In short
Work-life balance and whether women can “have it all,” framed through networking, community, and the tradeoffs of staying home vs attending events; later, the host also discusses her child’s intensive therapy program and other personal updates.
Guest backgrounds
No guests appear in the transcript; it’s a solo episode.
Key claims
- Networking matters, but “character” in interactions matters more than performative flattery.
- High school social dynamics can shape long-term reputation; the people you’re grouped with become your early network.
- Avoiding events can feel like falling behind and becoming isolated, even without guilt about leaving kids.
- For her daughter, clinically proven therapies are PT/OT/speech; she argues additional laser work can reduce neuroinflammation and help regulation quickly.
Notable examples
- A photographer/“hot it girl” dynamic where women benefit from being photographed, and photographers benefit from access.
- A personal story of being ignored at a table because a famous group mattered more.
- Her daughter’s 5-day O-Team intensive (OT/PT/speech) using programmable laser frequencies (calm/focus/grounding/speech) and a reported brain-scan showing different brain functioning.
- Mention of SNL: Will Ferrell hosting; Paul McCartney musical guest; she attended with a friend.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOExploring Work-Life Balance
0:15 to 0:48
The host shares personal feelings and introduces the topic of work-life balance.
The Dynamics of Networking
0:48 to 4:25
The host discusses the complexities of networking, especially among women and within the entertainment industry.
“And one of the most common questions I ask when women come on the podcast, you have kids and work because a lot of how you like networking is really important.”
Lessons from High School Networking
4:25 to 8:21
A reflection on how behaviors in high school can impact one's reputation and networking later in life.
“And by the way, at the end of the day, getting back to networking, like this is this person's career, right?”
Personal Struggles with Weight Loss
8:21 to 10:41
The host introduces a weight loss solution and shares personal experiences related to body image and health.
“And you don't want to work with people who are difficult to make the the vibe or the whole set uncomfortable and create like drama.”
Feeling Disconnected in Suburbia
11:08 to 14:00
The host shares feelings of disconnection while living in a suburb and contrasts it with experiences in more vibrant cities.
“I have felt like I do not belong here my entire life.”
The Balancing Act of Networking and Family Life
14:00 to 21:48
Explore the challenges of balancing networking and personal life as an entrepreneur and parent.
“something has to be very worth it for me to then get in my car and drive 45 minutes to an hour to go to something.”
The Balancing Act of Networking and Family Life
22:05 to 23:31
Explore the challenges of balancing networking and personal life as an entrepreneur and parent.
“Most of us have had a moment where our score quietly got in the way of something we wanted.”
Insights from Intensive Programs and Child Development
23:57 to 28:01
Delve into the importance of proper therapeutic interventions for child development.
“Carmela did an intensive, a program in Mission Vieto called O Team.”
Exploring Innovative Therapies for Autism
28:01 to 29:55
Learn about a unique laser therapy experience for children with autism.
“what the name of the laser is that they use actually there, but they were, they use these lasers and they can have different lights.”
Navigating Daily Challenges as a Parent
29:56 to 32:18
Hear about the complexities of managing children with special needs during outings.
“So anyway, we signed up to do the five-day program and I waited until school ended because I didn't want her to miss school because she just loved it so much.”
Show all 20 chapters
The Reality of Parenting Dynamics
32:19 to 36:47
Discover the emotional and logistical hurdles involved in parenting young children.
“if we're not on the Bay, we're on the beach.”
The Reality of Parenting Dynamics
36:48 to 39:22
Discover the emotional and logistical hurdles involved in parenting young children.
“Minnow is a family lifestyle brand that embraces clean lines, simple details, and crisp seaside breezes.”
The Reality of Parenting Dynamics
39:25 to 41:47
Discover the emotional and logistical hurdles involved in parenting young children.
“And I honestly, the older that I get, the more I realize that what you put on your body matters just as much as what you put in it.”
The Reality of Parenting Dynamics
41:54 to 42:06
Discover the emotional and logistical hurdles involved in parenting young children.
Parenting Challenges and Insights
42:06 to 48:14
Discussion about the challenges and joys of parenting, particularly with a child who has special needs.
“You know, my friends were like, come to the beach on Sunday, we'll help you.”
Experiences at O-Team
48:15 to 49:01
Describing the positive impact of intensive therapy sessions at O-Team for her daughter.
“for anybody asking, like, is it worth it?”
Recap of an Amazing Night at SNL
49:01 to 54:59
A personal account of attending SNL, featuring Will Ferrell and Paul McCartney, and the emotional experience of being there.
“I also realized that I never gave a recap of truly one of the best nights of my life, which was going to SNL.”
Emotional Highlights of SNL
55:00 to 56:00
Highlights from the SNL show, including memorable skits and the surprise performance by Paul McCartney.
“And so it was always been one of my favorites and they didn't, it was just perfect.”
An Unforgettable Night with Paul McCartney
56:00 to 59:50
Hear the story of a surreal experience at an SNL taping featuring Paul McCartney.
“It's like, you know, some of my most prominent family inside jokes are SNL, but it's just, I'm so grateful.”
Emotional Connections and After Party Moments
59:50 to 1:01:05
The speaker shares heartfelt interactions with other celebrities at the after party.
“but he saw me cause I was in the front and he put his hand on my shoulder and he said, yo, you are a real one for crying that hard.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00The following podcast is a Dear Media Production.
0:15Hello. Welcome to my solo pod. How's everybody doing? I'm sitting at my desk. It is Friday. it's so June gloomy in Pasadena LA so weird I always forget this time of year that it gets like really cloudy and gloomy I have been feeling super weird lately and I want to talk about like work-life balance because, you know, it's one of the most common questions I get. And one of the most common questions I ask when women come on the podcast, you have kids and work because a lot of how you like networking is really important. Okay. And I've talked about this extensively. Networking has two tiers, which could be just straight up ass kissing, social climbing.
