Videography by Vlada Karpovich | Music by Vlad Krotov
Unlock the ultimate year of refinement and inspiration with Ladies of Leisure. Engage in expertly curated challenges, indulge in elegance, and unite with like-minded women. Enjoy a seasonal soirée and start your local chapter today!
🌙 Evenings with E.V.E.
Come dressed for culture, not chores.
Now gathering: women of style, story, and sparkle! Arbor of the Vine has created a new cultural circle with Echoes & Vine Magazine for women who long for elegance and linger in conversation.
Evenings with E.V.E. is a private assembly of Echoes & Vine Enthusiasts: readers, aesthetes, and seekers gathering monthly for curated experiences in:
🕯 Literature
🕯 Leisure
🕯 Libations
Think salon meets soirée—held in thoughtful spaces, with friendly ladies over prosecco, performance, or prose.
Our gatherings are seasonal, intimate, and rooted in culture. Whether it’s a vintage film screening, a night at the theatre, the corner table at a jazz café, a docent-led tour, or a self-guided city walk—we explore overlooked splendor dressed in our best, because when we’re together, we are the special occasion.
If it’s two friends or twelve, hosting is up to you. Use the following 'Ladies of Leisure' Events Guide to plan, invite, and create your own local chapter gatherings.
💬 Want to share your event with the Arbor of the Vine community?
Join the Founders Circle and post your gatherings in Grace’s Subscriber Chat. We’d love to see what you're planning.
📅 For more event ideas and inspiration, browse our living calendar:
📍Check out our curated list of hidden gems, local advice, and personal reviews!
💄Evenings with E.V.E. is your new favorite excuse to dress up for ladies night.
November:
The Gathering
Uncovering Stories Beneath the Surface of Time
November feels like moments through memory and motion. It’s a season of gratitude and thanksgiving amid the excitement and allure of the holiday season. As we transition from brisk air to cozy indoor spaces with the familiar scent of wood and spice, gatherings are underway. We embrace the collective need to connect and reflect. When autumn leaves have all but fallen, we’ve held our traditions, cherished old memories, and shared new stories to remember how they’ve shaped us.
Ladies of Leisure invites women to The Gathering, not just as guests, but as curators of memory. Our activity transforms the art of antique and vintage discovery into an experience of communal reflection and shared storytelling. Whether wandering local antique fairs, exploring an online vintage market, or revisiting a family heirloom tucked away in a drawer, the intent is the same.
A keepsake represents the memory of a past life and is the symbol of a lived experience waiting to be discovered — a conversation yet to be had, a fresh perspective through new eyes.
This doesn’t have to be a treasure hunt for acquisition. The Gathering is designed to deepen relationships through shared exploration. We’re meant to walk down memory lane, appreciating the value of the past where time has layered its patina. The process of discovery — and the conversations that follow — nurtures empathy, narrative understanding, and emotional resonance. We become collectors of meaning, not just of things.
By the end of The Gathering, participants will have assembled a Collection of Connection: three meaningful finds, each linked to a personal story, lesson, or intention for the season ahead.
Hosting Instructions (budget-friendly)
IN-PERSON EVENT PLAN
Visit a local antique store, vintage fair, estate sale, or holiday market with your friends. Invite each guest to share images of objects they spotted, purchased, or already own — and why they chose it (see details below).
Following the outing, serve herbal tea, mulled wine, or a spiced mocktail in vintage glassware alongside seasonal pastries. *If the site does not have a dining facility on location or nearby, host in your home, local café, or location with autumnal scenery.
Curators of Memory:
Provide small notebooks or cards. Each guest writes the story of three found or rediscovered items:
Something that reflects who they were.
Something that represents who they are.
Something that inspires what’s yet to come.
After writing, guests exchange one story at random in category rounds (past, present, and future). Between items, participants should feel free to interpret and share how the stories resonate with them personally, sparking dialogue around shared emotion and human connection.
Each guest takes their written stories home as a symbolic archive to add to their existing vision board or save in a journal.
VIRTUAL EVENT PLAN
Ask participants to choose three objects before the gathering.
Prepare to share images of 3 vintage objects that you admire, purchased, or already own.
Write a brief story about why each item:
Reflects who they were,
Represents who they are, or
Inspires who they wish to become.
Live Gathering Flow:
Begin with a guided reflection about what it means to preserve meaning, not just things.
