you, what do you, who are you at you 2.0? Right? And she was like, I realized when you were doing it again that I am. I am her like two years later here I am like, like fully healed, fully whole feel, fully like in alignment, listening to myself. And she was like using all the skills and tools that you taught me and I have created this life and now I have curly hair just like I am two years ago in that visualization. And so I [00:22:00] joked like, do you have the curly hair? ’cause you imagined it so your hair got curly ’cause you thought that’s what would signify it. Or did you know you were gonna have curly hair? I don’t know. It was pretty cool though. It was pretty cool. So, you know, here’s the thing about midlife is you don’t get a map ahead of time unless you do one of my visualizations. And then you might get the map and it’ll make no sense ’cause your hair will be curly, but you get the next step. You know when you get the next step, and then you get the next step when you get the next and the next. And your only job. Is to stay in relationship with yourself, because that is where the clarity always returns. So women tell me all the time, like, I just feel so lost. But what they really mean is like, I feel unfamiliar because I’m not who I was. I’ve outgrown that identity, you know? But I don’t know who I am yet. Like I’m not moved into the one that I’m becoming. And so this period [00:23:00] of in between. This period of the middle verse, right? It is not failure, it’s the formation, it’s you becoming. So take a breath. Place your hand on your heart and ask yourself, what is the truth that I have been whispering to myself, that I am finally ready to hear out loud. It might be small, it might be enormous. Both of those are sacred, and that wisp, that whisper is truly the beginning of your reinvention. So I think when you can grasp ahold of that, that is how you live a big life. All right y’all. It was so good to see you here. I hope to see you at the Fireside chat. Make sure to go and register for that. Get your cozy Earth stuff live big. Betsy is the code. Get it 40% off. ’cause you know we love a deal over [00:24:00] here and I will see you guys next week. I love you. Bye-bye. Thanks for joining me on The Art of Living Big. I hope today’s episode sparked something within you, maybe pushed you to dream a little bit bigger and live a little larger. Don’t forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share this podcast with someone you know who might need a little inspiration today. You can find me over on Instagram at betsy pa and on my YouTube channel. Remember, the world is vast. Your potential is endless, and your life, it’s yours to shape. Until next time, keep reaching, keep exploring, and keep living big.
This episode is packed with sharp opinions and fascinating, often absurd, conversations: Lionel rages against his perpetual coffee machine woes and lip balm addiction, discusses his “shoot me list” (which includes wearing white socks with Birkenstocks and arguing about abortion at 3 AM), and celebrates Trump's unapologetic bluntness. Listeners call in to tackle complicated topics like separating genuine claims from "gravy train" opportunists within the Epstein files and life as a long-haul truck driver. The episode then dives deep into the strange world of faith and spirituality, discussing a trial lawyer's case involving a double board-certified doctor and an exorcism ministry that names demons like Jezebel and Lucifer. The conversation continues with an Eastern Orthodox priest on the absurdity of faith healing (like Ernest Angley's "foul deaf spirit be gone" technique) and deep theological questions surrounding Limbo, unbaptized infants, and controversial reports about the Pope potentially abolishing the Sunday Mass obligation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joel landed an Aussie radio exclusive with Dorit Kemsley while she was in Melbourne for Crown Oak’s Day. She raved about Melbourne, Crown’s spa (best massage in 20 years) and described Aussie fashion as “effortlessly chic” while firmly ruling out culottes and Birkenstocks. Dorit shared how she’s archiving designer pieces for her daughter Phoenix, her famously exact drink orders, and reflected on last season of Housewives as “authentic chess.” She also teased her upcoming book (April 7), revealed she was a breakdancer back in the day, and dished on her love of music, running late, and keeping it glam.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
"Is your morning coffee secretly messing with your health?" ☕️ That's the question that kicks off this episode of The JB and Sandy Show, where everyday habits get a hilarious and eye-opening twist! JB and Sandy dive into the world of mold-free coffee (yes, it's a thing!), oat milk, and the mysterious “my coffee kicked in” moment. JB shares his journey from weekend coffee drinker to mold-free convert, while Sandy wonders if hipster coffee shops are ready for the “no mold” revolution.
Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark!We are Corinne Fay and Virginia Sole-Smith. These episodes are usually just for our Extra Butter membership tier — but today we're releasing this one to the whole list. So enjoy! (And if you love it, go paid so you don't miss the next one!) Episode 212 TranscriptCorinneToday is a family meeting episode. We're catching up on summer breaks, back to school, and a whole bunch of diet culture news stories that we've been wanting to discuss with you all.VirginiaWe're also remembering how to make a podcast, because we haven't recorded together in like six weeks. And it didn't start off great. But I think we're ready to go now.CorinneSomeone definitely said, “What day is it?”VirginiaIt's hard coming out of summer mode. I don't know if you feel that because you don't have kids, during back to school, but it is a culture shift.CorinneI don't think I feel the back to school thing as much, but I'm still in Maine, and it's actively fall. It's actively getting cold, and I'm just like, what is happening? I feel this pressure to do something, but I'm not sure what? Hibernate?Virginia“Should I buy a notebook? Should I be wearing fleece? I could go either way.” I don't know. It's weird. It is the start of fall. So we are moving into fall mindset. But like, don't rush me, you know? The dahlias bloom till first frost. That's my summer.CorinneSummer is so brief.VirginiaI'm having a lot of clothing feelings right now. I am not in a good place getting dressed, and it is for sure weather related, shoulder season-related. I'm in my annual conundrum of when do the Birkenstocks go away? When must our toes be covered for polite society? Am I showing arms? I just I don't even know how to get dressed. I hate all my clothes. Everything's terrible.CorinneI think this is part of what I'm feeling. I don't have enough warm clothes and I also don't want to buy another pair of sweatpants.VirginiaAnd you're traveling. So you're like, “I have warm clothes at home.” Didn't bring them because you didn't understand, even though you grew up in Maine and should remember that fall starts quite early there.CorinneI need to get it tattooed on my body. Bring a sweater, bring sweatpants.VirginiaWell, to be fair for this Maine trip, you were really focused on your sister's wedding. You had your nephew. You've had a lot going on.CorinneI was very focused on August, and really not thinking about September.VirginiaWill we even exist after? I mean, that's how it always is when you're gearing up for a big event, the post-event doesn't exist.And I don't know if you do the thing where you're like, well, I can deal with that after the big event. And then suddenly it's after the big event. You're like, well, now there's 47 things I need to deal with.CorinneI absolutely do that. Now I'm like, wait. How and when do I get back to New Mexico? Am I going back to New Mexico ever? In which case maybe I do need to buy sweatpants?VirginiaIt's so hard. Even without a wedding —I feel like all summer, because I have pretty skeleton childcare and I'm wanting to take time off, and it's a privilege that our job allows some flexibility like that, so when I get requests to, like, do a podcast, do a special thing. I'm like, “Talk to me in September. I can't do it this summer. Summer mode Virginia can't do anything extra!” And now I've just spent the week saying no to lots of things, because September me can't do it either. That was folly. I should have just said no the first time!That's one of those life lessons I'm always relearning that's really funny. If it's not an instant yes, it's a no. And I so often fall into the trap of it's not an instant yes, so let me kick that can down the curb a little bit, and then then I feel ruder because they come back and I'm like, no, I'm sorry. Actually, we were never going to do that.CorinneAs someone who's been on the other side of that where, like, I'll reach out to someone for the Style Questionnaire, and they'll be like, “Oh, can you ask me in two months?” And then when I reach out in two months, and they're like, “No.”VirginiaTotally. I'm on the other side of it all the time when we're booking podcast guests. So I'm completely aware of how shitty it feels. So I have a resolution. Summer Virginia just has to say no to things and not push it to Fall Virginia. Everyone hold me accountable next summer, because I'm so sorry to everybody I've said no to this week, but September is a real intense parenting month. There are just a lot of moving parts.I get 62 emails a day from the school. The middle school just announced back to school night will be tomorrow. They told us yesterday! One cool thing is, my older kid is in seventh grade now, so I no longer have to scramble for babysitters, which is a real achievement unlocked. Although she's going to realize at some point that she should increase her rates with me.CorinneOh, you pay her!VirginiaFor stuff where I'm going to be out of the house and need her to put her sister to bed. It's one thing, if I'm like, “I'm going to the store, you guys don't want to come.” Fine. You can doodle around at home. And it's not even really babysitting. She's going to ignore her the whole time. But I'm going to be out from 6 to 8pm tomorrow night. I need her to actually make sure her younger sibling gets in pajamas and brushes teeth and, moves towards bed. I'm not expecting them to be in bed when I get home, but I would like them to not be nowhere close.CorinneThat's really sweet.VirginiaPlus we have some big stuff in the works for both Burnt Toast and Big Undies, which we cannot discuss just yet. Yes, I am actively teasing it for you all.CorinneYou're going to bring that up now?! I feel like we should mention it at the end.VirginiaI think we can mention it whenever we feel like? I think they're probably like, “Why are they both doing reader surveys? What's going on?” And we can't say yet, but there's something going on, and it's also requiring a lot of our time and attention.CorinneWe're really busy. But I think it's going to be really good, and everyone's going to love it.VirginiaIn the meantime, though: What are we wearing? Real talk, what are we wearing to get through this weird it's not summer, it's not fall, it's some hybrid state. Are you still wearing open toed shoes? Sandals?CorinneNo, I'm not.VirginiaOkay. Should I stop, too?CorinneI mean, I'm only not because I'm cold. It depends on if you're cold. I also think now is kind of the perfect time for socks with sandals.VirginiaMost of my sandals are something between my toes style. CorinneOh, I was thinking, like, socks with Birkenstocks.VirginiaAh! I do have some of the two strap Birkenstocks, and I don't tend to wear them a lot in summer. Maybe I should experiment!CorinneI feel like, when you wear socks with the two strap Birkenstocks, they become really cozy.VirginiaI don't wear them a lot in summer because I don't have particularly wide feet, and they're a little wide on me. But the sock would solve for that! And they would be cozy… all right, I'm going to experiment with this, as part of my shoulder season style.CorinneI'm still figuring out my fall must haves, which is one of my favorite topics. Although I will say I feel like this year I've seen a lot of people posting like, “I don't want to hear about back to school, or I don't want to hear about fall fashion.”VirginiaI have terrible news for people about this podcast. CorinneI feel it's very light hearted. It could be literally anything like, who cares? We are entering fall, so…VirginiaTime is passing.CorinneI am getting cold. I do want to put on socks with my sandals and sweatshirts.VirginiaTrigger warning for anyone who is not available for a fall fashion conversation.CorinneMaybe by the time this comes out, people will be ready.I know this is like florals for spring, but I'm feeling for fall… brown pants.VirginiaWait, what? You're blowing my mind? You've been feeling brown for a little while. CorinneBrown has been ramping up. I'm wearing brown pants right now.VirginiaIs it one of your colors, as a true spring?CorinneWell, I do think there are definitely some camels. And I think brown is preferable to black. So I'm thinking brown pants instead of black pants.VirginiaOh, I don't even know what I'm thinking about pants. I'm thinking frustration with pants. I have my one pair of jeans that I reliably wear. I think I need to order another pair in case they stop making them. I'm at a scarcity mindset point with those Gap jeans. I mean, they aren't going to stop making them. They've had them for years, but I just feel like I need an insurance policy.CorinneDo you fit other Gap pants, or just the jeans?VirginiaI only buy that one pair of jeans. I mean, I generally try not to shop at the Gap because they do not have a plus size section.CorinneBut they do have some really cute stuff.VirginiaIt's gross though! Make it bigger.CorinneIf it fits you, maybe you should buy it.VirginiaCorinne is like, “Or counterpoint, don't take a stand.”CorinneI'm always sending links to my straight-size sister for stuff at the Gap that I think she should buy.VirginiaThey do have some really cute stuff, but it infuriates me that Old Navy can make plus sizes, and Gap cannot, and Banana Republic really cannot. It's just like, hello, class system, capitalism. It's so revolting.CorinneOh, my God. Do you know what else I'm feeling outraged about? I went thrift shopping here a couple weeks ago, and I found some vintage Land's End that was in sizes that they don't make anymore.VirginiaWow, that's rude.CorinneIt was a 4X! So they used to be way more 26/28 or 28/30. So they also, at some point, kind of cut back.VirginiaThey do, at least legitimately have a section called plus size, though.CorinneThey do, but it clearly used to be bigger.VirginiaNo, no, no. I'm not saying it's great. I am wearing my favorite joggers a lot, because I think I'm really resisting the shift back to hard pants.CorinneHow do you feel about trousers, like a pleated trouser kind of pant?VirginiaIs that comfortable for working from home? A