Since arriving in New York eight years ago, Rachelle Hruska has lived life in overdrive. The Internet entrepreneur and new mom went from fresh-faced Midwesterner to mini mogul in just a few short years after co-founding social nightlife and event site GuestofaGuest.com (launched in 2008 with Cameron Winklevoss of Facebook fame). Life began to change even more drastically when Hruska was introduced to hotelier Sean McPherson (owner of The Bowery in Manhattan and the Crow’s Nest in Montauk, among many others). Friendship turned into a whirlwind romance, and marriage and baby soon followed. Hruska’s priorities may have shifted but she’s far from slowing down—if anything, she’s more focused and motivated than ever. As the first time mom puts it, “Everyday is a little more regimented, but it’s beautiful—I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had in my whole life.”
Maxwell, eight months, November 2012
1. "I adore seeing my husband playing with Maxwell. I fall in love with him over and over again every time.
2. Family dinnertime: I really enjoy having a family to come home to and unwind with.
3. Maxwell’s zebra sleep blankie
4. Weekends at the beach
5. Red wine"
"We built the room around this Peter Beard print (we got married at his house in Montauk). So I decided to do a safari theme, but didn’t want it to look too kitchy."
"The wallpaper has a lot of meaning for my husband. It was originally from Gino's, the famous New York restaurant, which really inspired him in his own career. Then he went on to put it in the bathrooms at the Waverly Inn. We thought it would be whimsical, but not too 'baby' for Maxwell's room."
On Rachelle: Steven Alan shirt, AG Jeans
On Maxwell: Splendid shirt (a gift from the founder of the brand, who was Sean's college roommate), jeans from Clementine Consignment
Day bed: Found at an antique store in Connecticut, vintage pillows with hand-blocked fabrics from Indonesia
"I will never forget the first two nights with my son. It was insanity! Physically, it was exhausting, but more than that it was emotionally the most powerful experience I’ve ever had. I was now responsible for this new person, this miracle of life—it was humbling to say the least."
On Rachelle: AG Jeans
On Maxwell: Pants by a New Zealand brand, an homage to Sean's birthplace
"My mother-in-law was convinced we needed the best animals from F.A.O. Schwarz—we weren’t going to argue with her."
"My favorite children's clothing store in the world is Clementine Consignment. It is literally the best kept secret—oops, until now."
Mocassins: "A gift from our most fashionable friend, Lisa Eisner."
"The best advice has been to let my child become whoever he wants to be. That, and to strive to be the best version of myself I can be—your children will follow your lead. If all else fails I do what I’ve always done: call my big sister, who is the mother of four boys and has always known what to do."
"Maxwell seems to make a toy out of anything: my hairbrush, old bottles, anything in our kitchen cabinets. If he runs out of pots and pans to play with, I’m partial to wooden toys. I like the idea that they may someday be passed down to Maxwell’s kids. Hopefully they’ll hold up over time like some of my old toys that my parents have given back to me."
"This is a photo of Sean's mother—she’s 75, surfs everyday, and is the New Zealand women’s surfing champion. She and Sean’s father met on the film set of Endless Summer."
"Sean was certain that we were having a girl. Days before I went into labor, we were debating names at dinner with friends. Maxine was at the top of my list—I was certain it was a good enough name for a president, which is a crucial litmus test! At the hospital, we couldn’t agree on his middle name and had to write something on the birth certificate, so we put X and it stuck."
"I learned early on that 15 minutes of uninterrupted play time (no cellphone), can be the equivalent to hours of semi-there time—it’s all about making the most of those key quality moments."
"I was absolutely terrified about the actual physical birth. So, for me, one of the most surprising things was how easy the birth turned out to be. I realize I may be one of the lucky ones, but it was truly the best moment of my entire life. Before he was born, I didn’t know if I’d be maternal or not. It was also reassuring to discover my unknown maternal traits."
Dannijo necklace
"As a new mom, I wish I was better at E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!
