ladycrush: mfamb

if you've ever wandered over to her corner of the internet, learned the secret handshake and gotten the password to ride the bullet train to awesometown, you've been simultaneously floored by her insane design skills (evidenced by some sick moodboards, gorgeous projects for various clientele, craigslist finds like you've never seen before, and her personal home--trust me, its amazeballs, usa); her raucously hilarious, sharp sense of humor (they don't call her "the velvet buzzsaw" for nuthin'); and her keen eye for living a truly delicious life, everyday. 


oh, and did i mention her amazing recaps of shows like HGTV's design star (aka design turds) and the real housewives series?! 
you must read them. while wearing depends. or in the loo.

her signature--attainable, intentional glamour juxtaposed with 1st dibs-worthy, luxurious rarities--written in her true, unique voice (which means "fuck" is regularly in the rotation), combined with actual, inspirational work, equals not only a daily must-read blog, but also a wonderfully talented and genuinely beautiful woman behind it all. 

she is a crazy-popular design blogger (newell turner is a fan), a talented actress, mama to the beautiful fiona honey, wifey to supermike (who is quite awesome in his own right), craigslist whisperer, serious chef in the kitchen (i want sloppy joes in my mouth right now. please.), exercise fiend, and all-around badass...

she is also a dear friend.

(psssst....hi nicole!)

(what's that? 
did my street cred just go up like 100 points? 
thought so.)

darling reader, i give you...

jenny anderson of my favorite and my best.

ladycrush of the week, sisterwife for life!

molly: what is your earliest memory of designing a space?

jenny: that would have to be my "clubhouse" in my closet when i was around 9-ish. 

that motherfucker was cozy.

see? :)

when you first started your blog, what were your early mistakes/accomplishments? how did you find your groove and discover your voice?

i don't think i made any mistakes.  i mean i learned lessons, such as don't call people retarded on a public format unless you want retarded kids' moms emailing you in tears. 

i found my groove when i started writing fewer words.

people don't have time to read a lot of words these days.

(ohhhhhh... i get it. is this one of those lessons pour moi? because i know i have a tendency to be long-winded sometimes, but you know that's just me, i mean i get excited, and yes i probably do need an editor, but... oh. right.)

do you have any hard and fast "will always do" or "will never do" things on the blog?

see above.

what inspires you?

people funnier than me.

dammit man, that's a tough one. i think i may have been funnier than her once. maybe.

what's the coolest project you've ever worked on? 

TBA

what pisses you off most?

tardiness.

it's a giant fuck you to the universe.

i can attest to this truth. for someone who has a tendency to be 15 minutes late for everything, i learned early on in our friendship that homegirl don't play when it comes to the clock. and i get it! everyone's time is valuable, and jenny is always good at reminding me of this.

speaking of personal time, what are your favorite things to do with yours?

eating a falafel sandwich and s'mores cupcake from star provisions and watching a parks and recreation marathon in my jammies sounds like the most perfect day ever.  it should be rainy and cold too.


s'mores cupcakes!!! aaaand now tears of sadness bc i am so far away from them. and you. 

ok, moving on. what is your favorite movie/book/music?

far far too many favorite movies..but the one that popped into my head first was stealing beauty.

book- the lovely bones is still the most well written book i have ever read.

music- i listen to music based on my mood.  and i am usually in a bad mood, so anything that makes me cry.

helps me get it out.

fave food to eat? to cook?

i will eat donkey turds if they taste good.

i love to cook stews/soups..but never a fucking stoup!  

most embarrassing moment ever?

getting caught by my dad with my hands down my pants when i was about 15.

oh honey. at least your dad is awesome and has a sense of humor...plus he's a dude so surely he's been jerking his own chain since he was in the womb.

what's the best gift you've ever gotten?

my best friend threw me a surprise birthday party complete with fully decorated christmas tree.

(my birthday is in december)

in your opinion: worst design/fashion trend right now?

ugh. too many to name. subway signs? that heinous hipster all wood with your wood look. hate that. 

describe your dream vaycay.

eating my way through europe.


