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I’m going to be real honest with you — nobody does holidays like Rifle Paper Co. The iconic brand, once just stationery, has branched out to everything from home goods and bedding to swimwear and fashion... and now they’re going full Halloween. If you’ve ever seen Rifle Paper Co. collections before, then you know that a Rifle Paper Co. Halloween drop is full of all treats and zero tricks.
I’m a huge Halloween fan, but I’m not into the super gory or grotesque side of Halloween decor. I prefer things pretty and sweet and a little cutesy, and Rifle Paper Co. has all of that plus so much more with their new Halloween drop. The patterns are just darling, featuring a bunch of Halloween icons like witches, ghosts, and scarecrows, and the pieces cover everything from plates and dishware to baking supplies and trick-or-treat bags.
But Rifle Paper Co. also has a line with Pottery Barn Kids, so if you’re looking for bedding, pajamas, and more fun decor for spooky table settings and Halloween parties, there is plenty to be had.
Beyond all the gorgeous patterns and designs, Rifle Paper Co. stuff is solid. I have three daughters, and all of our Rifle Paper Co. goodies have managed to withstand their chaotic nature and their constant (and I mean constant) handling of my holiday decor. If you also have children who perpetually rearrange your decor tableaus, get at me. We must work together to stop them.
Here are a few of our favorite pieces from the Rifle Paper Co. Halloween collection:
Remember what I said about sturdy? These plates and serving platters are made of melamine, so the minute your kid insists they can carry the tray of cupcakes to the table, you only have to worry about all those spooky buttercream pumpkins smashing to pieces and not your platter. The porcelain mug is a different story, though, and you should clearly keep that way from everyone in the house and just drink from it in quiet peace every October morning.
Also, I never thought I’d become a person who switches out her spatulas for seasonal baking utensils, but now I am — and you can be, too.
The prices on these pieces are really great and fair, too. You don’t have to worry about the designs fading or flaking off, and even the tea towel is meant to withstand some washes and look as good as new every time. The illustrations are so bright and fun.
Yes, the Pottery Barn Kids collection is a little more expensive, but IYKYK. Pottery Barn items last for absolute ever and are pretty much heirloom pieces. Their bedding and sheet sets can handle tons of washes, and we have our own version of their Christmas ceramic mugs for the kids that, despite many (many) drops, have all held up over the last few years.
So, which Rifle Paper Co. Halloween item are you most excited about? Doesn’t it make you want to throw a spooky party?
Becoming the “King of Late Night,” an NBC mascot just as much as the colorful peacock itself? That kind of fame was on the trajectory for Jimmy Fallon. He may not have intended it when he started working for Saturday Night Live in 1998, but it’s a path that makes sense. Writing children’s books and becoming a New York Times best-selling author? That really wasn’t in the cards.
Like, at all.
“It’s like the weirdest thing for me because it’s clearly not my thing,” Fallon tells me over the phone. “I’m not an author.” It’s a funny thing to say when you’ve written five children’s books since 2012, each of them debuting at #1 on TheNew York Times Bestseller List, but Fallon really means it. Writing children’s books was never the plan, but now that he’s done it a few times, he finds inspiration in a lot of places. His new book, 5 More Sleeps ‘til Halloween, releases Sep. 3, 2024, and is bound to be another fan favorite. Inspired by the success of 5 More Sleeps ‘til Christmas, Fallon wanted to find another exciting moment that a kid would readily countdown towards.
“I never heard the term [how many sleeps] and my daughter said it to me once,” Fallon says. “She’s like, ‘How many more sleeps ‘til we go to Noma’s house?’ And I’m like, ‘How many more sleeps? That is so cute.’ So I did 5 More Sleeps ‘til Christmas and it came out and it worked and people liked it. I’m like, there’s got to be another five more sleeps, just getting excited for something. I didn’t know what it was going to be, maybe a first day of school or a birthday? But then I’m like, ‘Halloween could be fun.’”
And he’s right — Halloween is so fun, in so many ways. And it comes across so beautifully in the book. (Fallon also says that while looking for Halloween books for his own kids to read, he struggled to find a favorite for his kids’ age group and figured why not fill that hole?) While so many of the holidays have become overwhelming — a constant drumbeat of more, more, more — Halloween has stayed pretty much the same as it always was. In 5 More Sleeps ‘til Halloween, one little guy focuses on all the upcoming fun of the holiday by counting down from five days out as he does things like prepping his costume and getting BOO’d by a neighbor. I especially love that it’s not a countdown of epic activities, something his mom would have to Pinterest the hell out of to make happen — it’s just the same kind of sweet excitement and fun you’ve always had as a kid during the spooky season.
I tell Fallon that I think of Halloween is the great equalizer. When people get nostalgic about good old-fashioned Halloweens, I feel like, for the most part, the celebrations still look the same. Except for the costumes.
“My sister and I always had the worst costumes,” Fallon tells me. “We were always old people every year.” Growing up in a middle class family, Fallon says Halloween was all about DIY — except for the time they got to pick out “those cheap plastic costumes” that were a mainstay of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
“Do you remember those? In a box?” He asks me. “They always had a plastic face, and I think I had a Batman one with a plastic Batman face and it ripped and it cut my lip after a while. The outfit itself was made out of basically a kind of plastic garbage bag. And remember, I was Batman, so I jumped off the first stoop of the neighbor’s house trick-or-treating and it ripped completely. It was just so cheap, the whole thing was like a cape after that. It was just a disaster. I was like, well, I guess I’ll go back to being dress like an old person.”
In 5 More Sleeps ‘til Halloween, the costume chatter feels so real. One of the characters decides to change her costume entirely — two days before Halloween — and the other is still struggling to make a decision. Fallon tells me about his daughter Winnie being a bowl of ramen for Halloween the year she was 2, and I share with him how my own daughter wanted to be an inflatable chicken last year — and then the motor broke halfway through trick-or-treating. (“So you just carried a deflated chicken down the road?” he asks me.)
When I tell him about that same daughter’s first Halloween, where I made her a cat costume and everyone called her a penguin all night, he laughs and tells me about his own wife’s DIY costumes. “One year, oh my gosh, my daughter wanted to be a butterfly and my wife spent three months making this butterfly costume. And she was like, ‘Here it is. Do you like it?’ And she was like, ‘Mom, I don't want to be a butterfly,’” Fallon says. “And my wife was like, ‘You have to be. I worked on this, so you have to be. I don't know what to tell you.’ And my daughter goes, ‘I want to be a dragon fly.’ My wife said, ‘OK, I'm going to add a tail to the butterfly.’ Boom. That's it. Now it's a dragon fly costume.”