pleated trouser?CorinneWell, I feel like they're comfortable because they're kind of baggy but narrower at the bottom, you know?VirginiaI do love a tapered ankle. I also unpaused my Nuuly. And I did get a blue corduroy pair of pants from them that it hasn't been quite cold enough to wear because shoulder seasons. Corduroy, to me is like a real like we are fully in cold weather fabric. And when it's 50 in the morning, but 75 by lunchtime, am I going to be hot in corduroys? I guess I should just start wearing them and see.CorinneAre they jeans style? VirginiaThey're slightly cropped so that's another reason to wear them now, while I can still have bare ankles. They're slightly cropped and slightly flared, and they're like a royal blue corduroy.They're Pilcro, which is an Anthropologie brand and I know we feel gross about Anthropologie. But when it comes to pants, I think Corinne is saying we can't have moral stances because pants are so hard to find. Other things, yes.CorinneIt's just hard.VirginiaI'm not excited about clothes right now. I want to feel more excited. Maybe I need to think about what my fall must haves are. Maybe I need to make a pin board or something.CorinneI think that's a good idea. Is there anything you're feeling excited about? I remember the last episode you were talking about those Imbodhi pants.VirginiaOh yeah. They've really become lounge around the house pants, and they're great, but they're very thin. Imbodhi feels like a brand you could not wear once it gets cold.Although, the jumpsuit I have from them in periwinkle—which does feel like a very summery color to me—I also got black. And over the summer it felt a little too black jumpsuit. It felt like too formal or something. But I've been enjoying it as a transition piece. I am still wearing it with sandals. I think it would look cute with maybe my Veja sneakers, though, and then layering over my denim shirt from Universal Standard, like open over it.I'm glad we're talking about this, because that's what I'm going to wear to back to school night tomorrow night, which is a high pressure dressing occasion.CorinneI can see that.VirginiaYou don't want to look like you tried too hard, but you also don't want to look like you came in pajamas. Lots of yoga moms, a lot of pressure. Okay, I'm going to wear that black jumpsuit. I'm glad we talked about that. That's been a good transition piece.CorinneYeah, okay, well, speaking of transitions, I want to ask you about something else. Are you familiar with the Bechdel Test?VirginiaYes.CorinneDon't you think we should have a Bechdel test for anti-fatness? And/or diets? Like, does this piece of culture have a fat character who's not the bad guy, or on a weight loss journey, or being bullied for their size?VirginiaOohhh… OK, so what would our terms be? They can't be the fat villain.CorinneWell, I feel like there's one list for anti fatness, and one would be a piece of culture or whatever that doesn't discuss dieting or weight loss. And I don't know if it should all be one under one Bechdel test umbrella, or if it should be two different tests.VirginiaI feel like it's related. Wait, I need to look up the actual Bechdel Test criteria.CorinneIt's like, does the movie have two female characters talking about something other than a man.VirginiaThe work must feature at least two women.They must talk to each other. And their conversation must be about something other than a man.I was just watching Your Friends and Neighbors, that new John Hamm show about super rich people stealing from each other, and it's very entertaining, but it fails the Bechdel test so dramatically. It's got Amanda Peet in it! She's so smart and funny, and all she does is talk about her ex husband and how much she loves him. And I'm just like, fail, fail, fail. Anyway, okay, I love this idea.CorinneSo it's like, does it have a fat character?VirginiaWait, I think it should have more than one fat character.CorinneThat bar is too high. I feel like we have to be able to name something that passes the test. And what are we calling the test? The Burnt Toast Test?VirginiaWe can workshop names in the comments.CorinneWe need a famous fat person to name it after, maybe.VirginiaWell, I guess Allison Bechdel named it after herself. So it could be the Fay test, because you did this. The Corinne Fay test.CorinneOh, God.So it has to have one fat character, they have to talk about something other than weight loss, and they can't be the villain.VirginiaI would like them not to be the sidekick, too. I think it's a central fat character.CorinneCan we name anything that passes?VirginiaShrill by Lindy West. And Too Much. Well, Lena Dunham doesn't totally pass the Bechdel Test, but she passes the fat test.CorinneSee, it gets very complicated. This is intersectionality!VirginiaWe strive for an intersectional world where the shows pass all the tests. This is such an interesting topic. I love this.CorinneI was also thinking about it because on my drive out, I read two of these Vera Stanhope mysteries. Have you read any of these?VirginiaI have not.CorinneThe main detective woman is fat, and I feel like it' mostly fine. Like, 90% of the time they're just talking about her, she's fat, and she's sloppy. She's a sloppy fat person. And then, like, occasionally, there'll be like, a sentence or two where I'm like, Ooh, I didn't like that.VirginiaIt's so deflating when you have something that's seeming good, and then it takes a turn on you real fast.CorinneSo would that pass the the fat Bechdel Test? Or whatever? Probably would.VirginiaBecause it's as good as we can get.CorinneShe's the main character and not talking about dieting, really.VirginiaYeah, wait, so where does it fall apart for you?CorinneI should have brought an example, but I feel like occasionally there will be narration about her, and it's suddenly like, “her body was disgusting,” you know? VirginiaOh God! I was thinking she maybe lumbered, or she sat heavily, or something. And you're like—CorinneYes. She sat heavily, that kind of thing. And I'm like, okay, sure.But occasionally there's just a twinge where I'm like, oh, you do kind of hate fat people.VirginiaI would then like that author to read Laura Lippman's work. Because Laura Lippman—regular Burnt Toasty! Hi, Laura!—has been doing such good work as a thin author to really work on her fat representation. And I just read Murder Takes a Vacation, which is one of Laura's most recent novels, and it's such a good read. Her protagonist, Mrs. Blossom, I believe was previously a side character in other novels who now has her own book. And the way she writes about body stuff in there is like… Laura's been doing the work. She's been really doing the work. It for sure, passes the Fay Fat Test.CorinneThat's awesome.VirginiaSo everyone check that out. And I would like Ann Cleeves to be reading Laura Lippman.Should we talk about airplanes? Are you in a safe space to talk about airplane feelings?CorinneSure. Yes.VirginiaCorinne was just quoted in The Washington Post, which is very exciting, alongside Tigress Osborne, friend of the show, Executive Director of NAAFA, about how Southwest Airlines is changing their passenger of size policy. Do you want to brief us on what's happening there?CorinneSo Southwest has had a policy in which a “customer of size,” meaning a person who doesn't fit between two plane arm rests, can book two seats and be refunded for the second seat. Or you could show up at the airport day of, and ask for two seats. And not have to pay up front and then be refunded.And in the past couple of months, this policy has somehow gotten really wobbly. I've heard all these anecdotal stories about people showing up at the airport and having Southwest tell them, “You're not going to be able to do this anymore.” Like, don't expect to show up and be able to book a second seat. You need to do it in advance. Blah, blah, blah.Now Southwest has come out and said they're changing the policy. They're also implementing assigned seating, which they didn't used to have. So going forward, you are going to have to book two seats in advance, and you will only be refunded if there are empty seats on the plane. Which, when are there ever empty seats?VirginiaThere are never empty seats on the plane? Never happens.I don't understand, because you needed two seats before, you still need two seats. So why does it matter whether there's an empty seat or not? My brain breaks trying to follow the logic.CorinneI think the logic says like they could have sold the second seat to someone else.VirginiaBut then they're not selling seats that work for people who are paying money to be there. Like, they're taking your money, but if you can't fit on the plane, then they just took your money. It's so shady,CorinneAnd people who don't need a whole seat don't pay less.VirginiaOver the age of two, your children do not get discounts for the fact that, they are using a third of a seat. You pay the same price for a child. CorinneYep. It's really sad, and it's making life harder and sadder for a lot of people.VirginiaI'm curious if another airline will step up on this. I think NAAFA has been doing a good job of making noise about this. I think people are putting pressure on them. It will be interesting if someone else realizes this is like a marketing opportunity.CorinneI think, they absolutely will not.VirginiaWell, I'm not naive enough to think someone would do it just because it's the right thing to do. But I'm hoping maybe one of Southwest's direct competitors would realize it's an opportunity.CorinneBut I think that Southwest previously was the that airline. I think they were using that to their advantage, and now I think they've just been like, “It's not worth it.” I think Alaska has the same policy where you can book two seats, and then if there is an empty seat, they'll refund it.VirginiaWell that's great because Alaska flies so many places, people need to go.CorinneWell, if you're in the if you're in the part of the country where I live, they do! But.VirginiaOh! That's good to know.CorinneI think they're more on a competition level with Southwest versus like United or something, right? I don't think United or Delta even has a customer of size policy.VirginiaThey've never cared.CorinneThere's no way to even book a second ticket for yourself, even if you want to just straight up pay for it.VirginiaIt leaves you the option of figuring out if you can afford business class to have a bigger seat. And that makes flying so much more expensive.CorinneRight? And it's also just like, does business class fit everyone? Probably not.VirginiaWell, we're mad about that, but I did, like seeing you in the Washington Post article saying smart things. So thank you. Thanks your advocacy.Let's see what else has been going on… The Guardian had this interesting piece, which I'm quoted in a little bit, by Andrea Javor. She's articulating something I've seen a few people starting to talk about, which is the experience of being on Ozempic and not losing weight from it.And I think this is an interesting kind of under the radar piece of the whole GLP1s discourse. Some folks are non-responders, whether because they stay on a lower dose by choice, and it improves their numbers, but they don't really lose weight, or some folks just don't really lose weight on it. Her piece really articulates her feelings of shame and failure that this thing that's supposed to be a silver bullet didn't work for her.CorinneWhen I started reading the piece, I was extremely confused, because the the author has diabetes, but type one diabetes, and these drugs don't help with type one diabetes. She eventually goes on it, just for weight loss. So what it didn't work for was weight loss, And I think it actually may have ended up helping with her, like A1C, and stuff. I agree that it does a good job of looking at the feelings that come along with that. And I do think, this does happen, and it's not being talked about as as much as it's happening probably.VirginiaIt feels important to highlight it in this moment where we have Serena Williams talking, about her husband's telehealth company and promoting her use of GLP1s. And we had a great chat on Substack chat about the whole Serena Williams of it all. So I won't rehash that whole discourse here. I also think that's a conversation where I want to hear from Black women. Chrissy King wrote an incredible piece. I also really appreciated the conversation that Sam Sanders, Zach Stafford and Saeed Jones had on Vibe Check about it. So, I don't need to get into Serena's personal choices. But it does mean, we have another huge, very admired celebrity pushing into the conversation again to say, “This is this magic trick. This is the thing I was always looking for. It finally worked for me” And we are all vulnerable to that messaging. So it's important to read stories like this one and understand oh, it really doesn't actually work for everybody. Setting aside whether we think people should be pursuing weight loss, this isn't necessarily going to be guaranteed, amazing results. CorinneAnother interesting article that I thought maybe would want to mention is the the one in The Cut about ARFID.VirginiaThis was a great cover story in New York Magazine. The headline is The Monster at the Dinner Table, and it's basically just encapsulating that ARFID has really been on the rise in recent years, and I think a lot of that is just because now we know what it is and we can diagnose it.But it did include a pretty interesting discussion of what causes kids to lose the instinct to eat, what things get in the way of it. Like, it can be trauma, it can be a feature of autism. It can be a choking experience, all sorts of different things.CorinneARFID is one of those conditions that I feel like I barely knew about before TikTok, and then I've just seen so much stuff about it on Tiktok.VirginiaIt only became a diagnosis in 2013, so it's very, very new. My kiddo would have been diagnosed with it, if it was more fully in the vernacular at that point, but it wasn't. So we were just told it was a “pediatric feeding disorder” type of thing. But it was very vague.I think it's great it's getting more attention. Both for kids and adults. It can be such a source of anxiety and shame for parents. It is so much work. It is very difficult, and it's harder than it should be because of diet culture, because of all the pressure put on parents to feed our kids certain ways. The backlash against ultraprocessed foods is really not helping anyone navigate ARFID. I can't underscore that enough, really not helping. No one needs to feel shame about your kid living on chicken nuggets or frozen burritos or whatever it is.CorinneThe amount of stigma against people who eat certain ways is nuts.VirginiaIt's nuts and it's sad.CorinneYeah it's socially isolating.VirginiaIt is harder to share, right? It's very socially isolating, and it's sad for the people around them. Anytime you're navigating eating together with someone with food restrictions, it does create barriers and extra work and more you have to navigate.But