In this episode, I sit down with Chloe Sappern, my creative right hand for my brand and a close friend, to talk about Chloe’s role as a social media strategist, how she grew to build Sappern Creative, and how she navigates creativity and collaboration in her work. Chloe shares her trajectory from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration to creating her own business, what her day-to-day looks like working with multiple clients, and how we started working together off of Chloe’s cold-email....

In this solo episode, I dive into how I’ve been feeling so far in postpartum, how our holiday and New Year went as a family of four, and what I’m hoping for moving into 2024. I discuss how our current sleep/feeding schedule is going with our newborn and where I’m at mentally right now, what I’m excited to explore on the podcast this year, and how it’s still impossible for me to wrap my head around being an adult. I also share why I’ve decided to stop breastfeeding and how freeing that...

In this episode, I sit down with Lauren Elizabeth to discuss all things pregnancy and the emotional rollercoaster of preparing for your child to enter the world. Lauren talks about her first trimester experience and struggling to navigate medications, feeling shameful and lazy when battling pregnancy fatigue, and not always being able to connect to the baby in your womb. She also shares what she’s most anxious about for postpartum and how she’s proactively preparing, how being raised by a...

In this episode, I sit down with Superhuman App creator Mimi Bouchard to discuss all things visualization and the power of intentional thinking. Mimi shares her trajectory over the past ten years and how she became passionate about personal development, how what she calls the “what if” pull guided her towards her true potential, and why perfection is a fallacy and your bounce-back rate is much more important. She talks about how she started practicing self-guided visualization which...

In this episode, I sit down with financial therapist Aja Evans to discuss all things money and our complex emotions around finances. Aja shares how she came to financial therapy, how we perceive wealth as children and how that shapes us as adults, and how the “more” mentality can be a recipe for disaster. She talks about the necessity for women to empower themselves with financial awareness, how to talk about money with your partner and how it can bring about positive opportunities, and how...

In this solo episode, I share how maternity leave has been so far with a toddler and a newborn, and how we’re adjusting as a family of four. I discuss what it’s like being immersed back into a newborn’s schedule and the anticipatory anxiety I’ve been feeling around time, how I feel more prepared and confident as a mother this time around, and why we’re resisting the urge to compare the two newborn experiences. I talk about the difficulties I’ve had with not being able to give both children my...

In this episode, I sit down with FF Fam member Chelsey Korhonen to discuss her incredible story of having two babies five weeks apart: one through gestational carrier, and one through a surprise pregnancy. Chelsey shares the long fertility journey she went on that led to considering a gestational carrier, the emotional toll of struggling to conceive, and what it was like having her friend Brittany offer to be their carrier. She talks about how the gestational carrier process works, the...

In this episode, I sit down with Paris McLean – Assistant Head of School for Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism at Montclair Kimberley Academy, and my old friend – to discuss navigating conversations on race, how we can talk to our children about race, diversity, and equity, and how parents can be mindful about raising their children in diverse and inclusive environments. Paris speaks about his role in education and the foundational themes of his work, his experience growing up biracial,...

In this episode, I sit down with my new friend and neighbor, Ashley, as part of another installment in the Freckled Foodie Friendship Series. Ashley and I share how we first met and connected after moving to the suburbs, why it’s essential to prioritize adult friendships, and how we’ve both navigated having playdates with other moms present. We discuss what it’s like in the adult friendship dating world, the necessity of putting yourself out there when you want to make friends, and how...

In this episode, I return from maternity leave to conclude my labor and delivery recap. I share the long journey it was to finally get induced, what it was like going through the induction, from admittance to postpartum recovery, and how this experience came full circle from a terrible labor to a wonderful delivery. I also discuss why it’s so essential – and often difficult –  to advocate for yourself during labor and delivery, what it felt like to learn we had a boy, why making the delivery...

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Nicole Landry, aka “The Birds Papaya,” to discuss how motherhood has shaped her; from the wide-ranging birthing and postpartum experiences she had with each of her four children; to the identity crisis that came in her late twenties; to the importance of setting up systems in your life so you don’t lose yourself in motherhood. Sarah shares how she moved through her divorce and felt the impulse to “fall on the sword” for her children, how she chooses to...

In this episode, I sit down with Sam Previte, Intuitive Eating Dietician, to discuss all things intuitive eating and cultivating a freeing relationship with food. Sam explains what exactly intuitive eating means and what the biggest misconceptions are about it, what the “rebellion” phase in intuitive eating means and how we can examine our food behaviors and patterns, and how you can blend intuitive eating with making nutrient-dense choices. She also shares why our bodies crave food variety,...