That sweet realism is throughout Fallon’s book, and while he may not call himself an author, being a writer who has memories from childhood or takes certain moments from present day life and puts them into scenes in a story is extremely author coded. In 5 More Sleeps ‘til Halloween, the characters get to celebrate with a parade — “It was a thing at school, [people would get dressed up,” he tells me — and get to experience the trend of being “BOOd” by a neighbor — something that happened to Fallon recently and he loved. And it’s one of the ways the holiday, while still pretty simple, has grown and gotten bigger.
“That’s a new thing I didn’t have growing up,” he tells me. “Like a Secret Santa.” We both laugh about the awkwardness of knocking on someone’s door, and Fallon says about two years ago, it happened at his home for the first time. “I didn't know what it was, and there was a knock at the door. I'm like, huh? I opened the door and there were kids outside laughing and it was very nice. There was just a bag of candy. I grabbed my daughter to look and then I felt like the nerdy dad. I’m like, ‘Oh cool, look we got BOOd, guys!’ like I knew what it was. I’m like, oh my God, I’m clearly so lame. If there are kids outside knocking, I’m just going to let my daughter answer the door from now on.”
But that experience made its way into the book, as did all of the other little sweet moments and realizations about Halloween. Fallon shares how much he loves the holiday, how experiencing it with his own kids has been so special. “Everyone’s in on it, all the costumes and trick-or-treating. We teach our kids not to talk to strangers, then one day a year you're like, ‘Walk up to that stranger's house and take food from them.’ It’s a tradition. It’s like their first, I don't know, not dance, but a social event. They're going out with kids their size and their age and they're experiencing a good social thing together. I'm like, oh yeah, Halloween, it's here to stay.”
And Fallon’s going to help you get excited about it.
Americans face the highest prescription prices in the world, especially when it comes to family planning and raising kids. The rising cost of prescriptions can make it harder to get the care you need, whether you are undergoing fertility treatments, striving to stay healthy during pregnancy, or managing cold and flu season with little ones at home.
As women face high prescription prices, they often don’t know exactly how much they will be paying, and many don’t realize that prices aren’t the same everywhere. Prescription prices can vary wildly from pharmacy to pharmacy, sometimes by as much as $100, and the costs can add up quickly.
GoodRx, a leading prescription savings platform, makes prioritizing and accessing maternal healthcare easier at every stage. Women can comparison shop for medications with just a few clicks and access savings of up to 80% on common brand name and generic medications. Less money spent on healthcare and medication is more money in your pocket for life’s other expenses.
We spoke with Dr. Patricia Pinto-Garcia, medical editor for GoodRx about how GoodRx can support you throughout motherhood.
“Managing your reproductive health can be stressful. Whether you are trying to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, finances shouldn’t have to add to that stress. GoodRx helps women navigate the finances of family planning from preventing pregnancy until menopause and beyond,” Dr. Pinto-Garcia says.
Fertility treatments can be overwhelming – and expensive – but you’re not alone.
“Undergoing fertility treatments can be a very challenging process as women navigate not only the financial burdens, but the emotional ones as well,” says Pinto-Garcia, who underwent IVF on her journey to becoming a mom. A single IVF cycle can cost upwards of $30,000 and many women need multiple cycles to conceive. Furthermore, those treatments may not be fully covered by insurance.
“In my personal experience with IVF, the process makes you sometimes feel so vulnerable and like there’s so much out of your control. However, knowing that you can use GoodRx so you’re able to afford all these medications — wherever you are in your reproductive journey — helps you feel like you have more control over your health,” says Pinto-Garcia.
Medication discounts through GoodRx are available for each phase of the process: suppression (e.g., Fyremadel and Leuprolide), stimulation (e.g., Clomid and Letrozole), triggering (e.g., Novarel and Ovidrel) and implantation (e.g., Crinone and Endometrin). With savings of up to 43% off fertility treatments based on the best available GoodRx price, it’s a serious game-changer for helping manage the high costs that women face when trying to expand their families.
Throughout the IVF process GoodRx also provides people with information to be their own best advocates. The GoodRx Fertility Hub is an online resource designed to support people with credible, timely, and actionable information about the fertility process — covering topics such as IVF timelines, treatment options, and questions on medications.
“Even with my medical training, going through IVF led to so many questions. In our content, we make a very targeted effort to explain to people all the costs involved in IVF and how to prepare yourself,” says Pinto-Garcia. This content can help women fill knowledge gaps, providing another trusted resource for the many questions that will come up when considering IVF.
Pregnancy can change everything – your body, your health concerns, and even your prescribed medications.
Pregnancy comes with significant changes in your body and frequent medical appointments. As a result, you may need to start taking different prescription medications and supplements. GoodRx provides savings on a wide range of medications women are prescribed during pregnancy, so you can focus on staying healthy instead of worrying about how much your medications cost. For example, women can comparison shop for insulin for gestational diabetes or beta blockers for high blood pressure.
Plus, if you’re not sure which medications — like cold medicines or antibiotics — you can take during pregnancy, GoodRx can help.
Whether it’s your first time being pregnant or your fifth, “We have a great content library about pregnancy,” says Pinto-Garcia. “We focus on giving people facts that they can use in real-time. When you have questions about pregnancy, you can easily end up down a rabbit hole on the internet. We try to simplify it for people. In those moments when you have questions, you just want answers, and you want them to be correct. So, we make an effort to link to our sources and use the latest research to inform our content. If you come to us, you’ll get a straight answer that’s 100% factual.”
Raising healthy children requires lifelong support and trusted resources.
As you raise your kids, GoodRx helps moms make informed decisions and provides significant savings on medications for the whole family. It can even help with cost savings on over-the-counter medications.
“Personally, my son uses over-the-counter medication for allergies. You can ask your doctor to prescribe these medications instead of buying the over-the-counter versions, which allows you to then use GoodRx for additional savings,” says Pinto-Garcia.
In those early years of parenthood, you can also find content about children’s health you can trust, exploring topics like age-appropriate dosages, childhood illnesses, growth and development, and much more. With an easy to use website, busy parents can look up health and medication information, and an app makes it seemless to save money at the pharmacy counter.
“Our children’s health content is all written by pediatricians and then medically reviewed by another physician. There are very few online resources where two board-certified doctors review the content. That’s how you know it’s content you can trust, and that’s very valuable. As a pediatrician and a mom myself, I know parents want the answers fast,” says Pinto-Garcia.
Motherhood is a beautiful, complex, and challenging journey. With GoodRx by your side, you can make better healthcare choices for you and your family, access significant savings, and find the information and support you need through all the phases of motherhood.