Participants should take turns sharing their items and backstories via camera. After completing one category type (e.g., past), return to the person who started first to begin the cycle again (e.g., present) until all three categories are completed (e.g., future).
Between each round, the group should feel free to offer reflections about themes of value, legacy, and emotion.
Each guest may save their written stories and digital photos as a symbolic archive to create a desktop wallpaper or add to their existing vision board.
HYBRID EVENT PLAN
Combine both methods by connecting virtually after everyone has identified their items and has their stories prepared (communicate a time, location, and connection method beforehand).
Plan enough time for joint storytelling and open discussion, ensuring that in-person attendees have access to monitors, cameras, and microphones.
Tips
Luxury Options
Host a private vintage shopping event or after-hours market tour.
Arrange for an antique appraiser or historian to share insights on storytelling through objects.
Our gathered treasures are only vessels; the meaning we pour into them endures,
becoming that which is timeless between us.
Share your favorite vintage find and the story it carries.
What memory, emotion, or lesson does it preserve for you this season?
October:
Harvesting Insight
How Reflection Cultivates Next-Level Intention
I take a deep inhale and hold for a long breath. The warm autumn air is tinged with a crisp chill; the coziness it brings is so familiar that I feel it deep in my core. My senses are sharpened. There’s a fire lit in me as bright as the trees are amber. Born under this constellation, it is the time of year when I am home, looking back and inward to feel truly alive. October is a pause amid the bounty: after the harvest, before the gathering — cycles the yield from cultivation.
This month’s Ladies of Leisure harvests the wisdom of what we’ve been tilling all year, whether it’s connection or personal growth. We envisioned. We cultivated. Now it’s time we savor the fruits of our labor.
The orchard lies just beyond the urban edge, its trees bowing with pears, apples, and figs. Golden hour spills through the branches, reflecting prisms in the glasses filled with spiced apple cider festively adorned atop burlap-draped tables. Wax candles flicker inside iron lanterns, while the scent of pumpkin pie and bread in seagrass baskets linger in the air, still warm and fragrant. Miniature terra-cotta pots hold soil for planting, and wreath bases lie ready for leaves inscribed with personal reflections. In the background, a stylus glides along vinyl to Ella Fitzgerald’s “Autumn in New York.” Every element suggests contemplation, creativity, and connection.
Guests arrive draped in oversized cashmere shawls, their laughter mingling with the sound of the wind rustling the leaves. Here, time is briefly suspended in a kaleidoscope of color. Each woman has come to share what she’s gathered from the year’s vibrant season. Fruition: when vision manifests into form.
Harvesting Insight offers a serene, sensory experience where each participant engages with the season’s bounty as a medium for reflection and intention, pairing seasonal activities with prompts about growth, gratitude, and wisdom. Guests plant apple seeds with affirmations, compose “Leaves of Reflection” to attach to wreaths or garlands, and fill mason jars with daily gratitude to open at year’s end. The closing ritual unites all attendees through a shared Harvest Basket, where symbolic tokens are exchanged, echoing the season’s message of growth, release, and interconnectedness. Hot apple cider, pumpkin desserts, and seasonal confections support the body while the activities nourish the mind and spirit, leaving each guest with both keepsakes and insight.
The October Ladies of Leisure is about harvesting lessons, not outcomes.
Hosting Instructions
IN-PERSON EVENT PLAN
Welcome & Settling: Serve spiced apple cider and pumpkin pastries as guests arrive. Introduce the theme and brief the group on the flow of activities.
Planting Apple Seeds with Intention
Provide small pots, soil, and apple seeds.
Guests write a personal affirmation or goal on a plant label.
Guide them to plant seeds while reflecting on personal growth.
Leaves of Reflection
Guests write lessons, habits shed, or insights from the year on pressed leaves.
Attach leaves to wreaths or string them into garlands for home display.
Canning Gratitude
Distribute mason jars for guests to note daily gratitude for the month.
Optional: decorate jars with ribbons and charms.
Harvest Basket
Each guest places a symbolic token in the communal basket, shares its meaning aloud, then (blindfolded) selects another token at random to carry home as a reminder of shared energy.
VIRTUAL EVENT PLAN
Send a kit in advance: small pot, soil, apple seeds, pressed leaves, wreath base, mason jar, ribbons.
Begin with a guided introduction via video call.
