Week of September 07, 2025:

Can you use daily, mundane tasks as vessels for gratitude?

Last year, Sullivan began his first year of school. As a family, it was our first year, too, integrating packed lunches, morning and afternoon commutes, and participation in our school community. Although our mornings often felt full and hurried, they led us to our beloved school each day.

This year, I am so aware of how lucky we are to be part of a school we hold so dearly. It is a haven that nurtures our first-born so beautifully. I recently asked myself, “How do I hope our mornings feel, this year, before leaving for school each day?”

Every morning, without fail, I am tasked with packing Sullivan’s lunch. Can this task become a vessel for gratitude? As I’m trimming the crust from his sandwich, can I give thanks to our school? As I’m peeling the skin from his apple, can I notice how safe he feels getting out of my car each day? As I’m slicing his strawberries, can I acknowledge how fortunate we are to leave him in the arms of extraordinary teachers?

Packing his lunch, then, can become a morning prayer of gratitude.

Who, and what, might we acknowledge as we order new shipping supplies each month? Send follow-up emails? Tidy our desks?

Can you use daily, mundane tasks as vessels for gratitude?

Week of August 10, 2025:

How can you share your gifts with those you love?

It is so important to identify and be confident in our gifts. Then, we can share them with the world. Specifically, we can share them with our family, close friends, and neighbors.

One of my gifts is making delicious, succulent jam and marmalade. I know this to be true. So, then, how can I share jam and marmalade with those I love?

Yesterday, we celebrated our close friends, Carissa and Aaron, at Blueberry Hill Cabin. They are soon-to-be parents of their first baby, a daughter, and over thirty of their loved ones gathered to honor this moment in time, beneath the trees and around a table dappled in August sunlight. When asking myself how I could contribute to this moment, I began with the question, “What is my gift?”

I decided to make Strawberry Jam and Limoncello Marmalade as favors for each guest to take home.

Truly, we must share our gifts with others. It feels so good, for us, to share our gifts, and it feels so good, for others, to receive them. It also guides us on how to contribute to a significant moment in time. We do not have to have fresh ideas, and we do not have to reinvent the wheel, for each celebration; we can simply share our own unique and precious gifts, repeatedly.

How can you share your gifts with those you love? Be confident in your gifts. Then, go share them.

Week of July 07, 2025:

Growing up, my parents taught me to surround myself with people I admired, respected, and who engaged in endeavors and ideas that felt both inspirational and aspirational. The phrase, “You are who surrounds you," made, and still makes, tremendous sense to me. Those who surround us reflect back to us our potential, and if we wish to embody our highest potential, we must surround ourselves with people who actively pursue their highest potential themselves. If I wish to be a self-reflective and regulated mother, I must surround myself with mothers who, too, are in pursuit of self-reflection and regulation. If I wish to be a focused and strategic business owner, I must surround myself with business owners who, too, cultivate their ability to focus and strategize. If I wish to be a curious, open-hearted person, I must surround myself with people who, too, examine all ideas and dignify all people.

When we first moved into our current home in Nashville, I was in the process of training for my first Ironman 70.3. After we moved, I told our new neighbor about my goal to complete an Ironman. I quickly learned he is a triathlete himself, as is his son, with endless knowledge about the most optimal goggles for lake water, breathable skin suits, and practical bike accessories. Once I knew I lived next to a triathlete, I wanted to become one even more. My neighbor reflected back to me that I admired this kind of commitment, and I wanted to be someone who achieved it.

Next week, I will have been a small business owner for five years. This has, of course, evoked introspection. Similar to my parents’ teaching, one lesson I’ve learned in my first five years in business is this:

I am who I follow.

Similar to, “I am who surrounds me,” I’ve learned the same is true about who I follow on social media: I am who I follow. In other words, I am influenced and guided by the people to whom I give my attention online. And, because of this, it is absolutely critical to follow people on social media who are, realistically, reflective of who I wish to become myself, in part. We admire people because they outwardly embody who we know ourselves to inwardly be. The more we witness their outward habits, languages, and rhythms, the closer we draw to those habits, languages, and rhythms—our own versions of them—ourselves.

I follow working mothers who are confident in their desire to work with ambition and mother with ambition. I follow food writers who share insights and stories in equal measure to new recipes. I follow artists who value well-made work more than popularity or audience growth. I follow people like this because I want to be a person like this. I want to follow the qualities of which I am in pursuit.