“GoodRx gives you less to worry about when life throws so many obstacles in your way,” says Pinto-Garcia.
Check out GoodRx’s Fertility Hub to find support wherever you are in your fertility journey and get information about common concerns, treatment options, and more.
Katherine Applegate is a prolific children's book author whose work spans both genres and generations. She was a part of my childhood library and now my own child's library in almost every aspect (my 10-year-old has written Applegate's name down for every "favorite author" question since the third grade). But depending on what you've read of hers, you might not recognize her name; she used pen names and pseudonyms to work on some of the most quintessential '90s series, including Silver Creek Riders, Girl Talk, and Sweet Valley Twins. Oh, and she and her husband co-authored a little series you might remember from the magical Scholastic Book Fair posters and your own shelf — a sci-fi/fantasy series called Animorphs.
Applegate may not be writing a book each month anymore, but at 67 years old, she has continued to write. Her most recent book, The One and Only Family, is the last installment of the series that began with the book I was most excited to talk to her about: The One and Only Ivan, which won a Caldecott Medal in 2012 and is one of Applegate's most popular books. She's continued to write in the theme of animal voices and points of view, a storytelling vibe I tell her is incredibly popular with all three of my girls.
But Applegate understands another kind of vibe, too — mom life. I actually had to reschedule my call with Applegate after I first made it because of a baby dilemma, and when I thank her again for being so flexible, she tells me in the comforting way all veteran parents do that it's really no problem. And I can tell she means it. "There are days you're just glad you got through it, and then there are days where it's just glorious. I totally understand."
She shares that when she and her husband wrote Animorphs together "many, many, many years ago" (nearly 30 years), they had two kids. "We had a brand new baby, and those books came out once a month, believe it or not. Baby-Sitters Club and Goosebumps, there was a whole lot of stuff that somehow publishers managed to do monthly, and it was like, 'OK, you take the baby; I'll take the coffee. I'll take the coffee; you take the baby.' It was really hard."
I tell Applegate that it never occurred to me just how quickly she was churning out those books, how there was always a new addition to every series available when I went to the store. She tells me she's surprised publishers don't seem to do that as much anymore.
"It may in part be because they can't find writers willing to do it," she says.
We chat about our favorite books as kids, and how special it is to share reading with our own children. I tell her that my oldest, Alice, loves all of her books and gravitates towards animals and what they are feeling and thinking. She used to say she wanted to be an animal rescuer, and then when she rescued them, she'd write a book about them. Applegate gets it, and I think it's one of the reasons why her books and storytelling have been so timeless — she understands how kids feel, about so many things.
"I can remember being your daughter's age and thinking about what my dog was thinking. Just that communication, that chasm between species, it just fascinates me. And so I think I keep going back to that in different ways," she says. "I have a theory that animals are fundamentally quite vulnerable, and kids are actually in a position often to care for them or to at least empathize with them. And they're both looking at this human world and going, 'Jeez, it doesn't make any sense.'"
It's why so many people who grew up with the Animorphs series have now come out to share that the series felt like representation for them, why even her ghostwritten works were on nearly every '90s kid's shelf, why there is a plaque at Zoo Atlanta (the eventual home of Ivan the gorilla, where he finally lived out the rest of his life in peace) about the book she wrote on him. Alice told me recently that one of Applegate's latest series, Doggo and Pupper, is so comforting that she's read each book at least twice. She tells me they're the stories she likes to read at nighttime when she's feeling anxious as she falls asleep.
When I tell Applegate how much reading in the '90s I did and how much I wanted to connect with the authors of my favorite books — the authors who were giving me confidence and comfort and entertainment — she tells me that still happens.
"I was at Tucson Book Festival a couple of weeks ago doing Q&A, and I mentioned that Animorphs fans often would show up at these events and they're now in their 30s-plus [with] kids of their own. And I had someone show up with their baby — they named him Tobias, after one of the characters." She also tells me that when she mentioned seeing a lot of Animorphs tattoos, another person in the audience jumped up and said, "I'm one of them!" and showed off a giant, transforming bird on his back.
Applegate wrote new books in the '90s that were read by kids who are now grown, tucking in their own kids who have new books written by Applegate under their covers with a flashlight. ("It means I'm really old," she says.) That kind of work, that kind of staying power, isn't always easy to come by, and having it come from a little girl who had dyslexia and found reading "really boring" is even lovelier. "To see it come full circle like that, it's so gratifying. And if you told me when I was Alice's age that I was going to be a writer, I would've just laughed," Applegate says.
But a writer she has become and still is — her next book, Mouse and Dog, releases Sept. 17, 2024, and it's the perfect story of friendship and empathy that she believes animals and kids get better than anyone. I can't wait to read it.
I wish I could send a talking pig back to that 10-year-old Applegate to tell her that not only will she love writing and telling stories, but she'll write so many that when my own 10-year-old makes her list of things she wants to do while on spring break, the first thing she writes is "Finish three Katherine Applegate books."
Nick Jr. was an absolute pillar of my childhood. There was no such thing as “screen time” in the ‘90s, and while my parents did insist I scooch back from the TV every once in a while, they were happy to let me watch my favorite Nick Jr. shows whenever I wanted. While I can remember plenty of Nickelodeon faves, I had to rewatch a bit of the ‘90s Nick Jr. programming to jog my memory, but when it did, it was magical. And it gave me the ultimate list of Nick Jr. shows to rewatch with your toddler or preschooler.
And no, we’re not talking about Paw Patrol or Dora the Explorer here (although those are fine and dandy shows). We’re talking about the age of puppets, of bright and flashy characters, of laugh-out-loud cartoons. Allegra’s Window, Eureeka’s Castle, David the Gnome — all of these sweet Nick Jr. shows built our childhoods, and man, do they hold up. They all include lots of songs, lots of fun characters, and lots of intrigue to keep the attention of little ones, and there isn’t one dose of cringe. Instead, you’ll feel that warm nostalgia course through your veins as you remember what it was like to hang upside down on your family’s 1980s couch and watch Nick Jr. in prime time.
So, pick one or two and show your own little kids. Think of it like when our parents insisted we watch Star Wars at age 5. We didn’t want to, and then we were so glad we did.
Gullah Gullah Island
Gullah Gullah! Binyah Binyah! This incredibly endearing show — with the catchiest theme song of all time — aired on Nick Jr. from 1994 to 2000. The show starred real-life couple Ron and Natalie Daise as Ron and Natalie Alston, living life and raising a family with their giant tadpole Binyah Binyah Polliwog in St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Gullah Gullah Island featured tons of music, sweet family moments, and lots of Gullah culture from Ron’s actual upbringing and home. The ‘90s were truly revolutionary in making TV show pets enormous and fun, and your kids are going to fall in love with Binya Binya just like you did.
