The Other Side

Rebecca Rowe believes your body has never once been the problem. The clothes are. That's why she is so steadfast in helping people find themselves in their closets - and in their day to day.  This week Nadine sits down with Rebecca, education-led personal stylist and former fashion designer, to chat about everything from the fashion industry, to studying at Pratt Institutes's School of D...

This week Nadine sits down with Ro Nwosu - movement educator, studio owner, single mom, and self-proclaimed "weird gal who loves fairies" - for a conversation that starts with childhood comfort foods and ends somewhere much deeper; the slow, sneaky unraveling of burnout, and what it actually takes to come back from it. Ro gets honest about the years she said yes to everything - the studi...

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means mom and sis are on the pod! And this week the three of us find ourselves together in Calgary at my brother's home to celebrate our nephew (and grandson's) grade 12 graduation. Of course we had to give our two cents so we asked one another - what would you say to an 18 year old standing on the edge of everything? Mom/Lorraine, 77, who...

This week Nadine sat down with Meagan and Megan - same name, different paths, and somehow the co-founders of Daughters of the River , a jewelry brand born out of communal living and a shared love of making things in the Ottawa Valley. Megan has been making jewelry (and ceramics) for what feels like her whole life - a born creator, she spent years experimenting, soaking up mentorship opportunities,...

This week Nadine invited Hillory on the pod to talk about divorce - she said yes, as long as what we could actually talk about was love <3 For Hillory, they are one in the same.  Hillory Tenute is a First Nations leader, advocate, entrepreneur, founder of Lodge Consulting , beader, auntie, and dog mom whose approach to relationships will genuinely make you rethink everything you think you know...

Amanda Ruddy knows how to throw a party. But this conversation isn't really about parties. It's about growing up the oldest of five kids in six years, in a house that was always a gathering place. It's about spending years wondering if your name opened doors that your talent was supposed to. It's about losing your mom three weeks before the biggest event of your career and show...

What does 77 years of living actually look like? Mom will tell you, and she won't sugarcoat it either.  This month mom and sis join Nadine and they get into the big stuff - what years were actually easy (spoiler alert: none of them, really), who mom worried about most and why, and what it felt like to watch each of her three kids leave the nest one by one. There's also chats about debt,...

Content warning: infant loss Part 2 of 2 with the wonderful Emma Mitchell. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, start there first. We pick up right where we left off, inside the NICU, where Emma spent every single day with her daughter Evie, who was born at 23 weeks and 6 days. We talk about the moment everything shifted, the decision she and Devin made together, and the 43 minutes they&apo...

Content warning: infant loss Emma Mitchell is Evie's mom. She's also a pickleball obsessive, a Canadian music lover, a former open mic host, and one of the most honest and open humans I've had the pleasure of sitting across from. We start the conversation talking about pickleball outfits (because of course we do) and then we go somewhere really deep and really real. Emma never let h...

What happens when the rug gets pulled out from under you? Amira believes you were always meant to land exactly where you did. This week, listen in as Nadine sits down with Amira de Vera, entertainment publicist and founder of Project Four PR , for a conversation that wanders, beautifully, from books to burnout to the Burnt Toast Theory. Amira shares how she stumbled into the Public Relations world...

They're backkkkkkkk. The last Wednesday of the month means mom and sis join Nadine for a conversation that starts with a laundry disagreement and ends with all three of them in tears. This one is special <3 It began with a simple idea, a book club of sorts. All three of them agreed to read Being Mortal  by Atul Gawande but when they hopped on to chat about it, it turned into something unex...

Jen Alvarenga was 18 years old when she left Honduras for Ottawa with a plan - get an education, go back home and work for the family business. That was over two decades ago and well, she's still here and she's shaping her adopted city with as much love and care as if she were born and raised in it. Jen is the co-founder of GoodStory , a real estate team in Ottawa that has quietly become...

What happens when the woman who spent years telling her partner that having kids was a 'dealbreaker' suddenly finds herself in her mid-30s wanting the exact thing she'd been against her entire life? Meet Brittany Gordon, a holistic nutritionist, founder of Healing Ginger , sister, daughter, friend, and now mom to two-year old Lillian.  This week our conversation is focused around th...

