This blog is a blend of my wisdom and hers, two women, similar stilettos, different seasons, similar truths. So sit with it, feel it, and enjoy. ✨ There’s something special about the friends you meet online, the ones who, from the very first conversation, feel familiar in a way you can’t quite explain. You haven’t shared a hometown, you haven’t sat across from each other at a table, and maybe you’ve never even heard each other’s voice out loud. But somehow, they see you. Not

Because real life doesn’t always look polished. Some mornings it’s a full routine and a color-coded planner. Leslie in the bed with flamingo sheets Other mornings it’s dry shampoo, a phone full of emails, and me answering messages from the comfort of my bed while whispering, “Alright Jesus… we’re doing our best today.” But the blog still gets written. The calls still get made. The work still moves forward. And honestly, that’s the real miracle of it all. Because sometimes fai

March always feels a little different. Maybe it’s the early hints of spring, the way the light starts staying a little longer in the evening. Or maybe it’s the quiet reminder that this month is about the women who shaped the world before we ever stepped into it. Women’s History Month isn’t just about the famous names in textbooks. It’s about the women who shaped us in smaller, quieter ways. a stack of patchwork quilts The ones who showed us what strength looks like in everyda

Last weekend I had the opportunity to present with I DECIDE Georgia at the National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference. Being in a room full of young advocates who believe in voice, choice, and resilience reminded me exactly why this work matters. Supported Decision Making is not just a policy conversation. It is about real people building real lives with support and confidence. Those rooms always leave me feeling a little energized and a little humbled at the same time.

Most folks think of a Bloody Mary as a brunch cocktail loaded with vodka and stacked high with bacon, shrimp, or whatever else the bartender finds in the fridge. Not mine. My Bloody Mary is a little different, and trust me, it tells a story. Here’s how I make it: tomato soup with plenty of water stirred in (because who wants it too heavy first thing in the morning?), a dash of basil, a sprinkle of lime pepper, a splash of dill pickle juice, and, because I’m me, a cheese stick

First, a quick apology for being late for Valentine’s Day. In my defense, I consider Valentine’s less of a day and more of a season… like Christmas, but with more chocolate. So technically, I’m not late. I’m just celebrating on extended time. Part of why I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day is because, in my family, it’s never been just about romance. It’s always felt like a second Christmas. February 14th was my grandmother’s birthday, and my grandparents met on Valentine’s Day

There are moments in history when one woman’s decision quietly changes everything. Elizabeth Blackwell made one of those decisions. Born in 1821, she became the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree, not because the world was ready or doors were open, but because she believed women belonged in the rooms where life, death, dignity, and healthcare were being decided. She didn’t step into medicine to make a statement. She stepped into it because she saw suffe

February comes with all the usual noise. Hearts and roses. Glittery cards. Couples smiling on every commercial as they have never argued over the thermostat. And for the longest time, I thought romance belonged to people in relationships. I thought love had to look a certain way. Roses. Chocolates. Matching pajamas on Instagram. But somewhere along the way, I learned something softer and truer. Romance is not just about boyfriends. It's how I treat my life. A romantic table o

One of the most patronizing things disability services do is talk endlessly about our goals  when what they really mean is their goals for us . It’s framed as collaboration and encouragement, but in practice, those goals are decided in meetings people with disabilities didn’t lead, shaped by systems we didn’t design, and rooted in what makes providers comfortable rather than what makes lives meaningful. When people with disabilities don’t work toward those goals fast enough,

At the beginning of the year, nothing felt dramatic. There was no big announcement moment, no clear line that said, this is when everything changes. It started quietly, with work that needed doing and conversations that mattered. I said yes where it felt right, showed up where I was needed, and trusted that the rest would reveal itself in time. What most people didn’t see was that this year was also hard. Not dramatic hard. Just the kind of hard where you stare at your calend

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a pink sparkling graphic that says still standing, still choosing joy, still me I planned on ending last year with a ring on my finger. That part was intentional. It wasn’t impulsive or reactionary. It was a quiet hope I carried with me, rooted in the idea that some things unfold the way you picture them. In my mind, the ring came with a very specific story. A shared plan. A clear future. A sense of arrival that felt mutual and certain. What I didn’t plan was that the route c

I did not wake up one morning planning to enter my rock star phase. It just sort of happened the way fun things usually do, quietly at first. One laugh turned into another. One night stretched longer than I expected. And if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’d be standing where I am today without it. That season didn’t just give me stories. It gave me permission. Permission to stop shrinking my ideas. Permission to stop waiting for someone else to validate what I already knew

By Leslie Kate Thornton | Sassy Frass with Class I didn’t have to hop on a plane to “find myself.”No passport stamps. No Italian villas....

Every December, I feel like I’m standing at the edge of the year, looking back at the mess, the miracles, and the middle-of-the-night moments that got me here. This year didn’t come wrapped in a bow. It came with curveballs, cancellations, and challenges that made me question if I could keep showing up. But here I am, still standing, still sassy, still sparkling. ✨ Being a self-advocate isn’t about having it all together. It’s about walking into rooms that weren’t designed fo

The world was watching and waiting when Jesus came. It just wasn’t watching the fields. It was watching power, politics, temples, and census lists. It was watching Rome and religious authority. And while attention stayed fixed on what looked important, heaven moved somewhere else. Scripture tells us, “That night, some shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem, watching their sheep” (Luke 2:8, ERV). God did not start where the world expected Him to. He started where faith qu

Here in the South, Christmas doesn’t wait for snow. It shows up in warm church pews and in the voices of a congregation singing “Go Tell...

December has its own kind of sparkle. Lights on every corner, music in every store, peppermint mochas calling my name. It’s like the world turns into one big Christmas card. Everyone’s jingling bells, and I’m over here creaking like one. Because here’s the truth, nobody puts on the Hallmark channel: holiday energy and chronic pain do not mix like sugar and spice. They collide. My head says, “Yes! Let’s go to the parade, the cookie swap, the candlelight service, the shopping t

Yesterday was National Cookie Day, and I didn’t even realize it until the whole day had already slipped away. Honestly, that feels exactly like December. You wake up with a plan, coffee in hand, motivation high, telling yourself today is the day you are going to get ahead. Then the hours start moving in scenes instead of minutes. A message here, a Zoom meeting there, a quick task that somehow multiplies into five, and suddenly you look up, and the sky is dark like it sped ahe

It is the most wonderful time of the year. Lights are twinkling, Christmas playlists are fighting for attention, and every store smells like cinnamon and confusion. And yet, somehow, without fail, this season also brings out another special holiday classic. The Karen. And let me just go ahead and warn you. Y’all are fixing to get mad at me because this is about pure privilege. You and I did not grow up in the same world. My presence was and still is an option to acknowledge.