The strangest thing about getting older? It’s how everyone else around me seems to be aging, while I’m still suspended in this feeling—one I can’t quite name. It’s not an age. It’s not a phase. It’s more like a frequency I’ve finally tuned into. One that whispers: You’re not finished. You’re still becoming.

At 43, I don’t feel stuck. I feel layered. Like I’ve lived ten lives already—and still have chapters left to write.

A few years ago, I wrote a list—a kind of “bucket list,” though that label always felt too urgent, too final. This wasn’t about racing the clock. It was about naming the things that made my heart leap, even if they felt impossible or totally random. I called it The Forty Files, and since then, it’s grown into something much more.

Meet: The Forty Files Podcast 🎙️

That original list has sparked a new creative project: The Forty Files Podcast. It’s a space for honest, no-filter conversations about what it means to be in the middle of everything—motherhood, marriage, reinvention, restlessness, ambition, aging, desire, identity… all of it.

This podcast is for the woman who isn’t done dreaming, even if her dreams look a little different now. It’s for those of us who used to journal late at night and now write grocery lists in our Notes app—but who still crave something more.

Expect episodes that sound like late-night texts, long voice memos from your best friend, and carline confessions you didn’t even realize you needed to say out loud. The first few episodes are pulled directly from old blog posts. Consider this the origin story. Debuting August 18th!

Bookish Joyride: The Love Shelf Tour 💌📚

To kick things off, I’m taking a book-lover’s road trip with two of my closest friends. We’re calling it The Love Shelf Tour—part romance novel pilgrimage, part girls’ trip, part creative revival. It’s inspired by the spicy reads stacked on our nightstands, our obsession with book boyfriends, and my WIP, Claire & Daniel: A Mid-Marriage Awakening, a contemporary romance about what happens when the fire doesn’t die—it just simmers.

We’ll visit indie bookstores, document it all for the blog and podcast, and build playlists based on tropes and favorite authors (Liz Tomforde, if you’re reading this—we love you). This trip isn’t about midlife or checking boxes. It’s about choosing joy and rediscovering parts of ourselves we didn’t realize we missed.

Why The Forty Files Matters

This list isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a living document—one that changes, evolves, gets messier and more magical the more I say yes to life. Some items are lofty. Some are tiny. All of them are true.

Because I believe in creative goals after 40.
Because I believe midlife is the perfect time to reinvent yourself.
Because I believe you can still want more—without apologizing for it.

This is the heart of The Forty Files: books, writing, publishing, events, podcasting, friendships, family, and the wild, messy joy of midlife. I’m doing it all—reading, creating, sharing, and showing up—because why the hell not? Life is too short to sit on the sidelines while ideas collect dust or dreams stay half-formed.

Onward!