March 2025
March in Review
March went fast. The month started with a trip to Expo West, the best work conference on planet earth for consumer brand junkies like me, and my birthday! which we celebrated by going to dinner at one of my favorite spots, followed by a live comedy show at our local joint. Then came a few weekends of adapting to being a toddler mom, trying to figure out adventures to keep Charlie occupied, while also trying to be a great friend and be there for my people, whilst also fitting in errands on my end like: needing to upgrade my phone (oops, it literally stopped working), get a new prescription for my eye glasses (oops, I lost my glasses and then was in a pinch!), and get our taxes done (thank goodness for our accountant). One things still remains true of March in the Midwest — it is unpredictable, we had highs in the high 70s, and multiple days of waking up to a snow-covered yard, plus a few nights wondering if our home was going to blow away in a tornado.
In April, I’m looking forward to less snow (I hope!), more warm days and walks outside with Charlie, as well as longer days of sunlight. We signed Charlie up for gymnastics during March, so I am looking forward to seeing her continue to understand WTF is going on when we go to the gymnasium on Wednesday nights, but not so much looking forward to all the work it takes me to chase her around the gym. Last but not least, I am looking forward to a girls trip in April to NYC with Tasha, Jubilee — a women in Food conference that I’ll be attending while in NYC, Easter Weekend / my dad’s birthday weekend, and some other fun April has up it’s sleeve.
What are you looking forward to in April?
Alright, onto the good stuff.
Favs
Fav Audible: DOSE Effect by TJ Power — This book is all about the effects of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Seratonin, and Endorphins on our mental health, and how really the key to a life you love is at the intersection of getting the optimal dosage of DOSE every day, with actionable takeaways you can implement in your life immediately. What I love most about it, is at the front of each section, you learn about how powerful the chemical is in your body, how it served our ancestors, and how the modern world is disrupting it’s natural flow. Then, and only then (once you’re totally bought in on why you need more [Dopamine, Oxytocin, Seratonin, or Endorphins], does TJ present you with actionable ways to get back to that state of optimal DOSE. It’s so good!
Fav Podcast Episodes: Hot Smart Rich Podcast feat. Natalie Holloway of Bala — Natalie is a mom of little ones, business woman, and built her business from $2M to $20M, back down to <$2M and back up to $20M, navigating Shark Tank investors, near-bankruptcy during Covid (while pregnant), and having to lay off people she really loved, to turning things around and growing the business again with <$1M of total capital raised. Oh, also, this episode on Khloe K’s podcast where she brings on Kris Jenner is too good. And finally, this Gwenyth Paltrow solo episode on aging, becoming an empty nester, and what this season of life is calling for her to become.
Fav Shows: We’re continuing to watch White Lotus, Severance, and Kardashians each week as new episodes rollout. Severance just had it’s season finale, so I am indeed looking for a new show to take its place… Any recs?
What I made: In February, Tasha served me a quiche that traded half and half for cottage cheese — upping the protein, and decreasing the fat content. It was so good that I tried my hand at it during March, and boy was it good! I brought half the quiche to my neighbors who also loved it. I might just have a new recipe coming soon…
Where I went: I went to Expo West for work and absolutely loved the trip. It was so incredible to spend time IRL with my team, our customers, and our prospects. There is NO replacement for face-to-face interactions with the people you work with and this was the ultimate reminder. What a blast! Of course while I was there I got to have my ultimate fav: Mendocino Farms Thai Mango Salad. Which reminded me that I need to get back to recipe testing for this one.
Finds
New Foods:
Reese’s Animal Crackers — We found them at Costco, RUN, don’t walk. Holy shit they are addictingly good.
Charlie is loving the mini-pancakes by Belgian Boys this month. I serve them warm (about 20 seconds in the microwave) with fresh strawberries.
I was in California at Expo West for work this month and discovered a few new products that I wrote about here. Holy yum.
New Personal Things:
Spanx Aire Essentials — YOU GUYS. This is the softest, butteriest, most flattering fabric. I got the quarter zip (medium) and the pants (wide leg, large, long) in black. I LOVE that they have both long and petite sizes available. Holy crap, I might just have to order another set.
Megelin LED Red Light Therapy Face Mask — I finally caved. All the girlies in the red light masks on Insta finally influenced me. Here’s what I will say is this: I spoke to my facialist, who is the best ever, and she agreed that red light has a ton of benefits for the skin, in fact, she’s even planning to introduce red light therapy options on her service menu here soon due to the high demand. In addition, I was planning on buying the Dennis Gross mask, because that’s the one that TSC’s Lauryn Bosstick raves about, but this one is like half the price, with better Amazon reviews, and as far as my research has taught me (thanks Chat GPT) has the quality that can deliver all the same benefits… the only difference is DG mask you can wear for 3 mins a day (but have to lay down), this one you wear for 10 mins a day (but you can be mobile).
New App:
I might be the last person on planet earth to have discovered this, but if you haven’t heard of Yuka, but you’re someone who values clean food and personal care products, this app makes it SO easy to scan UPCs and learn about the potentially harmful chemicals hiding in your favorite products. I’ve found myself swapping one retailer’s private label product (e.g. Meijer Large Curd Cottage Cheese) for another’s (Trader Joe’s Whole Fat Cottage Cheese), on account of unnecessary fillers. I’m also currently now looking for a new, clean Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash (sadly, Ouai, my current brand, doesn’t do too hot on the app). Also sadly, the food finds I mentioned above, don’t do too well on Yuka either, so with that said, enter Yuka at your own risk. Everything in moderation, friends!
Looking Forward to April
There are five things most people in this world want, and aren't getting: More money, better relationships, more confidence and self-worth, a career they love, and more freedom and control over their life.
They're not getting these things because they make the faulty assumptions that hard work alone will be rewarded, great relationships will happen naturally, they are afraid of rejection and so settle for what feels safe instead of reaching for what they really want, but most importantly they don't want to ask, negotiate, or demand something different.
The truth of the matter is when you look around and start to dissect what makes the people who have more money, better relationships, more confidence, bigger careers, and more freedom, all of them have one thing in common - they asked for it. Simply learning to ASK is the path to GET everything you want out of your life and career.
Now, there's an art to the ask, the follow up, the negotiation, and dealing with rejection. The fact of the matter is that you will never get everything you ask for in life, but, the fastest way to collapse the time between where you are today and where you want to be comes down to one very, very basic thing: You have to ask for it. If you don't ASK, you don't GET.
In this month's collection of posts, I'll be sharing on the following:
The top things holding people back from asking for what they want
The reasons why asking for what you want is the fastest way to collapse the amount of time it takes you to get it
The most important things to consider every time you're building an ask
How to ask for the thing you want most right now
I can't wait to take us on this journey together! I hope you love everything that's in store for April.
From my Phone
