​February is American Heart Month and on February 5, we celebrate National Wear Red Day! We wear red to raise awareness on cardiovascular disease and to save lives. Did you know that President Lyndon B. Johnson is among the millions of people in the country who have had a heart attack? He issued the first February American Heart Month proclamation in 1964 and and we have celebrated American Heart Month every year since then. The Go Red for Women movement started in 2004 in an effort to educate and empower women on heart disease. Heart disease was widely known as the #1 cause of death for men at that time. However, it was not widely known that it was also the #1 cause of death for women.  Cardiovascular Disease (CVS) causes 1 in 3 women’s death each year. In fact, one woman dies from CVS every 80 seconds and Heart Disease is the #1 killer of women taking more lives annually than all cancers combined.

​I love to be involved in the community and for many years, I have served as a volunteer with the American Heart Association. Passionate about leadership and encouraging more women leaders, I also helped launch the empowering University of Iowa’s Zada Cooper Leadership Symposium. Since the beginning of my career as a pharmacist, I've been enthusiastic about helping people learn about their health and making good health choices. Getting involved with the American Heart Association was a way for me to help champion good heart health and support women in leadership. In 2019, “my why” changed to family when my Mom had open heart surgery. She has since made a full recovery.  Our family’s experience and the cardiovascular impacts from COVID19 reinforced the importance of cardiovascular research and innovation.

​In 2020, I served as Chair for the Iowa City Circle of Red, an engaged passionate group of people dedicated to making an impact in our community's fight against heart disease and stroke. The Iowa City Go Red for Women chapter hosts special events for the Circle of Red including a wonderful Virtual Fall Tour with the highly creative and talented Kaleb Wyse. Check out Kaleb on Instagram @wyseguide and Facebook!  
 
Progress is being made! The good news is 80% of heart disease and stroke events may be prevented by lifestyle changes and education. Since the onset of Go Red for Women more women are taking charge of their heart health through healthy lifestyle choices, knowing their health numbers, and being familiar with the signs and symptoms of heart disease that are specific to women.  And the results are telling. About 90,000 fewer women are dying from heart disease and stroke each year because of these efforts. Our ultimate goal is to the move the needle so that we are no longer the # 1 cause of death in women.

My sister, Meg wore red last year! Join us on National #WearRedDay and tag your photos of you wearing red #messymommies! Thank you for taking care of your heart! 
​
Melissa 

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Join us for Facebook Live with the empowering Christi Flynn of Inspirata Coaching to discuss building resiliency to weather any storm on Thursday, February 4 at 7:00 pm Central Time on the Messy Mommies Facebook page! The Messy Mommies are so excited to chat with Christi about the concept of resiliency and simple steps we can take to tap into and build a more resilient life. 

Read Christi's insightful guest blog post, We are all connected together and building resiliency can help you weather any storm! Thank you Christi for sharing such helpful advice and easy actions we can all take together to weather these crazy times. 

Christi and I have been friends for many years and I'm thrilled that she is using her many gifts, talents, and kind heart to help people with her life coaching work. Christi shares on her website about her coaching services: "If you come into a coaching relationship with an open heart and mind, you WILL see measurable improvement in your life. As a coach, I am here to listen deeply to you and ask powerful questions. Utilizing different strategies, we work together as a team to move you forward. We explore the possibilities and unleash your potential." Check out Christi's Inspirata Coaching website and connect with her on Facebook! Holly and I hope to see you on Thursday as we chat with Christi for our Messy Mommies Facebook Live at 7:00 pm Central Time! 

We kicked off the New Year with a bang thanks to the fabulous Jill Devine! Holly and I were thrilled to be guests on Jill's Two Kids and a Career Podcast, Being a Messy Mommy Brings Togetherness to chat about the Messy Mommies, supporting women and small businesses, and the importance of being together - even virtually during these challenging times. We laughed from the moment we started talking until the very end! And, I'm sure we could have talked for hours and hours! 

