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The Modern Day Wife hosts What She Said Miami, Florida Style

Arrival captured! Notice the long, straight blonde hair here because it switches up later.

Story, photos by Jeni Paradiso

Arriving at the Icon Brickell condos – one of the most revered residential addresses in Miami, Florida with luxury finishes and world-class amenities – again after having been a teacher for a belly dance class, this was sheer pleasure to attend the What She Said Miami event hosted by The Modern Day Wife. What She Said is a movement across the United States to empower and inform women to elevate their lives, families and businesses. Not only for wives, it’s for all women to uplift each other and we’re all about that at Explore! Publisher Cassie Hepler has attended, helped promote and runway model for Yoga Democracy in the What She Said W Scottsdale event many times in Arizona. But back to Miami!

Greeted by the “iconic” (yes, I know, I am punny) luxe bronzed statuesque pillars at the hotel’s entrance, I began my ascent to the floor for the event. Immediately after the elevator doors parted, energetic DJ sounds bounced around me as I obtained my VIP ticket for the event. I then aptly posed for a photo, thanks to the offer from a kind attendee, before being led to the event space, through another DJ experience and into the great room. This was the room for the pre-party and was stuffed full of vendors toting anti-aging solutions, hair care, photo booths and the like. I was ready to explore!

She understood the assignment!
Beautiful color palette!

I came donned in the cleverly kitsch Pantone color palette suggestion enclosed in the emails prior from Meagan Elie, Founder & Meghan Fialko, Co-Founder, but I had no idea how serious these gals in Miami took fashion selections. Most were clad in gorgeous silks, satins and sparkly stilettos in brights to light the room. However, I was on a mission to see what this event was about and what could be learned from some spectacular women.

The hustle and bustle began!
Sweet heart shade try on at Tommasina eyewear.

My first stop during the pre-party was to try on very cool shades by Tommasina then try to see what interesting products and services each booth was offering. While I was awaiting my appointment with Divi Hair, I posed for photos, received a great organizational mini bag to keep in my purse. Personalized and stylish, I now have a much needed lint roller as a cat mom, compact hair brush and other necessities in my bag at all times.

Getting organized always feels good.

In my quest for the “curated food experiences” listed in the timeline, after being unable to find so much as a cracker, I was shown to the restaurant by an event employee. I thought her to be mistaken and mentioned that I was looking for the food portion of the event. With my unprepared belly rumbling and the employee being confused as to which food selection I was speaking about, I ended up deciding to sit down after a few hours to rest my heeled feet and contemplate a move to find sustenance. It was there that I met a lovely woman, who was also sitting in the area and also on a quest for culinary delights. We bonded over the thought that someone ought to have some insight regarding how to find snacks to keep momentum going for the main portion of the event. However, this led to us having a great chat about the power of being a woman.

My impromptu crew! You will always walk away with some new friends at What She Said.

Her co-worker came over, then a beautiful woman dressed in funky orange monochrome leisure fashion, which became our new group. It turned the newest addition to our group is a reality TV star who would also be speaking at our event. She was incredibly humble, opposite of her villain role they scripted for her during the show and she also has become a powerful business woman in her own right. Her husband was supportive and happily took photos of us. This was a wonderful meeting of amazing women I had the fortune of meeting, all stimulated by a search for culinary explorations.

I finally found some food! Some women like to eat and at Explore, we encourage healthy eating habits and mindsets.

After our hangout, and submitting to the restaurant being the only manner of obtaining sustenance for the evening if I did not want to miss important elements of the event, I stumbled over to dine on a salad and an appetizer. This quick meal cost me $60 after tip (!) and offered an appetizer prepared of frozen food that they fried and added a sauce. Thank goodness this isn’t one of my foodie posts so I will leave that topic alone and speak about the main event. Sadly, I did miss the first part due to needing to eat in the middle of the 2:30 pm and 8:30 pm time frame with which this event was held.

Speakers imparting wisdom at What She Said Miami.
The view from the back, perhaps more seats next time gals?

When I was ready to join the speakers outside, there was not a seat in sight. I unwittingly stole someone’s seat which I thought was empty due to it being adorned by assuringly and mistakenly discarded chicken fingers that was all the way in the back. Therefore between my unfortunate placement in the back and next to a girl on a full loud volume never ending Facetime call, I heard next to nothing. Although I was able to briefly listen to our new friend, Roxanne Kaiser, speak about owning a business and maintaining her girl-boss success.

