MAY 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!MAY — Or should I say, MAYHEM!? May is always a busy month, bordering on the hustle of the holiday season, and the past few weeks were no exception. If you were wondering where I’ve been (certainly not on Instagram or even here on the blog!), I’ve been doing the same things you’ve been likely doing: trying to keep up with the end of the school year festivities, wrapping up sports, dance recitals, year-end meetings, and so much more. It’s been nonstop, but it was also a lot of fun.
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. So while our days may be busy with growing children, there’s still (a little) time for me to connect, create and continue to build a life I’m proud of.
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 MAY: An Elegant Month in Review.
Building on the foundation that was set during the Elevate Your Everyday Challenge, May 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 the end! The last board meetings, the end of soccer season, the end of another year of dance with Alice’s recital. We celebrated our children’s accomplishments. I was able to chaperone Alice’s field trip. Our PTO put on a fantastic Staff Appreciation Week and Family Picnic. We experienced our first soccer tournament and celebrated the end of a successful season with a team cookout. I attended my cousin’s bridal shower and Conor turned 9! Finally, our garden came together (almost) after an unseasonably cold start to spring.
One highlight of the month: I finally made my return to the golf course!
I picked up golfing about ten years ago, when I was first married, not in an effort to be any good, but mostly to avoid a lonely retirement in the future. When it comes to my golf skills, I’m truly playing the long game!
I enjoy golfing a few times each summer, but with a newborn at home last year, it’s been quite a while since I last swung a club.
We were fortunate to enjoy a perfect day for golf with our family. It was the first time Conor joined us and it was a great outing shared with his grandfathers, uncles and us.
I won’t share any scores, but I did enjoy the lovely scenery, and watching Conor play.
Golf is a unique sport, and one that is grounded in etiquette and great style! If you haven’t tried it yet, why not take a lesson?
It seemed that we had something to celebrate everyday this month! An early morning coffee with friends was the perfect start to a Saturday morning. There is something so special about friendships that have been with you since childhood.
We celebrated Mother’s Day with our families and with some time together playing games and enjoying the nearby historic downtown. There’s nothing I love more than the sweet gifts the children make in school!
I also attended my dear cousin’s bridal shower. I’m serving as her Matron of Honor and we are all so excited to celebrate as the wedding draws near. I’m busy planning her bachelorette party and I can’t wait to share more about that at the end of June.
Alice had her dance recital, and as always, we love to see her shine on stage! I’m grateful I was able to be a stage mom, and spend that special time with her and her classmates behind the scenes.
Conor wrapped up his first season of travel soccer with a tournament. While his team didn’t bring home any hardware, it was a great first experience and I loved the energy of the fields! I never imagined myself as a soccer mom, but I must say, I’m all in now! As the team manager, I’ve been able to learn a lot about the sport and it’s been a wonderful way to bond with Conor while encouraging him to excel in something he loves.
Both Conor and Alice had their field trips this month, and I was able to chaperone Alice’s trip to the petting farm. We had a blast interacting with the animals and I loved meeting her friends. Alice has really thrived in Kindergarten and I can’t believe she’ll be on her way to first grade in a few short weeks.
Conor celebrated turning 9 with his favorite dinner (steak frites) at home, and with cake and ice cream with his grandparents over Memorial Day Weekend. He’ll be having a few friends over in June to celebrate and I’ll share more about our simple friend parties then!
As always, the gardens never fail to inspire. We were surprised with a visit with a rabbit that hopped right up to our front door! The native perennials are thriving and I’m invigorated by the chance to work outside and continue to transform our yard into an idyllic space for our family to grow and enjoy.
This month I participated virtually in the Sense and Sensibility Festival hosted by the Jane Austen House. I loved the virtual tour of the house and learning more about regency era textiles and fashion! If you love Jane Austen, I encourage you to participate in the virtual events celebrating her works and upcoming 250th Birthday!
As for books, I read Habits of the Household in an effort to refresh our family habits and routines ahead of summer vacation. I loved the practical ideas the book suggested, and we are working to implement a few of those ideas, including lighting a candle at the start of dinner.
I also began listening to Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend. This book has been on my TBR list since it was released, and when I noticed it was including in my Spotify subscription, I thought I’d finally get into it! It’s been wonderful learning about this enigmatic woman who lived through such a long and interesting stretch of American history. To be fair, it is LONG, and I’m still working through it!
I finished another needlepoint project, a passport cover for Conor and started on Bryan’s passport cover, which I imagine I’ll finish up by the end of the week. That will leave two more to complete! I’m so enjoying this new hobby. I love seeing the canvas come to life and it gives me something to work on when I want to relax in the afternoon or wind down in the evening.
DULCET (adj.) : (especially of sound) sweet and soothing
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DULCET (adj.) : (especially of sound) sweet and soothing |
In the garden, I watched with joy as the giant alliums came into bloom! I also did a lot of cleaning up and prepping for the summer gardens.
We had an unseasonable cold and rainy May. The rain was good news for the hostas and perennials, but the cold made it difficult to get our vegetables and herbs in before Memorial Day like we usually do.
Even so, the dulcet sound of the birds and the sweet scent of the early lilacs wafting through the windows was enough to satisfy me.
The kids (and adults!) were ecstatic to spot a baby fawn in the neighbors yard and so see the baby bunnies slowly venturing out from beneath our deck.
I have a few projects I’m working on and I’m excited to update you on those next month!
Are you interested in gardening? Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more dedicated space to my gardening adventures!
May was a blur of a month! 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 over a three week series called “The Kids’ Kindness Club” and spent time working with young professionals set on strengthening their communication and interpersonal skills as they enter the workforce.
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 marvelous moment of May.
