Remember the Presidential Fitness Test from elementary school? If you’re reading this newsletter, the answer is most likely, yes. Evidently the program was replaced in 2013, but my daughter’s PE curriculum still includes a nearly identical version, so it’s very much a part of my life again.

Since I didn’t actually enjoy exercise of any form until my mid 30’s (thank you, Peloton), those fitness tests were somewhere between annoying and dreadful. I recall sit-and-reach being kinda fun, but I didn’t like the mile run, and I downright hated the pull-ups. Even when we got to do the remedial version, the “flexed-arm-hang,” I could never, ever seem to do it. I wasn’t alone. I’m pretty sure that...

The other day I opened my fridge and suffered an olfactory assault. It wasn't the worst mystery odor I’d ever smelled, but it was pretty bad. I hadn’t noticed anything the day before, so it seemed to have come on fast and strong. 

It wasn’t immediately obvious to me what was causing the smell, but it could have been a couple things — all of which I’ll blame on my husband, since he’s the only one who cooks for a family of six when there are only three of us at the table. So the only thing to do was to proceed with the unpleasant #adulting task of sniffing everything until you find the culprit. It was the leftovers in the Dutch oven.

I won’t attempt to pathologize why my brain doe...

Real Housewives fans like me know that Bravo’s editors don't let anything slide… and we love them for it. Heather swears she never said something? Cue the shady music, the cutaway, and the evidentiary reel from three episodes ago where she said that very thing with freshly filled lips and a glass of Sauvy B. 

The fine folks at Bravo don’t just roll tape to set the record straight; their slow-motion replays and neon captions make fans like me squeal with delight at the gotcha! comeuppance from our couches.

Every so often, I wish I had my own room of Bravo editors to review the tapes and alert me when someone is being less than truthful, and I know I’m not alone here. In fact, it’s a sent...

Every four months or so since college, I’ve had the same bad experience at the hair salon. I walk in, bright-eyed and ready for a change -- full Anne Hathaway pre-makeover energy. Princess Diaries OR The Devil Wears Prada -- pick your Anne. Either way, I’m ready to leave that place as red carpet Anne and… it never quite goes that way.

I’ve changed stylists and even tried to lower my expectations, but I couldn’t break the cycle.

…UNTIL I was in a brokerage kickoff call and the lightbulb went off - it’s not the stylists’ fault at all...it was mine. My results stemmed from my own preparation, or lack thereof. 

Hair styles, much like retail spaces, are subjective. Sure, there are tren...

Last week we started our usual Monday morning meeting by asking our summer interns for their thoughts on our trip to Dallas for The Boutique Summit now that we’d all had time to let the Diet Coke leave our systems. 

Intern Ollie remarked that the most notable moment from our trip was during the closing party when Abby and I tag-teamed a conversation with an important contact. We hadn’t expected this encounter and we hadn’t prepared at all; so when we executed a perfectly timed, super sharp elevator pitch it looked (and felt) like we were telepathically communicating.

It was fun to hear that the moment made such an impression, because when it was happening, it really did feel like Abb...