What if the spaces we enter could remind us who we are?

What if women had more places where they could feel completely safe, deeply connected, fully celebrated, and free to take up space?

In this inspiring episode of The Fun & Bliss Show, Monick Halm and Moneeka Sawyer sit down with Tiffany Scott, founder of You Me She Fest, the only festival in Austin created entirely by, for, and around women.

After creating and selling two women’s communities, Tiffany saw how much more space women were ready to take up and decided to build a place where they could take it.

You Me She Fest brings musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and creators together for an immersive celebration of sisterhood, self-love, and women’s power. It is not simply a space women attend. It is one they claim.

Tiffany shares how her childhood experiences of bullying and exclusion inspired her commitment to creating inclusive communities. She opens up about building an ambitious festival without any festival experience, navigating fear and self-doubt, and continuing to follow the vision that she knows she is here to bring to life.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that we do not have to wait until we feel completely prepared to follow our purpose. Sometimes we simply need to take the next small step, trust what is calling us, and create the space we have always needed.

In This Episode, We Talk About

• How Tiffany transformed her experiences of bullying and exclusion into a commitment to helping women feel included

• Why women’s communities became so important to Tiffany after she moved from Australia to Los Angeles without friends or family nearby

• How Tiffany’s earlier communities evolved into You Me She Fest

• Why You Me She Fest is not a networking event, but an immersive experience of sisterhood

• How the festival creates a platform for emerging female and non-binary musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and creators

• Why Tiffany intentionally works with women-owned businesses throughout the festival ecosystem

• How her experience in creative direction and marketing helped her build a festival without previous festival-production experience

• Why not knowing exactly what you are doing can sometimes become an advantage

• How Tiffany continues moving forward when fear, doubt, financial anxiety, and imposter syndrome appear

• The importance of returning to your North Star, especially when your dream begins to feel overwhelming

• Why women need spaces where they can feel safe enough to connect, express themselves, and take up space

• What happens when women cross the threshold into an environment built entirely around celebrating them

• How fun, freedom, play, and surprise are intentionally woven into every You Me She Fest experience

• Why creating the right container allows connection and joy to emerge organically

• Tiffany’s journey of learning to take up space while helping other women do the same

• Why ambition, action, spirituality, and ego do not have to be enemies

• The Blissciplines helping Tiffany build her festival without abandoning her own wellbeing

• How walking in nature, spending time with friends, enjoying live music, and creating more room for play help Tiffany remain grounded

• Why simplicity, creativity, community, and time near the water define bliss for Tiffany today

• How turning 50 became a rebirth and invited Tiffany to ask, “Who do I get to be now?”

Your Fun & Bliss Spark

Practice taking up space through one tiny act.

You do not have to begin with a dramatic declaration, a major boundary, or a life-changing decision. Choose one small moment in which you would normally stay quiet, make yourself smaller, or tell yourself that something is “fine” when it is not.

Tiffany’s example is simple: If she receives stale iced tea at a restaurant, she sends it back and asks for a fresh one.

The old version of her would have pushed it aside, said nothing, and gone without something she wanted. Now, she practices using her voice.

What is your version of sending back the iced tea?

Maybe you ask for what you need.

Maybe you express your honest opinion.

Maybe you accept a compliment instead of deflecting it.

Maybe you wear the thing you have been wondering whether you are “allowed” to wear.

Maybe you stop apologizing before you speak.

Tiny acts of self-advocacy make larger ones feel possible. Choose one small way to take up a little more space this week.

Want More of Our Conversation With Tiffany?

Want to hear the bonus conversation with Tiffany?

Click here to receive one month of free access to our bonus Fun & Bliss content and listen to the extra conversation we recorded.

Join us as we go deeper with Tiffany into reinvention, self-love, taking up space, and the delicious question so many women begin asking in midlife: Who do I get to be now?

About Tiffany Scott

Tiffany Scott builds the rooms women have been waiting for.

After creating and selling two women’s communities, she saw how much more space women were ready to take up and decided to build a place where they could take it.

Tiffany is the founder of You Me She Fest, the only festival in Austin built entirely by, for, and around women. Musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, creators, and small-business owners take the stage and share their work in an environment designed to help every woman feel seen, celebrated, and connected.

Tiffany’s background is in creative direction and marketing for global brands such as Speedo. She spent years learning how to create experiences that make people feel something. You Me She Fest is the fullest expression of that craft: an immersive day designed to remind every woman who enters exactly how powerful she is.

