Time for a Break: Escape the Noise with Reflections, Recipes & Relaxed Hangouts

Press pause for a moment. Unclench your jaw. Drop your shoulders. Take a deep breath. 

Fifty-five percent of our audience says that right now, they crave emotional rest above anything else. Maybe you do, too. The kind of rest that’s not about sleeping in an extra hour or zoning out in front of the TV, but about finding some peace and quiet in your mind.

That’s why we created Stretch Break. Once a month, we’ll offer you a mental change of scenery—what 44 percent of women in our community say helps them get out of a creative rut. Something like stepping outside, but in newsletter form. We can’t physically send you to a mountaintop meditation retreat or a private sun-soaked beach, but we can send you reflections, prompts, and recommendations that feel like a gentle escape.

Our goal is to offer emotional rest through soft media: calm, supportive content designed to help you reset and recharge. No news. No doomscrolling. Complete respite. 

This is your soft landing place. Join us in resting with intention.

What’s below: An “escapism” mood board; cozy reads, recipes, accounts, and activities that inspired our theme; a reflection exercise to help you let go, a guide to throwing a no-pressure friend hangout, and two open wellness polls

Mood Board: Escapism

• Embrace whimsy, joy, and sunshine by always taking the long route home
• Stock your fridge with a “snacking cake” for the week ahead
• Meet a painter converted a Brooklyn factory into her dream studio
• Practice gratitude by cooking like a kid
• Escape to a galaxy far, far away through this ode to Padmé Amidala. (See also: Natalie Portman taking real-life stretch breaks on set)
• Reframe your emotions with a little color and curiosity
• Tag yourself in the imaginary job you were actually born to do
• Weave a friendship bracelet your younger self would have loved
• Manifest your perfect sabbatical in the Italian countryside

Life, unplugged

Reflect on a one-word prompt

• Drift
• Open
• Still
• Flow
• Weightless
• Rooted

Set a timer for 5–10 minutes and let your word guide your break. There’s no agenda. Just let the word wash over you. Sit with it. Write down what comes to mind. Doodle what it evokes. Or simply notice what it stirs in you. If you want a guided prompt, consider one of the following:

• How can this word influence one decision you make today?
• Where in your routine could this word show up more?
• Does this word highlight anything you’ve been avoiding or overlooking?
• How might this word shape the way you show up in your next conversation?

Familiar comforts

Sip your way to somewhere else

Daydreaming about a vacation? These three homemade elixirs capture the flavors and feelings of a much-needed escape, all without leaving your home: 

🍹Warm breezes and turquoise waters: Blend pineapple, cucumber, coconut water, a squeeze of lemon, and a few mint leaves. Serve over ice, or top with sparkling water for an extra fizzy beach vibe.

🧺 A flower garden tea party: Blend strawberries, watermelon, a squeeze of lime, agave syrup, and chilled chamomile tea. Add crushed ice and garnish with edible flowers.

🌸 A countryside vineyard: Blend coconut water, lemon juice, honey, sea salt, butterfly pea flower, and grated ginger. Pour over ice and garnish with mint or basil leaves. 

Pro tip: Experiment with the ingredients to make it feel more you—add an herbal tonic, a splash of your favorite bitters, or kick up the spice with a bit of ginger or cayenne. This is your sorceress moment.

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Help desk

Our guide to a no-pressure friend hangout

Sometimes, connection comes at a cost—high expectations, pressure to perform, big clean-ups. This month, challenge yourself to ditch the production and host a low- (or no-) pressure, down-to-earth friend hangout. The vibe: Come-as-you-are. For some, that might mean showing up in leggings and a cozy sweatshirt. For others, that might mean throwing on a sundress and swiping on a new lip gloss. Both are great. 

 

Take a look at this example hangout framework and feel free to use what works for you and leave the rest behind:

 

Time: Late afternoon into early evening

 

BYO theme: Snacks you could eat on a road trip or a day on the beach (fruit, popcorn, chips, dips, chocolates). It should feel like no one is hosting, and everyone is contributing.

 

The soundtrack: A fun, pre-existing playlist like romcom main character morning routine or a shared, collaborative playlist where everyone adds two songs that got them through last month

 

Relaxing activities:

• Craft and chill. Do nail art, collage vision boards, bring-your-own embroidery, or divide and conquer a themed coloring book.
• Comfort watch an old-school Disney classic, a nostalgic 2000’s romcom, or a nature documentary.
• Stage a silly photoshoot with social media filters. 
• Play a slow-paced board game or card game like UNO or Apples to Apples.
• Host a tea-tasting, sipping and sharing everyone’s favorite herbal tea.

Optional: Consider a “phone basket” where phones go away during part of the hangout to encourage presence.

 

Closing ritual: Pull a tarot card, share a simple “high/low” moment from the past week, or agree that everyone text someone a compliment when they leave.

Reader insights

We've been de-influenced

More than half of our audience (60%) says they sometimes, often, or always feel the urge to buy trendy products. We get it. In the spirit of gratitude over consumption, we asked our audience to deinfluence us. Readers bravely shared purchases that…didn’t exactly spark joy:

🧸 “I got caught up in the hype & bought a LaBuBu, which I now regret.”

📱 “I used to get caught up in the capitalist trap of buying a new cell phone as soon as my current one was paid off, usually every-other year. Now I'm moving away from that and only thinking about a new cell phone every 5-6 years. As long as my current one still does what I need it to (and does it well enough), I'm satisfied.”

✂️ “The electric hair trimmer off of TikTok. Watched videos for months while it was the biggest hype, only to get it and was completely let down. I’d have better results trimming split ends with cheese grater.”

🧹 “I bought a cordless vacuum and it wasn't what was advertised as. It was in my price range and that should have been a red flag. You get what you pay for.”

Consider this your permission slip to skip the trend. You could end up saving money, space, and regret