What is it about make-up, specifically lipstick, that has never ceased to intrigue me? Ever since I was old enough to sneak into my mother’s make-up bag (which was always a little bit disappointing since she went fairly neutral with her…
This is not a date,” I told myself. I had recently separated from my husband and, living alone in New York City, was in no hurry to date. I thought it best to disengage, have fun, wear heels often, and flirt….
I’m always looking for a good reason to escape the prosy seventy degree weather and fly into a blizzard, so what better reason than Will Ryman’s “Roses” which finally came into bloom in NYC on the 27th of January? Will is…
Last Saturday night I attended the Los Angeles Film Critics awards to honor director Paul Mazursky’s lifetime achievements. I prepared a small speech, but upon arrival was informed that because of time restraints, my comments would have to be cut. Then,…
Do you remember those blissful days when the computer was like your own little secret from your parents? I came of age (and I know I’m really dating myself here) at a time when the game “Pong” was the coolest thing…
A two-tour Iraq War veteran, Anthony Woods earned the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal for serving our nation in battle and working with Iraqis to help rebuild their devastated nation. During his second deployment, Woods’ unit was involved in the…
It is impossible to live and work in Hollywood and not have some kind of association with the Chateau Marmont. Most famously, John Belushi fatally overdosed there, while in an earlier, near-fatal episode, the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered a heart…
Of course. Just when we have all finally come around to the slow food revolution… Every weekend, when we should be looking for that perfect stroller-friendly restaurant to descend upon—you know the kind of place I’m talking about, the crunchy brunchy…
A friend of mine, Brooke Geahan, founder of The Accompanied Literary Society, recently hosted a party in New York City for DBA Design’s launch of the first biodegradable pen. One particularly inspired idea was to give various people little notebooks to…
In honor of Mother’s Day, here is an excerpt of one of my favorite parts of my book, Getting the Pretty Back, along with Ruben Toledo’s beautiful illustrations. Happy Mother’s day to all you mothers! (Especially you, Mom…) Excerpt: Best Mom…
When I sold Getting the Pretty Back to It Books, I told the publishing house that part of my vision for the book was to fill it with “Ruben Toledo-esque” illustrations. At the time, I never dreamed I would—or, more accurately,…
On New Year’s Eve, the time when I usually make a resolution not to make a resolution, I broke from tradition and vowed to prepare more fish in 2010. Having grown up in an overwhelmingly “meat and potatoes” household, I have…
Have you ever noticed that, with the exception of the song by Roy Orbison (and the film of the same name), it is rare to hear the word “pretty” and “woman” in the same sentence? It seems to me that the…
Some time in the early nineties, I broke with my family and asserted my independence by declaring myself a Mac. “You’re on your own,” my older techie brother warned, “I’m never going to troubleshoot you again.” I shot back, “You won’t…
Not many people know that before I was an actress, I was a jazz singer. I started singing with my father’s jazz band when I was three and half years old. First performance: California State Fair. At that age my set…
I never thought anyone could knock Ira Glass off his throne as my confirmed radio crush, and then along came Jad. Mister Jad Abumrad is one of the hosts of a show on New York Public Radio called Radiolab. I was…
In time of daffodils (who know the goal of living is to grow) forgetting why, remember how – E.E. Cummings I know that winter is over when I start thinking about daffodils. When I lived in New York City year-round, I…
Although LA has a well-deserved reputation for being new-agey and holistic, if you want the really kooky stuff, you have to go to the desert. About an hour’s drive from Palm Springs is a dome called The Integratron, and though I…
When I mentioned to my husband that I had planned a few days away in Palm Springs, he said, “Florida’s awfully far away.” “No, that’s Palm Beach, honey.” In his defense, he grew up in Massachusetts, and anything west of the…
The latest craze to hit the U.S. seems to be the Brazilian. No, not that one, the hair straightening one. Well, it doesn’t exactly straighten your hair as much as it takes away the frizz, as Gui Schoedler explained to me….
My book Getting the Pretty Back (April 27, 2010) is an inspirational manifesto on reclaiming the word “pretty” – a word that seems unfairly to be reserved for the young. The way I see it, “pretty” is an attitude, more than…