When Tiffany is not building the festival, you can find her paddleboarding, surfing, traveling, enjoying live music, or spending time with her dog, Rio.

Connect With Tiffany

Tiffany Scott
Founder, You Me She Fest

Website: youmeshefest.com
Instagram: @youmeshefest
Facebook: You Me She Fest
Email: [email protected]

Learn more about You Me She Fest, explore upcoming events, and discover how you can join a community where women do not simply enter the room. They claim it.

Episode Transcript

Monick (00:02.734)

All right, Tiffany, I'm so glad you are here with us. You're reminiscing before we hit record. we've been friends for six years now and like met during COVID. And back then, you had a different business. But I want you to take us back to the beginning. What did you see, feel?

or experience that made you say, women need a space like the You, She Fest. And why does creating that kind of space feel so important right now?

Tiffany (00:43.802)

gosh. I would say my drive, purpose to creating spaces for women. I get asked this a lot. And I would say, you know, we talk, we, we talk about we we turn our wounds into wands. that's part of it. But also I just feel like there's this is just an an un

Tangible.

Thing that I'm meant to do in this world. I think part of it definitely does come from the sister wounds that I've had growing up and also in my adult life where I felt very separated from other women and girls. So I was really, really bullied as a young girl from ages it was like nine to thirteen, which is a very impactful.

age, right? And then it got so bad that my mum took me out of the the school and moved me into a different school and then I had some great years where I remember initially going to this new school and not wanting to be friends with any of the girls. I just distanced myself from the girls and really befriended a lot of the the the guys and then

I think women are just and girls are just drawn to other girls. Like there's a connection and an understanding that you can't move away from. and then later years, throughout my life in workplaces and in places that I've lived with other women, I was bullied again. And so it kind of just followed me around per se, and people would say, they're just jealous of you or whatever and I'm like, I don't know that's what it was. I still don't know what it was.

Tiffany (02:39.91)

but I'm really grateful for it now in a lot of ways because it just showed me what it's like to not feel included and to feel excluded. So I have a lot of empathy and passion around making sure people always feel included and never excluded. so that's helped me with a lot of the work that I've done around making sure in white spaces there are people of colour.

that are there are LGBTQIA plus people, anyone that feels like they're out of the the the outskirts of the norm, so to speak. and I'm really, really passionate about that. So and I've traveled a lot. So as I've traveled a lot, I've been have had the very, you know, fortunate experience of being in spaces and places where I was not the

you know, the the majority, and being immersed in cultures that really intrigued me and had those amazing experiences where I got to like dive deeper into what it's like to be walk in other people's shoes. So when I moved to LA from from Australia, I didn't know anyone. I was brand new, I had no friends, no family.

And so I looked to communities and where I felt most comfortable was women's communities. However, when I moved to LA I was going to a lot of networking spaces. I hadn't met you then, Monique.

Monick (04:14.978)

No.

Moneeka (04:16.942)

Okay.

Tiffany (04:18.637)

And a lot of those spaces felt really, really masculine to me. And I didn't feel like I belonged in them. And so I created my own. And that grew very, very organically. And then that grew into Sister Suppers, which we we briefly talked about. and then that grew into Yumi Shi Fest. And was really about creating spaces where women felt seen, celebrated, and connected with one another. And so I've just

Over the years, it's morphed and changed and grown now into the festival. And the festival is really about creating a, you know, a fun, high vibrational, energetic space where women go, I want to be a part of that. But once they cross that threshold, they are connected with women they wouldn't normally connect with. So they're connecting, you know, there's women 18 up to 60 plus, there's women that are Hispanic, black.

From Africa, from Asia, like, you know, they're gay, they're non-binary, they're whatever, they're all cross-sections of women. And so in that space where you feel very, very safe, those really powerful conversations and points of connection.

Monick (05:34.891)

Love that so much.

Moneeka (05:36.65)

Yeah, I do too. And I can relate to your story so deeply.