1:22And I know lots of people that do that. And I I've seen that happen. And that has been something that has rubbed me the wrong way for a long time. And people can smell it from a mile away, but I'm shocked at how much it fucking works. Like I'll see these girls that like, or anybody I see with men all the time, too, my God, who like all of a sudden are just like up everybody's ass and like writing comments and everybody's it's it's like so interesting to me and it it works but you know I experienced a lot of that in New York with like it was like it's like the Anna Delvey thing where like someone's just around and you assume that someone is like some sort of thing and then everybody like flocks to this person.
2:06Actually, I'm going to digress for a second and talk about something that I had like a long conversation with a friend about yesterday, which is like the relationship between like photographers, like specifically like party photographers and women, which is like a tale as old as time. But before there was Instagram, I mean to age myself again, but before there was Instagram, you would go out to parties or clubs and there would be a party photographer and you would like kind of hope that they would like take your photo and then like put it on their like blog the next day or whatever it was. And there were a few of these and some people like way more popular than others.
2:51And I think there's been like a really amazing like resurgence of this. And I, you know, it's, it's part of, it's part of culture. It's part of like our social culture. And I think it's something that's fun and cute. And, you know, I'm happy that people can build careers off this. And it's like, but it's this very funny dynamic between like the hot it girl and the photographer and these photographers who wouldn't have access to these people or women if they were not taking photos of them. And I don't want to make blanket statements about this because there's exceptions and there's nuance, of course, but I do think there is this, if you're going to make it, you know, cut it down and make it like a very surface transactional thing that exists fully in this matrix.
3:49And I experienced something recently where I was at a place and And I ran into a group of girls who are very famous and I sat down and had drinks with them. And there was someone at the table who I am friends with, has like been to my home. And this person completely ignored me because these girls were more important to this person. I'm not going to give any details about this person because they're a good person. And I think people just get caught up in moments. And by the way, at the end of the day, getting back to networking, like this is this person's career, right? It's like, if this person is not taking photos of these women, this person is not getting paid.
4:40And so I always have grace and empathy for these moments because I'm like, yeah, dude, let's fucking get your back. But this is where we can choose to have good character in these moments or not, this person has been in my house, multiple, like full, like friend, like, like friend. And I was like, Hey, across the table. And he like put his finger up to be like, like I'm talking. And I was like, Oh my God. Because he was talking to a famous person and I couldn't believe it. I was so pissed. And then this group of hot, fabulous girls left and I went over to have like a nightcap with like another group of people.
5:29And then this person came and sat down next to me and like wanted to chat. And I didn't say anything, but I wanted to be like, Oh, now that they're gone, you want to talk to me? And so those are the types of things that in networking and in building your network are the things that people remember. And I even said this when I spoke at my high school a couple months ago. And by the way, I'm sure that there are people who have said like, oh, Pia is this type of like, also like things happen and people sometimes, maybe I had a really high expectation of a greeting that I thought that I deserved from him.
6:06And he was just really in the middle of a story and felt like I was interrupting. Right. So there's nuance to this, right? I'm not, but the photographer, a girl relationship has always been really funny to me and it's existed for many years and it's hilarious to me because it's like, it's always like girls who would never pay these people like fucking second of their day if they weren't like contributing to making them famous. And again, this all like works in the matrix and it benefits everybody. But I said this at my high school a couple of months ago when I spoke at career day, like I feel, I always feel really funny going to any thing where there are younger women, but especially my old high school, which was like, I'm obsessed with my school in an incredible four years there, but it is an all girls school.
6:50So, you know, groups of girls are like the most terrifying groups of anything on planet earth. And so you see like when you're at the school that there will essentially always be like certain groups of girls that are just like radiate just light and sweetness and are so genuinely interested and ask really sweet questions or curious questions or really intelligent questions. And then there's always just like a group of girls who like, look at you, like you're wasting their time and they're so important and they're super cool. And like, this is just their high school girls. So like, of course, this is like par for the course, this type of behavior.
7:22But one of them asked about building your network and I, and you know, how do you meet people and how do you, you know, whatever. And I said to them, listen, I didn't make up the rules, but unfortunately how you act in high school has the ability to stick with you as part of your reputation forever. And like, you know, when any, and we all know this, when somebody's fucking name comes up, someone would be like, oh, she was a bitch in high school or she was really nice in high school or she was this way in high school. And I said, this group of women that you are around is your network. This is the beginning of it.
8:00And you didn't choose these people and you're not going to choose the people that you are in a coworking space with one day or in an office with, or in any sort of scenario. These are people that you are grouped with. You will have interactions with people the rest of your life. They don't always choose to be around. And it's kind of like up to you, how you handle that and how you deal with it and how you treat people in those scenarios. And I learned this when I started freelance producing, because being able to pick who the photographer was going to be and the models and the hairstylist and the nail artist and the set dresser and all of that, having to, knowing that we were going to all spend essentially like eight to 12 hours or multiple days together on set or on a project, you always just want to work with the people who are the easiest to work with.
8:48And you don't want to work with people who are difficult to make the the vibe or the whole set uncomfortable and create like drama. Even if that person is potentially more talented, we're always going to pick the person who it's kind of the best person to work with.