You can stream Gullah Gullah Island through Paramount+, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
Eureeka’s Castle
I can remember so many bits and pieces of Eureeka’s Castle, the bright puppet show that played on Nickelodeon from 1989 to 1991. It wasn’t until I was an adult I learned that R.L. Stine — yes, the writer of the Goosebumps series — was also the head writer of this show. Featuring puppets that live inside a wind-up music box, Eureeka’s Castle was funny and silly, with lots of friendship storylines and a whole lot of magic. There was also an animated portion of each episode, and I remember it all being just so delightful. Once you hear the theme song, you’ll be taken right back.
You can stream Eureeka’s Castle through Paramount+.
Little Bear
When you want a shot of straight coziness to the veins, you want to watch Little Bear. This darling show was based on the books by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak, and Little Bear aired on Nickelodeon from 1995 to 2001. The show was all about Little Bear and all of his sweet little friends, and the illustrations and music will make you feel all sweet and warm inside. This is a great gentle show for toddlers or preschoolers, just pure hygge in the TV.
You can stream Little Bear through Paramount+, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
Allegra’s Window
Allegra’s Window is another one of those delightfully bright and weird shows from the ‘90s Nick Jr. era, and it’s 100% worth rewatching with your kids. If you don’t remember, Allegra’s Window aired from 1994 to 1996, and was about a little girl named Allegra who went through daily adventures and happenings with her brother, pets, and friends. But the end of each episode always showed her sitting next to her window, sharing all the things she learned and recapping the day. It was the cutest. Plus, they were also all puppets with wild hair and bright colors, and you kind of just wanted to drop right into their world.
You can stream Allegra’s Window through Prime Video and Apple TV.
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
I’m going to be real honest with you — I still watch Maggie and the Ferocious Beast whenever I need a little pick-me-up. My brother and I still quote it all the time (“Great googly moogly”), and you will not find more endearing characters than Maggie, Hamilton, and Beast. Technically, this show did not hit Nickelodeon until 2000, but it was a Canadian program in the ‘90s. The show is so funny, and the colors and design aren’t too loud or fussy. 10/10, give it a rewatch.
You can stream Maggie and the Ferocious Beast through Pluto TV, Peacock, Prime Video, and Apple TV.
The World of David the Gnome
OK, for another incredibly endearing and cozy Nickelodeon show, put on The World of David the Gnome. This show... *swoon.* I specifically remember watching it as a little kid in our living room — blue carpet and all — and it is still the sweetest, most darling little cartoon. It was originally a Spanish show later dubbed in English, and it aired on Nickelodeon from 1988 to 1995. (Tom Bosley, who played Howard Cunningham on Happy Days, is the voice of the American version of David the Gnome.) It’s all about David the Gnome and his little world of friends and family, and it has the same cozy hygge vibes as Little Bear. You’ll fall in love all over again.
You can watch The World of David the Gnome on YouTube.
Little Bill
Oh, Little Bill. Such a sweet, lovely little show. And while it is based on the books by Bill Cosby (and he appears in some of the episodes), it’s still worth showing your kids if you can separate the art from the person. Pure Black Boy Joy, Little Bill is all about the title character and his adventures and life living in Philadelphia with his family. There are so many great storylines, and I love the generations of family he interacts with. It’s charming, it’s funny, and the animation is just so precious. Give it a rewatch — it’s a joy.
You can stream Little Bill through Apple TV and Prime Video.
Franklin
From 1999 to 2004, you could find Franklin and all his besties on the Nick Jr. programming, and man, this show was something else. Not only did it have a theme song that just went for it, but it had a whole setting called Woodland that really felt like a world you could climb right into. There were tons of sports and game storylines as well, and a whole bunch of characters for something fun and fresh every episode.
You can stream Franklin through Apple TV and Prime Video.
Nick Jr. Face
OK, so maybe Face wasn’t a TV show, but he was the mascot of Nick Jr. and popped up in between shows to make that little trumpet noise and either share something funny/silly or give you an update on what was coming up next. It’s hard to believe that there was a whole mascot for a channel, but it’s worth finding these compilations of Face to show your own toddler or preschooler for a dose of nostalgia.
While these shows are intended for toddlers and preschoolers, I think it’s safe to say you’ll enjoy them just as much.
For many, your senior year of college is all about optimism, anticipating the boundless potential of the world that awaits you once you grab your diploma. As a student-athlete, Caylee felt all of this and more, energized by her vigor and the familial support of her teammates. Fiercely making plays on the volleyball court, Caylee was at the top of her game — until an unexpected diagnosis made her question if it was all at risk.
“I couldn’t believe it at first. It wasn’t something I ever expected to happen,” recalls Caylee, who first experienced blurred vision in her right eye during one of her volleyball games. As she sought treatment from various eye doctors, answers fell flat until she was finally referred to a neurologist, who scheduled an MRI for further evaluation. At 22, Caylee was officially diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS), the most common form of multiple sclerosis (MS).¹
Affecting around one million people in the U.S., MS is a chronic inflammatory disease that impacts the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls our movements, speech, senses, and more.² ³ Relapsing MS is characterized by periods of relapses or “attacks,” when new symptoms arise or get worse, and remissions, or periods when symptoms partly or completely go away.¹ ³ “I was very active when I was diagnosed and felt like I was at the peak of my health,” Caylee continues, contrasting her experience to this new reality. “I was excited for my senior year, and I didn’t want my life to change because of my diagnosis.”
Although she would roll with the punches on the court, Caylee initially pushed back on her neurologist’s suggestion to immediately start treatment. She was about to play her last season of college volleyball and felt passionate about holding off until it ended. About a week after her last game, Caylee had her first relapse that, this time, manifested itself as a numb sensation in her leg. Another MRI revealed 10 new lesions — or inflammation to the brain — which her neurologist took as a sign that her RMS was progressing.² As Caylee fought increasing weakness and discomfort, a wave of dread left her wondering if she’d even be able to attend her own graduation ceremony.
“I didn’t know if I was going to cross the stage,” admits Caylee with a small laugh, poignantly thinking back to this time of deep uncertainty. “I was feeling so weak at graduation, but I crossed the stage on December 18 with my family and friends cheering me on.”