This week sisters Angie and Amanda Cambareri, owners of Vincent Boutique in Ottawa, Ontario, join Nadine for a candid chat about closet staples, owning a clothing store, and how they protect their tight bond while also ensuring they make the necessary decisions to continue growing their business. Growing up in a close-knit Italian family, they both share how their early creativity and love of shop...

Calling all music lovers! This week Nadine welcomes Erin Benjamin - mom, golfer, former touring singer-songwriter, and now President & CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association - for a wide-ranging conversation about music, identity, and community.  Having loved music all of her life, but not really able to carry a tune, Nadine wanted to take some time to listen to (and maybe live vicariously...

They're backkkkkkkk <3 The last Wednesday of the month means mom and sis join Nadine for another funny, candid chat that starts with favourite breakfasts and spirals into bigger life questions.  Bucket lists. When Nadine admits her dream trip to South Africa has stayed a “someday” fantasy since she was 16, the three unpack why that may be so, which leads to a conversation about the meaning...

In a candid conversation, Donna - an artist, musician, and mom - shares what she’s loving lately in music (Louis Tomlinson, thanks to her nine-year-old daughter) before diving into the story behind her decision to choose to become a single mother at 40.   Donna first walked into a fertility clinic at 38 when it occurred to her that time was slipping by and waiting for the right partner was no long...

In this week's episode Nadine chats with Ottawa portrait, brand, and commercial photographer Amanda Thirkill about road-trip music, growing up in Sudbury with summers on Manitoulin Island, and how her dad's film-camera candids sparked her love of photography and shaped how she positions herself behind the lens.  Having previously worked with Amanda, Nadine was most curious to talk about...

On this episode Nadine welcomes Ottawa-based astrologer, Sarah Goldsmith, to the pod to explore astrology as a tool for mindfulness, storytelling, and personal growth rather than certainty.  They chat about Sarah's background, how she became interested in astrology and how her approach blends modern and Hellenistic astrology, psychological theory, cycle awareness, and her own personal philoso...

Mom and sis are back, and this week we asked mom how she managed to stay in love with the same person for over 50 years - our dad <3 Though she says there's no magic formula, she tells us of the importance of trust, mutual respect, being in-tune with one another, and having a deep love that supersedes those days when you don't like each other very much.  As mom reflects on the reality...

This week we talk with Lori Brooks, a dear friend of Nadine's who graciously came onto the pod to talk about what it means to live through repeated loss on the road to becoming a mom.  Lori always knew she wanted kids, and after experiencing a long period of trying to conceive, she miscarried the first time just 6 weeks into her pregnancy. Two more miscarriages later, Lori takes us through ea...

Erin is back! If you haven't listened to Erin's first TOS podcast, TOS of a Cancer Diagnosis, go have a listen to episode #2 and prepare to fall in love with her. She's incredibly special, and smart, and interesting, and here to tell us how's she doing and to talk all things Tarot. The first 15 minutes-ish of this episode I check in and get an update on all things Erin, which s...

How does it feel to reach the age of retirement when you’ve spent your career strongly identifying with your profession? What happens when our value becomes untangled from what we ‘do’ to who we actually are? How do folks navigate that shift and what things arise when we find ourselves on the other side of our career? These are the questions that were floating around my mind when I asked my dear f...

Mom & sis are back for a light-hearted discussion about our own personal fitness stories, sharing how different forms of movement like running, Pilates, and dance classes impact our lives.  In a world where everything feels quite heavy, and at a time when the most awful humans are getting a lot of attention, we felt a need to remind ourselves of the good people around us and the importance of...

This week's lively discussion is brought to you by Chantal Sarkisian, an Armenian-Canadian influencer better known as Chantsy online!  Listen in as Nadine and Chantal delve into the behind-the-scenes of what it means to be a social media influencer. Their conversation starts from the beginning, with Chantal's early experience as a blogger, then discusses her transition to Instagram and T...