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11:02WGOV clinical study information and restrictions. Visit forhers.com. this is amanda hirsch from the not skinny but not fat podcast you might know me from not skinny but on instagram where i spend my time talking about reality tv celebrities everything happening and pop culture every tuesday okay i also talk to some of our favorite celebs and reality tv stars we talk about what's going on tune in every tuesday and just feel like you're talking with your best friends in your living room
11:49so I am in this really interesting place in my life where I live in a suburb outside of Los Angeles and I don't I don't this is not because I'm better than anybody this is not for any I'm not on the same frequency as Los Angeles. I do not feel like I belong here. I have not felt like I belonged here. I have felt like I do not belong here my entire life. I feel very aligned in other cities, like very at peace and within the frequency that fits me completely. So, you know, this is a place that is very spread out. and you know unless you live in Venice or you know by Larchmont or whatever like it's not it's not a major walking city by any means and whatever I'm not going to like character assassinate Los Angeles because it also is like a wonderful place but I just have a very hard time here so I also live in a fucking suburb my you know best friends live in Pasadena with me and so when I'm very happy being in my Pasadena bubble with my best friends and their children who love my children and help me with my children.
13:02And I have the best time. Like these are my like, you know, people that I was put with geographically, but also would choose all day long. These are people that I love deeply. And so, you know, I go out to the West side for dinner here and there or whatever, but I have to tell you, like I work from home. So I'm often not getting dressed up right now. I'm in fucking sweatpants. I'm like in what I threw on when I woke up, I don't have any makeup on or I'm in my workout clothes the rest of the day and I come upstairs and I work for my computer. I'd never go to lunch during the week. I mean, maybe once in a while, but the guilt I feel about going to lunch during a work week when I should really be at home working is something I should probably work on.
13:42And then by the end of the day, I've been up since six, five 15 really. Cause that's when my alarm goes off to think about getting dressed up and missing five o 'clock dinner, six o 'clock bath and seven o 'clock bedtime with my kids to like, something has to be very worth it for me to then get in my car and drive 45 minutes to an hour to go to something. So how that's manifested is that I do not attend events. And it's an interesting moment for me because every time I open my phone, there's so many wonderful, cute, awesome, new influencers. And they'll give advice on how they became influencers and how they made this career pivot and what they did.
14:34And one of them, I watched a video recently and she said, I attended every single event that I could to create a network and get in front of people. And it's true. Like when I'm in New York and I run into people or have meetings with people, or I spend the whole day, like I've, I'll see 30 people in a day in New York. And the way that that catapults my work and my career and the projects we're working on is you can't even compare it to being here. It's not comparable at all. And again, like, I love that. I love being busy. I love having multiple conversations a day. I love ripping around. I love going back to back.
15:10Like that again is like very much my frequency. Right. So, you know, it was very interesting and it didn't make me feel like, so I was like, I'm, I've been trying to think about like how that makes me feel like, am I, does that make me feel, you know, I will say like, I do feel like I'm behind a little bit when it comes to like Instagram and content, because I'm not one of these young girls who is getting dressed all day long and taking foot. Like I never, it's so funny. My team's always like, okay, we need like an outfit roundup. And I was like, I didn't wear any outfits. Like, or I'll wear like new LPA.
15:46And I'm like, I don't have anywhere to wear this right now because I've kind of just been putting myself staying at home like so much. And like, you know, David has been traveling so much for work and I was, he was, he was home for two days and then left to go to market in Paris and I was going to meet him, but I have like too many, I have too many things that were conflicting. And so he also was like who I really want to hang out with on the weekends. Like we go on dates and I, he's my best friend. So I've been, I felt, I guess I would say I've been feeling like really lonely lately, but when it comes to going out and like networking and going out at night, it just been so interesting that I got invited to a really chic, fabulous event last night, but Thursdays I take my kids to the farmer's market and we go to the farmer's market and then we sit at this like cute little Irish bar and there's tons of families and tons of kids in there.
16:37And I, you know, we eat our dinner and we come home and I was like, I don't want to not do that to go to a thing. But here's the flip side of that is, you know, when you are an entrepreneur and you are a woman, it's important to support the other people in your community. So, you know, if we throw an event for something and like people don't come, it feels like nobody's coming to your birthday. You know, like when you show up for other people, it's so important. It's so important to support our community members. It's so important to, you know, support all the hard work that goes into throwing an event and that goes into putting yourself out there to create a company or a brand or a product.
17:18And, and I'm so inspired by the people that I meet when I go to these events. And like, you know, I always love to make a new friend and I love making new friends as an adult. There's something really incredible about like choosing female friendships, especially like as you approach your forties, it's like been so beautiful. And I've made a lot of really beautiful friends last few years who teach me so much and had so much, you know, another dynamic layer to my life. And so isolating myself from going to these events is just in fact, very isolating. And it's made me feel like, you know, I'm missing out, not FOMO in terms of fun, but like that I'm not kind of like in the matrix that helps me feel fulfilled, helps me build community, helps me network.
18:07I learned so much from other women when it comes to building brands and getting advice and just like adding more joy to my life and connection. So for everybody who's asked me all these questions, like how to balance it, you know, I don't know because ultimately I am a mother who refuses to do the whole guilt thing. If I leave my kids, if I kiss them and they do bath time and bedtime without me, they're not suffering. This is a house full of love. Like my kids are thriving. They're not like alone and bored, like they're here with my mom. I mean, I've said this a million times, like I don't I don't need my kids to need me.
18:45I don't want my kids to need me. Of course, these are my children. These are my chosen people. They're my blood and my skin and my bones. But I don't want my kids to have anxiety about me leaving. That doesn't benefit them at all. It doesn't help them with work or school or anything in their lives. So I don't know what it is about me that's like preventing myself like just the idea of having a full work day and then like getting dressed, putting makeup on and either getting in a car or in an Uber and driving 45 minutes to an hour somewhere. So to have conversations with people when I'm already exhausted and I feel like maybe I'm not going to be the best version of myself has been really fucking isolating lately.
19:30So it's not to answer all your questions. It's not, it's not the guilt of leaving my children because I don't play that game, the guilt game, but it's, I like, I like hanging out with them and I like winding down at my house and I like to just enjoy being here, but I do feel very out of the matrix and I do feel like behind a little bit if I'm being completely honest.
