“Farm-to-table software”: How I built a Thanksgiving party hub using Lovable for managing invites, dishes, shared recipes, and photos

In today’s pre-Thanksgiving episode, I walk you through how I vibe coded my very own “Thanksgiving party hub” using Lovable—and how I transformed it from AI-generated slop into something warm, personal, and genuinely useful. I show you exactly how I upleveled the typography, visuals, and structure using Google Fonts and Midjourney style references, and then I share one of my favorite real-life AI hacks: how to turn any messy online recipe into a clean, step-by-step, kid-friendly version that’s actually usable while you’re cooking. This is a cozy, practical walkthrough of my real design process—the little tricks I use to make AI-built apps feel handcrafted instead of generic.

What you’ll learn:

1. How to build a fully functional Thanksgiving party hub in Lovable—guests, dishes, recipes, and photos
2. How I uplevel AI-generated designs using Google Fonts and Tailwind
3. How to use Midjourney style references to create custom images that match your aesthetic
4. How to add custom features to vibe-coded apps, like dietary preferences and allergen tags
5. How to iterate on layouts inside Lovable using screenshots and small, targeted prompts
6. How I use ChatGPT to restructure recipes so the measurements are embedded directly in each step
7. How to make recipes kid-friendly and easier to follow using a simple formatting prompt

—

Brought to you by:

WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready today

—

Where to find Claire Vo:

ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/

Website: https://clairevo.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/

X: https://x.com/clairevo

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction to the Thanksgiving party hub concept

(02:20) Starting a project in Lovable and initial design assessment

(04:59) Upleveling typography with Google Font combinations

(08:36) Creating custom header images with Midjourney

(11:39) Adjusting aspect ratios for Midjourney images

(14:22) Fixing design issues incrementally

(18:52) Adding dietary-restriction functionality

(23:36) AI recipe reformatting for easier cooking

(26:02) Thoughts on ChatGPT 5.1

(30:51) Final implementation and recipe sharing

—

Tools referenced:

• Lovable: https://lovable.dev/

• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/

• Google Fonts: https://fonts.google.com/

• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/

• Canva Font Combinations: https://www.canva.com/font-combinations/

—

Other references:

• Polenta and Sausage Stuffing Recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/polenta-and-sausage-stuffing-233030

• Runaway Pancakes (kid-friendly recipe site): https://runawaypancakes.com/

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.