My name is Molly Tripp Schoneveld and I live in Los Angeles with my husband and two cats Bailey and Rain. But, as they say, I’m “American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.”
FAQs
Where are you from?
A tinnnny little town in rural North Carolina called Albemarle. Wait…before you tell me you know it, it’s not to be confused with the Albemarle Sound, which is near the coast. This is about an hour north of Charlotte, our Queen City. And, it’s the home of Kellie Pickler, who got the keys to our fair town a few years ago when she appeared on American Idol and became a country super star. Sigh…I really wanted those keys.
What do you do for a living?
I’m a celebrity publicist or what the media sometimes refers to as a “flack” (not my favorite term mostly because it rhymes with slack, as in slack-er, which I try not to be). After working at one of the largest entertainment firms in the biz, I started my own boutique firm called SW PR Shop about four years ago with a close friend. You can read more about my daily life here.
How did you get your start in entertainment?
Not to bore you with a recap of my resume, but I got really lucky with my first “real” LA job when I was hired to be the third assistant (yes, you read that right) to Academy award-winning producer Brian Grazer. It was like boot camp for the industry and I learned more in that year than I think I did my entire college career (oh and I was promoted to 2nd assistant!). I owe everything to that job. I call it luck and a lot of it was being in the right place at the right time, but it was also my fearlessness at age 22. Sadly I’ve lost a bit of that, so to all you young ones, the best advice I can give is to never let anyone tell you something is impossible and work your arse off to make it happen! Coincidentally, this job also ignited my passion for the way the other half lives (ok so I was born with a lot of it), as a big part of my job was researching the best travel adventures in the world, dealing with luxury hotels, top restaurants, clothing boutiques and shopping for unique gifts for people who literally have everything. It was so much fun to spend someone else’s money, but once you spend the night at the Four Seasons, it’s a little hard to go back to the Holiday Inn (no offense to those guys!).
Why use the term “Yuppie”-isn’t that sort of a derogatory term?
Yuppie actually stands for Young, Urban, Professional. Yes, it has negative connotations from the 80s, but my in-laws jokingly called me that, so I decided to embrace it. To me it feels tongue-in-cheek and I’m usually the first to laugh at how I can’t really afford myself (as my mother would say). But, a girl can dream big!
Do you make money from your blog?
I do not. I started my blog as a creative outlet and as a way to share my favorite places easily. I constantly get asked by friends and colleagues for my favorite hotels and restaurants, so this has become a way to share some of the love. Occasionally I will get contacted by companies (see Leica Camera Project) for a fun partnership, but my day job keeps me pretty busy at the moment, so making money from my blog is not a priority.
Do you ever accept guest bloggers?
In the beginning I had contributors, but ultimately found that managing another team of people was not something I wanted to do. I’m always open to guest bloggers if it’s in line with things I would cover (attainable luxury).
Speaking of “attainable luxury,” what the heck does that mean?
Ok, so if you know me, you know that I do not like to rough it. I love luxury hotels, I love expensive shoes. But, I’m not heiress to a fortune here, people (why?? whyyyyyy??????), so I too have a budget and don’t want to eat my way through my house fund! Attainable to me means within reason (if just for a special occasion). As much I as I would love to cover private jet travel, I don’t have a Marquis card (yet!).
What is your favorite restaurant in LA?
I think I get asked this question at least once a week. It’s so incredibly hard to play favorites because I like going different places for different things and I’m always up to try something new. But, my top five restaurants that I frequent are: Mozza Pizzeria, Hungry Cat, Canele, Hatfields (for a special occasion) and Loteria Grill at the Farmers Market.
How can I contact you?
The best way is to leave a comment on my blog. Or, you can drop me a line at molly@thisyuppielife.com. You can also find me on Twitter @MollySchoneveld and I’m obsessed with Pinterest. If you haven’t given it a try, don’t wait another second! It’s so much fun!