if we didn't have that layer of stigma over it, where it's like, it's probably the mom's fault, if only they like more whole foods at home, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, if we didn't have all of that, you could focus just on the logistics are hard enough. You don't need the shame.So many sad topics. Airlines are terrible. Virginia doesn't have any clothes to wear. ARFID is sad. Do we have anything to bring it up?CorinneWell, our exciting news? VirginiaOh, right! We are working on some very fun things.It is exciting to think about new directions that Burnt Toast and Big Undies are going in. So stay tuned. Don't worry, it's not a reality TV show.ButterVirginiaOkay, my Butter is adjacent to the wardrobe frustration conversation. Which is: I have started cutting the collars off a lot of my shirts.To back up: Last month, I'm on vacation in Cape Cod with my sister, and she comes down looking extremely cute. She's wearing a graphic tee tucked into a long maxi skirt. And I was like, “This whole thing is delightful. What's happening here?” And she was like, “Well, this shirt was actually too small for me, but I realized if I just cut the collar off it, it opened up the neck enough that then the shirt, the whole shirt fit better.” And she could still wear this cute shirt. And she said she got the idea from watching Somebody Somewhere, because Bridgett Everett cuts the collars off all her shirts.CorinneOh yes! That was my signature look when I was 18. A Hanes T-shirt with the collar cut off.VirginiaI'm dressing like 18-year-old Corinne, and I'm here for it! But I've realized, frequently a place that something doesn't fit me is my neck. I've talked about feelings about chins and necks. I have many complicated feelings about chins and necks. This is one place where my fatness sits. So the shirt might otherwise fit okay, but it doesn't fit my neck, and then it feels tight and it's a miserable feeling. So at the end of our trip, I wanted to buy a Cape Cod sweatshirt, because there were some really cute sweatshirts. But they were not size inclusive. So I was like, can I make this extra large work? And it was a little small, but I cut the collar off, and now it's okay.And then I did it with my old Harris Walz T-shirt from the election. It was a cute stripe. I just really liked the stripe. And I was like, Oh, I could still wear this if I get the collar off it. And a couple other things. I've just been, like, cutting collars off shirts that are uncomfortable. I'm into it!CorinneI think that's a great Butter. I'm into any kind of clothes modification that will make you wear stuff that you wouldn't otherwise wear.VirginiaIt was a good solution for a couple of things in my closet that I did like, but I was not reaching for. And now I'll use them again. And the key I figured out, because I experimented with a couple ways to cut it, is really just cut right along the seam of the sewed on collar. You might think that's going to not open it up enough, but it will stretch once you start wearing it. you could always cut more if you needed to, but that seems to have done it for me.CorinneOkay, well, I want to recommend a recipe, and I feel like I possibly mentioned this before. I'm staying with my mom, and we've been making this recipe from the New York Times called stuffed zucchini, and it's a really good recipe for if you have a surplus of zucchini, which a lot of people do this time of year. You kind of scoop out the middle of a zucchini and then mix some of that together with, like, sausage, tomatoes, basil, and then put it back in the zucchini and bake it with, like, some crispy breadcrumbs, and it's so good. I can literally, eat a whole zucchini in one sitting. Highly recommend.VirginiaThat sounds amazing. All right. Well, that makes me a little more excited about the season.CorinneYeah, it is a very good time of year for eating. We should have talked more about food maybe?VirginiaThat is a good point. Our tomatoes in the garden are going gangbusters. I've made some great sauces. I'm having a lot of cheese and tomato sandwiches. toasted and not toasted. Delightful.Well, this was a good family meeting catch up. I think we've covered a lot of ground. I'm excited to hear what folks are feeling about their dressing issues, and airlines, all the stuff we got into today.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe
This week we're rating it all: Why does everything have to be a trend? Who decided sardines are suddenly chic? And where do we land on the great jorts debate? Plus, the ultimate divisive fashion statement—Birkenstocks with socks. From bizarre TikTok obsessions to foodie fads and questionable footwear, Becca, Jac, and Keltie are calling it like they see it. Some things are hot, some are definitely not—and some are just plain confusing.Check out our amazing sponsors!!Hiya: Your kids need good vitamins! Get 50% off at HiyaHealth.com/ladyApretude: Prevent HIV! Talk to your doctor and learn more at Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week, Amy makes a common Google Maps mistake involving the avoid highways option. The ladies agree, you can't make up your own nickname. Also, if someone calls you a “free spirit”, it's not a compliment. Amy witnesses two 20-something boys show up for an early morning pickleball match after a wild night out. They are both wearing Birkenstocks, and one of them is just wearing swim trunks. Racket Report: A text chain, armchair meteorologist will do anything to play tennis. Hot tip: Rao's lasagna is the best boxed lasagna. Maya reviews the movie Freaky Tales starring Pedro Pascal, narrated by Too Short. She also reviews the new Jason Momoa show, Chief of War. Don't even get us started about pineapples and the Dole family. Also, pineapple is the most difficult of fruits, and it's definitely not worth clear-cutting a rainforest for. Amy decides Jason Momoa's body doesn't make sense in clothes. She also takes us way back to Baywatch: Hawaii. Maya also reviews the latest Jurassic Park movie. Maya is skeptical about the dog in the new Superman movie. Also, she only likes the Christopher Reeve Superman. Approved/Denied: Co-living with 12 strangers and the Tired Girl Makeup Trend.
Today's recap episode revisit Lesley's conversation with Sarah Rhoads, founder of Commbi Shoes. They explore Sarah's journey from a thriving photography career to becoming an innovative footwear entrepreneur, the intentional choices behind her reinvention, and how she learned to chase fear instead of letting it chase her. This recap digs into the role of curiosity, alignment, and persistence in turning a personal problem into a purpose-driven product.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co .And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Redefining fear as a signal for growth instead of a stop sign.Why trust and self-belief is crucial when building a business.The importance of protecting your autonomy to avoid burnout.Why specific regular habits are a form of prioritizing self-care.Episode References/Links:Online Pilates Classes - https://onlinepilatesclasses.comUK Mullet Tour - https://opc.me/ukP.O.T. Chicago 2025 - https://pilates.com/pilates-on-tour-chicagolandCambodia October 2025 Waitlist - https://crowsnestretreats.comFemGevity - https://beitpod.com/femgevityWeighted Vest - Submit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questionsCommbi Website - https://www.commbi.co (Use code: BEIT10 for 10% off!)Ep 547 - Dr. Jennifer Perez - https://beitpod.com/gaithappensIf you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:00 If you're normally saying no to 80% of opportunities, maybe say yes to, like, 35% and just like, start to get warmed up by that muscle and have some fun with it, because it does lead to everything. Brad Crowell 0:10 Everything Leads to everything. Lesley Logan 0:13 Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 0:56 Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the trailblazing convo, can I say that one more time? Dig into the trailbr. Brad Crowell 1:05 Wow. Maybe you can't.Lesley Logan 1:08 I might not be able to wave it in. Dig into the trailblazing convo I had with Sarah Rhoads in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that episode, you should. You'll also hear me fuck up her the name of her business right after she told me exactly how not to say it. And I just want to apologize, Sarah, you told me, I heard you. I was like, yeah, don't call it that, and then called it that. And I just want to say, like, I it wasn't intentional. Anyways, we'll get into Sarah Rhoads and her amazingness in just a second. Lesley Logan 1:38 But Today is August 21st 2025 and it's Internet Self-Care Day. Brad Crowell 1:42 Yes, it is. Lesley Logan 1:42 So after this, probably get off the internet, is what it's going to say. But listen to this first. Internet Self-Care Day is celebrated each year on August 21st. This holiday is dedicated to using the internet to, oh, actually, it's different than I thought. Brad Crowell 1:56 Yes, it is. Lesley Logan 1:56 Using the internet to find resources that can help you take care of yourself. Many of us are so preoccupied with taking care of others, whether at work or at home, that we forget to take care of ourselves. Not these Be It Pod listeners, right? Self-Care is described as caring for oneself through practices that promote. I just love how they use that word to define the word. They do it all the time. Self-care is described as caring for oneself through practices that promote health and active management of illness when it strikes. There are many ways to regularly practice self-care through food choices, exercise, sleep and dental care. For example, dental care, yeah, that's a form of self-care. Also going to get your annual visits are a form of self-care. I say drinking enough water is a form of self-care, like self-care can be free.Brad Crowell 2:42 I think the doctor's office visit thing is a big deal, you know, like. Lesley Logan 2:46 Because it's so hard to get the appointment. It's so easy to ignore them. It's taken four people to get me a doctor's appointment.Brad Crowell 2:53 Yeah, it's a, it's like a, it's a rabbit hole, right? And that's, that's half the problem is, like, you always have to start with your GP and then your GPS refer you to these other places and lalalalala whatever. But the point is that that, like, it's, it's, um, you know, it's a multiple step. It's such a multi-step process, and there's so much time between that. Like, it just feels like one of the things, you're like, I'll get to it eventually. Lesley Logan 3:15 Yeah. And then eventually you're like, oh, shit, it's been, like, a few years on. Brad Crowell 3:16 Yeah, it's been years. Lesley Logan 3:16 But if you do The Artist's Way, one of an artist states could be actually, like, making your doctor's appointments because they're so hard to do. They're not normal, right, just, like, to do. Anyways, if you are in the U.S. and you're trying to navigate your way through this shithole of a healthcare system, I see you, I hear you. Everyone gets to pick a cause in this world, and if that's gonna be yours, like, I will champion it with you. I'll highlight on your side. Like, I'm a big fan of dog rescues, but, like, I got a girlfriend who's we have a friend whose husband just had a random stroke. He's fucking our age. And she's stuck in another state, and she can't get, her insurance will cover the helicopter from Detroit to Denver, and she can't get Kaiser to just sign this one piece of paper. So they're stuck in a hospital for now, we're going on seven days waiting for someone to sign the piece of paper, and she's like, what do you have to do? I'm like, local news. That's we have to do, unfortunately, GoFundMe and local news. So anyways, self-care is going to your doctor's appointments. Take care of yourself. Also take care of yourself, because clearly, medical systems can't take care of you. So you got to care for yourself today. Brad Crowell 4:19 You know, they're, they're, yes, they're, they can't take care of you, and there's, they're not going to be reliable in the near future either, so. Lesley Logan 4:19 But if you hear an ad from FemGevity, I really do like them, and they are a great go-between, because they are the they actually answer my questions and they.Brad Crowell 4:33 But that's the irony. We're talking about a third party company, not the healthcare system. Lesley Logan 4:39 Right, right, right, right. Brad Crowell 4:40 And they better have their shit together. And yes, they do, and good for them for that. But also, what the fuck that it takes this to have that.Lesley Logan 4:48 Yeah, no, I have, I had to go pay on somehow on top of what I already paid for to get the help. But you know what? It's cheaper than being sick. So here, and also, like it has helped me. They've helped with my hormone therapy. They helped with my sleep. They helped with my digestion. So that's an act of self-care. So anyways, that got became a healthcare self-care day. But we'll, we'll move on. Lesley Logan 5:07 Today, we are back from our tour, and we are getting ready to go to the U.K. Brad Crowell 5:13 Oh, wait, there's one more self-care I wanted to talk about. Lesley Logan 5:15 Oh, what? Brad Crowell 5:16 OPC. Lesley Logan 5:17 Oh, OPC is absolutely a great way to. Brad Crowell 5:19 You could use the internet to take class and get you movement in on onlinepilatesclasses.com. Lesley Logan 5:24 I just want to give OPC a shout out in amazing way. So, in today's world where everyone's trying to sell you on some gimmick bullshit of what Pilates is, Pilates arms, and how you have to look a certain way, fuck that at OPC, we will never sell you on weight loss. We will never tell you that you have to get that Pilates will make your bio look a certain way, but we will make you strong as fuck and make sure you have the longevity for the life you want to live. You will have so much support. If you only take five minutes of a class, we will still cheer you on and championship you. If you miss a week, you're like, oh my god, I missed it. We were like, That's okay. You're here today. Like you have unconditional constant support of people, a bunch of women and a few good men, constantly supporting you, no matter what you look like, where you're at in your practice, how old you are, what you can do. Brad Crowell 6:07 A community is great. Lesley Logan 6:09 It's freaking awesome. And I am pissed off this week over recording this. It's obviously a different week than you're listening to it, but if you were on my Instagram, I'm so pissed off at the way people think they can talk about women's bodies and what a body is supposed to look like, and Pilate Arms and the New York fucking Times did a whole episode on Pilates arms, episode, article and the opinion page on Pilates arms. Brad Crowell 6:31 Did they really? Lesley Logan 6:31 And, yes, they did. And then, because I can't read, it's behind a paywall and I'm too pissed to give him money, they tried to attribute it to political