As we've shared in our previous blog about the wonderful Jill Devine, we've been friends on social media for over a year. It was so much fun moving our conversation from social media to real life! We jumped from conversation to conversation - from recipes to our virtual Girls Night In to Holly's 2nd cookbook to how Jill champions small business owners to our shared support for women, the chatter was so easy and filled with laughter, big ideas, and encouragement. 

While we were lighthearted throughout the podcast, I loved our conversation at the end about staying connected and togetherness and I think you will too. We know your days are busy and we value the time you spend with the Messy Mommies. We hope you can carve out a few minutes to listen to our so fun conversation with Jill on Two Kids and a Career! Join us for our next virtual Girls Night In and we can't wait to see you all when we can do in person events together for our epic St. Louis/Chicago meet-up! Thanks again, Jill! You are amazing and we are so glad we are all friends!

Join us and subscribe to Jill's "Two Kids And A Career" podcasts, follow Jill on Instagram @jilldevinve and on Twitter @JillDevineRadio!​

After a year filled with so many no's, we are embracing yes in 2021! We were thrilled that the amazing lifestyle nutritionist Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN said yes to joining our January Girls Night In - A Healthy New Year! We were so excited when the cheerful Chief Sunny Officer, Heidi Scheid of Sunny with a Chance of Flowers wine said yes to doing a video for our GNI! We were so happy that so many of our Messy Mommies girlfriends said yes to joining us for another virtual Girls Night In! Finding ways to connect, laugh, learn, and toast each other has become so important to us during these crazy times! 

To kickoff our Girls Night In we asked our Messy girlfriends to share one of their resolutions! It was so fun and encouraging to hear everyone's goals and many of us shared goals. From cooking healthier to finding happiness everyday to getting out to flossing to being present, we have great goals for 2021. And, with everyone cheering each other on I know we can do it! 

With 2020 such a train wreck, we were looking to start off the New Year with some healthier choices. Holly invited the fabulous Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN to talk with us about boosting our immunity and to share some ideas on healthy food choices. Holly and Vicki's children go to school together at Saint Clement in Chicago. We loved Vicki's practical and easy to implement insights and her encouraging advice! Vicki's passion for helping others make good choices was easy to see and she made me want to swap around several foods! I picked up Clementines and am adding green tea to my day.

I love how Vicki did a quick food demonstration for us and made Spiced Date Walnut Coconut Bites during our Zoom! They looked so easy to make! We had a great chat about the Garam Masala spice in the recipe and its health benefits and great taste. Thanks, Vicki for answering our questions and for helping us see how to nourish our total body with real food first! Check out Vicki'sblog for great advice and recipes! Listen and subscribe to Vicki's mini-podcast, Nourishing Notes with Vicki Shanta Retelny! I love how she shares fun tips in 3 minutes! And, follow Vicki on Instagram! 

Are you doing "dry" January? Holly and I had a big discussion about doing "dry" January and I just couldn't commit to it. You know, the pandemic, politics, etc. - sometimes I just want a cocktail! So, reached out to the fabulous Heide Scheid of Scheid Vineyards for a video for our GNI. I had been following Sunny with a Chance of Flowers wine on Instagram and loved their positivity and healthier wine. Back to the no's. I loved the encouraging vision of Sunny with a Chance of Flowers and thought they seemed like creative people that look for ways to say yes. I was thrilled when Heidi said yes and it was so fun talking with her about their new brand, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers. It was so cool to hear about their meticulous innovation to create a zero sugar, 85 calorie, 9% wine and I loved how they are leading in sustainability. I loved her story about creating this positive wine and how they are bringing people together in a healthier way. They are definitely living their vision of bringing people together to enjoy and savor life! I'm so glad Heidi said yes to us! Check out Heidi's video! 

We love Sunny with a Chance of Flowers wine and know you will too! Order Sunny with a Chance of Flowers today and follow Sunny with a Chance of Flowers on Instagram! 
We had so much fun talking with Vicki, guessing food trivia, and toasting each other with Heidi. It was a great way to take a break and laugh with girlfriends! Judy was the farthest girlfriend joining us on Zoom from Tennessee! We are cheering all our Messy Mommies girlfriends on with their resolutions and know you can do it! Happy New Year! And, we hope to see you at our February Girls Night In on February 18! Cheers! 

