Taking a Stab

Welcome to Mishmosh! We wanted to do a self-imposed Q&A to share a little bit about who we are individually and together and what you can expect from our page here!

What inspired you to start a Substack?

JM: I am a student at heart. I love to learn about new trends, research topics relevant to my day-to-day, and discover what others are doing. When Gabby started sharing articles from Substack, I thought it could be a cool way to share my learnings with others! As my close friends and family know, I may not always take swift action to change, but I love to stay informed and I think Substack is an awesome place to share ideas with others. I find it super helpful when others share their experiences and learnings through trial-and-error and I want to do the same. 

GM: I am extremely nosey - I was the kid who would pick up the land-line when my mom or dad was on the phone to hear what was going on. I love being “in the know”, consuming information from people all over the world with varying perspectives, and sharing my thoughts or finds. I stumbled across Substack and the ease in which I could find new writers across so many different topics that intrigued me was all-consuming. Writers shared their thoughts with such ease and authenticity, and the community feels like a very welcoming place for people to express themselves. I’ve been getting in touch with my creative side more recently and thought this would be a fun bandwagon for Jackie and I to jump on and share our random musings.

Why do a Substack together as sisters?

JM: Because starting something new with your best friend is fun! Beyond looking for another excuse to talk to each other more, our complimentary lifestyles create an interesting perspective. We are one year apart, always went to school together, and share many of the same friends, yet we live our lives differently! Our personalities create a yin-and-yang balance and our distinct perspectives offer more opportunities for conversation. 

GM: Jackie and I have done so much together - for the first ~22 years of our lives as we went to the same schools. We technically only spent three academic years apart and I was overly dramatic when she left to go abroad one semester. We were lucky enough to get to live together in NYC following school for a couple of years and after that our lives diverged, yet our Facetimes and visits have remained ever-constant. I’m excited to share something concrete again with Jackie (I would argue that we do get to share her baby, Jamie, but her husband would probably disagree). I look forward to challenging each other in our posts and learning new things together!

What are some topics you hope to cover and highlight? What can subscribers expect to hear from you about?

JM: I want to balance conversations that bring me energy with topics that are value-add for our readers. It’s my hope that each post has a small takeaway that will add value in some way - tangible and intangible. Things that spark my curiosity include trendy topics like wellness, fitness, and Taylor Swift; things relevant in my life like pet parenting, relationships, and baby development; and random niche topics like positive mindset, supply chain, and biophilia (I’ll come back to this term in another post I’m SURE). I want to get into it all - nothing’s off limits. 

GM: I spend a lot of time trying to learn fashion trends. I’m dipping into arts & culture more as I expand my horizons through work and live on the Upper East Side. I’m passionate about food, specifically sweet items that are very bad for me. I’m incredibly curious about mindfulness through journaling, tarot cards, meditation, etc. Despite my sugar cravings, I have a deep draw to a “holistic” lifestyle and hope to one day actually put it into practice. I am very “sober curious”. I’m also a child of divorce and have seen this impact me significantly in my relationships and ability to create boundaries. I feel like my interests can be all over the place and, while I love to bring the fun, nothing fills my cup more than a good sit down with Jackie or my friends and doing a deep dive into my feelings. I hope to include more people in these conversations through my posts, because it’s important for me to remember that what I have to say has meaning, but also that what I have to say could help someone else in what they’re going through.

What’s your elevator pitch on who you are?

Gabby as told by Jackie: Gabby is an action-oriented, self-motivated, social butterfly. She knows how to celebrate everyone and bring a ray of sunshine to any situation (sometimes literally if her dog Sunny comes along). Gabby is a hard worker, but she also knows how to protect time to do what she loves. She’s always looking to try new things, travel to new places, and improve through self-imposed challenges (some recent examples: 30 days no shopping, half-marathon, no sugar). I’m not just saying this because she has a Lab, but Gabby basically has the same personality as a Labrador Retriever - happy, outgoing, energetic, food motivated, a little stubborn, intelligent, extremely loveable, and trusting. I’ll also add she is very in touch with her emotions (answering this question made Gabby cry unprompted, lol). There’s a reason she’s been invited to and a bridesmaid for more weddings than any other person I know - quite simply, Gabby’s the best! 

Jackie as told by Gabby: Jackie is my Due North - she is calm (mostly), level headed (always), pragmatic, supportive, heartful, silly, actually the kindest person you’ll ever meet, frugal in spendings, adventurous, quietly opinionated, intelligent, intentional and everyone’s best friend. Jackie thinks things through 10x before executing and strives for perfection, without being annoying about it. But when things are thrown her way unexpectedly, she is well equipped to handle them with grace and appreciation. She is a long time dog mom and a recent human mom, and watching her step into these “adult” roles has never been more fitting. She aims to please, knowing intuitively how to care for people, and is the warmest hug you could ever receive. Jackie embodies the ideas of quality over quantity, killing people with kindness, and always leaving a party 15 minutes before you think you should. 

What is something that scares you about Substack?

JM: Typically, I’d be afraid of creating a “failed” Substack. It sounds silly because we’re starting this newsletter without a goal in mind. But because I am the way that I am, I want to start something knowing the end result has a positive outcome - I’m creating value-added content that people will enjoy and subscribe to. Obviously, that’s not realistic! So, I’m working on not letting the unknown scare me from trying different things. 

GM: Is it silly to say I’m not really that scared? I’m trying to give less of a f*** about what people think of me. I do get nervous friends and future readers will find my content “dumb”, but at the end of the day, it’s important to remember that I am challenging myself in a new creative way and, while I may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I hope to be someone’s! 

What are you most looking forward to in creating this new space?

JM: I’m looking forward to creating a real conversation and community of like-minded individuals. Everything I share is authentically me - I even have my sister here to fact-check and confirm that! I hope my authenticity transcends into our audience. I hope our newsletter is seen as a positive break in your day that offers an interesting topic, a new perspective, or simply a chance to learn about two silly sisters. 

GM: I am looking forward to forcing my sister to spend even MORE time with me than she already does :). Kidding…kind of. I genuinely am looking forward to using Substack as a way to encourage myself to go the extra mile in my areas of interest, do more research, and memorialize the growth and changes we go through as our Substack evolves. I hope people find comfort in the vulnerable things Jackie and I share, and we can all come together in a community that is rooted in acceptance, appreciation and curiosity.