In this solo episode, I make a brief comeback from maternity leave to give a full update on the craziness that has happened in the last week and a half of this pregnancy. I share a timeline of my prodromal labor experience, from the multiple hospital visits; to having ongoing contractions and being several centimeters dilated; to finally getting a scheduled induction. I unpack the confusion of feeling like I don’t know my own body, the anxiety of not knowing how to interpret my labor signals,...

In this episode, I sit down with Ayana Lage to discuss her experience with postpartum psychosis, from how her symptoms began to develop after giving birth; to what led to her commitment to a psychiatric ward; to how she made a full recovery and emerged empowered about her story. Ayana shares what her relationship with her mental health was before and during her pregnancy, why the line between postpartum exhaustion and postpartum depression is so confusing, and what it felt like in the throes...

In this episode, I sit down with Cindy Linville – my mother and three-peat guest – to discuss all things being a grandparent, from the experience of watching your own children raise children; to the act of meeting children where they are; to witnessing your children mirror your own traits. We talk about what it means to Cindy to not care about what people think, how she and I have experienced setting and respecting boundaries around parenting and the grandparent-child relationship, and how...

In this episode, I share how I’m feeling two and a half weeks out from my due date, what I’m doing for my body right now, and how my maternity leave will look personally and work-wise in the coming months. I discuss the question of sharing content during postpartum, what I want to prioritize during postpartum and do differently this time around, and why a recent experience with early labor pains brought up some deep-seated anxieties. Finally, I unpack the intense emotions I’ve been feeling...

Episode Description:  In this episode, I sit down with friend and content creator Olivia Noceda to talk about priorities, boundaries, and understanding what we want versus what we think we want. We reflect on a time Olivia was there for me during a postpartum breakdown, and Olivia shares how she has developed her journey with boundaries over time. She also discusses why regularly establishing your priorities in life is essential, how the impulse of comparison on social media is...

In this episode, I give a life update and share my recent experience being eight months pregnant at my cousin’s wedding, and how I’m generally feeling physically and mentally. I unpack the confusion of feeling anxious over daily life things but not “bigger” events, why anxiety sparks when I’m not able to show up as my truest self, and why I’m choosing to ignore the “more is better” mentality right now and lean into “less.” I share all the things I’m excited for postpartum (hello, soft belly),...

In this episode, I sit down with one of my closest friends, Jess Nash, to discuss friendship, motherhood, and how the two intersect. We talk about our friendship “breakup” and how we reconnected after several years of not staying in touch, how having children has bonded us even further, and how essential it is for mothers not to judge each other for their parenting choices. We also discuss why it’s so important for mothers to find a postpartum community and we answer listener questions on...

In this episode, I sit down with Lizzy Mathis, Founder of The Cool Mom Co. and Co-host of Honest Renovations, to discuss the transition from non-motherhood to motherhood and how mothers can lose themselves when caring for others; to the importance of finding yourself again after having children; to how filling our cups as mothers should be a joyful process. Lizzy also shares her experiences as a black woman in society, the complexities of raising black children in today’s world, and how we...

In this solo episode, I reflect on what turning thirty-two means to me, and how I’ve been feeling more like myself lately. I also share the top things I learned and wish I knew in my twenties, from letting go of comparison and instead celebrating that we all are on different timelines; to learning how to be kinder to yourself in every way; to putting the energy out into the world that you’d like to receive. Finally, I share some lessons that FF Fam Members have submitted, like following your...

In this episode, I sit down with Melissa Ben-Ishay, founder of Baked by Melissa, to discuss everything from how the famed cupcake company got its name to how Melissa still finds joy in what she does, over ten years later. Melissa shares how being fired in her early twenties kick started Baked by Melissa, how she developed her business from scratch, and why she believes attitude above all else shapes your trajectory. She also discusses the differences between her first maternity leave as a...

In this solo episode, I share how I’ve been feeling depressed and lonely lately, why I just haven’t had the energy or motivation to socialize at this stage of my pregnancy, and the ways in which I’ve experienced loneliness in the past. I unpack my recent impulse to share my emotions with strangers, feeling jealous of my husband’s ease with socializing right now, and missing the “old” version of myself. Finally, I share how having my son attend summer camp has been going so far, how I haven’t...

In this episode, I sit down with one of my best friends, Deanna DiCroce, to talk about all things adult friendships and how she and I have stayed close through the years. We compare communication styles, how we have navigated staying in touch despite being in different places in our lives, and why it’s useful to think of friendships as seesaws. She also shares how open and honest communication is most helpful when trying to support a friend in postpartum, why pressure and expectations can...

In this episode, I sit down with Kion founder, Angelo Keely, to discuss all things amino acids and how his passion for wellness and personal development unfolded over the years. Angelo shares how his unconventional upbringing and several traumatic events at young ages shaped him, how his trauma recovery inspired an exploration into wellness, and how he continues to develop his health knowledge today. We also discuss what amino acids are and why they’re essential for our bodies, how amino...