Conduct Apple Seed Planting and Leaves of Reflection with live demonstrations.
Participants complete Canning Gratitude at home.
Digital Harvest Basket
Digital Tokens: Before the event, ask each guest to text or email the host an image of their symbolic token.
Sharing Intentions: During the closing segment, call on each guest to reveal their token and its meaning to the group via video. Encourage brief storytelling or reflection; the token represents their intention or what they wish to release.
The host should create a photo collage in advance to share with the group after all guests have revealed their tokens (instead of physically selecting a token blindfolded). Tip: Use Canva or a photo collage app.
Encourage reflection on the new token as a reminder of shared energy and collective intention.
Follow-Up: Guests can display the token collage as a phone or desktop wallpaper, print it out and keep it in a journal, or place it near their gratitude jar to sustain the sense of connection.
Close with a communal toast of hot cider or seasonal tea (place dried sachets in the mail kit).
HYBRID EVENT PLAN
In-person attendees follow the above program.
Virtual participants join via live stream, following the same step-by-step instructions.
Use a shared digital board or chat for remote participants to display reflections and token explanations during the Harvest Basket Ritual.
Rotate a facilitator to ensure remote voices are included in the discussion.
Tips
Budget-Friendly Options
Local Foraged Décor: Collect fallen leaves, pinecones, acorns, small branches, and natural fibers to decorate tables and wreaths.
Autumn Music Playlist: Curate a free playlist of classical or folk music that evokes fall and play via Bluetooth speaker.
DIY Hot Cider Bar: Provide apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and optional garnishes like orange slices or star anise.
Budget-Friendly Favors: Small packets of heirloom seeds, homemade jam, or dried apple slices for each guest.
Table Games with a Twist: Seasonal trivia, word scrambles, or “name that spice” guessing games using pantry items.
Luxury Options
Private Orchard or Estate Venue: Rent a boutique orchard, heritage garden, or estate grounds for exclusive, intimate gatherings.
Live Acoustic Music: Harpist, string trio, or classical guitar to provide a refined soundscape that complements the orchard or harvest setting.
Gourmet Tasting Stations: A rotating experience of seasonal cheeses, olives, nuts, and jams paired with artisan bread or crackers on porcelain platters.
Private Cider Pressing Demonstration: Guests participate in pressing their own cider with organic apples, learning traditional methods with guidance.
Artisanal Seed Planting Kits: Present heirloom apple or pumpkin seeds in hand-stamped, reusable ceramic pots.
Personalized Carving Station: Miniature pumpkins or gourds engraved or painted with each guest’s initials or mantra by a professional artist.
Scarves or Wraps: Seasonal colors inspired by fall foliage for guests to wear, doubling as décor and keepsake.
The harvest is both literal and metaphorical: we cultivate growth, release what no longer serves us, and gather the wisdom of shared experience. Reflection, intention, and ritual make these lessons tangible, rooting gratitude and insight in memory and practice.
Write your own Fruition Note this week: one line about what this year has taught you and one intention for what you wish to nurture next. Post your note in our Chat to join the collective reflection.
September:
Summit of Sisterhood
Reaching the Peak of the Feminine Divine
Modern life is generous with errands and ruthless with time. Friendships drift to the edges, waiting for “when things slow down.” They seldom do. This month’s gathering restores one of our oldest forms of feminine power: women in conversation, outdoors, with intention.
Luciana met me at the trailhead in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We walked in an easy rhythm. Hills peaked above clouds that that looked like breath stretched across the landscape. We traded lessons from the last year: work pivots, unsuspecting grief that resurfaced in inconvenient moments, the liberation from learning to rest without an alibi. Luciana’s counsel was practical and kind. We ended at a small overlook, deciding to carry one new habit into the week and to hold each other to it.
In preparation for the long drive home, we stopped at a local winery for dinner. The air carried a soft herbal sweetness at Rocklands. Now a party of three, Lenni arrived with the bright ease of a woman who laughed quickly and often. We left her son with family so conversation could stretch. At the market, we chose a loaf and soft cheese, then found a table beneath a line of trees. She lifted a glass of crisp white; I kept to a French botanical infusion with a rosemary note that lingered on the palette.
Around us… Families on blankets, a couple trading quiet smiles, the farm dog making friendly rounds. We spoke about Lenni’s first year of motherhood and how leadership looks different when your audience is three feet tall and observant. Her joy radiated beyond our table. Before we left, we stepped past the play area to greet a goat who accepted the extra attention with calm familiarity.
