Lauren Watson puts A Face to A Fight against a disease that affects one in 12 women. Her personal journey serves as an inspiration to all who are affected by cancer and the people who support them during their treatment and recovery.
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By Tom Leyden
Photo By: Rick Bern Photography
You could have knocked me over with a feather,” said Lauren Watson as she lounged on the couch in her living room in Westwood, legs curled in a ball as she recalled the most dramatic moment of her life. “I said, ‘I don't understand. What are you talking about?’ The doctor replied, ‘You have cancer. You have breast cancer. You need to come into Dana-Farber tomorrow.’ So I did.”
In that moment, Lauren’s priorities shifted 180 degrees. An otherwise healthy 41-year-old woman was suddenly lumped in a category that includes 12% of the world’s female population. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, a harrowing statistic, and Lauren was now a member of that group.
Complicating matters even further was the timing of this discovery. The world seemed much more innocent on February 27, 2020, the day Lauren received word of her diagnosis: invasive lobular carcinoma. Less than two weeks later, everyday routine came to a screeching halt as the COVID-19 virus shut down schools, businesses, activities… life.
Now, any previously-traveled pathway to health wasn’t an option. With three elementary school boys stuck at home Zoom-schooling and the world in chaos, Lauren embarked on her most important journey, balancing motherhood, work and an anxiety she had never dreamed possible.
“The first hurdle was that I knew that I had cancer, but I didn't know what type it was, how far it had spread or what the treatment was going to be. I didn't know any of that,” said Lauren. “I was being told repeatedly that doctors couldn’t tell me any of those things until I was able to have a lumpectomy, which is the surgical procedure where they go in and take out as many of the tumors as they think they can find.”
Lauren also needed a sentinel node biopsy, a procedure during which doctors make a fairly large incision in a patient’s armpit and take out several lymph nodes to assess if the lymph nodes are spreading the cancer to other parts of the body.
But this was 2020.
“Sorry, your surgery’s been canceled,” said Lauren. “It was a total nightmare. ‘We don’t have enough ventilators. You can’t come in the building.’ I just remember pacing in the backyard and meanwhile, I’m doing my job, my kids are on Zoom-school. It was insane. I just kept having faith that if it was really threatening my life imminently, they would have done something differently. I had to trust my doctors and the system enough to say, ‘I’m going to do what you’re telling me.”
The team at Dana-Farber started Lauren on Tamoxifen, a drug that lowers the body’s production of estrogen. Lauren’s specific cancer feeds on estrogen, so this seemed like a natural treatment under the circumstances, but typically Tamoxifen is prescribed AFTER surgery, AFTER chemotherapy treatments and AFTER a patient has clarity about how significant, widespread or under control her cancer is.
“I started taking this crazy drug and didn’t have surgery until June, so from late February to June, I didn’t know how bad it was. It was pretty terrifying.”
Meanwhile, her house full of testosterone provided a combination of support and normalcy. Lauren’s husband, Ian, recalls the tenuous time vividly.
“It was pretty profoundly crushing, trying to wrap our heads around what this news meant,” said Ian. “I wanted to do nothing except put on the most positive, ‘We got this. You're gonna get through this, whatever it takes,’ sort of attitude. We’re lucky to be in a place where there's a pretty phenomenal care team available to her and we were able to tap into that team. But, any agency she had in all of this was limited even further by the pandemic. God, it was just surreal and in a particularly cruel way. The stress of not being able to leave the house, not being able to see a family member, not knowing what to do next.”
“Ian is a doer and his love language is acts of service,” said Lauren. “So he was in overdrive doing all the things. ‘You're tired? Take a nap and I’ll take everyone where they need to go. I'm going to clean this house before you get here.’ He just does and does and does and does and does. It’s like he doesn’t run out of energy. When I was sick, it was just about, ‘How many tasks can I complete? How many things can I do so you don't have to.’”
