How I AI

"Farm to table software": How I built a Thanksgiving party hub using Lovable

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: https://workos.com?utm_source=lennys_howiai&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q22025 *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._

CVClaire Vohost

Nov 19, 2025·34m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1

   Thanksgiving party hub: the “farm-to-table software” idea

   Claire introduces the episode’s goal: vibe-code a personalized Thanksgiving party hub in Lovable to manage guests, potluck dishes, recipes, and photos. She frames it as both a practical holiday tool and a vehicle for learning design and AI workflows.

2. 2

   Sponsor break: Why enterprise apps use WorkOS

   A short sponsor segment explains why AI tools need deep access to company systems and therefore must meet enterprise security expectations. WorkOS is positioned as a “Stripe for enterprise features,” providing authentication and admin capabilities via APIs.

3. 3

   Bootstrapping in Lovable: first prompt and V1 feature set

   Claire starts the project with a simple Lovable prompt and reviews what the tool generates. The initial app includes core modules (dashboard, guest list, dish coordination, recipe sharing, photo gallery) with a warm autumn palette, but the design doesn’t fully land.

4. 4

   Design uplevel strategy: iterate incrementally instead of rewriting everything

   She explains her approach to improving vibe-coded apps: make focused, step-by-step refinements rather than dumping a long list of complaints into the model. This keeps changes controlled and avoids losing the plot in regeneration.

5. 5

   Typography upgrade with Google Font pairings (Homemade Apple + Raleway)

   Claire demonstrates a quick way to dramatically change the app’s feel by swapping fonts. She finds a Google Fonts pairing (via Canva’s combinations list) and prompts Lovable to apply it across headings and body text, then checks the implementation details.

6. 6

   Custom hero imagery with Midjourney style references

   To replace the weak header image, Claire turns to Midjourney and uses a style reference found on X to get a textured, storybook “paper cut-out” aesthetic. She adapts the prompt to generate an autumn harvest-table scene that matches the cozy brand.

7. 7

   Fixing aspect ratio and generating a wide hero banner

   The first Midjourney output is square, so Claire reuses the prompt and changes parameters to produce a wide banner suitable for a website hero. She highlights this as a practical technique: tune aspect ratio and metadata to fit specific UI placements.

8. 8

   Personalizing the app and dealing with imperfect vibe-coded layout fixes

   Back in Lovable, Claire uploads the new hero image, renames the event to “Claire’s Thanksgiving Feast,” and requests more personalized copy. She then tries to fix clipping and navbar spacing via screenshots and prompts—showing both wins and limitations of automated styling fixes.

9. 9

   Adding guest dietary restrictions via a multi-select field

   Claire extends functionality by adding dietary preferences to the guest list, emphasizing the importance of UX-specific language in prompts. Specifying “multi-select” yields a better form design and a useful default list without manual enumeration.

10. 10

    Mapping dietary tags to potluck dishes (allergens and safe options)

    She connects the guest preference model to the dish coordinator by adding allergen/dietary tags to dishes. This enables quick scanning for compatibility and hints at future enhancements like coverage reports or matching guests to safe dishes.

11. 11

    Recipe pain point: ingredients and instructions split (bad for cooking with kids)

    Claire explains why many online recipes are hard to follow: measurements live in a separate ingredients list while steps reference ingredients ambiguously. She sets up her favorite AI remedy—reformatting recipes so each step includes exact quantities.

12. 12

    ChatGPT 5.1 thoughts + the “bail and restart” prompting tactic

    Before reformatting a stuffing recipe, Claire shares impressions of ChatGPT 5.1: improved personality but sometimes too “cute/sassy,” and it may jump straight into execution without clarifying questions. When it feels slow or stuck, she recommends stopping and restarting with a faster mode.

13. 13

    Final build: AI-reformatted recipe added to the hub + sharing and wrap-up

    Claire pastes the reformatted polenta-and-sausage stuffing recipe into the app, creating a shareable, structured entry with embedded measurements per step. She briefly plugs her kid-friendly recipe site and closes with lessons learned about design iteration, customization, and the limits of vibe coding.