✨ Want to host holiday gatherings this year that feel effortless? (Hint: The secret to effortless parties is in the prep work)
This week’s episode is for you.

I’m joined by Licia Householder — Hamptons Private Chef, CIA-trained, and co-author of 12 Loaves & Fishes cookbooks — and she’s sharing the hosting shortcuts, prep tips, and mindset shifts she uses for both clients and her own family.

In this episode:

🍽️ How Licia entertains with ease
🥕 What actually matters when guests look back on your gatherings
🗒️ Smart prep strategies you can steal for the holidays
👩‍🍳 Her path to becoming a chef — and how motherhood has shaped the way she feeds her own family
🏡 How to make hosting feel fun, elevated, and doable (even mid-week)

And of course, we get to hear the story of her rage bait video that went viral.

It’s warm, inspiring, and full of the kind of tips that make parties so much fun to host & attend.

If you’re a mom, a creative, or someone who wants to uplevel your entertaining game this season — this episode is a must.

And Licia also offers a recipe subscription. Just head to her IG to sign up: @liciahouseholder

New episodes every Wednesday.

Enjoy!

@noelleettoi

Today on Behind the Scenes with Noëlle, I’m joined by Rachel Hochhauser—writer, brand builder, and co-founder of Piecework, the cult-favorite puzzle brand that transformed a sleepy category into a design-forward obsession.

Rachel shares the unlikely Yosemite weekend that sparked the idea of Piecework. By 2019, Piecework launched with four puzzles and a mission to refresh a sleepy category with design, wit, and world-building. Within months, their puzzles were landing in Vogue, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and beyond. And then came 2020. From February to March, as the world locked down and families looked for screen-free connection, Piecework saw a staggering 910% increase in retail sales.

We talk about creativity, burnout, building a visually iconic brand, and juggling it all while raising two young daughters.

Rachel also opens up about her next chapter: writing her debut novel, Lady Tremaine—a feminist, emotionally rich reimagining of Cinderella told from the perspective of its most misunderstood woman. She began drafting the book during her husband’s near-death experience, as a creative & therapeutic outlet.

If you love founder stories, creativity, reinvention, or conversations about ambition and motherhood, you’ll love this one.

This conversation is for anyone who loves:
✨ Beautiful design
✨ Brand-building origin stories
✨ The art of reinvention
✨ Honest talk about motherhood
✨ Women carving nonlinear creative paths
✨ Or simply… a really good puzzle

@noelleettoi

We’re done with diet culture — and Rachael Schwartz explains what to do instead.

Today’s conversation is such a good one. ✨
I loved spending an hour with Rachael Schwartz, a nutrition coach (and fellow mom) whose approach to health is grounded, smart, refreshingly realistic and hilarious- we laugh so much during this episode. Rachael keeps it REAL.

We talk about growing up in the 80s and 90s, the myths that shaped how we think about food, and how Rachael built a thriving coaching business that helps women feel strong and confident — without the all-or-nothing mindset. We talk about steps to take to invest in yourself to start a business, creating work boundaries (specifically for those in a service based industry), pricing your services, creating packages...and so much more.

From protein and strength training to finding balance through the holidays, this episode is packed with practical advice and an honest conversation about what wellness can look like today no matter your age. And no, you don't need to start making wraps with cottage cheese to lose those last 10lbs.

🎧 Tune in wherever you listen to podcasts — and swipe for a few favorite quotes from our chat.

@noelleettoi

Monogram Mary's founder, Brooke Shepard joins me for a delightful conversation about growing the beloved business that she was inspired to start by her Grandmother. Brooke actually named the business after her late mother-in-law, Mary as a way to continue her legacy and keep talking about her with her own children. Brooke was raised on a farm and surrounded by a family of artists. Her grandmother taught her to sew as a child and eventually Brooke went onto work in the fashion industry in product development, traveling the world.

After the birth of her own children and wanting a job with flexibility, Brooke ordered a monogram machine and began a service based business out of her home, which eventually moved to her garage and most recently to her very own Monogram Mary Studio in Old Greenwich. In this episode we discuss:

-Building a business over 10 year (yes, MM just celebrated their 10th anniversary)

-Power of relationships and networking

-Saying yes and figuring out the "How" later

-The joy of giving thoughtful, personalized gifts to our loved ones

-Giving back & philanthropy

-Brooke's Hat of Summer and its appearance on Oprah!

-Taking business risks & creating a flexible work environment

-Brooke's Must Haves for gift giving, holiday hostess gifts + how to care for your linens

-Endless opportunities to customize & personalize gifts..Brooke can even use your handwriting!!

This is just a feel good episode that will make you want to gift someone you love.

Lucky for our listeners - Brooke has generously offered us the following code to shop: THANKFUL30

YAY! Enjoy and Happy shopping!

Noelle x

@noelleettoi

Are you raising a middle schooler? Or are you almost at that point...then this episode is for you. How did a Stanford trained lawyer turned therapist create an online community of over 60K followers and a page that attracts 6.5 million monthly views in just a few short months? Meet Bridget KerMorris, the voice behind @bridget.parentcoach on Instagram and the creator of Steady + Connected Parenting, a trauma-informed, emotionally fluent framework designed to help parents navigate the middle school years with more steadiness and deeper connection.

