NEW KDHamptons Diary: Sagaponack Supermom Tracey Frost!
This week, KDH chatted with Sagaponack resident Tracey Frost Rensky, an Australian transplant who moved to the states eighteen years ago to work in Commodity Derivatives. She shares, “I am the very lucky mother of two little girls, Natasha who just turned 8, and Chloe who is 5 going on 15! I am married to Filip Rensky, a born and bred New Yorker with a Euro twist.” Tracey is also the founder of Citibabes, which is a great resource for families and kids who love to be active. Learn lots more in Tracey’s KDHamtpons Diary below:
KDHamptons: How long have you been coming to the Hamptons? Why do you love it so much?
Tracey: I have been coming to the Hamptons for 18 years- as long as I have lived in NYC…I came the first summer I moved here and have never looked back. There is absolutely no way I could have survived living in New York City if I did not come out to the Hamptons. I grew up by the ocean and lots of trees and space- I honestly believe the Hamptons is good for your soul.
KDHamptons: Please describe Citibabes in your words for our readers?
Tracey: Citibabes first and foremost is a community. We have a 10,000 square foot club in the middle of Soho that hosts two children’s play spaces, a farm to table café, an adult gym/adult exercise classes and 6 classrooms that run every children’s enrichment class you can think of. We also have our highly acclaimed preschool program – CitiSchool – for ages 18months to 4 years. We will launch an early CitiSchool program later this year for the 12-18month age group. Citibabes probably has the most successful Birthday party coordinator in the city- creating a la carte birthday parties for children of all ages. We are not just limited to the club- as we run a comprehensive Citibabes to Go Program all over the city, which is what we run in the Hamptons- this will be our third year out in the Hamptons.
Citibabes is a huge resource for parents and a leader in programming and fun for families. We have an extremely popular blog, CitiScoop, which keeps our readers up to date with information relevant to parenting, health, fashion and more. Our Citibabes-to-Go platform runs events in parks, classes in people’s homes and parties in backyards. Most recently we have begun designing playspaces in NYC apartment buildings – we will have 4 by the middle of this year and more on the horizon. We are currently looking to open another location in Tribeca – predominantly offering our CitiSchool Program in 2014. We have a lot going on at Citibabes- there is literally never a dull moment.
KDHamptons: What inspired you to create the company, and what has been the highlight of your success thus far?
Tracey: My inspiration was to really build a wonderful community. I was a Mom raising my children thousands of miles away from my traditional support network- so I wanted to create somewhere where you that was safe and clean and a place that almost felt like a second home. A place that spoke to both the adult and the child and where the entire family would feel welcome. Somewhere where you could feel 100% safe and assured that your children were getting the best care – whether in our amazing preschool CitiSchool program, at a birthday party or in the classroom. A high end offering for you and your family with a warm and welcoming community. At the time we started Citibabes – there was literally nothing like what we were doing- I still think we are the best offering out there as far as the quality of our educational and event programming- no one even comes close. And everyone who walks through the doors of Citibabes is treated like family – like community.
KDHamptons: What are your favorite Citibabes in the Hamptons classes/offerings? Was there a highlight last summer to share?
Tracey: Wow there are so many. This year we are not only offering our Citibabes to Go enrichment class programs, we expanding on our Citibabes to Go birthday party platform – it is so fun to be able to have a Citibabes party at your home or on the beach. This year we are excited to launch our Citibabes To Go fitness platform where our very experienced trainers will come out East. We already have a group of Citibabes Moms signed up to do a weekly Yoga class out East – very exciting!
So as far as my favorite class my kids and I love CitiScience as it is able to incorporate and learn about their surroundings- the kids get such a wonderful experience out of it and learn so much about what is all around us. And the Citischefs is always a hit in our family- where we can cook up something fun together!
However, my absolute favorite event of the year is our Citibabes Hamptons Family Day and Trunk Show. This will be the 8th year I have hosted this event at my house. It is a very small and intimate event for the whole family- Planned after summer camps end in the Hamptons, children enjoy a day of music, sports, arts and crafts, face painting and more. Parents enjoy cocktails, light fare, spa treatments and can shop from a variety of retailers in all categories. This year it is on August 28th RSVP and you can RSVP to soho@citibabes.com
KDHamptons: Describe your perfect Hamptons day in detail?
