Melissa interviews Mandy Becker, owner of Swagger Boutique, a women’s style destination in Wake County with locations in Raleigh and Cary. Becker shares how a beloved South Georgia gift shop inspired her, how she earned an engineering degree at Georgia Tech, opened Swagger as a gift store in 2002, and expanded into clothing in 2011 after customer requests. She explains what boutique ownership is really like, including unexpected friendships and learning business without formal classes, with support from her husband. Becker breaks down how and where she shops markets (Atlanta for gifts; Dallas and Vegas for clothing), how delivery timing affects buying, and how she forecasts trends while selecting for Swagger’s broad age range. She highlights upcoming trends like butter yellow, chocolate brown, polka dots, stripes, zebra, scarves, brooches, chunky jewelry, and outerwear, plus how social media and live selling shape the business.

00:00 Meet Mandy and Swagger

02:17 Origins and Early Inspiration

03:41 Engineer to Gift Shop Owner

04:29 Pivot to Clothing Boutique

05:40 Retail Realities and Relationships

07:34 How Fashion Markets Work

10:45 Trend Forecasting and Customer Fit

16:22 Spring Summer Trend Report

18:45 Easy Closet Refresh Tips

20:07 Color Analysis and Teen Feedback

22:03 Passing Down the Boutique

22:43 Who Picks Trend Colors

24:04 Fall Outerwear Forecast

25:21 Swagger Vibe in 3 Words

26:20 Confidence and Body Positivity

27:08 Social Media and Live Shopping

32:15 Five-Year Vision for Swagger

33:37 Lightning Round Favorites

35:52 Where to Shop and Follow

37:24 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

Host Melissa interviews Frank Yarborough, creator of Frankie B’s pimento cheese, just days before the Pimento Cheese Festival in Downtown Cary Park. Frank shares how he grew up with his mother’s pimento cheese, learned the family recipe after she passed, and refined it into three flavors with a focus on traditional Southern taste, Duke’s mayonnaise, and a spreadable, dense consistency. He describes early public tastings outside his Academy Street home, the strong festival response, and moving into an inspected commercial kitchen before selling officially. Frank discusses festival sales goals, local retailers and restaurants now carrying the product, ideas for serving pimento cheese, and future plans that may expand into Southern baked goods like chocolate and lemon meringue pies.

00:00 Meet Frankie B

02:08 Family Recipe Roots

03:57 From Sharing to Flavors

04:39 Festival Buzz Takes Off

07:26 Branding and What Makes It Different

09:25 Selling Out and Scaling Up

14:33 Going Legit Commercial Kitchen

16:16 Why Cary Owns Pimento Cheese

17:11 Downtown Cary Life Changes

19:16 Fencing In Privacy

20:02 Roots in Downtown Cary

21:04 Festival Crowds and Traffic

21:36 Judging Pimento Cheese

23:00 Duke's and Family Legacy

24:17 Best Ways to Eat It

27:33 Beyond Pimento Cheese

29:22 Growing Frankie B's

32:13 Where to Buy and Ship

33:29 Wrap Up and Thanks

Storyteller and Grammy/Emmy-nominated writer-producer Maxim Langstaff discusses his decades behind the scenes with music legends including John Denver and Beatles producer George Martin, describing how his John Denver Wildlife Concert work led to a 16–17 year collaboration with Martin on a live stage/film project exploring Sgt. Pepper’s creative process. He reflects on the changing, overwhelmed modern media landscape and how artists are shaped by myth versus truth. Langstaff connects his conservation roots and time in New England wilderness to his debut novel “Sasq'et,” a cinematic, women-centered adventure using Sasquatch as a device to explore identity, nature, and unanswered questions, blending fiction with researched science and history. He shares how the book emerged nonlinearly while living in a remote Maine cabin and traveling cross-country with his dog, Kemo. “Sasq'et” releases April 7, with the audiobook as well.

00:00 Meet Maxim Langstaff

02:35 Behind the Music Legends

06:44 George Martin and Sgt. Pepper

09:57 Industry Then and Now

12:02 John Denver and Conservation

19:18 From Documentaries to Fiction

22:11 Truth Best Left Unknown

22:34 Writing Finds Its Path

23:34 A Woman’s Journey

24:13 Sasquatch as Metaphor

26:06 Belief Versus Science

28:45 Native Names and Origins

30:37 From Book to Screen

32:29 Craft of Storytelling

35:26 Release Date and Audiobook

36:46 Lightning Round Favorites

40:26 Casting and the Dog

43:23 Final Thanks and Farewell