Episode #119: Gen Z Home Decor Trends

Elsie: You’re listening to the Beautiful Mess Podcast. In today’s episode, we’re sharing our first astrology readings, our takes on Gen Z decor trends, and we’ve got a special guest who is my woo woo BFF. Before we begin, Emma, it’s Halloween week. Can you even believe it?

Emma: No, I can’t time is just flying by. That’s how you know you’re old when you’re like, what day is it? Oh my gosh, it’s Christmas.

Elsie: Yes, for sure. So by the time this episode goes up, I will either be in route to Missouri or already in the pink house with the kids. So everyone, please follow along on Instagram this week, because that’s where I’m going to show the kids’ reactions. And we’ll show all the fun little traditions that we’re going to be making with their cousin.

Emma: I love it. 

Elsie: Yes, I’m so excited. Okay, so first up, we have a home segment. This is so fun and weird. Okay, we’re doing Gen Z decor trends. This was a listener suggestion, they asked us to give our takes on popular Gen Z home decor trends. So I started researching as you do, like, okay, what are the trends? Where’s the list? Where’s the example photos? This is very difficult, very difficult to research for and I’ll explain why. 

Emma: Number one, we’re old, so we don’t know what Gen Z decor is.

Elsie: It goes without saying that we’re old and that is a clear part of the segment beginning, middle, and end. So I hope it goes without saying, but if you needed us to say it, we just did. When I put this up, as a part of my research, I was asking questions on Instagram stories to our audience, like, what are the popular trends? I have these down. What have you seen? What are the styles, and people were so confused? The most resounding message that we received back was what? People were just so confused. So I would invite you, everyone, to be sitting by your computer for this segment, and open up your Pinterest browser. As we go through it, just search like insert name of the trend here, Gen Z decor, something like that, and just search it, and then you’ll see what we’re seeing when we’re talking about these things because it is very confusing. So why it was hard to look up. Let me explain. I thought about it a lot. So, Gen Z, you’re born between 1997 and 2012. So it is older children and young people in their 20s is what I would say, like teenagers and people in their 20s. People only a couple of years older than my daughter Nova are in Gen Z. So it is very young people. So yeah, high school, college-age is probably like the majority and junior high.

Emma: And early 20s, which is like some college but also just out of college probably too. 

Elsie: Okay, we’re explaining this really badly. It is upper elementary school kids through people who have just graduated college age. So it’s very young people. So when I started Googling, because I’ve recently researched the millennial decor trends, it was very, very, very, very, very different. Just the number of rooms and examples, the number of articles, everything was just really easy to find. This stuff, when you Google it, you won’t see a lot of fully decorated rooms. My theory for that is if you think about it, Emma and I are in our 30s, when we were in high school, college, our first couple of homes in our 20s, we didn’t take room tour photos of our houses at that age, because it’s just not a thing you do yet. Like I think that that part of your life when you’re so proud that you try to get pictures of every angle and maybe put it on a website or maybe submit it somewhere or, whatever, share it incessantly. That’s kind of like a 30 year old thing and beyond. But I don’t think it’s as much of a thing that teenagers do. I think myself and most people, we would be lucky to find in our old box of photos, three photos of our high school bedroom would be good. Most people don’t have any photos of that you just have to rely on your memory. So that’s my theory of why it’s so hard to find these images is because if you want the information source to truly be coming from Gen Z, then they would have to be producing these shoots on their own and they’re just not at an age yet where there may be as interested in that or maybe they have the funds to execute that kind of stuff like millennials do.

Emma: That’s what I would say because I can’t speak for anyone else but for myself, when I was that age, I was a lot more into fashion because I did have less funds, and also I was renting. So for me, that’s where I did a lot more self-expression. I didn’t do it as much in my decor, I did it more with fashion. Whereas now it’s like, you know, I have a little more budget, and I own my home but that’s just me, I don’t think that’s necessarily the case for everyone. But it would make sense to me if that’s more where Gen Z is at the moment.