Tiffany about being bullied and never fitting in and or never feeling like you got you like you fit in and all of those things. So that's yeah, it really resonates with me and I know it resonates with so many women. the Yumi Shi Fest, so it sounds could you explain a little bit more? You gave us a little bite sized piece, but it sounds like people come in, but y it sounded a little bit like a networking event, but I don't think that's what it is. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Tiffany (06:09.474)

Yeah, thanks for helping me clarify. It is definitely not a networking event. It's sisterhood. But really a big part of it is it's a platform for rising stars. So whether that's you come on your own and you leave feeling like a star, you know, or you're on our stage as a performer, so we showcase up and coming female and non-binary artists across all genres. So R and B, hip hop, rap, bands.

folk, country, all the genres as much as we can, DJs for that day. we give them a stage to be seen and celebrated. And then we have small businesses. So we have a market alley. So women again get to showcase their products and services at the festival and then we also have self-love workshops. So women come in as experts and they

share with women how to deepen into self-love across mind, body, soul, spirit, and wealth. And it's on a woman-owned ranch. So every touch point that we have, whether it's working with our external vendors or our market alley vendors, we try and focus on women-owned businesses. So we have our emergency services team are all women, our our security are all women.

as many our like I said, the ranch is women owned and that's not always easy to focus on that because we are a minority. and it means that we're not always working with the cheapest business either. And so as a startup that, you know, is very intentional around everything that we do. So as much as we can we center women.

Moneeka (08:00.344)

Love that. Yeah.

Monick (08:04.12)

So you didn't have any festival experience going in. How did you move from, have no festival experience to I'm going to build this thing?

Tiffany (08:14.956)

Yeah, I during COVID I had like I'm sure a lot of people did this time to like really sit and reflect and be still around what I wanted to create and what difference I wanted to make and what I thought was needed in the world. And so as I closed down and sold my other business, I had really time to think about that. And so the f the festival is is all the parts of me that I love.

and have experienced and like I said really about creating a space of fun for women to come into. And so I love going to festivals, music festivals, different types of festivals. I love going to retreats. I've been to Burning Man, I've been to like you know, a lot of the major festivals. I have not been to Coachella though. But my background in branding and marketing is I always, always loved creating experiential experiences. So

When I was head of marketing at Speedo for five years, we did a lot of grassroots marketing and a lot of community building around clubs, swimming clubs and things like that. even into high experiential experiences like fashion shows, runways, things like that. And I just loved it. I loved how it just brought people together through this lived experience. And so it's all the combinations and life experience and things that I love to do.

and I also love a challenge and I just felt like a festival was the best experience you could create for a woman where it was immersive. So it's a little bit of like this feeling of retreat meets you know, Burning Man meets ACL fest, which is big here in Austin. So a combination of all the things that I love and so when I ca I think the

The idea creation as a creative is really easy for me. I'm also big into I leap before I think, which has its pros and cons.

Monick (10:22.542)

Thank

Tiffany (10:23.758)

Because

Tiffany (10:28.982)

I've learned to kind of slow down a little bit more and and take a beat before I now leap. because I've gotten myself into some some challenging moments. but I just felt so ignited by this. Like I ha just kept on having these downloads of like once I got really clear on my god, this is it, this this is the next thing, this feels like so aligned.

nothing could take me off that path. And it was literally, it just felt like weeks of a download. Like everywhere I went, I was just writing things down, putting it in my phone, like voice memoing myself. Like and I was so ignited by it. Then it was just like, okay, take the next step and take the next step and take the next step. And as you know when you create something, you get to a point where you start taking the steps and then it starts to get really hard and reality sinks in and you're like, my gosh.

What am I doing? Can I really do this? Can I hold this? Is this really possible? Am I completely crazy? Like I have no experience. I have no funding. I have no backing. And yeah, it it happened and it was not without challenges and stress headaches and all the things. But again, I feel like I talk about this a lot, like having that that North Star, that vision, that mission, that purpose.

you know, all those challenges and those roadblocks and wake up in the middle of the night of like, this is crazy, what am I doing? Like she's doing it better and I have no experience and I'm gonna go broke and I'm gonna be homeless. Like it's just all those things where I was like, no, the world needs this. And and I didn't answer your question, Monique, like, why do we why do women need this more than ever? I mean, where do we even start?

We could get into the political side of things, we could get into like, you know, just the oppression of women that still exist today, the pay inequity, you know, really being able to create spaces where women feel ignited by one another, where they see examples of one another of going, hey, this is possible. I had a conversation with a woman today about creating a a a feminine led economy, you know, and I know that you you you both connect and relate to that.

Tiffany (12:47.116)

So the more that we create money and make money, the more that we do good and it's been shown time and time again. So that's a big reason why we we we need it. We need to create money that goes back into the right places and spaces.

