SPEAKER_00 0:45

I have done a lot of things in life alone. I have done a lot of things in life with community. I will always choose community. Yes, you have to be selective about your community. Everybody should not be in your community, but I promise you, your tribe is out there. I am your host, Yolanda Holliday, and I thank you for joining me. If this is your first time here, welcome. This podcast is a podcast of everyday lived experiences of black women over the age of 40. If you have joined me previously and you are returning, welcome back. It is your support that keeps me going. I greatly appreciate you. Before we pour, I have a quote that I want to share with you. I recently heard it and it resonated with me, and I thought that sharing this will resonate with you. The quote says, better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. For me, that was very empowering. I'm an overthinker. I will sit and overthink before actually executing. And this helps me say to myself, if I'm just sitting here and thinking, I'm getting nothing done. I'm flawlessly getting nothing done. I would love to know what that quote means to you. Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. Drop me a comment. Let me know what it means to you, if it resonated with you. Send me an email. I'd love to continue the conversation. Today's pairing. Today's pairing is our segment where we feature a black-owned wine. For me, it is important to show support. I love wine. I love finding new wines. And I've always, no matter what it is, if it's an industry that I support looking for representation, I have firsthand knowledge of how difficult the wine industry is for black-owned businesses. Whether you are a retailer, a winemaker, a distributor, I understand the clients that you have, so I intentionally want to support these brands. Today's pairing, I'm pouring the 2025 Pink Pinot Grigio for Longevity Wines created by winemaker Phil Long. This is one of those wines where I think the story behind the bottle is just as beautiful as the wine itself. Phil and his late wife Deborah started making wine together in their garage in Northern California. What began as something they simply enjoyed doing together eventually grew into longevity wines, which they opened in Livermore Valley in 2008. Even the name has meaning. Deborah came up with longevity as a play on their last name, Long, but it also represented their enduring love for each other, for wine, and for the life they were building together. If you look closely at the bottle, you'll see the heart that Phil designed. Inside are smaller hearts, grapes, and vines. That heart was inspired by Deborah and their love story. After Deborah passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2019, Phil continued the legacy they created together. Phil is also the president of the Association of African American Bittiners and has been an advocate for increasing representation and creating more opportunities for black winemakers in an industry where we continue to be underrepresented. Okay, now let's get into the glass. The 2025 Pink Pinot Grigio has this beautiful, captivating copper hue. According to longevity, it's a wine with rich flavor and complexity with bright citrus, pineapple, pear, and green apple coming through with each tip. So if you typically enjoy a crisp, fruit-forward white wine, this one may be one you want to add to your list. For the pairing, longevity recommends crab cakes, which I think would be perfect with these bright fruit and citrus flavors. I could also say this alongside grilled shrimp, a light seafood pasta, a fresh summer salad, or a charcuterie board with lighter cheeses and fresh fruit. If you have not had the pleasure of trying this wine, you can purchase it directly from their website, Longevity Wines. I was not able to find this in a local store. I actually have to order this from the website. If you've had it before, let me know what you think. If you try it, let me know what you think. Drop us a comment. We'd love to know what you think about the wines that we are sharing. Today's conversation is a little personal. It is just me. It is a solo episode, and it's always personal. But I want to talk about community. Who is your circle? Okay, sis. I know you have heard this saying. You've seen someone out, maybe they didn't look in the mirror before they walked out the door. Something's a little off, something's a little busy, something just isn't right. And someone has said, oh, she must not have any friends. In the moment, it's a little chuckle moment, but disclaimer: if that woman is doing what she wants, wearing what she wants, dressed how she wants to be, more power to her. But from that saying, I get the importance of community. Because whether it's how you appear, the decisions you're making in life, I feel like you should have that community. One where you can have open, honest dialogue. Not to put each other down, but just to support each other, to grow with each other, because if you are the smartest one in the room, or you're the only one in the room who's challenging you, how do you get better when you're not being challenged? How do you grow when you're not taking in other opinions? Just because you listen and take in other opinions doesn't mean that you don't have your own or you have to do what others are doing. But it is always a good practice, at least for me, to hear other points of views because then that helps me validate am I going in the right path? Is this for me, or is there something I haven't considered? So that is one of the main reasons community is important to me. Not every woman has a mother-daughter relationship or a sibling-sister relationship where they can go to receive guidance, did not receive it growing up. So we're learning as we go, and in doing that, we must surround ourselves with community. That is why curated living by YH is so important to me. And I want to give a disclaimer. This is not a sales podcast. I realize that I am working so hard behind the scenes, but