Elsie: That’s exactly how it comes through on the Pinterest searches as you’ll see. It’s primarily fashion mood boards, and pictures of outfits and then there will be a little bit of pictures of rooms. Maybe it’s like a vignette of a room, like how you decorated a dresser or behind your bed but it’s never like a big tour the way that people our age are doing them now. I do think that that makes sense now, because yeah, the first time I photographed a room was definitely around like age 30 when I started doing a million pictures of each room so that makes sense. With that said, I’m still gonna say the full list of all the trends because it’s so interesting and fun. We can kind of give our take so yeah, I’ll just say them and then I’ll give us a minute, pull up your Pinterest browser and this is going to be so much fun. There’s a lot. Alright, so one of the things that I was told is that any decor style can be also subcategorized as light and dark. I think that what that means is like you’re using a lot of lighter, brighter colors, or you’re using a lot of darker colors and it’s a more moody more goth type of vibe. At least that’s how it seemed. So we’ll do Academia first and that one definitely comes in light and dark. So let’s start with Academia Dark because it definitely had more search results. Academia Dark on Pinterest, I am seeing a lot of suits, a lot of leather boots, a lot of schoolgirls, kind of like the kind of prep school uniforms like you would see on like Gossip Girl or Harry Potter.

Emma: I was going to say I think of Harry Potter. When you say this academia style with the bookshelves. I think of Harry Potter.

Elsie: I’m seeing glasses, coffee. I think it really reminds me of my idea of how a college kid dressed when I was in high school, like very cool and lots of books and I’m seeing chess boards, libraries.

Emma: What does Oxford look like? And I actually have no idea I’m like, oh, this is it. It basically looks like Hogwarts.

Elsie: Yes, yes. that summarizes Academia Dark. I would call it like bookshelf core. Could also be an alternative because they like to add the core.

Emma: They like to add a core I noticed that yeah, they’re very hardcore in that way.

Elsie: Yes. Okay, so Academia Light, in my interpretation, is the same thing with lots of white. So that’s kind of like how I would do a bookshelf room. I do have a strong draw towards the more bookshelves the better and also fireplaces. So I think out of all the Gen Z aesthetics, this is one where I could maybe like place myself a little bit. I’m seeing a white piano so yeah, that resonates. Okay, the next one is Goblin Core. 

Emma: Goblin Core. 

Elsie: Goblin core. In summary, is lots of mushrooms. In one sentence, that’s what it is. It is lots of, I actually think Emma’s senior photos where you’re dressed as a fairy would fit perfectly into Goblin Core. Because it is kind of this like fairy, I’m seeing some frogs, some foresty folklore type of vibes, but it’s mostly mushrooms is what I’m seeing. 

Emma: I feel like all the trends from the 90s are back but just put together differently or different interpretations.

Elsie: I think mushrooms are very charming.  I have a mushroom toy basket and I like them. I think my husband doesn’t as much and I think it’s because of the 90s. I actually like to work mushrooms into my holiday decor, like for the Christmas tree. Last year they were in my Christmas cookies. Yeah, so I can go with Goblin Core a little bit like why not? And like we were raised heavily into Lord of the Rings in our high school.

Emma: Also Super Mario Brothers. That’s a lot of mushrooms in that case. 

Elsie: Oh my god. So yeah, we’re a goblin core. Alright, the next one is called Clutter Core and this is classic maximalism. When you Google clutter core, sorry when you search it on Pinterest, I keep saying Google on Pinterest and that is not correct. It kind of looks like just really really full room. Which are hard to look at all at once I think individually they’re really nice and when you look at a whole page of them it kind of hurts your eyes. This style I would say resembles most closely the grand millennial style with just like a big look, a lot of plates on the walls, lots of thrifted stuff like that. Maximalism will always be in style I hope, for some people, I think it’s really cool. Okay, the next one is Witch Core, and will this be different from Goblin core? We’ll see.

Emma: I don’t know everything’s like halloweeny sounding.

Elsie: I know I agree. So when I’m seeing Witch Core I actually like, well when we were in high school it was called Gothic. It’s just black clothes with that like got a little bit of like a pilgrim collar here and there things like that.

Emma: Wednesday Addams a little bit thrown in.

Elsie: I mean I would give this a thumbs up. I mean it’s, for me it’s a Halloween thing I wouldn’t probably do it year-round but I maybe would a little bit. I think that witchy stuff and having the authentic crystal ball in your home, I support that. 

Emma: Yeah, I love witches. 

Elsie: Yeah, and the people that are doing outfits on here I think this is worth a search. The outfits are cool, okay, I like witchy stuff. The next one is called E-Girl

Emma: E-Girl okay.

Elsie: E-Girl and I don’t understand. I will just admit on this one. I don’t get it at all. I can’t understand if it’s like in the Haley Bieber aesthetic or if it’s more like Haley from Paramore aesthetic.