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23:56So I spent the last five days in Newport Beach. Carmela did an intensive, a program in Mission Vieto called O Team. And I've been looking at endless places that do these kinds of intensive programs. And so many of you send them to me, which is absolutely just like so sweet. And I'm not going to talk shit on anybody by any means, but a lot of these places that do these intensives are run by chiropractors. And again, I know that chiropractors understand the body and it all makes sense to me, right? But I think it's clearly going to be more impactful if this is a program or service that is done by people who work specifically in this field, PT, OT, and speech.
24:54And in the three years that I've been seeing various doctors and doing research on you know, autism and all of, you know, things related to it and, you know, ADHD and Carmela's mutation and everything that I have learned is that, you know, and listen, by the way, if you go to a top doctor at a proper classic hospital and you see a neurologist, they're going to tell you that the only thing that is clinically proven is PT, OT and speech. Okay. I, this is like such a bigger conversation. I'm combining that with what I know to be true about the functions in her body. So her mutation affects the sodium channels in her body.
25:45I know that she has low mitochondrial function. I know that the two sides of her brain don't communicate. I know that she has issues with her microbiome. We can see this in her test results. And so there's a lot of moving parts, but they all obviously work together. And something that I have seen work on her before with a body worker that we love, Dr. Ryan, is that he brought over these orconia lasers and did work on her. And he did this, especially when she was having these extreme meltdowns that were just honestly like completely unmanageable. And she was biting herself and she wasn't sleeping and it calmed her down.
26:28And so, you know, I can't, when she has, when she was going through moments like that, someone could say, oh, these are just like behavioral issues that have to do with autism. Okay. You could chop it up to that. And, or you could say, this is a reaction of what, okay. We could say it's all clearly this angel is going to be frustrated because she can't communicate. So is she in pain? Is she going to be so, you know, multiple doctors to make sure she didn't have a urinary tract infection or an ear infection. So you want to like eliminate pain first, which we did. And then a lot of this comes down to like neuroinflammation and, you know, dysregulation having to do with all the things going on in her body.
27:07So the lasers like calmed her down, like it helps with neuroinflammation. It calmed her down so much. It was like instant. And so I knew that I wanted to work with somebody to do these types of lasers because in my head and from what I've seen online, it's like, if you could do this type of work while doing PT, OT speech, you're kind of like opening these pathways and kind of like training them as to what to do. So, you know, if the two sides of her brain don't communicate and we really need to get those like neural pathways open and get her synapses communicating better with one another, like there's only, there's only so many things that I can do.
27:44Right. And so the lasers that I found that O-Team has, which by the way, O-Team is run by occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists.
Read the full transcript
28:00It's people who've been working in this field for 20 years and it's people who found, I don't know what the name of the laser is that they use actually there, but they were, they use these lasers and they can have different lights. You could do, you know, there's a red light, a green light and a purple light. And then all the lights have different frequencies. You can program the frequencies and that's what they do there. So there's one for calm and there's one for focus and there's one for grounding and there's one for speech and there's one for all these things. And you put them obviously on your brain or they know where to put them on certain parts of their body behind her ear.
28:37There's a pathway to in her hands, like, you know, the same way that there are different zones when you do like acupuncture, right? There's like pressure points. And so what's crazy is when, when you put these lasers on Carmela and you use them on Carmela, she will take the therapist's hand and grab the laser and put it where she thinks it needs to go. I've never seen anything like this is a girl who like does not communicate with us and, and I can't touch her mouth. Like I cannot brush her teeth. I can't, if she puts a rock in her mouth. I cannot get it out. Like she, we've had like crazy incidents or like little, Oh God, this like little girl in Italy last year, who was younger than her was eating a bowl of cherries and sharing them with Carmela and like, you know, nose to like spit the pit out and gave them to Carmela.
29:24And she had all these, I didn't know. And she had all these pits in her mouth. And I put my, I like, I had to grab her and like pry her mouth open. So she didn't choke on a pit. And I put my hands in her mouth and she bit my finger. I mean, I thought my finger was going to come off and we're with a bunch of families who don't have any experience. I had never seen this and I didn't want to make a big reaction out of it. So I was just like crying in a corner. I mean, it was like so traumatizing. So to watch her take the laser and put it in her mouth and around her mouth was just fascinating. So anyway, we signed up to do the five-day program and I waited until school ended because I didn't want her to miss school because she just loved it so much.
30:06But the drive there from my house with traffic is, you know, hour and 20 to two hours. And, you know, it's the middle of the day. So you are hitting traffic kind of going both ways. So I did it for the first couple of days and then was really lucky enough to stay. My friend, Laura lives in Newport around the corner from her parents and her parents have a guest house and they have just been so hospitable and lovely to us. They hosted us when we were evacuating from the fires. They allowed us, my mom and the kids and I to stay there for four nights, which was, you know, we were so grateful. So I did this while Davide was at market because I can handle these things really well.
30:51I am really practical and pragmatic and I know all of the information. Like I am the keeper of the information for multiple reasons. One, I'm a mom and I'm a woman. And so I'm just like a badass. Number two, English is my first language. And so who and the only language I speak. And so it's really a lot easier for me to just comprehend these things. Davide takes a lot longer to digest information. And he's really like thoughtful and ethereal about these things where I'm just like, okay, got it. Boom, next, boom, next. And he, I'm obviously extremely emotional, but he's also very emotional. And he's like where I can like be in these appointments and be really pragmatic about everything and like cry later where he is emotional in the moment.
