A Very Grown-Up Playdate: Tarot Readings, Gemstones & Great Women

On the afternoon of November 16, 2024, my home briefly transformed into a cozy spiritual studio—equal parts intuition, gemstones, and lightly chilled champagne. The idea sparked from my recent tarot reading I had with Jenn, which left me thinking: I know people in my life who would love this. It felt like a perfect addition to my list of 50 things.

I invited a group of women who each hold a different kind of importance in my life—Melanie Buckmaster, Mary Bradley, Ashe Edlund, Maira Ribeiro, Emily Carter, Amy Baggett, Aimee Szrekut, Nicole Pietro, Paige Buzbee, Nyasha Felix—and, of course, my wife, Lorraine. It was a gathering of people who make me feel grounded and lifted at the same time.

To guide the experience, I asked Jenn Green—formerly Wellness with Jenn, now reimagined as Mira Soma—to lead our activities: private tarot readings paired with the chance to design a custom gemstone bracelet based on each person’s reading. Jenn has this warm, intuitive presence that instantly puts you at ease, which is helpful when you're about to hand someone your energetic forecast for the year.

I set up our screened-in porch as the reading room—fireplace lit, the couch layered with pillows and throws, the whole space warm and inviting in that autumn-afternoon kind of way. Jenn took each woman out there one at a time for a 15–20 minute reading, while the rest of us gathered around the big dining room table to assemble bracelets or chatted in the living room, nibbling on finger foods and sipping champagne.

There was something wonderfully simple about the format: insight, creativity, community. No pressure to be “deep,” no forced epiphanies—just a relaxed afternoon where everyone got what they needed. Some left with clarity, some with beautiful bracelets, and some with both. My only regret is that I failed to snap ANY photos capturing this magical afternoon. Always the downside in trying to be perpetually “present”.

Aside from that, it was exactly the kind of afternoon I had hoped for—warm, meaningful, and just mystical enough to keep things interesting. In fact, if aging comes with this many gemstones and this much girl-time, I may be entering my peak era.