Emma: Is it like bucket hats and baggy pants kinda thing?

Elsie: From this, it looks like maybe it’s like Billy Eilish people. It looks like a lot of big look makeup, pretty alternative. I’m not seeing any rooms on here at all so I cannot speak to the rooms. I’m not even gonna try. Let’s move on to the next one. Y2K. I like this one. So yeah, Y2K was very real to us because for us it was an impending world-ending crisis and our parents filled old milk gallons with water and saved them for more than a year in our basement.

Emma: I feel like everyone does.

Elsie: Yeah and then it was like whoa world didn’t end. The cars didn’t stop working. There was a lot of rumors that all clocks would stop, electronics would stop, cars wouldn’t work. It was like a really fun time to live through. For the purposes of this aesthetic. It just means early 2000s style. I don’t think anyone needs to hear my grandma commentary on how early 2000s interpretation now. Now it’s like Haley Bieber style and maybe a little bit of Mean Girls. The way that it was back then was definitely different. I feel it’s a very curated version of it, which I support that. Not everything needs to come back into style and maybe that’s how it always is. When we were younger, the 70s were in style and you know.

Emma: While the 70s to us were like, that’s what was vintage and now the late 90s, early 2000s is what’s vintage to the youngsters these days.

Elsie: Yes, I heard one of our young members of our app team call the early 2000s or the 90s Retro, which I was like, wow, that’s not what I consider retro but it’s so interesting. People do now. I think that this is another one worth the search. I’m seeing some Tamagotchis.

Emma: I love Tamagotchi.

Elsie: I like looking at this. It’s It’s fun. I’m not seeing any rooms at all again. Oh, I see one room thing, checkers. Okay. And checkers is like a big, huge trend. I definitely think it’s a big trend in millennial culture as well as Gen Z. All of our friends love checkers. There’s no one that doesn’t love checkers, right?

Emma: Yeah, black and white checkers or other colors too. But it’s a very classic. There’s a lot of ways to do it. It could go kind of like grungy 90s but it could also go kind of traditional in a way depending on what you’re doing if it’s tile or you know, if it’s a hair clip, I mean, it just depends what you’re doing, but it’s definitely a classic.

Elsie: I really like that trend. I support it. I think it’s fun. Never stopped wearing vans since high school and I hope I never do.

Emma: In love contrast. I mean it’s high contrast. That’s really what it is. And I like that it’s also I guess a little bit geometric because it has sharp lines and I don’t know that all makes sense to me. it’s visually very stimulating.

Elsie: Okay, the next one is Aesthetic. This is the one that confused people the most. Because they were like, doesn’t that just mean look, but it doesn’t just mean look to Gen Z people. So there’s a recent Emily Henderson blog post where she talks about two Gen Z decor styles and this is one and the other one is called Avant Basic. I could barely find anything for either one of these, but I will link her blog post in the show notes so you can just see those two there. One of them is lots of vines and then Avant Basic seems more like actually what is popular in the Beautiful Mess audience with the lots of pastels and the kind of post-modern like a lot of squiggles, a lot of like caning and the fluted wood tables. That stuff was all in there and the checkers. That seems pretty familiar. So yeah, I will just link to her for those. Like so interesting. I think that over time, maybe these will be more defined and maybe it’s just hard to find them because it’s so new. Okay, the next one down is Cottage Core. We were all waiting for this one. So there’s Cottage Core and there’s Cabin Core. I would say Cottage Core is more, it’s actually a reincarnation of shabby chic 

Emma: Yeah, that’s what I would say.

Elsie: It’s barely different at all. Maybe the thing that’s different is a bigger emphasis on nature and gardening. Baking your own bread is more a part of Cottage Core.

Emma: Cabin Core would be more like a log cabin in the woods, more woodsy. Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I think 

Elsie: Love that. Love both of those actually. 

Emma: Yeah, I love both of them.

Elsie: I think shabby chic or we could call it Cottage Core for the purposes of this, I think it’s one of the easiest, most affordable decor styles to pull off on a budget. You can use garage sale furniture, you can use thrift store furniture, you can use Craigslist free to do a whole room and you can make it all match with paint. I think it’s a great style that it’s just really accessible. So I think it’s a great first apartment style to lean into because it’s just not expensive and you know, some styles,  like the next one, I’m going to say too expensive. 

