The Launch Pad

VIVIAN: The Art of Finding Your Voice

In September, our cousin Vivian was visiting NYC from Los Angeles, and we had a girls’ dinner at one of our favorite spots: Houseman (shoutout to Vivian’s brother, Dillon, who recommended this gem a year ago—it has since become a regular on my restaurant rotation). We talked about everything manifesting, music, health, careers, relationship, but my favorite part of the night was realizing that family can feel like hanging out with your best girlfriends. At the end of dinner, Vivian promised she’d check in with us on our progress with Food for Thought, our careers, and our personal lives. And true to form, she did. A natural-born creative, Vivian is a songwriter, artist, dancer-turned-musician, and one of those people who makes you leave a conversation wanting to romanticize your life a little more. This episode started as a long-overdue catch-up and turned into a conversation about creativity, fear, fashion, reinvention, and the strange (and beautiful) process of becoming more yourself. We talked about Vivian’s journey from growing up as “the dancer” in the family to eventually finding her way back to the mic. As a kid, she loved singing (cue the Britney Spears performances in the living room), but fear and shyness slowly pushed her away from using her voice. Instead, she poured that energy into dance—hip hop, ballet, jazz, contemporary—until a college musical theater class forced her to sing in front of a room full of strangers and changed everything. One of our biggest takeaways? Sometimes the thing you’re most scared of is pointing directly toward the thing you’re meant to do. We also dove into The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a book Vivian credits with completely changing her relationship to creativity. Through morning pages, artist dates, and exercises that challenge you to reconnect with who you are underneath fear and expectation, the book asks a simple but powerful question: what parts of yourself have you stopped giving permission to exist? Vivian shared how revisiting The Artist’s Way unexpectedly snowballed into building a creative community online, connecting hundreds of people around the world through shared curiosity and accountability. Naturally, Lex and I left the episode saying… okay, maybe we really need to commit to doing it too. A major theme of this episode was identity: allowing yourself to evolve into the person you secretly already know you are. Toward the end of our conversation, we asked Vivian what success in music looks like to her right now, and her answer honestly felt like the thesis of the episode: create consistently, put yourself out there, and “climb the cringe mountain.” Whether it’s starting a podcast, releasing music, posting your writing, or simply trying something new, putting yourself out there will always feel vulnerable. But maybe the cringe mountain is exactly where the good stuff lives. Vivian’s magnetic energy shines through in everything she creates, so consider this your official reminder to stream her first EP when it drops this summer. We’ll absolutely be listening, and we hope you are too! You can find VIVIAN and her music on Apple Music, [https://music.apple.com/us/artist/vivian/1506777347] Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6f0IYIOAWA9xKcOrLk1vbo?si=mF7M_b_3T7GrrezDO__EAw], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@theonlyvivianever?_r=1&_t=ZT-96uQ0xT0WwI], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vivianpaigeluther?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==], and wherever you stream your favorite artists. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com [https://foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Giddy Up: It's the Year of the Fire Horse

It’s full speed—or gallop—ahead as we enter into the Year of the Fire Horse! This week on Food for Thought, we recap our very first FFT photo shoot (snowy West Village stoops, martinis at Emmett’s, five hours at Old Mates), debrief Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Half Time Show, and dive headfirst into the energetic shift from the Year of the Snake to the Year of the Fire Horse. First things first, the cover art you’re seeing here was taken at the end of our FFT “offsite,” which entailed frolicking around downtown and enjoying good food, company and cocktails. No rushing. No pressure. Just aligned energy (and perfect restaurant/bar timing). From there, we pivot to Lizzy’s favorite topic: Bad Bunny’s halftime show, which was cinematic, layered, and bigger than just football. I think we can all agree that the football game was not the star of the show here, so our star really got to shine bright. We talk symbolism, cultural momentum, and the line that stuck with us: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” And then we zoom out. We are officially moving from the Year of the Snake into the Year of the Fire Horse, and there are several differences between those two energies. Snake energy is about positioning, not performing. It’s introspective. Foundational. Quietly building. Horse energy? It moves. It’s momentum. Visibility. Decisiveness. If Snake was preparation, Horse is execution. We get personal about what that looked like for us. For Lex, it meant moving cities, changing roles, and building routines that actually feel aligned. For Liz, it meant reconnecting with my inner child, setting boundaries, and sitting with what radical honesty looks like for me (no people-pleasing). It’s exciting (and a little scary). It feels like a fire being lit under us in the best way. If you’ve been feeling the shift too, we’d love to hear how you’re stepping into your Fire Horse year—yeehaw! xx, Lex and Liz This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com [https://foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