Moneeka (13:03.054)

I just yeah. And we keep saying, I love that because it's all so good. I have to tell you, Tiffany, I am going through all of that that you just talked about. Right now I'm creating my very first s what do you call it? Feature film. I get so nervous and overwhelmed by it, I can't even say it sometimes. But but yes.

All of those pieces, right? The doubt, the what am I doing? Everybody else does it so much better than me. I actually just wrote a post on Facebook that said every single person on the set knew more about filmmaking than I do, and I'm the executive producer. But even worse, every single animal on that set knew about more about being on set than I did. You know, so it's one of those things. And I know yeah, I would actually wouldn't mind a little advice around this, but when you when that doubt shows up.

Like how do you you talked about a North Star, but talk to me about plugging into that North Star, plugging into that feeling of the mission. Like, why does this still need to exist? Why does this still need to happen? Right?

Tiffany (14:07.842)

Yeah, I I one thing I will say before I go into that part is I think actually and in you are at an advantage when you don't know what you're doing to some degree because you have new perspectives, new ideas, you're not bogged down in the way things should be done, and you can do it differently and more creatively, and you bring a new aspect. So I think that's in your in your favor. And that's what I do.

But it's not always good to know everything, you know? So yeah, I think on those days where I have which it's always as it gets closer and closer to the festival, which is we're six weeks out now, the doubt comes even rears its head even more. It's just like, my god, am I gonna be able to pull this off again? I've got so many moves and pieces, I've got to keep so many people happy. Should I just give up? Let me just give up. But

I can't give up because I d I just I know in my soul and being and maybe this is my ego, who knows? The world needs this. And if I don't do it, then what do I do? You know, and I've come back to this time and time enough to know that I mean, what would I do? I would feel like I have no purpose, no meaning, no being.

I feel like I would be letting a lot of people down now, like my team, my community. again, I I've walked away from things before and everything, everyone's okay, you know. I don't think it would be the end of the world. But I do feel like as I get older and now I'm in my 50s, this is kind of like, you know, my last hurrah in in some ways. I feel like I can't turn back. I don't want to turn back. you know, as I enter into my second part of my

life this feels like the thing that I want to go all the way in on. And so if it's not this, it's going to be something similar or or something that with the same purpose. But to answer your question in short, when I feel those times of doubt, I just come back to my vision. What do I want to create? What lights me up? Why am I doing this? and I think

Tiffany (16:34.922)

If you're in search of a mission, then spending that time to get really clear on what it is and having that feeling that really ignites you up is really, really powerful and important. Because when you go through those times of doubt, which you have many, many of them, you just come back to that feeling of what ignited you in the first place, that truth that burns inside of you, just that knowing and you know.

The knowing that you can't even put words around, you know, the knowing of like, you know, I shared around the bullying. Yes, that's a part of it, but that's not all of it. It's just that deep knowing of like, this is inside of me. This is what I'm meant to do in this in this lifetime.

Moneeka (17:21.55)

Thank you for that.

Monick (17:21.742)

Good. You talked about the why this, why now, why women, why it's important to have these women only spaces in this time and place. And it's built into the whole ecosystem of what you're creating. I want to ask you a question about just being just women being present. So what does it look like when a woman goes from being

Present in a room to truly taking up space in it

Tiffany (17:56.226)

Yeah, that question just gave me chills because whew, you know

Tiffany (18:04.492)

It's so hard to put words to and when you when you come to the festival and when and you know this, when you're in w very women focused spaces, there is an energy and a magic that is

visible and invisible at the same time. So when I watch literally it feels like they cross a threshold. Like when they walk through those festival gates, their energy shifts. There's a smile on their face. They radiate. They they instantly feel free. They're feeling seen. And there's this is why we have a really we're really strict about no

And this may get me in trouble, but there are no men on the premises at all for 10 hours. They can come before and help, and they can come after and help. But when there's no male energy in that space, something shifts in a woman where she can feel really connected with herself. All the noise, whether it's one man or many, it something shifts. And and that's not

I'm not blaming men, it's not their fault. It's just a different experience when you're like, it's the the noise just goes away. And so when women are in that space, they go deeper, they have conversations they they wouldn't always have when there's that energy around. They're cheering each other on like fiercely with fire.

They're sitting in rooms in these self-love workshops where they're doing things that they would never normally do. They're connecting with ideas and memories and a deeper knowing within themselves that you just can't do when you're in those those spaces where men are participating in some some sort of way. So I think more spaces like that where we get to actually feel that, the better.

Moneeka (20:14.614)

Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's interesting that you say that. You said it sort of hesitantly like this might get me in trouble. But men do the same thing.

