The Wit & Delight Podcast

We've got some great reader Q&A questions today! 1. How to embrace your new identity after motherhood 2. Dealing with decision paralysis 3. Handling pressure in work and life 4. Giving yourself grace when making a mistake 5. My book recommendations for changing your mindset!! I hope you enjoy today's episode! Books we referenced: Atomic Habits by James Clear Finish by Jon Acuff The B...

Taking the day off doesn't equal time well-spent. How you choose to spend that time will greatly impact the result of quality time spent giving your brain and body what it needs.  We've organized 50 tips and tricks for taking your next mental health day, categorized by five reasons you probably need to take a break: You're disorganized. You need to connect. You need to reset. You ne...

We as a culture have collectively decided to brand our work ethos. If you aren’t #hustling, what are you doing? If your product/service/identity is not selling in your Etsy shop or being liked on Insta, and you aren’t committing yourself to all of this 24/7 (pics or it didn’t happen), does it count?   At what point did we all agree that busyness is next to godliness? What if we as a culture stop b...

Five ways to establish a new morning ritual that will change your entire day. And none of them include going to the gym before the sun comes up! Get full access to House Call With Kate Arends at housecall.substack.com/subscribe

Lesson from a recovering perfectionist: Your to-do list shouldn’t control your life. For years, I fought the never-ending, uphill battle of checking items off a list that never grew smaller. I stayed up late crossing off tasks, combing through emails, only to wake up with a full inbox, and an unchecked level of anxiety.  I took a hard look at my relationship with these lists and realized there had...

It's been more than 30 days since I started the Sleep30® Challenge and I'm happy to report that I'm feeling... better than I did last month, albeit it didn’t come without a set of hurdles that needed to be cleared— both physically and emotionally. It brought me face to face with my own relationship with boundaries— and forced me to confront why, in the times I need consistency and s...

I've been in a cookbook club for six months now and wow-- has it been a blast! I really think it is even better than eating out with your friends.  A cookbook club will introduce you to the wonder that is community cooking, something you either grew up with or didn't know you needed in your life. Instead of sweating over making 4 courses for friends before they arrive or missing out on c...

We live in a culture where worrying can be glorified. If you're worrying, you're one step ahead, you're out of your comfort zone, you're making things happen. It was after a health scare that I really learned what all my worrying was doing to my body, but the scariest realization was my body seemed to be stuck in "fight or flight mode." Today I'm breaking down th...

Today we cover how Wit & Delight came to be, the controversial name the site had before I changed it to Wit & Delight, my creative process, how I select the materials I design with, and how creativity plays a central role in my business. Lastly, I give some advice on how to move past creative roadblocks and putting the fun back in making things. Links Referenced: W&D Skillshare Classes...

Sharing your work and life online is scary and no matter how hard we try, none of us are immune to being disliked or subjected to criticism. It can be tempting to shy away from hearing uncomfortable feedback, especially when there are so many hurtful comments on blogs and instagram posts. But what are we missing by not considering which feedback is constructive? I'm talking about how to deal...

If you are working to become better, live healthier, or hoping to change a significant aspect of your life, then chances are you have some kind of set expectation for what your end goal looks like. Goals require focus and a plan for getting from point A to B, and often along the way we have to be our own cheerleader, borrowing phrases like "go big or go home" and "no pain, no gain&q...

When I was tested for ADHD at 27 (using continuous performance tasks (CPTs) and a year's worth of analysis from my therapist), before I was walked through my results, I was asked if I'd graduated college. My test scores were off the charts for impulsivity, erratic thought patterns, and the way the executive functioning part of my brain worked. Though I always knew I was a little “differe...

We're living in a world where our attention is for sale and we’re consuming information with few limitations and boundaries that place our self-interest top of mind. This episode explores why our brains are having such a hard time keeping us on task in this digital age and what we can do about it. We are SO HAPPY that you're here and we LOVE hearing from you! Our email address is hello@w...

If you lost everything you own, how would you rebuild your life? A house fire completely changed Liz Tornell’s life and inspired her business Hello, Liz, which provides a tailored approach to organizing, decluttering, styling, and staging. Our relationship with things is far more complicated than being a minimalist or maximalist. We get into questions around what to do with sentimental objects, th...

What can first dates can tell us about the future of a relationship? Let's start at the beginning. Just about everyone loves a good "how they met" story and ours is... well, annoyingly cute.  HOWEVER. While we met in a way that is less traditional in the current dating landscape, we broke ALL the rules on our first date, aired dirty laundry we had both kept hidden from previous rela...

Do you remember the first time you asked yourself if you were old? I was in 4th grade. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought— wow, look how much has changed. And in a year, I’ll be off to middle school. Where is the time going?? By 12 I was already contemplating mortality and the meaning of life, unsure but determined to make my one life count. With each passing year, I would bemoan the pas...

In the era of overnight billionaires like Kylie Jenners and Mark Zuckerbergs, it’s hard to not feel like we missed the memo. While we were busy trying to figure out how to apply for health insurance, these kids were building empires.  We don’t begin our lives on the same starting block, not by a long shot, but that doesn’t mean we won’t reach the finish line. Accepting we’re not racing others help...

Joe gets real on living inside the Wit & Delight Instagram feed, the decor decisions he loves and hates, and how we've learned to respect our different needs when it comes to living well at home.  About the podcast: The Wit & Delight Podcast is hosted by founder Kate Arends. Each week we discuss where life and style intersect and how the choices we make (both big and small) can help u...

Can We Rewrite The Narrative For Growing Older As Women? In this episode we talk about our March theme: aging .  Aging is a taboo subject, one that we as women are reminded constantly of the rules from early on. You never ask a woman's age. Magazines, videos, entire industries are directed at women to prevent or reverse the aging process. It’s pretty crazy to think our value as women has an e...

There could not have been a better time to record this episode!! I literally spent Monday sleeping on the sofa in our office, barely able to function. A couple days later, I'm at least able to move through life "normally".... because living with depression requires a new definition of normal. But that's not to say it can't be peaceful or joyful.  This is episode takes a lo...

There are always two sides to every story, and more often than not, you’ve only heard my side. But what about the other half? Our new Two Sides to Every Story series will be a conversation that includes another point of view, in this instance my partner Joe’s voice. Joe and I sat down to talk about how have evolved as a couple, from when we first met six years ago this month. We sat down to record...