Meanwhile, three rambunctious boys were caged from societal interaction and attempting to process what was happening with Mom.
“I'll never forget it. We sat them all on this couch and, as soon as I said, ‘Mom has breast cancer,’ Jack jumped onto my lap and started to cry,” said Lauren. “I was so grateful to the Dana-Farber social worker who had been working with me, because I very quickly was able to explain things to the boys. They wanted to know if I was going to shave my head and I didn’t know. The social worker had coached me. Sometimes kids' understanding of cancer is that it's this big, scary thing that people die from.
“She gave me this analogy - tell them that some people have a German shepherd, pit bull type of cancer, some people have a chihuahua type of cancer and some people just have a golden retriever type of cancer. You can tell them that you have the golden retriever cancer.”
Peter and Liam, twins, are currently in seventh grade at Thurston Middle School. Jack started his freshman year at Westwood High School in September. Lauren and Ian married in 2017, with Ian inheriting a house full of boys after many years as a bachelor.
“Imagine going from living on your own for the vast majority of your life and then you step into this? It’s literally the opposite of my prior existence,” said Ian, who is the associate director of college counseling at The Rivers School in Weston. “I learn something new every day. Not having raised the kids when they were really little and leapfrogging into the elementary years, it’s been a lot but it’s been exciting, too.”
“My boys are sometimes wild animals and sometimes they're like the most docile, loving, thoughtful people in my life,” said Lauren. “Our life is pretty hectic. They’re involved in a lot of different activities and Ian and I are really busy, but we try hard to do a lot of what I call ‘Forced Family Fun.’ I like to think we’ve always been that way, but COVID changed that for a lot of people, and obviously having a life-threatening illness will really, really hammer home how important family time is.”
“It’s a circus, but if there is anyone who can manage multiple rings of chaos, Lauren is really good at it,” said Ian. “Without a doubt, she’s one of the best parents I've ever known and observed. I have, arguably, one of the best teachers too. She is so patient, so understanding and so kind. It’s pretty remarkable to see her and observe her in that space because she is at her absolute best in that mode.”
Lauren is also among the top college counselors in America, working individually with students and families as they navigate a course toward education after high school. With a very calm, confident demeanor, she provides counsel, guidance, advice and a dose of reality during a strenuous time, keeping students on track while keeping parents focused on what’s most important.
“The best way to move through the college process is to lead with authenticity and let your child evolve in whatever ways they are going to evolve,” said Lauren. “I tell most students, ‘You’re not behind.’ I encourage them to take a deep breath. I have a sign in my office that says, ‘Deep Breaths,’ and I purposely put it right over my shoulder so that while they’re talking to me, they have to look at it! I think these students are under an inhumane amount of pressure - high school students, especially in really wonderful communities like ours, there tends to be an assumption everyone is going to go to college right away. It creates an incredible amount of pressure on the kids and I just want to say to all of them, ‘It’s okay to take a beat. It’s okay to take your time and try to avoid letting other people’s stress be contagious.’”
Handling stress during the college application process is one thing. Managing an overwhelming and unpredictable ball of stress during a battle against cancer amid a global shutdown is quite different. In 2020, as Lauren dealt with her diagnosis and the subsequent postponements of necessary surgical procedures, she discovered a new community, others who were dealt a similar hand and some who had previously navigated the bumpy road to recovery.
“It was really startling to me to learn how many other people, how many other women in this town that I knew, who told me they also had battled breast cancer,” said Lauren. “But not until I said, Hey, I have breast cancer! I feel, as women, we're so slow to ask for help. We just want to power through – or maybe I’m just talking about myself. I remember feeling like I shouldn’t burden people with this because it felt like everyone else’s house was on fire. It was COVID. Everybody was afraid. Everyone had all kinds of crises going on at the same time.”
Alas, Lauren did need help and found strength in community.
