A Working Mom’s Trick for Unwinding
at Home (Yes, It Involves a Cocktail)
In partnership with our friends at Ketel One Botanical
Sylvana Ward Durrett has a passion for getting things done. The cofounder of Maisonette—an impeccable online children’s boutique—and mother of three juggles the myriad demands of business and life, and she does it all with grace and humility. Ward Durrett credits her strong work ethic to the fourteen years she spent at Vogue, where she became director of special projects, a role that put her in charge of planning the Met Gala.
BROCK COLLECTION DRESS, goop, $1,403; WARD-DURRETT’S OWN JEWELRY
A good cocktail marks the transition from work to home, says Ward Durrett. Once she’s off the clock, it’s time to cook, listen to music, and be “together as a family, hanging out and communing over food and drink,” she says.
Today, Ward Durrett’s learned skill set of “being resourceful, figuring it out, and doing the best you can” propels her entrepreneurial work. Her tenets are absolute: Don’t give up. And perhaps even more important: Let go of feeling guilty. That goes for career, partnership, play, motherhood. “What has revealed itself, the more I’m doing what I’m doing,” she says, “is that you have to give yourself the freedom to not feel guilty.”
Of course, this is easier said than done, which is why Ward Durrett leans on her husband and those she trusts. “The first thing I always say is that I don’t do it alone,” she says. And she’s diligent about leaving work by 5 so that she can unwind at home and spend time with her family. She loves to punctuate the end of the workday with a cocktail. Her current favorites lean into her mood and the season: a crisp grapefruit ginger spritz, a refreshing botanical 75, and a cozy peach toddy. Each one perfectly complements her go-to fig and goat cheese crostini appetizer.
It’s a pause that Ward Durrett says allows her to be present and enjoy her time with her children and husband—and to recharge for the packed workday ahead.
It’s a pause that Ward Durrett says allows her to be present and enjoy her time with her children and husband—and to recharge for the packed workday ahead.
“I’m a big fan of anything grapefruit. And I love the light nature of this drink.”
“I’m a big fan of anything grapefruit. And I love the light nature of this drink.”
