Happy weekend, my dears! Where did the week go? We were up in San Francisco to celebrate Fred Baby’s mom’s birthday and to meet our new niece for the first time - doll baby. It will be so interesting to see how her personality develops. While our first niece Kaylee definitely has aspects of her personality that are similar to her parents, grandparents and, um, me (we call her my mini-me, which I’m sure my sister, who did all of the work, doesn’t mind at all), she is definitely her own cup o’ salsa. And she came out of the gate that way. It’s been pretty amazing to watch.

Anyway, I’ve been tagged by Sydne to share 5 Things You Don’t Know About Me, so here goes…

1. In college, I was a Radio-Television-Film major and wanted to write sitcoms or romantic comedies when I grew up. Growing up, I watched a lot of movies with my family and lots of TV with them too. Some of my best memories are laying on the floor watching Golden Girls and Dallas with my fam, and every weekend we would go to the movies. I love Nora Ephron, Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling and still might want to do that when I grow up. (There’s still time, right?)

2. I feel my best when I start the day with a chocolate croissant. Hearty egg breakfasts and protein shakes aren’t for everyone. (In fact, the one and only time I tried one of the trendy LA juice cleanses, I got violently ill after just one day and vowed to never do it again. I’m a delicate flower — which is a nice way of saying a total wimp!)

3. I’ve been lucky enough to meet three of my six idols: Martha Stewart, Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Wearstler. I regret never being able to meet Audrey Hepburn and Nora Ephron in person. Kelly Ripa is the sixth. (Am I the only one who feels like we’d be best friends?) And while we’re on the topic, I have an unhealthy Regis obsession too. Before I watched Regis or knew my profound love for him, we once passed him on the street in Greenwich, Connecticut. If only I had that day to do over again… Six idols aside, my true #1 icon is my mom. The woman has overcome more than you could ever imagine and is the funniest, sweetest, most giving person you’ll ever meet. Sometimes we’re the only ones who get each other’s jokes, but we consider that everyone else’s problem.

4. I was a total tomboy growing up and my dad treated me like the son he never had (don’t worry, most of the time I liked it!). I played football with him and his friends, played softball, volleyball, ran track (okay, confession: I was cheerleader too). So I think it baffled everyone — including myself — when my life and career took a  stylish turn towards fashion and design.

5. I may attend and host a lot of parties now, but when I was younger I was painfully shy. In kindergarten, I got all good marks on my report card (I was too scared to be anything but a  goody-goody), but the teacher wrote in the comments: “Needs to socialize more.” Apparently I’ve taken that to heart. But even today, I struggle with balancing my introverted side and needing lots of downtime with all of the fun events I’m lucky enough to be a part of.  (I have about a four-hour window. After being around people for four hours, I want to go home and veg out for about two days. The same holds true when I get exciting news. When I was booked for my segment on The Martha Stewart Show, I was happy, of course, but I literally laid paralyzed on the couch for an entire day.)

But enough about me…it’s your turn! What are 5 Things I Don’t Know About You? I’d love if you posted them in the comments! C’mon, it’ll be fun. Happy weekend xx!

[Photo by Kelly Golightly]

At dinner in San Francisco with a dear friend, he mentioned an article about combatting depression that really struck me. It emphasized the importance of exercise in easing depression and how important it was to mix up your routine. For example, if you always go running, you should try tennis (or something your mind and body aren’t used to). My friend has applied this thinking to various aspects of his life, down to eating foods he hates. For instance, he loathes carrots and nuts but revealed proudly, smiling, “I now eat both regularly.” What’s amazing is that IT WORKS. I haven’t seen him this happy in years. Not one to ever go out dancing, now he does that until late into the night. He’s surprising himself by taking a break from himself.

Now I am in no way in a position to comment on clinical depression, but I wholeheartedly agree that varying up your routine is good for you. The times that I tend to get a mean case of the reds are when I’m not busy enough and have too much time to think (i.e. boredom quickly translates to feeling blue). Luckily I’ve been too busy to feel down lately, but I love this way of thinking and wonder if you’d like to embark on a little spring challenge with me: Take a break from yourself and do the opposite of your normal routine. I’ve apparently already started because I’m up before 11am (who am I?!).

I plan to apply this to my sartorial choices as well by wearing things I wouldn’t normally think to try (distressed denim is en route to my casa now). And why not? We know what we are like as-is (and I am truly blessed to say that I am happy with who that person is). But life is short, so why not venture outside of the box we put ourselves in and see what that’s like too, right? Who’s in? And how do you plan to surprise yourself?

[Photos via Valley of the Dolls spread in Harper's Bazaar UK January 2012 by Tom Munro]

Hello my loves! Have you had a good week? Mine has been a whirlwind with LEGENDS (have you been following along on Instagram and Twitter? Domaine also has a great landing page where you can see everything with the hashtag #legends2013 in one spot).

It’s been a very inspiring week, meeting luminaries in the world of design and finally meeting fellow bloggers and social media friends I’d only ever known online. Events like this are great for finally putting a face to name — it can’t be beat. Seeing celebrities and getting to walk the red carpet with them is just the icing on the cake that is LA.

What are your plans this weekend? We’ll be roadtripping up to San Francisco, where I’ll get to meet our new baby niece for the first time (I’m SO excited) and where we’ll be celebrating a very special someone’s 70th birthday. I’ll also be giving my very special someone (my mom) a ringadingding on Sunday, of course, to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day (call your mom!). I’m so lucky to be surrounded by so many inspiring women in my life and can’t imagine where I’d be without them. They are the true legends of my life.

Speaking of inspiring and legendary women, today’s the day I finally meet Kelly Wearstler in person. The talk of LEGENDS has been what to wear to Kelly Wearstler’s book signing. Follow along on Instagram to see what I decide on…and wish me luck that I don’t dissolve into a puddle when I meet her.

Happy Weekend!

[Photo Credits 1: On the red carpet at the LEGENDS Opening Gala at Therien sponsored by 1stdibs and Coldwell Banker Previews wearing a LOFT necklace c/o (this garnered a ton of compliments and was mistaken for an exotic vintage piece -- don't you love that?) & Cynthia Rowley skirt via Hautelook; 2: Wearing my new Shoe Dazzle 'Cindy' party shoes (c/o) that were mistaken for Stella McCartney several times but cost less than $50 -- style can't be bought!; 3: On the red carpet with fellow LEGENDS ambassador & total sweetheart Alissa Swedlow of The Goods Design; 4: My favorite window at LEGENDS by Jeff Andrews, designer to the stars]