“I can think of three women who live in this town who got on the phone with me and talked me off the ledge,” she said. “We're not close friends, but I knew who they were and it was so comforting to hear from these women who had walked the road ahead of me. They’d say, ‘Okay, you have to learn this whole new language.’ I mean, I know more now about this than I would've ever had to know. There's a whole bunch of jargon and there's procedures and abbreviations for things that you never want to know. But it's just really helpful to be on the phone with somebody who knows what you're talking about.”
After a tumultuous three months, Lauren finally underwent the necessary procedures in June of 2020, undergoing a double lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. Another surgery followed in March of 2021 to cosmetically improve the appearance of her breasts after radiation treatment was complete.
“What a lonely space that creates,” said Ian. “No matter who you have around you, and we had an amazing support team of friends and family. I don’t think there will ever be a way for me to truly have an accurate sense of just what that is, despite being a passenger in it with her. She has gone through a ton, period - no matter if it's stage one, stage four, it's cancer and it's pretty terrifying. The fact that she gets up every day and just does it and does it well, puts on her absolute best for the kids. You would just never know.”
Three years later, the thought of cancer’s return still looms front and center in Lauren’s mind.
“I spent all day Tuesday at Dana-Farber this week,” said Lauren. “Every six months I go for my scans and every six months I hold my breath. So my advice? Advocate for yourself. I think women are praised for being intuitive, but we're also often totally dismissed when we say, ‘Something is wrong, I need you to help me.’ That wasn't my story, but I've met a lot of people and read a lot of stories of women who knew that something was wrong and it took several rounds of them advocating for themselves with their doctors to get the proper care and attention that they deserved and they needed.
“That and ‘Feel It On The First.’ Give yourself a breast exam on the first of every month. Go for your regular mammograms. Mine wasn’t found in a mammogram, but that doesn’t mean that having those baseline images wasn’t helpful to my doctors.”
No cancer journey should be traveled alone, and it’s clear through teamwork, communication and determination, with the resources we have available in 2023, anybody fighting breast cancer should feel empowered and hopeful. Lauren’s path to health, unconventional and unsettling, reminds us every story is as unique as a fingerprint, with an ability to inspire and educate as we look to eradicate cancer’s impact.
“Sometimes I marvel at how lucky I am to live so close to some of the best cancer care in the world, to have had insurance, to have a network of loving people who supported me,” said Lauren. “It could have been worse in so many ways. I am so grateful.”
For more of my conversation with Lauren about her business, Watson College Consulting, visit the Westwood Living Podcast Network, found on SoundCloud, Spotify, Amazon and YouTube.
Read the full story in the October issue of Westwood Living
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Learn more about the people and businesses in Westwood as Tom Leyden hosts a series of one-on-one conversations.
By Tom Leyden
Football season is heating up, which means we've been keeping our eyes on some alums of the Mass Elite Football program. There is talent spread around the country, succeeding in many areas.
Zak Zinter, a 6'6", 320 lb. offensive guard, is a captain of the Michigan football team and is hoping to lead the Wolverines to a third straight Big Ten Championship. Zinter is among the nation's best guards and will undoubtedly continue his career in the NFL when he is done at Michigan.
Zak's younger brother, Preston, is a freshman at Notre Dame and has already gotten playing time on special teams and at linebacker.
Kalel Mullings is also at Michigan and has remained a versatile talent on offense. As the maize and blue progress through the season, look for Mullings to convert some big third downs and score in the red zone.
Greg Crippen plays along with Zak Zinter on the Michigan offensive line. At 6'4", 309 lbs, Crippen handles centering duties and was an Academic All-Big Ten in 2022.
Xavier Truss, at 6'7" and 320 lbs, is back at Georgia to help the Bulldogs defend their back-to-back national championships. He started his senior season as one of the top players in the SEC and is widely regarded as one of the top ten guards in the country.
Bryce Gallagher is a captain of the Northwestern football team and leads the Wildcats in tackles. The 6'2", 235 lb linebacker is considered by many to be the heart and soul of the defense.