31:39And so I was like, I'm just going to like bang out this program by myself and just like handle it. And I was going to have my mom come down, but then we had all this stuff happening at the house that she couldn't. So I brought both the kids down by myself. Carlo came with me one day to therapy. And then a girlfriend of mine has like a young, cute babysitter who helped watch Carlo while we were in the intensive because they're three hours. And then it was my, one of my best friends, 40th birthdays on Saturday in Newport. So I was like, okay, I didn't want to drive down to Newport six days in a row.
32:13So obviously it was like, you know, we were really grateful we could stay, but it was very hard being with both kids because, you know, all my friends who live in Newport, it's like, if we're not on the Bay, we're on the beach. And it's, so the Newport is a peninsula and on one side is the bay. So there's like no waves and it's really chill and so good for kids. But then the, on the other side is the beach on the peninsula. And there's been a huge waves and all my friends' kids are like in junior guards and they're older. And so they, they're like, you know, jumping into these fucking waves and like riding them in and getting crushed.
32:49I think it's funny to get like slammed and do like a little wipe out. And like, I just don't have that. But the issue really is that you can't let go of Carmela's hand. And Carlo has reached peak fucking two-year-old. We go to Laura's parents' house first night. Her mom made us all food. It's like us and her childhood friend, Hannah. Hannah has four kids. My best friend, Kate. Kate has three kids. Laura has two kids. I have my two kids. It's like heaven on earth. We're playing at her parents' house. We're on the bay, on the grass, playing football. And after After dinner, all the kids are like night swim.
33:22And I was like, what the fuck is that? And they were like, oh, all the kids love to like jump in the water at the beach before bed. What? I'm like, this is like so foreign to me and so cool. So we like all cross the street and Carlos starts climbing the lifeguard tower and wants to jump off the side and have me catch him, which was the cutest thing ever. but then I can't, but think it like, this is how I can't let go of Carmela's hand. So then I, I asked someone to hold her hand and then let her go for one second. And then she's taking off down the beach. And so there's always this moment that happened.
33:59This is what kind of makes me emotional. There's always like this moment that happens where I explained to everybody how, how challenging it is. And then they see it and you just see the look on your friend's faces, just like, oh, like, because even like, I don't have to hold Carlos hand, but also he started doing bad things where he'll think it's funny to like run away from me. One of my girlfriends like to me this weekend, she's like, it's like you have twins, you know, like, and Laura's parents were with me and they, they saw it happen to like, you know, Laura's dad was helping me with stuff with Carmela and like let go of her in the alley.
34:36And like, she ran, I had to run like five houses down and she runs fast, you know? And it's like all, and then Carlo's behind it. So it's like, I'm like, which kid do I get? You know? I mean, and it happens a lot. And so, and like, yes, my mom could have come down with me, but my mom also, it's like hard for her. She's 76 years old. So Carlo's also like working her to the fucking bone, which is why I like, I don't ask my mom to help that much with the kids. It's very helpful that she's here when they go to bed. There's a person here and I can go out afterwards and that's life-changing, of course.
35:11But it's starting to get to the point where I don't really anymore ask her to do dinner and bath. I don't even think she could do bath time and bedtime. And I think it would be too much for her. And our nanny leaves at five every day. And I had someone that was going to come down on Saturday and be with me Saturday during the day, watch them when I went to the birthday party Saturday night, and then have a whole beach day with all my friends on Sunday. And we'd planned that for a month and she didn't, she couldn't come. She had to flake last minute, which I totally understand. So like this Sunday beach day, which was like post Kate's 40th birthday party that we were supposed to be with all these families.
35:55And I was like, I can't go. And I was so I, you know, I was like alone on Friday night, taking them out to dinner. And like, I do that a lot anyway, cause Davide has been traveling, but like we go to this Mexican restaurant. It was the best. And there was like a little play area for the kids. Then it's like, all these kids are asking, like, why isn't she answering me? And I'd explained to the group of kids, she has autism and they were so sweet about it. But then Carmela pooped in her diaper and Carlos like ripping with the kids. And one of the kids noticed that it smelled and they were Like they were like, somebody farted.
36:27It stinks. And then they're, and I was like, fuck, I don't want them to like realize that it's her and then be like, why is she wearing a diaper? And I couldn't leave Carlo playing there by himself. And I can't bring both of them into the bathroom because now Carlo will climb under the stalls. And so like, you know, we had to leave. We'd finished dinner, but I would have loved for them to play longer and like had another cocktail for myself before we walked home. It's just, everything is like a thing.
36:57Minnow is a family lifestyle brand that embraces clean lines, simple details, and crisp seaside breezes. The founder, Morgan, I have known since I was, I think, a teenager. And now Minnow is like the staple in every single person's closet that I know for themselves and for their children. I cannot tell you enough how damn cute everything they make is. Carmella and Carlo literally only wear minnow bathing suits. And also they have tons of cute pajamas. They have little sweaters. Carmel has been wearing this striped navy and cream sweater from minnow for like two years. The minnow customer is one that values quality and comfort and style.
37:39And the brand, which was founded almost 10 years ago, is just a reflection of the life and style of Morgan, who is a mother and entrepreneur and grew up in Laguna Beach. And she now lives in Charleston. The brand is the perfect combination of like Southern California and Charleston. It's just like cute and classic and easy and breezy. And the beach really inspires Morgan's daily life. And so it inspires the clothing in that way. Morgan envisioned children's swimwear with an elevated approach. So there's sun-kissed color palettes, purposeful details, custom prints, high quality hand-finished production.
38:16I mean, every time Carmella is wearing a minnow swimsuit, people freak out. It's really cute. They just like, she looks like a little angel. Minnow's best-selling products are the girls' rash guard one pieces, the boys' boardies, and the unisex rash guard shirts. To be able to have your children wear a long sleeve rash guard that has a bow in the back and is in the cutest floral print while, you know, having a UPF of 50 plus protection and blocking 98 % of UVA and UBB rays. It's incredible. Well, she's just genius. It's genius. So inspired by Mediterranean blues and the carefree spirit of European summer, the Cabana capsule celebrates days spent lingering by the sea, soaking up the sun and savoring the simple luxury of having nowhere to be.
