Sweet Simplicities

Finding Connection in Summer’s Small Moments

Summer offers us a natural reset—a chance to clear the table and make space for fresh beginnings as we move into the year’s second half. In times when the world feels heavy with floods reshaping communities overnight and global temperatures running hot in every sense, we find ourselves reaching for those simple pleasures that remind us relief, connection, and joy are still possible.

I don’t have much to offer in regards to these larger social conditions, but I’m doing everything in my power to make more space for us to do the hard work in the everyday—the slowing down and seeing each other, the meeting new people with curiosity rather than judgment. Some of life’s sweetest moments come from these simple encounters and intentional pauses.

Here at Frank & Ethel’s, we’ve been doing the foundational work these past few years, gathering the tools, experiences, and framework to build something meaningful for our community. Like those families who found sustenance and hope in simple shared treats, we’ve taken our time to gather what we need to create something more intentional and rooted.

My most treasured snowball memories are those weekly after-work pilgrimages to “The Snowball Stand” with my girlfriend from Geppi’s Entertainment Museum—exploring new flavors while uncovering a friendship so cosmic we started calling ourselves “mirrors.” She’s now more family than friend. For those unfamiliar, snowballs are Baltimore’s beloved summer tradition—shaved ice topped with flavored syrups that have been cooling down our neighborhoods since the 1800s, passed down through generations of families who understood that sometimes the simplest treats create the strongest bonds.

Later, as my relationship with Erik evolved, we’d bike to the original snowball stand near his first home, watching it transform from what we lovingly discovered as Walther’s Garden into what is now The Peggy. This old farmhouse is now being reimagined more fully as a boutique garden escape with a nursery and various little spaces to discover housewares, trinkets, plants, plants, gifts, and more plants. They still have the snowballs and are doing special events. Last I recall, there were Friday music and food truck nights. Sure, now we have to drive there (and conveniently, it’s close to Erik’s microgreens clients), but there’s something magical about witnessing how spaces can grow while keeping their authentic heart intact.

There’s something about snowballs that reminds me of the beauty of summer and the power of connection, space, and time for growth. Sometimes things go away and need to be pruned, but that makes them stronger and healthier—that’s what we hope to have done with Frank & Ethel’s.

We’re bringing back that apple pie and root beer float nostalgia, wrapped in the possibility of creating something beautifully intentional. Theater teaches us that everyone has an arc, a story worth discovering. Every person is an opportunity to learn something new, to become wiser and more capable of navigating this vast landscape of personalities and possibilities. We’re not perfect—I’m learning daily how to say yes to grace, how to hold space for healing, and how to turn our wounds into wisdom through respectful connection and joyful play.

Someone recently told me I can come off as thinking I know more and am thus kind of better, and honestly? When I take a beat and listen, I can understand where this is coming from. On one hand, that feels very opposite to the life I’ve lived—always kind of living undercover, doing my untrained anthropology work as a design sales specialist selling people furniture.

On the other hand, I have a deep abiding belief in all people and can often find myself unknowingly asking questions to better understand the full picture and both sides, and before I know it, I’m suggesting there might be more to this. In this way, I’m learning to know the time and place. This isn’t it. I just need to listen to the upset and the bother or the pain that is being experienced. When we’re in it, it’s rarely the time to try and make sense. And herein lies good intentions causing negative outcomes. I can’t express to you the gratitude for being on this journey with people who will give me the grace to allow me this knowing of myself. That’s the place and space I aim to help frame for more people.

But here’s the thing about honest feedback—it’s like getting the perfect snowball on a scorching day. Sometimes the truth hits you right in the face, cold and startling, but oh so refreshing.

The gift of honest and authentic relationships is that they test our concepts of ourselves and our ability to show up with conviction and integrity to who we are being always. When we’re rude, short, quick, or not in a place to respond responsibly, we need to own it and accept the critique as an opportunity, not a threat. It’s tempting to label feedback as unreasonable or oversensitive, but doing so only allows us to separate from the responsibility of harm we may have caused. We cause harm unintentionally all the time when we give away our ability to show up fully and be accepting that, like in theater, feedback offers us an opportunity to make our performance here in this lifetime all the richer.

It’s a gift to have people in your life who will give you grace to get it right and be honest with the uncomfortable truths that are often just as hard to give as they are to receive. These relationships are like that friend who tells you there’s syrup in your hair—awkward in the moment, but you’re grateful they cared enough to speak up rather than let you walk around sticky all day.

This past weekend reminded us how quickly life can change, how fragile our routines can be, and how much we need each other during difficult times. As I watched my son process the images of flooding and destruction—balancing his new underwater swimming skills with the sobering reality of water’s power—I was reminded of those childhood fears that after-school specials etched into my memory. But I was also reminded of the importance of creating spaces where we can come together, where simple pleasures can offer comfort and nourishment, and where authentic connection can flourish even in—especially in—our hardest moments.

Our social global temperature is running hot these days, and sometimes the storms are literal ones that reshape our communities overnight. We need more spaces across the globe to help us find the hope that will sustain our generation and the next for all the endless possibilities this beautiful gift of life and earth offers each of us. Inherent in each space we share, we breathe the same air that fuels our bodies and brings oxygen to our blood, continuing to allow us to figure out and determine the incredible mysterious gift of humanity that travels through the circuits of our design between heart and mind, body and soul, spirit and actions.

Frank & Ethel’s isn’t just about serving up sweet treats—it’s our commitment to the gifts we’ve been given, scars and all. We believe in the power of play, shared guidelines, and the kind of grace that comes from knowing we’re all just humans trying to show up better for ourselves and each other, one sweet moment at a time. Like those simple shared comforts that carry communities through hard times, we hope to create a space where authentic connection can flourish, where feedback flows as freely as the syrup over shaved ice, and where every stumble becomes an opportunity to learn something new about the beautiful, messy, miraculous experience of being human together.

After all, the best snowballs aren’t just about the ice—they’re about the hands that shape them, the flavors that surprise you, and the people you share them with on those impossibly hot summer days when you need something sweet and cool to remind you that relief, connection, and joy are always possible, even when the world feels overwhelming.

We hope Frank & Ethel’s has the ability to foster space for people to gather and feel comfortable being seen—no need to do your hair or worry about who you’ll run into because you know you’ll be met with love and understanding no matter your shape. We believe all people deserve the right to feel good about themselves and feel valued and respected. When the people who show up care to treat everyone with that same sense of curiosity and wonder that makes working with children—while trying—magically rewarding, there’s transformative power in kindness and being truly seen. Let’s be that for each other. I hope to make spaces where we can do that while having fun, making it less toxic and hard to show up authentically, and being part of creating the shifting narrative that brings our global temperature down and makes us feel full of hope to brighten the darkest of days.

Like good ol’ Baloo knew, life’s about focusing on the simple, essential things—what we might call the sweet simplicities of life. (I know it’s not right… but if you heard it like I sang it, I hope I made you smile.)