I won the lottery the day I was born to a father who believed that girls could do anything.
Happy Father’s Day
2
Category Archives: Getting Personal
Getting Personal: Happy Birthday Mom!
How amazing is my Mom in these photos? I would kill for that hat in the top right image and many other items she wore back in the day. Born in Dublin, in a small Jewish community, she was a rule breaker from the start and eventually ran off to London to be a hairdresser during the swinging sixties. While in San Francisco on an extended holiday she met my Dad and the rest is history.
Happy Birthday to an incredible woman, mother and friend! You always were and still are the coolest Mom I know. Love you so much!
PS. I may be the social media expert, but my Mom has 988 followers on Pinterest. Check her out!
Getting Personal: 10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me
It was fun coming up with 10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me. Here goes!
1. I have 20/15 vision, which is better than 20/20, but I’m guessing that won’t last forever.
2. I love so many genres of music, but am currently in a major classic rock phase. You can usually find me working to Led Zeppelin, The Doors or Pink Floyd.
3. I have never had a cup of coffee in my life. It smells really good, but I just never had any interest (don’t worry, everyone around me is drinking enough to make up for it).
4. When I was a young girl I fell backwards off a high dive onto the concrete and ended up in the hospital (with no broken bones thankfully!)
5. My Mom is Jewish and originally from Dublin — my sister and I even have Irish passports.
6. I lived in Kuala Lumpur for three months when I was 19 and worked at a magazine. It changed my life in so many ways — all for the better!
7. I have the smallest hands of any full-sized adult woman I’ve ever encountered, but wear an 8.5 shoe.
8. Even though I interviewed 300+ celebrities in my career, my favorite Hollywood experience was sitting next to John Ritter at a charity event for three hours. We had a real moment and he was one of the nicest people I’ve met.
9. I was a state-ranked swimmer in high school for the backstroke.
10. My celebrity crush is Tony Goldwyn aka President Fitzgerald on Scandal. Amazing hair.
Getting Personal: We’re Moving!
We sold our condo in Brentwood on March 1, and a month later (after what felt like nine million open houses), we were in escrow on our very first house. We had made several other offers and even became “backups” on two awesome properties. I was so attached to a Spanish cottage with pink camellia bushes that I used to dream about it regularly. It was hard not to get emotionally involved and there have been quite a few ups and downs. During inspection day at our new home, we had a team of pros on property assessing everything from the plumbing to the massive Chinese Elm tree (yup, we now know an arborist). It felt overwhelming, like maybe this was too much responsibility.
However, now that we actually have our home, I realize that it’s a good thing we didn’t get any of the other ones because the new place is a-w-e-s-o-m-e ! Like outdoor kitchen, barbecue and sunken fire pit awesome. I’m getting my own office with a door (finally!) and we are walking distance to Sawtelle’s amazing restaurants and a lot of our favorite Pico spots (hey Freddy Smalls). We really wanted outdoor space. This is LA after all, and we pay a pretty penny to live here, and have amazing weather most of the time. Little did we know we’d be getting a massive yard with more room than we ever could need.
Everyone said it would work out, but I didn’t really believe them. I kept wondering what would happen if we found our dream place, but the timing was off and we’d have to move twice. One move I can handle. Two? Not so much. Being in escrow on our condo and the new place was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever experienced. You have no real control and realize that every house has something wrong with it, even new constructions. With the low inventory, amazing interest rates and all cash buyers, it’s hard to compete. Luckily we had the best realtor in town (thank you Clifford!) and met some really nice people in the process.
In less than two weeks I am leaving Brentwood after 15 years. I was thinking about some of the things I will miss and won’t:
I’ll Miss: Being 96 steps from Pinkberry and Whole Foods, the coral trees on San Vicente, having visitor parking spots, huge walk-in closets, 2.5 bathrooms and walking to Tavern, Sugarfish, Pecorino and many other favorite restaurants (luckily we’re moving just three miles away and can come back anytime!)