I'm not talking about it. So for all the efforts I'm putting forward, how would you ever know if I never bring them to you, right? Today, I want to talk a little bit about curated living. I want to tell you the reason why. I want to tell you the now, and I want to tell you where we're going. I want to invite you to be a part of the community. That is solely up to you. Again, this conversation is not a sales pitch. This is informational, this is conversational, this is something that I hope will make you look around and say, who's in my circle? I say to you, not all of us received that support of how to do things in life. How many of us were prepared for perimenopause? How many of us actually sat down with someone that was older who experienced, who actually sat us down and said, Look, girl, this is what you got to expect. It is going to be hot flashes. It is going to be mood swings. There are going to be times where you want to be bothered with nobody else. There are going to be times where you are going to be biting off the head of the person that's closest to you and you don't even know why. You are going to be overly emotional to the point where you just start crying and you can't understand why. You are going to go through life transitions on top of this. Life doesn't just stop because your hormones are running crazy. On top of it, you're going to have to deal with emptiness. How many of us actually had someone sit us down and tell us what to expect? Based on my conversation, not many of us. So for me, I'm always looking at how do we as a community grow together? And the answer for me was build the community. I am never one to throw a problem out there and not find the solution. So the solution to me was build the community. And that is what curated living by YH is. It is a community. It is a community for black women over 40 to come together to learn, to grow, to get through this season of life and not do it alone. A lot of us are prideful. A lot of us are used to doing it alone. You don't have to. I am bringing the community to you. Curated Living started as an idea, and the idea was to bring us together. From that idea came this podcast because I feel like there are so many instances where we feel like we're alone, where we feel like we're the only one experiencing whatever is happening in this season. It is my belief that when you hear other women talk about it and you can relate to it, it puts a little bit of that guard down because you realize I'm not in this alone. I can actually have a conversation with someone who understands where I'm coming from. I can actually have a conversation with someone who may not have the final answer, but we can brainstorm it and go through this season together. And that might not be your immediate circle. That might not be your family. That might not be your friends. What I'm offering is a judgment-free zone where we can come together and try to figure this out, bringing in some experts, having the real conversations, and celebrating ourselves during the process. So Curated Living started as a community. The idea was community, community, community. Podcast launched on June 2nd, and the podcast was sharing everyday lived experiences. And that is great because hopefully you're listening, you're hearing something that resonates with you, you're getting something out of this, it's feeding your soul, it's motivating you, it's showing that you are not the only one. But for me, that's not enough because I believe in doing the work. So this is great. But now let's all get into the room and encourage each other. September 1st is where the flagship curated circle is launched. And the curated circle is a membership-based community where we come together. There are resources, there are conversations, there are events, there are activities, there is an opportunity for us to come together and talk about it. There will be circles where you can find your tribe. If you are struggling right now with empty nest, you are not alone. College season is upon us, and many kids are leaving the nest, and many women are finding themselves by themselves for the first time. You don't have to go through that alone. In this community, you will have a dedicated area where you can talk to someone who may have a recommendation. When my child left, this is what I did, this is what I found. It's okay to try something new, just that encouragement, that's important. It is so important. Whatever it is you're going through right now, think about it. How would you feel if you had a support right there cheering you on, offering you advice, walking with you in this journey of whatever it is that you have going on? It would make the journey so much easier just knowing you have the support. I have done a lot of things in life alone. I have done a lot of things in life with community. I will always choose community. Yes, you have to be selective about your community. Everybody should not be in your community. But I promise you, your tribe is out there. And I'm creating the platform so that we can come together and find our community. We're going to be talking about everything, not just perimenopause. Let's talk about finances. When we first started working, and we had to check that box, and we had our first big girl job, and we said we were going to put 6% away for retirement every year or 8% away from retirement every year. How are you doing today? How many of you did not account for life surprises where you may have had to borrow from that 401k, do a hardship withdrawal, or you realize in hindsight, I didn't plan for college costs. So now I need to do something because I have added expenses as I'm thinking about retirement. Or I didn't plan to take care of an elderly parent. Now I have to reevaluate. So not only will we have the discussions, will we have the workshops, we'll have experts that can help professional licensed experts. And no way am I presenting myself to be the subject matter expert on any of this. What I am doing is presenting myself as the community curator, bringing us all together and bringing the resources all to us. I am the one that will host the events, plan the events. I want them to be beneficial, but you are the one that's going to give the voice. You are the one that's going to feed the community. You are the one that's going to show why this community is so important. There are so many of us with this cape on, doing it by ourselves, playing the role of Superwoman, not realizing we do not have to do it. On September 1st, I'm inviting you to the Curated Circle Open House. It is a free event. You just have to register through Eventbrite. You can find all the information on the website at www.curated living by yh.com. Go to the events tab and the information you need is right there. This is important to me because when I look around, I see the need. Community has always been important. 