You know, they react very differently to their world and the people that they're with when us women are not around. but and and they value that a lot more than we tend to value that. I think as women, we don't make it a priority. We make everybody else a priority, we make our men a priority. But the men are out there going playing golf with the other men, without the women around, without their wives around. There are wife invitation invitations and then there are events that they do without the wives. So I love that

You have created this space where we're almost forced, right? To really focus on this is my space. This is a women women's space. Like I even some of us women that would be like, I'd really like to share this with my sweetie. Like, no, we're not going to do that, right? somehow they set a better boundary about that than we do.

In the past, that's obviously changing because of events like yours. And thank you so much for that. And this is really aligned with bliss is that that idea that we can create space for the things that we really need. One of those things is sisterhood, right? and that we can really unclench and let go in those spaces and allow bliss to flow through us and with us and with everybody around us.

Can you share a moment from the Yumi She Fest? When you watched a woman become woman actually, and you touched on this a little bit, but I'd like a little deeper story, she became more confident or expressive or alive because she really felt seen and celebrated.

Tiffany (22:05.25)

Yeah, I there's many. There's many. Honestly, seeing the women on stage, so the performers that get up on stage in this space that you know, have been performing for years and years and years, but never in a a space like this, and just seeing how much they're celebrated and and cheered no matter where they're at in their musical career.

So watching them light up, watching them get off the stage and say thank you, that was amazing. Like I've never felt so seen and so safe before. seeing women in the workshops like really, really have aha moments and connect and then do that in sisterhood and turn around and hug another woman. seeing a woman, you know, we have a pool at the ranch. and I had a woman that I met at an at a networking event.

Just gosh, it was like six months after the festival, and she was like, I was at your festival, and I she said, you know, I sat in the pool for hours with someone's mom, you know? And so just those moments of connection, of like, whether it's through the music or through a deeper conversation they've had with someone or through the workshops, or you know, going and sitting with a market vendor, like

Those are just it's just and the unseen moments that I was telling you about it. There's so many of them.

Monick (23:38.382)

Yeah. So you have the Yamiche Fest. You also do some smaller events, right? Activations. Like there was one that I was totally inspired by this. I'm like, Monika, we need to steal the idea of a picnic, right? where this came from. love that. I like, can do a beach picnic here. And so when you're designing these events,

And you mentioned multiple times how like fun, like this needs to be fun. So how intentionally are you thinking about fun and joy, freedom, surprise, play, not just what people do, but how they'll feel.

Tiffany (24:23.518)

All the time. That's the center of everything. Like how what do we do that makes them feel celebrated, seen, and surrounded in sisterhood? So our our values are celebration, self-love and sisterhood. You can see it behind me. So they are all always a through line of everything that that we do. like I said, I'm a cr I'm creative. I'm a creative director by trade and marketing. And so

The way things look and feel are always very intentional through what I do. but even with the team, I'm, you know, as soon as I we're talking about the we're doing some deep festival planning right now, and I was like, you know, there was a volunteer last year. She's volunteered with me for quite a few years now, and so many of the photos of her at check-in are hugging people as they walk in.

So just those experiences, like it I talk about the threshold because I feel like every time they just walk through those gates that they're they literally are crossing a a a a threshold. So we're very intentional about what do we want P what do we want the women to feel when they are in our space. And that that doesn't have to be like you spend thousands of dollars on the signage and the, you know,

I don't know, the the music or whatever it is. Like it literally is those little moments of setting an intention, even of okay, this experience is going to be about sisterhood. Because the magic of that is that again, women will do it if they feel safe. I can I can create the container, and those can containers can look very different in different ways, like the pink nick.

You know, that was a very con different container from the festival. And it was just literally in a park. We brought a DJ. We said everyone wear pink. You know, we had snacks, we had drinks, and then the women came and there was a conga line and there was like women meeting women and it was just amazing. I didn't say get in a conger line, I didn't say get up and dance. It just started to happen because we created that container. And the festival is like triple the size of that.

Tiffany (26:46.058)

Sure, it's on a beautiful women owned ranch and it's very well designed and it's all the spaces are created very intentionally, but it's the women that make that special.

Moneeka (26:59.342)

I love that. Tiffany, I wanna go back a little bit and forgive me for backtracking, but I'm kind of being like I'm hearing in my head that I have to ask this question or make this comment. But you said something about maybe the I you know, I can't not do it. Maybe that's just my ego and everything will be okay, but I just can't. And I can't not do it. And I feel like this a lot myself.