“Getting diagnosed with MS is emotional,” says Caylee. “I was grieving the life that I thought I would have,” Caylee remembers. She is now grateful for letting herself feel all the feels, understanding that “reflecting” is the first of a 3-step guide that many, like herself, have turned to in the face of this illness. “It is an incredibly difficult and life-changing thing to experience,” says Caylee. “Allow yourself to feel that. You can grieve, you can be angry, you can be sad… but you can't stay there forever. There is so much more to life. This is just a part of it."
While the grief will never truly go away, Caylee advises others with MS not to assume the worst. As she moved from the severe grief phase, she could enter the “reframe” period. “I took time to process [my diagnosis], grieve it, and figure out my treatment.” Research and discussions with her MS specialist led her to KESIMPTA® (ofatumumab), a once-a-month* RMS treatment with powerful results† that she can take herself at home or on the go. When ready, treatment time takes less than a minute a month* after completing the three weekly starter doses.⁴ “We talked about a few different treatment options, and he had me make my own choice,” Caylee recalls, stressing the importance of self-advocacy and shared decision making, all part of the third and final step: “reach out.”
Gently allowing herself to process the multiple phases of her new illness and deciding upon KESIMPTA has led her to where she is now. As a full-time college volleyball coach at her alma mater, Caylee can still tap into the athleticism that defined her college career.**
By coaching others, Caylee is able to channel her innate competitive spirit while gracefully accepting her body’s new limitations — a concept she encounters with a newfound sense of gratitude. “Something I didn’t expect from my diagnosis was a greater appreciation for when things are going well,” she says. “Bad days will pass, and good days will come. It has been so much easier for me to not take anything for granted. I’m most excited to be living my life and to have found a treatment, KESIMPTA, that fits into my lifestyle.”
Visit ReframingMS.com to download the 3-step guide that outlines a process for reflecting, reframing, and reaching out so that people living with relapsing MS can voice their needs and reach for what’s possible, wherever they are in their journey.
*Once monthly after 3 weekly starter doses. Typical administration time when ready to inject.
**Individual results may vary. Consult with your doctor before starting an exercise regimen.
†In 2 studies vs teriflunomide
Important Safety Information
Who should not take KESIMPTA?
Do NOT take KESIMPTA if you:
- have an active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
- have had an allergic reaction to ofatumumab or life-threatening injection-related reaction to KESIMPTA.
What is the most important information I should know about KESIMPTA?
KESIMPTA can cause serious side effects such as:
- Infections. Serious infections, which can be life-threatening or cause death, can happen during treatment with KESIMPTA. If you have an active infection, your health care provider (HCP) should delay your treatment with KESIMPTA until your infection is gone. KESIMPTA taken before or after other medicines that weaken the immune system may increase your risk of getting infections. Tell your HCP right away if you have any infections or get any symptoms including painful and frequent urination, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, fever, chills, cough, or body aches.
- HBV reactivation. If you have ever had HBV infection, it may become active again during or after treatment with KESIMPTA (reactivation). If this happens, it may cause serious liver problems including liver failure or death. Before starting KESIMPTA, your HCP will do a blood test to check for HBV. They will also continue to monitor you during and after treatment with KESIMPTA for HBV. Tell your HCP right away if you get worsening tiredness or yellowing of your skin or the white part of your eyes.
- Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML). PML may happen with KESIMPTA. PML is a rare, serious brain infection caused by a virus that may get worse over days or weeks. PML can result in death or severe disability. Tell your HCP right away if you have any new or worsening neurologic signs or symptoms. These may include weakness on one side of your body, loss of coordination in arms and legs, vision problems, changes in thinking and memory, which may lead to confusion and personality changes.
- Weakened immune system. KESIMPTA taken before or after other medicines that weaken the immune system could increase your risk of getting infections.
Before you take KESIMPTA, tell your HCP about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- Have or think you have an infection including HBV or PML.
- Have ever taken, currently take, or plan to take medicines that affect your immune system. These medicines could increase your risk of getting an infection.
- Have had a recent vaccination or are scheduled to receive any vaccinations.
You should receive any required ‘live’ or ‘live-attenuated’ vaccines at least 4 weeks before you start treatment with KESIMPTA. You should not receive ‘live’ or ‘live-attenuated’ vaccines while you are being treated with KESIMPTA and until your HCP tells you that your immune system is no longer weakened.
Whenever possible, you should receive any ‘non-live’ vaccines at least 2 weeks before you start treatment with KESIMPTA.
Talk to your HCP about vaccinations for your baby if you used KESIMPTA during your pregnancy.
- Are pregnant, think that you might be pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if KESIMPTA will harm your unborn baby. Females who can become pregnant should use birth control (contraception) during treatment with KESIMPTA and for 6 months after your last treatment. Talk with your HCP about what birth control method is right for you during this time.
- Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if KESIMPTA passes into your breast milk. Talk to your HCP about the best way to feed your baby if you take KESIMPTA.
Tell your HCP about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
How should I use KESIMPTA?
See the detailed Instructions for Use that comes with KESIMPTA for information about how to prepare and inject a dose of KESIMPTA and how to properly throw away (dispose of) used KESIMPTA Sensoready pens or prefilled syringes.
- Use KESIMPTA exactly as your HCP tells you to use it.
- Your HCP will show you how to prepare and inject KESIMPTA the right way before you use it for the first time.
- Do not inject into areas where the skin is tender, bruised, red, scaly or hard. Avoid areas with moles, scars, or stretch marks.
KESIMPTA may cause serious side effects including:
- Injection-related reactions. Injection-related reactions are a common side effect of KESIMPTA. Injecting KESIMPTA can cause injection-related reactions that can happen within 24 hours (1 day) following the first injections and with later injections. There are two kinds of reactions:
at or near the injection site: redness of the skin, swelling, itching, and pain. Talk to your HCP if you have any of these signs and symptoms.
that may happen when certain substances are released in your body: fever, headache, pain in the muscles, chills, tiredness, rash, hives, trouble breathing, swelling of the face, eyelids, lips, mouth, tongue and throat, and feeling faint, or chest tightness. Contact your HCP right away if you experience any of these signs and symptoms, especially if they become worse or you have new severe signs of reactions after subsequent injections. It could be a sign of an allergic reaction, which can be serious.
- Low immunoglobulins. KESIMPTA may cause a decrease in some types of antibodies. Your HCP will do blood tests to check your blood immunoglobulin levels.
The most common side effects of KESIMPTA include:
- Upper respiratory tract infection, with symptoms such as sore throat and runny nose, and headache.
- Headache.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
KESIMPTA is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) including clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease.
It is not known if KESIMPTA is safe or effective in children.
References
Hunter SF. Overview and Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Am J Managed Care. 2016;22:S141-S150.