DUH. yes!!! lets do it.

how do you to attempt balance btw all of your "life roles"? 

i try to do the bare minimum at all times.

what's next for mfamb? (besides world domination, obviously...)

i am working on not being homeless.

goalsetting. i like it.

if you like it, too, go here for jenny.

thank you, darling j, for granting this little interview.
 i love you!

xo

ladycrush: tanya ryno

imagine the coolest chick you know:

part rockstar, 

part sweetheart, 

double dose of supremely talented, take-no-prisoners bitch;

add in some small-town upbringing charm,

and a semi-shy yet wicked dirty sense of humor...

and you've got tanya ryno.

a fearless leader in the entertainment industry, tanya has worked as producer/head of production for SNL's film unit 
(yup, ambiguously gay duo, hilarious commercial parody shorts, various "best of SNL" tribute DVDs, and more), 
produced the award-winning indie film coney island baby , 
as well as some special projects for A&E & other networks. 
she has also worked on some major national ad campaigns, 
and if she wanted to, could drop some serious names 
by listing who she's worked with...

like martin scorsese, woody allen, bob deniro, meryl (meryl! she is my everything.) streep, ed burns, kevin smith, nora ephron, spike lee, and jerry seinfeld, to name a few...

but she's not like that. 

so i did it for her. 

she's currently directing 23 seconds, a personal project 
about the creation of whynatte, 
the delicious crack in a can created by my friends jesse & andy that i put into my regular rotation over a year ago. 
i've mentioned it many times before, and trust me, with or without booze, its seriously rimazing, you MUST try it. 


here's a few minutes of her work on the project:

23 SECONDS - The Whynatte Story (promo/teaser for PILOT) from Tanya Ryno on Vimeo.

badass, i tell you.

tanya also just released a hilarious short for funnyordie.com entitled "big tweet" that is Badass with a capital B 
(we just don't DO that around here much, see)...
check it:

Big Tweet from Brandon T Jackson

oh and, she just completed the latest music video for young blues sensation gina sicilia to be released on youtube this thursday. so yeah. 
she's a little busy.

i've been stalking following her for over a year now on twitter, and when i decided i wanted to write about women who inspire me, she was one of the first who came to mind. 

needless to say she's got a full schedule, so i was completely geeked when she agreed to answer some questions for me 
about the industry, her personal life, 
and what she likes to cook up in the kitch.

MM: As a female producer in such a male dominated industry, what are some of the biggest challenges you've faced to get to where you are now?

TR: To be honest, I've been lucky enough to never run into any challenges that have been related to the fact that I'm a female.  At least I've never taken notice of it, or possibly I've just failed to recognize it and simply chalked it up to something else.  Working in the film industry is an extremely difficult pursuit regardless of gender.  I think the biggest challenge is encouraging more women to pursue producing and/or directing as a career.  There are more options other than just becoming an actress in this industry.   

Honestly, enough women aren't trying. 

MM: (hear that, girls?! get off your asses and get OUT THERE!

also, if this will reduce the number of you competing for my future auditions, then REALLY. get. on. it.)

MM: What would people be surprised to know about you 

or the industry?

TR: That I juggle both family and career.  I love being a mom (she has 2 boys, jake & jesse) and that I'm comfortable just about anywhere.  Meaning you may find me drinking a Bellini at CiPriani's one day and a PBR while ice fishing the next.  

I can't really be placed into one category. 

MM: one of the many reasons i have a major ladycrush going on.

What are the most fun and most stressful parts of your job?

TR: The most fun part of any project is learning something new. I love trying something I've never done before ... working with new equipment, shooting a genre I'm not familiar with, meeting new people. I think that's why I do it; I love telling stories and no project is like any other. Every day is different. Another fun part of working in film and/or video is the commradery of each production. You're basically married to a new family for the entire length of the production regardless if it's a 3-day shoot or a 3-month shoot. During that time you eat, sleep and live the production and so does everyone else involved. I'm not quite sure that any other industry has the same dynamic. Then once the shoot is over, you may not see some of the people you were 

working with ever again.  

 The most stressful part of each job, for me, is definitely delivering on time and under budget. Further, having confidence in each and every project.  No matter the job, I always go in thinking "when are they going to figure out that I have no idea what I'm doing?" I get very sick to my stomach the first day I meet a new crew, work with a new agency, or whenever I pitch something to a network.  

MM: How would you best describe yourself personally; Are you a food/wine/travel/exercise/reader/animal etc person?

TR: That's easy ... I'm all of the above. In fact, I wish there were more hours in the day so that I could do more and learn more.  The one thing I'm not is a person who likes to relax. I know I should more often than I do, but, ironically, relaxing stresses me out. I don't mean I have to be mingling or at a party surrounded by lots of people, in fact, I'm quite the opposite. I just have to be doing something.  Actually the more I think about it, if you asked my Lisa she would tell you I'm not very social. I'm not good at meeting new people and am very uncomfortable at parties. I love people, but usually when it's a natural setting or when it relates to work. I am not comfortable in social situations unless I'm with people I work with or very close friends. 

