Welcome Home

In this first episode, Stephanie opens the door and invites listeners into her world — her story, her experiences, and the moments that shaped who she is today. This warm introduction gives listeners a true sense of her voice, her heart, and the perspective she brings to the microphone.

You’ll learn what lights her up, the places she finds meaning, the themes that weave through her life, and the lens through which she sees joy, growth, challenges, and everyday moments. It’s a personal, engaging backstory designed to help you get to know the woman behind the podcast before the journey truly begins.

This episode lays the foundation. The “why now” comes next — but for today, it’s simply… welcome home.

Champagne Smiles & Magical Miles is a podcast about living with grace, choosing joy, and celebrating the moments — big and small — that make life meaningful.

Hosted by Stephanie Parks, each episode blends mindset, self-care, family traditions, and everyday intention with a touch of Disney magic and real-life reflection. From the words we use and the habits we build to the kindness we extend to ourselves and others, this podcast is an invitation to slow down, show up, and live on purpose.

You’ll hear favorite segments like Words Matter, Magical Miles, Sparkle & Glow Up, and Sip of the Week — each designed to inspire, encourage, and help you leave every episode with simple, practical takeaways you can easily implement in daily life.

Whether you’re in a season of growth, rest, or celebration, this space is for you.

Because every mile matters, every word counts, and life is meant to be lived with grace, joy, and a whole lot of celebrating. ✨🥂

🎙️ New episodes weekly. Follow along and join the celebration.

Transcript

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Let's start this episode with a goal. Let's make your day better than it was five minutes ago. This is the podcast for anyone who believes that life is better with adventure, with joy, and with confidence. And maybe a little champagne. If that's you, welcome home. Whether you're a Disney adult, a runner, a busy parent, a dream chaser, or just someone who wants to have fun and a little more joy, you're in the right place. Welcome to Champagne Smiles and Magical Miles. I'm your host, Stephanie Parks, and every week we are choosing joy on purpose. We're talking confidence, wellness, beauty, friendship, real life challenges, and all the moments that make life meaningful and magical. Settle in and let's make today brighter. Since this is our first episode, I'd like to share a little bit of my story with you. Not the resume version you can find online, but the version that explains why this podcast even exists. And I'll be honest, a little tough putting it all out there. I grew up moving from Dallas to a small town when I was in the fourth grade. And that transition was huge for me. Talk about a core memory. Everyone already knew everyone. There were deep roots, long histories, and I walked in as a new city girl trying to figure out where I fit in. This was in the 80s, keep in mind. And people weren't unkind, they were just different than me. And sometimes I felt like I was a step outside the circle. Over time I became strong, independent, and very self-sufficient. These are amazing qualities that I call grit, and they've made me who I am. But they also made it difficult to trust relationships, especially female relationships. Not because I didn't want to, but because I learned it early on to protect myself. We can talk about that later and unpack it. But then there's the other side of me who's driven, competitive, perfectionist, the part of me that tries to be everything to everyone and check every box. I want to excel at work, I want to excel at home, I want to be the best mom. I want to be the best wife and best friend and all the things. And what I've learned is imperfection is perfection. And it's okay to give myself some grace. Checking all those boxes don't make you whole. It doesn't make you who you are. And you're stronger with softness and with allowing yourself to be human, allowing yourself to not check all the boxes. That's why this podcast exists because I've learned, if anything, that joy, rest, grace, confidence, and connection to humans are not luxuries. They're requirements and their lifelines in this life. So let's talk about raising kind kids. I believe deeply in supporting each other and not tearing each other down. And quite honestly, life is better when we cheer each other on and when we check on each other and we show up for each other. That's what I want to model for my daughters, and I probably feel miserably at that most of the time. But kindness, courage, confidence, the strength to stand up for their friends makes me a proud mom. Teaching them not to be bullies, not to exclude, but to include. To say, hey girl, come sit with me. Come sit with us, sit at our table, hang out with us. But you know what? It starts with the adults in their lives. How we speak about each other, how we treat ourselves and others, and how willing we are to let people in. So what can you expect from this podcast? Well, you're gonna hear pieces of my running story, sprinkles of Disney, because it's part of my life. I do have two daughters that work there, and I did raise little humans who love working for the mouse. But mostly this podcast is not about running or Disney or about me. It's about you. It's about growing your confidence and your joy and your grit, healing, acceptance, growth, friendships, beauty, ambition, heart. It's a safe place, a joyful place, a supportive place, a real place. I hope it's a place where you don't have to feel perfect to feel welcome. So what are your takeaways and why are you here? Before we get into our recurring segments, here's a few things I want you to carry with you this week. One, you don't have to be, you don't have to earn rest. You need it. You're a better person if you have rest and you take care of yourself. Your to-do list will never be finished. And joy can't wait. You're allowed to take up whatever amount of space you need to at the time. I think that's important to understand. Progress counts even when it's tiny, adds up, and tiny is mighty. And we rise higher when we rise together. So each week, um, you're gonna hear some recurring segments that I hope you enjoy, and we'll refine these as we go. Um, we'll talk about a tiny joy we're celebrating. We call that the sip of the week. A magical moment, something meaningful to take away from the week. And I'm hoping you guys share with me so it's not just all about what Stephanie in the parks did. I want to hear your stories and I want you to share them with me. Words that matter, which is we're about to do the first one, your intentional word for the week. I think that's super fun. I think it's fun working it in, and when you nail it, you're like, yes, I did it. I worked that in and I meant it, and I did it intentionally. Confidence corner, a weekly pep talk. I wasn't a little cheerleader. I love a good pep talk. Beauty and Globe breakdown, maybe some beauty, wellness, longevity favorites, bubbles and breakthroughs, a challenge, maybe something we can learn from it. A joy list, what's bringing you joy, what's bringing me joy? Maybe something about travel. It'll become the rhythm of the show. Supportive, joyful, grounding, something you know to expect. So, what's the words that matter for the first episode? Each week we'll have a segment called Words That Matter: a single intentional word to guide you through your week. And this week the word is grace. It's quiet permission you give yourself to be human, to release perfection, soften your expectations, honor where you are at the time without guilt. Grace is strength expressed gently. I have to practice this intentionally, mindfully, every day. Give grace to others and practice grace for yourself. So this week, work grace into your life and at some point work it into your conversations you're having with others. Let one thing stay undone, that's your challenge for the week, and refuse to feel guilty about it. So you're pep talk for the week, and I would love for you to write it down, repeat it to yourself. You do not have to be perfect to be worthy. You don't have to check every box to be successful. You do not have to carry everything alone to be strong. You are doing better than you think. You are allowed to grow slowly, tiny is mighty, and you're allowed to choose joy even when things get messy. Well, that's it for this very first episode of Champagne Smiles and Magical Miles. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thank you so much for joining me. Your support means everything. I hope you gained a little confidence, a little joy, a little pep in your step, and something you can carry with you into your week. Next week, you're diving into my running journey and how I went from I could never do that to becoming a three-time dopey finisher. If you don't know what dopey is, you're gonna find out next week and why running changed so much more than just my fitness. Make sure you're following me on Instagram and TikTok at Stephanie in the Park so you don't miss anything. The behind the scenes updates and lots of magic. All right, I've got to go. It's Matty Joe time. Love ya, hugs, kisses, cheers. I'll see you next time.