Hi Reader,

if anyone has checked their calendars lately, as of this writing, we're a mere 9 days from Christmas, two days into Hannukah, and ten days from the start of Kwanzaa. And don't even get me started on the absolute NERVE of New Year's Eve to be added to this mix.

It's a lot. I'm exhausted. I know far too many women who are wiped out, rolling eyes at each other as we stand in check out lines, talk about gifts left to purchase (let alone wrap) and getting things ordered by the shipping cutoff day (I think it's today, by the way, and you're welcome).

Just this morning (or possibly last night? It is all blurring together), I told my husband I need ONE DAY in a hotel room alone. He asked why? My mouth could barely formulate a response, while my brain shot back ideas: For holiday recovery? To not see laundry? To take a shower without worrying World War Three would break out between my kids? To take a break from being the sock finder, dinner defroster, cookie baker, activity organizer and tree decorator? To not get woken up by the teenager? The 20-year-old? The husband? The dogs? To get a freaking break?

But a hotel room is hardly the best form of life recovery, besides of course, the nap I would take for a minimum of three hours. Really, what I need is a nourishing getaway.

And the best place for that? Lucky Star Art Camp.

(Cue the hallelujah chorus.)

Way back in 2012, when I was truly ‘in it’ with young kids, I entered a contest to go to this brand new art camp. I am not someone who wins things, with the exception of the honorable mention and associated $2 award for a Halloween costume in third grade, so on the morning of the announcement, when I saw the email from the camp organizer that said a Danielle had won, I felt bitter…the lucky winner had the audacity to share my name. Sob sob. Woe is me.

Imagine my surprise just a few minutes later when I pulled the email up on my computer and could finally see the attached photo, which featured Lisa Field, the founder of Lucky Star Art Camp, holding up a sign that said “Danielle Davies.”

To be totally honest, I didn’t believe it.

A week away? In the Texas Hill Country? With stone cabins, gourmet food, art classes, and a hundred women I’d never met? In a season of my life where leaving for three hours felt impossible?

Even after the shock wore off—after the screaming, after my son yelled, “Mommy, you HAVE to go!”—I still felt that tug of resistance so many women know too well: I can’t leave. How can I go? My kids need me. My family needs me. Without me, what on earth will take place here?

But I went. I got on the plane. I crossed the river. And within 24 hours, I understood why I’d been called there.

Lucky Star is more than a camp. It’s more than art classes. It’s more than sitting under the stars with women you didn’t know the day before. Lucky Star is a place where women remember who they are. I've been lucky enough to attend 4 times, and I'll tell you...it has changed my life.

And the woman who created this place—Lisa Field—joins me on Roar this week. Lisa built Lucky Star not because she had a business plan or a five-year strategy… but because she needed community. She needed creativity. She needed a place where women could show up as beginners, as explorers, as humans—not as service providers for everyone around them. And it turns out thousands of women needed that, too.

In our conversation, we talk about:

✨ why women hesitate to give themselves permission

✨ the magic of learning something new at any age

✨ the bravery of showing up alone

✨ the power of creative community

✨ the transformations she witnesses every single year

✨ and why making things together is one of the oldest forms of female connection

If you’ve ever craved community… If you’ve ever wanted to run away for a week… If you’ve ever forgotten what it feels like to be lit up… This one’s for you.

🎧 Listen to my conversation with Lisa Field—founder of Lucky Star—right here.

Here’s to saying yes to the things that feel “too good to be true.” Sometimes they’re exactly what we need.

XO,

Danielle

P.S. To get tickets to Lucky Star 2026, keep an eye on their website—it sells out every year! www.LuckyStarArtCamp.com​

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