Owen McGowen is in his third season at Boston College and is playing linebacker while also being active on special teams.
Tyler Martin, who spent his first college season at the University of Arizona, transferred to UMASS Amherst and is already seeing time at linebacker.
By Diana Bezdedeanu
The call for our "Breast Cancer Thrivers and Survivors" group photoshoot was unconventional. Unlike our quarterly Westwood Living socials, there was no RSVP required to attend. Instead, we hoped for the best as we awaited the morning of September 9, when we planned to gather at the Westwood High School softball field.
We were eager to distribute our Grab-And-Go Playa Juices generously donated by Playa Bowls (thanks to Gabby Miller and her team). We were excited to hand out 20% off gift certificates from Sassy - Anna Bytner and her employees are so passionate about the fight against breast cancer.
As 9:30 passed on that sunny morning, it was clear our turnout would be small in numbers but colossal in spirit. Seven remarkable Westwood women, all with their own unique stories and unique battles against breast cancer, united as one in a space of vulnerability and shared experience.
"Well, this sure isn't reflective of 1 in 8," said Jennifer Perkins, so perfectly reminding us that 12% of women have battled breast cancer.
What made the gathering most profound was the unspoken understanding of the challenges they had each faced and conquered, not only as survivors but also as mothers, nurturing and protecting their families while grappling with the uncertainties of a disease that affects far too many of the population.
As the photoshoot came to an end, we could sense a reluctance to part ways. These seven strong, who moments earlier were strangers connected only by a shared zip code, left with a promise to stay in touch and support one another through their respective journeys. The bonds formed on that September morning were not confined to the photographs being captured, but also the blossoming friendships that emerged.
Lauren, Susan, Kendra, Jennifer, Liz, Deb, and Dawnmarie: Thank you for showing us that no matter how uncertain life may be, there is always the potential for hope, healing, and newfound connections.
By Tom Leyden
With a visible sense of purpose and confidence, Lillian Gulesarian approaches the practice green at Longmeadow Country Club to join her teammates on the Westwood High School varsity golf team before an early season practice. A junior captain on the squad, Gulesarian is Westwood's top talent. Her abilities are recognized up and down the roster, throughout the coaching staff and the across the entirety of the Tri Valley League.
Her dominance is noteworthy because Lillian is Westwood's only female player, and one of very few in the league.
"You definitely feel it when I grow up," said Lillian, when asked about the pressures of competing against the boys on a regular basis. "It's not a problem for me. I love competing with everybody and since my brother plays as well, it's always great to play with both girls and boys."
"She goes out and performs, It doesn't matter," said Peter Hochman, in his 12th season as coach of the Wolverine's golf team. "She doesn't play the one-up rule (which would allow her to tee off from one tee forward). She plays from where the boys play and she can out drive most of them."
Spending time on the course with her brother, Gunther, is just one bonus of playing on the co-ed squad. Lillian is consistently pushed to perform her best and regularly cards scores in the mid-30s to pace the Wolverines.
"Being a leader means you have to compete," said Lillian. "That's a big thing. I also like to help the other people who maybe don't compete on match day or are in their first couple years of playing golf. Being able to help them is great."
Lillian's work ethic and ability to perform in the clutch has made an impression on her teammates.
"The most impressive part of Lily’s game, to me, is her consistency and her poise in high-pressure situations," said Brady Dumais, another junior on the team. "Lillian is never talking down to anyone and she's always motivating teammates to play their best. She plays from the same tees as the boys, despite having the option to play from the forward tees, which really shows her leadership. She doesn't want any advantages and wants to play under the same conditions as everyone else."
"It is extremely impressive how round after round she seems to score at the top. Even her off days are better than most people’s best days," said junior Sean Blomquist. "The best part about Lillian is how humble she is about her game. She never boasts about her scores or acts like she’s better than anybody else which is what makes her such a good captain and teammate."
