Make It Work
Kathy Wakile updates us on her dessert line and dishes on the Posche drama.
Food, family time, and the best conversation; These are some of the wonderful things we live for. I just love that Lindsey made breakfast with Albie and Chris. It just goes to prove that it’s not what you make that’s important, it’s who you share it with. As far as I could see, they did a great job and prepared some of my Jersey favorites.
The Manzo boys are certainly no strangers to being in the kitchen, after years of growing up at The Brownstone. If you haven’t heard the news, it looks like they are taking their love for food and the old neighborhood into a new endeavor. Lots of luck to Albie and Chris as they embark on their new restaurant. I love that that they don’t forget where they came from and the taste for simple New Jersey pleasures. Check out the details on The Dish.
I'm so happy to see Jacqueline and Ashlee's relationship getting stronger! Ashlee seems so happy to be on her own and taking care of herself. Jacqueline seems like she's biting her tongue here and there and learning to pick her battles.
Last week I mentioned that I didn’t go to college despite my late father’s pleas. I did take all of the necessary classes for college and my grades were always very good, so I was lucky enough to attend a Technical and Vocational high school that offered the best of both worlds. I was able to explore my artistic abilities and see where they might take me in terms of career choices as well as follow an academic curriculum that would allow me to get into the finest universities. However, at a very young age I decided I wanted to be an artist/cosmetologist. It’s kind of the same thing if you think about it. When I told my dad about my decision, his first instinct was the same as Caroline and Al’s. Papa Pierri said, “OK, there’s no free lunch. After you graduate and get your license let’s start looking for a spot to open your own salon.” Can you imagine how afraid I was? Never wanting to disappoint my father, I promised him that indeed it was my goal to open and operate my own business one day, just as he had done so successfully for so many years. But true to form I was cautious and wanted to gain experience before I had him invest in a business that I was afraid would fail, if I didn’t have the necessary tools. I’m happy that Lauren didn’t get discouraged after her first attempt at business, because now she has Cafface and it’s doing really well. When I was growing up, my parents worked very hard to instill a strong work ethic in all of us. They told me, my sister, and my brothers that honest, hard work never killed anyone and that nothing is handed to you. Rich and I both feel that whether it’s a college education preparing you for your future goals or helping get a business started, they are both an investment in your children’s future.
When Rich and I were first married, he picked up where my father left off. It’s funny to see how that happens. It seems more often than not girls grow up to marry men with their father’s mind set. Rich and I bought our first investment property the first year we were married in hopes of opening my own salon. We still own that property, however, Kathy’s salon never made it there. We never expected that I would fall so completely in love with being a mommy that I couldn’t bear the idea of leaving my kids to go open a business. I thank God every day that Rich’s businesses were successful enough to allow me to stay home with my kids.
I realize now that during those years of being a stay at home mom, nurturing my children, and focusing on my love for being a housewife, I had a lot of time to get involved with hobbies that revolved around my new calling. While Rich was out in the business world providing for our family and our future, I was at home investing my time into our family’s future as well. Like so many stay at home moms, I learned to be a “do it yourself” type of housewife. My philosophy was why pay someone to do something that I could do myself. Most of the time I could do it faster and even better, not to mention more economically. I was able to do it all; everything from gardening, painting, and redecorating to refinishing furniture. But my love for cooking and baking always remained a constant. I guess it was born from necessity. It was something I had to do daily, and I loved every minute of it. I encourage everyone to find what makes you feel happy and useful and embrace it and make it work for you. It was the hobbies that brought immediate gratification to both me and my family.
I loved it so much that we were always hosting parties large and small at our home. I loved experimenting with Italian food as well as Lebanese and everything in between.
As time went on, I was able to think about what I would do with myself when my kids didn’t need as much of my attention. Would I get a job? Would I finally open the salon as my father and Rich hoped? Once again the artistic side of me kicked in, and since I had been enjoying making cakes and desserts for years, it seemed only natural to me to find a way to produce a great dessert. I wanted to create a dessert line that allows you to indulge in elegant and decadent treats that satisfy one’s love for sweets yet controls the portion size without sacrificing flavor. By using the finest ingredients at their peak of seasonal freshness, Dolci della Dea - Goddess Sweets was born.
I am thrilled to announce that my meeting with Bindi USA went incredibly well, despite Rich’s constant interruptions and jokes. As you can all see, everyone is fair game to Rich’s comedic comments. Good thing I asked him to let me run this meeting. Can you imagine what could have happened if I hadn’t asked him to zip it? I’m so happy that both Atillio and Giacamo picked up on Rich’s sense of humor pretty quickly. I had to interrupt the good ‘ole boys a few times that day and get them to focus on business. Through all of the silly comments, I managed to get business taken care of and I’m happy to tell you we have partnered with them to create a more realistic way of enjoying dessert while maintaining a long term balanced lifestyle. I’m so pleased that Attillio Bindi, Owner/President, and Giacamo Berreta, Vice President of Bindi USA, were very receptive to my concept. Together we have been working incredibly hard for the last year to perfect my recipes and ideas. Dolci della Dea is at the final stages of quality control. I’m excited to announce that after months and months of experimenting with different ingredients and packaging in efforts to maintain flavor, freshness, and dessert integrity, my Dolci della Dea - Goddess Sweets will launch very soon on QVC with my introductory product The Cannoli Kit. Now you too can be the Goddess of Sweets for your family and friends in your own kitchen.
I’m very proud to be able to present this to you all. Even though it’s taken a few years, I pray that my father can see what I’m doing by fulfilling my dreams and following through with his desire for me to have my own business. Check out my website www.kathywakile.com to find out more about Dolci della Dea. Hard work does pay off and that brings me to Melissa and her meeting with the music producers. After working on her songs and spending endless hours practicing in both the recording studio and on stage performing, she has proven herself and can show that she has what it takes to take her career to the next level. I wish her all the best as she makes her mark in the music industry.
All of this now brings me to the fashion show. When I agreed to go I made a conscious decision to stay out of any drama. I was happy that Teresa and I had a great lunch at my house when we got home from the west coast. I was looking forward to a drama free night, and I thought it was a good sign that all of the ladies were attending. I felt that everyone was making an effort to move forward and leave the craziness of California behind us. I hoped that we could all be together again at the same event and at the same table without issue. When we arrived, I have to be honest, I was a bit put off and upset to see the number of men that were in attendance. The venue had a nightclub atmosphere, and Rich would have had a great time there, especially since our niece Malake was one of the models that walked in the show. If you watch closely you can see me blow her a kiss as she walked by our table. I just would have liked to have known that it was an option for our husbands to accompany us. However, as events unfolded, it was obvious as to why some of us were kept out of the loop as far as having our husbands attend with us.
I still can’t figure out why this creep thought it would be of any interest to Teresa and Kim that he claimed to know Melissa. I must admit to being naïve. I had no idea of the manipulation that was about to unfold. When he walked over to the table I thought it seemed very strange and contrived that he kept going on and on about how he knew Melissa. What was even more bizarre was the fact that Teresa didn’t call security to get rid of this loser. What was he doing there? She had to have known what his intentions were, since she met him earlier in the day while getting her hair and makeup done. After viewing that scene it’s pretty clear to everyone that he wasn’t there to pass out party favors.
See you next week when unfortunately things get even uglier.
Lots of Love,
Kathy
