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This week we're joined by Amanda Kingloff — craft stylist, former Lifestyle Director at Parents magazine, founder of ProjectKid, and author of the new book The Art of Jewish Joy: Crafts and Activities for Celebration and Connection (Chronicle Books), co-written with Suzy Ultman.

We talk about why grown-ups forget how to play, what it means to "unlearn" the conventional use of a bottle cap, and how Amanda went from a pre-med, photography-major mindset to building a career out of arts and crafts. Then we get into the real heart of it: how October 7th sent Amanda back into her own Jewish identity, why she and her husband quietly walked away from synagogue-based Judaism as adults, and how she and Suzy built a book that renames every holiday chapter after the value inside it — the Art of Self-Reflection (Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur), the Art of Shining Bright (Hanukkah), the Art of Honoring Freedom (Passover), the Art of Grit and Grace (Purim).

Also covered: the Sukkot tradition of leaving the corners of a field unharvested for the poor, why you cover the challah before kiddush, Amanda's daughter's snow-globe Halloween costume, and Eva's new favorite phrase, "achievement cheap."

0:00 Welcome
0:13 Meet Amanda Kingloff — craft stylist & author
2:31 Why Grown-Ups Forget How to Play
6:23 Halloween Costumes & the DIY Shelf Wall
8:08 October 7th and Finding Her Way Back to Judaism
10:47 The Yom Kippur Ritual in the Park
15:22 The Book Reveal: The Art of Jewish Joy
19:33 Why We Cover the Challah
20:17 Sukkot: The Unharvested Corners
21:28 Back to Crafting: Mind Maps & Painted Shabbat Rocks
24:08 "Achievement Sheep"
28:05 The Camp Award Story
28:56 Renaming the Holidays: Self-Reflection, Shining Bright & Grit and Grace
32:18 Wrap-Up & Where to Find the Book

The Art of Jewish Joy is out now from Chronicle Books. https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/art-of-jewish-joy?srsltid=AfmBOoqvL5Dqy0WX9DUxcXkpL_ZasyahTTje2GehaYjSAD4PnPRRRN79

Find Amanda at @amandakingloff and Suzy at @suzyultman.

We’re two New York City women talking candidly about the chaos of modern life, from relationships, parenting, working in and out of the home, to what it takes to stay semi-sane in a world that expects you to hold it all together and be #blessed.

We couldn’t find an honest and vulnerable conversation — so we started one! If you need a laugh, a cry, or just want to hear someone else admit their flaws and validate your crazy, you’re in the right place. Be ready to be… Unfiltered, Unafraid, and UnExpert.

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© 2025 Eva Heyman & Caroline Leventhal