Don't Call Me Midlife
Join Alix and Nicole, the coffee-addicted, wine-loving, Amazon-obsessed mom squad, as they take you on a hilarious and heartfelt journey through the ups and downs of mid-life. With six boys and a knack for keeping it real, these two friends bring you more than just mom tales – they're on a mission to help you reclaim your identity beyond motherhood.
Discover the joy of embracing mid-life with these relatable hosts who are keen to learn, grow, and laugh along with their listeners. From navigating Pinterest-worthy fashion to mastering the art of leggings, from meal planning to avoiding life's chaos, they've got you covered.
But here's the kicker – they don't have all the answers, and they're proud of it. Alix and Nicole are in the trenches right alongside you, sharing their genuine experiences and bringing you along as they learn and laugh their way through life's twists and turns.
So grab your favorite drink, whether it's a trusty Stanley, an oat milk latte from Starbucks, or a glass of Whispering Angel, and prepare to be entertained, inspired, and empowered. Don't Call Me Mid-Life is the podcast where the fun begins, and mid-life gets a whole lot cooler.
Subscribe now and join the mid-life squad on this incredible adventure. Life is an adventure worth sharing, especially in mid-life!
Don't Call Me Midlife
It's Tradish!
Turning the tables can be an exhilarating experience, and that's exactly what we're doing in this episode. Today, I (Nicole) have the pleasure of shining the spotlight on my co-host, Alix Mackey, as we toast to her exciting entrepreneurial journey. Alix's story is one of triumph, a beacon for anyone navigating their midlife journey with boldness and joy. Pull up a seat at our family table where traditions simmer alongside our favorite dishes. We'll give you a taste of the magic that happens when families come together in the kitchen. So, let's raise our glasses (and spatulas) to crafting a legacy of laughter, love, and a little bit of mess in the kitchen.
In this episode, we talk about the following:
1. The importance of family dinners, traditions, and building connections.
2. Adding a "sprinkle of fun" to meals and involving kids in cooking.
3. The lasting impact of family traditions on children's memories.
Join the Midlife Squad:
Want to stay up to date on the Don't Call Me Midlife podcast and community? Click below so we can keep you in the know!
www.itstradish.myflodesk.com/dontcallmemidlife
Hang Out on Social:
Follow Alix on Instagram @everydaywithalix
Follow Nicole on Instagram @touch_of_stass
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Help us expand our mom-tourage! Share our podcast with your fellow mom friends and let's conquer midlife together.
Welcome to the Don't Call Me Midlife podcast. I'm Nicole and I'm Alex. We're your coffee-addicted, wine-loving, amazon-obsessed mom squad. Think of us as your new besties, but with a podcast. And, just like you, we're navigating the Google-defined chaos of midlife while wrangling a pack of boys. But here's the twist we're more than just moms and wives. We're on a mission to reclaim our identities beyond motherhood, and we're bringing you along for the wild ride. Now, we don't pretend to have all the answers to life's mysteries, but we're so good at learning and laughing our way through them. So whether you're sipping from your trusty Stanley, indulging in an oat milk latte from Starbucks or raising a glass of Whispering Angel, get ready to hang with us. Together. We'll keep it real, have some laughs and remind you that this crazy journey called life is one adventure worth sharing. Hi, friends, it's Nicole here. So today's episode is a bit special because, guess what, I'm the one leading the show and Alex is in the interview seat. Yep, that's right. I get to be the one asking all the juicy questions this time. But before we dive into all the fun stuff, let me properly introduce you to my bestie and co-host, alex Mackie. Today, on our Modern Mom Day, I am going to be interviewing Alex Mackey. She's in the hot seat so I'll be asking all the questions, but I really, I'm really excited for Alex and I'm excited for you to know what's going on in her life, and we're going to dive into all that once we find out what's in her cup. Hi, I'm super excited to talk to you too. I'm a little nervous.
Speaker 1:I am very basic. Today I've got my Stanley with LMNT, but I brought out my bright pink one that I love that I just got. Ooh, that's fun, it's like neon pink. So good, I'm actually gonna give away one for my birthday. Nicole, don't tell anyone, but listeners, be on Instagram on my birthday, which is June 7th.
