Sage Against the Machine

July 20, 2026 | Issue No. 28


OK friends...it's been a minute.

Life got wonderfully full.

My business shifted and evolved. Household projects multiplied. My kids KEEP GETTING OLDER?!?! Somehow almost an entire year slipped by.

And that's had me thinking a lot about time. Not in a melancholy way. Maybe a tiny bit in a "did time go back to normal after they turned CERN off?" kind of way. But mostly in a grateful one.

Time moves incredibly fast (regardless of who's manipulating it), and during these crazy, lazy, hazy days of summer, I feel lucky enough to be here watching it happen.

One of the biggest reasons I started building my own business was simple: I wanted more time with my kids.

Which, honestly, surprised me more than anyone.

It still surprises me, especially considering the number of fights I break up before noon.

The reality of that dream clearly isn't picture-perfect.

It sounds like siblings calling each other "losers who like chicken strips" (a super sick burn in our house), arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes, and inventing increasingly creative ways to treat our family room like a five-star hotel while I'm trying to work from my basement office.

Mixed in with all of that, though, I hear laughter.

I hear whispered plans (which I can only assume involve derailing my next meeting).

I hear the refrigerator open and close fifteen times, followed immediately by a VERY LOUD, EXASPERATED SIGH...

"There's nothing to eat."

Despite the $500 Costco trip that happened yesterday.

And every now and then, sprinkled in...

I hear kindness.

Someone empties the dishwasher without being asked.

Someone lets the little one go first.

Someone quietly helps clean up someone else's mess.

Those are the moments that stop me in my tracks.

It's loud.

It's messy.

It's expensive.

It's overstimulating.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Because I get to... (have to???) ...hear all of it.

And that's exactly the life I was hoping to build.

THREE THINGS THAT BRING ME JOY

1. Barrel-leg pants

I too was skeptical of this whole barrel-leg trend.

I've been actively trying to downplay the size of my thighs for 30 years, and now you're telling me we're essentially going back to Hammer pants???

My high school bestie group chat spent a good amount of time debating whether barrel-leg pants are actually flattering. Then a few of us went shopping together, and every single woman who tried on the Athleta barrel-leg pants bought them.

They're great.

But even those are a stretchy twill, so they still qualify as hard pants in my book.

Do you know what I actually find myself reaching for?

My Old Navy barrel-leg sweatpants.

As I move from laundry, to dogs, to kids, back to my basement office, and then inevitably back upstairs because someone "needs" me, they're the perfect combination of quick, comfortable, and just put together enough that I don't look like I've completely given up.

We love a matching set. They carry tall and petite sizes. And if you know, you know—Old Navy puts just about everything on sale for 50% off every other week.

Sometimes we need a whole wardrobe refresh.

And sometimes we just need really good sweatpants.

2. Itasca State Park

To celebrate the Fourth of July, my family packed up our tent, loaded the car(s) , and headed north to Minnesota's first (and arguably best) state park: Itasca State Park.

It rained. A lot.

Instead of letting the weather ruin the day, we wandered through the visitor center, explored the lodge, browsed the gift shop, played games, and embraced the slower pace that camping seems to force upon you.

Minnesota's state parks are one of the best parts about living here. They're woven into so many of my own childhood memories, and sharing them with my kids has become one of my favorite traditions. They're beautiful, affordable, and some of the best places to reconnect with nature without ever getting on an airplane.

And even among a crown of jewels, Itasca is a standout.

Standing at the headwaters of the Mississippi River—knowing how far that water will travel and how many lives it will touch along the way—is one of those experiences that never gets old.

Watching my kids splash through those same headwaters, treating the beginning of one of the world's greatest rivers like a lazy river of their own, and enthusiastically dragging me along for the ride...

That's a memory I'll hold onto for a long time.

3. Minnesota's Growing Market

 

It's finally starting to feel like things are happening.

Over the last year, we've seen the arrival of non-tribal cultivation and retail, and after a lot of planning, legislation, rulemaking, and a whole lot of waiting, Minnesota's market is finally beginning to come alive. (She says with one eye closed and the other cautiously peeking through.)

This spring and summer, we've seen new businesses open their doors, more products hit the shelves (pre-rolls, concentrates, even a 200mg chocolate bar), and—perhaps what I'm most excited about—our cultivators are growing their first full-season outdoor crops.

There's something special about plants grown in the ground, under the sun, and shaped by the place they call home. I'm excited to see what Minnesota grows.

Farmers are the backbone of our country, and getting to know the people building this industry from the ground up has been one of the greatest privileges of my career.

Over the coming months, I'll be sharing farms, products, people, and experiences that catch my attention along the way.

TWO CONVERSATIONS WORTH HAVING

 

I love to yap (that's what the kids call it), and one of the best yapping sessions I've had lately was with Crystal Coker.

Crystal hosts The Conscious Bloom Podcast, a podcast exploring plant medicine, curiosity, and personal growth, and recently invited me on for a conversation that wandered far beyond the plant itself.

We talked about building community, emotional intelligence, leadership, parenting, and why some of the most meaningful things we create begin because we couldn't find what we were looking for ourselves.

If you've got a walk to take, a commute ahead of you, or just need something to listen to while folding laundry, I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

 

I've never been a particularly good sleeper.

One of the ways I've learned to quiet my own thoughts is by replacing them with someone else's, which means I spend more middle-of-the-night hours than I'd like to admit listening to audiobooks.

But they have to be a very specific kind of audiobook.

Not a novel.

Not something I can easily follow.

I need something that occupies the part of my brain that's busy trying to solve tomorrow's problems. The kind of information that's fascinating enough to hold my attention but complex enough that my half-asleep brain can't race ahead.

One of those recent choices is The Body by Bill Bryson.

Ever since the plant sent me down a rabbit hole learning about the endocannabinoid system, I've become fascinated by the incredible things our bodies are doing every second of every day without us ever asking them to.

This book has only deepened that appreciation.

It's insightful, incredibly detailed, and full of those moments that make you stop and think,

"Wait...my body does that?"

Whether you're listening on a summer road trip or because you're staring at the ceiling at 2:17 a.m., I think you'll enjoy it.

ONE PIECE OF SAGE ADVICE

Much Love,
💚💚💚
Elizabeth