Chasing Brighter Podcast: Choosing Real Over Perfect

In this re-released episode, Jessica and Kelly explore what it really means to feel disconnected — not from other people, but from yourself. Valentine's Day and February can amplify loneliness, comparison, and that quiet "am I behind somehow?" feeling, even for people who are partnered, busy, or surrounded by others. Jessica and Kelly unpack how self-disconnection shows up (resentment, numbness, p...

Jessica is back from a week at AFA Nationals in St. George watching Gabby's softball team battle through four games in 102-degree heat (and a home run!), while Kelly's son Wes had his own big weekend in Chicago — also with a home run of his own. The sisters dig into the realities of travel ball season, why some kids start losing interest in the sports they grew up playing, and whether kids today n...

It's officially a wrap on Season 5. In this finale, Jessica and Kelly look back at the whole arc of the season — from rest and reset in February, to choosing real over perfect in March, through exhaustion and invisible labor in April, identity and worthiness in May, and joy and presence in June. They get honest about what actually shifted in each of them this season, why they expanded the show bey...

Kelly kicks things off with an epic (and hilarious) saga of a missing AirPod that turns a weekend getaway into a full-blown investigation — trash cans, lint traps, and all. From there, Jess and Kelly riff on how far audio tech has come, then dive into something they're both obsessed with lately: using AI to tackle home projects. Jess shares how she used Claude to plan a budget-friendly bathroom re...

Joy isn't something that just happens when the circumstances are right — it's something you have to practice, protect, and sometimes fight for. In this episode, Jessica and Kelly unpack the real difference between happiness and joy, why so many women struggle to fully inhabit the good moments in their lives, and what it actually looks like to choose joy as a daily practice. From the fear of lettin...

It's officially summer reading season — and Kelly and Jess are giving you their full list. From spicy hockey romance to psychological thrillers, cozy small-town reads to historical fiction, there is genuinely something here for every kind of reader. Plus: why reading might be one of the most underrated wellness habits of all, and how to romanticize your reading life this summer even if you're only...

It's June — and for so many of us, that means the pace finally starts to shift. But what happens when slowing down feels uncomfortable? When stillness makes your nervous system anxious instead of at ease? In this episode, Jessica and Kelly kick off June with an honest conversation about what it really looks like to choose rest before you're forced into it. They talk about the difference between co...

June is officially joy month at Chasing Brighter — and what better way to kick it off than with one of our favorite subjects: fashion. In this Superwoman Diaries episode, Jessica and Kelly break down the summer 2026 fashion trends worth paying attention to, the ones you can skip, and the ones you're probably already wearing without even knowing you're trendy. No pressure, no closet overhaul requir...

You've seen the aesthetic — the linen aprons, the cottagecore feeds, the slow-morning coffee rituals on Instagram. But what does romanticizing your life actually mean when real life is messy, busy, and full? In this episode, Jessica and Kelly strip the concept down to its honest core: noticing what's already there, claiming it, and refusing to let it slip past you on autopilot.   Jessica opens wit...

Jessica and Kelly are back for another real-life check-in, and summer is officially on the horizon. In this episode, they get into all of it: the exhausting reality of trying to figure out what to do with your tween when camp is impossible to get into, the surprisingly calm approach Jessica is taking to sending Gabby off to Centre College, the dorm prep rabbit hole (sheets, storage units, and yes,...

No frameworks, no formulas — just two sisters getting real. In this May wrap-up episode, Jessica and Kelly close out the month by doing what they do best: being honest. They share the moments they slid back into old patterns (Jessica with achievement pressure, Kelly with people-pleasing), talk about parenting through milestones, and remind us that noticing the pattern is the work. This one might j...

It's officially Maycember — that stretch of late May where schedules implode, school events multiply, and someone always ends up puking on your air mattress. Jess and Kelly are back for another Superwoman Diaries check-in, and this one covers it all: Dominic's history-making baseball state championship (and the impromptu team party that followed), Gio's fifth grade promotion week chaos, Kelly's so...

This week, Kelly and Jessica blow up the "having it all" story — where it came from, why it keeps getting a makeover, and what they actually think. From the career-and-family narratives of the 1980s to today's softer language of "intentional living" and "alignment," the pressure for women to thrive in every area of life simultaneously is still very much alive. Jessica and Kelly unpack why this fra...