Trip, SA, Miller DH. Imaging in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005 Sep;76 Suppl3(Suppl3):iii11-iii18.
Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. Atlas of MS 3rd Edition. Part 1: Mapping multiple sclerosis around the world. Accessed July 28, 2023.
Kesimpta Prescribing Information. East Hanover, NJ: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp; April 2024.
It’s been a busy few months for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
There was a trip to Nigeria in May, an ESPY Award for Harry in July, and, most recently, a trip to Colombia. There, the royal couple participated in forums on digital security, visited a school, met with military members and veterans, and got to take in Colombian culture at a music festival.
On the last day of a four-day trip, Markle spoke at an Afro Women and Power event where she had encouraging things to say about her daughter, Lilibet.
The forum — where Markle was joined onstage by Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez — celebrated Afro-Colombian women leaders in the Cali region and featured testimonials from local leaders highlighting how they thrive despite the adversity they face as Black women. Markle began her talk in Spanish to applause.
“Because we are in your country ... I can feel this embrace from Colombia, and it is incredible,” she said.
She went on to speak — in English —on the subject of women’s empowerment.
“I was very fortunate,” she continued, “that from a very young age to feel as though my voice was being heard. And I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren't often afforded.” Markle went on to highlight how she hopes to promote a culture encouraging women and girls to make their voices heard and for boys and men to listen to those voices.
“Part of the role modeling that I certainly try to do as a mother is to encourage our daughter — who, at 3, she has found her voice," Meghan said with a laugh.
“And we're so proud of that because that is how we, as I was saying, create the conditions in which there's a ripple effect of young girls and young women knowing that if someone else is encouraging them to use their voice and be heard, that's what they're going to do. And they're going to create a different environment than so many of us grew up in.”
Lilibet, named after her great-grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II, turned 3 earlier this summer and celebrated with family and friends at home in Montecito, California.
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle don’t release photos of their children for their birthdays (one of the perks of stepping away from the Royal family is that you don’t have pressure to follow any royal customs you don’t want to), they have shared tidbits about their personalities.
The first thing that shocks me is that there are 248 posts per day. Then there is the list of rules, including one that says, "No sob stories or emotional baiting." But the title of the group also includes the phrase "Anything Goes," and boy, does it ever. Because in the world of buying, reselling, and trading bamboo pajamas for kids, these parents don't mess around.
Yes, these are Facebook groups. Facebook groups created specifically for the purpose of discussing bamboo pajamas, selling bamboo pajamas, finding out about new bamboo pajama prints — it's a niche of motherhood, one that Jordan Lowe, a mom of one, tells me she ended up in because of her little boy's skin. He has eczema, and the bamboo fabric — which has become exceedingly popular over the last few years for its buttery softness and breathability — helped him feel comfortable. "I turned into a weird bamboo mom," she tells me. "And I need help."
Little Sleepies, Posh Peanut, and Kyte Baby are all trendy brands of baby and toddler clothes (some big kid sizes, too) created exclusively in bamboo fabric. They are all known for doing "drops," sharing specific colorways and patterns in advance so parents can plan to shop before they're sold out. The items are always in limited quantities, and popular sizes (especially 12-18 months, one parent tells me via Facebook) sell out fast. The patterns and collections often have a nostalgic quality — think Barbie, Lisa Frank, The Lion King. They feel special and unique, and in a world where parents feel increasingly out of control, being able to snag a very specific pair of pajamas for your baby feels like a win.
But these Facebook groups make it hard to enjoy.
"I'm on a bunch of the Buy/Sell/Trade groups because there are the older prints I love, and if I can find them at a good price, I'll try to get them," Lowe says. "But these people drop insane amounts on this sh*t. A swaddle blanket just sold for $690. I wish I was joking with you." Frequently, Lowe notes, the prices are much lower... but still expensive. Think over $50 for one pair of baby pajamas. For reference, a brand new pair of Little Sleepies pajamas is $34.
There also seem to be a lot of posts where moms share screenshots of text messages with their partner or spouse, begging them to buy more pajamas or sharing that they’ve already bought some and are having to hide the package before their partner finds them. “It reminds me of those LuLaRoe leggings everyone was obsessed with,” Lowe says.
Courtesy of a Reddit snark group made specifically for sharing screenshots from these bamboo groups
When I peruse the listings, I see a whole lot of brand new pajamas for sale, many of them far above retail. Those are usually for limited edition prints that are no longer sold, and yes, people absolutely buy up the inventory of these drops and hold onto them until the drop ends and then resell. Lowe says the blankets for Little Sleepies are an extraordinarily hot commodity — "It's an entire flipping market," she says. "People buy the blankets and then resell them immediately." Getting one is nearly impossible, and she says that people get extremely frustrated about how fast they go in drops.
People also post in the groups looking for specific prints, sharing what they’re willing to pay. Think three to five times as much as the items cost brand new from the retailer.
But it's not just the prices that make these groups feel like another world. There's a whole terminology, an entire shorthand language that makes up most of the Facebook posts. "It's like a secret code," Lowe says. I join a few of them, and it takes me way too long to figure out what's happening on each post. There are no anonymous sales, and in the "Anything Goes" groups, someone selling pajamas can simply handpick whichever person they want to receive the item. In other groups, there's a rule that you must sell to the first person who comments.
Some of the groups are meant to warn parents about the "cheap" bamboo pajama brands. Some are using copyrighted images, like bootleg Disney prints, and parents think they're getting a deal on some limited edition Little Mermaid print only to find out it's all fake.
And then there is the fighting. Screenshot after screenshot fills the group of moms calling out other moms. They show photos of comments where someone expressed interest in a swaddle but never responded to accept the offer. They tag each other, telling each other to "go take care of your baby" or "find something else to do," and then spend another hour responding to comments and dragging each other. Lowe finds a print she's been looking for, and the other mom is willing to sell it to her for only $12 — it is a pair of used baby pajamas, after all. "I wanted to share about my $12 find," she tells me. "But I'm scared of these people."
When Little Sleepies preps for a new drop, she gives me a heads-up. "It's going to be a f*cking bloodbath," she says. And she's right.
What is it about these drops? I ask her. Why do people lose their minds about getting some specific print or pattern? Lowe says she isn't sure; she thinks it's a "FOMO thing," that people just get really excited about a limited edition print. "Which reminds me," she says. "I just demolished that sale."
She's talking about a new Disney drop from Little Sleepies over the summer. The group posts are popping up faster than I can catch them all. People are furious that they weren't able to get anything. Other people are sharing that they bought hundreds of dollars' worth of items — and will now be reselling them for double what they paid.