Emma: Yeah, I also like that Cottage Core, and probably Cabin Core too, it can feel very like lived in and a little bit rustic. So you don’t have to feel too precious about a lot of the items so you don’t have to worry about messing them up or like, oh, I spent 1000s of dollars on this table. It’s like, well, maybe it’s already distressed looking whether you distressed it yourself or you bought it that way. So then it’s just a little less precious that I like that because I like a house that has a very lived-in feel. Think it’s cozy.

Elsie: 100% Yeah. I think it’s cool how a lot of these styles have a root in some kind of vintage or some kind of part of the past, even if the young people aren’t thinking of it that way like it still is. So yeah, I think it’s really cool. At the end, I’ll let you pick which one you would be if you were a Gen Z, and I’ll pick one too. The next one is called Royal Core. And this is watches Bridgerton one time, and then you want to have that for your house. So I would say this is the most expensive and I would say it’s probably one of the coolest. Getting a home where you can actually execute on this, good luck with that. Where the architecture will support it is what I mean. But doing a tablescape like this is very realistic. Anyone can do that in any house and a picnic and your bathroom cabinet or something like that. I think it’s really cool. When I go to the flea market, I love my etched glass and my crystal and that type of thing and I feel like not a lot of people love and appreciate those things so they’re very cheap and easy to find. And they’re just not as picked over as other styles, like 60 stuff really hard to find, crystal really easy to find. So I think Royal Core could be like a fun thrift store style to try.

Emma: Or like very ornate picture frames. I feel for a long time that wasn’t really in style. So it’s easier to find stuff like that. I think for a long time there was an aversion to molding, like crown molding and things like that and now I feel like this royal core could kind of bring some of those elements back, which is kind of fun. 

Elsie: So the last style to mention is called VSCO Girl and I thought this one was very confusing. My photographer Amber explained it to me because she has two kids in the like 12-year-old age range. She said that it is like the TV show Outer Banks which I had to Google and it’s like a beachy, I guess kind of like a modern-day sort of like the OC. They wear a lot of the sweatshirt that goes to your knees that covers up your shorts, and the choker. 

Emma: Like Ariana Grande.

Elsie: Yeah, yeah, the chokers, the crocs, the scrunchies. She said that the way that you would decorate for this style is like a ton of Polaroids on your walls, which I think is cool. Oh, she said hired hydro flask and sea turtles, very random, but that’s what the kids like. To summarize, more or less, you can go on Amazon and you can search Gen Z decor and all these things will pop up. Or you can just go to Urban Outfitters and look through the whole home section and it’s right there for you. I’m not trying to minimize the style like we’ve said there are some very cool, expansive sources of inspiration, it’s just that finding the pictures of the rooms that have been done like a rich millennial don’t exist yet. They will someday and I am excited for this generation to see what they make. When we’re like 60 then by that time we’ll be able to buy all their fancy decor books and who knows what it’ll be but it seems like they have a lot of good inspiration.

Emma: Oh yeah, no, I’m very excited and I love that it’s opened up and I really liked seeing all the fashion that’s coming out of it and for the younger portion of the Gen Z like our niece, I love watching her design rooms when she’s in Minecraft or seeing what she’s done in her bedroom. It’s cool and I remember being that age and being into stuff like that and so it’s I love it.

Elsie: I love it too. Yeah, I can’t wait until my kids get old enough to be interested at all in decorating their own room or whatever I think that’ll be such a fun stage. these styles I hope you guys enjoyed this segment. The other trends that I think will come more into style. I actually think this is Gen Z and millennial direction where we’re coming together is less white in rooms, less perfection.  I think that the perfectly styled room is out of here and more color and more personal details so I love that direction. And that’s what I want for myself and I can see why after a decade of all white everything being a main trend, that it’s not gonna be able to last much longer.

Emma: So this next segment, basically Elsie and I are going to talk about our astrology reading. So yeah, I recently went to get a reading from an astrologer in Springfield, Missouri where I live, and Elsie was going to be in town and so she was like, oh, I’m gonna book and get a reading too from the same person. Then we can kind of compare our readings or just talk about it, not like compare, are they the same, but just talk about it. We thought it’d be fun to talk about on the podcast. Yeah, and I don’t know that much about astrology, I really didn’t know that much going into it. I would say, I still don’t know that much but it was really fun. So I’m excited. I know you were pumped up because you were texting me and calling me right after.