beliefs. Let me explain you right now. There's no such thing as Pilates arm so there's no way in hell, Pilates can be a right or left situation, but if you have arms, you can do Pilates. Congratulations. Pilates arms. Correlation is not causation, like people try to use Jennifer Aniston as like, oh, Jennifer Aniston's arms is because of Pilates. No. Jennifer Aniston's arms are because she's Jennifer Aniston, who happens to do Pilates. You like anyways, so at OPC, we'll never sell you on that ship, because that they're lying to you. We are honest people about Pilates being here for your longevity, for the health of it, for the self-care of it. So anyway, okay, I'll get off.Brad Crowell 6:32 Especially the self-care of it. So love that. Lesley Logan 7:05 Get off my high horse. Brad Crowell 7:19 September is coming and we're going to be in the U.K. We're very excited to be coming back. It's been two years since we've been there. We're going to be in two locations, we're going to be in Leeds, we're going to be in Essex. So if that is near you, or if you know anyone who's in the area, even if they have to drive a couple of hours, we're flying halfway across the world to be there. We'd love to meet them.Lesley Logan 7:39 We're actually driving all the way to Essex. Brad Crowell 7:42 We, we are, we are driving. We're driving all the way up to Scotland and all the way back down to Essex.Lesley Logan 7:48 Yes and we don't even drive on that side of the road. So you can get on a train.Brad Crowell 7:53 We'll be driving for more than 20 hours in the U.K.Lesley Logan 7:55 You can fly from Europe to see us. Okay?Brad Crowell 7:59 I agree. Lesley Logan 7:59 No excuses. Brad Crowell 8:00 Go to opc.me/uk opc.me/uk and then in October, we're going to be at Pilates On Tour in Chicago, in Burr Ridge. Lesley Logan 8:11 Burr Ridge. It's in Chicago Land, specifically, Brad. And do you know what's really funny is, people are like there's no such thing as Chicago Land. But then Rachel Maddow goes, I love Chicago because it has this thing called Chicago Land. And I was like, it's a thing. We'll be in Burr Ridge. It's the sexiest part of Chicago. You know it. Anyways, last week, so, last week, when we recorded this, so a month ago, more than a month ago, it was 75% sold out. So don't wait to get your tickets. Like, you can get a day pass. You can get a weekend pass. Brad Crowell 8:38 I mean, there might only be those left. Lesley Logan 8:40 Yeah. So the day pass, I'm teaching the Joe's Gyms. We're gonna have a booth. Yeah, it's also our 10th year wedding anniversary, so come celebrate with us. Brad Crowell 8:48 Oh, actually, literally, that weekend. Lesley Logan 8:49 Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, the first, first time we'll get on a plane while the time changes, and we miss it all together. So, so check it out. Just Google POT Chicago, and the link is way too long. They didn't give us a short one. Then we're going to be in Cambodia, and you can join us go to crowsnestretreats.com. I mean, you can literally sign up even as close to two weeks before the retreat, because it's Cambodia.Brad Crowell 8:49 Or if you're coming from Singapore or Australia, it's really easy, you know, yeah, we'd love to come have you. Come join us at crowsnestretreats.com.Lesley Logan 9:18 Also October, because my team just thinks I'll just work every day. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. There's days off, don't worry. There's days off. We are going on making a Singapore event happen, because it's very rare that we have a layover during the daytime. So we have a layover during the daytime, and so we can do an event at Singapore. So reach out to us about that. And then our winter tour is going to be in December. It's going to be humongous and we'll announce this in the fall. Brad Crowell 9:43 Yes, it is, this one's going to be even bigger than last year, and I'm already we're already planning it right now, in the summer, we're already planning it. We're going to be opening the doors to all that stuff in October, so. Lesley Logan 9:57 While we're, while we're off around the world, you can be signing up for that winter tour, so make sure you watch out for that. Okay, before we get into Sarah Rhoads, we have a question to answer. Brad Crowell 10:08 We sure did. Yeah, this is from a friend, Hilary Billings. She DM-ed you and said hey, do you like your weight vest? Needing to get one but I can't figure out what size or configuration would make most sense for me. I also don't want to look ridiculous, but I think I might just have to get over that.Lesley Logan 10:23 Yeah, so I do have a link to, here's the deal, it's not a, it's not a sexy company. You're gonna have to buy it on Amazon. But I have the link to the one I like, so.Brad Crowell 10:32 We'll put that in the show notes. Lesley Logan 10:33 Check the show notes. Okay, I think. Brad Crowell 10:36 Why do you like the one that one? What is it about it that makes it, I know we've gone through a couple.Lesley Logan 10:41 Yeah, so we're going back to the one I like, because the one that I have, I don't, I don't like the one that I have currently, and that's what I told her, so I like the one I had before, but I traded with Sue, because her husband bought her a 20-pound vest. She's not 100 pounds, guys. So, so here's the information about a weighted vest. You want one that's around 10% maybe 15% of your body weight, okay, so that's what you want. And there's a company that is called, like, Omorpho, and I'm trying to get. Brad Crowell 11:10 Is this the one that you shared with her? Lesley Logan 11:12 I tried to note I didn't share that with her. I try, I have an affiliate to that, and I don't like the vests are sexy and they're useless. It is two pounds or four pounds for women, and then six or eight pounds for men, what? And they're $300 so don't buy that one until I tell you to which is when they I said oh, I'll promote your vest when you have a weighted vest that actually makes sense with science. So it's beautiful, sexy, not ridiculous-looking, a waste of $300 and it doesn't even do what you need to do. So the vest that I like honestly, between the weight that you're getting, it's like between $30 and $60 it's not expensive. Where I think people have to be considerate is if they have chest abundance, if you have chest abundance, you might want to look at the one that I currently have, which I couldn't find online, but I'll tell you what it looks like. It has bungee cords on the sides. I think it's a men's one. It has bungee cords on the side so it works and it's longer. So if you have boobs, because the bungee cords can be loosened, and because it's longer, it can go across the boobs, yes. The one that we'll put in the link to the show notes, is the one I like. I can't, I can't attest to the chest abundance, because I don't have it. But why I like it is, it's actually short, more like a crop, and so it's not going all in on my lower back. I didn't, I don't like that, because my lower back then sweats. It's, it is the weight feels more distributed around my whole body. This one that I have just feels like it's very much on my shoulders. But maybe it's because I don't have boobs. Maybe if I had boobs. Brad Crowell 12:43 No, I think it's also that it's too heavy. Lesley Logan 12:44 It's also mine's too heavy. It's 20 pounds, and I really should be on a 16 pound weighted vest. So, Brad, congratulations, you have a vest, and that's exactly what you wanted. Brad Crowell 12:53 It's more than 10% of my body weight, so. Lesley Logan 12:56 20 pounds, it is. It's like, yeah, it is, unfortunately. I don't know who's gonna get it, but, but I'm new with a 16 pound one, I would say, like most people, should start with that 12 to 15 pound, if that's 10% if you're like, oh, that sounds really heavy. 15 pounds, start with a 10 to 12. You can all they'll last forever. Just give them to a friend who wants to start it like it just make, create an exchange, like a book club, you know. But check the show notes. I really like wearing mine on morning walks, because here's the deal, my dog walks now that I have a whoop man, that shows me how literally useless a dog walk is on your health. Like, of course, it's lovely. It's nice you're outside. Brad Crowell 13:35 But you are getting steps so there's movement actually. Lesley Logan 13:36 And you're getting steps. It's so great for that second heart, but it is doing zero on the strain that you can put on your body. And so adding the weight vest kind of intensifies the walk by about 15% so if you are looking for adding that intensity, maybe you're a really busy person, it's really good. Apparently, there is some science around how it's really good if you are perimenopausal, menopausal, and increasing bone density, strength, like that, all those things, I can't tell you, but Dr. Mclaire has done a post about it. And then there's a guy, something Easter, Adam or David Easter, he's in a whole post about it. So if you're really curious, take a look at those things. But I just personally like it because it really challenged me to sit up really tall. I can't. Brad Crowell 14:03 It kind of forces you to you can't be leaning over when you got a weighted vest on. You can't be slouching. You feel it. Lesley Logan 14:23 You should wear a weighted vest while it's pod, maybe I won't move all around the place, driving Brad crazy.Brad Crowell 14:27 I don't believe it. All right. Well, if you have a question, you could text us at 310-905-5534, or if you don't want to text, you can just go to beitpod.com/questions and you could submit either a win or your question. Lesley Logan 14:41 And we want your wins. Brad Crowell 14:42 We do want your wins because of our Friday episode, share something that you're really proud of yourself for, you know, like, it's, don't worry, it's not bragging.Lesley Logan 14:50 If you're like, I can't do it, then share a friend's win, and then you'll crack the seal, and then you can share your own,Brad Crowell 14:55 Yeah, let's go, let's go. Pull out your phone right now. Go to beitpod.com/questions. Lesley Logan 14:55 Your win can literally be that you took a walk this morning. Brad Crowell 14:59 Yeah, I want to see, I want to see some wins next week.Lesley Logan 15:05 If you've ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed, it's like, and then you go for the walk, like, the win is that you didn't let that keep you from, like, making the day a better day, just saying.Brad Crowell 15:15 You got this. All right, stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to dig into this amazing convo you have with Sarah Rhoads about some really cool shoes that she's been making. Brad Crowell 15:24 Okay, welcome back. Let's talk about Sarah Rhoads. Sarah is a photographer-turned-entrepreneur and the founder of Commbi Footwear. After a successful career shooting for top brands like Keds and building a creative campaign, building creative campaigns with her husband, she made a bold pivot into footwear design to solve a problem she's personally faced. Together, she and her husband developed a modular supported shoe system. Even taught himself AutoCAD to help to prototype their designs, and we're gonna talk more about it because they're fun. But Sarah is actually a mom of three and a firm believer in curiosity and alignment. Her story is a master class in vision, grit and reinvention, and it was a really fun conversation. Yeah, she's very bubbly. Lesley Logan 16:11 I just like her. She's also adorbs. I hope to meet her in person. So these shoes came on my radar. And I like, you know, if you listen to this pod long enough, you know, like, I love to be cookied. I just think it's the greatest thing. Because, like, sometimes you want something but you don't know you like that. You don't want to buy it right now, and sometimes you wanted to see it a few times to see, like, do I really want this? Like, do I miss it? So anyways, I'd interviewed the Gait Happens people, and they, like, slammed on our Birkenstocks, and it was like, a B minus. Brad Crowell 16:34 It wasn't a slam. Lesley Logan 16:35 Well, it was a B minus. Brad. Brad Crowell 16:38 I listened to that episode, she said, she said. Lesley Logan 16:43 B minus. Brad Crowell 16:43 She said they're not, they're not the best, they're not the worst. It was a B, in the B.Lesley Logan 16:48 But also, it was a B minus. Brad Crowell 16:49 She said that the problem with them was that they're too stiff, they really help with forming your foot, but then, like, there's never any give, so it's training your foot not to actually work. Lesley Logan 16:59 Right So they actually are not doing the things that they say they're gonna do. So then I saw Commbi, and I saw these girls doing these ads, like how they wear them and how they use them, I was like, wow, that's really cool. I think this could solve the world's problems on, like, the footwear thing. And also they're much cuter, right? They're like, not so they're much sexier. Brad Crowell 17:16 But what makes, why Commbi? What is Commbi about Commbi?Lesley Logan 17:16 But then I so, anyways, so then I ordered a pair. Okay, so order a pair during the winter, ordered some sandals, ordered the pair, and then I took a picture with them. And I, oh, I actually, I asked a question. I said, oh, when are the shearlings gonna come back? And the owner, Sarah, DM-ed me right away. Hi. This is the owner. We're out of stock on those right now. But like, here, I'll get back to you da-da. And I was like, whoa. She does her DMs like, I do my DMs. I like this person as a person, right like, now, now I'm past the company. Now I'm into the person. Then I got the shoes, took a picture in Palm Springs, and she's like, oh my gosh. She started chatting back and forth. And then I was like, looking at her story, and I'm like, I want her on the Be It Pod, because, like, if this isn't a be it till you see it story, like, I don't know what is, right, like, she's not a shoe person, she's not podiatrist, she's a photographer, and she, like, created a shoe. So now, what is what is it? I mean.Brad Crowell 18:13 Why is it called Commbi? Who? What? That's a weird name for the shoe, unless you understand what the shoe can do. Lesley Logan 18:19 So speak so to answer, why was I asking about shearling? Because you can take the sh, you know how, like, Uggs have that, like, shearling bed, and then you wear it a few times, and then it gets matted and nasty. Well, her shoe, you can take that shearling bed out, and you could put a terry cloth bed in. You could put. Brad Crowell 18:36 It's the bed of the shoe. Lesley Logan 18:36 The bed of the shoe. Brad Crowell 18:36 The bed, the sole of the shoe splits in two, and the bottom of shoe stays, and then the sole itself, the inside of the shoe can come off.Lesley Logan 18:47 If you, like, there's, there's definitely something in the 80s fashion that, like, this is absolutely something we've done, like, it's like a mix and match, it's a combination, right? Like, the mix and you can mix and match the beds of the of