Our Founder (and resident authoress) is super-busy, but she made time for a quick
interview on her essential birthday style. The catch? These questions start easy
and get gradually harder. Let's see how she does!
Good morning! Take us through your typical birthday.
"If you read my book, The Joy of Missing Out, you know I tell the story of
ripping out my deck and rebuilding it from scratch. There’s something about
using my two hands to create something unique that I love. I find that when
I’m stressed, it centers me. But getting out power tools and making big trips to
the hardware store isn’t for your typical Tuesday afternoon."
"Every year for my birthday, I give myself a gift: time and space to build. I
spend a few weeks planning, measuring, and sketching, and then I pull out all
my tools and build something from scratch. I’ve built a bed, a set of outdoor
couches, a desk— something different every year. I get the kids and John
involved, and we make a long weekend of it. I look forward to
every single year."
Do you have any birthday getaways or weekend trips planned?
"My birthday is almost always right around Memorial Day weekend—it’s one of
my favorite things about my birthday. Although truth be told, I celebrate my
birthday all month long, my family and my team know
it’s birthday month. I actually just got back from an incredible week in
Phoenix, where I spent time with some of my favorite women CEOs. We
masterminded each other's businesses, gave each other advice, and stayed up
way too late laughing. That was an amazing birthday present for For my actual
birthday weekend, I will enjoy the mountain views off my
own back porch and spend time at home. I can’t wait.”
Birthday This or That?
A birthday cake or birthday cupcakes?
Cake
Dinner out or breakfast in bed?
Dinner Out
Girl's night out or romantic date night?
Date Night
Everyone comes to you for advice, so we want to know: What is your
favorite thing to give as a birthday gift?
I love to take my time with presents and curate an “experience” for big
birthdays. One of my favorite birthday gifts was John’s 30th birthday. I was
about a week away from giving birth to Jack, and John was a few months
away from graduating with his MBA. We knew it was one of the last times it
would be just the two of us. We were both living off my teacher's salary, so we
didn’t often splurge for big things, but for his birthday, he got “the
brand new man” experience. I took him to get his hair professionally styled, I
got a personal shopper at Nordstrom to help him with
clothes for his new job and took him out for a fancy lunch. It felt like a splurge
at the time, but I loved doing that for him. For his 40th, I flew him off to New York
to spend the weekend in box seats at the 12.12.12 concert (The Concert for
Sandy Relief). His 50th is coming up soon, so I’m already gathering ideas!