Smarties, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of our Smarty team, Erin Santos. We have all gotten to know Erin over the years with her public battle against childhood cancer as President of the Isabella Santos Foundation. Erin is also currently in the running for our Smarty Mom of the Year (p.s. we asked her to join our team well before that came to fruition:-). She is a crusader, a warrior and one of the strongest women I’ve ever met. Erin has been to hell and back with the loss of her sweet daughter, Isabella, and has taught us all that there is so much to live for, even in the darkest hour.
Erin came to me back in November and wanted to write. Her article that went viral and was published on Huffington Post, Awareness..what a bullsh*t word, captured the hearts of moms all across America and hopefully got some of the healthcare industry to take action and re-evaluate funding that is dedicated to childhood cancer research. Erin puts her heart and soul in everything she touches. So when Erin reached out to us, we said “when can you start?”
Erin wants to cover a niche on CSP that she felt we are missing – mom entertainment. Think girls nights out, date nights, travel, basically all the fun that we used to have prior to becoming moms. When she told me that we were remiss in that category, I couldn’t agree more. But my first question was, how do you have the energy AND the hall passes to get that covered? Erin brushed that off and is ready to take the QC by storm and in Smarty style!
One last thing and I’ll turn it over to Erin. She and her hubby, Stuart, came to the CSP Christmas party in December not knowing a single soul on our team. She had met many of us briefly but didn’t know us well. Let me tell ya, Erin and Stuart were hands down the life of the party. They showed up with a hostess gift that let’s just say was a fireball and they completely changed the dynamics of the party. Erin has an energy that is contagious, she writes exactly how she speaks – and that’s straight up.
We can’t wait to get to know Erin, we may have to shower her with some pink & green duds since she seems to favor black leather jeans. But that’s ok, we’ll take her.
Join me in welcoming, Smarty Erin Santos!
You’re covering the Mom Circuit via GNO’s, Date Nights, basically the entire mom social scene in the QC. How do you get so many hall passes (:-) and what do you hope to accomplish?
I think that every Mom should get a hall pass once a week if not every other week (at the least). My husband has been pretty good about knowing when I need to get out of here so that I can shake off a stressful week. As Moms, we are “on” 24×7 so in the grand scheme of our week, one 5-hour night with your friends just scratches the surface. Happy wife, happy life right?
What I’m really hoping to accomplish by some of these adventures is to really help Moms find place to have some real fun! As we get older, I feel like we are always battling our age and what society thinks we should be doing at our age. Finding places where you can go and feel comfortable and confident all while having fun are a must! Especially after the age of 30.
Favorite date night spot in a)Ballantyne, b) SouthPark, c) uptown, d) midtown, e) plaza f) north Charlotte?
Ballantyne – Blackthorne and catching a movie in Ballantyne Village. Having a glass of wine at D’vine wine seals the night well too.
SouthPark – Del Frisco’s is my favorite restaurant in all of Charlotte so we always go there! We’d follow it up with a wine bar.. either J. Sams or the Dean and Deluca wine bar.
Uptown – Grabbing a quick bite at Ensos, Catching a Bobcats game with killer seats followed by drinks and relaxation at the Ritz. Bar Cocoa at the Ritz is A-Mazing. I also want to try the Cocoa Lab to learn some new dessert tricks.
Plaza – Definitely Soul Gastrolounge. Great atmosphere and great food.
North Charlotte – Cabo Fish Taco and Noda Brewery and maybe heading to VBGB for some Connect Four 🙂
Favorite thing to do with your gal pals?
We love to try anything different! We just went bowling a couple of weeks ago on Montford and had a blast! We go to concerts, festivals at the White Water Center, bunco, painting classes, we hit the Epicenter… Or hang out and watch the Bachelor with a bottle of wine. Hoping to expand this list with our new adventures!
Favorite boutique?
I love love love Luna’s and Scout and Molly’s.
Favorite workout spot?
Flywheel of course! Or I have an awesome trainer, Kat Alongi at the YMCA that hurts me on occasion 😉
Last meal you cooked?
Tonight I cooked turkey burgers on the grill, sweet potato fries and broccoli. Nothing fancy.
Favorite weekend escape?
The Grovepark Inn always makes me forget all the stress in my life, but if I’m looking for more fun then Charleston, SC does the trick.
Favorite NC/SC family destination?
The beaches of NC and SC are always great places for our family. But my favorite is going to Bald Head Island with friends of ours. Kiawah Island is always a great place for the kids too.. so much for them to do!
Charlotte, get ready for Smarty Erin – she is super sassy and super fun!