To help with your water goals, here are a few of our favorite water bottle! Please note we are part of the Amazon affiliate program and below are paid links. Thanks! 

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I have found myself searching for new recipes to not only change up our menu since pretty much every meal is being made at home, but I'm also looking for new recipes to feature in my second cookbook. If there is a recipe you love and would like it to be featured in my book, please send it along to me. I love to hear about what others are making these days and learning of new recipes. Last week I found several recipes in the Sunday, January 3rd New York Times paper I want to try. The recipe below is adapted from Ali Slagle's Chicken and Rice Soup recipe. Because I had no interest in going to the grocery store yet again this week, I used items I had on hand. The original recipe called for jasmine rice, but I used brown rice.  I love the bright lemon flavor in this soup! Enjoy!
xo,
holly

Chicken & Rice Soup
Ready in 40 minutes
Serves 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth 
​1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 stalks celery, chopped 
¼ to ⅓ cup celery leaves, chopped
1 cup brown rice
Salt and pepper
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ to ½ cup lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
Preparation
1. In a large pot, combine the broth, celery, and chicken. Season lightly with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 25 minutes. 
​2. While chicken is cooking, combine the chopped celery leaves, parsley, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl.  Set aside.
3.Using tongs, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a cutting board or in a bowl. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite size pieces and then stir back into soup. Turn off heat.
4. Add the butter, if using, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the lemon juice. 
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with approximately one tablespoon of the parsley mixture. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.
Tips
I used low-sodium chicken broth and the full ½ cup of lemon juice because I LOVE lemon, but you can use less. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Cheers to Rum Chata for a special Christmas, a festive Rum Chata Peppermint Bark Holiday Martini and a wonderful holiday video from mixmaster and Rum Chata founder, Tom Maas! I love that despite 2020 being a crazy, challenging year in so many ways, people found a way to say yes and make things special for others. Tom Maas, mixmaster and Rum Chata founder and the amazing team at Rum Chata created a wonderful holiday video for us for our Zoom December Girls Night In! 

We loved that Rum Chata was created in the Chicagoland area and is bottled in Wisconsin! And, we love Rum Chata! We reached out to Rum Chata to ask if Tom would do a special holiday message for our Girls Night In. In a year filled with so many no's, we weren't sure what would happen with our crazy request and had very low expectations. I checked my phone and nearly fell over when I saw not only a yes, but a wonderful video from Tom! Thank you so much to Tom and the epic Rum Chata team for saying yes and for helping make our December Girls Night In special! You can see the passion that Tom has for Rum Chata and his entrepreneurial spirit  as he talks about creating Rum Chata at his kitchen in Lincolnshire and a Rum Chata top secret! We loved the Rum Chata Pepperminat Bark Holiday Martini and it was so fun that Tom told us about the Rum Chata Hot Chocolate! After the video Sylvia shared that she has made the Rum Chata cupcakes and Treva whipped out Rum Chata pudding shots that she had made. We toasted the holidays with our Rum Chata Peppermint Bark Holiday martinis and talked about Christmas traditions. 

We had such a fun December Girls Night In! Huge thanks to all the girlfriends that joined us for some holiday cheer! Thanks for sharing your favorite Christmas cookies and recipes and we loved hearing about everyone's traditions and what they were doing during this unusual year. We are excited about our Girls Nights Ins in 2021 and hope you will join us! And, when we can all be together again we will have an epic in person Girls Night Out! 

As we are sliding into the final days of the hot mess of 2020 we'll be sipping on Rum Chata and toasting the abundance of time at home with family, the incredible doctors, nurses, and all those on the front lines of COVID-19, the creative ways we virtually connected with friends, the determined entrepreneurs and small business owners, and new friends we've made during the pandemic. We'll also be toasting all of you that have supported us in our Messy Mommies adventures! We hope you'll join us and raise a glass of Rum Chata as we say good-bye to this challenging year and look to the hope of 2021! Cheers! 
xoxo, Meg and Holly

This year has been so stressful, so crazy, and so different. When Holly and I started talking about doing Zoom girls night ins, we just wanted things to feel a little normal. We wanted to capture laughter with friends, new and old, again and have a few minutes to escape together. Basically, we were trying to create our own Hallmark Christmas movie experiences with a fabulous group of gals!

Our November Glam Girls Night In captured that Hallmark Christmas movie spirit! We had girlfriends join our Zoom from 14 different cities - from Boise, Idaho to Alexandria, Virginia to Chicago, IL we crisscrossed the country! Just like so many Hallmark Christmas movies that involve holiday baking, chef Holly shared a cinnamon puff recipe for Thanksgiving morning. Next, the gorgeous Tori Belle consultant Coleen Krause showed us how to up our glam game for the holidays. Watch Coleen's tips on our YouTube channel! 

Then, the amazing fashion designer Sandhya Nair shared tips on how to accessorize for the holidays. We loved her styling tips! Subscribe to Sandhya on YouTube! Then, the wonderful Tastefully Simple consultant, Treva Jones shared a great appetizer recipe.

As we sipped our cocktails and chatted about changing out of lounge wear to make the holidays special, I couldn't help thinking about how the Hallmark Christmas movies often talk about taking care of yourself and doing something to make it special. ​There was great laughter as we talked about favorite Thanksgiving dishes, cocktails, and the upcoming holidays. 

Holly and I shared that we had recently discovered Hallmark Channel Wine thanks to the awesome social media team at Jewel-Osco! We loved the wine so much that Holly and I took pictures with Santa with the festive Hallmark Channel Jingle Wine when we recently did outdoor pictures with Santa with our girls. Santa LOVED the Hallmark Channel Wine! Then, Holly and I shared our surprise video with our Girls Night In gang! This really was just like a Hallmark Christmas movie! We had reached out to the winemakers of the Hallmark Channel Wine - Evan Nelson and Andrew Nelson and asked if they would do a holiday greeting for our Messy Mommies Girls Night In! Evan and Andrew said yes!

We loved the video, we loved their cat, and we especially love the Hallmark Channel Jingle and Hallmark Channel Joy wines! Thank you so much Evan and Andrew for sharing holiday cheers with us! The 2020 Wine Enthusiast's 40 Under 40 Tastemaker' brothers, Evan and Andrew did a fabulous job creating this festive wine! We raffled off Hallmark Channel Jingle wine during our Zoom which was so much fun and have been giving Hallmark Channel Jingle and Hallmark Channel Joy wines as holiday gifts. You should too! The Hallmark wines are so good and so cute! You can order 2, 4, and 6 packs of the Hallmark Jingle and Joy wines! Order now on-line or pick up at many local stores! 

As a side story, when I was picking up the Hallmark Wines for our Zoom, a grandpa was behind me in the check-out line at Jewel. He asked me about wine as he had not seen before. I shared that we were so excited about the Hallmark wines and that it had recently launched. He shared that his wife loved the Hallmark Christmas movies and every year they bought a Hallmark ornament. He had just built her a bookcase to display all the Hallmark ornaments. He said he was going to get the Hallmark wine as a surprise for his wife. I saved his spot in line and he was so happy when he came back with two bottle of Hallmark Jingle wine. It was so sweet. 

Our November Glam Girls Night In was so much fun! We had so much laughter and so much holiday spirit! And, it was a great escape for a little while. A huge thank you to all the Messy Mommies girlfriends that joined us for our November Girls Night In! We so appreciate you joining us, especially during these crazy days!

Spread some Christmas cheer with...
ELF CHRISTMAS GRAMS!
 
My daughter, Eleanora, and her friend Courtney want to spread some extra Christmas cheer this season!  

The girls plan to dress up as Christmas elves and deliver ELF CHRISTMAS GRAMS! Elf Grams are unique, customized video messages that include a song and dance and letter mailed to you from Santa. Send an Elf Gram to family and friends - people of all ages will love receiving an Elf Gram. One Elf Christmas Gram costs $5. Proceeds from this will support Saint Clement Church’s Jesse Tree. The Saint Clement Jesse Tree is something our parish does to spread Christmas cheer by delivering presents to those in need.  