39:03Shop the capsule starting July 7th at shopminnow.com and enter code MEATMINOW15 at checkout. You're gonna get 15 % off your first order. That is shopminnow.com and code MEATMINOW15 for 15 % off your first order. This episode is sponsored by Cotton. Okay. So you know how I am all about fabric. I check tags. I always have. And I honestly, the older that I get, the more I realize that what you put on your body matters just as much as what you put in it. And we're not going to get it perfect every time, but we're definitely going to try. Spring is the season I do the most wardrobe thinking. You're dressing for graduation dinners, long travel days, outdoor everything.
39:49And in my case, summer involves a lot of heat and a lot of movement for me and my kids. And so one thing I keep coming back to every single time is cotton. I love it, not in a boring way. Cotton breathes. It's like genuinely breathable. When it's hot and you're outside and you want to feel human, cotton is the thing. It does not trap heat. It does not irritate your skin. It moves with you. I also think about the fact that it's a natural fiber. It comes from the earth and it does not shed microplastics into the water when you wash it. So that part matters to me a lot. And from a purely practical standpoint, cotton just lasts.
40:25My favorite pieces, the ones I've had for years are cotton, even if they're like hanging on by a thread, they're still my favorite pieces that I keep coming back to and back to. It keeps it shape. It gets softer with time, not worse. It's genuinely the buy nice or buy it twice situation. You invest once and you stop thinking about it. We have cotton all over our home. We have cotton sheets in all of our bedrooms. And we also are a big, like kind of like white tea family, you know? So between myself and Davide and the kids, like we have been, especially at the beginning of spring, now that we have like a whole beautiful summer ahead of us.
41:10Like I have been buying packets of white tees for all of us to like live in through summer. And it's so cute looking at these little shirts that Carlo wears and like seeing how happy he is just running around his little white t-shirts looks like such a little grown up, but it seems so like American and dignified to see my kids wearing like a classic white cotton t-shirt, especially with a pair of cotton jeans. So whether it's your denim, whether it's your bedding, whether it's your everyday basics, just check the tag and choose cotton. As they say, cotton really is the fabric of our lives. Learn more at fabricofourlives.com and find them at discovercotton on Instagram.
41:53That is fabricofourlives.com and discovercotton on Instagram.
42:06You know, my friends were like, come to the beach on Sunday, we'll help you. And I just said, you know what? I am fucking done being a hero. I can't do this anymore. Like I need to fucking go home. Because also my girlfriend's parents' house, we were staying, her mom, Caroline, is like one of the chicest, most elegant women I've ever met. So was Laura, her daughter, my friend. She had that brand Brock collection and her mom, like their house is full of these unbelievable French antiques. And so the guest house, even though they love having kids and she has grandchildren and that house is always full of kids, everything is precious.
42:45And, you know, especially being so concerned, being a house guest in general, I'm in there like every two seconds in this guest house. I'm like, don't touch that. Don't do this. Don't touch that. And there was like a little mini fridge and Carlos taking everything out of the mini fridge and he's like pouring milk. I'd never seen him do that. Like into a cup, which is so cute. And I was so impressed with his skills with it. He's like spilled milk on their floor. And you know, it was like, I was kind of just like on like nonstop. And, and it was, thank God Carla and Carmela were like really well sleep trained.
43:16Cause I could just put him in the pack and play. And he'd be like, no, no, mom, I love you. And you know, in the other room, which was great and really easy for the babysitter the night that I went out and Carmela just passed out in the bed. and I shared the bed with her. It's really crazy spending time with Carmela in bed like that. You know, obviously she's my daughter. I've slept many times in the same room as her, but her brain is always looping. And so like she wakes up in the night and she's just like mid, like an airplane and singing a song and like she loops her favorite things over and over again and make herself laugh and like go into like this crazy fit of laughter and it's adorable, but it's like her brain never stops.
43:59And so getting back to the intensive, it was like, Oh, team has a, this like really cool thing that does a brain scan on you. I did it. I didn't see my results yet. I just did it yesterday or Friday, but you know, they're going to send me like the full report, but I asked her to just send me like the results and I put them into chat and it was just like, you could see like her brain. It's like, you can see it like how it just is so different from like how our brains work. So different. So it was amazing working with them this week. And I'm like, so grateful for it because they did, they, they just saw in the first like 20 minutes, they were like, oh, she has this, like, this is why this isn't working and like her body stuff.
44:48And it's just fascinating. Like her speech, we have a really good speech therapist. We were on the wait list with her for two years and we got off and, and she's been saying to me, like, I can only go so far with her speech because she's searching for words and can't find them because the two sides of her brain are working so independently. And the only way to get those two sides to start working together is doing the physical therapy and the cross-body integration. And the team at O-Team noticed that fucking instantly. And they were like, her body stuff is from her mutation. It's not an autism thing.
45:24The speech and the way her brain works, of course, it's like an autism thing, but they were like this. And they made me feel really good about a lot of things where they were like, she, you know, she had a regression. She had much more, you know, all of this started with body stuff. So her speech was amazing. So the speech, because she has a foundation of it, it's just a matter of trying to get it out. But her body stuff is really linked to that mutation. By the way, gene therapy to fix her genetic mutation starts at like$500 ,000 and goes into the millions. So that's not an option, but these intensives really help.