And and I think a lot of women that are listening, and I know Monique has the same feeling of I'm just pulled. And sometimes we question the mission, right? and you mentioned maybe that's just my ego, like your ego is a bad thing. And so I just want to address that. This is one of the chapters in my book, Choose Bliss, which is the ego is your friend. so be careful with this, obviously. I know that this flies in the face of what everybody says, but the mission is a spiritual calling.

The ego allows us to be the feet on the ground for the mission. The ego is the action taker. So you don't want to be overwhelmed by your ego and let it take over everything that you do. You want it to be guided by the spiritual mission and your spiritual self. But if you allow that partnership, then the mission can become so much bigger than if you were to become completely egoless and not take action. Not that ego less people don't take action. I'm just saying that we have that resource.

To help us to stay motivated, to push, to push is a harsh word, but you don't do you understand what I'm saying? To like move forward, to create inertia and momentum. And because of that, you have created this incredible space for women. And I just want to celebrate that, that union of your spiritual mission with your ego. So thank you for doing that for all of us.

Tiffany (28:50.466)

Thank you. And thank you for reminding me of that. I think again, it's interesting as a as a woman that is learning how to take up space and creates a lot of space for other women. We still fall back into that patriarchal, like, I can't be too much. I can't show up too much. I can't take up too much space. I can't be too ego-driven because then that's not spiritually aligned. So that's

a good reminder of like it is a balance of both. We are humans having w what we say, we are souls having a human experience, right? So having that balance of both is a really, really great reminder. So okay, ego.

Monick (29:32.846)

Yeah. So on this show, we talk a lot about blissiplines, which are, you know, the habits and ways of being that help our lives feel more joyous and spacious and alive and fun. So what are your blissiplines or habits, rituals, boundaries or ways of being that help you stay connected with yourself?

Moneeka (29:34.806)

Yeah. Be in partnership. Yeah.

Tiffany (29:52.566)

All right.

Monick (30:01.582)

especially while you're building something so ambitious.

Tiffany (30:05.088)

Ugh, I love this because I've really just started to deepen into my blissbum again. Did I say it right?

Monick (30:13.666)

Lissiplines.

Moneeka (30:14.85)

Disciplines. Instead of disciplines, they're blisciplines.

Monick (30:18.88)

Okay. Yeah.

Tiffany (30:21.196)

Yes. because I am a great worker. I can work really hard. speaking of ego, it makes me feel important. It makes me feel like I'm in control. It makes me feel like I've you know, I'm doing all the the right things. And I'm also realizing that has served me to a point.

It's very masculine energy a lot of the time, and that's good. but I also need the other side. And so we did the first official festival last year. I did not allow a lot of time for fun because I was just head down, I gotta get it done. I'm holding this container, I've got to make sure everyone's okay. Like, what if I fail? And I had a stress headache for two weeks straight.

I was still going to the gym. I was still working out. I was eating okay. I was doing the bare minimum that I knew would get me through. and it was also like not having a lot of fun, not going out, not playing, doing those things because I got to do all the things, you know? So this year I made I set an intention with myself and I was like, I'm not gonna do that again. I'm not gonna put myself through that. it always works out.

Not always the way that you think it's going to, but it always works out. I'm not gonna die. I'm, you know, if I have some unhappy people, I know how to work through that, it's gonna be okay, because my heart is in the right place. And so what I've really been doing this year is getting up earlier, which isn't I don't love because I love sleep, but it going to bed earlier, and getting up earlier.

and I've been going for really long walks and connecting with nature, and that has been exceptionally grounding for me. So I just start the day in such a better way. I'm very, very fortunate. I live in Austin, I live across from Town Lake. I can walk by the water every morning, touch the trees, touch the earth. The the ground that I walk on is

Tiffany (32:44.608)

you know, most of it is dirt and gravel, so it's kicking up into my shoes, which is annoying, but it's obviously for my for my soul. and that's been a game changer. And so I've been really disciplined with that for a couple of months now, where I just get up and I go. and so that's a big, a big one for me. And then the other things are allowing play in my life. So

Again, just making sure I'm very introverted. So to get me out of the house is is an effort. But I also love being around people as well. So I just know how to like when I need to dive in and when I need to come back. And so spending more time with the people that I love. I also live in an apartment complex where I'm very lucky where I've built a really, really great community. So I'll go over to my friend's place and we'll cook dinner and watch.

something on TV, we'll go hang out by the pool and grill with my, you know, my felly fellow neighbors. So I have this really beautiful balance now where I'm infusing more play into what I do. I'm going see live music. Austin's full of live music. I'm gonna go and watch the new series of Tad Ted L Lasso at a bar tonight, you know. so

Just being more intentional around how and who I spend my time with and making sure that I'm connecting with nature.

