interview by JANA LETONJA
Caroline Baudino is a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, content creator, author, and the powerhouse behind Shop with Caroline, where she’s inspiring a community of three million people to embrace life, style, and confidence at every age. At 54, she’s proving that reinvention has no expiration date and that sometimes the most powerful thing a woman can do is simply get up, get dressed, and show up for herself. With her signature humor, refreshing honesty, and infectious energy, Caroline has become a voice for women navigating the beautiful, messy realities of midlife. Now, she’s taking her message even further with her new book, Finding Your Happy in the Hard, coming January 19, 2027. Today, we’re talking about finding joy when life gets complicated, refusing to become invisible as we age, building confidence from the inside out, and why it’s never too late to become the woman you were meant to be.
photography by JIN - WOO PRENSENA
Your new book is called Finding Your Happy in the Hard. I love that title because it acknowledges something we don’t talk about enough: life can be hard even when it’s good. What inspired you to write this book, and what does finding your happy in the hard really mean to you?
I wrote this book for the woman who loves her family, is grateful for her life, and still looks in the mirror and thinks, “Where did I go?” You can love the life you’ve built and still miss yourself in it. So many women feel guilty even admitting that. I wanted to give her permission and practical tools to start showing up for herself again. Sometimes that starts with something as simple as getting up, getting dressed, going for a walk, or asking, “What do I need today?”
Those little promises you keep to yourself can change how you move through your life. To me, finding your happy in the hard means making room for joy while you’re still going through something. Because if we wait for everything to be perfect before we let ourselves feel good, we could be waiting forever. There will always be responsibilities, uncertainty, and things we can’t control. But we can still find moments that remind us we’re here, we matter, and there’s more life to live. That’s what I want women to take from this book. You’re allowed to feel good before everything is figured out. You are worth taking care of, too.
You’ve built this incredible platform around positivity, confidence, and showing up for yourself. But we all have days when getting out of bed feels like a victory. What do you do on the days when you simply don’t feel happy?
First, I give myself permission to have that day. I’m human and everything I talk about comes with days when I need to hear it myself. Then I ask, “What’s one thing I can do to take care of myself right now?” Sometimes that’s getting up, washing my face, and getting dressed. Sometimes it’s going outside, moving my body, or calling someone who makes me feel supported. And sometimes it’s giving myself the rest I need.
That’s where “Get up. Get dressed. Let’s do this” comes in for me. Getting dressed gives me a small place to start. I don’t have to know how I’m going to handle the whole day to take that first step. I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to turn everything around immediately. On a hard day, I try to make the next hour a little gentler or a little better. That counts, too. I can have a bad day and still be on my own side.
There’s so much pressure today to be positive, grateful, and constantly working on ourselves. Do you think we’ve become obsessed with chasing happiness instead of actually experiencing life?
Yes, I think we’ve made happiness another thing to get right. We’re supposed to be grateful, positive, constantly growing, and that can become exhausting. You can love your life and still feel overwhelmed. You can be grateful and still want something to change. We need permission to experience all of that. To me, finding your happy in the hard means making room for joy while life is still messy. Laughing with a friend, wearing something you love, enjoying the moment you’re in. You don’t have to turn every hard day into a lesson or every good moment into self-improvement. Sometimes you’re allowed to just live.
Was there a particular moment or difficult chapter in your own life when you realized that happiness wasn’t something you had to wait for, but something you could actively choose?
For me, it was realizing how often I was saying, “I’ll feel better when…” When things calm down, when everyone else is okay, when I have more time. There was always another condition. I started asking, “What can I do for myself today, with life exactly as it is?” Getting dressed, moving my body, making time for something I enjoyed. Those small choices gave me a place to begin. I couldn’t control everything happening around me, but I could give myself something good within it.
Your message is refreshingly honest, and you’re not afraid to talk about the messy parts of life. What is something about happiness that you believe most people get completely wrong?
I think people assume that if you’re happy, you must have an easy life, or that once you find happiness, you’re supposed to stay there. You can cry in the morning and laugh at dinner. Both feelings are real. Enjoying a moment doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten what you’re going through. That’s why I talk about finding your happy in the hard. Sometimes happiness is a small moment of relief, connection, or feeling like yourself again. Those moments matter, even when they don’t fix everything.
So many women reach a point where they start feeling invisible, whether in their careers, relationships, or society in general. Why do you think that happens, and how can women start reclaiming their sense of identity?
I think women spend so many years being needed that we forget what it feels like to be seen. We become someone’s mother, wife, caregiver, and our own interests slowly move to the bottom of the list. Start by asking yourself, “What do I like? What do I want? What have I stopped making time for?” Take a class, reconnect with a friend, wear something that feels like you. You can love all those roles and still have an identity of your own.
Your mantra, “Get Up. Get Dressed. Let’s Do This!” has become something of a movement. Why is getting dressed such a powerful act of self-care for you, and how can something as simple as putting on an outfit change our mindset?
Getting dressed is a way of telling myself, “I’m worth the effort today.” Even when I have nowhere special to go, I deserve to look in the mirror and recognize myself. It gives me a small, concrete action when everything else feels overwhelming. I may not be able to control what the day brings, but I can choose how I show up for it. And sometimes putting on that outfit gives me just enough energy to take the next step. You are the special occasion.
Women are constantly bombarded with messages about how they should look, dress, and age. What’s one fashion or beauty rule you think every woman should immediately throw out the window?
“Dress your age”. Throw that one straight out the window. What does that even mean? Your birthday shouldn’t decide what you’re allowed to wear. If you love the jeans, wear the jeans. If you feel fabulous in the dress, put it on. Our bodies and tastes evolve, and we get to decide what feels good now. Getting older can be an opportunity to have more fun with your style, especially when you finally know what you like.
How do you balance being a wife, mother, daughter, and entrepreneur without losing yourself in everyone else’s needs?
I think balance is something you keep adjusting. Some days my family needs more of me, other days my work does. The important thing is noticing when I’ve disappeared from my own list. I try to make time for things that give me energy and be honest about when I need help or need to say no. I love being a wife, mother, and daughter, and I want to enjoy being Caroline, too. Taking care of myself helps me bring more patience and presence to the people I love.
One of the things people love about you is that you’re funny, outspoken, and unapologetically yourself. But was there ever a time when you worried about being too much, too loud, or too opinionated? How did you learn to stop caring so much about what other people think?
I think “too much” is something so many women learn to worry about. You start editing yourself before you’ve even opened your mouth. What I come back to is, “Do I like who I’m being? Am I being kind? Am I being honest?” I want to be open to feedback, but I also want to recognize myself. Someone will always have an opinion. I’d rather build a life that feels like mine than spend it trying to become a version of myself everyone approves of.
I want to end with something personal. If you could sit down with the younger Caroline, the woman who perhaps didn’t yet know what she was capable of, what would you tell her? And for the women reading who are going through their own hard season right now, what’s the one thing you hope they take away from Finding Your Happy in the Hard?
I’d tell her, “There is so much ahead of you that you can’t imagine yet. Give yourself a chance. You don’t need everyone’s permission, and you don’t need to feel completely ready to begin.”
And to the woman in a hard season, I’d say, “Your life still holds possibilities, even if you can’t see them right now. Start with one small thing that helps you feel like yourself”. I hope this book leaves her feeling less alone and more willing to believe that there’s still something good ahead for her.
