To Mom, Love Mom: The Gift of Treating Ourselves

It’s almost Mother’s Day, and you know what we really want?
It’s simple: time. good food. a beautiful setting. a feeling that makes us feel elevated.

We like to call that low-key luxury.

So when a friend (who just so happens to be a badass prop stylist for brands like Amber Interiors, Anthropologie, Freda Salvador, and Vogue… just to name a few;) suggests a secret picnic in the San Anselmo Hills at golden hour—you say yes.

A dramatic trail down green rolling hills, through flowy grass, and past heaps of foraged acacia and lemon branches led 15 women to Quiet Town blankets—effortlessly strewn for a gathering where tulips bloomed as if they were growing straight from the soil…

Kendra Smoot, you’re incredible.

It was a celebration of cool moms we just had to meet and the launch of the bag we designed for them—moms just like us who wanted something practical and chic to carry the snacks we’re always packing.

Today we did the packing. A Goldie Cooler Bag filled with all the makings of an elevated picnic. Jambon-Beurre sandwiches from Fire Swamp Provisions, Ina Garten’s Rosemary Cashews, chilled Sophie James wine, and a dark chocolate nosh of course.

Our conversations jumped from one topic to the next—motherhood, work, skincare routines and the eternal quest to look as young as we feel, new ideas, our latest Facebook Marketplace scores, and the constant recalibration of it all! The kind of dialogue that happens stretched out between sips and second helpings.

We found ourselves circling back to the idea of low-key luxury—what it actually means, beyond the aesthetic.

For Lisa Fine of Quiet Town, it’s the pieces you don’t have to think twice about. The ones you can throw on, grab, toss around—only to find they get better with time, wear, and a little bit of life on them. And maybe that’s the real luxury, too—anything that makes your life easier while still making you feel good in it.

The conversation turned to how we actually take a breath amidst the chaos of motherhood.
For Alicia Joines, it’s less about grand gestures or big trips and more about the in-between moments: a lunch or drink with a friend, a hike, even a quick sauna or massage. It’s protecting a little space that’s just hers, however brief, and savoring it fully.

Ease came up too. Artist and designer of those cute, Jenny Penny Wood napkins in our bag, Jen Garrido reflected on what actually brings her ease—and presence—these days. For Jen, ease wandering flea markets, hunting for treasures, or painting quietly in her studio. Presence, she said, comes in the laughter of her family. With a 15-year-old and an 8-year-old, the rhythm of parenting is very different from day to day, but laughter is the uniting space that always brings them together.

We moved into the perfect gatherings with friends—those little rituals that feel like magic. Tami Busa said it simply: fresh bread, prosciutto, a selection of delicious cheeses, a rose, and ripe farmers market fruit. In her words, she adores a charcuterie moment. That small indulgence that somehow makes everything feel effortlessly elevated.

And then, of course, there was the goldie bag. How will it live IRL? Not styled or staged, but packed to the brim for the adventures that actually happen.

Krista Lavrusik described it perfectly: “the days I feel most present are adventure days with my boys. Forced fun, if you will, tubing down a river, summer trips to a familiar beach, or a whirlwind amusement park day. It’s during those moments that I truly soak in the gift of them, the blessing of being their mom, and the magic of creating childhood memories. I freaking love those days.”