Today we’d like to introduce you to April Lee Wiencek.
Thanks for sharing your story with us April Lee. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started cooking at a very young age. I also loved helping my mom take care of the house. My entire life’s work has always centered around food and taking care of others. I also have always worked more than one job, a career and at least one or two part-time jobs. I have so many stories from all of these jobs and people will ask me “how many jobs have you had” because it’s pretty unbelievable. But all of them have had a focus on food. I worked at Arby’s, a grocery store deli, in a daycare center where I prepared lunch for all the kids, I was a personal chef for the board of directors at a bank, at a vending machine company where I made sandwiches for the machines, countless restaurants including The Zephyr which was a Chicago classic but is now closed and Chicago Joes, the list goes on and on.
The two major career paths I have had are really what allowed me to share my passion for food. I worked for the Chicago Park District for 16 years and implemented tons of cooking programs and I also worked for Chef Art Smith’s Not For Profit, Common Threads, as the National CulinaryProgram Director. Several years ago, I wanted to work for myself, so I went to work for one family and I manage all things “domestic” with a major focus on grocery shopping and preparing their meals. They jokingly call me their “housewife” and since it’s no secret that I enjoy cocktail hour, the name The Tipsy Housewife naturally evolved. I was actually explaining to my Grandma that I was helping my boss with her Instagram account and she asked why I didn’t have one for my food pictures. I started my account then and there and it just took off! After people kept asking for my recipes I decided to start my blog and it has all grown from there.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For me, it has been a fairly smooth road. When you find your passion and you’re good at it, it’s easy. I’m not saying that it doesn’t take work, which can be exhausting, but if it’s your true passion you never get tired of working to make it great. My advice to women who are just starting their own business is to stop caring what anyone thinks and do what your heart tells you. When I told some of my family and friends I was quitting my city job, they told me I was crazy. But, I knew it wasn’t my passion and that I needed to leave to push myself in a new direction. It was scary and even more scary to know that if you failed, you would get the “I told you so’s”. The reality is you will fail many times along the way, and you’re going to hear those “ I told you so’s” no matter what. I chose to use those “I told you so’s” in my own message of “I’ll Show You”.
I hear from so many women that they were afraid to try this or say that for fear of what people would think. It’s hard, but you have to not care. Being true to yourself and your passion is key. I also think some women are so afraid to admit they are good at something and celebrate it and you need to be able to do that to be successful. Confidence is key in any successful career so don’t be afraid to share what you are good at it with others.
what should we know about The Tipsy Housewife? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in all things domestic. Cooking, cleaning, organizing, and taking care of kids (and pets). My food is my number one specialty . I’m really good at taking classic recipes and giving them a modern facelift. I pride myself at work and at home of keeping things clean and organized, keeping kids and pets busy so they are tired and happy at the end of the day and keeping everyone well fed. Food is definitely my love language and I think having a hot meal on the table every day is important to the success of any household. It gives people a reason to want to come home. Even when I was single, I made sure to have something in my crock pot for myself because it’s such a comforting feeling to know there is a hot meal waiting for you.
I like to help others by sharing tricks, tips and recipes to making their home and home life the best it can be. I believe having a well run household extends to all other areas of your life and helps people be the best they can be. As The Tipsy Housewife, I also enjoy working with brands to help share ways to use their products in the home. I work with several food brands I love and I create recipes using their products. In this area, I specialize in creating new, unique and delicious ways to use classic ingredients. I also enjoy getting out and exploring the city and Chicagoland area.
My favorite thing to do is explore new food spots either with Mr. Tipsy, the kids I help care for or my favorite “ladies who lunch”. I love a good boozy lunch date with my favorite ladies. Chicago has so much to offer food wise, and often times, on social media you see the same hot spots over and over. I love highlighting lesser known places, hole in the wall spots and neighborhood gems. I try to find places that appeal to people who are in my current season of life. Especially places that are appealing to a foodie but kid-friendly, date night spots, and liquid lunch spots for me and my friends. I love the downtown scene but it’s sometimes not my reality anymore so discovering these new spots has become a hobby of mine and my readers and followers really love it.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I 100% believe my childhood played a huge role in my success. I come from a family that wasn’t necessarily traditional but that practiced very traditional values. My parents were divorced and remarried and I grew up going between both households. Yet the same values were there. Both my parents and my stepparents made sure that we had chores to do. Cooking was always the center of our household. Thinking back, these things really gave me a sense of comfort and consistency in what could have been a very inconsistent life for a kid. I am grateful to both my parents and my stepparents for always providing a “home” for me. I would also have to say my extended family aided in this as well. Both sides of my family are 100% polish, cooking, cleanliness and the importance of family meals are non-negotiables in our culture. That definitely helped me to manage my own life as an adult and create a recipe for success as a career Woman and a homemaker. As The Tipsy Housewife, I hope that by sharing my knowledge helps others to find their own home/work/life balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: TheTipsyHousewife.org
- Email: thetipsyhousewife@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Thetipsyhousewife
- Facebook: @tipsywife
- Twitter: @tipsywife
Image Credit:
Levine-Moore Photography
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