For the Ell of It with Ellie Topinka

Today I am talking to my dear friend Jen Johnston about her experience with divorce and starting to date again in her 30’s. It’s a great and honest conversation that I think we can all learn something from. We discuss how going through divorce she really found herself and since then has continued to put in the work to be the best version of herself, FOR herself. I really appreciated Jen’s vulnerab...

Today I will not have a guest and it will likely be a shorter episode but it’s my kids 2nd birthday today - happy birthday Chandler bug! - and this week has been wild, but nonetheless I hope you enjoy it. I’m gong to be chatting or ranting, depending on how you look at it all about the pressure to be perfect… Now I am going to be talking from a female’s perspective as I am a female but I do think...

Today I am talking to one of my dearest friends, Drew Cooley. We are both moms of funny and silly toddler boys and in today’s conversation we discuss all the things we said we would never do as moms, but now 100% do… We're the best parents before we had kids right? Even if you don’t have kids, I think this is such a funny and honest conversation about motherhood, expectations, real life and more....

If you know me well, you know I LOVE a home project. I love rearranging rooms, redecorating and coming up with new house projects much to my husbands dismay. So I am so excited to introduce you to my new friends Kalyn Barrett of @midmimomdiy . Kalyn has been renovating her builder grade house into a modern farmhouse home. She’s a busy, working mom and learning the ins and outs of power tools, pain...

Today I have the honor of introducing you to my friend Taylor Sebrechts. Taylor is a mom, wife, and business owner, but she hasn’t always ran a super successful creative business, a few years ago she took a huge leap of faith and took a massive career pivot and changed her life by doing it. Life is too short to hate what you do, so sometimes a pivot is necessary and if you feel like you are in a s...

It's here! Season 2 and I couldn’t be more excited. I took the month of July off to do some behind the scenes things and to just enjoy the beautiful summer here in SW Michigan. I had a great girls weekend, I go to check that off my 2023 Bucket List. If you’re following @fortheellofit on Instagram you may have seen my gratitude practice I did every day, where I posted instories every night three go...

Today’s episode is episode 17 and the final episode of season 1. This is just going to be a mishmash of things and maybe a little bit of a brain dump, but I am already gearing up for season 2 and cannot wait to introduce you to more amazing people and help them tell their stories and inspire even more people to do things, just for the of it. If you haven't already be sure to rate and review the sh...

*TRIGGER WARNING* In this episode we do discuss pregnancy, birth and postpartum. If that is something that would be difficult or hurtful to listen to today, please feel free to pass on this episode! Guard your heart and do what is best for you! Today’s episode is going to be a little different because it’s just me! No guest, and I am going to go over my son Chandler’s birth story, postpartum exper...

I would love to start by saying “Happy Pride Month” to any and all LGBTQ listeners and friends. I now want to say, this is by far the most “controversial” episode I’ve done so far, and by that I mean, I know there may be listeners who do not agree with or support this topic, but I really hope you listen anyway. This conversation with my friend Em is one that meant a lot to me. I have always consid...

Today’s guest is an old friend, Luke Michaels… Luke was in a life altering accident as a teen and throughout the last 9 years since has grown into an inspiring, hardworking, and kind man. I can’t wait for you to hear his story. We discuss how his life has changed since his accident, what he hopes others can learn from his story, and how to interact with people who are differently abled from oursel...

Today we are talking with one of my very best friends.. Heidi Sewell. Heidi and I have been friends for a long time and I truly admire the woman she is. In this conversation, we discuss Heidi’s unique and uncommon job, and how as a woman in leadership she navigates the day to day. I found it so interesting to hear about her road there, how gender roles and norms play a part of her job and more. I...

Today we are going to dive into a topic that I think we all struggle with at point in our lives… confidence. To discuss this complex topic I am talking to my friend Amanda, who has taught me SO much about self confidence. As a professional make-up artist and esthetician, it is her job to help people feel confident. But Amanda's key to confidence has nothing to do with make-up. Listen in to hear Am...

Welcome back to For the Ell of It, a lifestyle podcast where I talk to every day people about life and lessons learned, while inspiring you to do things, just for the of it - I’m your host Ellie Topinka. We are a few short days away from Mother’s Day so I wanted to chat all about Motherhood and who better to do that than my very own Mom. She shares some of the things she has been recently going th...

Today I talk to my dear friend Katie - you know my friend who I told you named the podcast - and we are talking about a highly requested topic… friendship. Because this topic was so highly requested I have broken it into a few episodes and today Katie and I dive into what it’s like to lose or outgrow a friendship and how to navigate those situations. We also discuss a new book she just finished th...

I’m so excited for this weeks episode because It was one of the #1 requested episodes since the beginning… what is marriage like after kids… and in mine and Jordan's case.. KID. Jordan was so nervous to do this but after lots of begging, he finally gave in and he did a great job talking about what it’s been like for us becoming parents. I do want to give a content warning that this episode has bee...

Welcome back to For the Ell of It! So, After a few episodes with some heavier topics we are going for fun with episode 8. I loved chatting with my oldest friend Jami Franson. We have known each other since preschool and have lived through all stages of life... and as millennials we feel very strongly about the 90's and 00's. We give you our Top 5 faves for a range of categories, all pertaining to...

*First all I want to apologize for the audio on this one.. We had some technical difficulties and I’m still learning, so we may not sound the same today. Hope it’s not too hard to hear. Today’s episode is a tough one, but something we all deal with at one point in our lives. Grief… the loss of a loved one affects every one differently. Today my friend Olivia and I are going to talk about losing ou...

This week’s episode was supposed to be about one topic and quickly turned into something else. My friend Jessica and I were going to talk about marriage but instead she surprised me with a pregnancy announcement! This was recorded a couple of weeks ago before the world knew, but she has officially announced and I am so excited for you to hear this conversation.  We talk through early pregnancy, he...

On this week's episode I am talking to my friend, Adam. Adam and I have been friends since middle school but he also happens to be married to one of my best friends! In this conversation we talk about him becoming a father for the first time and how he and his wife Kyleigh decided to have him leave his full time job and become a full time stay at home Dad. From 1 kid to 3, Adam has mastered being...

This week I am talking to my brother in law Tim. We discuss mental health in men, and all of the stigma’s attached to that. We talk through what we can do to help lessen that stigma for the men in our lives. (specifically the little men in our lives). I loved this conversation and really appreciated Tim’s vulnerability and honesty telling his story. If this episode resonates with you, share it or...

*TRIGGER WARNING* In this episode we will be discussing infertility and pregancy loss. If you are in a place where it would be painful or hard to listen to stories surrounding those topics, I urge you to guard your heart and encourage you to pass on this episode. With that being said I do think this is a story of hope and Katyln brings such a positive and uplighting point of view. In Episode 3 of...

In this episode of ‘For the Ell of It’ I talked with my dear friend (and old boss) Hailey Johnston, Founder and CEO of Project Free 2 Fly. A creative non profit with a mission to support, nurture and empower women. Hailey and I got into how she came up with the idea of Project Free 2 Fly and why she has chosen a life, completely surrounded by women. If you’re interested in learning more about Proj...

Thanks for being here friends! I am so excited to start this pocasting journey. It has been a long time in the works and this momma is so excited to do something just for the of it. In this first episode I am simply just introducing myself and explaining why I'm doing this and what to expect! If you haven't already, subscribe so you don't miss out on an epsiode. And be sure to follow the podcast's...