I was ready for my last serious relationship to end. And yet, when it did, I still felt a major sense of loss. Part of this is because I’m an incredibly nostalgic person and wish no good phase of life would ever have to come to a close, even when I know it’s time for it to. But more than that, I realized that my life was feeling flat without romance. When I say romance, I don’t mean I missed flowers and grand gestures. Our relationship didn’t have much of all that. What I missed was when . . .
Living Simply In An Age Of Dreaming Big
I am someone who has always dreamed big. I ask a lot out of life. And yet, when I really look at my life, my favorite moments are the simplest ones: Having an interesting conversation with someone that shifts my perspective a bit. Enjoying a cocktail with friends or family on the back patio. Reading a really good book. This recently landed me in a major conundrum. If my satisfaction is indeed coming from these simple moments, should I keep dreaming big? Or would I actually be happier focusing . . .
Nice Should Be a Given: Why We Should Stop Using Nice As a Dating Criterion
Outfit Details Anthropologie Top, BCBG Skirt, Prada Sunglasses (20% off), Mara Envelope Bag The other week I took the ferry each night from Balboa Island to a different restaurant in Newport Beach for happy hour. I went by myself—something that I really enjoy doing when I’m traveling and that I’ve been making more of a point to do when I’m home. When you meet a friend out for dinner or a drink you have a pretty accurate idea of how your night will unfold. You can even anticipate the types of . . .
Change Your Life by Changing Your Life Story
A year ago, before I moved to Orange County, I told my employers in Oregon that I was moving because I’d won a writing competition at Chapman University and was going back to school to work with a professor on my novels. The truth was I hadn’t actually won the competition yet. I’d only entered. But I believed that what I’d written was good enough to get me accepted and more importantly, I WANTED that to be the way my life unfolded. So I made the move BEFORE I knew the results, which helped me . . .
Lights, Camera, Action: A premiere party for my book trailers
Romantic comedies aren’t getting made anymore—at least not often. I don’t know how many times I’ve read this or heard this over the past few years. Nancy Meyers and Reese Witherspoon, two women in Hollywood I idolize, with proven track records of making these films hits, have been saying this for years. And this time last year I went out to lunch with a friend who works in Hollywood and he told me the same thing. “If it’s not a remake of a Disney film, or an action flick with lots of special . . .
How to Support Your Dream Job When Your Dream Job Doesn’t Pay
My generation does a lot of things really well, but something we don’t do well, is tell it how it really is, on social media. Lots of accounts encourage us to follow our passion. To live our bliss. To go after our dream jobs. And beneath these calls to action are photos of young people running off into the sunset. Or sunbathing on a beach. Or frolicking through a field with friends. As someone who has chosen to pursue my dream job, I can tell you my life does not look like this. It does . . .
