You Can Start Over Again (And Again)

What do you do when life keeps falling apart before you can even catch your breath?

In this episode, I share the real, raw truth of starting over — not once, but multiple times — through wildfires, heartbreak, creative shifts, and misjudgments that weren’t mine to carry.

I left Maui shortly after the devastating Lahaina fire… rebuilt my life on the road with nothing but donuts, dreams, and grit… then found a dream job cooking in this house with a beautiful vegetable garden in Malibu — only for a wildfire to claim that too.

And still… I’m here.

We talk about what it really means to begin again. How to choose your peace when others misjudge your worth. And why reinvention isn’t failure — it’s freedom.

✦ For the ones rebuilding in silence.


✦ For the strong women who won’t apologize for thriving.


✦ For the creatives who are tired… but not done.

💬 What’s something you’ve had to start over from? Share in the comments — let’s hold each other in the ashes and the bloom.

🔔 Subscribe for weekly late-night reflections, voice notes, and truth that lingers long after midnight.

#reinvention #startingover #community #boundaries #malibufire #lahainafire #resilience #madameaftermidnight #videopodcast

I’m speaking directly to anyone who’s ever been misjudged, misunderstood, or painted into someone else’s story.

Welcome to Madame After Midnight — the podcast where we talk life, loss, resilience, and the persistent pursuit of sustainable happiness.This episode is about perception — how people decide who you are before you’ve even spoken.It’s about what happens when others try to write your narrative… and how to reclaim your own pen to write your own.✨ We talk:Why people project their fears onto othersHow to protect your joy and peaceThe power of reframing and sacred rebellionTurning frustration into creation — with love, with cooking, with truthIf you’ve ever been mislabeled or boxed in by someone else’s assumptions, this episode is for you.🌀 Let them project.You? You protect — your light, your truth, your future.🎧 Listen in, breathe deep, and circle back to what matters most.And if this resonates, share it with someone else who might need a reminder of their own power. 💛🔔 Subscribe for more late-night soul talks.🗣 Drop your reflections in the comments. Let’s build something healing, together.#MadameAfterMidnight #ItsNotMeItsYou #SelfWorth #Reframing #SoulfulResistance #PodcastTherapy #LateNightTalks

Rental Rules and the Sizzle that Won't FizzleWhat happens when your passion gets banned by a lease?In this episode of Madame After Midnight, I share the raw and real story of what it felt like to have frying — yes, deep frying — banned in my own kitchen, just three months after moving in. This isn’t just about oil and donuts. It’s about creativity, identity, freedom… and what it means to work around limitations with heart and humor.You’ll hear about the tears, the pivot, and the fryer I hauled to my friend’s house — and why it turned into one of the most liberating cooking days I’ve had in a long time.🔥 This episode is for anyone feeling boxed in, creatively or otherwise. You are not stuck. You are adaptable. And your joy can’t be leased.✨ Topics covered:• How creative people survive restriction• Turning a problem into play• The emotional cost of limited freedom — and the healing in workaround joy🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE to Madame After Midnight for more conversations about life, creativity, food, and resilience.🎙️ Madame After Midnight is a podcast hosted by Madame Donut, Creator, Cook, and forever resilient Life Artist.📍Follow me on IG: @themadamedonut🍩 More from my world: www.themadamedonut.com#MadameAfterMidnight #CreativeResistance #RentalRules #DonutLife #PodcastStorytime #ResilientCreative #YouCantBanMyJoy

You don’t need more — more money, more time, more tools — to make something meaningful.

In this episode of Madame After Midnight, I’m talking about my creative process — not from a pedestal, but from the kitchen table. From scraps. From the in-between moments. From care.

This is for anyone out there trying to make something with what little they have. Whether it’s a meal, a business, a story, a video — I hope this reminds you:

✨ Perfection is a direction, not a demand.
🌿 Abundance is a mindset, not a bank account.
💪 Excellence is still possible — even when the ingredients are humble.

