Designing A Life We Love

Happy 2026!!! As the holiday season winds down, we’ve been thinking of you—especially knowing just how much energy, intention, and heart the holidays ask of mothers. You’ve poured your creativity into shaping magical spaces, baking treats, searching for thoughtful gifts, and curating those unforgettable moments. And now, with the wrapping paper barely stuffed into the trash and that restless New Year feeling tapping at your shoulder, perhaps—even in your fatigue—you’re sensing a pull to reclaim some time for yourself. To dream, to make, to express.

In this conversation with our friend Ruth Gyllenhammer, we’re inviting every version of ourselves to the table: the hopeful dreamer, the discouraged realist, the cautious optimist, and the practical planner. Whether you’re still in the car heading home from grandma’s house or lacing up for your first jog of the year, Adrienne and I are grateful to be alongside you, cheering you on in your creative life.

Bio: Ruth Gyllenhammer lives in Southern California with her husband and four children. Her background is in economics and international education, though she has a deep love for interior design and hosting beautiful dinners. As a librarian’s daughter, her nightstand is always overflowing with books and recommendations. She writes about crafting an heirloom home on her Substack, Home Making.

Links:

Ruthie’s Substack

Adrienne’s Planner Rec from Target

The Plan by Kendra Adachi on living seasonally

Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam on time management

The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran on planning

Unravel Your Year (free workbook) by Susannah Conway


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Exhale Podcast

The Exhale Podcast is hosted by Abbigail Kriebs and Sonya Spillmann

https://www.coffeeandcrumbs.net/the-team/
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