About to get a new do with Divi Hair!

My wait for the Divi Hair station was over, so I moseyed back to the great room to get styled. However, someone had jumped in before me and in order to make up for the organizer’s embarrassment, she gifted me huge full sized shampoo and conditioner bottles for my troubles. Excited to get my normally very straight hair in fancy mermaid waves, I hung out and revisited more stations that I had not been able to visit. Sadly, one of the stands boasted an anti-aging skin care apparatus, which I was very curious to learn more about but the representative had seemingly discounted me from interest as her clientele and was more interested in gaining another on-looker’s attention. She was visibly gorgeous but not someone from whom I would trust to purchase products due to her seemingly elitist attitude.

Lovely reps from Divi Hair treated me well!

In extreme contrast, I had a lovely conversation back at Divi and I learned about the brand and how it was created by Dani Austin from Dallas with the intention of scalp care inspired from her own hair loss journey. During my hair fixing up, I got to know my lovely stylist who not only made my hair spiral into mermaid waves but with whom I also exchanged information in order for her to come to my belly dance classes. These are the moments that I really appreciate during networking around women. We all share our abilities and talents reciprocally and that understanding of each other’s power stimulates our own work and inspires us to keep connecting and sharing.

Fashion show ready with mermaid hair!

With bouncing locks, I made my way back outside to the event just in time for the fashion show. One of the women from our original group invited me to take her seat at the front to prepare for the fashion show. This must have been kismet because unfortunately after I had tried speaking to one of the event employees again about how I had a press pass and wanted to make certain to obtain appropriate footage for this post, the employee had zero idea how to fix this problem. However, thanks to networking, I was saved with a seat in the front thanks to the early departure of our new friend!

The view for the show wasn’t too shabby of Miami!

I anxiously awaited the fashion show, which turned out to be a highlight of the event. The models ranged in sizes, shapes, ethnicities and ages. It was inclusive and allowed space for influencers to highlight the many designs. The fashion show coordinator herself should have been an art piece. This absolutely stunning woman was enveloped in a billowy bright turquoise shimmering gauze like jumpsuit with turquoise stilettos featuring matching marabou feathers. She was luminous and did a great job choreographing the show.

Look at this stunner!

Sadly, the singer was not audible from where I was sitting. However, I did get to enjoy creative athletic wear, swimwear and sunglass collections, strutting down the runway with all models owning their looks. One of the women from my group was a part of a talent agency who had booked several models. She let me know whom and I helped by cheering them on while mentioning which fits I would absolutely die for.

Beauty in bloom was a crowd favorite!
Sassy siren was so much fun!

By the end of the fashion show, it was time to collect our swag bags. This was one of the most brag-worthy swags I have ever received at an event! I won’t mention every single item in the article, but instead share the stand outs. However, I will be uploading the complete collection via TikTok of my unboxing of all the goods we received and tag the event if you would like to view.


The most exciting swag was a full size YSL Loveshine Lip Oil Stick. I immediately went to Sephora to try to find it to purchase when mine is empty. It delivers perfect sheer coverage and intense moisture with a lovely blushed tint added to my lips. Alongside the lip product, I also received YSL mascara and a purse size perfume in the scent Libre, which is a wonderful addition to my perfume collection.

In addition to the make-up, also included in the cosmetics category, was a primer and blush from Pixi. Included with our swag were supplements, energy drinks, protein bars and shakes, probiotic hydration, hangover juices and health juice shots with the star being the Bye Bye Weekend hydration packets featuring Lion’s Mane, Dandelion and Milk Thistle to name a few ingredients. Divi also included a dry shampoo and scalp serum in the swag bag, which both were lovely and work very well on my hair. The Stratia Night Shift Retinol cream is also something I have been using once or twice in the evening instead of my normal castor oil routine and I wake to smoother skin. This luxurious cream is another product I wish to purchase in the near future. The curation of the swag was definitely geared toward health and beauty conscious women in a modern world.

The What She Said Miami event did deliver informative and thought provoking solutions to concerns of the modern day woman and a chance to sample products in line with trends and talking points to how modern day women move through their worlds as bosses, entrepreneurs and fashionistas. I hope to attend next year, with food vendors, to hear more lady bosses share how to create a busy life into a good one!