This summer, Lillian competed in the Mass Amateur Championship, advancing to the semifinal before falling to Molly Smith, who will compete at the University of Central Florida this year.
"I love match play, so it was really fun," said Lillian. "I'm know for hitting it pretty far, but it was my putting that helped me advance to the final four in that tournament."
That taste of high-level success is something Lillian should get used to. Working with two coaches, Julie Cole, who played in the LPGA for five seasons, and Pam Johnson, who spent six years on tour, Lillian continues to hone her skills and refine her game on a regular basis.
"I can see her playing at a Division One level, for sure," said Hochman. "I see that, and she still has another year and a half here to continue to grow, so I look forward to seeing that growth and development and seeing her, one day shortly, playing at a Division One school."
Never one to feel pressure, Lillian appreciates the opportunities in front of her, and while she's focused on chasing her dreams on the links, she's also at peace with whatever may come her way.
"As far as I can," she answered when I asked how far she'd like to take her golf career. "We'll see how it goes in college, but if I get the chance to play farther than that, I'd definitely like to. But if not, I'll just find something else I enjoy and still play golf for the rest of my life." "
Thanks to our partners at Islington Pizza for presenting Lillian with a gift card to celebrate her accomplishments with friends and family.
If you want to nominate someone to be a future Dental Arts of Westwood Athlete of the Month, email Diana Bezdedeanu at dbezdedeanu@bestversionmedia.com
By Jay Resha
WESTWOOD – The story was supposed to be about new friends and an old house, but it was never written. Some stories never get written.
So this story is for Jeannine.
Heading out of town up Route 109, past the ice cream and past the Oktoberfest, you soon arrive at the preschool. It was there that The Gem and I enrolled our kids for a few years, until Kindergarten brought them home to Martha Jones.
Those were the days between generations, though I didn’t know it. Eager to embrace the next phase of life, living in my new house and my old town, everything was about beginnings. Watching our babies become toddlers (yes, we were exhausted; yes, time has dulled the edges, so yes, I do have a pleasant memory or two) was just another step. Preschool, another step.
Little kid birthday parties, oy, another step. Working around nap schedules. Meeting other parents…the grown-up’s version of the first day at a new school. Wanting not to gravitate solely towards those who lived in Westwood, then doing just exactly that.
Then the hand of happenstance: we got into an actual adult conversation (yay!) with a couple whose kid was one of our little guy’s besties. After pleasantries gave way to some sleuthing, we discovered that they lived on the same street that my buddy Rick grew up on, not far from that bubbling ice cream. With a few more questions, we learned it was the exact house!
Decades earlier, so many days and nights had found me there. Watched the final episode of “Cheers” there; learned the hard way how to park on a hill there; possibly developed a scratch ticket addiction there; look, if those walls could talk…well, thank you, Lord, because they can’t. Cue the laughter – you know how I can get when I’m rolling, and I milked it well. Upon leaving, I said I hoped to see them soon.
Yup, my new buddy and his wife, Jeannine.
But I never saw them again.
The weeks and months scattered like crows. Her name was Jeannine. I heard awful news, she had breast cancer. More weeks, more months, more milestones. Her name was Jeannine. Then I heard she died – a week or two after the Marathon bombing, attention elsewhere. Her name was Jeannine and she was 40. By the time Kindergarten began, I heard the dad and kid had moved away.
Her name was Jeannine.
Maybe a few of you know who I am talking about, and maybe you know of an epilogue. Maybe a new mom entered the picture. Maybe not. Maybe there are new siblings. Maybe not. I hope the last decade has brought them much love and comfort and support. I have no doubt, so would Jeannine.
I hardly knew Jeannine at all, yet I think about her frequently. And I know this stuff happens in every town and every city, every day and every year. I lost a parent to cancer and I’ve been to scores of funerals for loved ones lost to it. My stories are by no means unique. But they are mine, and I bet you have yours. The emotions are shared and this bonds us. Permanently. Time and distance are nothing to the heart.