MM: note to self. will cancel huge surprise party for the release of this pulitzer prize-winning article and send you 

a bottle of scotch instead. 

you can drink it in the bathtub or while ice-fishing. whatevs.

MM: What do you do to attempt/create balance between work and being a Mama? I'm still trying to figure this one out. 

TR: It doesn't matter how rich or how poor you are or even if you are famous or not, it's always a struggle balancing work and motherhood. The biggest advice I can give, because you're not always going to do the right things is to lose the guilt. Guilt seems to hold more women back than you can imagine and at the end of the day, I honestly think those who try and balance work and family actually end up spending more time with their children than those who don't. Now that's just my opinion, but it's from experience. I have a TON of female friends who do not work at all, and it honestly seems I'm with my children more than they are. My kids are now at an age where they come to work with me.  And they want to. But it wasn't always that way. I took time off when they were young to be there for them. 

That's what worked for me.  

There's always a way if you have the will and it may be tough, but it's always worth it.  

MM: hell yes, sister. i totally agree; guilt is absolutely the number one stressor in my life as a mother. 

we all need to learn to let go. wooosaaaaah.

MM: What are you most proud of in your professional career 

thus far?

TR: Most of my work is with Saturday Night Live, and of course being the iconic show that it is,  I'm very proud of anything I've done there.  Even the stuff that sucked and since my decision to leave my full-time position,  I often look back and can't believe I worked there.  I'm still such a fan of the show that it's surreal for me to think that I had any part in making anything for them.  

Thank you, Tanya, for taking the time to answer my many questions! Come back tomorrow for the rest of the interview, including tanya's fave foolproof recipe for blackberry crisp. 

YUM.

xo

can i get an amen?!

last night my sister took me to church. 

(via accessatlanta)

there was a revival, of sorts.

(via metromix)

the congregation was full of spirits. 

and jesus was (literally) everywhere. 

we drank cocktails at the altar of sister louisa. 

(via whatnowatlanta)

it was epic.

trust me on this. 

...but since we're still getting to know each other, there is also terribly shot photographic evidence.

(sorry peeps, i didn't lug the big ol canon out to the bar last night, mmmkay? a girl has to save room for lipgloss, lets get real.)

this was in the bathroom. in addition to hundreds of other pieces of art all over the walls of the bar by the man himself. or lady herself. whichevs.

(via metromix)

art, which includes but is not limited to:

a poodle sodomizing a lamb doing sheep yoga. 

...what? that's what I told my daughter they were doing when she asked. and i'm stickin to it, dammit.

there's nothing more humiliating hilarious than laughing this hard when you already have to pee. at least i was already in the loo.  

yes, this place is awesome to look at, doesn't take itself--or much else--too seriously, and has killer cocktails, but it was the vibe that took me most by surprise, and totally sealed the deal. 

it was, oddly, warm. friendly but cool. laid back but with enough of an atmosphere buzz that i didn't get embarrassed for yelling ("am i yelling?!" yes. the answer is yes.), laughing too loudly (which i do on occasion--so said an ex boyfriend), or making fanatical gesticulations (i'm a storyteller!). 

also it had a killer soundtrack. 

this place is, dare i say, rad.

could it be? 

i fit in??

these are my people??? 

not so fast. 

i did ask a young guy waiting for a drink at the bar if he's ever been mistaken for brian boitano. 

(via pieinthefaceblog)

turns out, he hasn't.
he was offended. 


(i meant like the b.b. of 20 years ago! not this guy!)

i was embarrassed. 
but that's my jam. i kinda live there. so its cool. 


*sidenote: in searching for these photos, i discovered not only how bendy b.b. is...

(via corbis images)

*(two thumbs up for the fancy mandex, white high tops w scrunchy socks, and complete lack 

of manscaping. awesome.)

...but also how many guys dress up as b.b. for halloween...?! (read: there are many.)

(image via runninglawyer)

anywho, back to the lesson at hand:

i had a blasty blast with my p.i.c., my big sis. 

she rocks hard.

she's way funnier than me, is currently kicking ass in nursing school, and is everything a big sister 

should be. and then some. 

oh, and she coined the term "baby buttons." "lady buttons." you figure it out.

i got some very much needed quality grown-up time. (i promise to fill you in on the 

why's & all that later!) 

gonna have to make it last. 

also: pretty sure edward furlong circa 

pet semetary 2 is a barback here.

i'll definitely be going back to sister louisa's church of the living room and ping pong emporium sometime very soon. i hear they have church organ karaoke on sunday nights, and you know i'm dying to give testimony! 

XO

aaaaaaaaaand scene.