Lowe bought a princess blanket, but not for her son. "Their blankets are impossible to get," she says. "So I was like, hm, could I score one? And I did! Hell of an adrenaline rush." But then she turned back to the group and found a mom of a little girl with another daughter on the way who wasn't able to buy one. "I sold it to her for what I paid for it," Lowe says, noting that others were selling their brand new, just-bought blankets for over $200 to parents who missed out.
"Boy, do I feel alive," she says.
It's a bit of a frenzy, these groups. Bamboo pajamas are a specific thing to get all worked up about, but this niche has all the right ingredients — something for babies, something that you use all the time, something that comes in precious, limited edition prints that make you squeal with glee. We've all been there, spotting something adorable for our kids and knowing we have to have it. That's what these "bamboo mamas" are like. They have to have it, and they'll make sure they get it.
Lowe even tells me she's recruited her mom to help her buy items when they go on sale. "I had already checked out three times before she completed one sale," she laughs. "I was like, you need to be faster."
Inside the group, resells do go fast. But Lowe says there's also an etiquette to the game: "You always double-bag your items when you mail them. You disclose all stains, pulls, wear, etc. Because if you don't follow the 'rules,' people will blast you, tag you, and get you kicked out."
At the end of the day, though, this is a group of moms. A group of moms foaming at the mouth over bamboo pajamas, but a group of moms nonetheless. They lean on each other, especially in the "Anything Goes" group. "I've seen moms ask to get help with abortions," Lowe says. "Or they ask for advice on leaving an abusive partner, and everyone just takes action."
Because if a mom can care this much about bamboo pajamas, why wouldn't you want her in your corner?
Theater nerds rejoice! There’s fewer than 100 days until one of your favorite musicals hits the big screen. But even as we wait for Wicked (Part 1, because of course they’re stretching this into two undoubtedly profitable movies), there’s plenty of witchy fun we can have in the meantime. Listen to the cast recording (again)! Sing “For Good” with your bestie at karaoke (again)! And go ahead and pre-order the new line of Wicked fashion dolls from Mattel. (If you feel self-conscious about it, which you shouldn’t, just say they’re for your kid: we won’t tell.)
For the non-theater kids among us, Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Granda, tells the “true” story of Elphaba and Glinda — the foes-turned-friends-turned-foes-turned-friends better known as the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch. It’s based on the musical that has been playing on Broadway since 2003... which, in turn, is based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire... which in turn is based on a combination of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum’s wildly popular Oz series of children’s books.
The dolls include the characters Glinda (also known as Galinda), Elphaba (fun fact: her name is a nod to L. Frank Baum), and Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister and original owner of the franchise’s magical silver slippers. (Yeah, they’re ruby in the movie, but Wicked stays true to the original book and they’re silver.)
There are three different Glinda dolls, each in a stunning dress featured in the film... and all in the popular girl’s favorite color: pink! (Obviously.)
— Mattel— Mattel— Mattel
Elphaba is more practical than her bubbly blonde companion and prefers black (though they say black is this year’s pink...): it really complements her green complexion, don’t you think? We especially love her dramatic “Defying Gravity” look (center), complete with broomstick.
— Mattel— Mattel— Mattel
Nessarose, played by Marissa Bode in the film, has a look that couldn’t be farther from her sister’s. Her simple, white folksy dress with red accents is a great contrast to her beautifully ornate wheelchair.
— Mattel
All dolls are available for pre-order now at Walmart, Target, and Amazon and will be available in stores on October 1, which is kind of perfect considering it’s the witchiest time of the year. And as always, whether this collection is bound for a shelf in your room dedicated to your favorite musicals or your child’s Barbie dream house, good things come to those who wait.
There are few things I love more than very specific parts of my childhood becoming very specific parts of my three daughters’ childhood — like Hocus Pocus. I can’t remember the first time I saw it or the first time I showed it to my girls; it’s just as much a part of us as anything else. We quote it constantly, watch the movie year-round, and have dressed as the Sanderson sisters and co. for Halloween. And it’s why the Disney Store’s new Hocus Pocus collection has us all in a spell.
While the collection will feature a couple of products from previous years, like the Sanderson Sisters Cottage Lego set, it’s the new stuff I’m super excited about. From Hocus Pocus-themed Mickey ears to costumes and Loungefly backpacks, there are tons of super fun new items for both fashion purposes and home decor. But I’ll be honest: The products I’m most excited about are the stuffed plushes of the Sanderson Sisters and the stuffed plush Thackery Binx.
For starters, a stuffed Thackery Binx is perfect if you’re going out on Halloween dressed as a character from Hocus Pocus and need the world’s cutest (and most immortal) accessory. But the sisters in the cauldron? They’re too good. While Thackery is a solo stuffed plush at 12”, the Sanderson Sisters plush features all three sisters in incredible detail. Each doll is 7” and can be removed from the cauldron for play and then placed back in for storage or display. The hair is perfection, their cloaks actually billow out behind them, and they’re also super soft if you have weirdo children (like me) who think the witches are the heroes of the story.
I’m just obsessed with them. But if you know your stuffed plushes are going to get snatched away by your kids, consider some of the more “grown-up” items in the Hocus Pocus Disney Store collection, like this cookie jar and Thackery Binx mug. Don’t you want to say, “Look! They conjure!” every time you make a cup of coffee? Of course you do.
You can grab these Hocus Pocus items and more now on the Disney Store’s website, and for Disney+ subscribers, you can receive early access to some products from August 13 to August 21, including this Hocus Pocus tie-dye pullover hoodie.
Now get to shopping. The witches had to wait 300 years, but why should you have to wait that long to celebrate Halloween?
Having kids is, hands down, the best decision I’ve made. Motherhood has been as beautiful and rewarding and joyful as the schmaltziest card you got at your baby shower promised it would be. But even in the rosy glow of family life, one runs into the inevitability that your wants and sometimes even needs often come second to those of your children. Even when you make a real effort to focus on your wellness and bask in “me time,” it’s rarely sufficient. Sorry babe, that two-hour hike is beautifully restorative, but it’s only going to do so much. So when I was invited to preview a wellness weekend at Baha Mar, the Bahamas’ leading luxury resort, curated by theeGwyneth Paltrow’s goop brand, saying yes was a no-brainer. But I really didn’t realize just how much of a hard reboot I was in for.
The Weekend: An Overview
Taking place September 13-15, 2024 (with reservations available to book now), this transformative retreat offers a weekend of curated wellness experiences, including invigorating workout classes and mindfulness sessions led by expert celebrity trainers, sustainably prepared healthy meals, spa treatments, and plenty of relaxation and free time.