October. We highlight breast cancer awareness, but that is just to make news, raise money and wear pink – yes, all good things. In reality, we don’t need a special month. For fighters, survivors, those who have departed and those who remain, this is 24/7/365.
Her name was Jeannine. Might we contemplate the Jeannines we have all known, and effect some change. Pay it forward, make a donation, embrace new friends and old family. These things immortalize the people we have lost.
Maybe someday, somewhere, someone will write of a friend, not of the friendship that might have been.
Westwood Living? No…thank YOU for living in Westwood. See you next month, and I look forward to hearing from you any time at jayresha@comcast.net (even if it is just funny memes, pictures of your pets making human faces, offers for super-cheap pharmaceuticals, etc.)
By Hale Education
Hale’s 1,200 acres of adventure include 20+ miles of trails and four ponds, all right at your doorstep. As the days get shorter, Hale remains open for passive recreation every day from 8 AM–5:30 PM through Nov. 6. Hale will be open from 8 AM–4:30 PM from Nov. 7 through Feb. 28. A $10 daily parking fee (payable upon arrival) is waived for annual members.
Crisp air, vibrant foliage, morning fog over slowly cooling ponds—it’s sweater season, and there’s no better spot to enjoy it than Hale.
Whether you hike with Westwood Community Trails around Sen Ki on November 4 or chart your own course with a friend, neighbor, or canine companion, don’t miss this annual opportunity to hear leaves crunch underfoot. Foliage is expected to peak in mid-October, and we highly recommend the Red Trail for breathtaking views of Noanet Pond.
As sight lines open, mountain bikers hit Hale’s trails, too. MTB Clinics for youth and adults are slated for October 14 and 21. On October 15, the second annual Great Pumpkin Smash—an XC Olympic-format mountain bike (MTB) race—will offer fun for all ages, competitors and spectators alike.
Families are already marking their calendars for two of our most popular community events, Hale-o-ween on October 21 and the Fall Family Scavenger Hunt on November 24. Both are free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. See why these are regularly named Boston Parents Paper Family Favorites. Registration is open, so RSVP today.
As winter approaches, so does registration for next summer's camps and programs, as well as signups for school vacation programs. Keep an eye on our website and subscribe to our monthly eNews to be among the first to know.
Hale believes nature, education, and recreation inspire us to learn, empower us to lead, and challenge us all to create a world in which people, place, and purpose are united. Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you at an event, in a program, or on the trails soon.
Learn more at https://hale.education.
On Saturday, September 9, The Steam Kettle Festival was a huge success.
By Kristen Dooher, RN, BSN, Westwood IV Therapy and Chakravarthy Reddy, MD
Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most important goals you can set for yourself. Eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise are crucial to achieving this goal, but sometimes, you need more than that to get you where you want to be.
Let me introduce you to a medication called Semaglutide. Semaglutide, also known as Ozempic or Wegovy, is a GLP-1 agonist medication that’s been used for more than 15 years to treat Type 2 diabetes. It has recently been used for overweight patients and has quickly become one of the most effective weight management medications. In this article, we’ll explore why combining semaglutide with a healthy diet and exercise is essential for achieving lasting results from your weight-loss journey.
Semaglutide is a once-weekly injection. It slows down gastric emptying, signaling feelings of fullness to the brain. By leveraging the patient's natural insulin production, this medication helps suppress appetite, leading to medically assisted weight loss. Semaglutide side effects are generally mild, especially when compared to the complications of being overweight or obese. When taking semaglutide for weight loss, side effects may include dizziness, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, headache, and stomach discomfort. Starting with a lower dose and gradually increasing may help reduce these side effects.