This week, I wish you thin slices of introspection.

Week of June 02, 2025:

Recently, I have paid close attention to my optimism. I will ask myself, in a given moment, “Is this naive optimism, or is this deliberate optimism?”

In other words, am I straying from reality, seeing the world through rose-colored glasses? Or, am I planted in reality, deliberately choosing delight, hopefulness, and buoyancy?

It’s important to me to remain planted in reality. And, it’s important to me to believe in the good nature of people, our choices, and our pursuits. So, what does it actually look like to choose delight? To choose hopefulness? Buoyancy?

To me, it looks like this familiar question, recently posed and examined by Daphne Javitch, a long-time role model of mine:

“What is the best case scenario?”

This question does not intend to create unrealistic expectations or toxic positivity, but rather, it intends to simply open up possibility, Daphne explains, and expand what is available to us in a given scenario.

Today, someone I love, as deeply as I can love someone, is laying his dog to rest. As we processed this choice, it was helpful to ask the following question:

"I’m laying my dog to rest today. It’s going to be every flavor of difficult. I’m going to feel unbearable sadness, grief, and confusion, and I might even question myself at times. Given this, what is the best case scenario for today, amidst my heartache?

The best case scenario is that my dog feels relaxation and peace, from start to finish. I will hold her closely. I will talk aloud to her. I will be her final place of rest: my warm arms and familiar scent will surround her. The best case scenario is that I feel physically sturdy. I will hydrate. I will be fully present with my sorrow. I will remember that I feel big grief because I felt big love. I will drive safely. I will take my time each step of the way.”

Entering this framework does not remove us from reality. Rather, it allows us to step into deliberateness. It allows us to design a more conscious, dignified scenario, even when the scenario is utterly devastating.

Let’s look at a different, less tender scenario.

Any opportunity I have to teach a Wiley Workshop, I can ask, “What is the best case scenario for this workshop?”

Any time we have a chance to travel with our children, we can ask, “What is the best case scenario for this trip?”

Any time we need to make a difficult phone call, we can ask, “What is the best case scenario for this phone call?”

First, we can plant ourselves in reality. Then, given our reality, we can consider what it might mean to be our most integrated selves, in order to create a conscious, dignified experience.

This week, I wish you thin slices of deliberateness.

Week of May 19, 2025:

The meaningful areas of my life are always working together.

Every Friday, I write this newsletter. Admittedly, since Ellis was born in November, its cadence has been often interrupted. I reckon you have noticed, and if you have, I want to say ‘Thank you!’ for staying with me, for trusting I am here and will always be.

Lately, I have used the term ‘micro-grief’ when in conversation with myself. It’s what I experience every time my work is sacrificed for the care of my sons. I love my work, and I, of course, love my sons, more than anything in this world. I very consciously choose to prioritize their joy, health, and regulation above all.

However, when the pursuit of this choice costs me time spent on Wiley Canning Company, it is still painful. I ‘micro-grieve’ in these moments: moments when I lose a morning to write a newsletter because my four-year-old needs to be taken to the pediatrician, moments when I reschedule an advisor meeting because my six-month-old needs to be in my arms to nap, and more.

I share this to say: I take my work, and my work routine, very seriously, and when you notice it is interrupted for a time, I want you to know it’s for the joy, health, and regulation of my sons, who inspire my work, give purpose to my work, and ground my work. And, in this sense, prioritizing them is prioritizing Wiley Canning Company. When I’m at my healthiest, I center myself in this truth: life is long, and I have time to bring every dream for Wiley Canning Company to fruition.

I am slowly reestablishing my new flow as a mother of two, six months postpartum with Ellis, and I am finding my way. I am a huge believer in, “We can have it all.” Some seasons, though, the sense of “all-ness” slows down, and throughout these times, it’s so important to remember the meaningful areas of our lives are always working together, even when they might feel ever-so-slightly out of balance.

If I can offer you any encouragement, if you are in a similar position, it is simply this: stay with it.

Stay with it. Stay with yourself. Stay with your work. Stay right here. The meaningful areas of your life are always working together.

This week, I wish you thin slices of ‘all-ness’.

Week of May 12, 2025:

Is comfort standing in the way of progression?

Recently, I’ve tried so hard to fit my new life into my old routine. Before Ellis was born in November, I established a very reliable routine and weekly structure for myself, and since he was born, I’ve tried to abide by it, with very little success. My new life, one that now includes two sons, requires a new routine. Furthermore, it requires a new set of expectations.