Speaker 1:And then I also just have black coffee because I always have to have coffee. So I'm pretty simple, but my cup is also filled with excitement, like major, major excitement. Yes, my cup is filled with pride. I am so freaking proud of you. I am just like a mama bear, so freaking proud of you. I am just like um, like a mama bear, just so proud of you. And I have seen this journey from before. It was even, I don't know, started or it was probably like always burning in the back, but, um, it's just been like a beautiful, like unfolding, and I'm just like, so excited to be like one of your biggest cheerleaders. So, yes, you're so sweet. Well, you are my work wife, so you have been instrumental in this journey of my new company, so I thank you for that, because there's no one like you. So, thank you. Oh, my gosh, we're just like a bunch of, we're here to have fun and, um, get this, get this party started.
Speaker 1:Um, but before I ask you, um, any questions about your business, I want to know how you feel about the word. I want to know how you feel about the word midlife. You know what we I know we both have learned so much about midlife and we started this podcast. We were like, ah, do we call it midlife? And the podcast is don't call us midlife, right, because such of the negative connotation of midlife. But I have to say, after doing this podcast, for what have we done six months? I actually feel proud to be in midlife. I know that's going to be a silly thing to say no, no, not at all.
Speaker 1:I think where we are right now, our whole journey has brought us to here, right, honestly, I don't think I could have started this company without this podcast, because it's given me an insight into midlife, especially confidence about what we're doing in midlife. So so I love midlife right now. I think it's empowering and I love the word midlife, I love where we're at, where we're going, where we've been, all those things. What do you think? No, honestly, like I couldn't agree more with you. Like my idea of midlife before we started this podcast was, I mean, I didn't have the stereotypical like oh life's over type thing. But you know, in doing this I can see, like, how life has led me to this point and connecting all the dots that obviously you don't see when you're younger. But and every dots are going to be different and I'm so glad that our dots have crossed paths, but I do.
Speaker 1:I think it's a beautiful time in life and it's also just very exciting and I just feel so much more confident in where I'm at and who I am and where I want to go and what I want and who I want in my life. I just I really love it and I remember being, you know, in my younger like 20 something years and thinking like what am I going to do with my life? Like the quarter life crisis and, like women, I've always looked up to certain women and they've always been at least 15, 20 years older than myself. So you know, it's um. So I love here and I'd like to stay here for a while. You know, I don't want to rush through it because I felt like I wanted to rush through my 20s and, you know, get to the next milestone. But like I'm like I love riding this wave. It's beautiful, yeah, well, we hope all our listeners do too. So let us know, pop us a DM or an email about how you're feeling right now about midlife. We hope that Nicole and I changed your mind a little bit about midlife. You know and that's our goal is, I think, the thing about midlife and we hear this from a lot of our guests, nicole is there are no limits to what we can do.
Speaker 1:Right, I started my new business. I'm 46 years old. Like, if you asked 40 year old me, would I be starting a business at 46? No, no way in heck would I have ever thought that. But now it's like there's no glass ceiling, like the there's no limits as to what both of us can do, whether it's our business, our personal life. Like, I don't feel any like like I just don't feel held back by any expectations and it's like you know what this is like super exciting, and it's super exciting for our kids to see us too, at the same time, like what we are doing, what we're building Right, um. So, yeah, midlife is good, midlife is good, we're good, it is good.
Speaker 1:So for for um, for those of you that can't see, alex, she is wearing the cutest apron and I want you to tell us what it says. It says my new company. I love this. It's very cute. You can buy one too. It's called it's Tradish. That is my new company name. So I'm the CEO and founder, and the tagline is reinventing family dinners with a sprinkle of fun. And if you see these colors I've got. I got pink, of course, and I'm wearing a fun pink headband Um, but I have orange, I have turquoise, um. So I have lots of fun colors on there and I love my new logo. I'm excited, I love it. I love the name it's Tradish, it is. It's like a fun twist, it's like a little whimsical twist on the. Obviously the word traditional, and obviously you always bring fun to whatever you do.
