On Cooking, Cashmere, and Cohabitation: A Mother-Daughter Conversation

By Editor On Apr 8, 2022

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On Cooking, Cashmere, and Cohabitation:
A Mother-Daughter Conversation

Created with Banana Republic

Being a first-time mom is exciting. Nerve-racking. Full of firsts that will delight, terrify, and validate you—all in the same hour. Being a first-time mom during a global pandemic? All that times a hundred.

“It’s funny. Sometimes I’ll look back and think, What happened in those early days?” says goop’s senior director of communications, Jacqueline Weitzen, who gave birth to her now almost two-year-old son, Julian, a month into lockdown. “I didn’t know at the time exactly what I was navigating—whether it was the pandemic or being a new mom.”

Weitzen’s mother, Michelle Schulze, recalls the sacrifices and adjustments the whole family had to make. “I didn’t get to hold Julian until he was six weeks old,” she says. “For a long time, I could admire him only from a distance.”

A paradigm shift came in September, when Weitzen decided to go back to work. “My husband and I didn’t know what to do about childcare,” she says. “This was before mass testing and vaccinations, so we moved in with my parents in San Diego for four months. Being all together, having those extra sets of hands for Julian, having him around his grandparents—it was so special.”

In celebration of Banana Republic’s new baby line, we sat down with the two to talk about how they coped during early quarantine, what cohabiting was like, their excitement about Weitzen’s second child (due any day now!), and why you’re never too young for cashmere.

ON JACQUELINE: ALEX MILL JUMPSUIT, goop, $395; BIRKENSTOCK CLOGS, goop, $180; ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC BODYSUIT, Banana Republic, $25; BANANA REPUBLIC ROMPER, Banana Republic, $85

acqueline Weitzen family

ON JACQUELINE: ALEX MILL JUMPSUIT, goop, $395; BIRKENSTOCK CLOGS, goop, $180; ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC BODYSUIT, Banana Republic, $25; BANANA REPUBLIC ROMPER, Banana Republic, $85

On sending love from a distance:

JW: In the beginning, my parents would regularly drive from San Diego to LA to drop off food, which was both crazy and amazing.

MS: Food and comfort go hand in hand in our household, so my way of getting through that period when we couldn’t see Julian was by cooking up a storm. I would cook all day, and then we’d pack it in the car, drive up the freeway, drop it off, and come back.

JW: In the beginning, it was a lot of warming foods, like soups and stews and the black rice and chicken thighs from The Clean Plate. We didn’t really have time to cook—and my husband and I can’t even decide on takeout—so having premade meals we loved that hit the spot every time was everything.

On living under the same roof:

JW: I remember getting up at 4 a.m. to feed Julian and my parents would already be awake, as if their biological clocks worked like that. (They don’t.) But my mom loved having that time with Julian, and she was always ready to take him, which was perfectly fine by me.

MS: I would bundle him up as soon as it was light, and we’d walk in the yard and hit the wind chimes and sit by the fountain. And then the world would wake up and we’d get into books…

JW: You would bake! I would walk into the kitchen and my mom would be cooking three things at once—Julian watching from his jumpy seat, Baby Mozart in the background.

MS: We baked a lot of bread. We mastered sourdough. Then I’d push his stroller out to our orange trees and load it up with oranges, and we’d come in and make marmalade. It was amazing.

ON JACQUELINE: G. LABEL BROOKE HENLEY SWEATERDRESS, goop, $595; BANANA REPUBLIC CARDIGAN, Banana Republic, $280; VEJA SNEAKERS, goop, $105; ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC SWEATER, Banana Republic, $65; BANANA REPUBLIC PANTS, Banana Republic, $45; ON MICHELLE: G. LABEL PARKER PLEATED T-SHIRT (similar), goop, $145; G. LABEL CONNER CULOTTES, goop, $495; VEJA SNEAKERS, goop, $150

Jacqueline Weitzen family

On dressing little ones:

JW: For Julian, I try to stick to a uniform so that whatever I pull from his wardrobe can mix and match. He’s a casual dude. I’ll usually put him in muted neutral tones with sneakers and a beanie or a hat to tame his curls.

MS: My advice would be to select styles that are timeless. I still have things that I saved from my daughters that my grandchildren can now wear. If the pieces are quality and made with nice fabric, they’ll be with you forever.

RIGHT: ON JACQUELINE: KHAITE DRESS, goop, $1,180

BELOW: ON JACQUELINE: BANANA REPUBLIC BRALETTE, Banana Republic, $110; BANANA REPUBLIC CARDIGAN, Banana Republic, $280; G. LABEL JOEY SWEATER PANTS, goop, $595; ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC SWEATER, Banana Republic, $100; BANANA REPUBLIC PANTS, Banana Republic, $85; ON MICHELLE: MARA HOFFMAN DRESS, goop, $495

TOP: ON JACQUELINE: KHAITE DRESS, goop, $1,180

BOTTOM: ON JACQUELINE: BANANA REPUBLIC BRALETTE, Banana Republic, $110; BANANA REPUBLIC CARDIGAN, Banana Republic, $280; G. LABEL JOEY SWEATER PANTS, goop, $595; ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC SWEATER, Banana Republic, $100; BANANA REPUBLIC PANTS, Banana Republic, $85; ON MICHELLE: MARA HOFFMAN DRESS, goop, $495

On favorite Banana Republic Baby styles:

JW: The beige cashmere set. It’s such an heirloom piece. And because it’s gender-neutral—just like everything else in the collection—it’s also something the new baby will be able to wear in a few years.

MS: I love the little bloomers with a Supima cotton one-piece. That’s an outfit! So cute and so simple. I love cotton for myself, and I always wanted it for my babies. It was hard to find back in the day when my kids were infants, so it’s wonderful that now this option is more readily available.

Jacqueline Weitzen family

ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC ONE-PIECE, Banana Republic, $25; BANANA REPUBLIC SHORTS, Banana Republic, $95

Jacqueline Weitzen family

ON JULIAN: BANANA REPUBLIC ONE-PIECE, Banana Republic, $25; BANANA REPUBLIC SHORTS, Banana Republic, $95

On welcoming baby number two:

JW: I think everything will be different, honestly—in a very good way. It feels like being new parents again because we didn’t get to do anything we had anticipated the first time around. We’re just so excited.

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