the shoe. And now I have like, five beds, and I mix and match them all the time. In fact, the last DM we have because I had a fly to Stockton for like 17 hours. And for flight, I wore the terry cloth because, you know, like, sometimes you're hot, sometimes you're cold. So I wore the terry cloth took the beds out, threw them in my purse. I only had an overnight bag because I was wearing the same outfit twice. Put the red the red leather beds in look dressy for the dinner party. Went back to my hotel, put the red leather up, put it in my purse, put the terry cloth on, flew home and nice and comfort like a slipper. So anyways, like I'm just obsessed, and she's so cool. So let's talk about her, because it's not an ad for her shoe. We make no money on them. Brad Crowell 19:39 That's true. Lesley Logan 19:40 She said, when my curiosity really is piqued and I feel scared and terrified, I usually know that as a thing I need to go after, and I resonate with that so much like we resist, like what we resist will persist, and like you have to kind of go through the fear to get to where you want to go. And she highlighted the hardest part of her pivot was getting over her self-limiting beliefs. I mean, like, can you imagine, like, being a photographer, a very established photographer, like fucking Taylor Swift, guys, Keds, all this stuff, and she's like, I'm gonna do my own shoe. And like, products are so hard. Product business is so hard.Brad Crowell 20:17 She said she flew to China to meet with her the manufacturing company, and there was a problem with the design, and so she bought a one-way ticket because she said I'm not coming back until we've figured out the solution. Lesley Logan 20:33 Yeah, yeah. So, because the and.Brad Crowell 20:36 By the way, most shoes are made in China. That's where all the factories are for this kind of stuff, same with socks.Lesley Logan 20:48 Everything is made there, so. Except for our flashcards apparently,Brad Crowell 20:48 Well, we could. We have the choice. Lesley Logan 20:48 We have the choice. Brad Crowell 20:46 We do have a company in Florida for those. But. Lesley Logan 20:48 Yeah, there are, like, some clothing brands that we've had Ripley Rader on, and there's some other ones that they can make their clothes in the US. However, you need to understand that there's not a single zipper made in the United States.Brad Crowell 20:58 Right. So, like, parts of it are still being imported. And like, yeah.Lesley Logan 21:02 Yeah. But, but she, I want to just keep going. Like she just the perseverance and like, she put a quote on her iPhone lock screen that says what if you have what it takes? And I really love this. I like, need it somewhere I can see it all the time. What if you have what it takes? And so I think, like, what she kind of obsesses about is like, I'm deeply curious about what the edges of my ability, what am I capable of? Brad Crowell 21:25 What are the edges? Lesley Logan 21:26 What are the edges? And to find that out, I have to go to the edge of my fear and look over it. And I think like to to for you first all to be it till we see it, it's going to require us to face our fear and look at it and believe we have what it takes. Because you gotta dress for who you wanna be, you gotta act for who you wanna be, you gotta make decisions for who you wanna be, even though you're not there yet.Brad Crowell 21:48 I bet you that. So, so I relate to this in the sense of, like, being on stage, and you know, when you're on stage as a big group, you can hide. When you're on stage and you're the front, at the front, it, you can't hide. And or if you're the only person you know, and I bet you that most Pilates teachers who have done a group class the first few times were really intimidating, right? Where you have to be up in front of a bunch of people speaking, right? And at first that was probably like, something that that was a little bit scary, but over time, you start to get through it right. And that, I think that's the kind of fear that she was talking about that like, you know, one thing that I really loved, that she said was, everything is working out for my greater good. Everything is working out for us, right? She and her husband, they say this daily to themselves, especially when challenges show up. This is like their their mantra, and they they genuinely believe that this helps to shift the focus away from the challenges that are impacting their businesses, which always happen, always. Challenges just seem to come by, right? So, but when you're focusing on the positive, that's one of the things that we that we challenge all of our members inside of Agency as well. Hey, when you're going to ask a question about a problem you have before you do that, you have to celebrate a win or to tell something that you're grateful for, right? And the reason is the same here. When you focus that everything is working out for us, everything is working out for my greater good, when you focus on those things, you're more apt to see those things when you when you say to yourself, everything is shit. I hate it all, you're just going to see all the things that are shit. You hate it all. We talked about this before. I can't remember what episode, but it was like, count the number. Like, if you say, if you look at something blue, and you say, blue, right? You look at blue and look at red.Lesley Logan 23:26 Oh, that's actually an episode that's coming out. It's Brad Bizjack. I don't think he we talked about that. Brad Crowell 23:31 No, no, yeah, but you and I talked about it before. And, like, all of a sudden, you know, you start to see all the things that are red, or all the things that are blue, because you've focused on them. So it's the same exact idea here. And I just, I love that. I think it's great, you know. And she said that, you know, the other thing with, with being an entrepreneur, she said, sometimes you tackle something and it doesn't, it seems like a dud. Oh, I started this whole conversation with these people about this thing, and then nothing ever came to it, or, you know, whatever, whatever. And, like, you know, it seems like, where do I put my time and all the things? And she said, hey, everything leads to everything. Everything leads to everything, right? So being part of an entrepreneur is being someone who has an appetite for adventure, being, you know, being willing to explore. She said, there's no trail, no map, you're just kind of in the woods with the machete, right? And it's you're out there trying to figure it all out. And every time you make a new connection, you know, you might not have any like, reciprocation from that action today, but there will, you know, like, eventually things can are connected. It comes back. Lesley Logan 24:30 Also, like sometimes, like just having a conversation that hits a dead end, allows you to get more comfortable with an idea that you might have had fear around. And then when you have it with a different person, you have a whole different perspective, because you it's not the first time you're voicing it. I always tell some of our Agency members, I was like, I taught a woman, she took a first time session with me during a time that a client was on vacation, so I didn't normally have that time. The client's only on vacation for one week, but she she came in for a first time session, and none of my other times worked out for her. And so I actually had to refer her to a friend. But do you want to know something? Love me so much. She sent me a ton of clients. Everything is everything. So she didn't, and why didn't she send to my friend who she took one, I don't know, but she sent me them. And the point is, like, don't go oh, I'm not gonna teach that person. I'm not gonna take that because, like, I'm only available this one time. It's like, just go have the conversation. You can always be like, that was really cool. Here's this other person, like, I'm someone who, like, sometimes sets to hermit. I get a little overwhelmed. So I totally understand if you're like, I don't want to go do that, but like, you have to say it's to all of the things. But try it. Try just going like, you know, if you normally say no to 80% of opportunities, maybe, maybe say yes to like, 35% and just like start to get warmed up with that muscle and have some fun with it, because it does lead to everything.Brad Crowell 25:46 Everything leads to everything. All right. Well, stick around. We'll be right back, because we got more gold coming down from Sarah Rhoads, in the Be It Action Items. We'll be right back. Brad Crowell 25:56 All right, welcome back. Let's talk about those Be It Action Items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with Sarah Rhoads? She said stick with it. Stick it out, right? And you two are having this really fun conversations about, you know, the overnight success of the actor and like, having lived in Los Angeles, we are very aware that, like, it's a slow, long road to it's very, very rare that someone is like an overnight success in the real sense of that.Lesley Logan 26:30 There's a really cool book that's that I just heard about where this, I forget the name won't come to me, but he literally, like the little like the tagline is, like, my 20 years to overnight success.Brad Crowell 26:40 Right, exactly. Yeah. I mean, that's the joke, right? That's the running joke. And you were talking about behind the scenes, right? The building phase. It's truly one of the hardest phases, because no one can actually see what you're doing. And she said that they just launched their company last, end of last year, but they've been working on it for three, right? And she said.Lesley Logan 26:58 Oh, yeah. I mean, like, I saw the ads. I'm like, oh, my God, they're a huge company. She's DM-ing me and her husband emails customer support, so. Brad Crowell 27:06 They're both working. They answer everything, right? She said, it's really hard to do the work, the building phase work, and because, because no one around you can see the vision or the or the results of where it's going to be, where it's gonna go, and you have it in your head, right? And sometimes it's hard to convince other people that this is gonna be the thing. It's gonna be amazing, but, you know it will be, and that's, that's the thing. You have to trust yourself, right? She said, really good things are on the other side of the building phase of when you're able to finally open the doors, get, you know, launch your product, or introduce your book, or whatever it might be, like, the amount of prep time it takes to do it right, you know, you have to be able to believe in yourself and so.Lesley Logan 27:52 Yeah, I mean, I think the key thing, and I was like, oh, do you trust yourself? Like, do you? So she said, knowing deep in your soul that everything's working out for you, and knowing that anyone can do anything, what a be it, like, anyone can do anything. So why can't you do the thing you want to do? Because anyone can do anything. And she emphasized the importance of protecting autonomy pretty fiercely to avoid burnout. I'm gonna just say fiercely. Protect your autonomy fiercely. One of the reasons I see people burn out is they don't protect their autonomy. They they are afraid of losing a client or of pissing off a friend, so they just say yes to all these things, and their schedule is not their own. Their schedule is being formed by other people's schedules. And it's like the whole idea, like, if you don't have goals, someone else has goals for you. If you don't protect your autonomy, someone else will make sure your schedule is theirs. It's how it's gonna go. Brad Crowell 28:38 It's true. Lesley Logan 28:42 She prioritizes self-care through specific regular habits. She's also part of an amazing book club, and she makes time for it, and I think that is so cool. She hikes and gets outside nature three days a week. She stays connected to make things that make her feel alive, not just what makes money. And she advised trusting yourself and believing yourself. So with that, trust keeps coming up. You guys, let me just remind you three children, and they're not older. When I asked her, I'm pretty sure they were, like, under 10. So like, young.Brad Crowell 29:10 The kids, yeah, I think the oldest, I'm pretty sure, actually, now I don't remember. But yeah, they're not old.Lesley Logan 29:15 I don't think not a single one of them can drive themselves anywhere. So here's what my point being like this is a mom and a business owner who works with her husband, and if she can protect her autonomy fiercely, you can do it. You can do it. Yes, it's hard. Yes, people are gonna get pissed off because you're changing the boundaries on them. You're changing the rules they will get over it because you're gonna be a funner person to be around. That's just what I think. Sarah Rhoads, you are amazing. I love you so much. I hope we can be friends.Brad Crowell 29:48 Me too.Lesley Logan 29:48 I hope she's, what if she's listening? Well, anyways, I'm Lesley Logan. Brad Crowell 29:54 And I'm Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 29:55 Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. Go check her out, and if anything, let her be an inspiration to what you can do. You can change your career anytime, because you're curious and you believe in yourself, and Be It Till You See It.Brad Crowell 30:08 Bye for now. Lesley Logan 30:10 Oh, we didn't tell. Brad Crowell 30:11 Oh, we got a secret for y'all. Lesley Logan 30:14 We have a secret. Brad Crowell 30:15 Yeah, we got a surprise. Lesley Logan 30:16 I don't know how. Don't let them go too way soon. You guys, Commbi has given us a secret discount code for you. BEIT10. Brad Crowell 30:25 BEIT10. Lesley Logan 30:26 Yeah, get 10% off your shoes. And if you're like, what? Yeah, no, she just gave it to me, and I love it. I've used it. I have four pairs already. Don't worry, I'm gonna keep going. I'm gonna wear them all this weekend in L.A. They're so comfortable. I'm quite (inaudible).Brad Crowell 30:40 Clearly she said that they they are even making them for men. Lesley Logan 30:43 They have men's shoes. I showed them to you. Yes, I know we gotta, we gotta work them out, babe. Brad Crowell 30:46 We gotta work them out. Lesley Logan 30:48 We gotta get you switched over. Yeah, there's men's collection. Brad Crowell 30:52 They're pretty cool. Lesley Logan 30:53 They're really cool. Brad Crowell 30:54 Yeah, they look good. Lesley Logan 30:55 I, really obsessed. I literally wear them all the time. I don't even put, I like, I used to be a tennis shoes person always. Now I'm like, slipping on my Commbis to go outside to get the mail, because, holy fuck, the sidewalk is hot, so I gotta put them on. And I just love them. And my toe spacers from Gait Happens fit on my toes while I'm wearing my Commbis, which is essential. That's a couple plugs All right. Now you can go, Be It Till You See It.Brad Crowell 31:20 See you next time, y'all.Lesley Logan 31:22 That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 32:04 It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 32:09 It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 32:14 Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 32:21 Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 32:24 Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Lesley Logan 32:37 Oh, it's, where's my phone? It's on Instagram. Brad Crowell 32:40 It's on the gram the Instagram.Lesley Logan 32:52 All right, I'm here. Brad Crowell 32:53 You're here. Lesley Logan 32:53 Can we go? Brad Crowell 32:54 Can just sit how you're gonna sit. Okay, you gonna sit over there, or you gonna sit on the other side? Where are you gonna sit? This isn't a merry go round. Lesley Logan 33:08 I'm gonna sit right here. We need a couch. Brad Crowell 33:11 I'm gonna adjust the sofa. This is the sofa. I've adjusted the sofa. Here we go. We do need a couch. That'd be fun. I'd love to change up our setup.Lesley Logan 33:22 I know I want to go to Joy Bird. I want one of their cute couches.Brad Crowell 33:26 I'd love to get, like, a wide shot and a. Joy Bird, what? Lesley Logan 33:31 Oh, look up Joy bird's couches, amazing.Brad Crowell 33:34 Well, we'll get there, but I want to actually, like make the lounge vibe. That'd be cool. Lesley Logan 33:38 Yeah, this is not the vibe anymore. Brad Crowell 33:40 Yeah, I'm in on change. All right, cool. Here we go.Lesley Logan 33:44 We could do wallpaper instead of this.Brad Crowell 33:48 We could, but I think we should actually have like, different backgrounds so that you could have one for Profitable Pilates, one for this, one for that.Lesley Logan 33:56 What if we did walls? What if this is the Be It wall that was the Profitable Pilates wall? Brad Crowell 33:56 And we just like, rotate, like. Lesley Logan 33:56 Yeah, we just rotate the chairs. Brad Crowell 34:12 Like the whole floor, like. Lesley Logan 34:14 Yeah, oh, they could just, like, press a button.Lesley Logan 34:22 No bad ideas on a brainstorm. Brad Crowell 34:24 She can't help herself. Literally cannot help herself. Lesley Logan 34:29 I'm ready. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Sarah Rhoads went from photographing celebrities to reinventing her life at 40 as the founder of Commbi Shoes, a modular, podiatrist-backed footwear brand rooted in beauty, function, and sustainability. In this inspiring conversation, Lesley Logan talks with Sarah about entrepreneurial grit, radical reinvention, and building purpose-driven products with your family by your side. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:Why Sarah left a successful career at 40 to start Commbi Shoes.How to find courage and push past fear when reinventing your career.The power of building a brand rooted in function, beauty, and sustainability.What it's really like behind the scenes when building a business with your spouse. Sarah's approach to entrepreneurial challenges and problem solving.Why it's important to protect your autonomy to prevent burnout. Episode References/Links:Commbi Website - https://www.commbi.co (Use code: BEIT10 for 10% off!)Commbi Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/commbi_officialSarah Rhoads' Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahrhoadsEp. 547 with Dr. Jennifer Perez - https://beitpod.com/gaithappensGuest Bio:Sarah Rhoads is the fearless founder of Commbi, a groundbreaking footwear brand born from courage, curiosity, and a refusal to settle for “good enough.” Once a sought-after fashion photographer for major global brands, Sarah boldly reinvented her career to design the shoes she—and countless women—had always dreamed of wearing. With zero experience in footwear manufacturing, she turned fear into fuel, spending years creating a patented, interchangeable design that delivers both comfort and elegance. A wife, mother of three, and unstoppable innovator, Sarah's journey is proof that anyone can chase a wild idea, break past self-doubt, and create something extraordinary that changes lives one step at a time. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! 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I usually know that that is the thing I need to go after.Lesley Logan 0:30 Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 1:13 Hello. Hi, Be It babe. Welcome welcome to the podcast. Oh, my God, this is so fun, because you're about to hear two women who've never met but totally love each other already. Just connect and share stories. And our guest today is Sarah Rhoads of Commbi shoes. And like one of the things I love about this podcast is I get to meet some really insanely amazing people and also, like, hopefully start wonderful relationships. At any rate, I really was excited to share her story with you, because I do think it's what you need right now. You need to hear a story about someone who's not a shoe manufacturer making the most amazing shoes. You need to hear about a woman who had a very, very successful career pivot to doing something she's never done before. And you need to hear that, you know, you can do all these things while being a wife and a mother and be authentic to yourself and do the things that let you up. So I'm super excited for this episode, so I'm gonna let you get right into it. Thank you, Sarah Rhoads for being here, and here she is. Lesley Logan 2:08 Okay, Be It babe. I'm gonna tell you right now that like today's guest and I aren't best friends yet, but I hope in the future, we are because I already love her so much. I've been following her for a while. I will say, probably our first guest that I, like, got me by an ad so but, but our audience knows that I'm someone who's like, I'm gonna click on that ad. I love being cookied. I love when ads follow me around and remind me of the things that I want to have. And so today's guest is the founder of Commbi shoes, and it's Sarah Rhoads. Oh my gosh, hello, welcome to the Be It pod. Can you tell everyone like who you are and what you rock at, just in case they haven't, they didn't find you through Instagram like me.Sarah Rhoads 2:49 Well, first off, I'm so happy to be here, Lesley, and thanks so much for having me. You just have such a great energy. And I love other women that are doing great stuff. So I am a photographer turned entrepreneur. And as Lesley said, I own Commbi, which is a shoe company. I'm a founder of it that basically I created the dream shoes that I myself couldn't find, and I went and created them. I've never made shoes before. This is all just like if you told me 10 years ago, this is what I'd be doing now, I would have surprised myself. So I did a complete life pivot in, I'm 40 this year, and I basically went from a really successful career as a lifestyle fashion photographer shooting for Fortune 100 brands to doing Commbi, which is now I make shoes.Lesley Logan 3:41 I am obsessed. And like, I really like, I feel like, you know, like I got stalked by your gorgeous shoes. And I just was like, it was winter time, and I was like, I don't need those yet. I was on tour, and I was like, we'll just like it. We'll just like it. And then it was like, the seventh one. I was like, okay, I'll just buy them now, so they're at home when I get home and I DM-ed you about a question about because, okay, you guys, we're gonna get into her shoes in a second. I'm gonna get to our journey. But I just want to say, the shoes, why I was obsessed with them, is like, oh, I could just take the insole out and change it so I have, because I'm someone who needs to have a lot of shoes. Like my mother, she probably, I was, probably not a nice compliment, but she was like, you're like, like the woman from the Philippines who has a million shoes. And I was like, yeah, I do. I love shoes. I have no blank T-shirts, guys. I only have shoes and sweatshirts. But I, so I was upset. And you yourself, DM-ed me back. And I was like, another founder who reads her own DMs, I'm already so now I'm like, well, now I'm following and I'm gonna stalk you a little bit.Sarah Rhoads 4:41 I'm all about the, I like, love interacting with people, (inaudible) building is like, what I'm all about. And I created these shoes as much for myself as I did for others and to help people. And I was like, so I really like to, like, talk like, I still, Chris, Chris handles all, my husband and co-founder, Chris handles all of the customer service emails. I handle all of the DMs, all the socials so, yeah, we're like, in it.Lesley Logan 5:12 Yeah, no, I feel you. Like, I we have an amazing customer service team too, but like, I do read all my DMs. People are like, oh, it's you. And I'm like, yeah, like, how will I know what to create, if I don't talk to you. Before we go into why your shoes are so amazing, even more though, you are a successful lifestyle photographer, like, there was no need to change anything except for that, you wanted amazing shoes for yourself. How? How do you, like, I know lots of our listeners are like, but how do you make a pivot like that because it's not like, you're like, oh, I'm going to be a photographer, and then I'm going to, like, you know, make a camera, something that you're familiar with. You're like, no, I'm going to make a shoe. And as someone who also makes products, like, you don't know, thank goodness you don't know what you don't know when you get into it, because otherwise you wouldn't. But like, how did you make that pivot?Sarah Rhoads 5:56 So, I think, you know, to start a little bit back, my husband and I met when we were 18 in college, and we have been working on creative endeavors together, like since we met. And so, you know, in some kind of entrepreneurial fashion, you know, basically what started as creative services through photography. I mean, we've shot Taylor Swift for Keds, like all these brands, and really, I think alignment is a really important thing to me, and I'm very I always feel like I'm very attuned to when I feel like I'm not on the right path. And there started to become a point I have three kids that are eight, six and three, and there started to become a point where I was just feeling not as creatively invigorated by these things I was working on in advertising. I will always be a storyteller, because it's just who I am. I love photography. However, it started to just feel like this isn't as fulfilling to me and my purpose and my calling at this stage in my life as I need it to be. So there was that, coupled with I was a dancer and I had foot issues, and being on set, I would be shooting people for 12 hours a day on my feet. I'm not a tennis shoe girlie. I do not wear heels. I have, like, sort of some foot issues. So I had tried every shoe in the game. I had tried Danskos, Birkenstocks, the Vince mules, like, if it was, like, stylish and, you know, Net-a-Porter, like, styles that I like, they had zero support. If it was like, you know, orthoticy, biotic, all this kind of stuff. It was grandma looking and so, like, I had resorted to putting insoles into my mules and my clogs and my slides on set, and my husband was like, this looks so bad, Sarah, because, like my little like insole would be flopping around. It's awful, because I wear, like, open back shoes. We live in California. That's like, my lifestyle. And so basically, we set out, like, this was, like three years ago now, to sort of say, well, let's get a 3D printer. My husband taught himself AutoCAD, and we started inventing, essentially, like, how could we take a like, allow people the opportunity to completely like, first off, create a supportive shoe. So we worked with podiatrists to create a shoe that's number one, fits the need that I needed, which was supportive, and then design it in styles that I myself wear, but then allow people to modulate it like based on the season or their preference. So for example, I hated how my Uggs, the shearling would go flat after a season, and I'd have to throw away this beautiful mule that I was like, this feels so wasteful to me. What if I could just, like, switch out that element and then keep the whole shoe like, it feels more sustainable. It feels more like practical, I'm a practical lady, and so that is how we came to basically file for our patent after we've did several thousands of iterations on like, how could we make this work where you can modulate just the footbed and allow people to be creative, allow people to be in the driver's seat of what they want, provide something that's more sustainable in a way. And so thus became like, well, okay, I guess we're inventing a new way to do shoes and.Lesley Logan 9:22 You, I mean, like, literally, like, that's why I don't have any of the shoe. Like, I had bought the shearling Birkenstock. So I was like, oh, those are so cute. It's like, four years ago I needed some house slippers in the summer, you know, we, our house is tile, everyone. So if you, if you walk around tile with bare feet, you just get ugly feet. So I was like, oh, I'll have these, like, shearling. No, within a summer, it's like, rub down and it's ugly. And now I have this shoe that is perfectly fine. It has not been worn enough. And then also, did you okay? Get this. So, I interviewed one of the founders of Gait Happens, G-A-I-T Gait Happens on this podcast. It hasn't released yet, but you gotta check it out. And I said, oh, my husband wears, like, Birkenstocks. This is the only shoe he wears. And she goes, I give it a b minus.Sarah Rhoads 9:23 Same. And that, I hate, I don't, I'm not here to diss. Lesley Logan 10:11 Right. We're not, you're not dissing. I'll bring up their name.Sarah Rhoads 10:14 Yes, but I am sure to say for not, not for everybody. Like, I thought, work is like, hard. It's like, I didn't like that it took such a break-in period. So I was like, why don't I create a supportive shoe that has a memory foam that doesn't have the break-in period of a Birkenstock? Like, why not try something different? So, yeah. Lesley Logan 10:32 Okay, so, I'm sure people caught on so, you're 40. You have three kids under 10. You're my you're like, a superhero. How like, and you and your family made this transition together? Like, there are so many questions I have there, which is, like, to switch financially, your whole thing over, and then to be present for children. But also, like, not burn yourself out. Can you tell us the process you went through?Sarah Rhoads 11:02 Yeah, okay, so and I'm still going through it, to be totally honest with you, I feel like a pivot, the biggest thing that was the hardest for me is getting over my self-limiting beliefs in the beginning, like that was step one for me, when I started to sort of say no, like, this feels insane that I want to do this, but like, I want to do this, and my curiosity is pulling me. And when my curiosity really is peaked and I feel scared and terrified, I usually know that that is the thing I need to go after. That's sort of my recipe for, like, I know that's on my path of alignment, and I kept feeling that. And so I really had to do a lot of work to break down my self-limiting beliefs, number one, to even step into this space of like I can do this, you know, and so much so