How old are your kids and how long have you lived in Westport? I have 3 boys- Jacob is 17, Sam is 14 and Matt is 12. We moved from LA to NYC in 2001 and then to Westport in 2003
What has been the most difficult age with your children to date? What helped you overcome the challenges at that time? It was a little crazy when Matthew was born and Sam was just 2 and Jacob 5…. But bigger kids, bigger problems so sometimes the current situation can seem challenging. My husband and I try to stay on the same page and that helps a lot! He is super involved in every aspect of parenting.
What is your favorite family activity to do in Westport or the surrounding towns? I love going out to dinner as a family (although my husband would disagree…) and we all love watching sports together – including ones the boys play in, college and professional!
What was your most memorable family vacation and why? When the boys were younger we spent two weeks in Italy and because we had so much time we were able to see and do so many amazing things.
What is the best white lie you have told your kids? I’ll be right there – this is said very, very often and I am notoriously late!
What is your proudest mommy moment? When I see my kids interact with adults or in a large group (such as the Counties pre party last weekend). It’s wonderful to see how comfortable they all are talking with people and engaging with other parents or professionals.
What’s your favorite app right now- for you- and for your kids? For me it is Instagram. Years ago my friend Allison tried to explain why it was great – now it is an integral part of my business and I really enjoy it and get inspiration from it. For my boys I think it is snapchat.
What’s your can’t live without beauty product? I don’t have a product I can’t live without – its more like services… hair straightening and eyelash extensions (I’m sure I’m supposed to pretend these are natural???) and I would get my hair blown out every single day if I could!
What’s your favorite restaurant in town for a family dinner? A night out with friends? As a family we often go to Molto or Archie Moores…. Dinner with friends – if I get to choose – is always the Whelk!
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I was a 3rd grade teacher in LA before Jacob was born.
If you had 24 hours to do whatever you wanted – what would you do? Well 24 is a little tight – but I have taken many trips to LA for 36 hours.
What is your most marked characteristic? I’m good-crazy
What do you most value in your friends? I need friends that will eat, drink, laugh and cry along with me.
What is your greatest regret? It drives me crazy (and is at the top of my to-do list for years) that I stopped making Shutterfly albums of my family and our adventures. Sadly the last one I completed was 2013.
What is one piece of advice you would pass along to other moms? You need to carve out time for your significant other, friends and self. You need to continue to go on dates, and travel and go into the city and get a long pedicure…. You can do all of those things and still be a mom (you can even open a business in your spare (ha) time!) And of course, you need to keep dressing stylish and fun even if you spend the whole day doing errands up and down the Post Road.
How did you end up where you are now in terms of your job, or whatever passion project it is you might be doing? I spent years volunteering at A Child’s Place and then The Westport Arts Center until I felt like I needed to do something more. I literally came up with the idea to open WEST (a curated collection of the best of West Coast fashion designers) and incorporate my love of fashion, art, people and of course the LA lifestyle in late January last year. I spent 5 days while my family hit the slopes researching and made two trips out to LA in February and at that time committed to the concept. I opened the store on August 15th, 2016, and I am learning and growing with WEST every day.
