Cake For Dinner

In this episode of Cake for Dinner, we sit down with Sydney Sadick, media entrepreneur, author, fashion expert, and founder of Spotlight magazine.

Sydney started a fashion blog as a teenager and turned that early passion into a career that has included interviewing some of the biggest names in the world, appearing on major television shows, writing a bestselling book, and building her own luxury lifestyle publication.

In this conversation, Sydney shares how she got her start at just 16 years old, why she has always been motivated by a challenge, and what it really takes to create your own opportunity in a competitive industry. She opens up about growing up in a family with a strong work ethic, learning to hustle early, and building a business in a media world where people often say print is dying.

Sydney also talks about interviewing celebrities, working red carpets, launching Spotlight magazine, mentoring younger women, and why success is never as overnight as it may look from the outside.

This episode is for anyone with a big idea, a dream career, or the desire to build something of their own. Sydney’s story is a reminder that ambition, grit, and consistency still matter — and that sometimes the best opportunities are the ones you create yourself.

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

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In this episode of Cake for Dinner, we sit down with Dr. Doris Day, one of the country’s leading dermatologists, scientist, author, and pro-aging advocate, for an honest and eye-opening conversation about what really happens to women’s skin during perimenopause and menopause.

Dr. Day breaks down why so many women feel like their face changes overnight, what collagen loss actually means, and why aging gracefully should never be confused with aging helplessly. From dry skin, breakouts, facial volume loss, and wrinkles to posture, facial expression, inflammation, and hormone changes, this conversation goes far beyond surface-level skincare.

We also get into Sculptra, fillers, lasers, Botox, retinol, sunscreen, collagen supplements, red light therapy, cellulite treatments, and what women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond should actually spend their money on — and what they can skip.

This episode is empowering, educational, and deeply reassuring for any woman who has looked in the mirror during midlife and thought, “What is happening to my face?”

Dr. Day reminds us that it is not too late, 45 or 50 is still young, and there is so much we can do to support our skin, our health, and our confidence as we age.

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

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What can death teach us about truly living?

Bestselling author and spiritual leader Rabbi Steve Leder joins the conversation to share what he has learned from standing beside hundreds of dying people, officiating more than a thousand funerals and eventually experiencing the devastating loss of his own father.

Rabbi Leder explains why professional experience with grief could not prepare him for the moment he placed his hand on his father’s chest and confronted his own mortality. That experience changed the way he understood death, memory, compassion and the preciousness of time.

Together, they explore why grief is not a linear process, but an ocean of waves that can return without warning. Rabbi Leder shares why we should stop trying to overpower those waves and instead allow them to wash over us until we are ready to stand again.

The conversation also examines parenting through crisis, addiction and recovery, imposter syndrome, mental health, gratitude and the people who leave permanent fingerprints on our lives. Rabbi Leder offers a powerful reminder that suffering is never worth it—but we should not allow it to become worthless.

Most importantly, he reveals what he has learned from holding the hands of dying people: they are often not afraid of death. Their greatest concern is usually whether the people they love will be okay after they are gone.

This is an honest, comforting and unforgettable conversation about grief, purpose and learning to live before our time runs out.

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

Book Pre Order CAKE FOR DINNER: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H5CW77FP?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0H5CW77FP&linkCode=xm2&tag=simonsayscom&dplnkId=ca66e48c-1d99-4095-a35e-8d40794ffd1d&nodl=1 

Follow Rabi Steve: https://www.instagram.com/steve_leder/

00:00 Meet Rabbi Steve Leder

OCD is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions in the world—and it's far more than being organized or liking things a certain way.

In this episode, OCD specialist Kristina Orlova shares her own journey of living with undiagnosed OCD for years, believing she was simply "losing her mind" before finally receiving answers. Together, we unpack what OCD actually looks like, why intrusive thoughts become so terrifying, the hidden subtypes most people have never heard of, and why reassurance often makes OCD worse instead of better.

Whether you're living with OCD yourself, supporting a loved one, or trying to understand what someone is experiencing, this conversation offers practical education, hope, and a roadmap toward recovery.

We also dive deep into Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment for OCD, and explain how it helps people reclaim their lives one step at a time.

