I start my conversation with Nathalie Ross by asking her to give me a “tour” of her jewelry, which despite the low resolution of our video call, I can tell is stunning and exceptionally curated.
One piece, accompanied by a story too good not to share, stands out. While enjoying a seafood pasta dish in Sorrento for their 30th wedding anniversary, her husband bit down on something hard. According to Google, it was a one in ten thousand chance, but sure enough, it was indeed a pearl. The symbol, by the way, for 30 years of marriage no less.
She kept it taped to the back of her driver’s license with a Band-Aid until she got back home to Dallas. She then had it set with diamonds by her jeweler in Fort Worth who also verified it was indeed a pearl.
This story encapsulates Nathalie. She’s able to see and cherish beauty in a way I don’t think most can. She’s also a bit of a Renaissance woman.
She ran an Etsy shop. Went back to school. Got a PhD in history. Focused on Sephardic cookbooks. Taught. Wrote. Did all the things a PhD is “supposed” to do.
Three publishers asked for her book with two offering contracts. But she hit a wall and couldn’t bring herself to actually write the thing. “I just want to make Jewish art,” she told me.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve had that thought…
I’ve known this about Nathalie for some time. When I initially met her shortly after having my first child, I definitely thought of her as a kindred spirit.
She’s hard to describe. She’s more disciplined and strategic than your stereotypical artist but at her core, there is an undeniable need to use her mind and her hands to create.
I often see her posts on social media promoting her latest project and think to myself, “now there’s an idea.” Take, for example, this Passover fortune teller game.
But it’s not just her ability to execute on an idea that I admire. The breadth of her abilities and interests is astonishing.
She goes to estate sales and comes home with vintage Judaica to resell. She refinishes furniture in her garage. She designs stationery. She’s working on a jewelry line. She’s bedazzling matzah trays. Her Etsy shop is back and will be growing over the coming months. She has a full bar mitzvah planning system.
So many of her ideas resonate with me not just as a creative but as a mom. She knows how to take something ordinary and make it feel special and loved.
She told me about planning her twins’ bar mitzvah and the strategic ways she added personal touches with some low cost, DIY ideas. I look forward to coming back to this issue in ten years for inspiration.
She designed a logo. Burned it into wood invitations. Built centerpieces from wrapped books. Used her kids’ artwork as decor. I love the no-waste approach and sentimental value of these ideas and ask for pictures, which she kindly sends!
The Feeling
“People spend money in the wrong places,” she said. “What they remember is the feeling.” I’ve been thinking about this a lot with GoldieLox.
Mahjong got me started. But it’s not really about the game. It’s the table and the women around it that I love. The snacks. The feeling. I was intentional about putting “Time to Kibbitz and Nosh!” on the Menschie Mahjong Boxes. That is what I want to create more of.
The old photos from the Catskills. Women gathered, smiling, scheming, speaking the same language, and connecting with one another. That’s the thing I’m trying to build around.
I share with Nathalie my interest in doing a challah bake or pop up shabbat here in Dallas. She later texts me loads of ideas about how to get something off the ground in addition to low cost or DIY decorations for my almost-three year old’s upcoming birthday.
Readers, if something like a challah bake or in-person Shabbat experience interests you, reach out at [email protected] - I’d like to hear what you’d want from this experience and what “the feeling” means to you.
Looking at the World with Wonder
Nathalie said something near the end that stuck. She loves people who look at the world with wonder. As a small business owner, one of the great luxuries (for the time being) is not having OKRs or hard business metrics. I can grow this business however I want.
The business plan and product roadmaps are formed not by revenue targets but by those moments of wonder - the feeling that Nathalie seems so tuned into.
With noticing.
With caring.
With deciding something small is worth turning into something lasting.
Like a pearl in a plate of pasta.
Some Chametz For Shabbat
All this talk about pasta has me looking for some soon-to-be contraband recipes as we approach Passover. How about a noodle kugel? This is a special one.
It’s a favorite in our house.
It’s a recipe I discovered after moving back to Dallas from Boston in 2021. I was looking to embrace our new home and our Texan roots and scouring for Southern twists on Jewish classics.
I came upon it on the legendary Tina Wasserman’s website, where she attributes it to Zella Sobel. The incorporation of soft peaches make for a perfect touch of acid without the textural disruption raisins or pineapple tend to create.
Tina offers sour cream or Greek yogurt as options - I have tried both and haven’t noticed much difference.
Even if you have a go-to kugel recipe, I encourage you to give this one a try and let me know what you think.
Zella’s Classic Noodle Kugel
12 ounce bag medium egg noodles
1 stick unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
16 ounces cottage cheese
8 ounces sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
15 ounce can sliced peaches in juice, drained
TOPPING:
1 cup cornflake crumbs
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 13 x9 (3-quart) glass casserole and set aside.
Cook noodles according to package directions for 8 minutes or until soft. Drain in a colander but do not rinse. Place in a large mixing bowl.
While noodles are cooking, place the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a processor workbowl and pulse on and off until there are no big chunks of butter.
Add the cottage cheese, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs and process until mixture is smooth. You might want to stop once and scrape down the sides of the work bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the drained peaches to the workbowl; pulse on and off 10 times to chop peaches. Add mixture to the noodles and stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
To make the topping, melt the butter in a small glass dish in the microwave oven. Combine the topping ingredients in a 1 quart bowl and mix in the melted butter. Set aside.
After 30 minutes carefully remove the kugel from the oven, spread cornflake topping over the top and return to the oven for 10 more minutes or until topping is golden.
Serves 12 or more
With love,
Viv