Speaker 1:But how did you come up with the name, like what was, what was the story behind the name? Behind the name? Well, it's been a huge journey. So I didn't realize, you know, being a health coach before I was given a program right, so I was selling someone else's business essentially, right, I had my own business. So I learned a lot from that on how to build my own business. But building your own business what I didn't realize was it is very much a personal journey because I knew when I was health coaching and you know this that I loved the meal planning and prepping aspect and that's sort of what I dived into. It made me feel alive and so connecting all of those dots to build a business around it has been a journey in into who I am and what my story is and who I want to be, right. So the combination of well, I'll talk a little bit about how it got, how it got to be.
Speaker 1:So I've always, you know, I've always loved cooking. I had the catering company when I was 13,. I did, I was social chair in college and just have always loved bringing people together and I realized that over time that connection to family dinners, to cooking, was because of my father and he loved to cook. You know, my mom's amazing but she is not a cook. So we cooked and we had these family dinners and I went through a little bit of that journey when I wrote the cookbook Nourished, last October. But I really realized what I loved about the cooking was the connection. And you know we have three boys. I'm not really sporty. So when I started meal prepping and planning, it was that connection of bringing my kids into my sort of story and connecting with them through food, through family dinners. That was really really empowering to them and me, because they could also help me. And I realized, okay, I do have three boys hungry boys, right, like we do that meal planning and prepping isn't as hard as everyone makes it seem. It doesn't have to be that way.
Speaker 1:And actually having the family dinners, I didn't realize I was starting a tradition, you know, by having these family dinners and how important that was until one time. You know, baker's a boarding school and he said to me I go, well, what do you miss most about home? And he's like I'll cry, he's like I miss family dinners, you know. And so it was just like all these little pieces that have built me to build this and I love it's tradition because it's a slang term right, it's a modern day term on taking old and new traditions. But I think there's a lot of busy moms out there that have written a story like I don't have time to cook or I don't cook, or I don't want to cook or I can't cook, and I think bringing in that sprinkle of fun making food fun again has something that I've always, always loved. So, yeah, I'm excited about bringing all the new traditions and bringing some fun to the family. So I love this story and it does. It brings a tear to my eye because it hits so close to home, like this was. This was my um own personal thing that I wanted the family dinners, and it is. It just does so much more for our families than we. We then I don't know if it's that we realize, because I think we do know the importance, but those memories that we're creating, I mean you still have memories from when you were a little girl with your dad. So, yeah, I think it's beautiful, did you?
Speaker 1:When you were growing up and you had your family dinners? Was it like on Sundays? Was it a lot of the time or it was mostly on Sundays? Yeah, it was mostly on Sundays, cause that's when my dad worked a ton. So when he was home for dinner it was a big deal. I mean, he, we lived in Connecticut, he worked in the city, new York city, and he had to wake up at four, 30 and he had to entertain clients too. So it was mostly what the way that I grew up, it was like a grill night, right, which is something that I do on Sundays too.
Speaker 1:My dad loved to grill. He's this love food, right. He loved to eat. He loves. Anyone that knows him knows that, um, and so it's like he introduced me to like mozzarella and tomato salad with like a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and I remember some of the food that he introduced us to. I remember when Alex and I got married he grew up in the Midwest, which is very like you know, more meat and potatoes, and there are still things to this day where he's like I don't know what that is and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm so appreciative that well of Alex, but that well of Alex, but that my dad introduced me to these different foods and I want to do that for my kids, not saying I liked all the food that he introduced me to. But it was really these Sunday dinners with big steaks or burgers or you know anything on the grill that were really nice.
Speaker 1:And my brother, sister and I are all one year apart, so we are super close in age, but we're all going through things at different times, right. And now that we have teenagers, just bringing them together over a common thing like dinner, right, it seems so easy. But, like your journey, I know your journey about family dinners and I think it does have an a bigger impact than we think. Right, our teenagers aren't going to be like thanks, mom, I love family dinners, you know, I mean they do. Well, john Mackey does. John Mackey cooks with me.
Speaker 1:But I've seen in the past two years when I've really dived deep into this, nicole, like my kids wanting to cook, my kids asking me about food. I make fun, you know. Uh, you know I'll do some extravagant things like a breakfast buffet or a basketball, you know themed thing for my kids' friends. And I had one of my son's friends recently say to me oh my gosh, this is amazing. Did this take you like all afternoon to do? And I was like that's so cute.