Elsie: I loved it. I loved it so much. In full disclosure, this is actually my second astrology reading of my life. The first one was kind of lame for me. I kind of had an experience that was like, oh, I don’t know. I didn’t have a strong connection to it. This one was just like a night and day difference. It was life-changing. I was basically like, let’s put it on the podcast if it’s good and if not, it’s just fun to try. I always want to try a new thing. So tell us about yours, Emma. Was it what you were expecting?

Emma: So I had pretty low expectations. Like I said, not really knowledgeable about astrology at all. So I wasn’t thinking it was going to be like fortune-telling or anything. I’m not quite that ignorant to do it. But I also didn’t really know what to expect. And so one thing that really stood out to me from it was that, I didn’t expect, was that I didn’t think astrology had much to do with personal responsibility or choices, or like you having the power to change your life. I guess in my mind, I thought, oh, it’s kind of about when you were born, and it’s about the stars and it’s all these things that you can’t control. All these things that are just…

Elsie: Like what you’re destined for. 

Emma: Yeah, it’s just things that are beyond your ability to make any changes to. It’s just like stars, they’re just up there in the sky and like when you’re born, obviously, you didn’t choose the day or the time. It’s just something that happened. So that was sort of my impression. But she talked a lot about personal responsibility, choices, changing your habits, things like that. And I just, I wasn’t expecting that and that definitely more aligns with my worldview and how I like to go through life. So I found that really interesting and encouraging. I really liked that part of it. Was it what you expected?

Elsie: It actually was better than what I expected because my first experience was kind of a little bit boring, I guess. I didn’t feel like I got anything that was like a big revelation to me and I was very disappointed by it. This one was so different because I went in there with no expectations, which I think is always the best way to go into every kind of new experience. 

Emma: True. 

Elsie: And the woman she’s like, so awesome, her presence, and I instantly believed her. So when I went in for mine, she was like, I think I went in on like a Wednesday or Thursday. And she said, are you sure that this is your exact birth time? Because I put 12, exactly 12 noon, and I was like, let me call my mom and I called my mom and I was actually 1130. She was like, that makes a big difference so why don’t you come back on Saturday. I think that detail alone kind of sold me because then when I came back, I was like, this is gonna be legit. It just like really was. I took five pages of notes. She gave us our readings on a CD, which I don’t know how to play, but I’m happy I have it.

Emma: I don’t either.

Elsie: I guess I could get a CD player. Maybe I could get a CD Walkman. I don’t know. But yeah, it was definitely mine was very specific. And it was telling me what the upcoming seasons were going to be like, and what kind of career changes I was going to have next. It was kind of like a turning point for me because in the last year or so, pandemic times, the struggle is real. We’re all struggling, right? But I just got kind of sad feeling like, I’ve achieved all my goals and I didn’t really know what was next. We’re pretty sure we’re not going to adopt more kids. I kind of had the sad feeling like the big events of life are all behind me now and after this reading, I have a different perspective, like there’s more ahead. So I’m really grateful for it for that reason alone.

