This week Lily welcomes Blake Blankenbecler to talk about creating, building, and maintaining friendships in today’s world. Blake believes that life is meant to be lived in connection and helps friends have more meaningful conversations and create more sustainable friendships.  Blake recently released The Friendship Deck, a conversation game for friends who are craving more depth and intimacy with each other that can be purchased at www.thefriendshipdeck.com You can also find her on Instagram @blakeblankenbecler and TikTok at @blakeblankenbecler.lpc Hot-takes and how-to’s covered in this episode: Lily and Blake share their definition of the phrase "better friendships"  The feeling of abandonment and isolation in friendships is very intense Having honest communication with your friends  Grieving friends or friendships you need to move on from versus deciding who getes to be in your friendship circle How to build new friendships as an adult: “The goal at the beginning is not to find a new best friend, the goal is to just show up.” Having an “exhale” friend versus a best friend Links and resources:  Friendship DeckBlake on Instagram @blakeblankenbecler Blake on TikTok  @blakeblankenbecler.lpc Date Brazen on Instagram @datebrazen Date Brazen on TikTok @datebrazen Show notes: https://www.datebrazen.com/blog/exhale-friendships-with-blake-blankenbecler