46:02And you could just see instantly her attraction to these things. and they had all these cool machines that would like, you know, when we'd push her a little far and she would get nervous and, you know, she has so much sensitivity to any sort of like gravity, like just so much gravitational insecurity. And like, she feels like she's falling all the time. So she doesn't put her head back and she doesn't go on swings. Like she's terrified. And, you know, we were so loving to her. She was not being forced to anything. We would explain to her that she had to put her foot or her hand on the swing. And by the way, by two days after that, she was pushing the swing.
46:47She didn't get on it, but she was pushing it and very curious. And at the end of the three hour sessions every day, she was in such a good mood. And you could just see this lightness about her, which is really incredible. So I mean, I'm going to write a sub stack about it, but overall, the improvements that I saw from her being there and like working with this team in just five days, these women and this team has been doing this so clearly for so long that they had so many solutions and so many answers and such a clear path for her. And this, these treatments with like all the various things that they have in this office, plus this like really incredible space that has like the exact toys that she needs and the exact things to calm her down.
47:35And she made so much progress in five days, like physically and emotionally. And I, you know, I came home yesterday, which was Sunday. And my mom walked into the kitchen and she was sobbing. And she said, Carmela like looked at me for so much longer and cuddled with me on the couch. Like, and she's cuddly, but like she initiated it. She like grabbed my mom's hand and hugged her. And my mom, my mom's not, my mom's really strong about the Carmela stuff. And she just broke down to me. It was like, I absolutely cannot believe what I saw. Yeah. Like just now, like it's been really, really cool. So for anybody asking, like, is it worth it?
48:17Like beyond working with O team was beyond worth it. And, and we're going to, they also connect me with the stem cell doctor that we're going to use because they work really closely with this doctor. And I'm going to do that in August. And what's incredible about this is that stem cell doctor has then integrated everything that they do at O-team. So you do the stem cells, but while you're doing the stem cells, you're also doing the same intensive that's at O-team. So while the cells are forming in the body, you're like literally creating the path, like telling them which pathways to form to like help her.
48:50So it was just, I'm very privileged and very lucky to do these things for her. and I'm just going to continue to do them for as long as I physically, mentally, and financially can. I also realized that I never gave a recap of truly one of the best nights of my life, which was going to SNL. Was that a month ago? So I've been to SNL before. I have a dear friend who works there and whatever. It's a long story and you don't want to put anybody on blast. So I will just say that a lot of miracles aligned to allow me to last minute attend SNL with arguably two of the most important people to exist. And especially in my world in particular, which is Will Ferrell was hosting and Paul McCartney was the musical guest.
49:50And I, I don't have any, I mean, I, so I knew I was going to New York. I was either going to leave Sunday or possibly Saturday. It was like all kind of up in the air. And I just kind of like let go and let God, when it came to going, like I would never ask the person or people that I love that work there to go. And then it kind of like, there's, it just kind of happened really last minute. So we went, I brought a friend, I was lucky enough to have a plus one and it was, it's just nuts. It's nuts being in there, like seeing how, how really small the set is and how the audience, I mean, you're really like, you have to move your feet.
50:44So the cameras don't roll over you and you have to move back. So the, you know, set people can come in. And what's truly one of my favorite aspects of SNL and they've featured it a lot on like the 50th anniversary, which was really sweet to watch. It's like, there are the cameramen, like the set designers. Like there's a woman that like brings the guest on and like runs them off and like gets them to where they need to be at the right time. Like all, there's all these like OG New Yorkers who've worked there for a long time, who you can just tell are just fucking badass and sweet and awesome. And they have such a deep bond with one another and they all communicate with just like a little wink of their eye and that camaraderie and community is exceptional and like really special to see like Lauren Michael just like walks around like with like, you know, clearly had like a custom Brunello suit on and like stick fucking watch.
51:48He's just a fucking badass. And I don't even know if I'm supposed to talk about this, but you know, watching the whole show was just over the top and I ate like the tiniest bit. My girlfriend, I brought my girlfriend Bramble. Bramble's sick. I've known Bramble for a long time because we both dated the same monster and trauma bonded over it. We're just such like a toxic girl thing, but when it works, it works. And she is just one of those perfect people who is funny and like grateful and fun and like reads a room and we'll have a drink, but like never too much and just knows how to have a good time.
52:33And it's sharp and funny and just like hot and cool. And I just love her. And so last minute, I was like, I haven't even hung out with her in so long too. And I was like, let's go do this together. And she was like, oh my God. So she got us a reservation at this fabulous restaurant and bar that's like in 30 rock to have like a pre-cocktail and a snack and to go like walk to SNL, you know, turn the corner and walk into SNL together. And she had like the perfect plan. She's like, we're going to have like one espresso martini and we're going to have like a little bite of a mushroom chocolate. And it was perfect.
53:14And we sat down and we ordered like chips and caviar and had espresso martinis. And then Anna Wintour fucking walked in with whoever she was with, clearly was also going to the show. And that was just an unbelievable way to start the evening. I'm just like three tables down from Anna, who is just so Anna and was with a very campy, chic gay man who I just like loved watch. Like I just, he was like visually stimulating. She's visually stimulating. I'm stimulated. Like it was all very overstimulating. Nutella, can you lay down so everyone can stop hearing you click clack on my tiles? Hi, you want to sniff the mic?
53:55What's your deal, girlfriend? Go lay with your elephant. So then we go in, every step of the process of getting into SNL is just like overwhelming and insane and so charming. and Taylor, who's an icon, runs the thing and was just like, I love where you guys are sitting. Whatever. I'm just, I want to be very like grateful and humble about this, but these girls just hooked me up in a way that they didn't have to. And they did because of girlhood and it was beautiful and wonderful. And I'm crying when we sat down because our seats were just, so I'm crying and the whole show is insane. And they did one of the skits that I was really fucking hoping they would do and I'm losing my mind.
