hollywood housewife

signature style

I've been thinking a lot about style recently. 

Outside of a few special occasion pieces, I haven't bought very many items of clothing in the last few years.  In 2008 I was trying to get pregnant, in 2009 I was pregnant or recovering, in 2010 I was losing the weight, and in 2011 I was pregnant.  My fluctuating size and mood wasn't great for shopping and my daily wardrobe has suffered. 

I've never liked having an overflowing closet anyway.  Though I've been guilty of succombing to cheap and trendy pieces from H&M or Forever21, my mom taught me about quality over quantity when it comes to fabric.  I try to stick to it.

But now that I don't have pregnancy limitations on the horizon, I've looked through my drawers and I don't like what I see.  A person's style can change over time, but I feel like I'm at a point where I want to curate a certain look, a signature "Laura" that I can put on without too much thought, but that still looks good.  Once I've nailed down such a style, maybe shopping will be less haphazard.

Signature styles I admire:

Gwen's red lips, Rachel's pink hair, Anna's iconic haircut

Notice how I gravitate towards one dramatic element instead of an overall look?  My tastes change too much to decide I'm "bohemian" or "preppy" or any other category.  I want to find one thing that defines me and then invest in that and work everything else around it.  Does this seem boring?  It's what I'm craving.

I've done lots of experimenting in my day.  Black hair, thrift love, granny chic.  It was fun, but I know when something feels right and when it feels like a costume.  A woman of a certain age should decide who she is stylistically.  I'm there. 

As I've been pondering this, I've noticed that there are a couple of things that spring to mind when I think about what makes me happy getting dressed.  One thing that I've been doing since I was in my early twenties is mix something very fancy with something very not.  I love to wear a silky embellished shirt with ripped jeans.  Or a ratty t-shirt with a nice skirt.  Though I own nice tops and bottoms, I feel stiff when I wear them together.  I usually overcompensate when trying to balance it out. 

I also own multiple statement necklaces.  I love them.  I wear them with t-shirts and they make me happy. 

And while it's not something I think I could do every day (but maybe?) I do love a deep fuschia lipstick.  Everyone just looks so much better in lipstick. 

So those three things: fancy/ratty, oversized jewelry, dramatic lip, are those my signature style?  I'm still not sure.  I'm finding it.  I'll let you know when it's found.

Do you have a signature style?  Do you think a person even needs one?

tiger mother and monster of florence - mixed thoughts on two non-fictions

I started reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother on my phone, using the Kindle app, in a mall McDonalds one evening when I was huge pregnant and needed to escape the house for a bit.

After the widely circulated excerpt of the book in the Wall Street Journal (Why Chinese Mothers are Superior), this book has gotten a ton of buzz, most of it controversial.  The WSJ article didn't bother me - while I would never consider myself a Tiger Mom, I wouldn't consider myself the opposite of a Tiger Mom, either - and I couldn't really see what the fuss was about. 

We have good friends who are Chinese (she's the one who taught me the infamous noodle recipe) and when I asked them about Tiger Moms, their reaction to painting Chinese parenting in such broad strokes was mixed.  After I read the book, so was mine. 

It's so clear that Amy Chua loves her daughters and wants what is best for them.  She has a tenacity (towards everything, really) that I envy.  In many ways I wish I had the energy and discipline to be a more consistent parent, to hold a hard and fast line instead of bending with the day's temperature. 

No matter how you view being a Tiger Mom, I thought this was an interesting perspective on parenting, something I'm not reading anywhere else.  Her tactics were extreme, too extreme for the average Western parents, but it gave me something to think about.  Like limits and priorities and permissiveness, and, finally, about the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters.  Unless you think reading about this parenting style might upset you, I'd give it a go if you're interested.  It's a quick read, made for thoughtful discussion with my husband, and will almost certainly be different from anything else you've read on the subject.

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I downloaded The Monster of Florence after I made a flippant comment on facebook about Amanda Knox's release and a friend replied with this recommendation.  I do love a good murder story, and while I intended to finish it before Pirate was born, I ended up reading it during his first week of life.  A little morbid for such a happy time, and I'm not even sure I retained all the information.

