THE MOTHER NATURE

THE FAMILY GROOVE’S PROFILE OF A MOM WHO’S MAKING IT HAPPEN

Okay, this may sound a little Single White Female, but we kinda wanna be Val Rice.
Eat•drink•garden with Valerie. Yes, please.

You know not what we're talking about yet, so to fast-forward for a minute: eat•drink•garden
with Valerie is her new business and it basically sums up her outlook on life—and why we have
a little crush on her.

We want to eat•drink•garden our way through life (cue the warm afternoon, flowy dress,
Bertolucci sunset, breakout laughter and the clanging sound that silverware makes against the plates when you use them alfresco).

Val's like the cool Martha—and that's why we love her, and that's why you will, too.

Here, the mother, philanthropist and entertaining maven talks about passion, taking the plunge, playing golf (not enough), family, fresh food, killer heels and bacon. Bacon. Hence, the crush.

1. Who are you?
Valerie Rice; Val to most people

2. How old are you?
Between you and me ;) 35

3. Where do you live?
Montecito, Calif.

4. How many children do you have? How old?
Two girls, 6 and 4

5. What time do you get up?
The puppy has become my alarm clock; usually by 6:45 a.m. we are up and making lunches.

6. What daily rituals must you do to feel normal?
Have an espresso in the morning, play with the dog, cook something fresh and tuck the girls into bed.

7. What do you wish you'd do every day, but haven't been able to incorporate into your routine?
Daily: Read the stack of books on my nightstand. Weekly: Play golf with my husband.

8. Do you work?
I recently took the plunge and started a small business. Add to that the kids, the house, the garden and three nonprofit boards—I guess the answer would be yes.

9. What do you do?
I recently launched eat•drink•garden with Valerie (www.eat-drink-garden.com).

10. Tell us about it.
It’s a lifestyle blog centered on my passions of tasty, seasonal food; specialty wine/drinks; and produce fresh from my garden. It came out of my desire to share the bounty of my garden and how to be creative with what you have seasonally. It serves very well in capturing the unique relaxed, elegant beauty of the Santa Barbara lifestyle. One of my favorite features is writing about experiences I have with chefs in my kitchen. Over the years I have developed friendships with some incredible chefs. I invite my “tribe” over; we drink wine and learn cooking techniques from masters. It’s a total blast. I love sharing the tips and recipes with my readers.

11. What's the best thing your mother ever told you?
Make one-on-one time with your husband a priority. She compared it to a nest. “If your love is strong and meshed together, then it supports the eggs comfortably and the birdies always have someplace to come back to.”

12. What does being a good mother mean?
Being a good mother means creating boundaries and staying true to them. As we all know, this is not as easy as it sounds! If you do the hard work of communicating clearly, consistently and out of love, then we all know where we stand. It cuts out many battles and lets us have more fun together.

13. What's your mantra/personal philosophy?
Lighten up, enjoy your life and go for it. Oh, and drink good wine!

14. What do you tell other mothers?
It’s okay to say no sometimes.

15. Finish this sentence: I want my children to…
…be happy, confident, respectful and thrive in wherever their passions lead.

16. Who inspires you?
Families dealing with terminal illness inspire me to count my blessings, slow down and enjoy each moment.

17. What are you passionate about?
My family, fresh food from the garden, good wine, entertaining with thoughtful care, making something from scratch, killer heels and…bacon, really good bacon.

18. How do you balance your life as a woman, a mother, a friend?
This answer changes every week; you constantly have to reassess what’s working and make adjustments. I think being organized is a great place to start. The first step has to be taking care of yourself—when your body and mind are healthy, you have an abundance of authentic love and energy to give.

I try to always exercise with friends (great multitasking), make time for my personal passions, return e-mails (this is the hardest one for me, personally) and write dates in my appointment book, no matter how far in advance it is—I learned this from my husband; it will be here before you know it.

19. What do you wish you knew then that you know now?
I have had a love of cooking my entire life. I wish I had followed this instinct and gone to culinary school.

20. How do you get into your groove?
I take a hip-hop class twice a week; it is insanely liberating and totally fun! It also encourages me to lead the dance party in the family room with the girls.

For more from Val, go to www.eat-drink-garden.com.