hollywood housewife

friday links - calligraphy edition

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 necklace like hers at Survival of the Hippest.)

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Things were a little quiet on the HH facebook page this week, but I did share that I found it hilarious that when I posted about Blog Lovin', the comments were mostly in favor of feedly, but that when Simple Mom posted about Feedly, her comments were mostly about Blog Lovin'!

I'm easily amused.

(And also easily irritated. No sooner had I committed to Blog Lovin' did they change up the format. And I have to admit, Simple Mom's customization of Feedly is making me give it another look.)

My column at allParenting this week was about Playdate Etiquette in the Age of the Helicopter Parent.

I'm not saying I've ever had an ackward playdate experience...okay, yes I totally am saying that.

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For your weekend reading pleasure:

• 21 Acts of Parental Brilliance. (Um, why have I never thought of some of these?) (Mommy Shorts)

• One of my very favorite people in the blogoshpere (and just in life) is Elizabeth from Flourish In Progress. You may remember her from her year-long shopping hiatus. She's one of the best writers out there, and we pretty much cemented our friendship after we survived rooming together at the Mom 2.0 conference earlier this month. She does these Hustle Hard interviews and they're always funny, but this month's version with her husband and her daughter was just great. Hustle Hard Interview Project: Harv & Cal.

• The subject of adoptions seems to be everywhere I look right now. These thoughts from Jen Hatmaker about international adoptions are a really important part of the conversation. Examining Adoption Ethics, Part One.

• Putting it all in perspective is The Bloggess. I like it when she just lays it down. Two Uncomfortable Truths: New Merida Looks a Little Whorey. Fewer People Care About This Than You Would Think.

• And if you just want to look at something pretty: Pink Peonies. One of my new favorite fashion blogs.

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Happy weekend!

Enter your email address in the box in the right sidebar to receive my posts as emails. If you're more the facebook type, you can "like" HH here and receive all my posts + original content in your news stream. I'm also active on twitter and Instagram.

friday links - mother's day edition

A cool store. A cool girl.

It's been a week of rest and recuperation and lunch with friends and dinner guests and houseguests. In other words, Normal.

I needed rest after two speaking engagements last week, and The Gorilla needed rest after being alone with the kids for days while I was speaking. It was a role reversal for both of us, and it felt good and supportive all around.

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This week I was over at Pinterest Told Me To showing off white lace shorts and at allParenting showing off statement necklaces (part of my signature style).

I shared both of these links on the HH facebook page earlier this week, along with the book I'm surprisingly into, so if you want to keep up with this stuff in real time you can like the HH facebook page.

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For your weekend reading pleasure:

• It feels a little bit weird to say that an obituary is awesome. But this obituary is awesome.

• An open letter to pastors on Mother's Day. This was a serious perspective check. (The Messy Middle)

• Speaking of mothers, how about Why You're Never Failing As a Mother. (Huffington Post)

• I made a new friend last week in Dani Klein Modisett. She wrote 12 Reasons I Love/Hate Mommy Bloggers. #12 is my favorite. (Mom.me)

• Remember that guy who took a year off the internet and wrote about it for The Verge? The year is up, and here is his conclusion. I found this whole thing fascinating.

• But the best thing I've read on the internet this week: Depression Part Two (Hyperbole and a Half)
  

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Do you have weekend plans? Are you celebrating Mother's Day in some way? We have family staying with us and hope to cram as much quality time as possible into 72 hours. Those are the best kind of weekends, aren't they?

Happy weekend!

Enter your email address in the box in the right sidebar to receive my posts as emails. If you're more the facebook type, you can "like" HH here and receive all my posts + original content in your news stream. I'm also active on twitter and Instagram.

pinterest told me to

On a much lighter note, I'm over at Pinterest Told Me To today showing how I styled white lace shorts. Hint: I did it wrong the first time. There are pictures of my wrong-ness. Then I tried again, in a way I never would have done myself, and it worked! Check it out here.

I love Scheaffer's blog. It's genius, really. Make sure you click around and check out her Pinterest-inspired looks and tips.

friday links - speaking edition

This week has been full of blogging events. I feel lucky to be doing something I'm passionate about, writing in the blogosphere. I also feel lucky that the Mom 2.0 summit I'm attending is at such a pretty hotel.

'Cause this is work, man.

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This week on the HH facebook page I shared a great quote from Seth Godin, the emotional dilemma of moving from a paper calendar to a digital one, and an article about how YOUR parenting choices make MY life easier.

Speaking of my life, over at my allParenting column I shared about the 13-year age gap in my marriage.

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For your weekend reading pleasure:

• Modern Etiquette: Five Ways to Say Thank You in the Digital Age. (She Owns It)

• I found this utterly fascinating: On Mixed Orientation Marriages (Rachel Held Evans)

• The Book Lady's Blog closed up shop last month, which is sad because I've just now stumbled upon her. But I still enjoyed some of her older posts like Her Favorite Books of 2012 and 10 Bookish Conversations I'm Totally Over.

