Family Focus
Meet the Mom: Rachel "Ray" Roberts, Founder of ChasseresseQ&A
Fondest childhood memory with mom?
She was so fun and adventurous. I remember so many things. I remember we would always wait for the checker cabs to pick us up when we lived in New York City when I was very young. I remember her taking me to the Venice boardwalk to teach me how to rollerblade and we would watch all the dancers on blades killing it. She has always been quick to put on Bob Marley or Motown and start a dance party. We had a VW rabbit convertible when we first moved to Los Angeles and she would let me jump out of the car when we stopped at red lights and press the "walk" button so the light would turn green faster. We used to live in Laurel Canyon and she would wake me up in the middle of the night if there was a car accident—which happened a lot—and I would get the cookies, she would get the apple juice and we would go hand them out to cops and the poor folks who had been in the accident. Don't worry—I never saw any bad accidents, but I’m sure there were those. She taught me a lot of kindness. She was a very charismatic and loving young mother.
All photographs by @kelkilla
“The best thing my mom did for me was expose me to the world and all the people in it… I believe it’s very important to pass that on to the next generation, to expose them to other realities and encourage empathy and bonds with people they may not normally come across.”
Favorite things to borrow from mom's closet?
She had some amazing vintage from her modeling days that my sister and I have sort of divvied up. My favorite is a handmade wool smoking sweater from Aspen. It's amazing—whenever I wear it, people love it and then seem to have a story about a similar piece of clothing. My sister got the green Louis Vuitton luggage… jealous.
Favorite mother-daughter activity growing up?
I don’t think I have a favorite. I just love doing anything with her. I think that’s the beauty of children—they just want to spend time with you and be in the present. It doesn’t really matter what the activity is.
What's family time like at your own house now?
I have noticed that, with my son, we are very blessed and live in a place where nature is readily available at our front door so he, of course, loves the beach and loves playing outside. But I’ll also take him to the DMV with me and we will have a great time.
I’m not the best morning person so I sort of do the bare minimum, but we do a lot of snuggling in the morning. I’m very lucky to have a little one who loves to lie in bed and snuggle—thank the Lord. We will leisurely get up and make pancakes, oatmeal, eggs and toast and then see where the day takes us. I dread the day of 8 o’clock school bells and mandatory routine and HOMEWORK, omg. My only beauty routine in the morning is to drink as much water as I possibly can. My real beauty routine is always at the end of the day and it’s not that big.
Let me get back to you on that, lol. I mean, to be honest, I really feel like people who claim they have found the balance of doing all those things well are full of shit. It’s impossible to do all of those things, to be all of those things. To keep your children engaged—and off screens—to keep your marriage popping, to be eating well all the time, to be working out several times a week, to be thriving in your career. It’s possible that there are times in life when everything is going well at the same time, but it doesn’t last very long. What people need to realize is that it’s OK to not have all of those things at the same time. I mean, the simple fact that this question seems to be always be asked of every mother is case in point that our priorities are a little off. I also think that trying to do all those things at once is not a great idea. Personally, I believe there is a huge downside to being the chicken with your head cut off—so busy all the time and then time flies by and you’re not really taking in what’s going on around you. So I am very wary of the be-all, do-everything modern woman thing. I don’t want to be that person.
Help and coffee.
I love everything about being a mom—my only complaint is the lack of sleep. But I will say that I very much look forward to my kids being older and having a bit more of myself and my life back. I am now pregnant and my son is three so it takes all of me at this time, which I love and I wanted this, but I can picture a time when I have my body, my bed, my social life back a little bit more. Especially knowing that I really had this time with my children when they were young, I think it will make it all the more gratifying.
To let go, to be here now, to stop trying to control everything, to be “in flow” and to be kinder to myself, more lenient.
Mom's Best Advice
She has taught me, by way of just being herself, to stick with what you love and feel good in. She doesn’t try to be or dress like anyone but her—and she always looks very chic because of that.
I remember my mom telling me when I was very young, "Honey, you don’t need makeup—all you need is a good pair of earrings and an eyelash curler." To this day, it’s really the best beauty tip ever.
I think the best way to learn from your parents is by example, right? It's easy to tell your kids to work hard, but it’s another thing entirely to show them. That’s my mom. She’s the hardest working person I know. She has had so many jobs and careers. She started working at a very young age (something I did too), she was a supermodel and then gave it all up to raise me, then had many jobs after that, including raising three more kids! So I learned by her example that you have to work hard, and always, always stay humble.
The best thing my mom did for me was expose me to the world and all the people in it. I grew up in different cities, with people of all ages, all races, different sexual preferences, rich people, poor people, artists, non artists… the list goes on. It was very expansive and gave me the tools to be very well adjusted in any situation, with any type of person, to see beauty everywhere I go, and to really be able to connect and communicate with anyone I may cross paths with. I believe it’s very important to pass that on to the next generation, to expose them to other realities and encourage empathy and bonds with people they may not normally come across. It seems obvious to me that the world is on the cusp of a shift and I want to give my children the tools my mother gave me of truly loving a stranger who is very different from you.
She taught me that life is not easy, but it helps to love unconditionally, laugh all the time, and have fun!
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