Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference. From beauty products we swear by and travel hacks that save our sanity to kitchen gadgets, wellness favorites, and the purchases we wish we'd discovered years ago, Karen and Lisa are sharing the everyday finds that have made midlife a little easier—and a lot more fun. Along the way, they laugh about chickens becoming beloved pets, dry shampoo changing everything, Costco vacation wins, and the products that turned out to be total flops.

If you're a woman over 40 looking for honest recommendations, practical tips, and real conversations with friends who have been there, this episode is packed with favorite midlife finds that just might become your new favorites too.

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference. From beauty products we swear by and travel hacks that save our sanity to kitchen gadgets, wellness favorites, and the purchases we wish we'd discovered years ago, Karen and Lisa are sharing the everyday finds that have made midlife a little easier—and a lot more fun. Along the way, they laugh about chickens becoming beloved pets, dry shampoo changing everything, Costco vacation wins, and the products that turned out to be total flops.

If you're a woman over 40 looking for honest recommendations, practical tips, and real conversations with friends who have been there, this episode is packed with favorite midlife finds that just might become your new favorites too.

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

🎧Podcast Episodes

Travel With Our Kids

Under $50 (not really)

Under $50 (yes really)

Favorite Beauty Products

Favorite Skin Care Discovery After 50

Favorite Phone App

Favorite Subscription Service

Favorite Health And Wellness Tool

Favorite Beauty Discovery

Things We Use That Make Us Irrationally Happy

Travel Hack

Favorite Vacation Purchase

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💌 Reach Out

Two years. Countless laughs, honest tears, unforgettable conversations—and we're just getting started. 🍸

This special anniversary episode is a heartfelt celebration of everything Drinks With the Girls® has become: a place where women in midlife can laugh, learn, question, and remember they never have to figure it all out alone. Karen and Lisa reflect on the conversations that challenged them, the guests who inspired them, the moments that caught them completely off guard, and the incredible community that's grown around the podcast. They also share exciting news about the launch of Drinks With the Girls®: After Hours, their new Patreon membership where paid members enjoy bonus episodes, ad-free listening, and early access to every new episode a full day before the public.

If you're a woman over 40 navigating reinvention, empty nesting, changing relationships, menopause, or simply craving authentic connection and meaningful conversation, this episode is for you. Come celebrate two amazing years—and raise a glass to everything still to come. Cheers!

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

🎧Podcast Episodes

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The Conversation Continues on Patreon

💬 Takeaways — What Do YOU Think?

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She didn't leave overnight—and chances are, neither do most women.

The walk-away wife phenomenon isn't about one fight or one bad day. It's about years of emotional labor, feeling unheard, carrying the invisible weight of a relationship, and quietly grieving long before anyone else notices.

Karen Shatafian and Lisa Corricello-McDowell unpack why so many women in midlife reach a breaking point after spending years trying to save their marriages. Through honest conversation, personal insight, and real-life stories, they explore what happens when emotional needs go unmet, why communication breaks down, and how women can reconnect with their own voice before losing themselves.

If you're navigating a changing marriage, questioning your relationship, carrying the mental load, or wondering why you feel emotionally exhausted, this conversation will help you feel seen, understood, and far less alone.

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

📰Articles

Studies continue to show women still carry the majority of emotional labor and household management inside heterosexual marriages. (Time)

🎧Podcast Episodes

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Feeling stuck, overlooked, or unsure what's next? The answer may be hiding in plain sight.

Career and entrepreneur coach Patricia Drain joins Karen and Lisa for a powerful conversation about the gifts women often underestimate, the confidence we lose along the way, and why it's never too late to begin a new chapter. Through personal stories, surprising insights, and one simple question that could change how you see yourself, Patricia offers a fresh perspective on purpose, possibility, and reinvention in midlife.

If you've ever wondered whether there's still something more for you, this conversation will leave you feeling seen, inspired, and ready to take the next step.

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🎙️Guest:

🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

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A Kentucky Derby upset. A female NHL coach. A Super Bowl-winning team owned by a woman. The game is changing—and women are leading the charge.

We dive into the inspiring stories of women breaking barriers in sports leadership and explore why these victories matter far beyond the playing field. From female coaches and team owners to trailblazers rewriting the rules, this conversation is really about something bigger: reclaiming your voice, your ambition, and your place at the table.

Packed with powerful real-life moments, laughter, and a few passionate rants about the patriarchy, this episode is a reminder that every woman who goes first creates new possibilities for the rest of us.