12 years ago, I started a book club for a black woman. The book club name is Words and Wine. I told you I like wine. It's gonna always be a part of me. But the book club name is Words and Wine. And when I tell you, it's some amazing women in this book club. We are more like a family than book club members. We are truly like a family. And one thing I realize in doing this in 12 years is everyone has a season. Everything is not for everyone. There is a season where words and wine fits some people, and then there is a season where they may outgrow it. It is the same thing with curated living. It depends on what season you're in. If you're in a season of, I don't know what's next, I'm trying to figure this shit out by myself. I just wish I had a person to hear me. I invite you to at least try the community. The curated circle is from my heart. It is a labor of love. It is the community that we not only need, but that we deserve. Well, this here is for us. It is an open forum. It is your opportunity to just share. It is on a platform that's not Facebook. Once you join, you get all the information. And when I tell you we will celebrate, we will also celebrate. Yep, you are an empty nester. Yes, you may feel a little sad right now, and they're gone. But since you did it, this was the goal from the beginning. You wanted to raise those kids so that they can become productive adults that go into society and live their life. That is what you should be celebrating. I am an empty nester, so I understand the sadness that comes with it. But I want to encourage you to look at, you've done it. You've done your job and you've done a great job. Now, what's next for you? Now is your chance, your opportunity to focus on you. That is what we're going to do in the circle. We are going to celebrate you. We're going to motivate you. We're going to support you. If you decide, all right, I'm ready to start a business now. Well, let's talk about it. Let's get you with a business coach that can help you get this business off the ground and execute what you need to execute. This is not just a let's talk about perimenopause. This is a life transition community to help us all thrive in this next season of life. Life, truly for me, started blossoming once I hit 50. I was already at Empty Nester. I had already tried several businesses. I I did not find the confidence until I was approaching 50 and finally hit it. I am now living out loud, and I want that for every one of you. I want you to walk in your purpose without fear. I want you to walk in it with your head up. I want you to walk in it knowing confidently that you have a sisterhood that is supporting you, that will show up, share your business page. We will come like, follow, share whatever it is you need, because that is what this community is about. Imagine women that look like you, supporting you, slaying the myth that black women cannot get along, because I do not buy that. I do not believe that. I've witnessed we get along. I've supported and I have been supported by. So I know it can be done and it is done all the time. This is for us. This is for us. There are communities that combine everybody. There are communities for others. We need this. Our experiences are different than others, just like their experiences are different from us. We need this for us, and that is why this is so important to me. I invite you on September 1st, 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Just come check it out. We're going to start right at 7. You want to be there for the kickoff toast. We're going to start with a toast because it's a celebration, and we're going to go through a whole open house demonstration. We're going to leave room for QA. It is solely just so you can get a feel of what the community will feel like so you can make a decision on your own. This is truly a community for us. This is truly a labor of love, a passion of mine, and something I believe in and believe it is very much needed. If you have any doubts or any question, join me on September 1st. I thank you for joining me today. I thank you for listening. You can help me by sharing, liking, and commenting wherever you're listening or watching this podcast. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me questions at winewisdom whatnow.com. If you have any questions about the community that's launching, you can go to the website winewisdomwhatnow.com. Or on the website, there is a forum where you can put your email address and information is sent to you as soon as it's belief. There is a newsletter that we send out. You can join our newsletter. There's so many avenues for you to get information. I just ask that you take one and actually come in with an open mind and find your circle. Come find out why I'm so excited about this. It's not a commitment if you just show up just to have a toast with us and listen to the presentation. I hope you can join me. It is on a Tuesday. Thank you for joining me on this podcast. If no one else has told you, you are amazing, and I want you to have the best week ever. We release every Tuesday at six AM. So join me next week, Tuesday at six AM. Have a great week. Thank you.