Emma: Yes, I also found it very, very encouraging. So I went in, and I was like, I’m not going to say too much. I just want to hear what she has to say. I’m very optimistic, but I’m also a skeptical person. I’m not super faith-filled or anything like that. So I was like, well, I don’t want to say anything, because I feel like she’s just gonna read me. So I’d rather just hear what the charts have to say and if it’s helpful, cool, and if not, that’s fine, too. So I didn’t say much and like, very quickly, she went through some of my past dates and years, and I think something big happened this year and then two years later, a new metamorphosis started. They were all correct. Like, she got them all. And I was like, that’s not what I was expecting. That’s very interesting. She just kept going with them. If it was just one, I think it would have been like lucky guess. But it was many, and that was weird. Then she had some in the future, like this coming March, there’s probably going to be something so I wrote those down, and I just was like, okay, now I kind of believe that big things can happen. Even if they’re not exact, the dates are slightly off, whatever, I’m kind of like agreeing with the thing you just said, like, it gave me a lot of, I guess, hope for the future. I’ve been feeling kind of down because it was such a hard year last year. It was such a strange year. I’m also in the season right now where my life is very much like rush, rush, rush, get your work done, pick up your son, and then all my time is really focused on him, which I love but it just doesn’t feel like my season, it feels a lot more like my season to enjoy my son. Anyway, I found it very, very encouraging. I felt like I learned a lot. So I wanted to go through a couple things that I learned. You have some things too? Okay. One of the things she said was that I should, I’m trying to seek more balance, which I think most people are, and she said, for me, as I’m seeking more balance in my life, one thing I need to do is not hold in my feeling so much. She said I have a tendency to kind of lean out or not want to get too involved and she said I just need to say my feelings more, get involved more, let my feelings come, that kind of stuff to have a more balanced life. Which I was like, that’s interesting, because to me being very emotional, like a very emotional person is very unbalanced. That’s the narrative I have in my head and so this kind of encouraged me to change that narrative, which I think is good. She also said I should absolutely write my book, and that I’ll have no problem getting it published and maybe it’ll become a movie. Which was very specific. Yeah, that was just like, whoa, I can’t believe you said that. I don’t know if it’s true but it just meant a lot to me that a stranger said that. It meant a lot to me and it made me feel very excited to keep working on it. Any creative project, I think you feel and by the way, this is the book that I’ve talked about on the podcast before, but I call it my murder book and it’s a novel, it’s fiction. It’s about a female serial killer. It’s also about jealousy and influencer culture and motherhood, it’s about a lot of things, I guess. I do feel some anxiety about creating that project. It’s just very emotional. So it’s just felt encouraging to have someone say whatever it is you’re working on, you’re working on some kind of writing projects, she didn’t know it was a book, she was like, maybe you’re writing songs, maybe you’re writing poetry, I don’t know what you’re writing, but whatever it is, it’ll be successful. If it’s a book, you could get it published. It could be turned into a movie one day, which she didn’t know it was a book about a serial killer. Once I told her that she was like, oh, I love true crime. She was just really cool lady so that was something really neat. Then she said that my purpose or destiny on this planet in this lifetime has something to do with inspiring and lifting up others, and maybe also justice. I think that probably is true for a lot of people but I found that really to resonate with me. I love the idea that I can spend my life inspiring and lifting up others. I love nothing more than to help someone else succeed. I think it’s a really fun destiny, to have to hold. I don’t know. Okay, and then the last thing I kind of wanted to say from what I learned because I took so many notes, even though I knew she was making a CD I just was writing, writing, writing, writing, because it’s just really good I thought. One thing she said was as obstacles come, which I’m actually moving into a season that’s going to be easier than my last season, which she didn’t know that I just well she knew I went through a pandemic because we all did, but she didn’t know I happen to have gone through a separation this last year so it was a very tough year for a lot of reasons. She said I’m moving into a season that’s going to be a lot easier. But as obstacles come, I should ask myself, what’s working, what’s not working? Then I should change patterns based on those two questions. So these could be thought patterns. They might just be habits, things like actions I’m taking.

Elsie: I feel she really gave you some good advice that I would think would take a close friend or someone who really knew you, like that first part about the emotional stuff. That’s really good advice for you. So yeah, mine was very similar. Mine was very different but it was similar in that I felt she knew a lot more about me than she really did. And then there would be moments in it where I would realize that like, she didn’t know anything about me, which is good because I didn’t wonder. I think skeptical people get worried like, did she look you up online and we’re very public, people are easy to look up, it’s easy to find out certain things that we’ve done in our lives and certain things about us. It doesn’t scare me. I guess it doesn’t concern me in that way because I think that it’s important to understand, it’s very different from a psychic reading or something like that. They’re reading your chart, they’re not telling you your future based on like, there’s nothing imaginary about it. It’s like they’re on the paper and she’s just reading notes that she prepared ahead of time, specifically from my chart. It kind of had nothing to do with me physically sitting there. It was like, based on my time of birth, the place of birth, the way that the stars looked at the moment that we came into the earth. Yeah, I loved it. I thought it was a great experience. A lot of stuff that we talked about was future projects that I’m going to work on. Kind of like Emma, it was very specific and I was very shocked by it. It was very affirming. This has been a reiterated topic or message for me the past couple of months but I’m definitely in a learning phase for these next few years. She said that over and over and over again, now is just a time to learn, be open-minded, take in everything I can, and kind of go easy on myself. That feels really right to me right now so I’m just excited, I feel like I’ve read more books in the past year than I have in my whole life. I’m just like changing into a completely different person and that was a thing that she talked about a lot was like in five years time from now you won’t even recognize yourself. And I was like, fuck ya,  that’s so cool and exciting. She had a lot of things to say about my internal life with money, which is really interesting and very spot on so I wasn’t expecting that. Then this one is like very, this is weird. So I also did another type of reading for Andi’s podcast this week. It had a little bit of astrology elements to it, but it was a different type of reading. They both said this exact same message so that’s just kind of a repeated thing now. The message is that in the future I’m going to have a more community-oriented, more public facing career and they both made it seem like I was going to be a writer. It’s really confusing to me and strange and I don’t understand what that means but I’m just kind of excited to find out now since I keep hearing it over and over and it’s not how I envisioned my future. I kind of imagined myself soon going through a door of becoming a lot frigging more private and not retired but sort of. I wasn’t thinking of myself in a more public-facing position. I feel like I’ve spent most of my adult life in that way but I’m kind of interested in finding out what the universe has in store because it sounds like it’s different from what I’ve been doing. As long as it’s not the exact same thing forever that’s kind of interesting and this one had a lot of stuff about how important alone time is to me. Ways I can take better care of myself and that feels really affirming. We all need that but I definitely feel like I do right now. Like Emma saying a time in my life when I don’t feel like I have a lot of personal time because it’s just like work, kid,s work, kids, and there’s just back and forth. I have a lot of guilt of like I should do this more, I should do this more, I should this more. I think a lot of people in our situation struggle with that and this made me feel more like normal about it. Overall I just felt the future is big. I hadn’t had that feeling ever before. I’m definitely one of those people that I spent my whole life imagining the perfect career and the perfect family and my dream home and I think that feeling like those things were kind of like here and now was sort of somewhat disappointing to me. Just feeling this sort of letdown of I like to be reaching for something and moving towards something. It’s not that I’m not grateful for the great things in my life but there is a certain human capacity where rich people, famous people, successful people find this out that you don’t have the capacity to be grateful all the time like you thought you would you know like it’s not human.