I’m sharing how I stay grounded in my work, why I insist on finding beauty, and what I’ve learned about failure, adaptation, and doing the most with the least — beautifully.

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⏱️ What’s inside:
• Creating with scraps (and soul)
• Why “more” isn’t the answer
• The power of micro-adjustments• Beauty vs. perfectionism• Failure as refined compost (yes, really)

🎧 Madame After Midnight is my after-hours podcast — a quiet corner for thoughtful creatives, dreamers, and doers who believe in making beautiful things, even when resources are tight.

🌀 Stay connected:
→ Instagram: @themadamedonut
→ More food + craft: @themadameslarder
→ Website: www.themadamedonut.com

💬 Comment below: What do you make when you feel like you’ve got “nothing”?

#MadameAfterMidnight #CreativeProcess #frugalfinesse #IntentionalCreativity #AbundanceMindset #ArtUnderPressure #TheMadameDonut #CreativeResilience #DoMoreWithLess

Episode 1: Reintroducing Myself

10 things you didn’t know about me — or forgot.

I’ve worn many hats — donut maker, performer, small business owner, storyteller.But these days, I’m leaning into something deeper: creative sustainability, beauty from scraps, and embracing the chaos of reinvention with grace.

In this "first" episode of Madame After Midnight, after a two-year hiatus, I’m reintroducing myself through 10 things you may not know about me.Some are funny. Some are vulnerable. All of them are real.Because before we go deeper, I want you to know where I stand — and how I got here.

🌀 New episodes every Monday night.

🔔 Subscribe and come back when the world gets quiet.✨

CONNECT on Instagram: @themadamedonut

Website: www.themadamedonut.com

💌 Leave a comment below — which one surprised you the most?

#Podcast #MadameAfterMidnight #CreativeLife #Reinvention #DonutLife #PersonalGrowth

My guest tonight is a problem solver. And he uses an artistic mindset to do so through his sculptures, jujitsu and fighting crime.

It may seem like Jacob Bonnell started some of his endeavors at a fairly later age than typical, to become a master in his chosen crafts -- whether it be his art, sports, or joining the Police Force. He is a successful Sculptor, a Blackbelt & Jujitsu Instructor, and now a Police Officer.

But before you start counting those kind of numbers, maybe all you need to know is when to jump off that ledge to start anything at any age.

Solve the problem of ensuring proper landing first, of course. 😉

Madame After Midnight Ep 33

Jake Bonnell

I couldn't come up with a great title except that I think the gist of this episode is how important family is to contentment and sustainable happiness.

Nylos is the only "Chef's Tasting Menu Only" restaurant on Maui. Spell it backwards and it's their family last name.

And yes, it is a family affair for the Solyns. Jeremy runs the back of the house and Paulina manages the front as well as raising their children and cats and dogs. I know first hand how difficult it is to run a business with your significant other, and the Solyns are no stranger to that. Yet, somehow they seem to have managed to figure it out, though at times rocky. It's a continuing process of learning and relearning how to balance it all -- the drive to succeed and keep your loved ones close to you.

I am so grateful to hear their story and our conversation was real, fun, passionate and poignant in many ways.
❤️❤️❤️

Madame After Midnight Ep 32
Jeremy and Paulina Solyn

Top Chef and CIA Alums - Chef Spike Mendelsohn and Chef Marcel Vigneron have had some real bromance going on for well over a decade.

They first met at a Bar outside of culinary school and reconnected and bonded as fellow competitors on Bravo TV's famous cooking competition show, Top Chef.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch up with them while they're on Maui. Because seriously, it was a hoot!

Watch or listen in to our conversation, highlighting some of their funniest moments in the show as well as their supportive and mutually beneficial professional relationship and deep-rooted friendship.

Madame After Midnight Ep 31
Spike Mendelsohn and Marcel Vigneron