Most of the time, Mondays are for Mommies. But today I'm singing praises for the dads who made me a mom. I knew The Gorilla would be a good dad. He has a way with children - with people, really - that is undeniable. He is the Pied Piper of....everyone. He makes the most mundane task more fun. Any sort of party can be dead until he walks in the room. A day spent with him can be, without exaggeration, life changing. These qualities, as you can imagine, work well in fatherhood. I predicted it, yet watching it come into... Continue reading

After this post on signature style, I just wanted cutoff corduroys. And lucky for me, I had an old pair from J.Crew in my winter stash. So cut them off I did. (Don't worry, I washed them after this photo, so they would fray in that classy way.) Earlier this week I tried on some pants at Splendid (I have currently having a Splendid love affair) that might have changed my summer. They're called "Athletic Woven Pants" which I frankly do NOT understand because I will be doing nothing of the sort while wearing them. Two words: elastic waistband. Follow... Continue reading

This post was not sponsored or perked in any way. I paid for my Kitchit service in full. Just wanted to pass along a cool thing. When I was young and pictured myself as a woman, one of the things I envisioned was hosting glittery dinner parties where I floated around in chiffon, my arms full of gold bangles. (Auntie Mame was and is one of my favorite movies, if you want insight into my aspirations.) But evenings dripping candles and cocktails have not been my hostess reality. The Gorilla and I entertain a lot, all kinds of gatherings, but... Continue reading

Three books that kicked off my summer: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, and Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. Continue reading

Pigtail was in the car while I was on the phone with The Gorilla. His big voice comes over the speakers through the Bluetooth system when we're talking, frequently making the kids giggle and wonder where he is hiding. He was telling me about his night out and mentioned that he met up with a well known athlete. "Was he swamped?" I asked, meaning by fans that sometimes make a dive bar scene a little less cozy. "Not really," said The Gorilla. "A little, but it wasn't bad." "What does swamped mean?" inquired the little voice behind me. Once we... Continue reading

Ideas for custom framing original art in your home. Continue reading

We have a little bit of school left, and we’re still in Los Angeles, but summer officially starts with June. This weekend we had dinner with friends of friends, salty korean BBQ cooked inches from our fingers, listening to stories about working in television and charity trips to Africa. Voices that at first seemed so distinctly L.A., but then fell into a rhythm larger than that. The host lives in India, but after he departed the restaurant, the rest of us stood in the parking lot finishing conversations, continuing to make connections. Oh and... or Did I hear you say...... Continue reading

quality time with friends Jen and Abby. Photo by Jen Johnson. May was the month of a 1,000 emotions. A high was speaking at Mom 2.0 early in the month, a low was the devastating tornado in Oklahoma last week. And on the other days...well, there's just a lot going on. I'm happily stepping into June and the rest of the packed out summer. * This week on the HH facebook page, I showed some original pictures coming out of the Moore tornado relief effort, and I also shared a few links that had touched me lately, since last week... Continue reading

Garlic naan makes the easiest, yummiest appetizer. Continue reading

My signature style of Granny Rocker Prep goes summer. Continue reading

Happy Memorial Day from California. Remembering all of those who sacrifice for our freedoms. Continue reading

As my regular readers know, Friday Links are a regular feature, usually my chance to show off all the stellar internet reading I've done. But my mind can't tear away from the Oklahoma tornado aftermath. It is my plan to return to regular HH programming next week, but I do hope to continue with updates from the heartland. Well, this certainly wasn't the week Oklahomans expected. So much fear and pain, so much damage. But as the stories of pure miracles trickle in, the tales of heroes and tireless volunteers, it balms the soul just a little. There is hurt... Continue reading

The scenes from the May 20 tornado have been devastating. Having lived through the OKC bombing and the May 3 1999 tornado destruction, this post is inspired by the many Oklahoma ex-pats I witnessed grieving and expressing helplessness yesterday. Dear Oklahoma, Among the many who call you home, there are those who no longer reside within your borders. On normal days we miss your smell, the beauty in your flat land, your food (Oh, Lord, your food!), and, most importantly we miss your people. On normal days, we wax nostalgic about Sonic runs and teenage tomfoolery. Our face lights up... Continue reading

By Sunday evening I was over it. When The Gorilla asked why I was grumpy, I said something about the sheer amount of quality time we'd spent together. Weekends are usually reserved for family, but with last week's houseguests then a tummy bug, there had been a lot of hours of being in the house all together. I was itching for some time to myself, without interruptions, without chubby arms reaching upward. So I left the house in a hurry - late, but wearing lipstick - and sped through Hollywood for the last showing of Expressing Motherhood. I took the... Continue reading

This week I went to a calligraphy class at ArtWorks that was hosted by Morgan from the 818 and sponsored by Smirnoff. (Thank you, vodka, for fine penmanship!) Alex from Type A Calligraphy and Alexandra Wrote was our teacher, and we had a lovely evening sipping martinis and trying to write pretty. Calligraphy looks like it's hard and guess what? It's hard. I thought since I had good handwriting that writing in ink would be a breeze. Not true! But a fun time was had by all. Thanks for such a fun party, Morgan! (Pssst..you can buy a twitter handle... Continue reading

The Gorilla and I took to the tennis courts. He basically had to drag me there. There are tennis courts close to our house, closer than the yoga studio. Yoga is the first activity we tried together in an effort to tame our tummies while also spending time together. We both really liked yoga. We need more yoga in our life, actually. Yoga is beneficial in at least eight ways. But the yoga place we liked was kinda far away, and arranging extra child care for something we could technically do at home felt stupid. Note that we have never... Continue reading

How to acquire original art for your home. Continue reading

If it means anything to you, I cried off and on throughout Glennon Doyle Melton's Carry On, Warrior. This was surprise to me, as her memoir about drugs, bulimia, and rebellion isn't something to which I should relate. But she is such a talented writer, a gift I already knew through her very popular blog Momastery. Several of the essays in Carry On, Warrior are posts from her blog, but since Momastery was still relatively new to me, it was still new material. Though even if you're a rabid fan, it's nice to have some of her best writing all... Continue reading

Mommy Mondays have been a staple around here for as long as this blog has existed. But sometimes I sit down to write about parenthood and there’s nothing there. I am lucky to have healthy and happy kids. I knock wood just saying that. The trials and tribulations of a typical preschooler and a typical toddler, they just aren’t always interesting. And while I know I may not always feel this way, for now I couldn’t dream of giving up writing about parenting on Mondays. Women sharing their stories, I’m passionate about that. Our stories aren’t always about our mother-ness,... Continue reading