Who are your favorite Hollywood besties?

Samantha, Roberta, Chrissy, and Teeny from Now and Then. This heartwarming 1995 flick was a defining childhood movie for me. These characters showed me that girls' and womens' relationships with each other can be hilarious, fun, challenging, complex, and life-changing -- all at the same time. Surprisingly, I never managed to try out Teeny's go-to bra stuffing trick (chocolate pudding in a sock; JUDGE ME!), but I do remember creeping around neighborhood graveyards, trying to build an actual treehouse sans supervision, and pretty regular seances. Even as an adult, I love watching this movie. It gives me warm fuzzies. 

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Did you have a model of friendship growing up?

Not really. I come from a very traditional, religious family. My mom never had many friends outside of the home, and I remember my parents being very critical of my friendships growing up (i.e. lots of ‘she’s a bad influence!’), while my brothers were given space to happily develop friendships with their male friends without the same scrutiny. Ironically, the same girlfriends my parents were hyper-critical of are more-or-less taking over the world, and dominating everything they touch. Unfortunately, I think this sexist way of thinking made me more skeptical of women than I should I have been for a long time. I definitely think part of this thinking was due to the fact that I never really had a model of friendship to look to. The good news is that I am living, breathing evidence of the fact that friendship can be learned. Trust can be learned. Vulnerability can be learned. And it’s never too late.

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What is your dream bestie vacation?

I would really like to recreate Real Housewives of Orange County, Season 8, Episode 11, where Vicki and Tamra went ROGUE and ran off to Andele’s in Puerto Vallarta to “whoop it up” and take many doses of “Vicki’s medicine” (aka Tequila). This is the place of my dreams.

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Who is your non-human best friend?

My very naughty, thirty pound, ball-of-muscle Boston Terrier, Tucker. He takes up all my time, most of the bed, and all of my sanity, but I love him more than Kim K loves a selfie (read: A LOT).

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What is your favorite thing to do with your best friend?

The littlest, most insignificant things. Like running errands, or working out. Best friends make the boring moments in life hilarious and interesting. It’s no longer just “running errands,” it’s a straight up epic undertaking to the makeup section in Target. It’s not merely exercise, it’s probably a highly choreographed dance to Rihanna’s BBHMM. Life is instantly more thrilling, funny, interesting, and fun with a best friend.