What hours, perhaps minutes, of my day can I realistically dedicate to myself, my family, and my work, now?

What can I expect of myself as a mother of two and business owner, now?

What will set me up for success, now?

So often, we maintain to stay comfortable. We maintain our routine. We maintain the same expectations of ourselves. However, when our circumstances change, we must ask ourselves, “How might my new circumstances affect my expectations and routine?”

At this moment in time, I’m in pursuit of an answer to this question.

The reason this question is so important to ask is: competence begins with proper expectations.

In my latest Founder’s Talk, Deconstructing Imposter Syndrome, I share how competence leads to confidence, and confidence is the antithesis to imposter syndrome. If we hope to feel confident, we must first set ourselves up to be competent. To set ourselves up to be competent, we must first have realistic expectations of ourselves under our current set of circumstances.

Any form of change is uncomfortable. However, we must not let our comfort stand in the way of our progression.

This week, I wish you thin slices of discomfort. May they lead to your progression.

Week of April 14, 2025:

Do you listen to music while you work?

When I am not working in silence, which I often love, I am listening to instrumental music.

Recently, I heard Gabriele Bagnati’s Mozart Zauberflöte Lullaby, my first experience of Gabriele Bagnati. Now, he is who I play while working.

In addition to Gabriele Bagnati, I also enjoy the following artists and playlists while working: Chet Baker, Judah Earl, and frequency music.

This week, I wish you thin slices of regulating ambiance.

Week of April 07, 2025:

When I notice the presence of imposter syndrome, I now pay close attention. The feelings of imposter syndrome, including self-doubt and confusion, are not always the problem themselves. Rather, they are an invitation.

Two questions help me contextualize these feelings:

01: Am I stretching into new terrain?

In other words, am I doing something I’ve never done before? Something that matters deeply?

02: Am I forgetting of what I already know?

In other words, am I losing touch with the evidence of my own experience? My own wisdom?

Imposter syndrome often shows up in the space between who I have been and who I am becoming. It does not always mean I am unqualified. It means I am evolving.

The voice that says, “Who do you think you are to do this?” can be softened by a quieter, truer one that says, “You are exactly the person who should try.”

When I listen closely to the voice of self-doubt, I can find beneath it a clear next step: a piece of research I need to pursue, a skill I need to practice, or a question I need to ask.

For example, when I published The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook, I experienced feelings of self-doubt around my credentials. These feelings invited me to research culinary programs that fit well into my educational journey and current lifestyle.

I ultimately pursued a Food Product Development Certificate at Cornell University, which has, in turn, given me knowledge, confidence, and a tangible credential. I used my self-doubt to assist me in my personal evolution.

Moving forward, there are two ways to respond to imposter syndrome:

“How can I prove I belong in this room?”

“How can I grow into the person I want to become?”

The first is reactive. Tight. It tries to impress.


The second is curious. Open. It honors intuition.

First, how can I listen to what this feeling is revealing? Then, how can I respond with grace, preparation, and integrity?

For each of us, I want to normalize the presence of self-doubt in a creative, wholehearted life. I want to reframe the discomfort as part of the sacred work of becoming.

This week, I wish you small steps toward your becoming.

Week of March 31. 2025:

When I ask myself, “What does success mean to me?” two key objectives come to mind. They are: improvement and nervous system regulation.

Am I improving? In other words, do I do better when I know better? Am I moving toward my goals?

Am I regulated? In other words, am I rooted? Is my work rooted? Is it heart driven?

The growth of Wiley Canning Company is slow and steady. At times, I fantasize about overnight success. However, if I do not keep this fantasy in its place, it will change the way I approach my work.

For example, there is a major difference in the following questions:

“How can I add value to my community through my work?”

“How can I set my work up to go viral?”

The answers to these questions are often at odds.

Another way to ask them is as follows:

“How can I create work that is rooted?”

“How can I create work that is popular?”

While growth is, of course, very important to me, I work hard to ensure it is not pursued at the cost of honesty and soulfulness.

I want to create work that is rooted. Inspired. Deeply true to who I am.

Of course, I also hope this work is palatable. Sharable. Popular.

But, the order of these questions matters very much. First, how can I add value through my work, work that is rooted? Then, how can I share this work in a way that begets growth?