— Baha Mar
Weekend packages, which include all the activities I’ll highlight below, can be booked now by visiting www.bahamar.com/wellness-weekend.
Friday
I arrived in Nassau, a quick 3-hour flight from New York City, and was whisked away to Baha Mar. Composed of three distinct hotels — Grand Hyatt, SLS, and Rosewood — Baha Mar also features (and this is not a comprehensive list by far) a truly impressive water park, a casino, amazing shopping, a golf course, interactive wildlife sanctuaries, a luxury spa, and much, much more. I lost count of the number of restaurants and pools. This is to say nothing of the stunning beach. My first thought was that this would be an ideal vacation spot to bring my kids — there was so much they would have loved.
Someday, but not today. This was mama’s time.
The weekend’s first event is a Mix and Mingle at Marcus Fish + Chop House, an oceanfront rooftop venue at Baha Mar, where you will meet both the other guests as well as the celebrity trainers you’ll be spending time with.
— Courtesy of @neongypsea
Not only were we treated to a delicious, healthy, Bahamian-inspired dinner with an eye toward sustainability and craft cocktails (I’m still dreaming of a carrot margarita... I know how it sounds but trust me it was delicious), but the decor was a floral wonderland. Watching the sun set over the brilliant blue of the Caribbean was an auspicious start.
Saturday
Saturday begins at 9 a.m. with a 45-minute dance cardio TORCHD class with Isaac Boots. The sustainable, no-equipment-required workout burns fat, builds stamina, and is largely based on Boots’ background as a dancer and choreographer. Boots will tell you himself that the program, which looks easy but is not, is well-named. “I’m torturing you... because I’m a Scorpio,” he says cheekily at one point. But despite the intensity, Boots is funny (“I need you to picture whoever you need to picture underneath you to get lower into this plié.”), engaging, and the first to tell you to take a beat when you need it. We’re regularly reminded that knowing your limits — and when to push them — is an important part of training.
— Baha Mar
As the session wrapped, even though I was thoroughly TORCHD, I felt amazing... and also hungry enough to enjoy the amazing spread of healthy and delicious breakfast foods. And just then, blissed out on endorphins and eating, the resort’s ambassador flamingos came out to play. There should be a word for the particular joy you feel when some of nature’s most majestic birds strut inches away from you.
— Baha Mar— Baha Mar— Baha Mar— Baha Mar
After all that excitement we needed to calm down, and I’m guessing September guests will as well. Fortunately, Koya Webb is on hand for a healing flow yoga session.
You know how there are some people out there who just sort of... float? They exude light? That’s Koya. While the session was gentle, she still encouraged us to go into more challenging poses if we felt the urge. “If you fall in this inversion, please laugh,” she tells us at one point. (I did fall. I did laugh. It was fine.)
After the session ends, grab your goop gift bag (I fear the day I run out of my goop Glow Exfoliator) and enjoy the afternoon at your leisure. Starting at noon, guests can enjoy Baha Mar’s beautiful, members-only club and pool, Nexus, founded by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake, where you can get food and drinks and relax with the other guests and trainers. I enjoyed splitting my afternoon between Nexus and the beach. Because why go to the Caribbean if you’re not going to go to the Caribbean, you know?
In the late afternoon, Wellness Weekenders will get to enjoy a complimentary session at ESPA Spa, where I enjoyed a much needed full body massage. (Do you know a mom on the planet who couldn’t use one of those?)
The day concludes with a choice of dining at one of Baha Mar’s renowned restaurants: Cleo Mediterranean, Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House, Costa, or The Kitchen (more on that in a bit).
I headed over to Costa, the resort’s Mexican restaurant for a delicious dinner and equally enjoyable conversation with fellow guests. After grabbing some post-dinner drinks in the casino, I quickly passed out in my plush bed.
Saturday
The second full day follows a similar pattern as the first, only this morning you will wake up extremely aware that you were in Isaac’s class the day before. (Thank goodness for that massage.)
The morning begins with Breakthrough Breathwork with Koya and when I tell you this session was basically a religious experience I am not joking.
— Baha Mar
After mid-morning break with goop delicious smoothies and light refreshments, you’ll enjoy another session with Isaac. And, look, did I take breaks? Yes. But that second workout really gave me a sense that this workout was something I could incorporate into my non-resort life.
With the sessions done, you can once again head to Nexus to relax by the pool with cocktails and other refreshments. I also took time this day to check out the water park with some of my new wellness gal pals, which was so much fun I still won’t tell my kids about it because they would get too jealous.
Guests heading to the Wellness Weekend in September will enjoy a new experience I didn’t get to attend: a late afternoon catamaran cruise. I don’t know about you but I’ve never met a catamaran I didn’t like, and having spent plenty of time on the beach I can just imagine bobbing out on the tranquil waters of the warm ocean.
For dinner, I headed to The Kitchen, Baha Mar’s culinary venue and learning center, for an interactive cooking class where Chef Tevin Kemp and his amazing team worked with us step by step to prepare our dinner. The Bahamian meal consisted of of lion fish with root vegetables and johnnycakes. Now I know what you’re thinking: why would I cook on vacation? I get it. But all the prep and clean up was done for us and the kitchen staff whipped up dessert. Also, if you’re lucky, Tevin will sing for you while you cook. (Voice of an angel, that one.)
— Baha Mar— Baha Mar— Baha Mar— Baha Mar
After we enjoyed the fruits of out labor, a bunch of us hit the casino and Rosewood’s sophisticated Manor Bar for last night cocktails.
The TL;DR
From the resort itself to the weekend of activities, the amazing instructors to the food, The Baha Mar Wellness Weekend was an incredible treat. I’d say I didn’t know I needed it, but come on: I did because what mom doesn’t need a weekend in paradise focused on her physical and emotional well-being? That said, I don’t think I understood the depth of how badly I needed something like this.
— Baha Mar
I am still in touch with a number of the women I met and have tuned into Isaac’s Instagram workout sessions... OK not every day because I’m back to #momlife, but some days which I think counts for something. I’ve taken a dive into meditation based on my sessions with Koya, which is something I never thought I would make a part of my daily life, but I have and I think I’ve benefitted enormously. And if a two-hour hike can be restorative, you can imagine how long a weekend on a white sandy beach can sustain the soul...
So yes, next time I head to Baha Mar I just might bring the kids, but I’m so glad I took my first visit just for me.
Packages start at $1,500 and include all experiences listed. For more information on the Baha Mar Wellness Weekend, visit www.bahamar.com/wellness-weekend.