When taking semaglutide, prioritizing a healthy diet and exercise is vital to a patient's weight loss journey. We asked a local Registered Dietitian, Alison Kaplanes what her approach is when working with a client taking semaglutide for weight loss:
"As a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, my focus is always optimizing nutrition," said Alison Kaplanes, MS, RD, LDN, CDCES and owner of AlisonRD, LLC. "Even though semaglutide often reduces appetite, the body still needs to be fueled with the right amount & quality of calories for good health, energy & disease prevention. Skipping meals is not the goal. Due to the decrease in hunger that this medication can have, it can also help people explore their eating habits and behaviors, and work on changing unhealthy habits. Regular physical activity is also essential for overall well-being and muscle mass preservation. No medicine can replace the beneficial effects of exercise. Consulting with a Registered Dietitian while taking semaglutide can provide additional guidance to ensure optimal nutrition and overall wellness for long term success."
Prioritizing protein consumption at every meal is also a must. Not only does it help combat muscle loss, but it also plays a vital role in reducing blood sugar spikes. By curbing post-meal glycemic response and enhancing satiety, protein intake prevents overeating. To ensure you're getting enough protein, aim for it to make up approximately 10 to 35% of your daily calorie intake.
It’s also crucial to prioritize muscle maintenance through exercise and weight training. Regular exercise ensures that fat is targeted explicitly for reduction rather than weight loss. The goal should be to improve body composition, achieving a healthy fat-to-muscle ratio rather than simply becoming a smaller version of oneself.
A healthy weight is an attainable goal with the right amount of dedication and commitment. Semaglutide can be a supportive tool to help you on your journey. Diet and exercise are still vital ingredients when managing weight, so pay attention to what you're eating and be mindful of how much time you dedicate to physical activity. If you'd like to learn more about how semaglutide could work for you, please contact us.
By Kelsey Lindsey, JK Catering & Events
Embrace the cool and crisp temperatures of Autumn by hosting a fall gathering based
around fall foods! These eight fall party ideas are sure to be a blast!
Everything Apple Party
Apples are a cornerstone of fall flavors and decor. They also make for a perfect party
theme. Feature apple drinks like an apple cider martini or an apple cinnamon mule, set
the table with apple themed decor and serve up apple desserts to make the table feel
like the essence of fall.
Autumnal Farm-to-Table Dinner Party
A great dinner party is made up of more than just delicious food. Spice things up with
gorgeous autumnal decor using a warm color palette including mustard yellow, eggplant
purple, pumpkin orange and olive green. Fall is all about feeling cozy, so keep this in
mind when choosing your environment, table setting and menu for the night. Recipes
full of fall's freshest produce are the way to go. Visit your local farmers' market for
inspiration. Don't limit your purchases to vegetables; local, pasture-raised meats, baked
goods, jams and honey can also make seasonally appropriate additions to your meal.
Outdoor Wine Night
For a night filled with relaxing and good conversation, consider hosting an outdoor wine
night. Put together a list of all your favorites to share them with friends, or have guests
bring their favorite bottle to share and compare. Whichever you choose, ensure there
are plenty of delicious cheeses, fruits and chocolate at the ready for pairing.
Perfect Pizza Cook-Off
If you have an outdoor pizza oven, then you are already halfway to a good pizza night.
Gather a variety of ingredients and let everyone build their best pizza. Feeling
competitive? Turn the night into a pizza competition to see who can build the best one!
Don’t be afraid to include seasonal fall ingredients like pumpkin, squash and apples.
Candy Apple Bar
Whether you prefer candied apples or caramel apples, we can all agree that both are
fantastic fall staples. A candied-apple bar complete with a wide variety of toppings is
sure to win every guest over, both young and old alike!
Beer and Halloween Candy Pairing Party
You know what goes great with Halloween candy? Craft beer. You know what goes
great with craft beer? Backyards. Yes, this is the year you should host a backyard beer
pairing party focused on Halloween candy, with a few additional savory options like
pretzels and beer cheese. It is Oktoberfest time, after all.