At the Table: The Budmans (Part 1)

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is NOT just about throwing toys out of windows or smashing grapefruit under car wheels… but those stories do make an appearance. One of the beautiful things about this podcast and community is that there are still so many unknowns—leaving space for it to evolve and grow into something special. But one thing Lexi and I knew for certain, even long before FFT TikTok and Substack existed, was that our fathers were going to be our first guests. Paul Simmons and Buddy Reisinger—both affectionately known as “Budman”—kick off a three-part series about growing up in St. Louis, building parallel lives, finding their partners, raising families side by side, and maintaining a friendship that somehow only gets stronger with time. This first episode is all about how that friendship formed—how two boys who technically are uncle and nephew ended up growing up more like brothers, bound by family, curiosity, and a very healthy appetite for chaos. Buddy and Simmy dive into how their careers unfolded in parallel—from Anheuser-Busch campus reps to major leadership roles—and the lessons they learned about ambition, loyalty, and knowing when to pivot. Born five weeks apart and raised inside the same orbit, Buddy and Simmy spent their childhood golfing, skating at ice rinks around town, hopping between social circles, and constantly inventing new ways to entertain themselves long before screens existed. Yes, this includes placing grapefruits under car tires just to hear the splat.Yes, this includes throwing toys out of second-story windows in their Nantucket vacation rental home.And yes, this includes firework experiments that somehow never landed them in serious trouble. But beneath the pranks was something deeper: loyalty, shared history, and the kind of bond that only comes from decades of growing up together. What makes it even better? They’re still that close—now with wives, kids, shared holidays, weekly phone calls, and a next generation that feels just as intertwined. This was only Part 1. The following episode is all about legacy: family traditions, hosting, holidays, homemade pasta, Thanksgiving turkeys, and the women who shaped the culture that still defines our family today. Trust us—you’re going to want all three. Watching our dads tell these stories—sometimes for the hundredth time, sometimes for the very first—felt like opening a family scrapbook out loud. But above all else, what was most special about this episode was seeing how our fathers’ relationship mirrors our own. Thank you, Budmans, for showing us that your family can be your chosen family. XX,Lex & Liz This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com [https://foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Launch Pad

When I asked ChatGPT for the definition of “food for thought,” it gave me this: “Food for thought is an idiom that means something worth thinking about — an idea, fact, or suggestion that gives you pause and encourages reflection.” And that’s exactly what you can expect from joining the FFT community with Lex and Liz. If you know me, I’ve probably already spammed your iMessage with a seven-minute voice memo about the latest Mel Robbins episode, the next trip I’m planning (itinerary details included), or a new recipe I’m baking that week. So I’ve decided to channel that energy into something more permanent or “archival,” as Lex would say. Lex and I love nothing more than a long conversation about self-improvement in all aspects of life (bonus points if mezcal margaritas are involved), and we’ve turned this passion into a project. Our first episode dives into how we reconnected as adults living in Manhattan after growing up together in the Midwest. Although we’d see each other occasionally over the holidays or at our themed Thanksgiving (more on those family traditions later), Lexi and I rarely had time to share the details of our lives—boyfriends and breakups, college and careers—until now. Getting to know my family members now that our frontal lobes are fully developed (and we can bond over books like Roxie Nafousi’s Manifest or James Nestor’s Breath) has truly been a gift. This podcast has been our brainchild for almost a year (eight months, but who’s counting), and we can’t wait to share it with you. Enjoy! xx lex & liz This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com [https://foodforthoughtpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]