Normalize The Pauses and Shifts ⋆ ̊✿˖°

Time for my favorite part of the week, ICYMI!!!

A Note on Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Maybe you’re a new mom, a seasoned one, a future one.

Maybe you’re navigating IVF, grieving a loss, or in the thick of postpartum.

Maybe you’re a mother in your own way—to a friend, a sibling, a team, a dream.

Maybe you’re mothering without your own mother or don’t have one—because she’s no longer here, or because your relationship is complicated, strained, or severed.

Whatever chapter you’re in, we see you.

Today isn’t about fitting a mold—it’s about honoring the strength it takes to show up. To keep going. To love, even when it’s hard.

You’re not alone. Not today, not ever. 🤍

ICYMI ⋆˚✿˖°

Happy Mother’s Day!!

I’m so ready to be a mom with Lucky #3—and the craziest part is, I honestly never knew if I’d ever say that before I met him. Katie and I are filming a new podcast episode tomorrow in person (!!!) where I’m opening up about how I’ve really felt about kids and other top pop culture topics and thoughts. DM me if you have requests. This episode will go live on Wednesday.

Bittersweet to say—but the De Soi event I’m hosting next week sold out on the first day. We’ve opened a waitlist for both the class and the networking portion, hosted at the brand-new Proper Hotel Luxury Wellness Club. If you’re in town and want to be the first to know if spots open up, make sure to sign up here! I can’t wait to see you all!

The podcast has been a real labor of love, so it made my whole week when you guys sent me the clip from the Shameless podcast where they recommended Hot Smart Rich in the first five minutes (!!). Shameless is one of my favorite celeb + pop culture pods for “smart people who love dumb stuff”—and they’ve hit over 100 million downloads. Truly, a highlight to see the hard work pay off. 💕

I hope Katie’s done editing her part of the newsletter, because I’m giving her the cutest Mother’s Day gift tonight when she gets in. If you’re still looking for a last-minute or belated gift, I highly recommend these gifts for under $200- these earrings or this perfume—it’s sold out at Sephora but on sale at Nordstrom. Smells like summer.

Lastly, it was so fun chatting with so many of you in my DMs this week as I prepped for my Dancing With the Stars interview tomorrow. Major reminder that you can’t replace community with ChatGPT—because when I asked it to help compare notes, it honestly didn’t even come close to the depth, insight, and real stories that YOU shared. So grateful for this community and for HSR. You always show up and it’s so fun building with your community.

And before I go, I saw a post my friend Sima reshared (originally from @motheruntitled) that really stuck with me—especially in the context of motherhood. I don’t know exactly what life will look like when there are mini me’s in the picture, but I do know this: whatever happens next, we’re only just beginning.

♡ This Week’s Mood Board ♡

♡ This Week’s Episode ♡

This week on Hot Smart Rich, I sat down with Chloe Sappern and Lydia Berry—the powerhouse duo behind Darlington, the social-first agency trusted by Miranda Kerr, Megan Roup, Serena Kerrigan, Kate Love, Emily DiDonato, Cameron Rogers, Liv Perez, and more.

Darlington isn’t just another digital agency—it’s one of the industry’s best-kept secrets. Chloe and Lydia have built the social presence of some of the most recognizable names in fashion, beauty, and pop culture. And the wildest part? They launched less than a year ago and have grown entirely through inbound demand and referrals. Their results speak for themselves: over 1,000% increases in views, 2,000% growth in likes and shares, and double-digit follower growth for A-list clients—all in just a few months.

You can connect with Chloe & Lydia on Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@chloesappern, @lydberry & @atdarlington.

♡ Consumer Trends I Gossiped ♡
About Most This Week

♡ Women’s Unpaid Work: While a women’s responsibilities have grown at work, an aspect of her home life has stayed the same: a Guardian study found that women in dual-income households spend an average of 21 hours per week on unpaid domestic labor, compared to just 12 hours for men.

♡ NYT’s opinion piece on cutting mother’s some slack and on how being flawed is actually part of a mother’s job.

♡ McKinsey explores the rise of the female investor, revealing that women are set to control $30 trillion in assets by the end of the decade—reshaping wealth management, financial literacy, and investment strategy globally – from McKinsey

♡ Why Brand Trips Work for Everyone but the Consumer: The transaction makes sense. A brand pays for access, cultural relevancy and expenses and in return get access to a creator’s community at likely half the cost. Girlbosstown questioned why every brand has turned to do this and I hoped to help it make sense with the reality that everything comes down to money.

♡ At a time where Spotify is considered adding play count for podcasting (which caused outrage by large and small podcasters), TikTok Shop is reshaping product discovery, giving indie brands unprecedented reach—especially in beauty – from BeautyMatter

♡ Controversial, I love this campaign from MAC featuring their iconic Lip OIl and Nepo babies.