• I always love a good room makeover. Reader Redesign: Woods & Wellies. (Young House Love)

• Portraits of 4 sisters every year for 36 years. This made me want to weep somehow. You could just see the pain in certain photos, the joy in others. And the aging process sped up somewhere in the middle didn't it? Beautiful and haunting. (22 Words)

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I'll be in Laguna Niguel all weekend talking blogging and writing and parenting and the more blogging.

Happy weekend!

Don't miss a word! Enter your email address in the box in the right sidebar to receive my posts as emails, or subscribe using your favorite reader.  If you're more the facebook type, you can "like" HH here and receive all my posts + original content in your news stream.

friday links - be productive edition

Too much?

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friday links - april is the cruelest month

After a gloomy start, this week has turned out to be beautiful.

But on April 19, my heart always belongs in Oklahoma.

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On the HH facebook page, I made my decision on How To Read. Well, at least I made a purchase. Hang tight on whether or not I care for it. Thanks for all your advice there. I have high hopes.

I also gave a few of my favorite quotes from the Q Conference I attended on Monday & Tuesday, and thoughts about the tragedies in Boston and West. Speaking of Boston, thank you, friends, for your support of Emily's marathon story. I know she was touched by your words and encouragement.

Less touching was my interview at Hi Sugarplum. Go ahead, call me a dirty-haired soda drinker.

friday links - springtime edition

Spring has sprung, and I don't know about you, but there is all kinds of new growth happening. I'm finally back in LA after nearly three weeks away and it feels great. Having the house featured on Design Mom Living With Kids was better than a birthday! I got blog visitors and messages from all over the world. The whole thing was big fun.

Otherwise we had some good family time and a date night and a houseguest and writing group and a little Spring cleaning and all the things that make this my favorite season of year.

Early next week I'm excited to attend the Q Conference here in LA. This is a totally new event for me, I was invited by a friend who thought I would find it interesting. It's a Christian culture conference aimed at leaders and influencers. I'll be a bystander, but the speakers look amazing and I'm curious.

HH on design mom's "living with kids" house tour!

One of my very favorite things on the internet is Design Mom's Living With Kids series. So imagine my giddiness when she asked me to contribute to it. I got her email late at night (where I'm sure it was morning in her home in France) and I think I actually yelped at the screen.

You can see never-before-posted photos of our home at Design Mom today.

If you're here from the Living With Kids feature, welcome! You can read all about me or check out some of my favorite posts.

I can be found on facebook, twitter, or Instagram. Say hi!

friday links - palm springs edition

 

I'm in Palm Springs for a few days of rest and reunion. I'm also wearing a lot of pink silk.

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This week on the HH facebook page, I told you about my dream and about the book I pre-ordered. Well, if that doesn't make you want to go like HH on facebook, I don't know what will.

Somewhat more interesting is my column over at allParenting this week: Hipster Trends You're Not Too Old to Wear. Complete with a picture of me wearing them.

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For your weekend reading pleasure:

• What makes this whole blogging thing worth it is the connection one can feel to a total stranger. It's Okay. (Love Taza)

• I made a friend at Alt Summit (who doesn't live in LA) and then randomly ran into her here in town. I bumped into Kirsten Grove at The Grove. See what I did there?

• LA Weekly is doing a "Best LA Novel Ever" tournament which is all kinds of fun. If nothing else, I'm about to add a bunch of new books to my list. I love reading about LA.

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I hope you have a wonderful weekend! After flying home from Oklahoma and driving to the desert yesterday, I'm feeling a little whiplash. But there are some great things coming up next week. I can't wait!

Happy weekend!

photo by D Sharon Pruitt

friday links - good friday edition

 

We have had a great week in Oklahoma. I've spent a lot of time with my family, and on Wednesday I was honored to be the keynote speaker at a local fundraiser. It was my first time speaking in such a formal setting, and I was thrilled. I wore a zebra dress because it felt like the right thing to do.

Ask me if I got nervous before I stood up in front of lovely, proper, nicely-dressed folks from my hometown community and said "jackass," "jackass," and "oh, yeah, jackass" over and over.

You can read all about the event and what I said in the local newspaper.

Almost within the hour after I was done speaking, the Oklahoma wind brought allergies that knocked me flat. Now see, these are the kinds of things I don't miss.

photo by Robert Smartt

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On the HH facebook page, I talked a little about the time freedom in a small town and I also shared some of the news stories that came out of our episode of Tanked.

Speaking of Tanked, we found out that our episode (which was the season 3 premiere) set a record for the Animal Planet network. 1.6 million people watched my husband be picky last week. Surreal.