Alana Varel, co-founder of fashion mega PR and casting agency Starworks Group, went into business with her husband in 2001 and hasn’t looked back since. Over a decade later, much has changed for the husband and wife duo—their company has grown to include offices in Los Angeles and London, they are about to turn a sprawling TriBeCa loft into their family home, and, any day now, they will welcome their third daughter into the world. The home life Alana and James have created for their daughters is a the definition of high energy—at any given moment, their youngest daughter is singing Adele karaoke, while their eldest is practicing her gymnastics moves in the middle of the living room. As a soon-to-be mom of three, Alana embraces the chaos and relishes their precious moments all together as a family, especially in the morning, “when everyone has just woken up and is in a good mood. Delilah yells cock a doodle do, and Ava Lily comes in and gives us all cuddles.”
Ava Lily, 8, Delilah, 2, December 2012
1. "Getting ready for holidays
2. Baking with the kids
3. Taking photographs with Ava Lily
4. Great moments in Central Park just walking around having a hot dog listening to a outdoor musician
5. Dim sum with the family
On Alana: Alternative Apparel top and pants
On Ava Lily: Crewcuts top, Zara Kids skirt
On Delilah: Crewcuts dress
"The best advice I've ever gotten is that there's never a perfect time to have your first child so just start the process and everything will fall into place."
On Alana: Tucker dress
Ava Lily wearing a top and jeans by Little Marc Jacobs
"I'm so proud every time each of them accomplishes a difficult task. Or sometimes it's the simple things that make me most proud, like tying their shoe laces, getting dressed by themselves)."
On Delilah: Crewcuts top
"They don’t have a lot of toys. Delilah is into Legos and singing, and Ava Lily is into art and gymnastics."
"Everything in this house is jumpable.The kids must be able to use everything we
have at home without me having a heart attack."
C. Jere sculpture
A gallery wall of family photos and favorite keepsakes, including a self-portrait Delilah made at school
"We love getting our nails done all together as a family, yes, even my husband."
Stroller: Bugaboo for first six months, then immediately onto the
Maclaren which is much easier to maneuver.
Stroller accessories: 7 AM Enfant
Books: Any pop-ups, and the Olivia series
Ava Lily's ice skates, hanging on the wall in her bedroom
"The most surprising thing, that no one warns you about, is how guilty you feel so much of the time for not doing things perfectly."
"I'm more of the disciplinarian. When I take them out on the weekend, we go to the museum. When my husband takes them, they go to F.A.O. Schwarz and Dylan’s Candy Bar."
Ava Lily holding onto her favorite bag by Vivienne Westwood
"She won't let me cut the back of her hair—it’s become very 70s looking. I take her to my hairdresser and it's a 30 second situation."
"This is their art room. When we first moved in, we decided not to demolish it because we realized it would be a perfect space for the kids."
"If I wasn't an entrepreneur, I'd probably be a hippie in Bali or Thailand."
"There are days when they are fighting constantly, and then other days when they are having so much fun together."
"We moved here from Brooklyn. I miss it there on the weekends, but it's so quiet here."
"I’ve had really good pregnancies all the way through—I’ve been really lucky with that. My husband might have a totally different perspective though."
"When we first decided to keep this space as their art room, I literally told the girls to go in and do whatever they wanted. But I didn’t realize that the paints were permanent, not washable, so they had it all over their bodies, in their hair, everywhere."
"Taking a year out of my life and traveling around the world was one of the best things I've ever done."
"I make sure I have time alone with my husband. Date nights are a must. And I also think it's important that each child gets alone time with each parent, in addition to our together time."
"The most wonderful thing is seeing their cute little faces every morning, and all the hugs they give me."
"My go-to style while pregnant is black, black, black."
"My favorite part of the day with my girls is in the morning, when everyone has just woken up and is in a good mood. Our youngest daughter yells 'cock a doodle do, it's time to wake up', which is our alarm clock, and our oldest daughter comes in giving us cuddles."
"I love watching my girls play dress up together in my closet."
Alana's favorite brownie recipe