I had, you know, this, this on my home screen of my iPhone, I had like, a thing that said, what if you have what it takes. You know, it's still on there, actually, what if you have what it takes? Because I had so many moments of like, this is insane, no one's going to understand you, Sarah, like, why would you do, like people are going to be like, what are you doing? Like, and all those self-doubt, things, that (inaudible) imposter syndrome we all deal with when we pivot, or we're even thinking about pivoting. And I just started to, like reframe that for myself, to be like, no, I am deeply curious about what are the edges of my ability. Like, what am I capable of? And like to find that out, I have to go to the edge of my fear and look over the the edge of it. And entrepreneurship, so much in this journey for me has so much been, as much as it's been an external one, it's more of an internal one for myself, of like, can I do this, and do I have what it takes? And I, I do, like, I think all people can do all things genuinely. And, you know, it started there, and then, you know, of course, my husband and I, as co-founders, had to really come together of like, okay, can we utilize our previous skill set, which we've done our 10,000 hours plus on mastering, is there a way to parlay that also to be a strength in this new world? And there is, like we just shot our Commbi campaign for all of the new material, like we utilize our skill sets that we have used in our previous We Are The Rhoads studio all the time, like all of our network of models and you know, all of that is used in this new business, which is so cool. And I think like trusting that and knowing, like, hey, I didn't know how to really make a product that I learned got on a plane, and you can learn anything if you're curious enough and willing to be, like, moldable, I think anything is possible. And so that's kind of, we launched August last year, and we've had.Lesley Logan 14:06 I had no idea. I had no idea. I had no idea. That's insane. Okay, so it's not even a year old yet.Sarah Rhoads 14:13 No, we're going on our first year and, like, I mean, we've been working on this behind the scenes for like, three years, so it feels a lot older to us, but it's also, you know, we're a new company, a new business, and every day is learning. And as an entrepreneur, as you know, every day is learning. And for me, the meaning of life is to learn, to grow and to expand. And so for me, this is checking all those boxes every single day. When I wake up, I learn new things everyday. So you know what I mean?Lesley Logan 14:43 I do. Everyday I'm like, okay, like, well, and also, what happens is, like, you still you, unless you take time to reflect, you don't realize, like, the things you learned a year ago, you're actually now an expert at, and you're slaying but there's just a new, new thing. You did it now, and with everything that goes on all the time. You're kind of like, okay, okay, so how do I, how do I take what I believe in and exist in this area because this area has changed now, but I want to exist like this here. And so you are, you, it's a, it, you know what? It's a lot if they say, like, if you want to learn about yourself, become an entrepreneur, because you really learn about yourself.Sarah Rhoads 15:19 It's true. It's true. And I'm, like, deeply curious about, like, okay, what are the depths of my ability and, like, my capacity, I, you know? And, yeah, you learn it. You're scared every day. You know that, that's for me what I'm like, retraining my brain right now, the work I'm doing, is to learn that this is what it is. This is normal. Problem solving problems is, is that is what it is to be a founder. That is what it is to be an entrepreneur. You grow out of a system, you expand into something else, like, oh, we're having to expand warehouses right now because we grew out of this. It's like, at first, I was like, oh, oh no. Is something wrong? It's like, no, that is, that is, that is what it is. It's figuring things out and you know, like, that's what entrepreneurship is, is creative problem-solving a lot of it, so.Lesley Logan 16:11 Yeah, well, congrats on outgrowing your first warehouse, or maybe it's your second already. But I, I want to highlight let you like, like, what we know as Commbi, like, what we've seen is almost a year old, but that you guys have been working behind the scenes for three years. And I think that that's the thing that like, no matter how many times I hear it, I have to share it because, because we are like, oh my God, look at the successful brand here. Look at what they're doing. And it's like, you didn't see the three to four years of sweat, tears, wonder, fear, lots of money invested. Like, you you actually are seeing the like, there is no such thing as an overnight success. Like, we know this, you and I live like you still live in L.A. but I lived in like, we know that no one is an overnight movie star, that was like a decade of auditions and like little roles in the background and all these different things. And then they filmed this thing two years ago, and they've just been waiting for us to all see it. So, you know, I think it's like we have to be reminded of that, because if you have an idea that you are going for and you're feeling frustrated because it's been a year, it's been three to four years before the rest of us, like, before, and then also, like, do you just heard me say it like, took like, seven times for me to go, yeah, I think, you know, like, the world is like, taking its time to site, making decisions on what it wants to do with your product. And so it's not personal. It's just like, that's how long things take.Sarah Rhoads 17:35 Yeah, and I would say, like, I would encourage anybody who's like, in that phase of, like, building behind the scenes, I feel like that's, it's truly one of the hardest phases, because no one can see what you're doing, and you have to have this, like, self-determined belief in yourself and what you're doing. And that takes, it's really hard to do that work, but like, stick with it. Like, stick it out, because I feel like really good things are always on the other side of that, like that curiosity and that sort of determination, but it's really hard to do that, that type that space, that's the building phase, where no one can see what you're doing, and you're just like, I'm creating this thing. I hope people will like it. I hope people will like be (inaudible), like it will help their life and and then when you get to launch and you see like it does, and you hear from customers being like, oh my gosh, I love this. I love your shoes. They're like, exactly what I want. Like, it's like, oh, I didn't just create the shoes for me. I created them for, you know, other people too. Lesley Logan 18:43 Yeah, well, I mean, like, just to give you a compliment to your face, since, like, because you need it. Another one, I'm sure, as a business, I'm always, like, give me all the compliments on my things. You like, I am almost a size 10 foot, and so, like, slides were never awesome because my heels would somehow hit the ground. No one wants their you know what I mean? And then, like, and then I have a wide toe box, but a narrow heel, and it's just always been an issue. So I was a tennis shoe girly, because, like, that's it. That's the only shoes that would stay on my feet and keep and so, but I am like, oh, these shoes. I feel like, I feel luxurious in I feel like they're, you know, these are not just like, like when I put my Birkenstocks on, yes, I still, I have some pairs. Like, I'm like, I'm like, okay, this is a laid back, this is.Sarah Rhoads 19:28 I'm like a granola girly. (inaudible) to offer something that was like, right? Lesley Logan 19:35 But I don't want to be a granola girly every day. Like, I want to be a girl. Like, that's, I am a girly girl. But people like, I love like, I just did a photo shoot that I haven't put some of the pictures up yet, but like, it's, I'm obsessed. We're rebranding the podcast, and I got this green emerald green, like Wizard of Oz green fur coat.Sarah Rhoads 19:59 That is like your color, girl. Lesley Logan 20:01 It's so good. It's so good. And I'm like, and like, I'm like, this, and then I put it, we did a whole fashion shoot at the Plaza Hotel because they have all the light bulbs on I'm just like, obsessed, oh, it was amazing. I'll have to show you when we're done. It's fucking phenomenal. Anyways, but like, I was like, I want a casual shoe that makes me feel girly. So like, congratulations, you nailed it, and I can't wait to see what comes out. Also, since you live in L.A., do you know Ripley? Because the two of you should be best friends if you're not, Ripley Rader, do you know her? Okay, your shoes, here's my vision. Not and no one asked, I think you, I think you and Ripley should do a collab together. Your shoes with her clothes, insane. And you're both photographers. You guys. Sarah Rhoads 20:41 Ripley is her brand? Lesley Logan 20:42 Ripley Radar. Yeah, the perfect pant also, yes. Sarah Rhoads 20:45 You gotta introduce us. Lesley Logan 20:46 I'm gonna introduce you guys, because in my perfect world, like, you got, like, her lines with your shoes, like, fabulous. And then, because you're both photographers and you're both in L.A. like, this should this is just a magical match. I'm just gonna make it happen. I met her through the podcast. They approached me, and I was like, is this the woman whose pants keep following me around my Instagram? Yeah, I want to interview her, and now I have a bunch of her clothes, and I wear them with your shoes, and I love it. Lesley Logan 21:13 So, okay, I want to go, like, the things, what are the things you do when you're like, feeling it? Because I think, I think that the thing that makes more, that makes an entrepreneur move faster, because we all are going to fill obstacles. We are problem-solving everyday, but like, the quicker you get to, like, overcoming the fear of failure and noticing your ish, like, the quicker you can move through it. Like, how do you move through that fear or the obstacles, like, what are the tools you use? Do you have a mantra? Do you have music like, what do you do? Sarah Rhoads 21:45 Man, I feel like there's a couple things I, it's not like a formal mantra, but something I say every single day is, everything is working out for my better good, like, a greater good, everything is working out for us, like Chris and I this morning, literally, like he made me a coffee, and despite, like, there's a lot going on in the world right now, tariffs impact our business. Like we could sit there and, like, sort of focus on that, but we just said to each other, like, everything's working out for us. Like everything is working out for us. And I really it's not sort of BS, like, I really genuinely believe that when you look at my life, when I look at like the now that I have some wisdom of life, I'm like, oh, like everything is genuinely working out for us. And I also believe that everything leads to everything, as silly as that sounds, I have this, this other female founder that I love, and I'll always like, Sheena of Kosas. She's a badass, and she has been kind enough like I shot her very first campaign when she had one lipstick, like, years and years ago. And she's helped me on my journey as a founder of a product, and she is the one who told me she's like, everything leads to everything. And just trusting that has been a really powerful mantra for me, just in terms of, like, knowing that even if there's a setback, guess what, everything leads to everything, like or this relationship, it might feel like just a dead end call, guess what? Like, those things down the road lead to other things they really do. And so, like, I feel like part of being an entrepreneur is being someone who has an appetite for adventure. Because, like, the way that I sort of akin it to is like you're in the woods with a machete, like a hatchet going through the woods. There's no trail, there's no trail heads, there are no maps. And you're going through the woods with a machete trying to forge a path up this mountain, and you see these, like beautiful people, or rivers along the way that are like, oh, good water. And then there's like, a little light over there, and that little light ends up being a person that's like, you know what? Like a Sheena, or these, like someone that's like, hey, you should meet Ripley. Like, who knows what that leads to, whatever it is. And they're like, you know what, hey, there you should you should go over that way and talk to this person. You start going on that path with your machete, and then before you know it, you have a manufacturing partner that's fantastic. And you are, you have a great like, product that you're like, working on making better. And anyway, I just, I feel like that for me, keeping that mentality of being an adventurer has been, like, really paramount to trusting the process, even when you have setbacks, even when you're in the woods with your machete and you don't see the way forward. Just like, you know what? I have to trust that it's all part of the plan. Lesley Logan 24:46 Yeah, it is so true. It's so true. Like, as you were saying, like I was just like thinking, like, all the different things that happened, so, before we hit record, I live in Las Vegas, right? We were talking about it. The reason we own a home. Is because the world shut down, not because, like, we, like planned and put it out. Oh, we have a life plan together. We're gonna do this. You guys, Brad and I would have lived in that 500 square foot apartment forever. We would have bought a vacation home and still live in that apartment, if we could have kept traveling. Because you don't realize how small it is when you're not there. So like, but we, we're here in this beautiful, like, the house of my dreams, because even when things happen outside your control, like, everything is working out for you if you believe it, if you're not believing that, like you, you don't see the opportunities and you don't see the connections and the introductions as as a light of like, oh, look over here. You're seeing it as, like, another thing that is, like, keeping you, or just another busy thing you don't you, you know. Like, I really do think that, like, when you believe that things will work out you are actually, you'll actually see the opportunities as evidence of that.Sarah Rhoads 25:56 Absolutely, and I feel like that's exactly what you're pointing to. It's like, I feel like in our busy culture of like, everything's about efficiency and like, oh, our task list, I never want to turn people into tasks like, ever. And so for me, it's like, if we can keep the spirit of like, this is all about, like, life is about how we can grow from each other and how we can learn from each other. Like, I just try to keep that spirit about every interaction, knowing I can learn something from everybody and and, yeah, I I love what you're saying. Like, not turning things, all these things into to do