In all, it was a very interesting story about an Italian serial killer.  My foggy brain while reading didn't let me get bogged down in the details, which means that the unfamiliar Italian names and justice system confused me at times.  What made this book different from your average non-fiction murder tale is that the author became involved after his investigations into the killings set the police sights on him.  Since it's told from such a personal level, I felt both close to the story and a little skeptical.  Not of the author himself, really, but maybe of those he was in close contact with?  Perhaps he was trying to make the reader feel suspicious at every turn - as he must have been - but it left me unsure of the whole story.

The Monster of Florence will most appeal to those who like a true mystery and forensics read or who closely followed the Amanda Knox trial, as some of the key players are found in both scenarios. 

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Neither of these are exactly holiday reading, but maybe keep them in mind for 2012.  Do you read much over the holidays?  Do you like a theme during this time of year?  I want to hear what you're reading now.

Amazon affiliate links included.

things i can't live without during the newborn phase

Welcome to Mommy Mondays, the one day of the week when I drone on about parenthood.

It's a fact that around six to eight weeks post-birth, the momma starts to feel like she's "starting to come out of the fog."  Then, around four to six months, she realizes that no, now she's really coming out of the fog.  Finally, between nine and twelve months post-delivery, the momma thinks to herself, "Good gracious, where have I been the past year?  Welcome back, me!"

At least that's how I've experienced it.  It's all about hormones.  And consistent hours of sleep.

So, speaking from the first baby steps of new momma-ness, here are a few things I couldn't have done without since October:

Donut Shop coffee for the Keurig

The only two times I've ever had coffee consistently was when I had newborns.  Even in my most collegiate journaling-in-coffee-shop days, I never liked the bitter taste of java.  I've always had to disguise it with chocolate or tons of cream and sugar.  Everything that makes pure coffee snobs wrinkle their noses. 

My husband is obsessed with the Keurig, and the Donut Shop flavor came in a variety pack.  I tried it, I liked it, it is now getting me through the mornings after the sleepless nights. 

The Total Baby App

Rachel told me about this app for the iPhone that takes all the guesswork out of the bleary-eyed twenty-four hour schedule of a newborn.  It takes just a couple of seconds to click in when the baby last ate, slept, diapered, bathed.  Since I can rarely - even on the best of days - remember which side I nursed last, this has been really helpful to me.  It also keeps a cumulative record of how much the baby is eating and sleeping throughout, so I can tell the pediatrician. 

Total Baby has been my memory for the past seven weeks.

Speaking of nursing, I don't leave the house without my Lily Padz.  Well, okay, I have left the house without them and decided never to do that again.  But that's another story for another day, were I ever to get up the courage to tell it. 

The Lily Padz are way more comfortable than the disposable kind, which itched and drove me crazy.  They clean up easily and I don't even notice they're there. 

I wear them under my favorite soft nursing bra and in conjunction with my favorite non-sticky nipple cream. 

(I am trying so hard not to cringe under the table right now.  But if this is helpful for even one person, it's worth my extreme embarrassment.  You can read more about my thoughts on breastfeeding here.)

Moving on to safer topics, I am completely obsessed with the aden + anais bamboo collection.  All of the aden + anais blankets are great, but the bamboo ones are the softest and easily my favorites.  We have four or five that float around the house for various needs.

We're also pretty partial to the First Favorites line from Gap.  They're soft, the buttons aren't hard to deal with (although I do prefer a zipper), and there's always a sale on Gap online.   

So far, so good.  We'll see if my favorite product picks with my daughter (listed here and here) hold up with my son.  You can see a list of my favorite baby products by clicking here. 

Anything you think I'm missing or need to check out?

Some affiliate links included.  This does not affect my opinion in any way. 

giving thanks

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  We did. 

happy thanksgiving week

Taking the week to catch up on a few things, prepare for the holiday madness, and count our blessings one by one.

Happy Thanksgiving week to you. 

...HH

sunday in the canyon - iris courtesy of infiniti

On Thursday night, The Gorilla and I had the most fabulous date at the Cirque du Soleil show Iris, now permanently housed at the Kodak theater in Hollywood (home of the Oscars).  The show is literally minutes from our home, and we'd been wanting to see it for months, so I was thrilled when Infiniti offered us tickets.

We had fourth row seats, I could see the whites of the performers eyes!  Between us, The Gorilla and I have been to a handful of different Cirque shows and we both agreed that Iris was by far the best one talent-wise.  My jaw was on the floor over and over again.

