Name: Gayle Guyardo

Kids: 4 Katie(12) Lindsay (10) Ali (4) Ella (3)

Occupation: TV Host for TVGoods and Former Morning News Anchor

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

H&H Interview with Gayle:

1. What are the top 3 items in your grocery cart?

Milk (I’m a dairy farmers daughter) – avocado, wine

2. What are you reading (honestly)?

“Good-Night Moon” – too many kids for adult books

3. What is your guilty pleasure when you get a break from the kids?

My husband!

4. What would we be surprised to find in your purse?

My daughter’s lip gloss

5. What is your favorite reality TV show?

Shark Tank

6. What is your cocktail of choice?

Grey Goose Martini Straight up with a twist of lemon

7. What is the funniest thing your kids have said or done lately?

Oh God everything – they always make me smile.

8. What is your favorite quotation?

Children will not remember you for the material things you provide but for the feelings that you cherished them – Richard L Evans.

9. What are you currently working out to on your iPod?

Black Eye Peas Lil’Wayne

10. Who is your favorite celebrity mom?

Demi Moore

11. What is something most people don’t know about you?

I can REALLY box.

12. What is your secret to staying Hot & Healthy?

Hanging out with my four little girls!

Written by Lea Barlow • 2 Comments

Have you seen the latest Target commercial with the lady looking at hats and dreaming of a fantasy life to match the hat?  It’s so true.  Hats are so sexy and very transformative.  I own dozens but mainly because it’s the easiest way to cover my personal burden of perpetually flat hair.  So thrilled that the fedora is back this fall. I can seriously rock any fedora.  Another trend I am seeing this season is the cloche hat – think 20′s flapper era.  Here are a few of my favorites….

jcrew tweed fedora  $58

Classic and simple but what else would you expect from jcrew?  Perfect with a creamy cable-knit sweater.

Click here to see all hats

Written by Lea Barlow • 1 Comment

a.k.a., When You Think You Are Going to Change Your Children, They End up Changing You

by Alexis Novak

Everyday, the two parts of my mom self argue. Tough Love Mom and Earthy-Birth-y Mother don’t usually agree but on the topic of co-sleeping, they are diametrically opposed. This is how they sound:

TL: “You have to set the rules and the boundaries. You are the Parent!”

EB: “Yes, but I cannot listen to my child cry ‘Mommy, Heeeeeelllllpppppp Meeeee’ for weeks on end. I know how tough she can be and how long she will fight. I can’t do this all over again. Cry It Out was a bandaid.”

TL: “Then she is training you and she has won.”

EB: “I think I am mostly okay with that. I am just going to have to drink more coffee.”

You see, when my iron-willed Punky was about 13 months old, I found myself mindlessly driving her around a big winding loop in my city for 45 minutes, twice a day, all the while maintaining 30+ mph.  This was the only way she would sleep. When I laid her in her crib, her eyes would pop open like plastic dolly eyes and she would wail until we rescued her.  Then I discovered I was pregnant and the mono-like-exhaustion helped me abruptly decide that the coddling needed to stop. The Baby Bjorning her to sleep every night, the endless rocking and shushing, the late night stroller walks, all the motion had to stop. This chick was going to learn how to self-soothe.

keep reading…

Written by Alexis Novak • Leave a comment

Name: Tanya Sharkey

Kids: Gavin (9) Adelaide (7)

Occupation: Photographer, specializing in children and pet portraiture.

Hometown:  St. Petersburg, FL

H&H Interview with Tanya:

1. What are the top 3 items in your grocery cart?

Fruit, mostly blueberries and peaches right now. Organic Eggs and a variety of beans.

2. What are you reading (honestly)?

Just finished Eat, Pray, Love and have moved on to Life of Pi.

3. What is your guilty pleasure when you get a break from the kids?

Goofing off on the computer researching, looking stuff up, reading.

4. What would we be surprised to find in your purse?

Not much, I have a tiny purse most of the time.  I always have at least 3 different lip glosses though.

5. What is your favorite reality TV show?

Survivor (I will be on the show one day!!!, hopefully:-) and Top Chef.

6. What is your cocktail of choice?

Dark Beer mostly, stouts, porters.

7. What is the funniest thing your kids have said or done lately?

They amaze me daily.  Lately though I’m cracking up at my daughter checking out her bum in the mirror, she’s only 7!!   My son loves listening to music and puts on his headphones in his room and sings loudly!  Love it!

8. What is your favorite quotation?

“find life experiences and swallow them whole. travel. meet many people. go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. try everything. exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life.” -Lawrence K. Fish.

9. What are you currently working out to on your iPod?

Working out, hmm.  When I do, it’s Salsa, Hip Hop.  I love Shakira “Hips don’t lie”.

10. Who is your favorite celebrity mom and why?

I don’t really keep up with celebs much, but I would have to say Madonna.  She’s incredibly passionate and I like that.

11. What is something most people don’t know about you?

Hmm, I’m an open book really.  I have 8 cats and would have more if my hubby didn’t cut me off:-)

12. What is your secret to staying Hot & Healthy?

Drink a lot of water, never touch a towel to my face (I air dry or use paper towel), keeping positive, being friendly, being silly and ok with it.

*Please check out some of Tanya’s fantastic work at tanyasharkey.com*

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment