Pretty Over Perfect
Perfection is an illusion sold to us a thousand ways a day. Join Michelle as she discovers the beauty in the messiness of real life and finds joy in the everyday by embracing simplicity, creativity and a little sparkle.
Episodes
170 episodes
How to Live Like You're On Vacation All Year Long
A few years ago I came home from vacation, absolutely dreading coming back to real life. Until I realized I could bring all the things I love about vacation into my every day life with my family. I figured out how to replicate the simplicity, a...
Set Yourself Up for the Summer You Want with Your Family
We've all be there, dreaming of summer days in June, and over it by July. Summer is a change of pace that can be welcome, but tends towards irritating without some intention. Let's create a simple plan of action to have the summer you really wa...
Partnerships in the Early Years of Parenting: How to Shift the Energy and Love Each Other Well
Marcela Zivkovic is back to talk about marriage during the young years of parenting - when babies are needy and time doesn't feel like it belongs to you. She brings her experience with infertility and then young parenthood to talk about ways we...
Parenting by Example and Expectations with Marcela Zivkovic
Marcela Zivkovic is here with us today to talk about parenting by example and expectations. Marcela is a former teacher, current raciolinguistics researcher and mom of two girls in elementary school. We’re talking about how to set clear inte...
5 Things My Mom Taught Me (and I Hope to Teach My Kids)
Mother’s Day is coming up and these five things I learned from my mom have been on my mind lately.
Building the Village: Practical Tips and Ideas from Jessica of the Mom ReFRESH
Asking for help can be scary, especially for those of us who have been convinced we need to do everything ourselves. Today, we're breaking down how to shift our mindsets and ask for and offer help in order to build the communities we desperatel...
How to Find Your Sparkle Again with Jessica Jonson of the Mom ReFRESH
Have you ever felt like you've lost your sparkle?Moms know that motherhood is filled with often repetitive, boring and demanding tasks that make us feel like we've lost our sparkle, our shine, the things that make us special. But I belie...
Healing Our Communities Through Social Connectedness with Sarah Lopez-Madrigal of WeBelong PDX
Sarah Lopez-Madrigal started offering academic help to kids in her neighborhood during Covid and quickly realized they were suffering from loneliness, anxiety and depression. She got to work creating a third space kids can get together outside,...
Facing the Pros and Cons of Perfectionism
Perfectionism has some merits - and some downsides. Sitting with both enables me to move forward with freedom and hope.
POP Bite Size: My Love Is My Legacy
A brief contemplation of legacy and purpose, and how I'm figuring out what mine is in this season I'm in right now.
The Mom ReFRESH: Edit Your Life to Live Your Values
Editing is a powerful tool we use to figure out what works, what doesn’t and what we should spend our energy on next. And it works for physical spaces like a silverware drawer and for our values and mental loads. Today, Jessica and Michelle dis...
Our Home May Be Small, But Our Life Isn't - With Small Space Design and Coach Khrystyne Jaspers
I can't wait for you to hear from Khrystyne Jaspers of Space Jams today. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two kids in their 1-bedroom, 750 sq ft apartment and has a design and coaching busi...
The Mom ReFRESH: Rest Isn't Just a Reward for When You've Done Everything
As moms, opportunities for rest might seem few and far between. We are often dealing with sleepless nights and full schedules. But there are moments of rest: physical, spiritual and emotional that are available to us even in our busiest seasons...
The Mom ReFRESH: Fuel
Jessica is back! And here to talk about her platform The Mom ReFRESH - and today we’re tackling Fueling Our Bodies for the important work cut out for us. Many times as moms, we feel like our needs are the last to meet - but fueling ...
Unreasonable Hospitality at Home with Tammy McGreevy
Unreasonable Hospitality is a term and memoir by Will Guidara, an elite restaurateur whose practices helped his team make Eleven Madison Park the number one restraunt in the world in 2017. I invited my mom, who has been my greatest ...
3 Ways to Get Kids Involved with the Spirit of Giving
Kids are making wish-lists and dreaming of presents - let’s also get them involved with the joy of gift-giving. In this bite-sized episode of POP, I’m sharing three practical ways to bring kids in on the fun of giving gifts!
Learning from the Best: Hosting Gatherings Big and Small with Trudy Konzal
My aunt is a hostess-extraordinaire and the one I’ve learned so much from when it comes to food, entertainment, mission and ideas for welcoming people into our homes and taking care of them. You’ll learn so much from her perspective that hostin...
Get Cozy for Fall with the Four Energies
Everyone wants to get a littler cozier this time of year - but just what kind of cozy is right for you? Let's explore with the four energies - whether you're fun-loving, comfort-seeking, a go-getter or a process perfecter, knowing which f...
The Four Energy Types in Crisis
We can’t hide who we truly are in crisis - and no one else can, either. Which is why it’s good to understand people’s natural energies when dealing with stressful situations. When we understand why and how we tick, we can also extend grace to o...
Building the Village: Homework, Attention Spans and What Teachers Wish Parents Knew with Marcela Z
We all want to create and be a part of a village of support for our children, and the teachers at our schools are a huge part of that. Marcela is here as a former classroom teacher and current teacher educator to talk about homework, attention ...
POP IRL: Erica's Home Revitalization Project
Pretty Over Perfect in Real Life - come hang out with Michelle and Erica as they chat about implementing the systems and skills we talk about here to turn Erica's house into a real life dream home! Together they turned her chaos into calm and o...
Meal Planning for People Who Hate Meal Planning (But Still Need a Plan for Meals)
We all have to feed ourselves and our families, but if the traditional idea of meal planning doesn’t work well for your family (or it makes you feel trapped), this is the episode for you! Simple steps to create your family’s very own fusion res...
Foods That Fuel with Georgia Filler
Personal trainer and all-around amazing superhuman, Georgia, joins us to talk about simple ways we can rethink nutrition, get moving and fuel our bodies for the performance of life.
Parenting Through Tough Times with Chaleah Waters
I'm excited to bring a special guest, my friend, Chaleah, to talk about parenting through a tough situation - her husband's deployment. We dive into her strategies to set herself up for success, as well as the things that bring her joy while so...
Let's Get Reading - Our Favorite Books for Kids of All Ages
Today I'm joined by my bookworm teenager, Ellie, as we talk all about how to get kids reading - with our favorite books for kids in all age categories. Here are some of our favorite books:Picture Books (Babies and Toddlers)