If you live in the LA area and are looking for a super nice date night, or even as a gift idea, Iris was truly incredible.  I already want to see it again because I know that I missed so much!  Cirque shows are always like that - special things happening on every corner of the stage.  It's sensory overload in the very best way.

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Pssst - I announced the winner of the Nixon bag!  Was it you?!

Disclosure: Infiniti is a sponsor of Iris and provided me with two VIP tickets to see the show.  However, they did not ask me to post about it and these opinions are entirely my own.

friday links - holiday are here edition

Using a coupon code from The Mom Creative, I designed a memory keeper box from Paper Coterie and it arrived this week. 

I had several things I thought such a box would be good for: Christmas cards, one for each of the kids, one for cards and love notes from my husband.  In the end I decided to do a really plain one with this picture from last year's Christmas card shoot.  (It was not the picture we ended up using, but I've always liked it.)  We're wearing 3D glasses as a nod to my husband's 3D movie that came out last fall.  I decided I could use the box for all the stuff we have around from that movie.  Glasses, ticket stubbs, press. 

The box showed up and it looks amazing!  It's WAY bigger than I was imagining, there's plenty of room for the stuff I want to keep in it.  I'm definitely going to make a few more.  This would be a fabulous gift, by the way, especially if you already had some of the items to go inside. 

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On the HH Facebook Page this week: We had a good discussion on my love for The Dry Bar (including pictures of my hair) and I reminded everyone that the Google Next button changed my life.  You can like HH on Facebook for links to my posts and original discussions and content.  There might even be a FB followers-only giveaway coming up.  If I can figure out if that's legal.

On the blog this week: WOW you guys really love a pretty bag!  A record number of entries in my giveaway.  Leave a comment on this post to enter if you haven't already.  I also really appreciated all the thoughts on potty-training from Monday.  I've thought about it a lot and have decided that we're just not going to push it right now.  We will talk about it, we will probably buy the Elmo potty DVD, and then we'll see what she comes up with herself.  I'll keep you posted on that very important breaking news.

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For your weekend reading pleasure:

I was pretty shocked by how many people in the giveaway comments have either finished or were close to finishing their Christmas shopping.  Overachievers!  For the rest of you who might need some inspiration, here is Emily Henderson's Holiday Guide.

I don't want to get graphic and weird on you, but this post from Mommy Nani Boo Boo (also with a newborn) made me laugh out loud.  I relate, oh, how I relate. (Mommy Nani Boo Boo) 

I'm a fan of Jenna Lyons, creative director of J.Crew, and what she has done with that company.  I happened upon this old post from Habitually Chic with lots of pictures of her home.  Fact: her nursery was featured in several magazines with its yellow striped ceiling, and soon after I did a yellow striped ceiling in Pigtail's original nursery.  Everyone thought I was copying her.  I swear I didn't see it until after!  No one ever believes me.  (Habitually Chic)

These are about the cutest little Thanksgiving desserts or placecard settings I've ever seen.  (Our Best Bites)

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Things will probably be spotty around here next week, if I'm around at all (don't worry, I will announce the winner of the Nixon bag).  I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends and regrouping a little bit before the whirlwind of December hits. 

Happy Thanksgiving, HH readers!

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nora

I met Nora through Rachel.

I had just moved to Los Angeles and their worldliness and friendship fascinated me.  Rachel and I were fast friends, eventually living together in a long, skinny, apartment in a trendy neighborhood.  Rachel was one of the first Jewish people I ever met, and I felt sophisticated and enlightened just being around her.  She and Nora and their group of friends shaped my early view of Los Angeles girl-friendships.

Nora's upbringing was the opposite of mine.  She spent her childhood in a fancy Manhattan apartment with a doorman.  Her parents were artistic and liberal.  She grew up aware of modern artists and couture designers.  For all of these reasons, I was wildly intimidated by her. 

Despite our mutual relationship with Rachel, Nora and I were never really on the same page.  For her whole life she'd been around a wide diversity of people, different skin colors and different belief systems.  Except for someone like me: small town, conservative.  It's safe to say that Nora and I both made assumptions about the other that weren't exactly correct.

In 2008, Rachel, Nora, and I, along with a forth friend, started a book club after several glasses of wine and lively discussion at my birthday dinner.  Almost every month for the past three years, we've gotten together and hashed out opinions.  Immediately I realized that I had been wrong, so wrong, about Nora.  She can be intellectually intimidating, sure, but we are alike in many ways.  We like the same books, we swoon over the same beauty products, we even share an offbeat sense of humor.

