COCKTAILS & CONVERSATION WITH BETHENNY FRANKEL

Big City Moms and Parenting Magazine hosted a little soiree at Moomah Cafe on Monday to toast Bethenny Frankel and her adorable daughter Bryn, who grace the cover of the November issue of Parenting:

I interviewed Bethenny at a spa event earlier this year and was excited to see her again for Skinny Girl cocktails.  She was polite and punchy, mingling with guests and posing for pictures.  Her camera crew from “Bethenny Every After” captured every detail so maybe we’ll make it into one of the episodes next season. In the meantime, here’s a transcript I did of some of the Q&A:

I heard you’re raising Bryn a vegetarian. Do people give you flack for that?
I feel like I’ve gotten a little flack for that. The reason is, I have eaten more of a vegetarian diet. That’s when I feel better. And for some reason, when you have a baby they’re so pure and they’re so healthy…she eats lentils, she eats brown rice, she eats Indian food. It takes effort to get them to try things and mix other things but I just felt weird about cooking an animal. I don’t know why…all the hormones. If she’s at school and she wants to eat something, she’s going to eat it and I’m not going to be picky about it. But right now we’re home and it’s our environment and she does eat everything else and she weighs what she’s supposed to weigh, I like it. She’s so healthy and that would be the ideal thing for me too. I’m like 80% but if I’m at a restaurant I’ll have a bite of steak if I really want it. That’s the thing, everyone wants to be so extreme and make these rules about it and call someone out, ‘Wait a minute, you just had a bite of steak!’ I don’t know what I am. I don’t know what she is. All we’re doing is the best we can to make her as healthy as possible. We eat organic at home. I buy that. But when we’re in a restaurant she eats what’s in front of her. You just do the best you can. That’s my way. Just try and add balance.

What’s your favorite skinny girl drink?
My new favorite is the white cosmo. I really like it. They’re my babies. You have one at a time. You favor them then the next one. When White Sangria came out I said, ‘Oh my God.’ They’re all good. They’re kind of like vintage bags. Margarita is like a vintage bag. You pull it out and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh this is great! I haven’t worn this in a while.’ They keep coming. The next one will be March.

Any hint on what it is?
It’s tropical. It’s like a vacation.

Any plans for expanding your family? (yes, someone actually asked this)
I think so. If you asked me 6 months ago I would’ve said, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m leaning towards it, I’m thinking maybe.  Not going on some crazy campaign and doing headstands. Goal: have sex more, which we’ve been doing lately and if you get pregnant , you get pregnant. I’m turning 41 in about a week or so…You have to get me on a good day.

Do you think you want to go for a girl again?
Yeah.  Little girls are the best.  I just like the girlyness of it.  [Bryn] plays make-up and jewelry and I just love that she’s so girly. I love it, she loves it.

What do you find most surprising about being a mom now that you’ve been a mom for awhile?
I didn’t have a minute because of my work and because my office was inside my house but [with motherhood] you really don’t have a minute. And the weirdest thing…my husband was away with the baby and the dog for one night and it was like, you felt like you had aftershocks from Vietnam or something. You’re just not as relaxed, ever. There is no time that you’re ever relaxed. When I was single and didn’t have a baby, I would just hang out.  On a Sunday, I would look at old pictures with a glass of wine, turn on music and dance in my room by myself, which I did. It’s odd to not ever have a moment where you’re not thinking about someone else.

Are you friends with any of the Housewives?
I’ve seen Sonya from time to time. I actually called Alex last week just to touch base. I wouldn’t say we’re good friends. I don’t think to connect with them that often but there’s a mutual respect going. It was a different time, a different place. I’m grateful for it.

What’s your favorite part about raising a child in New York City?
That we don’t always have to drive a car. I like the fact that you just take a stroller and walk to a restaurant for lunch and you have a shopping cart too. I like that the park is nearby and I can take her to restaurants. Every day’s an adventure when you walk out the door in Manhattan. There’s a lot of variety.

Do you have a favorite activity?
Major dance parties. She loves to sing. I get in the bath with her. I had one person Tweet me that’s weird but I take a bath with her every night and I love it. She looks forward to it and it’s sweet.

What’s your favorite baby product?
Pampers Baby Wipes (note: Bethenny is a Pampers spokesperson).

Does Bryn take any classes?
She’s not enrolled but we went to some Citibabes classes when she was younger. We come here (Moomah Café) but we haven’t actually taken a class yet. We also just went to the new Children’s Museum that just opened.

Glamamom: You recently said something to the effect of, “money is irrelevant” to you. But for better or for worse, your daughter is going to grow up very differently than you yourself did. How do you plan to keep her grounded in a “Hollywood” environment?
We won’t do the show probably for much longer because in the next 6 months to a year she’ll be aware of what’s going on. We make decisions we wouldn’t necessarily make it we didn’t have Bryn. We’re pretty down to Earth. Jason comes from a really humble upbringing and we’re both pretty frugal and sensible. She’ll get to experience so many incredible things that a lot of people will never get to experience. She’ll get to experience charity and giving back and seeing what it means to be fortunate and how to help other people. I think we’re good parents. We’re attentive and we spend so much time with her. We just do the best we can but we’re aware of it. I don’t get bothered that much. I get bothered by things written about me but people aren’t chasing after us like we’re Brangelina. The people who are constantly getting photographed, want it. You just don’t go to certain places. We know on the weekends where to go and where not to if we don’t want to be followed by photographers. It’s definitely going to be a challenge though.

4/10/12 UPDATE: The event was featured on last night’s episode of “Bethenny Ever After” and I have a petite cameo!  Here’s the only frame where I’m NOT shoveling chips and guac into my mouth:

{I was not compensated for this post. I received a gift bag for attending the event.}