00:00 Introduction

02:05 Meet OCD Specialist Kristina Orlova

02:50 Kristina's Personal OCD Journey

05:20 What Intrusive Thoughts Actually Feel Like

08:03 Why OCD Is So Different From Everyday Thoughts

10:48 Why OCD Is So Misunderstood

11:39 What OCD Really Looks Like

16:03 How Parents Should Respond to OCD

20:40 Why People Get OCD Wrong

23:13 Lesser-Known Types of OCD

25:12 Signs Parents Should Watch For

30:24 Why Traditional Talk Therapy Can Make OCD Worse

32:17 How Exposure Therapy (ERP) Works

38:48 A Real Success Story With ERP

42:00 When Should You See an OCD Specialist?

44:30 Final Thoughts & Resources

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

Book Pre Order CAKE FOR DINNER: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H5CW77FP?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0H5CW77FP&linkCode=xm2&tag=simonsayscom&dplnkId=ca66e48c-1d99-4095-a35e-8d40794ffd1d&nodl=1 

Follow Kristina: https://www.instagram.com/ocdwhisperer/

For 20 years, Erin struggled with eating disorders and tied her worth to soccer, her body, relationships, and being chosen. In this episode, she opens up about the shame she carried, the story she almost never shared, and how telling the truth became the beginning of her freedom.

Erin also shares how healing changed the way she parents, how she thinks about alcohol and restriction, what divorce taught her about choosing herself, and why women need safe spaces to talk about the things they usually hide.

This is a conversation about self-worth, motherhood, starting over, and the power of saying the thing out loud.

00:00 — Intro

00:47 — Eating Disorders, Identity, and Self-Worth

03:29 — Choosing Herself Through Divorce and Motherhood

07:00 — Alcohol, Restriction, and Redefining Sobriety

13:35 — From Fitness Content to Mental Health and Therapy

17:16 — Feeling Pain Instead of Escaping It

19:39 — Parenting, Body Image, and What Kids Really See

25:26 — Sharing the Story She Almost Hid

27:40 — Turning Pain Into the Blue Butterfly Foundation

33:20 — Moving From Comfortable to Purpose-Driven

42:16 — Dating, Divorce, and Becoming Her Authentic Self

46:13 — How Vulnerability Became Her Purpose

50:06 — Erin’s Podcast, Books, Foundation, and Where to Find Her

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

Book Pre Order CAKE FOR DINNER: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H5CW77FP?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0H5CW77FP&linkCode=xm2&tag=simonsayscom&dplnkId=ca66e48c-1d99-4095-a35e-8d40794ffd1d&nodl=1

Follow Erin: https://www.instagram.com/iamerinwashington/

Gina Zapanta joins Cake for Dinner to talk about empowerment, motherhood, survival, and the moment women stop waiting for permission to become who they were always meant to be.

Gina is an attorney, entrepreneur, founder of Empowered With Gina, and a woman who has built a community around helping women reclaim their agency, trust their intuition, and break free from cultural and societal programming. What began as small virtual meetups during COVID eventually grew into a platform where women could find community, resources, and the reminder that permission was never something they had to earn — it was already within them.

Gina also opens up about one of the most terrifying chapters of her life: being diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer while seven months pregnant. She shares the fear, the survival instinct, the fight to protect her daughter, and how that experience shaped the way she now views resilience, motherhood, and purpose.

This episode is about breaking the mold, rewriting the language we use about ourselves, choosing a powerful mindset, and realizing that life does not end at 40 or 50 — for many women, that’s when launch day begins.

00:00 Introduction

Jennie Garth joins Cake For Dinner for an honest and deeply vulnerable conversation about fame, motherhood, midlife, self-love, and what it really means to choose yourself.

Best known for her iconic role on Beverly Hills, 90210, Jennie opens up about what it was like becoming famous at a young age, how the show changed her life, and what it cost her along the way. But this conversation goes far beyond Hollywood.

Jennie shares the heart behind her book I Choose Me, reflecting on the seasons where she lost sight of herself, struggled through depression, navigated divorce, raised her daughters, examined her relationship with alcohol, and learned how to rebuild from the inside out.

This episode is about the woman behind the fame — the mother, the survivor, the seeker, and the woman who finally learned to say: I choose me.

