I recently talked with a friend experiencing angst and exclusion within a friendship. Several women I know are agonizing over the invitation list to their children’s mitzvah celebrations, afraid of the repercussions of necessary cuts. One good friend continually gets upset when she hears of even just two friends hanging out without her. Another despises being the last to hear big news. At times I’ve…

“I’m sorry, ma’am. You’re four pounds over. You’ll have to step aside. Step aside, ma’am. You can come back when you’ve removed your extra weight.” I don’t shrink or hide, nor am I the least bit embarrassed that I’ve been told in front of dozens of strangers that I’m over my allotted weight limit. I smile brightly, shift my eyes towards my fiancé, shrug my…

The 90’s, a pivotal decade in my life. 16 years old in 1990 and 26 when the millennium struck, the 90’s had me struggling through the traumas of high school, the dramas of college and forging my way as an adult in New York City. Friends were my touchstones and my mirrors in a time of change and growth. Groundbreaking TV shows followed my journey…

Every couple of months I get the same phone call from my mom: “I read your latest article and I just wanted to mention…” What follows is her mentioning that my kids might read what I wrote. Or my ex, my friends, my hairstylist, my postal worker, or my doorman — and that one of these readers might not like what they read. On the…

Sunday afternoon at my local gourmet market I select sea bass, pick a plump tomato and a wide zucchini. Once home I pour a nice glass of white wine, chop the tomato, dice an onion, and spiralize the zucchini. With a drizzle of olive oil and a hearty dose of kosher salt and fresh pepper I drop the sea bass into a screaming hot pan…

I broke up with my therapist today. I didn’t have any idea I was going to end our 7-year relationship yet I walked in, sat down and told her I was ok and didn’t need her anymore. She smiled and told me she had been thinking the very same thing. This was the best break-up I’ve had. 8 years ago I was in NYC for…

For the last 20 years I have gone to the same hair stylist in New York City. He is a calm, quiet, tranquil man of few words. His process is meticulous and time-consuming. He looks at my dry curls. I am washed twice, conditioned and returned to his chair for an hour of precision cutting. My coiled, frizzy hair is dried and then flat-ironed piece…

It used to be that the parents of a daughter had only one job: Raise her to be a confident, independent woman with a strong sense of self. Times have changed. As the mother of a 7-year-old girl, I am keenly aware that the many lines once drawn in the sand have been erased. Now, with the release of the infamous Kim Kardashian booty (and…

A report trickled into mainstream consciousness last week and within 24 hours it was “news.” At first, I ignored the links on my news feed that started with “Renée Zellweger.” But soon they were of the whack-a-mole variety; every time one was passed by, another immediately popped up. Then I saw the news – actually the faux news – on the Today show: Renee had…