With hearts full of joy and spirits renewed, we departed. As the rugged sentinels faded into the distance—their peaks melted against the twilight like glaciers slipping beneath the surface into the depths of the ocean—we knew this was not the end of a journey. This sisterhood was our support toward a brighter, more compassionate future, guiding us forward one step at a time towards deeper connection.
Let’s host a two-part micro-retreat across the Mid-Atlantic:
An afternoon Blue Ridge trail walk followed by a vineyard visit at sunset. No overnight stay. No elaborate bookings. Only presence, a simple plan, and space for women to share the wisdom they carry.
Theme: Summit of Sisterhood Micro Retreat
Location: A Blue Ridge scenic hike in Virginia; Rocklands Farm Winery, Poolesville, Maryland (this can be adapted to a location near you)
Aim: Deepen friendship through shared stories and attentive listening.
Part I: Trail Walk
Setting: A gentle 2-hour Blue Ridge trail or local ridge hike.
Rhythm: Walk. Sit. Share. [Repeat for the return journey.]
Walk (30 minutes): Take a leisurely walk on the trail, enjoying the surroundings and each other's company. You can chat, take in the scenery, and keep an eye out for your chosen artifact (see below).
Sit (15 minutes): Stop and take a break to appreciate the moment. You can use this time to rest, reflect, and simply enjoy the expanse.
Share (15 minutes): Take turns sharing your thoughts, reflections, or insights from being with mother nature. This can be a time for deeper conversation and connection with each other.
Artifact: Each guest finds one image—a photo of bark, sky, or shadow—that becomes her “texture of the day.”
Use the images as conversation starters, reflection tools, and keepsakes from the retreat.
Part II: Vineyard Table
Setting: Sunset dinner at a local winery or farmers market with outdoor seating. Take advantage of their food and wine tastings or see if they provide catered picnics.
Rhythm: While waiting for the food to arrive, take turns naming a token of gratitude for your shared friendship. Why is this friendship group important to you? What impact do these women make in your life? How have you grown as a person because of their influence?
Quilt prompt: Each guest brings a “quilt square” - one lesson from the year written on small decorative sticky notes or printed paper, making duplicates for each attendee. During dinner, share your quilt square with the group and exchange notes with each friend. Take the collected notes home to create a collage and frame as a memento.
Choose a partner for monthly check-ins. How are your keepsakes and mementos influencing your daily routines and mindfulness?
Virtual Option
Preparation:
Throughout the week, visit a nearby park or botanical garden, reflecting on your experiences and insights. Take pictures of images or moments that stand out to you.
Prepare a wine and cheese plate (or a non-alcoholic beverage and snack of your choice) to enjoy during the virtual gathering.
Create your “quilt square” in Canva or a similar design tool, writing down one lesson from the year. Save it as an image file to share with the group.
Gathering:
Meet on video with your wine and cheese plate in hand.
Use screen sharing or a virtual whiteboard to share:
The photo from your walk (Part 1)
Your “quilt square” image (Part 2)
Share the story behind each image and how it relates to your reflections.
Discuss how the lessons from your “quilt squares” can be woven together for mutual support.
Close with the “one habit, one check-in” pledge, where each participant commits to one new habit and designates a friend to check in with them.
Tips
Budget: Use craft supplies you already own. Carpool. Pack trail snacks from pantry staples.
Sustainable: Choose local organic wines or NA (non-alcoholic) botanicals. Wear earth friendly bug repellant and non-toxic sunscreen.
Luxury: Hire a foraging guide, schedule a vineyard tour, or book a “fancy picnic” company (if the venues permit outside catering).
Why It Resonates:
The vineyard and the trail created gentle boundaries for real talk.
Host your Summit of Sisterhood this month. Share a photo of your “quilt cards” and tag your local Evenings with E.V.E. chapter. Not one in your region?
Paid subscribers may download the ‘Summit of Sisterhood, A Companion Guide’ with our compliments.
Summit of Sisterhood, A Companion Guide is designed to translate the spirit of the mountain trail and vineyard table into a framework to carry on the journey.
Use the companion guide to plan your retreat, set prompts, and nurture connection. Think of it as a map: helpful guidance that prevents straying from the path of intention, so that your gathering remains restorative.