Speaker 1:I felt that sense of pride, right, because I think when I also was, you know, meal planning and prepping, I would realize that I could cook healthier food, right. I also save time. So I felt better about myself as a woman, not just a mom, and I also had more time to do the things that I wanted to do, like work out right it take walks, things that I things have more time with friends. So I think that's part of our energy energy, a pile of, you know, not be like on the couch all the time. So there's lots of. There's a whole family connection aspect of my business. But there's also empowering moms to feel good about themselves, and that doesn't mean that she has to go be Betty Crocker and cook everything. Part of empowering the moms is also her empowering her family, like I've done, and incorporate your family into prepping, cooking planning, setting the table, you know, deciding what's fun. So that's that's part of it too, that I just, I just love doing.
Speaker 1:So it sounds like you have a lot in the in the works. There's a lot you can. There's a lot you can bring and teach everybody, because I don't know, is it going to be focused on like one specific thing, or are you going to have many, many different things down the road. Well, you know I do. I'm not at a lack of ideas. This is very true about you, yes, anyone, anyone that knows me or sees me anywhere.
Speaker 1:Um, so I launched, you know, my new brand on May 20th, and that was. That was exciting, and it was a lot of fun to get there. Different photo shoots, lots of different ideas. Um, what I have out now is I have a seasonal guide called savor the season and it is a meal prepping guide for dinner, dinners and family fun for the summer. So that's a free guide that I have. I'm going to be coming out with one every single season. I like being creative with the seasons and so you can definitely get that one. That's a free one. I also have a prep and plate guide that is make ahead family friendly meals that you can also get, because I think I'm a big fan of planning ahead and if you do that you can save time. So I think it's changing that mindset too, of thinking ahead a little bit.
Speaker 1:I also am doing, on June 3rd coming up, five-day dinner reset, and I did this for free a couple months ago and I revamped it and I'm excited about it because I am going to be teaching you my full plate planning method, which is how I plan dinners. So, step-by-step, we will go through that and then I'll tell these listeners and you a secret I'm going to be coming out with a membership in the fall. Oh, so fun. Yeah, I'm super excited about it. You'll get recipes, you'll get meal plans, you'll get fun stuff. You will get everything. You'll get all of me.
Speaker 1:So I can't get enough of you and I feel very lucky to work with you but also be your friend, to be like hey, I need help with this idea. I don't know what to do. I'm at the grocery store, what should I make for dinner? So you always have ideas right then and there. So for anybody to have access to you in this membership is such a treat. It's so fun. It's going to be fun. And the dinner reset is great because you do have one-on-one access to me so I can answer you back. You know I do answer my texts. It's me. I answer my DMs. We know that. We know that I think one of the fun things that's been well, there's a lot of fun things of forming this business and again, it's like this, this journey. You know I'm going to have the membership. Hopefully I'm going to have some live events and things that come up.
Speaker 1:So, um, the idea of a sprinkle of fun, and I thought a lot about this, right, and I wouldn't. I knew we were going to do this. I wanted to ask you because a lot of people have said well, what, what is fun? What does that mean? Right, and I'm not going to totally define it, like this apron to me as a sprinkle of fun, right, but my headband is a sprinkle of fun. But defining what fun is for everyone's family is a little bit different. So, this concept of it's tradition, I'm not going to tell you exactly what to do. I will give you the tools to figure it out, but part of the fun of the process is you deciding for your family or for you what works for you, your family, and what is fun.
Speaker 1:Is fun putting fresh flowers on a table? Is fun doing pancake for dinner? Is it adding sprinkles to a Sunday bar? Is it wearing a margarita t-shirt? I don't know. Well, I can tell you my youngest thinks sprinkles on everything is fun, because when you came to visit you realized I didn't have sprinkles and then you sent me some and now he's like can I have sprinkles on my I don't even know my oatmeal? I'm just like, oh sure, yes, yes. So I have. I also have a drawer of seasonal sprinkles. So I I swap out my sprinkles every single season. I do always have um rainbow color and chocolate, but I do, I do.