Fall Fondue Party
Warm, delicious fondue served in a rustic bread bowl is the perfect way to enjoy a brisk
fall evening. Pair your fondue with warm pretzels, farm fresh sliced apples, bratwursts
and seasonal beers like Sam Adams Octoberfest or Shipyard Pumpkinhead.
Friendsgiving Celebration
Friendsgiving is just like Thanksgiving but with your friends. Since many people spend
Thanksgiving Day with their family, Friendsgiving is a great way to spend time with
friends and eat all of the delicious foods the season has to offer. Assign a dish for each
guest/couple to bring, or share a sign-up sheet to ensure there is a variety of food.
Make things even more fun with a pie-baking contest or feature dishes from around the
world.
Learn more about JK Catering & Events by listening to Tom Leyden conversation with Juan Mejia and Kelsey Lindsey on the Westwood Living Podcast Network, available on SoundCloud, Spotify, Amazon, Buzzsprout and YouTube.
By Tom Leyden
Let’s be honest. Technology has changed and in a world where everyone now fancies themselves a photographer, why bother hiring a professional when you have an iPhone in your pocket?
Well let me ask you this - If you had a stethoscope hanging around your neck, does that mean you’re a doctor? If you live in a house with a gorgeous kitchen, does that make you a chef? You put in a home gym - are you now The Rock?!
Sitting in Rick Bern’s Needham studio, we discussed the art of photography and the evolution of his successful business. Before our chat, I didn’t have to dig deep to uncover hundreds of glowing five-star Google reviews, many in line with the observations I’ve made working with Rick on the feature shoots for Westwood Living.
”Rick’s patience, humor and honesty made this an experience I will not forget.”
“He listens carefully to what you need.”
“Personable, funny, professional, patient“
“Made me feel so comfortable and confident.”
“Takes the time needed to get the right shot and coach you through it”
“Has a lighthearted sense of humor which makes you feel relaxed and comfortable”
“Fun, funny, and efficient.“
“His command of his craft is second to none.”
What you don’t read is a word about the type of camera Rick used or the quality of his lighting equipment in the studio. The “special sauce” is the experience itself and the pictures he creates through that process.
So what distinguishes Rick from other photographers, or from you as you fire away with your iPhone?
“It’s all about connecting with people,” said Rick. “No two subjects are the same, no two projects are identical, yet one thing remains constant. It doesn’t matter if I’m shooting a senior portrait or a CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company - people are people and my job is to help create something authentic. Most days I’m 90% therapist, 10% photographer.”
Rick, who lives in Westwood with his wife Jaimie, two Thurston kids (Zack and Ari) and their Australian Labradoodle, uses the lessons he’s learned throughout a well-rounded career to lower stress for his clients. He spent a significant amount of time as a clinical social worker and also built sales teams across the country.
Now, as nears his 17th year in business, Rick is a photographer who prioritizes relationships, collaboration, and making sure clients leave feeling better than when they arrived, a winning strategy that’s come very naturally. Rick applies these simple principles as he shoots executive portraiture for top leadership at Fortune 10 companies or while taking pictures of pets, kids or high school seniors. He also leads a team of photographers, each of whom share a similar approach to working with clients when they shoot events, weddings and b’mitzvahs.
As our conversation came to an end, he looked around his dimly lit studio and shared a final thought.
“It’s quiet now, but most days it's like a party in here. I love it. We’ll have the music on, my hair and makeup artist will be busy working with our clients, sometimes we’ll order food - it’s a real scene. I want people leaving the studio telling their friends that getting a headshot wasn’t nearly as bad as they imagined. In the end I would even settle for ‘it was slightly better than a root canal.’ For me, that would be a win.”
Rick Bern can be reached directly at (617)504-7005. To learn more and schedule a session either at his studio in Needham, or on-location, please visit www.rickbernphotography.com.
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