Our latest Flock Star, Julia, is special to me, personally, as she is the daughter of my friend and fellow designer, Jackie Cohen of My Story Fine Jewelry.
1. Names: Jackie Cohen and Julia Cohen (age 6)
2. Hometown: Recently made the move from the big city to Montclair, NJ
3. Hobbies & interests: Julia loves animals. We have a house in upstate NY, and Julia loves to visit the local horses, chickens and goats from our neighbors. She also loves to take long walks, hikes and scooter rides outdoors.
4. How did you discover Pink Chicken? After Julia’s adoption, I was lucky enough to have TONS of hand me downs from my friend Jen. Thank goodness for that, because the cost of adoption was very expensive and I was thrilled to get all of them, to help me save up again. When it was Julia’s first birthday, I searched for a special outfit that felt like my style - a little boho chic, for the BIG day! I Googled boho baby clothes, and the rest they say, is history.
5. What is the brand to you? It has a special place in my heart ever since I discovered it for Julia’s first birthday - amazing quality, amazing style, and each piece has just a little something to make it a little extra. The pieces are stylish yet wearable, where kids can run around and be kids.
6. How did you feel about being our Hanukkah Flock Star? HONORED to rock the flock!
7. Any special Hanukkah traditions? PRESENTS!!! Julia loves her toys. We get together with her abuelos, cousins and extended cousins - and abuela makes Latkas (potato pancakes), and the whole family exchanges gifts. We also like to see the holiday windows at Saks.
8. What is at the top of the list this year? A Pony - but we compromised on horse back riding lessons instead.
JACKIE & JULIA'S ADOPTION STORY - as told by Jackie:
The holidays are really extra special to me and my family, because Julia was born on 11-12-13, days just before Thanksgiving 2013. It was a miracle story of serendipity and luck that we were connected, and I became a mom in JUST 8 DAYS!! From the very first phone call with the very first potential birth mom I spoke to, a solid connection was made. We talked for hours, and she didn’t mind that I was single as she was too. Everything felt so right. At the end of our conversation, she sheepishly told me, “I have one more thing to tell you.” “What?” I replied... “I am due on Thursday!” she said, afraid she was going to scare me away that she was due in only a few days! Of course, her admission filled me with excitement and joy!
Once I got the go ahead from my lawyer, a few days later I flew ✈️ to Indiana with direct instructions from my lawyer “DO NOT BRING ANY BABY CLOTHING, DO NOT BRING A CAR SEAT, DO NOT GET EXCITED, ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG!” I listened. The very pregnant woman and I spent a few days together and on my last day there, as also instructed by my lawyer, “YOU MUST HAVE A TICKET TO GO HOME!”, we stopped at a local hospital for a check up, and the doctor came in and when he gave the exam, exclaimed “There’s the baby's head!! We’re having a baby!!”
Three hours later, I helped delivered Julia...
We spent 10 days in Indiana, and I flew home just days before Thanksgiving and we spent the long weekend surrounded with so much love and gifts from everyone. It was amazing because all of the suffering I had experienced with trying to conceive disappeared once Julia was in my arms.
My nephew, just 4-years-old at the time, said to me, “How do you know if you love someone if you just met them?”- and that right there, solidified to me that my new family was born.