Emma: I would also say too, just because you maybe feel a little bit of disappointment or I have had a lot of friends who feel this way after they get married or after they have a kid because it feels like it’s such a finish line. When you’re growing up, you’re like, oh, when I get married, that’s this finish line, oh, when I have children, that’s this like finish line, like, I will then be married, I will then be a mother, you know, whatever. So you get there and then it’s wonderful and you’re grateful and also, you’re kind of wondering what’s next. There’s parts of it that you don’t enjoy and there’s hard things. I think sometimes we think like, oh, if I admit that this is hard, that I’m not being grateful. I don’t think that’s true, I think you can be both at the same time.

Elsie: It’s like admitting that it’s not as easy as it was in your imagination.  And now I feel like I have a view of a future that could be full of big challenges, which is something I love and something I want more of and that feels very exciting. So I would call it life-changing for that reason. I guess having the two readings so close together was interesting that they were saying a lot of the same things, because I don’t know why I guess I didn’t expect that that’s gonna be like, they’re looking at the same information and interpreting it a little bit different because they’re different people. I definitely believe in it more now than I did before just having more information. I thought it was a lot of fun.

Emma: I grew up in church, you’ve heard that if your listener then that’s in previous episodes. I thought it was kind of like a more personalized sermon. In that, it is kind of general but also it feels very specific. There’s parts that just depending on where you’re at, and what you’re doing in life, it means something to you and if you let it, it’s powerful. It also made me kind of think about how probably, the universe uses lots of different ways to communicate to us, whether it’s astrology, whether it’s sermons, whether it’s nature, whether it’s a friend like there’s just probably a million ways that the universe talks to us. We don’t necessarily need to shut down to any of them or at least that’s my point of view. I think it’s good to stay open to whatever is coming your way and be positive and optimistic about it and use it for good in your life. However, you can.

Elsie: 1,000,000%. Yeah, I feel it kind of opened me up to a new season of just learning everything I can and trying everything I can. That just feels so right now. 

Emma: Love it. 

Elsie: Cool. Well, that was fun. Yeah, I’m definitely going to go back to her, do you think you’ll go back again.

Emma: Maybe, I don’t know. I feel like she gave me a lot to do now. So maybe like if I feel like I’m at a place where I’m like, done with everything if that makes any sense. It’s not like she gave me a to-do list. That’s not like how it was. But at the same time, I feel like I’m good to incorporate everything I learned into and that will take me some time. So I don’t want to overwhelm myself, I guess is what I would say because I tend to be a person who collects, collects, collects, collects that it’s like maybe I should spend a little more time implementing and less time collecting, like new strategies and the new book and a new you know, like, I’m always like that. I’m like, maybe I should just spend some time like just implement three things. don’t collect more ideas, just do the things instead, you know,