Tracey: So my perfect day would have me waking up early from a great night’s sleep and I would sneak out before anyone wakes up for a long run around Sagaponack- and then I would have enough time to grab the papers and croissants from Pierre’s before anyone in the house was even awake. I would prepare breakfast of eggs bacon and croissants. Then we would all have a lazy morning reading the paper in the shade listing to my favorite Pandora Station of Bon Iver and then we would all head down to Gibson Beach for a couple of hours…..including a long swim and body surf with my husband. Then back home for lunch of fresh bread, Quinoa and avocado salad, or we pop in to Loaves and Fishes for the Seared Tuna and fried chicken. Late afternoon bike ride with my girls around Sagaponack, finished with a family paddle board by sunset on Sagg Pond is perfection. At night, we put the girls to bed and head to Montauk to the Crows Nest with some great friends…..Argghhh perfect!
KDHamptons: What is your little secret about the Hamptons?
Tracey: Gibson Beach- although it’s not that much of a secret anymore but I loved walking down there very early in the morning- kind of a morning mediation with my dog…and then go for a morning swim. There are only a few early morning swimmers at Gibson – but it is honestly divine there in the morning. A perfect way to start the day.
KDHamptons: What is your favorite Hamptons restaurant, got a favorite dish & drink you get every time?
Tracey: Honestly – this is impossible for me to choose. I love Tutto Il Giorno in Sag Harbor- I love that it is small so it simply cannot get too crowded- I love the Burrata there and the Tuna Tatare- I also love to go to Pierre’s for lunch- we are almost there every weekend in the off season. Last summer, our favorite new family restaurant after a day at the beach with friends was actually Banzai Burger in Amagansett- I pretty much only eat Fish and there was a fantastic selection of Sushi and burgers and my favorite the Fish Taco’s. They happened to also carry my husband’s beer from College PBR- which made him very happy and they also made fantastic margaritas…my kids loved the Aussie style Fish-n-chips.
Of course do not get me started in Montauk… it reminds me so much of Australia in it cool, modern outdoor dining scene….there are so many great restaurants up there – that is really our go to place for a dinner out with friends during the summer…
KDHamptons: Please describe your Hamptons home and decorating style?
Tracey: So I know I already said that I am Australian, but I am not sure I mentioned that our home is actually called Bondi North- a homage to our favorite beach in Sydney and where my father was a Surf Life Saver many years ago. So there is a lot about my home that from the outside is a classic Sagaponack barn style house but from the inside would remind house in Sydney, Australia. Two of our art pieces are actually Aboriginal art and the largest artwork we have in the house is a 9ft by 6 ft painting that my brother did of Bondi Beach. The rest of the house could be described as Beach Chic- lots of white with a slight Indonesian influence with pops of color throughout the house.
KDHamptons: Do you like to entertain at home? Who cooks? What’s your “go-to” dinner plan?
Tracey: We love love love to entertain in Sagaponack.. and yet we hardly do at all in the city. I think it is because it is just a perfect entertaining house. We really share the load- my husband grills and often make the marinade and I do everything else. Since my husband and I have different food tastes- I do not eat meat and he loves to eat a good steak- we always have a couple of protein options. We love to BBQ shrimp- no surprise there- we marinate them in spicy sesame oil with some basil and then serve them with guacamole- this is always a great starter.
Then we will have a great steak for the BBQ- my husband Fil loves to obsess over the perfect marinade and cook it on the BBQ- often we will cook the Fish in the oven- usually a sea bass and we marinate it wine ginger and coriander. I always buy local, and I peel veggies and then boil them for 15-20 mins and then roast them on a very high temperature until they are crispy golden brown- I always have an arugula salad with lots of avocado, pine nuts, cucumber grape tomatoes and olive oil. Then we always, always, have an Aussie Pavlova for desert covered with berries and sweetened whip cream.
KDHamptons: If you could invite three people to your Hamptons home for dinner [dead or alive], whom would you choose?
Tracey: When I tell you that I have spent every day thinking about this question since you sent the email last week… to explain my choices I am extremely interested in politics- not only American but international. So the first two were easy.. I am so enamored and obsessed with the Dalai Lama- my babysitter who has worked with me for 8 years is Tibetan- so she has taught me so much about him. I continue to read many of his books and I find him so incredibly wise and he has the ability to stand above the fray better than any politician or religious leader.. I love his book- beyond Religion- a fantastic read…
Next it would be Michael Bloomberg- I kind of love him for similar reason to above- but find him fascinating and I love the way he is so passionate about what he believes in and he really does not have to pander to anyone…
Then a woman.. I have to go with Hilary Clinton- As I believe she will probably end up being the first female president…pretty cool!
I also want to invite two more: Rachel Maddow- she is so incredibly knowledgeable about so many things and Jon Stewart – because he too is incredibly smart, and also ridiculously funny! I know it would be a politically charged dinner- but I would love that…
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*Family photos by Bentley Waters, website: www.bentleywaters.com