Organization: I’m horrible at planning ahead, especially when we travel.
Scrapbooking (where’s Martha when you need her?): Maxwell is almost a year and I still haven’t put his baby book together.
Letting go: I’m working on not obsessively overanalyzing whether I’m being the best mother I can be."
"The hardest part about being a mom: the heaviness of it all. Life was much lighter when I didn’t have to worry about another person so intimately. The best part: the heaviness of it all. Life is so much better knowing that I get to have the most intimate of connections that humans are capable of having. That goes for my relationship with my husband as well as with my son. My husband and I have grown so much throughout this process—everything else seems so trivial in comparison."
Rick Owens jacket
"My husband and I plan date nights with no phones, no distractions, just us. Of course, family always comes first, but I think it’s also important to talk about your individual dreams outside of your marriage and your family. Keep it sexy!"
"These pots are pre-Columbian pottery, literally dug up by Maxwell’s grandmother on her property in Costa Rica. They are actually the most valuable items in our house, which reminds me: I need to move them out of Maxwell’s ever expanding reach, like, now! And to the left is a real ball and chain from a chain gang: it was a gift from me to Sean on our wedding day."
"I wear almost no makeup during the day and can get by with four makeup products: a light powder, Bare Minerals bronzer, Buxom Lash mascara, and Burt's Bees tinted lip balm. And I am obsessed with the Tata Harper skincare line. To save time, and for a little marital bonding, my husband cuts my hair."
Calypso St. Barth caftan
"I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. I ended up losing all the weight, and I’m actually thinner now than I was before. I breastfed for six months, which I think really helped. For me, exercising is a treat, not a chore, and this is true now more than ever. Forty-five minutes of alone time, all to myself? It’s divine! I also think sleep is key, so I try to be well rested."
"Since having a son, our home has become more Maxwell’s by the day. To try to counter the cliché of women becoming lazy with their appearance after becoming a mom, I was determined to try to ratchet my own personal style up a notch. I also think the old saying is true, that when you look good, you tend to feel better."
On Rachelle: Scoop jumpsuit, Dannijo necklace
Leather rhino by Omsera
"Every single day is an adventure. I have a very emotionally supportive husband, and that is everything. When you have someone who’s saying, “you go and rock it”, you feel like you can do anything. Our friend Bill Powers, Cynthia Rowley's husband, told us that the first six months of being a parent are like life support: they hang out and literally take all of you. I woke up the other day and said, 'I can’t believe Maxwell is eight months-old—we made it this far.'"
Couch: from Brimfield flea market, Stuffed animal: a gift from friends
"I only bought three pregnancy fashion items: a super simple black dress that I wore basically everyday, yoga pants, J Brand maternity jeans, and Converse slip-on sneakers, which I continue to live in every day. Everything else I wore was just my regular clothes that I either bought big, or transformed."
"Becoming the sole owner of my company was beyond exciting, but in terms of the big life picture, I can’t imagine anything trumping the birth of my child!"
"I grew up in Nebraska and my husband grew up in Malibu, and we feel that Montauk, where we have a house, is something of a hybrid of our collective childhoods. We’re hoping Maxwell can pick up some Robinson Crusoe skills and country grit in Montauk and apply them to his urban life in the city. We like the duality of big city life mixed with small town living. It’s so werid to think that he’ll grow up in Manhattan since my upbringing was so different."
Chair bought at a junk store in Brooklyn
"This photo album was my gift to Sean for his birthday two summers ago. It’s a scrapbook of all of our pre baby adventures."
"Life is messy and complicated and everyone is truly just trying their best. I’ve learned to let go of things, to respect and value my own parents and family more, and that a human’s capacity for love is infinite."
"My grandmother used to make these Rosette cookies every Easter. When she died, it was a tradition I picked to carry on in my family. I found some antique Rosette irons at a flea market in Paris this year to add to my growing iron collection."