Elsie: Now we are going to kick it over to our little interview with our woo woo best friend, Andi so she is one of my closest friends. When I moved to Nashville, she was my first friend and we were both new. She has started her own podcast called My Woo Woo BFF. So we’re gonna do a quick segment and she’s going to explain some very common astrology questions, just for fun, since we were already just talking about astrology and we know that you all might be interested in that. Then also this week, I am doing an episode with her on her podcast. So for those of you who are interested in woo woo topics, I would encourage you to go over there because I did some weird readings that are like, I did a past lives reading, Reiki healing, Aura reading for her episode just for fun for seeing what it was like so we could talk about it on her episode. So it was very new to me and if that’s something that’s interesting to you, I would recommend that you go listen to her podcast as well this week. Welcome, Andi. So Andi is my real-life BFF and also the host of the podcast, Your Woo Woo BFF so we’re gonna talk about some woo woo things right now.

Andi: I’m so thrilled we’ve been doing this, you and I offline, and now we get to do it online together on the show.

Elsie: Yes, yes, yes. If you are interested in this subject, then I would encourage you to hop on over to Andi’s podcast this week and hear us discuss a lot more all the weird stuff. So I had an experience with an astrology reading which we talked about in this episode, but also a past lives reading and also an aura reading. Of course, if you love it, I hope you’ll give her a follow and find a new podcast you love. So anyway, Ani, tell us your elevator pitch for people who are kind of on the fence with astrology who are like, I’m not sure that that’s real.

Andi: Well, that’s definitely something that comes up, and here’s my quick two-sentence thoughts on if someone feels like astrology isn’t real. First, if someone’s like, I’m just won’t believe I’m just not interested. That’s not for me. What I would actually say is, that’s okay. There’s other things that might be for you. For someone who’s just a skeptic, you know, if you’re just not feeling it, and it’s not for you, that’s okay. If someone’s a skeptic, and they’re considering how to maybe find their way in and they are open, then what I would share is that it’s an ancient methodology that incorporates the planets, the cosmic movement, and the energetics of who you are. There’s a lot of opportunities to look at how those things align, to get a snapshot of how you just be in the world, whether its how do you love, how you learn, how you communicate, you can find all of that by taking a look at this really beautiful, ancient methodology.

Elsie: I love that. Well, I’m definitely a believer now but I think for a while, I don’t know if I was a skeptic, but I was more just on the fence, just because I was like, do I need another thing in my life. Emma and I are Enneagram enthusiasts, it’s just like, do I need another big hobby and astrology feels a little bit overwhelming at first, like, it’s gonna be this big hobby. But yeah, I was definitely convinced after my reading, that it’s something meaningful, and something that can really help my life.

Andi: Yeah, and it is one of those things where you can go really deep and spend a ton of time dissecting your entire natal chart or even looking at how your chart lines up with your family’s chart, your partner, or your children’s chart, or your best friend’s chart, or your sister’s chart. But there’s also just some really kind of quick and easy ways of looking at your chart where you can kind of extract the stuff that’s really the big stuff. In astrology, we call it, the big three, your sun sign, your moon sign, and your rising sign. And if that’s all you know, you’ll still get a ton of information about you and the cosmic influences and how you can incorporate it into your life without having to spend loads of time and books and workshops, and all of that sort of stuff.

Elsie: I love that I think anything bite size is what I’m into right now because I want to learn but I also it is overwhelming. I want to get something meaningful each time. I will put in the show notes than the book that you recommended to me and the app, and I will also put a link to your podcast Your Woo Woo BFF so everyone can take a listen to that. If you’re interested in hearing my crazy stories, be sure to listen to the episode this week cuz I’m so excited. I haven’t done a long-form interview on another podcast in a long time and I think it’s gonna be really fun.

Andi: Yeah, I’m excited to have you and for anyone who’s like maybe, maybe I’ll check this astrology thing out. Just know this, if you love Beyonce, Beyonce loves astrology. If you loved Princess Diana, Princess Diana was incredibly into astrology, the founder of, if you’re an entrepreneur, the founder of Chase Bank, JP Morgan, said, astrology isn’t for millionaires, it’s for billionaires. So it’s, I know, I know. So no matter what you love, or if it’s any of those types of people, there’s lots of folks that are really into astrology that you may not even know were into astrology so let that inspire you.

Elsie: Yes, it definitely does. I happen to know that we have a lot of billionaire listeners of our podcast. So just kidding. All right. Well, thank you so much, Andi. And check out the show notes this week and thank you so much for listening