lists, turning them into opportunities in your mind. You know, I think it's really powerful, so it's helped me, but, yeah. Lesley Logan 26:42 Thank you for sharing that. I, okay. You're a mom, you're a wife, you're a business owner, you're you. You are so many things. How do you prioritize you in all of this? Because it can be so easy. Like, like, we love our people. We don't want to be to-do lists like, almost like, like, I work with a lot of Pilates instructors, and they, like, love their clients so much that they don't take care of the things that continue to make them light up anymore, and it bends on the burnout road, right? So, like, how do you make sure that you're still you in all of this?Sarah Rhoads 27:13 Yeah, that's a really good question. Like, burnout is a very real, you know, thing, as you know, we're always like, right, flying real close to the sun there on burnout. If I'm being honest, when you're building a business, building a company, it's especially through, like, the holiday season, like Chris and I were like, okay, we gotta, like, we gotta step back a little bit from this. It's all like, just it, you know. And I feel like, for me, how do I stay me my, I protect my autonomy pretty fiercely. Like, I just feel like, it's just who I am. I love to read. So I like, am in this amazing book club that I like, make time for. Like, it's something totally extracurricular. But these women inspire me. They're incredible. I love hearing other people's perspectives. I am all about nature and hiking, like, I go out and I be in nature, like three days a week. Like, those are the things that for me, keep me from burnout. Is like doing a few things every week that I love, you know, that are outside of like, what makes me money? You know? What can I be doing to better my business? It's being in touch with the things that make Sarah, me, feel alive, and then knowing like, that'll make me a better mom, a better founder, a better creative, all those things that I need to be, you know. So, yeah. Lesley Logan 27:13 Thank you for sharing that. I think I love that you're in a book club that you make time for. Like, I think it's so like, I we have a lot of people like, how do you make friends as an adult? I'm like, you have to just go do things and hope and, like, if you don't like it, go do something else. Like, it's okay and, you know, it is hard, like, it's hard to there's always a reason. I mean, you like, I just wanted you to all replay that. Remember, she is a founder of a new company. She works with her husband, and she has three kids under 10, and she has, she has things she does for herself every week. Like, I love that so much. I really, I really, really do. Okay. What are you most excited about right now?Sarah Rhoads 29:08 I am so excited about my new line that is coming out in three weeks. Oh my gosh. I'm gonna give you like, a little sneak peek. Lesley Logan 29:15 Stop right now. I need them already. Stop right now. I need them already.Sarah Rhoads 29:18 So, like, I, again, part of like, listening to customers and like is, it's part of us handling customer service is like, I want to know, like, what do people want to see more?Lesley Logan 29:28 Bright colors. I want hot pink. I want that red. Sarah Rhoads 29:31 Yeah, but I'm listening so people wanted real Nappa leathers. My first was vegan. Now I've got, I'll still offer vegan option for those ladies who want that or men who want that. But I also have some amazing, like, supple, like, it's like, lamb skin leathers that are just so chic and look so good.Lesley Logan 29:55 You guys, if you're not already watching the Be It Pod on YouTube, you need to now and also by the time this is out, they're out. So go get them.Sarah Rhoads 30:01 And then I have some just cool styles that are all adjustable. So I have, like, back straps and like some things that, like people wanted for walking around Europe, things like that, like, there's back straps adjustable sort of plays. I'm just so excited about this line. I also improved the product immensely. I took, got on a plane to Asia when I started to hear a couple things, like, I had enough time with my own product to be like, I want to take the weight out of the shoes a little bit. And so I worked with my engineering team. People told me, you can't do it, you can't do it. Blah, blah, blah, for these reasons. I sat there and I, like, didn't book a return flight until this was solved. And basically, we came up with a unique compound for our shoes that allows the interchangeability to all work. And it just just like super I'm just super excited about this line. I feel really proud of it. It's designed with really nice textiles, and I have a really good supplier I'm really excited about. So anyway, all of it, the designs are pretty fire, and I'm excited, but that's what I'm excited about. Lesley Logan 31:04 I am so I like, she held up a red. I was like, because I just, I love an accent. I love.Sarah Rhoads 31:09 (inaudible) I'm about to pre-release these, because I've had so many people asking.Lesley Logan 31:14 Okay, well, I'm gonna get that link before. Brad is going, Brad is rolling his eyes while he's listening to this. I'm sure. When he listens later, he's asleep right now, but he'll, he'll listen to this on a replay moving for prep. And I know, I know the exact points where he's just going, oh my God, my wife. (inaudible) We will do it yes, and then we'll do the couple photo for you. We'll do whatever you want. Sarah Rhoads 31:42 Oh my God. I love it. We'll make it happen. Lesley Logan 31:42 And then when we come to L.A., we're gonna have to come see you because, like, of course, we'll have to have dinner, because it's, it's not all the time that you meet couples who work together and and are cool and they work together well, there's.Sarah Rhoads 31:55 Lesley, I have so many questions for you about that. So, yes, a dinner is in our future. Lesley Logan 32:00 Yes, oh, I mean, we've been working together. So he, he flirted with me by building me a website. You guys, we were dating, and he was, like, your new website. And I, like, you know, as a Pilates instructor, and I thought I was one of the first Pilates instructors, like, who have their own website. Like I got out of Pilates training, and I had a website ready to go. And, like, no people have been teaching 10 years to have website. So I thought I was a slain and then I met him. I'd been teaching for like, seven years. He's like, so you have to have an like, this is old. You need a new website. And I'm like, why it's working just fine. So he built me a new one. And then, and then, as I was building my companies, which, you know, bad thing, guys don't build the same three things at the same time, because if they work out, you have three, and it's a lot. So anyways, he started, like, working with me, doing things behind the scenes. And finally, I was just like, can you just like, can you just work with me all the time? And so he's been full time since 2019 which has been really, really cool and really fun, and also allowed me to, like, not be the CEO of my company, because I'm not as I don't know about you, I don't I'm not a CEO. Sarah Rhoads 33:01 I'm a co-CEO. But Chris does ops, tech, all of things that like, are the behind the scenes. I'm community building, creative, getting, (inaudible) you're dynamic. We can like, have a whole podcast about working as a team with your significant.Lesley Logan 33:18 I know, we'll have to have you back, and we'll have to, like, do a co well, the four of us can talk. Sarah Rhoads 33:22 With all of us? Lesley Logan 33:23 Yes, because it's like, you have to, well, it's also just recognizing your strengths. Like, this is what I'm really good at. I'm really good at the community. I'm really good at the vision. I'm really good at like, seeing the big picture and like, how, like, it's gonna relate down the thing. And a meeting on how this system is gonna work is like, I wanna know, but I don't want to be in the. Sarah Rhoads 33:42 100% girl, we're the same. This is (inaudible) people. I'm like, thank God for them, because truly, it's not my wheelhouse, you know. Lesley Logan 33:54 Yeah. Oh, we, so we make Pilates flashcards. And on our winter tour, we went, we were like, near the place at the warehouse that prints our flashcards and and fulfills everything it's (inaudible) house. And So Brad, like, we're gonna go see how this is made. And I was like, I don't, I don't really, actually, I'm not lit up by this. Like, you know, like, I, he's. Sarah Rhoads 33:54 Find your strength (inaudible). Lesley Logan 34:15 Yeah. Oh, and he is like, looking at everything. He's like, look at this. And it goes in here first, and they go this first. And I was just like, this is, oh, I don't know how someone envisioned this actually, like the guy who envisioned the systems that print flashcards and boxes the whole thing. I was like, that person's amazing.Sarah Rhoads 34:35 Thank God for that guy. Lesley Logan 34:36 Yeah, yeah. Thank goodness, because I don't have to be the person who does it. Anyways. Okay, I could talk to you forever, but we're gonna take a brief break and then find out how people can find you, follow you and get your amazing shoes. Lesley Logan 34:47 All right, Sarah, where do you hang out? What socials are we sharing? Where can they pre-order these amazing shoes, or just order them because they'll be out by now?Sarah Rhoads 34:55 Oh, I love it. Okay, so Commbi C-O-M-M-B-I dot co and then you can get on our mailing list. That'll be how you find out new, hot pre-releases coming at you. And then our Instagram handle is @Commbi_official. So yeah, that's that's us.Lesley Logan 35:15 Wonderful. You've given so many great tips, but I can't get enough of you. So bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps our listeners can take to be it till they see it, what do you have for us? Sarah Rhoads 35:25 I think, knowing deep in your soul that everything's working out for you, and knowing that anyone can do anything, and trusting yourself and believing in yourself, that's that's the biggest thing that I would say.Lesley Logan 35:40 I love those. I think you've said a few things that'll be on Post-Its in my office for a little bit, and I'll just think of you. Oh my gosh, Sarah, thank you for being you. Thank you for creating Commbi shoes, like and also for being I think people listening, we all need like inspirations, like people we can look at and go, okay, she did it and so I can, like, you know, we just need these reminders. So thank you for doing that. And it's really cool that your kids get to see you and your husband create something amazing as well together. So just a hats off to you, and I'll be, I'll be ordering more shoes. So just know I'm stalking you.Sarah Rhoads 36:19 I gotta hook you up and your listeners up with a little discount code so we can talk about that. Lesley Logan 36:24 Yeah, we'll do that, you guys. It'll be, we'll make sure we send it out with this episode. Thank you. Thank you for being you. Lesley Logan 36:24 All right, loves. How are you going to use these tips in your life? We want to know. Tag Commbi official. Tag the Be It Pod, share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it, and until next time, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 36:39 That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 37:22 It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 37:27 It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 37:31 Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 37:38 Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 37:41 Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Welcome to Who Are These Guys? Episode 328! Hosted by Kurt, Jon, and Jesse, this episode takes you on a wild ride through the most bizarre moments and debates you didn't ask for - but absolutely need to hear. From the Philly finger-bang scandal to the quirks of internet legends, we dive headfirst into the strange, the hilarious, and the downright unsettling. We even weigh in on the latest TikTok trends we wish we could unsee. If you like your humor dark, unapologetically sarcastic, and served with a generous side of chaos, you're in the right place.This week's highlights include our fascination with the bizarre world of viral videos and the unapologetic declaration that shorts and sandals (for guys) are a hard no. We also break down the jaw-dropping moment when a man got way too friendly with a shark, and why life's oddities are always better when enjoyed with snacks and questionable behavior. Get ready for a mix of laughs, disbelief, and more than a little side-eye.
The podcast's technical hiatus, explained non-technically. The death of the inanimate. Marci spends a day waiting to be chewed out. Thanks for reminding us we don't have memories. Why Marci became a journalist. Hint: it has nothing to do with journalism. What we bought Jeff Bezos for his wedding.
Ever wondered how Birkenstocks went from a German cobbler's passion project 250 years ago to a starring role in the Barbie movie? Or who created that bottle of Sriracha that is permanently living in your fridge? Did you know that Air Jordans were initially banned by the NBA, or that Super Mario became the best-selling video game character ever thanks to a strategy called “The Infinite Game?” On Wondery's new weekly podcast, The Best Idea Yet, Nick Martell and Jack Crivici-Kramer have identified the most viral products of all time and reveal their untold origin stories, plus the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. From the Happy Meal to Levi's 501 jeans, come for the products you're obsessed with, stay for the business insights that'll make you the most interesting person at your next brunch. Listen on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It was T-Day: Tariffs, Tesla, & Trump… We got an update on all of ‘em (and why it'll cost you $3,600/year).Tinder launched a Flirt-bot… Because AI's most powerful use is training pickup lines (seriously).Nintendo's Switch 2 is its biggest launch in 8 years… and Mario Kart is getting social.Plus, we found a Skier's Arbitrage: It's cheaper to fly to Japan for a weekend of shredding than staying here in the states…$NTDOY $TSLA $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…
This week the Office Ladies break down Email Surveillance. They are joined by a member of Michael's improv group, and Office Ladies super fan, Ken Jeong (Community, The Masked Singer). Ken shares his memories from set, and his love of The Office. We are introduced to the beginnings of the Dwight and Angela romance (aka Dwangela). Then, Jenna and Angela chat about Pam in Jim's bedroom, double posters, those amazing karaoke scenes. Birkenstocks will be bumpin' by the end of this episode. Check out Office Ladies Merch at Podswag: https://www.podswag.com/collections/office-ladies Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod Episode Transcript To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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