Moneeka (34:18.092)

that. Wow, that is really, really awesome. talk to me a little bit about bliss and at this point in your life, what does bliss or having a blissful life really mean to you in everyday terms?

Tiffany (34:35.64)

Simplicity, honestly. I I think as humans we can get caught up in drama, in overthinking, overdoing. so I'm really trying to really focus on what feels easier for me. And that is being

Creative, that is spending time with my dog who's getting older. That is spending more intentional time with my friends. That is being on the water, in the water, around the water. So just simplifying and giving myself more time and space. It's very easy to get caught up in the busyness of life. And I've noticed how that really dregulates me. So

That feels blissful, that feels easeful, that feels

Yeah, it just feels lighter when I'm in those times.

Moneeka (35:48.44)

So beautiful.

Monick (35:50.914)

What is really exciting you right now? That could be with the festival and your creative life or simply in who you are becoming. What's exciting you now?

Tiffany (36:04.758)

Yeah, I definitely the festival. I'm really I'm really excited about it this year because it's it's officially year two. The first year is hard because there's just so many unknowns. and this past year I've been able to create deeper connections with community members here, community leaders here in Austin.

And so our programming is really, really fun. Like we've got some amazing things happen. We have an all women's skate group that are gonna be doing demonstrations there. We have dance performances, we have an aerialist, we have live art happening. Like it's I'm it's just gonna be such a fun day. So there's that. There's also you you asked me this like

I turned 50, I'm 51 now. I turned 52 in January. And 50 was a really tur a huge turning point for me. And so I'm really sitting with this version of me that I'm falling deeper and deeper in love with. And so that's exciting because it's not easy. You know, I I talk about having self-love workshops.

at the festival and I want to be an example of what that looks like and it is a journey. And so I was talking about another on another podcast around this. Like my 40s were really hard. My 30s were great. They were they had the challenges, but my forties were just a really hard decade for me. And so being on the you know decade by decade being on the other side of that, I feel like 50 is like almost a rebirth.

And so it's been challenging because fifty has such a stigma to it in this society. And so really kind of just filtering through what that is and what that means as I age and my body ages and becoming the invisible woman, not seeing being seen by the male gaze, you know, all those sorts of things that that change, so to speak.

Tiffany (38:27.512)

How do I dress now? Do I dress my age? Do I do can I till still wear this? You know, so many things that have come up for me since turning 50 that I never even thought about before. And so just playing with what that is for me as I head into this second stage of my life. And it's exciting, you know, and and it's daunting at times, but this last year particularly, like really diving into

Who do I want to be now that I'm fifty one years old? Who do I get to be? And also caring less about what other people think.

Moneeka (39:12.15)

I love that you talk about what do you get to be. That's amazing. My little sister gave me a sign and it's hanging next to my mirror in my bathroom. So I see it all the time. but it says, in a world that glorifies self-doubt, loving yourself is a form of rebellion.

Tiffany (39:31.97)

Yeah. my God, yes.

Monick (39:33.482)

Yeah.

Moneeka (39:34.036)

And she's she actually when she gave it to me, I was so touched. She said, You're the only person I know that actually really likes yourself. And that was so touching to me because that feels like an accomplishment too, right? Because self-love is a thing. It's something we have to constantly remind ourselves is important. So I love that you're really falling much more in love with your life. It's amazing.

Monick (39:56.878)

That's great. That's also so sad. So sad! she doesn't know anyone else who loves herself.

Moneeka (40:04.066)

People love themselves, but I think that there's there's definitely something about a woman that really owns it. And I think that in our fifties, I mean she's in her forties, right? In our fifties is when we really step into that, right? And I'm 57, so I've got s I've had seven years of that transition, Tiffany, to really, really like land and take my stand in that footprint, right? So but I think it's a constant evolution for us women, you know?

Tiffany on our show, we like to invite our listeners into what we call a fun and bliss spark. It's a fab spark. And it's a little experiment that we invite the every the listeners to perform this week. And so, do you have something? This isn't supposed to be a big transformation, it's not a big project, it's not, you know, self-help. It's just a tiny little experiment that they can engage in that will help them to feel like they can claim their space.