If you're navigating midlife, dreaming bigger, reinventing yourself, or wondering what's still possible for your next chapter, pull up a chair. This one's for you.

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

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Grief doesn't just take the person you love—it changes the person you are. 

After losing her mother suddenly and, less than two years later, losing her son, Marie Crews found herself navigating the kind of heartbreak most of us can't imagine. Yet through the fog of loss, she discovered something powerful: healing isn't about "moving on"—it's about learning how to live alongside grief.

In this deeply honest conversation, Marie joins Karen and Lisa to share her journey through profound loss, the isolation that often accompanies grief, the surprising impact of grief brain fog, and the mindset shifts that helped her put one foot in front of the other when life felt impossible.

If you're grieving the loss of a loved one, supporting someone through loss, or navigating one of life's seasons of heartbreak and transition, this episode offers comfort, perspective, and a reminder that you're not alone.

Topics include grief, child loss, loss of a parent, healing after loss, self-compassion, resilience, and finding your way forward in midlife.

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🎙️Guest:

🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

Prosecco Mionetto

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You did everything "right"—built a life you love, raised the kids, made the big changes, maybe even reinvented yourself. So why does midlife still feel lonely sometimes?

Karen and Lisa dive into the surprising difference between friendship and community, and why so many women over 40 find themselves craving deeper connection after divorce, empty nesting, relocation, career shifts, or simply outgrowing old roles. Through candid stories about rebuilding community, navigating loneliness, and pushing beyond comfort zones, they explore what it really takes to find your people in this season of life.

If you've ever wondered why making friends after 50 feels harder than it should, or found yourself asking, "Where do I belong now?" this conversation will leave you feeling seen, understood, and inspired to create meaningful connection on your own terms.

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

Simply Pop Pineapple Mango Soda - listener supplied! (Shot of vodka was not ☺️)

Arbonne Mango Peach Energy Fizz

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💬 Takeaways — What Do YOU Think?

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Trying to squeeze into old jeans while quietly grieving the woman you used to be? Same. This honest, funny, and deeply relatable conversation about midlife fashion dives into what happens when your body changes, your lifestyle shifts, and suddenly nothing in your closet feels like you anymore.

Karen and Lisa are joined by fashion-loving educator Kate LaPlaunt, who brings warmth, humor, and zero judgment to the conversation. Together, they unpack the pressure women over 40 feel around aging, style, confidence, and “fashion rules” — while sharing real-life stories about closet crises, thrift-store wins, stilettos on icy Alaska sidewalks, changing bodies, and finally giving themselves permission to wear what makes them feel good.

This episode is for any listener navigating midlife reinvention, menopause body changes, empty nesting, confidence shifts, or the feeling that they’ve somehow lost their style along the way.

Because midlife fashion isn’t about dressing younger. It’s about dressing like yourself again.

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🎙️Guest:

🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

What Kate wished she was drinking:

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Karen and Lisa are celebrating 100 episodes of Drinks With the Girls — and the truth behind the milestone is way messier, funnier, and more emotional than anyone sees on social media. From recording through grief, burnout, parenting chaos, tech disasters, and “life lifing,” they share the real story of what it takes to keep showing up in midlife when everything feels hard.

This conversation is a love letter to women over 40 who are reinventing themselves, building something new, healing, setting boundaries, and learning that consistency matters more than perfection. With hilarious behind-the-scenes podcast moments, honest reflections on friendship, and the unfiltered reality of doing life together, Karen and Lisa prove you do not need to have it all figured out to create something meaningful.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late, too messy, or too scary to start — this episode is for you.

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

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Somewhere between raising kids, managing careers, caregiving, and holding everyone else together… a lot of women wake up in midlife wondering: Who am I now?

Karen and Lisa unpack the identity shifts nobody prepares women for after 40 — the quiet grief of outgrowing old roles, the pressure to stay “relevant,” and the exhausting feeling of disappearing inside everyone else’s needs. Through raw conversation, humor, honesty, and deeply relatable moments, they explore what it really means to rediscover yourself after years of survival mode.

From body image and aging to emotional burnout and reinvention, this conversation is for women who feel disconnected from themselves, stuck in transition, or ready to reclaim parts of themselves they thought were gone forever.

If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and thought, I don’t even know who I am anymore, this one will hit home.

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🍸☕ What We Were Drinking:

Karen's Reclamation Lounge

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💬 Takeaways — What Do YOU Think?

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