I Won’t Miss: Entitled jerks speeding up Barrington, the lack of diversity, no outdoor space, German cars speeding on San Vicente, shared walls and waiting 25 minutes to get on the 405. Oh, and I just heard that Carmageddon will continue. The project was delayed for a year and we were right in the middle of all of it.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Getting Personal: Decor He Said, She Said
My husband and I have been buying some new furniture and planning our decor. We both skew modern, but have some different ideas about things like color, texture and patterns. I am really learning all about compromise and developing our style together — and trying to be more open (I’ve been on my own since 17, so it’s weird not just doing it myself.)
Things he says:
“Not the Jonathan Adler stuff that looks like a grandmother on acid.”
“I can do a Greek key.”
“No Tiffany blue. Or baby blue.”
“You can do whatever you want in your office.”
Things I say:
“I can’t handle beige.”
“All I want is a lemon tree and a camellia bush.”
“I already donated 12 pairs of designer shoes!”
“You can do whatever you want in your studio.”
Pictured: West Elm Bend Chair
Getting Personal: My Sister is Getting Married!
Getting Personal: Our One Year Anniversary
Wow time sure does fly. We are heading to the desert this weekend to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. It couldn’t have come at a better time as it’s been pretty hectic selling our place and trying to find a new one. Most of our weekends and evenings are spent consumed with house-related stuff. I’ve seen so many inspectors, plumbers, realtors and even a mold team wielding microscopes (thankfully we had none) that I am ready to just sit by the pool, look at the mountains and chill.
I usually like being in control and making the plans, but Tim handled everything (he even made a fancy itinerary for us), which I so appreciate. Feeling really grateful and excited for what’s to come.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Photo by Candice Benjamin
Getting Personal: Transitions
This week was so busy it just flew by. Between our brokers open on Tuesday, at least five showings (and offers!) since then and starting to look at places for us to potentially move to, the days have been melting into one another. Then we got the news that one of Tim’s closest friend’s father passed away suddenly and it put everything in perspective. We are headed to Newport Beach today for the funeral and are reminded to enjoy even the most crazy days and uncertainty of this whole process.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Tomorrow I start a fitness challenge at Bar Method that’s probably going to be the best (after I complain that it was the worst) decision I made for this busy time in our lives. There’s nothing like taking out stress in the form of a physical and mental workout.
Image via Flickr
Getting Personal: We’re Moving (Almost)!
We made a big decision in the last week. We are going to sell our condo in Brentwood and we don’t know what will come after that. Hopefully we will find our dream home with a little outdoor space, but if not, we will rent somewhere for a year or two and there will hopefully be a pool and hot tub situation. The reason this is a big deal is because I’ve lived here for almost 13 years. How is that possible? I’ve lived here longer than anywhere (including my childhood homes) and it’s seen some good times and bad.
I still love our place, but it’s time for someone else to enjoy the amazing location (oh how I will miss being steps from Pinkberry and Whole Foods), beautiful natural light and spacious layout. Now that we have been married for almost a year, we are ready to start a new chapter in our own place that we find, furnish and decorate together. We are meeting with our realtor on Monday and will surely be spending the coming weeks getting things in tip-top shape. I’m excited to make use of these eco-friendly moving boxes and finally get a king sized bed and new couch. Will be sure to keep you posted!
Silence.
I started losing my voice on Saturday night thanks to a mix of a coughing attack and talking way too much that day. I woke up on Sunday and it was completely gone and now on Monday I still can’t speak. This has never happened to me before and it is a strange and scary experience. While I let my vocal chords rest, I’ve had to write notes or text to communicate with Tim.
We watched one of our favorite shows last night and I couldn’t comment or add any quips. I made a doctor’s appointment and wrote down everything I thought he would ask me. It really makes you realize how important your voice is. Thankfully most of my work is done via email, but I started freaking myself out, like what if I had to call 911 or scream? He said to just rest my voice and it will be fine. The good news? With all this resting I’m totally caught up on Downton Abbey.