We are both, at heart, writers. 

For over a year Nora and I have been getting together on our own, sometimes writing but most of the time talking.  We know lots about each other and somehow very little.  We can talk for hours, and eat bad food, and it's never boring.

This week Nora is moving from her cozy West Hollywood apartment (just behind my waxist, a stone's throw from where I delivered my babies) to New York City.  The move is a long time coming, she's wanted this for years.

It took me a long time to make solid girlfriends in Los Angeles.  It's a tricky place to navigate relationships and the girl rules are different here.  I hate that one of the few that has become so dear to me is leaving.  Our differences opened up a new world and made me unafraid to ask questions about faith and childhood, our similarities taught me to let go of certain stereotypes, both the ones I belong to and the ones I judge.

I wish Nora and her husband the best of luck on the east coast.  I don't feel like I'm losing one of my few LA girlfriends just as we were becoming so close.  Promise.

beauty tricks that are making a difference

Three little tweaks I've made to my beauty routine have made a pretty big difference in how my makeup looks at the end of the day.  Two involve...wait for it...WAITING.

I'm impatient in general, and I'm always in a hurry to get ready in the morning.  This means that after my shower I slather on the moisturizer and jump right into applying foundation and whatever else. 

But after seeing something in a magazine about making your makeup last longer, I started waiting at least five minutes between applying moisturizer and eye cream and doing anything else.  I get dressed or futz with my hair.  I brush my teeth or go check my Instagram feed.  When I start in with my foundation, I've noticed that it looks fresher, less oily, goes on more smoothly, and lasts longer.  Who knew?!

The same sort of principle applies to my next tip: Apply (at least) two coats of mascara, but do so several minutes apart.  I love thick and clumpy mascara, and I always apply multiple coats, but I usually do them one right on top of the other.  A friend mentioned how she applied her first coat, then moved on to lips or hair or whatever, then came back at the end and applied the second coat.  It looks even more dramatic!  

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I'm going to tell you to do something earlier than you probably are doing now.  I learned this during a facial once: Wash your face before dinner.  The biggest stumbling block to washing your face well, applying serum, etc. is that often you're too tired to go through the whole routine before bed.  I'm especially guilty of running a wet wipe over my face and calling it a day.  But if you do the whole thing when you first get home from work, or whatever time of day you change into something more comfortable.

I was a little hesitant to do this, because I didn't want my family seeing me all, um, "fresh-faced" for the whole night.  But I quickly realized that they don't seem to care, the number of nights I actually do a beauty routine increased, and my skin looked a lot better.  So a bare, shiny, face at dinner it is!

I'm not usually one to advise that you add time or steps to ANY routine, but these are simple enough and have made enough of a difference that I've adopted them permanently.  Try it!

Any tweaks to your beauty routine lately?  You know I love to hear them.

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You can see just a few of my favorite beauty products by clicking here.  Anything purchased from Amazon after clicking through from this site supports the Hollywood Housewife blog.

{giveaway} nixon sway hobo bag

***Update - winner is announced at the end of the post.  Thank you for participating!***

Oh, I've been sitting on this giveaway for awhile.  This bag was just too functional and too pretty for any old occasion. 

But then this little old blog of mine hit a personal milestone over the weekend.  1,000 subscribers!  And while I try (very hard) not to get wrapped up in the stats game of blogging, I did take personal satisfaction in hitting such a nice, round number.

Plus, it's almost the holidays.  Which means presents for others and presents for yourself. 

I love this bag because not only is the 100% black leather so nice and soft, but the details are a little edgy so it can be easily dressed up or dressed down.  Also, it's HUGE.  Yet still lightweight.

One lucky HH reader will receive this Nixon Sway Hobo bag in black leather with canvas interior.

To enter: leave a comment on this post and tell me if you've started your holiday shopping, are finished with it, or are somewhere in the middle. 

Only one entry per person.

Open to US residents only.

You have until Friday, November 18 at midnight (EST) to enter.

This giveaway is open to all my readers, but you can subscribe to HH by clicking here.  Select your favorite blog reader or sign up to receive my posts my email. 

Good Luck!

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And the winner is....

Marlena!

Congratulations!  Watch your inbox for an email from me.