Podcast Summary: Forever35 Mini-Ep 471 – “Berries From The Earth”

Hosts: Doree Shafrir & Elise Hu
Date: December 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Forever35 centers around navigating self-care as adults and parents, with a candid and often humorous look at everyday challenges: managing kids’ sports tournaments, dealing with aging parents and their finances, berry storage best practices, and delightfully mundane listener queries about everything from makeup to life milestones. Doree and Elise share personal anecdotes, read listener mail, and create a sense of solidarity around the joys and struggles of midlife self-care.

Key Discussion Points & Highlights

1. Weekend Recaps: Parenting & Sports

• Tennis & Baseball Weekend (Doree)

  • Doree shares her jam-packed weekend: singles tennis matches, taking her son Henry to a muddy soccer game, more playoff tennis, and baseball.
  • On losing a doubles match but feeling good about her own play:

    "It was just one of those things where I was like, oh, these people are just better... it wasn't like I was making a lot of mistakes..."
    (Doree, 03:35)

• Volleyball Tournament Survival (Elise)

  • Elise describes the sensory overload of endless volleyball tournaments for her daughter Ava.
  • Notes the chaotic gym environment:

    "...I had sensory overload. Those places have the worst acoustics and lighting possible... all you hear is just this cacophony of sound. It's brutal."
    (Elise, 04:11)

  • Delivers a dramatic and amusing retelling about a run-in with her daughter's former coach—complete with social anxiety and avoidance.
  • Takeaway: Sometimes, better play doesn't show up in wins, and social validation for tough choices matters.

    "The wins weren't there, but sometimes the wins aren't there, but you're playing really well..."
    (Elise, 09:54)

2. Listener Questions: Self-Care & Celebrating Milestones

• Tween Skincare & Makeup

  • Request for a “Shop My Shelf” resource for tweens interested in skincare/makeup.
  • Elise suggests having her 10.5-year-old daughter Issa curate this for the podcast.

• Celebrating a “Forever 35” Birthday

  • Listener Katie shares her self-care-themed 35th: reading, eating, shopping, facial & massage, and dinner with a partner.

    "I know it's a privilege to take off the time and be able to be that self indulgent, but…I think whatever is in reach and answers the question what will make me feel cared for and restored seems like a great theme..."
    (Katie, 12:16)

3. Ongoing Community Conversation: Caring for Aging Parents

• Financial Planning for Elder Care

  • A listener feels overwhelmed and alone organizing her mother’s small finances, using spreadsheets and even a PowerPoint to coordinate with siblings.
  • Elise suggests following financial advisor Vivian Tu (“Your Rich BFF”) for accessible, practical advice, especially where institutional advisors won't help smaller portfolios:

    "She really started her brand as your rich BFF to be approachable and for people like women and communities of color that have been traditionally left out of financial planning advice..."
    (Elise, 17:45)

  • Robo-advisors are cited as an entry point for investing (“Stash,” “Wealthfront”).

• Medicaid Trusts Warning (Listener Guidance)

  • A listener who is a financial advisor cautions about Medicaid trusts, warning of expensive and sometimes faulty services from estate attorneys. Important to seek multiple opinions and not rely solely on one solution:

    "...be really careful about which attorney you work with especially. I would be skeptical of any estate planning or elder law attorney who only does Medicaid trusts or presents that as the only option..."
    (Listener, 20:50)

• Community Praise

  • Doree celebrates the knowledge and kindness of Forever35 listeners, emphasizing the importance of community support around elder care:

    "We have such an amazing array of listeners... I just love our listeners, that's all."
    (Doree, 21:23)

4. Berries From The Earth: Listener Berry Storage Tips

• Voicemail Tips from the Pacific Northwest (Glass Jars)

  • Do not wash berries before storing; keep unwashed in glass mason jars to prolong freshness.

    "...store them in glass mason jars. Do not wash them beforehand. Huge mistake. Wash them as you use them..."
    (Listener, 24:49)

• Conflicting Advice: Wash with Vinegar & Baking Soda

  • Another listener details washing berries in water, white vinegar, and baking soda for freshness and cleanliness, then drying them before refrigerating.

    "...leave them out to dry on a plate with one of my reusable towels... I find the berries taste better, last longer..."
    (Listener, 26:04)

• PNW Environmental Habits (Wash Ziplocs/Glass for Berries)

  • A third Pacific Northwest listener highlights the environmental norm of reusing Ziplock bags and using glass for berry storage.

    "We reuse, wash ours many times and try to use glass also for berries..."
    (Listener, 27:19)

• Hosts’ Reactions

  • Amused at intense regional feelings and different internet hacks.
  • Elise admits she finds the vinegar-and-baking soda method "a bridge too far" and reminisces about the lockdown-era grocery washing.

5. Brief Listener Comment: MAC Makeup “Comeback”?

• Listeners comment on MAC Cosmetics now being at Sephora and Kris Jenner’s commercials; hosts note for some, “MAC never went away.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tennis Humility:
  "It was just one of those things where I was like, oh, these people are just better."
  (Doree, 03:35)

• On Parenting Tournament Woes:
  "Somebody needs to reconfigure the gym experience for parents because we have to spend like a good nine hours a day back to back in these tournament gyms."
  (Elise, 04:11)

• On Coaching Drama:
  "Ava, you should say hi. And she's like, no, I'm avoidant."
  (Elise, 08:28)

• On Listener Community:
  "We have such an amazing array of listeners... I just love our listeners, that's all."
  (Doree, 21:23)

• On Berries “From the Earth”:
  "They're from the earth. They are from mother nature. So what am I getting grossed out about?"
  (Elise, 26:42)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:12: Show opens; weekend/parenting sports chat begins
• 05:29: Elise recounts volleyball weekend and the coaching drama
• 11:21: Listener mail: Tween skincare requests and self-care birthdays
• 16:51: Topic shift: Aging parents and finances; robo-advisors
• 19:56: Listener advice on Medicaid trusts and elder law pitfalls
• 24:44: Berry storage listener tips (glass jar method)
• 26:04: Competing berry storage methods (vinegar wash)
• 27:19: Environmental advice from Pacific Northwest listener
• 28:56: Listener comments on MAC Cosmetics' new prominence at Sephora

Tone and Language

The episode is warm, communal, and rooted in humor and self-deprecation. Doree and Elise foster a space where vulnerability about adult responsibilities becomes a source of solidarity and even fun. Listener letters are treated with empathy and respect, punctuated by laughter, gentle teasing, and the validation of everyday struggles.

Conclusion

This Forever35 mini-episode exemplifies the podcast’s unique brand of self-care: practical, inclusive, honest, and interconnected. Whether listeners are seeking the best way to store berries or emotional support around aging parents, Doree and Elise ensure everyone feels part of a bigger circle—one where personal care, community wisdom, and the occasional rant about ziplock bags all have a place.

For further resources, product links, or to join the community, visit forever35podcast.com or their Patreon.