Weekender #244

💛 The research on gratitude and why it’s the easiest happiness lever to pull.

👗 These lightweight linen tops on Amazon are the easiest summer upgrade under $50.

🎁 Conference swag doesn’t have to scream “straight to the junk drawer”.

🏢 How to make the time AI saves count for something at work.

As a mom, I think about screens a lot. It’s the low-level wondering that comes with the job, the kind that surfaces on an ordinary Tuesday: how much is too much, is this app actually okay, what are they seeing when I’m not looking. And how am I supposed to set real limits when school, friendships, entertainment, and half of family life now run through a device?

That’s why I grabbed the VIP pass for the Parenting in the Digital Age Summit with Dr. Carrie Mackensen. I went in wanting clarity, a little practical guidance, and someone to say out loud that this is hard without making me feel like I’m already failing. Across sessions with Dr. Carrie Mackensen, Titania Jordan, Tessa Stuckey, and other pediatric and digital-wellness experts, that’s exactly what I got.

The reframe that stuck with me: digital parenting is so much bigger than screen time. It’s attention, sleep, mood, connection, and trust. It’s noticing the moment a device stops being a tool and starts shaping how my kid feels, behaves, and sees themselves. Counting hours misses most of that.

And here’s the part I needed to hear: the real work is relational. No phones at dinner and no screens before bed still matter, but the deeper job is staying close enough that they’ll come to me when something feels off. That’s truest in the tween and teen years, when so much of their world happens in spaces I can’t see. Instead of panicking, the move is to stay curious and ask better questions than “How was your day?”

The session on school-issued devices hit a nerve, because it named the most maddening part: sometimes the tech I’m trying to manage isn’t even something I chose. It comes home assigned, tied to homework, presented as non-negotiable. Boundaries get harder there, not impossible, so it means asking more questions and knowing what protections are, or aren’t, in place.

I’m not a perfect tech parent. Some weeks I’m dialed in, and some weeks the iPad does more parenting than I’d like to admit. But I walked out with a few small things I could actually do, instead of a guilt spiral:

• Phones charge in the kitchen overnight, not in bedrooms.
• “What made you laugh today?” gets me further than “How was your day?” ever has.
• I’m actually looking at what’s on the devices, and asking the school what’s tied to homework.
• One boundary at a time. The one I’ll keep beats the five I won’t.

Even in a world of algorithms, group chats, games, and school portals, our kids just need us present, steady, and willing to keep showing up, imperfect and all.

We don’t have to parent from panic. We can parent from awareness, one small, steady choice at a time.

Kristel (TA Marketing)

New employees notice when onboarding is clunky. They notice when their laptop isn’t ready on Day 1. They notice when HR has to ask three times for the same form, or when their first paycheck takes a correction email to fix.

That first week shapes how long they stay, and it shapes what they tell their network.

The companies that get it right aren’t doing anything magical. They just have systems that handle the logistics before anyone has to ask.

BambooHR keeps employee records, onboarding checklists, time-off tracking, and performance management organized in one place so nothing slips between offer letter and Day 1.

Rippling connects payroll, benefits, IT, and device management so when someone joins the team, everything from payroll setup to laptop provisioning triggers automatically.

HiBob adds the layer most platforms miss — engagement tools, performance management, and culture features built for teams that are hybrid or fully remote and still want people to actually feel like they belong somewhere.

A smooth first week doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because someone built the right systems before the offer ever went out.

Find the platform that has day one handled before the offer goes out.

📖 Read: A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Domine.

A body turns up in the wine cellar of a Victorian mansion in Old Louisville, and what looks like a crime of passion between two boyfriends pulls Domine into a deeper story about a neighborhood, its secrets, and its LGBTQ community. Atmospheric, deeply reported, and hard to put down once you’re inside the house.

📺 Watch: Widow’s Bay on Apple TV+.

The mayor of a New England town resolves to turn it into the next tourist hot spot, despite local warnings that it’s cursed. A perfect blend of supernatural eerie and dark humor that breaks up the tension just enough.

🎧 Listen: Lofi Beats for Dogs on Spotify.

Joanna shares her home office with two furbabies and stumbled on this gem of a playlist. Even though it says it’s for dogs, her cat Tofu approves too.

Your face gets the full routine: cleanser, serum, moisturizer, SPF, maybe a little gua sha if we’re feeling ambitious.

Your eyes? They’re out here raw-dogging screen time, dry office air, makeup, contacts, allergies, and back-to-back Zooms with zero support.

Peep Club’s Eye Care Essentials finally gives them one. The four-step kit cleanses lids and lashes, calms irritation, hydrates overnight, and de-puffs with a heated LED wand, all optometrist-developed and free from every known eye irritant. It’s the UK’s #1 optometrist-recommended dry-eye brand, with 500+ five-star reviews.

Think of it as skincare for the part of your face that gives away everything: bad sleep, long workdays, stress, and that “just one more episode” call.

Tired eyes deserve better than rubbing them and hoping.

👉 Start your eye care routine.

P.S. Not sure it’s for you? The whole kit is backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it risk-free.

Upcoming Events

• Mon 6/22: 30 Day AI Implementation Workflow Sprint Kicks Off
• Tues 6/23 @ 7PM PT: Virtual Happy Hour (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)
• Wed 6/24 @ 1pm PT : Co-Working Session (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)
• Thurs 6/25 @ 10am PT: Automate Your Life: Live Build Workshop (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)

* Smart Girl Society is our private community for women who want deeper conversations, accountability, and tools that actually make life easier. Join the waitlist to get in the next round.

Lola is a 10-ish-year-old Rat Terrier and Pit Bull mix, rescued by her humans 8 years ago. She’s an only child (not a fan of anything with four legs and a tail), but she adores her human cousins. The neighborhood knows her as “the dog in the window,” perched on her throne and keeping a sharp eye on delivery drivers and bike riders. She’s convinced scaring them off is her life’s work, but her humans know her real job is making them smile, which she does every single day.

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