This episode isn't going to tell you what time to put your middle schooler to bed (I know sometimes we all just want a quick answer) but will rather teach how to build a steady relationship with your child(ren) based on values that will inform all of your rules, boundaries etc.

It's not surprising that Bridget's brilliant carousel frameworks have captured the attention of parents. Bridget provides language, phrases, and answers to so many of our questions. Through her free resources Bridget also provides actual phrases for kids that they can use (it doesn't feel like Mom said it) while navigating different social situations.

In this episode we cover:

*What it looks like to go viral and have so much growth in a short period of time

*The 2 most important questions every middle schooler is asking

*Repair + Connection = longterm relationships with our children (we want them to want to be around us)

*What does steady parenting look like & how do we know if we are doing it

And so much more...Bridget offers incredible free resources (along with her detail filled Insta):

Here’s the free 50 ways I’m staying close to my middle schooler link: https://kermorris.myflodesk.com/50waysguide

Here’s the free social script toolkit: https://kermorris.myflodesk.com/scriptfreebie

And if you're wanting more:

Here’s a link to get on the waitlist for the next Steady + Connected Parenting group program: https://kermorris.myflodesk.com/steadygroup

And how could we have a conversation about middle schoolers without mentioning phones & social media..Bridget has you covered with the tech course:

https://bridgetparentco.samcart.com/products/middle-school-tech-safety-toolk

I hope you enjoy this episode and I really hope that it helps you to enjoy your middle schoolers...

xx

@noelleettoi

Melissa joins fellow former attorneys Heather of Priss & Vinegar and Natalie Steen of The Nat Note—each of whom has shared her own bold transformation and reinvention on this podcast. After a decade practicing law and while raising three small children, Melissa decided to take a leap. A lifelong fashion lover (with a little nudge from a friend), she embarked on a new career path—one that has grown into something far beyond what she could have imagined.

Melissa has quickly become one of the most highly sought after fashion/lifestyle experts in the industry. She regularly appears as a contributor on national shows such as Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, Wendy Williams, E! News and EXTRA!. She has offered her fashion expertise for national publications such as The Daily News, Life & Style and Closer Magazine; is a TODAY.com Style Contributor, has contributed to a weekly fashion column for E! Online and has been featured as an expert on Amazon.com, IvankaTrump.com, Loreal.com, NewYorkMagazine.com, Yahoo.com and Buzzfeed.com to name a few.

Today we are lucky enough to hear Melissa's story of rediscovery as well as a breaks down Fall trends, Must Haves for every closet and the denim we need to be wearing.

Find Melissa @melissagarciastyling

Enjoy

xx

@noelleettoi

Meet Hart Hagerty, founder of soulful & personalized jewelry brand, HART. I always feel extra grateful when I get to meet the founder and creator of something I personally love and today's conversation is no exception. I adore Hart's charm jewelry and it quite often makes appearances on this podcast :) Hart's academic, global, soulful and worldly appreciation of jewelry is what stands out most to me. It's no surprise that HART has captured an audience of loyal customers over the last 10 years and is just shy of opening her third store this November in NYC. With locations in both Charleston and Nashville (and soon to be NYC), I hope that you pop in and visit if you're in one of these cities and if not their website is so easy to shop. Head to Shophart.com and you can even set up a virtual appointment to make sure you choose the perfect charms & chain. In this episode:

- Hart's early days studying Chinese & Sociology at Vanderbilt

-Life and work abroad in Shanghai & cultural influences

-The first pair of earrings that started the journey

-Expanding the line & retail presence (Charleston & Nashville)

-Customer connection and creating a unique shopping experience

-Navigating Motherhood & business & boundaries

-Building your own personal jewelry collection

@noelleettoi

How did this Midwest, 100 books a year reading, non TV watching, Mom of 3 become the co-founder of Primal Kitchen, which was acquired by Kraft Heinz in 2019 for $200 million dollars? Morgan Zanotti shares her story of growing up in the Midwest, traveling through South America in her early 20s ...hopping from Latin surf town to Latin surf town and eventually making her way to California. While in CA, she met her Primal Kitchen co-founder Mark Sisson and they quickly built the beloved brand, beginning with mayonnaise. I love this brand so much for their quality, taste, and for using "better for you" ingredients. It was such a personal treat for me to sit down with Morgan and learn from her. Morgan also shares the exciting details of launching her new product, Waay, a sparkling protein beverage available this October in Whole Foods.

In this episode we discuss:

-Exploration in our 20s

-Chance meeting with Primal Kitchen co-founder, Mark Sisson

-Building Primal Kitchen with intent to sell

-Building a "better for you" brand - quality of ingredients

-Acquisition process - can you guess how many women are in these rooms?

-Self -doubt, imposter syndrome and sacrifices made to build a business (hint...no it doesn't disappear even after a major acquisition)

-The simple routines that are realistic for a Mom and business founder (no crazy cold plunge, saunas, or 19 step processes on daily rotation)

-Reading 100 books per year (that means no T.V.)

-Keeping it FUN

Cant wait for you to listen to this one. And counting down for the arrival of Waay.

Enjoy,

Noelle x

@noelleettoi