Speaker 1:Sprinkles are just like automatic fun, just like balloons. I mean, it is like I have like a dial into party city. I just love it. I love it. Yeah, I love the color that it brings, like when you put it on whipped cream. It's just like so fun and cute. So, yes, I'm a sprinkle person too. I just um, I just don't always have it. Now, this is completely off topic, but I'm just curious Do you like the little round ball sprinkles or do you like the more? Like the little? Um, I think the traditional ones are easier to put on things. But I think the traditional ones are easier to put on things, but I think the balls and the shapes are more fun. Yes, okay, I've had a lot of different sprinkles. It's so funny and I think it's fun.
Speaker 1:This is the place where you can incorporate kids, whether any age right, whether you have little toddlers or whether you have kids home from college, right, incorporating that fun because a big part of what my dad did for me is sorry is leaving this legacy. This part about legacy, right, and again, you don't have to be a good cook, I'm not a gourmet chef, but it's part of our legacy, needs to be. You know these memories and I love the quote. It's like they may forget. It doesn't matter whether they remember X, y, z, but they're going to remember what I really want people when they come to my house, when they come to dinner, my kids. And when I say family, I also mean friends, because you know, I consider friends family. So whether it's a backyard barbecue with couples or you're having another family over or it's just your core family, it's still the experience of that eating, which doesn't have to be extravagant either. Right, like you, putting out the sprinkles for heiress, like that's fun. He's like, oh yes, this is fun, I like this.
Speaker 1:So, just remembering that you can keep it simple, but also leaving, passing on that legacy and talking with your kids about some of the traditions that you used to do as a kid and making new ones and not making dinner boring. So, yeah, I love it and, honestly, you, I don't tell you enough how much you've inspired me to bring fun into dinner and just, I just think you're just such a beautiful person and I'm about to cry right now because you truly, you truly are one of those people that makes everyone feel special and like the most important person in your life and I can only imagine what you're doing for your children. And this business is just going to, you know, hopefully have a ripple effect on other families and bringing in fun and new traditions and realizing it doesn't have to be so hard. And, yes, you can. You can grill and eat on paper plates and sit around and and just talk. You know, but, yeah, it's, it's, it's a lost, it's a lost tradition. You know these family dinners that are just so important and I hope, I hope your impact reaches all around the world because I think you're just so special and I love what you're doing.
Speaker 1:Alex, I'm excited. I've got lots of fun plans. Hope to be on the Today Show one day. That has been my goal since day one, because my mom was like, wow, you've really made it. When you're on the Today Show, I'm like, yeah, I've got a while to go, but you know, it's okay, look at, look at Martha Stewart. She started at this age.
Speaker 1:So, um, yes, midlife, go midlife, go midlife, yes, so, anyway, um, so where can everybody find you? Tell us your business name again. You can find me now on my Instagram at it's tradition again, you can find me now on my Instagram at it's tradition T R a, d I S H. And you can also pop me an email at Alex a L I X at it's traditioncom. Amazing, all right. And then they can find, like, where to sign up for your um, sign up for the day dinner reset. You can sign up for all my guides, um, and there will be new stuff, you know, seasonally, and if you have any questions, just pop me a DM, give me any feedback, things that you are having a challenge with with meal time.
Speaker 1:I love, love, love hearing from people, from our listeners, um, because that's what matters. So, yes, all right. Well, thank you, alex, for sharing so much of your soul today. I love it, and thank you about your business. Okay, but my unsolicited advice is go follow Alex and get her stuff. Get on her newsletter, because it's incredible, um, and you can sign up for her newsletter on your Amazon, um, amazon page, your Instagram page, right, you can sign up for newsletter too. I send that out. I also have a um, a free Friday dinner text where I give a recipe and some tips for that. That's super fun to do too.
Speaker 1:I love doing the newsletter, I love doing all this stuff. So lots of, lots of good info out there. So, okay, awesome, all right, thanks, love you. Love you too. Bye, and that's a wrap for today's episode of don't call me midlife. We hope you had as much fun as we did. Absolutely. Your support means the world to us. If you're just waiting in the carpool line, don't forget to follow the show, and if you're feeling extra spicy today, leave us a rating and review before we part ways. We've got a special invitation for you join our newsletter to stay in the loop with all things midlife magic, bonus, bonus content and more. Head on over to the show notes for how to sign up. We can't wait to keep the conversation going. And, of course, remember, in the whirlwind of life and motherhood, don't forget to fill up your own cup first. You're extraordinary and your journey is worth every moment. Until next time, cheers.