It is my life’s work to offer something special. For you, I want to be the guide I needed (and need) as I learned how to create lasting meaning in my kitchen. For you, I want to be the mentor I needed (and need) as I learned how to write a cohesive cookbook. For you, I want to be the shepherd I needed (and need) when learning how to be a joyous working mother.

This is what I am here to do, and it is an immense privilege, honor, and gift.

This week, I wish you thin slices of heart-driven work.

Week of March 03, 2025:

Are you watching Friends of Big Bear Valley’s Live Cam?

I am so touched by this family of bald eagles—specifically the utmost care and patience Jackie and Shadow exude.

If you are in need of a wholesome and uplifting moment this weekend (who isn’t?), may I recommend watching?

Sullivan’s spring break began today, and the two of us have periodically checked on Jackie, Shadow, and their three eaglets.

On Wednesday, a snowstorm hit Big Bear. Since then, the camera has shown Jackie, the mother, unwavering in her care for her eaglets through chilling conditions. Shadow, the father, leaves the nest and returns with fish to feed the eaglets. It is not possible to describe the fortitude parents can muster when caring their children. It is this fortitude that touches me most. It is this fortitude I carry into my work at Wiley Canning Company—drawn from a deeply-rooted, sacred place of motherhood and caregiving.

This week, I wish you thin slices of utmost care.

Week of March 24, 2025:

When you feel limited, can you sharpen your focus and hone your priorities?

After Sullivan was born, the time and energy I could devote to Wiley Canning Company became more limited. At first, I felt stifled by this limitation. Then, over time, I witnessed how this limitation sharpened my focus and honed my priorities. This, in turn, profoundly strengthened my work. I often say, “My favorite work is the work I’ve done as a mother.”

I am experiencing this shift once more, as I am postpartum with Ellis. Focus and keen prioritization are what will breathe life into my work. In this way, children (and any limiting entity) strengthen our work. They force us to focus and hone.

Focus and hone.

Focus and hone.

The next time you feel limited, can you turn this limitation into increased focus and discerning prioritization?

This week, I wish you thin slices of sharpened focus and honed prioritization.

Week of February 24, 2025:

Timothée Chalamet recently won the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

Upon accepting his award, he spoke of his ambition, and his decision to do this is, to me, quite moving and inspiring.

“I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” Chalamet said when accepting his award. “I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats.”

I love that he owned his ambition. He owned his dreams. He owned his role models.

As we continue to settle into a new year, I, too, will own my ambition, my dreams, and my role models.

And you?

This week, I wish you thin slices of ambition.

Week of February 17, 2025:

Last week, I traveled to Sea Pines, Hilton Head with Sullivan, Ellis, and my sister’s family. This time, Jared stayed in Nashville for work, and luckily, this meant Jones, our (quite sensitive) golden retriever, was not without a parent. We traveled to visit my mom and her long-time partner.

As I was packing for our trip, I looked at Jared and asked, “Am I crazy?”

“I’m traveling with both sons, without Jared,” I thought to myself.

He lovingly replied, “Yes, you are.”

Instead of inviting doubt or worry into my day, I asked myself, “What if I treat our trip as a challenge, one that can ultimately empower me as a mother?” It is true to say: facing something scary is, by nature, facing something empowering. We cannot face our fears without facing our will. In motherhood, and in all pursuits, fear and will are a packaged deal.

As I applied this perspective, I noticed how it altered the way I viewed myself. I felt proud of myself for pursuing this trip with our sons. I felt inspired to create new, mother-associated memories together in a place we love.

As we began to check off accomplishments—successful navigation of a bustling airport, Ellis’s first flight, and an honestly enjoyable car ride to our rental home—I began to feel as I hoped: deeply empowered.

Throughout our trip, I continued to apply this perspective. I pursued additional challenges I once feared, such as taking our sons to lunch on my own for the first time. It was far from relaxing, but we had fun! Most importantly, we did it.

As our trip came to end, I was reminded of how powerful it can be to throw ourselves into a challenge without creating too much space for doubt or worry, similar to the ol’, “Jump into the water before you have time to think about how cold it is!” approach. While I relish thoughtfulness and planning, sometimes, it truly is best to simply go for it.

What might you need to pursue in this way? Is there a project calling to you? An event? Can you simply go for it?

This week, I wish you thin slices of empowerment.

Week of January 06, 2025:

This week’s newsletter is brief, as I am home with my sons for our first snow day of the year.

As we witness catastrophic wildfires burn in Los Angeles, I wish to briefly leave you with a simple sentiment.