This week, Jess and Kelly are keeping it real — catching up on new studio setups, a deep dive into AI tools (Claude vs. ChatGPT, anyone?), Take Your Child to Work Day, navigating loss while hosting family, and the eternal question: what's for dinner? It's a full-life conversation about the juggle, the joy, and everything in between. What We Talk About in This Episode Studio refresh — both Jess and...

Where have you been looking for your worthiness? If the honest answer involves what you've achieved, who approves of you, or how well you've performed your roles — this episode is for you. Jessica and Kelly get personal about the conditional worth they each carried for years: the Pinterest mom era, outsourcing okayness to other people's moods, and the strange moment a spiritual healer told Jessica...

Grab your beverage of choice — because Jess has at least three of them. This week's Superwoman Diaries is peak real life: protein struggles and gut health deep dives, surviving food poisoning on the GLP-1, middle-of-the-night cortisol pushups, anxiety packing for a fifth grade field trip to Zion, and somehow landing on a conversation about platypuses and the birds and the bees with an eleven-year-...

Have you ever been introduced to someone — by a person who loves you — and realized the version of you they described doesn't exist anymore? That's where this episode begins. Jessica and Kelly get honest about the slow, quiet drift of identity: how it shifts in small decisions, in what you stop tolerating, in what you start wanting. They talk about the gap between who people expect you to be and w...

Jessica and Kelly are in their glow-up era — and they're taking you with them. This week's Superwoman Diaries is a full-on deep dive into what's actually working for their skin (hint: Retin-A, Paula's Choice, and asking AI for a skincare routine), why they're both rethinking their wardrobes from the ground up, and the surprisingly freeing idea of wearing the same four outfits you love instead of a...

In this bonus episode, Jessica and Kelly tackle a topic that perfectly closes out April's theme of energy and capacity — values alignment. With five Thursdays in the month, the sisters decided to make good use of the extra week by walking through their free April download together: the two-part values questionnaire, Are You Living Your Values or Someone Else's? Jessica and Kelly fill out the quest...

Jess and Kelly discuss what it would actually mean to start over with a baby at their stage of life — and why they're both firmly in the "no thank you" camp. They explore new research on postpartum hormones and the five-year timeline for hormonal homeostasis, and reflect on how that science reframes some of the harder seasons of early motherhood. Dr. Gabor Maté's work in The Myth of Normal comes u...

No frameworks. No beats. Just Jessica and Kelly telling you what they actually think. In this month’s Hot Takes episode, the sisters close out April’s Energy & Overwhelm theme by going off-script and getting real about the mental load in relationships, the wellness industry’s complicated grip on women, raising sons to be better partners, and what it actually looks like to choose real over perf...

Jessica and Kelly kick things off with a fun, unfiltered conversation about their latest makeup adventures — from blue eyeshadow experimentation to skin tints and primers they're currently loving. Jessica shares a hilarious Ulta makeover story that didn't quite land with her family, and Kelly talks about her current go-to foundation for that dewy winter look. They close out with a surprisingly mea...

This one is real. Before hitting record, Kelly shares something personal — her family is navigating health uncertainty with her father-in-law, and she's been quietly absorbing everything at home while her husband is pulled elsewhere. No ask for sympathy, just honesty. And it's exactly the kind of thing that never makes it onto a to-do list. This week, Jessica and Kelly get into invisible labor — t...

No agenda, no framework — just Jess and Kelly doing what they do best: talking real life. This week it's all about what we're actually wearing this season (barrel jeans turned cutoffs, gold Birkenstocks, and a strong prediction for the summer's biggest shoe trend), how to stay warm and somewhat cute when you live somewhere that goes from 40 to 70 degrees in 48 hours, and the completely unhinged Tr...

Have you ever looked at your week and thought, if I could just get more organized, I could handle all of this? In this episode, Jessica and Kelly get into a reframe that might be the most important mindset shift you make this month: the difference between a discipline problem and a capacity problem — and why confusing the two keeps so many high-achieving women stuck in a cycle of self-blame. Jessi...