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

00:00 Introduction

In this episode of Cake for Dinner, Keesha sits down with Erin Morrison, the voice behind The Conscious Mom and author of Three Minutes for Mom, for a raw and honest conversation about motherhood, conscious parenting, emotional regulation, and the pressure moms feel to get everything right.

Erin shares why parenting is less about controlling your child and more about understanding what is happening inside of you. Together, they talk about mom guilt, gentle parenting, the labels we put on our kids, why parents take behavior personally, and how apologizing to your children can actually build deeper trust and connection.

This conversation is for every mom who has ever yelled, overreacted, questioned herself, or felt like she was failing — only to realize that motherhood is not about perfection. It is about awareness, repair, self-trust, and learning how to show up again.

If you are navigating conscious parenting, gentle parenting, motherhood, tweens, teens, big emotions, or your own healing journey as a mom, this episode will hit home.

00:00 — Introduction

01:04 — Welcome Erin Morrison

01:44 — Why Erin Wrote Three Minutes for Mom

03:05 — The Missing Link in Parenting

04:18 — The Baggage We Bring Into Motherhood

06:19 — How Labels Shape Our Kids

10:40 — Letting Kids Find Their Own Path

13:22 — Are Parents Living Through Their Children?

15:12 — Learning to Pause Before Reacting

18:21 — Why Apologizing to Your Kids Matters

21:55 — Conscious Parenting vs. Gentle Parenting

24:07 — Phones, Sleepovers & Modern Parenting Boundaries

28:21 — It’s Never Too Late to Start Over

31:05 — Trusting Your Gut as a Mom

34:03 — How to Become a More Conscious Parent

37:29 — What Erin Had to Unlearn

43:19 — Breaking Generational Parenting Patterns

45:10 — The Truth About Early Motherhood

52:51 — Where to Find Erin Morrison

53:21 — Closing Thoughts

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

Get Erins book: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=3+minutes+for+mom&adgrpid=189369634271&hvadid=779579003977&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9012036&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=11163684166959021073--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11163684166959021073&hvtargid=kwd-2393975566028&hydadcr=22536_13730665_8233&mcid=2933b18f25b336578aff6b5ca96e801b&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_3ik3m4oy7r_e

Today Lisa McCarty joins the conversation to talk about the stories women often carry in silence — grief, miscarriage, infertility, caregiving, mental health, motherhood, and the complicated realities of healing.

Lisa is a journalist, writer, and grief educator whose work has been featured in major publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, and more. Through her writing, she brings honesty and clarity to topics that many people struggle to talk about openly.

In this conversation, Lisa shares how losing her father while becoming a mother shaped her work, why writing became a way to process grief, and how sharing her personal story helped other people feel less alone. She also opens up about her experience with infertility, four miscarriages in one year, the diagnosis that changed everything, and the emotional toll that continues even after a successful pregnancy.

This episode is a deeply honest conversation about women’s health, loss, resilience, advocacy, and the importance of creating safe spaces where women can tell the truth about what they are going through.

Whether you have experienced grief, pregnancy loss, infertility, caregiving, anxiety, or simply a hard season of life, this conversation is a reminder that you are not alone — and that your story matters.

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

00:00 — Introduction

In this powerful episode of Cake for Dinner, Greg Schiller joins the podcast for an urgent and eye-opening conversation every parent needs to hear.

Greg is a former assistant U.S. attorney who spent 20 years prosecuting online predators, internet crimes, and crimes against children. He has testified before Congress on online exploitation and now serves as the CEO of Child Rescue Coalition, an organization helping law enforcement identify and stop predators around the world.

This conversation dives into what parents are getting wrong when it comes to kids and technology, why smartphones are not just “phones,” how predators target children online, and why communication at home is the most important safety tool parents have.

Greg breaks down the realities of online exploitation, the dangers hidden inside apps, games, and social platforms, and the simple non-negotiables parents can put in place to better protect their children. From Snapchat and Instagram to hidden apps, screen monitoring, privacy myths, and the importance of starting conversations early, this episode is a must-listen for moms, dads, and anyone raising kids in the digital age.

This is not about fear. It is about awareness, communication, and giving parents the tools to protect their children before something happens.

Learn more about Keesha: https://keeshascott.com/

00:00 — Introduction