54:41And it was skits that obviously Will had done a long time ago where he was like the theater director and he was, he was like bringing the list out of the kids who like made it into the school play. And it was overly dramatic and like such a big deal. And it was so funny. And it was a skit where they all broke and started laughing hysterically. And so it was always been one of my favorites and they didn't, it was just perfect. They did it perfectly. And there was actually two skits, I think that got, that I didn't see because they were in dress rehearsal, but they put on Tik TOK that were so good.
55:20So I'm really happy that they got to make it somewhere like Tik TOK and go, you know, get the laughs and the virality they deserved. so Paul McCartney is playing everyone's emotional it's insane Will Ferrell's being Will Ferrell I have been obsessed with Will Ferrell since high school I'm freaking out like I have watched old school from the Criterion Collection with the commentary on and it's like bibled to me I have Will Ferrell's SNL skit memorized I mean SNL audition tape memorized I just love it like you know, I'm older than some of you. So when I like lived in New York, I would buy SNL DVDs and like watch, get stoned and watch them.
56:04It's like, you know, some of my most prominent family inside jokes are SNL, but it's just, I'm so grateful. So the show ends and, you know, at the very end, you know, the host is like, thank you so much. They name all the people that they're thankful before. And then all of a sudden, Paul McCartney jumps off stage and walks over to the musical stage and puts the mic up to his mouth and puts a guitar around his neck. And nobody knows this is going to happen, but like, obviously the people who needed to know. So the cast is freaking out and they're all looking at each other like, did you know about this?
56:44Did you know? No, we didn't know. We didn't know. And Will Ferrell, oh, it makes me so much. So Will Ferrell just like sits down on the edge of the stage and he's soaking it up. Like Will Ferrell could not believe that he is watching Paul McCartney that close to him because obviously the two times he played before during the show, like Will's in the back prepping. So he's just dying. And I kept thinking the whole show, I was like, they got to do cowbell and they didn't do it on the show, but they got to do cowbell. It's like, whatever. So Paul's playing like both fucking Beatles songs and everybody's tripping out.
57:22Like nobody knows what to do. The audience is freaking out. The cast is freaking out. So tons of celebrities come to SNL and like stand in the back that like go to the VIP room and they come out during the musical performances. And so I can't, I'm not going to name drop who was there, but everyone is there like freaking out. So Paul plays an encore And the encore played as the credits were rolling live on TV. So you could see that there was an encore and that was really great. But then he played two more songs. So he played three encore songs. Okay. Will is freaking out, sitting down, taking it in.
58:03And then the second song starts playing and someone comes up to Will and hands him a cowbell. And he's like, I'm not, I can't do this. Look, this guy, he's like, I can't do it. I'm not going to intrude on Paul McCartney playing like a Beatles song to like do Cowbell. And they were like, no, no, no. Well, and the whole cast is like, well, go. Oh, my God. He wants you to do it. Like he clearly like, come on, come on, come on. And Will Ferrell goes behind Paul McCartney and does Cowbell. I can't even remember what song it was because I was like, no, I was like levitating at this point. I watched Will Ferrell do Carol Bell to Paul McCartney just in like not on TV, like in like an intimate moment that like meant so much to Will.
58:57It was insane. And I just started weeping, like fully weeping. it was like, I dream, you know, I've loved Will Fell and SNL for so long and it's Paul McCartney, you know? And so watching the whole show is crazy. And I was like shaking the whole time because the adrenaline's really nuts, but you're just kind of like, it's like cold in there and you're shaking and you're nervous and what's happening and everything's going on. And it just like takes, you like can't even, you're like enjoying yourself, but you're outside of your body And like, and then it just like all hit me to like, I was just, it was just to die for.
59:40And I went to the after party, which I was again, very lucky to attend. And Kenan Thompson came up to me with his sunglasses on and said, I don't know him, but he saw me cause I was in the front and he put his hand on my shoulder and he said, yo, you are a real one for crying that hard. You get it. And I said, thank you.
1:00:06Thank you so much for understanding. You understood that I understood. We all understand. I also fangirled on Molly Shannon at the after party because she had a guest appearance on the show. And I just want to say that she was the most gracious woman and like asked me questions about myself and was wonderful and to die for and glorious and funny and says she has a show coming out with Will and was there with her daughter and was just everything you could have like ever imagined her to be as like a darling comedic actress who's also like a mom and just like someone that you want to like tuck you into bed at night and also tell you like a funny story and she was perfect and everything I could have dreamed of.
1:00:51Best night of my life. well not bad I mean one of the best nights of my this is this is this is a story that I will tell till my dying day and I I'm just so grateful I'm so grateful oh my god it was so fucking sick oh okay all right I love you guys please keep sending in your questions I love answering them I hope that this was helpful and if you are so inclined please leave me a cute little review Okay, love you guys.
1:01:28And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes this week's episode of Everything is the Best. I hope you enjoyed it. Please rate, review, subscribe, all that stuff. Maybe leave a comment. Go ahead and follow me on Instagram at Pia Barancini. And I hope you have a fabulous, fabulous rest of your day. Love you. Ciao.
1:01:54Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.
From the publisher
This week I'm answering one of the questions I get asked most: how do you actually balance work, motherhood, ambition, and everything in between? The honest answer is... I'm still figuring it out.
I share why I've been feeling disconnected lately, my complicated relationship with networking, and the unexpected loneliness that can come with building a career while raising a family. I also open up about taking Carmela to an incredible five-day therapy intensive, the progress we saw, and why it left me feeling more hopeful than I have in a long time.
Plus, I finally recap one of the greatest nights of my life: watching Saturday Night Live from inside Studio 8H, seeing Will Ferrell host, Paul McCartney surprise the audience, and witnessing a behind-the-scenes moment I'll never forget.
Produced by Dear Media
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