If you would like to purchase an Elf gram for your child, fill out this form or email: perfectchristmas24@gmail.com. Purchase Elf Grams by December 9, 2020. Elf Grams will be emailed to you before December 24th. 
Once the girls receive your request for an Elf Gram, they will send you payment information. 

Merry Christmas from Santa’s Elves!

xo, 
holly

We know the holidays are going to look a lot different this year. Messy Mommy Holly and I are constantly talking about how the holidays may play out and how we can do it in a safe manner. We chat about what traditions we can keep - even in a different way and how to make things special for the kids. We're also looking at ways to capture these unprecedented times so someday our kids can show their kids. 

Pictures with Santa was something I hoped to make happen. Today, we did outside mini pictures with Santa with the amazing Michelle and her team from Red Photograph with Michelle in Minooka! It was fantastic! Huge cheers to Michelle and her team for a fast, fun, and safe experience!  

Michelle had taken our large Tortorello family pictures last year on Christmas Eve which was so nice of her. The pictures turned out beautiful! I knew she did mini Christmas sessions and checked out her Red Photograph with Michelle Facebook page. I loved her Christmas scenes. She has outdoor holiday scenes with the darling vintage red truck, the so cute VW Bug, the cheery red and white camper and the magical Santa's Sleigh. I wanted pictures of the girls and my mom with Santa and asked my sister-in-law/Messy Mommy Holly and my niece, Eleanora to do pictures with Santa and us too! 

Michelle is so organized! She did an outstanding job staggering families. And, the scenes are spread out so we were not near other people. The weather predictions changed and she called us the night before to move up our times to make sure we could get our pictures in, such great service! We checked in and were able to do our pictures right away. While we were near Santa, we were also socially distanced. We did pictures with masks to note this moment in time and some without masks. Michelle was great and had encouraged people to bring their own mugs, Christmas blankets, and other props which we did and so did others. The Christmas scenes were all so cute and the mugs and blankets were great!

The photographer who did our pictures was excellent! She was great with us as we did different combinations of Nana with the granddaughters, with just the girls, and all of us. Holly and I did a few pictures with Santa for our blog and Santa was so fun with us as we posed with the so festive new Hallmark Jingle wine!

We had a great time taking pictures with Santa. It was so much fun, so festive, so normal, and so safe. Michelle also has a beautiful, outdoor log cabin scene, a darling cookies and milk scene, and some gorgeous inside fancy settings. You can book your holiday pictures and find more details on the Red Photograph by Michelle website.  There are a few spots still open for Santa for Sunday, Nov. 15! We can't wait to see our pictures! Thanks to Michelle and your team for helping spread Christmas cheer and for capturing this moment in time! Merry Christmas!  

Join us for our November Glam Girls Night In on November 19 from 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm on Zoom! While we may be staying home for Thanksgiving, we can still stay stylish! We are so excited to talk fashion, food, and fun while having cocktails! 

We are so excited that our friend and fashion designer Sandhya Nair is joining our Girls Night In! Sandhya will share tips on how to accessorize for the holidays. Check out Sandhya's YouTube channel: Riveting Flair with Sandhya Nair. We love her passion for design and how she encourages women to feel great and believe in themselves. 

We are thrilled that our long-time friend and gorgeous Tori Belle consultant Coleen Krause will also be joining us! Coleen will share insights on fabulous lashes and make-up! The Messy Mommies will be raffling off a Tori Belle "9 to 5" magnetic liner and lashes bundle! 

The amazing cookbook author Holly Murer will also share a Thanksgiving recipe and the wonderful Tastefully Simple consultant Treva Jones will ship up another great appetizer! We'll have cocktails, lots of chatter and many laughs! Take a break from this crazy year and come join the girls for a fun night. Send us a message to RSVP and receive the Zoom link. Or RSVP to our Facebook GNI event! Thanks, and as Sandhya says, stay safe and stay stylish!