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from Mini Magazine Spring 2019, Claire Holt

from Mini Magazine Spring 2019, Claire Holt, page 94

MAMA MUSE

As an actress and the founder of lifestyle website Maed, Denise Vasi is reaping the rewards of her entrepreneurial endeavors. But her career is not the only thing in bloom this spring— The LA mom (to daughter Lennox Mae) is expecting Baby Number Two with director husband Anthony Mandler.

MINI | Thank you for inviting us into your home! How would you describe the place?

DENISE VASI | Thank you for coming to visit! That’s a tough one. It’s European and very old world.

MINI | Where do you spend the most time in your home?

DENISE VASI | My kitchen! It’s my zen den. I spend most of the time there cooking and entertaining.

MINI | What are some of your favorite elements in your home?

DENISE VASI | All of the marble elements— the floor-to-ceiling backsplash in my kitchen, my master bath, and Roman bathtub. The fact that there’s no drywall in my house; the entire home is lath and plaster. I also really love that all my doors are windows and windows are doors.

MINI | Talk to us about your daughter’s room. What are your favorite elements in her room?

DENISE VASI | Everything in my daughter’s room is neutral colored and made of natural materials. She has a few small pops of pale pink. My favorite part of her room would probably be her library.

MINI | What about the new baby’s nursery?

DENISE VASI | That’s still up for discussion. We’re going to have to undergo major construction to make more space for our new baby. It’s funny, my husband and I met late in 2011, and since 2012, between our L.A. home and our NYC apartments, we haven’t had one year where we weren’t in construction. It’s a good thing we love it!

MINI | How is the naming process going this time around? Have you decided? Are there some that you love that your husband has vetoed?

DENISE VASI | Oh, no! It’s usually me who is vetoing my husband’s romantic name ideas. We won’t decide on a name until we meet and spend time with our baby. We didn’t name Lennox Mae for probably a day and a half or more. Who knows how long it will take this time. Her name is a pretty tough act to follow. I definitely want their names to feel like they go together, but let’s see what this baby’s personality is like.

MINI | How is this pregnancy similar or different than your first?

DENISE VASI | So different! I wrote a whole post on MAED about this. I’m so much more exhausted. I had terrible pregnancy symptoms for a long time, well into the middle of my second trimester. Nausea, vomiting, constant nose bleeds, low blood pressure, severe back pain… I could go on. But I was four years younger when I was pregnant with my daughter. I also wasn’t running after a toddler all the time or running a business.

MINI | Talk to us about MAED. What is MAED and what inspired you to create the site?

DENISE VASI | MAED is a curated site for women who balance career, motherhood, and family life without sacrificing self-care and style. The focus is always to create content that inspires women to ask more questions, seek out more natural and holistic answers, and practice more mindfulness. That might all relate to how a woman approaches an issue with their children (like screen time) or what type of non-toxic beauty products they use. My community on social media really inspired me. They kept asking me for a permanent home for content. I didn’t even know I was content creating. I was just sharing information and hoping to inspire people.

MINI | What has been your proudest career moment to date?

DENISE VASI | Launching MAED. I spent almost two years toying with the idea, talking about what I wanted to do, researching and studying the digital space, but I was scared about making such a huge career pivot. I’m most proud that I actually did it. Starting something is the hardest part.

MINI | What helps you to juggle motherhood and career?

DENISE VASI | I work hard to prioritize time and schedule everything! I have set days for shoots, set days for interviews, set days for calls and for meetings. I use timers to make sure I don’t spend too much time on small tasks. When I’m really overwhelmed, I call my hubby and he will remind me to stop and breathe.

MINI | Do you have any concerns about becoming a mom of two?

DENISE VASI | I’m so nervous. I’m not sure how I will do it all. I’m not sure how I will make each of them feel special and loved equally. I’m not sure how I will ever have time for a shower. But what I do know is that I’ll figure it out. I’m [also] most excited about them having each other.

MINI | How are you preparing your daughter for the new baby?

DENISE VASI | We’re including her in all the decision making. She’s helping pick out clothes and toys. We’re reading lots of big sister books. She’s also involved in my sessions with our midwife, and we are talking to her about the birth process and letting her know she can be involved as much or as little as she wants on the big day. She’s practicing a lot with her pretend babies and has started to help with household errands like feeding the dog and setting the dinner table.

MINI | As a busy working mom, tell us what a typical work day looks like for you.

DENISE VASI | No day is ever the same, but I usually wake up extremely early to start working for a few hours before my daughter wakes up. Once she’s awake, it’s go time. If hubby is home and not away directing a project, then he will handle school drop-off, which somehow ends up saving close to two hours of my day. Otherwise, I do drop-off and then head to my office which is right by my daughter’s school. Gotta maximize my time. Ya know? I make sure all my calls and important emails are handled by 2:30 PM because that’s school pick-up time and while I definitely will find moments to get some work done in the later afternoon, I always work to be present for my daughter. On Mondays, we cross town to get her to ballet; that’s why Mondays are always the hardest day for me. It eats like three hours of my day to get there and back home but she adores her ballet teacher, so I do it. We usually shoot content on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I try to wrap shoots right before I head to school for pickup, but sometimes I’ll grab my little girl and bring her back to set. Or I might drop her off at hubby’s office which is also in Venice. We definitely do a lot of juggling.

MINI | Your favorite places in LA to visit with kids— GO!

DENISE VASI | Bicycle riding on the boardwalk. The parks along Venice and Santa Monica beach. Kippy’s for non-dairy superfood ice cream. The farmers’ market and LACMA. Burro Kids for toys. True Food Kitchen for lunch. My Little Dumpling for dinner (but as part owner I’m biased on that one).