Ask Carolyn

Published on: March 15, 2021

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Collar Commentary

By: Hannah E. Smith, JD

by Woodruff Family Law Group

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late iconic Supreme Court Justice, took the nation’s highest court’s dress from drab to fab with her unique collection of collars. “The standard robe is made for a man because it has a place for the shirt to show, and the tie,” Ginsburg told the Washington Post in 2009. As a result, she and Sandra Day O’Connor, as the first and second women to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, thought it would be befitting to jazz up the robe in a womanly fashion. Ginsburg, who was 87 when she died on September 18, 2020, became known for subtly encoding meaning in the collars she chose to wear on any given occasion. Her collection began with an original lace jabot, which she frequently wore while on the bench from 1993 to 2008. However, over the years, her law clerks, colleagues, and other admirers helped her grow her collection with an impressive array of exquisite collars. Time Magazine was granted access to some of the late Justice’s favorite collars for a still-life series, which can be viewed here. A few of her most popular collars are described in detail below. Continue reading

Published on: January 15, 2021

Does One Vote Matter?

by Woodruff Family Law Group

Part III of III

Never give up when you are right. On to the 66^th Congress (1919-1921):

May 21, 1919: The House passed the 19^th Amendment 304 to 89.

Published on: January 14, 2021

Does One Vote Matter?

Ideas: On the 19th Amendment: My Vote, My Equality

by Woodruff Family Law Group

Part II of III

January 10, 1918: In 1918, the U.S. House of Representatives. voted 274 to 136, two-thirds only by one vote to pass the 19^th Amendment. Remember Jeannette Rankin of Montana who, a year earlier, had become the first woman in the House of Representatives, implored: “How shall we answer their challenge, gentlemen: how shall we explain to them the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted for war to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to women of our country?”

June 7, 1918, President Wilson answered the concerned letter of Mrs. Catts, one of approximately 30 she wrote to the President.

Published on: January 12, 2021

Does One Vote Matter?

Ideas: On the 19th Amendment: My Vote, My Equality

by Woodruff Family Law Group

Part I of III: Background

Individual letters have moved history and votes. Before tweeting and social media, penned (or penciled) letters were an excellent persuasive tool. This blog is in three parts: Part I deals with Suffrage and background on the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Part II considers a letter that moved Congress into action by moving a President of the United States. Part III deals with a penciled letter of a Mother to a Son, and that one letter sealed the deal on the 19^th Amendment granting finally women the right to vote. Continue reading

Published on: October 19, 2020

Divorce Party: Sage Smudging

By: Carolyn J. Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVA

by Woodruff Family Law Group

Divorce is mostly negative energy. Why not have a Sage Smudging Divorce Party for you and your besties to get rid of the negative energy? So, you kept the marital residence: I did that, and I found the constant reminder of my ex dragging my sensuality to my retained home a drag. One of my closest friends was familiar with Sage Smudging suggested this sage ritual. And, it worked: we took a wrapped “stick” of sage, a feather, and moved throughout the corners of the retained marital residence ridding the house of its ghosts and bad vibes. You can do this with a group of friends and a special cocktail. Continue reading

Published on: May 29, 2020

Happiness

By: Carolyn Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVA

by Woodruff Family Law Group

Quiet, sunny day

A cat basking in the sun

Stretching

Published on: May 26, 2020

Carolyn’s Healthy Egg White Omelet

By: Carolyn Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVA

by Woodruff Family Law Group

For 2

Vegetables:

Two slices of red onion diced

Published on: May 21, 2020

The Day the Handshake Died

By: Carolyn Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVA

by Woodruff Family Law Group

In the year 2020, creatures run rampant

Sounds of warfare without guns

Hands contagious

Published on: May 13, 2020

Carolyn’s Decadent Chocolate Surprise Brownies

by Woodruff Family Law Group

I love chocolate, and COVID-19 has not changed my chocolate fetish. But, it has given me more time to cook, out of both necessity and a need for a creative outlet. Plus, no restaurants are open, so here I am in my kitchen. Being healthy is a goal, and I look for organic solutions without flour, which is not good for me. I also do not add salt to anything, and I recommend you not add salt either. I also do not add sugar, including stevia. My husband loves these brownies. Continue reading

Published on: August 9, 2018

The Seven Nights of Santa travels to Lithuania

Venn Crawford

by Woodruff Family Law Group

The Seven Nights of Santa traveled to Lithuania for the first time this July, thanks to our friend Andrew Mastecas’s excellent work in translating the book.

My husband Dwight Ensley and I first published The Seven Nights of Santa in 2013. In my work as a family law attorney, I see a lot of divorces involving children. Holidays such as Christmas are often difficult for such families – there are disagreements over how to celebrate or which house the kids open gifts in. Additionally, media images of “traditional” families don’t represent the experiences of children of divorce. These experiences are what inspired The Seven Nights of Santa, which shows how Christmas can be magical for families of all shapes and sizes.

We give away copies of the book to clients going through a divorce, but their children aren’t the only ones who need this message. That’s why we teamed up with Andrew Mastecas, a 9^th grader from New York City, who translated the book into Lithuanian and donated the copies to orphanages in the country.