Back in 2006 when the “Real Housewives of Orange County” was gaining popularity, one of my co-workers and I would joke around and say that they should include one for the San Fernando Valley. We envisioned ourselves traipsing around Ventura Blvd, going on shopping sprees, spas, and maybe having a mimosa or two at 10 a.m.—because you know it’s 5 p.m. somewhere—with not a care in the world. Of course, work always found a way to interrupt our daydreams.

Fast forward to 2020 and I stumble across a blog called, Real Mom of SFV.  The title alone caught my attention.  Being a mom and a San Fernando Valley local, I was curious to see what a website, inspired by the reality tv show, would be like.  Let me tell you, I am so happy I did!

Meet Jen Miyagishima, valley girl at heart and the editor of the Real Mom of SFV.  On her website, she shares her adventures as a mom and a wife as well as her passion for fitness, food, and anything and everything pop culture.  And, yes, the name was really inspired by one her guilty pleasures: The Real Housewives series.

With a professional background in Marketing as a content writer and a social media freelancer as well as experience in working at a variety of industries—from entertainment to the toy industry, Jen’s professional skills made for a sensible transition into writing her own blog.

“In 2013, I thought, ‘let me just start this blog and talk about my passions’. I was just really looking at it as a creative outlet. I had done some freelancing as a social media freelancer for a company that had me writing their blogs or posting blogs for their different clients. So, I could do this but let me just do it as a hobby. After one year, I started getting serious about it; changed the branding and the look of the website, hired a graphic designer and started to join different blogging groups,”. Jen talks about the beginnings of Real Mom of SFV.

She started going to various blogging conferences, where they discuss tips on how to increase your SEO, and improve your website analytics.

“It’s through those groups that I got involved with some PR firms who started to pitch me things like:  you can get invited to this movie screening, and then write about it and you get free things or free tickets, then it evolved into restaurant reviews and that sort of thing.  It (the blog) is not a hundred percent specific to the San Fernando Valley but if it takes me out to Marina del Rey, Pasadena, or even on the Westside.   I’ll write about events and things because it’s easy access for a lot of the valley people.  They can just hop on over.”

Apart from writing about food, pop culture, reviews, she also writes about female entrepreneurs from the San Fernando Valley in a section called Real Moms Of The SFV.  

“I love to feature ‘mom-prenuers’.  That’s the phrase that someone coined.  And, I’ve featured a few female entrepreneurs that were not mothers but what I always say is that their business is their baby.  And that’s how they get to be in that little segment of the blog.  I really like to feature those female entrepreneurs because I feel like they have really good advice on how to start a business.  Although, a common thread among the interviews is that mom guilt; how do I balance family and things like that.”

In the future, Jen looks forward to doing more collaborations as well as having more interviews lined up.  She loves the idea of promoting community, local events, and small businesses and possibly integrating that into future posts.

And some advice for moms (or anyone) interested in starting a blog of their own:  “I would recommend attending a blogging conference, like BlogHer or Mom 2.0. You’ll get to attend sessions to learn industry tips and tricks, meet other bloggers and network with brands. I’ve attended quite a few over the years and met some wonderful people who have given me valuable advice.”

Visit her website and subscribe to read about her latest adventures. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @realmomofsfv.