Living The Authentic Life

Vibrant wardrobe stylist Valerie Dittner joins us as this week's podcast guest, sharing her love of preowned, vintage, sustainable fashion. She and I launched our fashion careers at similar times and have grown our businesses in parallel ways through a combination of shared passions and collaboration with like minded people. We dive in depth quickly, talking about the impact the world of dance had on both of us gowning up with a “costume outlook” on dressing. We both continue to be influenced by vintage styles as we approach each day's wardrobe choice as a way to express ourselves to the world while actually being active working modern women. Her signature dark locks and classic bright red lip are reminiscent of classic old Hollywood Movistar glamour mixed with a big dose of modern day chic. As a busy working mom of 2, she really is a woman who does it all and looks fabulous while doing it and helping her clients do it too‼️ Watching her Instagram inspires me to be more courageous, mixing classic styles with mixed patterns, adding both high and low designers and choosing both casual and dressy looks to create signature “Valerie Dittner” looks. We both agree, when we look our best, we actually begin to feel our best, so why not do it every day?

Our first episode of 2024 is with the world-renowned Dr. Viviana Coles, Relationship & Sex Therapist and Licensed Psychotherapist. Dr. Viviana was featured as an expert on seasons 9-14 of hit show “Married at First Sight” and is currently Fox Houston’s Intimacy Expert. Bringing her incredible expertise, Rob and Donae sit down with her to talk about navigating common relationship issues and why intimacy is so crucial to a successful marriage. Join us as she shares her story from being born in Houston to finding her passion for helping people to becoming a nationally recognized marriage and sex therapist, author and speaker.

Our Special guest today is Claudine Boutros who is a former image consultant to the stars and an influencer stylist before they even existed. As one of Donae's most cherished mentors, Claudine gives us her tools for living your best life and coming alive. Join us as we talk about our greatest joys, biggest struggles and how to make sense of it all.

We discuss our shared loves of travel, food and shopping around the world with Marcela White, owner of Tavaero Jet Charter. Marcela started in the charter business in 1986 where she went on to earn her private pilot license in order to understand the unique insight to working with pilots. She eventually met her husband who was also in the aviation industry and together they have worked in this business for over 30 years elevating their clients' travel experience with the most magical personalized approach to luxury travel. "Some day" doesn't always come, we have to make the moments count - so grab the family and take the trip!

Matthew Massey is the Founder and Owner of Champagne Madame Zéro, "Good days or bad days, should always be finished with a glass of champagne in hand." Matthew Massey is the first Texan, never mind Houstonian, to launch a for-real French champagne brand of his own…and he did it in his 30’s! The wine is Madame Zéro. If you know us you know the only thing we love almost as much as fashion is champagne and Champagne Madame Zero is truly exceptional. I mean a bottle of bubbles with an ultra low sugar content, say less! After falling in love with this champagne 2 years ago, today we finally got to hear Matthew’s fascinating backstory. It all started with Sandra Bullock and a Bentley Tune in to hear the rest!

Our Special Guest is mental health expert Vaughan Gilmore, We shine a spotlight on suicide as a public health issue and work to ensure that people have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention & seek treatment when needed. After suffering the tremendous loss of a vibrant, beautiful individual in our community, many of us have been searching for answers with a mixture of emotion from shock, confusion, to despair. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. for adults, but suicide’s impacts aren’t measured in deaths alone. People who lose loved ones to suicide face their own mental health impacts, including trauma, grief, or even shame. Suicide is a public health problem with major impacts, We dive in with Vaughan to discuss the difference between warning signs & risk factors and the resources to navigate through the uncertainty & begin the healing process.

Beth Muecke has been a Houston Ballet board member for 23 years, she took her passion as a dancer and translated into fundraising as Chair of the Ballet Ball and an active Capital Campaign Committee member. Beth shares her journey from being a ballerina to raising children to becoming an empty nester and creating a whole new career as a fashion blogger. Through her BethieLife blog, she shares insights on fashion, beauty, personal style, and the best things the city of Houston has to offer. Her light hearted candor and unique perspective gives you a glimpse into her journey to live a life that makes her come alive!

We sit down with Houston's favorite meteorologist, Chita Craft. Chita—pronounced Cheetah—is a family name. In fact, there are five generations of mother-daughter Chita’s in her family, including her daughter, who is also a "Chita." Chita shares her journey being born in Knoxville, TN to growing up in southern California to becoming a crucial part of the Houston news scene 12 years ago. From forecasting us through our most severe events like Hurricane Harvey and the Texas Freeze to being recognized as one of 'Top 30 Influential Women of Houston' for her work as a meteorologist and her support of the community, Chita is a true Houston legend.

We are live at SheSpace in Houston Texas (@shespacehtx) to celebrate our 100th recording!! We're joined by special guests Stephanie Tsuru and Rachel Regan who share their insights from the 2023 Forbes Women's Summit in NYC. We reminisce and share stories from the incredibly powerful speakers ranging in age from 18 to 73. As much as these powerhouse women’s journeys inspired us, our biggest inspirations were actually found in the conversations with the incredible women who were also guests. Realizing and discussing the special opportunity to come together as a global community, we also took time to give our perspective on what makes Houston so special to each of us. We talk about how Houstonians come together to build stronger families, businesses, and community through our philanthropy and friendships

This week we present a live podcast fireside chat with special guests Amy Pierce and Dr. Sippi Khurana at Turners. As pillars of our community, giving daily, and actively “living the authentic life”, these two women have chosen UNICEF as one of the primary charitable organization. Join us as we discuss the exceptional work UNICEF conducts in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF is committed to never giving up because they believe every child has the right to grow up in a safe and inclusive environment. Tune in to find out how we can come together to make a difference by committing to doing the work, promoting inclusive policies and expanding access to services that protect all children. Humanitarian Aid for Children in Crisis | UNICEF USA https://www.unicefusa.org/