APRIL 2025: An Elegant Month in Review
This post contains affiliate links and ads. Affiliate links and ads support my work at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your ongoing support!APRIL — It’s safe to say that Spring has finally arrived and what a joy it has been! The warmer, brighter days have beckoned us to spend more time outside playing, dining, and enjoying the spring garden.
In this journey to craft a more elegant life, I’ve found that it’s helpful to plan out out different activities, events and hobbies I want to try or experience. I strive to plan something that will bring beauty, joy, art and connection — whether that’s a nature walk with my family, meeting a friend for lunch, traveling, or taking a class.
If the idea of crafting a more elegant life sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to revisit this space often. You may also be intrigued by my annual Elevate Your Everyday Challenge. What is that? It’s my signature 31 day new year challenge focused on creating a vision for your most elegant year yet.
I am fortunate to share this time with wonderful likeminded women from around the world — it’s a special time I look forward to each year. Together, we define our personal values, set smart goals toward accomplishing our dreams and identify small, ingenious habits we can add to our day to create what we all strive for: a more elegant life.
If that sounds interesting to you, send me a quick note to join the waitlist for next year.
I want to take you on my journey to create my most elegant year yet, and I hope the things I share inspire you to create an elegant life you love!
Join me and take a moment to reflect on APRIL: An Elegant Month in Review.
Building on the foundation that was set during the Elevate Your Everyday Challenge, April brought the opportunity to continuing practicing good habits while striving to embrace new experiences and make progress toward my personal and professional goals.
The month began with a quick trip to Chicago for Spring Break. We were able to explore the city with our children and enjoy the Institute of Art, shopping at American Girl and walking through Lincoln Park Zoo. We also had a lot to celebrate this month, as Henry turned ONE and my husband also had a birthday to celebrate. It was a whirlwind month to say the least!
Our sweet Henry turned ONE at the beginning of the month! The past year has flown by and watching Henry grow into a sweet, curious and determined toddler has been incredible. He is truly the light of our days, always smiling and laughing at his big brother and sister.
Henry is officially walking, climbing on everything and has five teeth! We haven’t yet found a food he doesn’t like and he loves to steal a lick of his siblings’ ice cream.
To celebrate, we threw a Masters Golf Tournament themed birthday party. From the decor to the menu, I had a blast invoking the spirit of the Masters Tournament and bringing it to life for Henry’s party. It was such a joy to celebrate our sweet boy with our friends and family.
Of course, these milestones are always bittersweet. We are officially out of babyhood and moving swiftly into toddler time! It’s not always easy trying to balance it all, but I try to remind myself to soak in the little moments we share each day.
We are so grateful for our little blessing and I can only imagine the wonderful boy he will become as he continues to grow!
April encouraged us to elevate the everyday by bringing more of our daily life outside and into the sunshine. We were so fortunate to enjoy lovely weather for Henry’s party, Easter and the beginning of soccer season! Whenever possible, we moved our meals outside and spent extra time in the backyard after school.
For us, our backyard is an extension of our home and when the weather is pleasant, we spend as much time outside as possible. It was so refreshing to keep the windows open while the breeze flowed through the house and enticing scent of spring encouraged us to declutter, clean and organize, leaving the house feeling lighter.
The birdsong has returned in earnest and being able to eat breakfast outside before school drop off adds a calm to the day. Seeing the neighborhood kids out in the yard and on their bikes always makes me smile. I’m so grateful our children get to enjoy being kids.
Easter was a lovely, and busy, celebration of all the good there is in the world. The children had fun decorating eggs, finding their Easter baskets and going on an egg hunt at their grandmother’s. We were able to spend time with all of our family and begin the new liturgical year with a renewed sense of faith and hope.
To celebrate my husband’s birthday at the end of the month, we spent the afternoon in downtown Detroit. It was a beautiful day and the old homes were showing off with their gorgeous blooms! We enjoyed dinner at Grey Ghost (the scallops were phenomenal and Bryan agreed that they offer the best burger in town!) followed by after dinner drinks at Two James Spirits. We love spending time downtown and it was a perfect afternoon!
This month I continued my quest to revisit Jane Austen’s classic novels and read Sense and Sensibility. I chose S&S not only because it’s another one of my favorite works by Jane Austen, but also because I’m looking forward to participating virtually in the upcoming Sense and Sensibility Festival hosted by the Jane Austen House. I remember thinking the novel was like an 18th Century version of Gossip Girl — the scandal and intrigue! I also appreciate Jane Austen’s observations of manners and commentary on social norms.
“If I could persuade myself that my manners were perfectly easy and graceful, I should not be shy.”
I (nearly) finished another needlepoint project, a passport cover for Conor. I have only a small part left to finish, which includes charting his monogram. I ordered the book ChART IT: A Monogrammer’s Companion so as soon as that comes in, I’ll be able to complete Conor’s passport cover before moving on to my next project!
In the effort to learn something new each month, Alice and I worked on our bread making skills. We made a simple focaccia as well as french baguettes. Having tried to keep up with sourdough in the past, I had shied away from bread making as I felt that it was too time consuming for our busy schedules. However, Alice was determined to learn how to make her own baguettes, so we tried the recipe from her favorite cookbook, In the French Kitchen with Kids, and our bread turned out perfectly! With instant yeast and a little planning ahead, we’ve been able to keep up with a weekly baking schedule and have been enjoyed fresh baguettes each week as a result.
INEFFABLE (adj.) : too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words
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INEFFABLE (adj.) : too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words |
One highlight of April? Being back in the garden! Last fall I planted nearly 100 daffodils and it was such a joy to see them all bloom!
I’ve been cutting a few to bring into our home and to share with friends. They have brought an ineffable sense of joy to our yard and it was an incredible feeling to see that hard work come to life.
Last year, we had our yard certified as a wildlife habitat and I’m always looking for new ways to create a beautiful, sustainable space for us to enjoy.
I’m always dreaming of what we can do next, and as I saw the first hummingbird of the year in our yard just recently, I’ve decided to add a hummingbird feeder next!
Are you interested in gardening? Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more dedicated space to my gardening adventures!
Overall, April was a wonderful month filled with elegant events and joyful time spent with friends and family. While there was plenty of time to enjoy our friends and family, I also had the opportunity to share the secrets of modern etiquette with a lovely group of children, contributed to an article featured on Brides.com and host my signature virtual classes.
Teaching etiquette brings me so much joy, but it’s seeing these timeless tools foster confidence, community and connection that truly lights me up and continues to drive my passion for making modern etiquette approachable and accessible to everyone.
As you look toward the year ahead, remember that elegance is a state of mind; a simple and ingenious approach to a charmed life. If you desire it, you can create a life filled with beauty, elegance and connection. It simply requires a bit of intention, effort and a willingness to try something new.
Take time to plan out a few things just for you to enjoy next month. Maybe lunch at a new restaurant, meeting a friend for coffee, or trying a new hobby. Whatever it may be, an elegant life is yours to create!
What was the highlight of your month? Did you experience something new? I’d love to know!
Leave a comment and share your most treasured moment of April.
