The founder and CEO of Vie Luxe candles, wearing Tory’s Kamilla jacket, shares some life lessons passed on from her very own Gubelmom.

My mother is…

The most down-to-earth fun person on the planet. She is just as comfortable eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while camping as she is eating with the Queen of England.

We call her Gubelmom because…

Christian Leone gave her that name. He called me La Gubelmann and my mom Gubelmom. Everyone calls her that now. She has a sign outside her house with it.

When I was younger, her advice about boys was…

A man is for better or worse, but not for lunch.

And when I had my son, her motherhood advice was…

Get help or you’ll look like the help.

When throwing a dinner party, she always said…

Have delicious — not fancy — food and think about your seating carefully.

When it came to fashion, she always said…

Stand up straight, hold your stomach in and wear a collared shirt, always.

And her beauty advice…

Moisturize every night.

I would describe my style as…

Young/old-lady conservative.

And her style as…

Tunic top-and-pants queen.

Growing up, my favorite holiday was…

Christmas

My mother always…

Had the Christmas tunes blasting for weeks. We lived in England, ate Quality Street chocolates and made clove oranges. Mom made brandy butter, Christmas pudding, eggnog and roast beef. We had colored lights on our Christmas tree and ornaments we collected for years, which told a story of what we were up to. And we always had friends and family over.

Our perfect day together is spent…

Lying in bed, laughing and telling silly stories.

My favorite thing about my mother is…

Her sense of humor, amazing advice and her will to be her own person.

Photographed by Mimi Ritzen Crawford

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