Tiffany (41:05.362)

wow, that's a good one. an experiment, something that they could do to claim their space.

Monick (41:14.968)

Yeah, or have more fun or joy.

Moneeka (41:16.822)

Yeah. It could be anything, but yeah.

Tiffany (41:21.071)

I mean I just I feel like

It's taking the tiny steps. So whether it's claiming more space or having more fun or finding more bliss

Whatever you resist persists. And so sometimes we make the thing so big that we don't do it at all and it feels overwhelming. And so something I am practicing is is taking up more space. So I am a pretty shy person and it could be as simple as like the easy thing for me is when I'm at a restaurant and they I drink a lot of iced tea.

And they'll bring me an iced tea, and often the ice, not often, sometimes the iced tea is off. It's stale. It's been sitting there for too long and it does not taste good. And what I'm practicing doing is sending that iced tea back and asking a fresh one. The old me would not do that. I would just like put it aside and not drink it and say it's fine, you know.

And so those little those little micro acts lead into bigger

Tiffany (42:45.87)

actions of really being in alignment of taking up space or having more bliss or you know more self-love. So I would just say practice the little things. Whatever it is that you feel like you have a roadblock towards is do the little thing and then it gets easier and then it gets easier and then you find what it is that you're really looking for.

Monick (43:11.246)

I love that. I do too. That's a great idea. practice that this week. All right. We are going to conclude with our fun and bliss laser rounds. So these are quick, playful, completely unpolished. you can just give the first answer that comes to mind. Okay. So one, what's your go-to when you need an instant joy boost?

Moneeka (43:12.862)

Yeah.

Tiffany (43:36.662)

My dog,

Tiffany (43:41.261)

Instant

Monick (43:42.26)

Yeah, we can.

Moneeka (43:43.744)

Yeah, we both can relate to that one. What's one thing that never fails to make you laugh?

Tiffany (43:50.99)

Ooh ooh ooh ooh that's a good one. I probably a good sitcom.

Moneeka (44:02.546)

Mm. Mm-hmm. Like Ted Lasso.

Tiffany (44:05.962)

Lasso.

I just finished binge watching Shrinking and now

Moneeka (44:13.036)

Loved that one.

Tiffany (44:15.478)

You know Blackish is another one that I love. I'll watch that on repeat. That makes me laugh. It's clever. Yeah, a good sitcom.

Monick (44:26.267)

Love it. What do you do for fun these days?

Tiffany (44:32.462)

friend time. I had a great time this past weekend celebrating a a friend's birthday and we went and saw some live music. So I'm that is the next thing I'm trying to do is just again in the lead up to the festival, but more live music as well. It just changes your your whole being.

Moneeka (45:00.152)

Finish this sentence Bliss for me looks like

Tiffany (45:06.382)

Community.

Monick (45:10.058)

Love it. Yeah. Those are such perfect answers. Before we let you go, although we're going to be going into our deep dive conversation. So for you all who want to see us go deeper, and I have some topics that I want to go a little deeper in, especially around this question of what do I want to be and who do I get to be and like, you know,

Yeah, fun after 50. I think that could be really juicy. But we'll have a juicy conversation so that you guys can join us in in the fun and bliss collective community. so people can hear more there. But what is the best way for people to connect with you Tiffany now and to find out more about what you were up to?

Tiffany (46:02.946)

Yeah, follow us on Instagram, that's our main kind of place we hang out. So at UMe She Fest, Yumi She Fest. website at Yumi She Fest, TikTok, although I haven't mastered that playground yet at UMish. or email hey sis at umishfest.com.

Moneeka (46:28.216)

Hey sis. I love that. That's awesome. And do you happen to have any free gifts or resources or offering that you'd like to share with our audience? Or an event.

Tiffany (46:40.182)

Mm.

Yeah, I mean, we could i I don't I'm not sure when this comes out, but the festival is September nineteenth. So I'll set up a code. fun and bliss. That'd be a good one. Fun and bliss. For ten dollars off a festival ticket. If anyone wants to come to Austin, you can camp, you can glamp there. It's a good time.

Moneeka (46:56.568)

Mm-hmm.

Moneeka (47:05.432)

Thank you so much for that. Yay.

Monick (47:08.75)

All right. Thank you so much. This was such a great conversation and we're going to be continuing this in our, in the collective. So thank you. See you later guys.