Startups You Should Know

♡ mother’s day edition ♡

Because building, birthing, and raising life deserves more than flowers. These startups are redefining motherhood support—from fertility to formula, career to childcare. These are the startups you need to know supporting women in their motherhood journey.

♡ Bird&Be ♡

Bird&Be delivers personalized prenatal vitamins and at-home fertility tests for people trying to conceive. With science-backed TTC kits and supplements, they’re making fertility care accessible, fast, and discreet—no waiting room required.

♡ Dandi Fertility ♡

From egg-freezing prep to personalized injection support, Dandi offers purpose-built IVF and fertility products along with live clinical guidance. Their focus? Accuracy, comfort, and peace of mind for anyone navigating fertility care.

♡ Allara Health ♡

Allara is a virtual care platform helping women manage hormonal and chronic conditions like PCOS. With integrated teams of OB-GYNs, dietitians, and endocrinologists, they’re tackling the root causes of infertility, acne, and cycle issues.

♡ Cofertility ♡

Cofertility is flipping the script on egg donation with a model where women freeze their eggs for free when they donate half. Transparent, ethical, and equity-minded, they’re reimagining long-term fertility options.

♡ Flora ♡

Flora is the first direct-to-consumer fertility insurance platform. By offering coverage and education for future family planning, they help women take control of their biological clocks—on their own terms and timeline.

♡ Chiyo Health ♡

Chiyo is a nutrition platform focused on healing and nourishment for every reproductive stage. From fertility-friendly meal plans to postpartum recovery, they’re bridging ancient wisdom and modern science through food.

♡ Seven Starling ♡

Seven Starling offers specialized mental health care designed for your motherhood journey. With personalized therapy, expert evaluations, and virtual group support—all insurance-covered—they’re making maternal mental health radically more accessible.

♡ Leche ♡

Leche makes accessing donor breast milk safe and accessible, giving modern parents more flexibility on their feeding journey. You can even transform your own frozen milk into shelf-stable powder—adding freedom, convenience, and confidence to how you feed.

♡ Bobbie ♡

Bobbie is the first European-style organic infant formula approved for sale in the U.S. They offer clean-label nutrition that matches breastmilk standards, giving parents peace of mind and babies what they need.

♡ Bumo Parent ♡

Bumo is flexible childcare for modern families. With on-demand booking, vetted caregivers, and instant availability, they help parents get back to work without compromising on care or trust.

♡ The Mom Project ♡

The Mom Project connects working mothers with companies that actually support them. Through job matching, career development, and a vibrant community, they’re rewriting the script on motherhood and ambition.

Consumer News

♡ the brands, people, places, things that have captured my attention ♡

♡ Women’s Health & Beauty ♡

• Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s brand Lemme expands into sexual wellness with new gummy launches aimed at enhancing libido and intimacy – from WWD

• Blank Beauty raises $6.5M Series A to expand its custom nail polish and lip gloss tech platform – from Beauty Independent

• Wonderskin secures $50M in Series B funding to accelerate growth of its viral color-changing beauty products – from Yahoo Finance

• Fenty Beauty announces an official partnership with the New York Liberty, further merging beauty, fashion, and women’s sports – from Allure

• Jasmine Tookes launches her own beauty and body care brand, Brunel, with a focus on luxurious essentials for glowing skin—marking her evolution from Victoria’s Secret Angel to beauty founder – from WWD

♡ Media, Entertainment & Creator ♡

• CAKES Body, the viral undergarment brand, announces the CAKES Childcare Credit, covering 100% of childcare costs for employees with young children, and calls on others to match the effort – from Instagram

♡ Tech, Business & Investing ♡

• Tory Burch Foundation reaffirms its goal to boost women’s economic power by helping female entrepreneurs generate $1B in economic impact by 2030 – from Instagram

• Oura Ring unveils a Metabolic Health feature to help users track their metabolic function through personalized insights – from Oura

• WeightWatchers files for bankruptcy amid growing competition from GLP-1 drugs and a shifting wellness market – from NYT

• Gruns highlights how top content creators are shifting strategy to align with funding and new growth opportunities – from Inc.

There was a time when Stanley was a relic—a rugged, utilitarian camping brand with a core customer that looked more like your grandpa than your favorite influencer. But today, Stanley is everywhere: TikTok, Target, the sidelines of youth soccer games, and most importantly—inside the hands and homes of moms across America.

The shift wasn’t accidental. It was a case study in modern consumer psychology, fueled by a powerful—and often underestimated—demographic: mothers.

The Rise of the Mom-Backed Brand

Let’s start with the data. According to the Wealthspan Report by Ingeborg Investments, women control 85% of household spending—yet still control only a fraction of the world’s capital and assets. The purchasing power is massive, but historically under-leveraged in brand strategy.

Stanley flipped that script.

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