Happier in Hollywood

Liz and Sarah examine what’s working (and what’s not) over on their HIH Substack. They love live videos but are wary about overloading readers’ inboxes. In their new segment in honor of Dolly Parton, Cup of Ambition, they talk about why it’s important to define your ambition. What is it you actually WANT? Then Liz gives a Hit to the fearless Megan Stalter, and Sarah gives herself a Bomb for being inconsistent with her Chickening Out newsletter. This week’s Hollywood Hack is great for organization and pleasing to look at: the Steele Canvas Elevated Truck. Finally, Sarah recommends Whistler by Ann Patchett. Sign up for Liz & Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter at ⁠⁠https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com⁠⁠ and Sarah’s Chickening Out Substack at ⁠⁠https://happierinhollywood.substack.com⁠⁠. They’ll come right to your inbox! Get in touch on Instagram: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCraft⁠ Get in touch on Threads: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCraft⁠ Visit our website: ⁠https://happierinhollywood.com⁠ Join our Facebook group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/HappierinHollywood/⁠ Happier in Hollywood is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—⁠Happier with Gretchen Rubin⁠, and⁠Side Hustle School⁠ . If you liked this episode, ’S please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! LINKS: Megan Stalter: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11005835/ Steele Canvas Elevated Truck: https://www.steelecanvas.com/products/elevated-truck-permanent-canvas-3bu?variant=712931675&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cse&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23507190718&gbraid=0AAAAACaJfDslJgf3Y7ScpNxDpGRkpaktT&gclid=CjwKCAjwwrPVBhA1EiwAv_YO-VIQ2f2GtPNBnX4NcoLeAJKjfpjxstk2J92-qJx0XJDiVXBXEWXe0BoCTDMQAvD_BwE Whistler by Ann Patchett: https://link.amazon/B0eeK2FzQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Sarah often talk about feeling pulled in a thousand directions during their work day. But lately, they’ve been significantly less fractured — and it’s great! The only problem? It won’t last. In Take A Hike, they revisit the subject of Season of Sacrifice. Sarah is in one with her new puppy, Pumpkin Spice. Then, in The Craft (& Fain), Liz and Sarah talk about what makes a good logline and read a couple of their past favorites. This week’s Hollywood Hack will keep your floors clean: the Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 Cordless Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner. Finally, Liz recommends The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Sign up for Liz & Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter at https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com. It’ll come right to your inbox! Sign up for Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter Chickening Out at https://happierinhollywood.substack.com. It’ll come right to your inbox! Get in touch on Instagram: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCraft⁠ Get in touch on Threads: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCra⁠ Visit our website: ⁠https://happierinhollywood.com⁠ Join our Facebook group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/HappierinHollywood/⁠ Happier in Hollywood is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! LINKS: Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 Cordless Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner: https://link.amazon/B07Om51K6 Bissell TurboClean Pet Upright: https://link.amazon/B08JM4NHK The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah: https://link.amazon/B0gBgCIgr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Sarah have discovered that, for them, productivity is the best medicine. After a major disappointment they thought about taking the day off and wallowing in bed. Instead, they had an incredibly productive work day and felt SO MUCH better. From now on, they’re going to implement a No Wallow Policy. In Take A Hike, Liz shares Jack’s advice to “start in neutral.” Then they answer a Mailroom question about their writing nemeses — both as a team and as individuals. Liz shares this week’s makeup Hollywood Hack: the Dior Forever Skin Perfect Stick. Finally, Sarah recommends the book Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. LINKS: You Can See Everything documentary trailer: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGJSRFWALTI⁠ Dior Forever Skin Perfect Stick: ⁠https://www.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/dior-forever-skin-perfect-stick?ID=5222087&swatchColor=0.5N+Neutral⁠ Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: ⁠https://link.amazon/B0iSQj47G⁠ Get in touch on Instagram: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCraft⁠ Get in touch on Threads: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCraft⁠ Visit our website: ⁠https://happierinhollywood.com⁠ Sign up for Liz & Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter at ⁠https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com⁠ and Sarah’s Chickening Out Substack at ⁠https://happierinhollywood.substack.com⁠. They’ll come right to your inbox! Join our Facebook group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/HappierinHollywood/⁠ Happier in Hollywood is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—⁠Happier with Gretchen Rubin⁠, and⁠Side Hustle School⁠ . If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Sarah check in on their 2026 Team Theme “Be the Bee,” and decide to update it to “Be the Killer Bee.” In Take A Hike, Liz shares a strategy for putting yourself in the right mindset for the day. Then they answer a Mailroom question about how they battle internal doubt about whether an idea “has already been done.” This week’s Hollywood Hack is for all the bread bakers: the Mercer Culinary Bread Knife. Finally, Liz recommends the drama Drops of God on Apple TV. Get in touch on Instagram: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCraft⁠ Get in touch on Threads: ⁠@Sfain⁠ & ⁠@LizCra⁠ Visit our website: ⁠https://happierinhollywood.com⁠ Join our Facebook group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/HappierinHollywood/⁠ Happier in Hollywood is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! Sign up for Liz & Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter at https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com. It’ll come right to your inbox! Sign up for Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter Chickening Out at https://happierinhollywood.substack.com. It’ll come right to your inbox! LINKS: Dry Erase Dots: https://amzn.to/4iLrto0 Lian Dolan: https://www.liandolan.com/ Liz Dolan: https://satellitesisters.com/about-lian-liz-and-julie-dolan/ Mercer Culinary Bread Knife: https://amzn.to/4h9vwJG Drops of God Season 1 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XxSeLUwRDM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of the incredible life and legacy of Dolly Parton, Liz and Sarah are doing an all-Dolly episode! In From The Treadmill Desks Of, they reveal how they wish they’d had Dolly’s backbone when they caved on a business decision that is having ramifications today. In Take A Hike, they discuss how Dolly lived her values. Then they introduce a new segment, Cup Of Ambition, in which they’ll talk about how to maintain healthy ambition — just like Dolly did. This week’s Hollywood Hack is a summer grown up glitter make up trend that Dolly would approve of — L’Oreal Le Shadow Stick. Finally, they recommend the classic 1980 Dolly Parton movie 9 to 5 and a tribute to Dolly as a writer from Tressie McMillan Cottom. LINKS: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: https://imaginationlibrary.com/ Happier In Hollywood Episode 242: https://happierinhollywood.com/ep-242-what-would-dolly-do-2022/ The Values Bridge: https://www.becomingyou.com/values-bridge 1977 Dolly Parton interview with Barbara Walters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-poIrpApkw L’Oreal Le Shadow Stick: https://amzn.to/3UnA06z 9 to 5 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qni6HOyPNBA “Loving Dolly Was Easy, Understanding Her Was Hard,” by Tressie McMillan Cottom: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/opinion/dolly-parton-appalachia-legacy.html Get in touch on Instagram: @Sfain & @LizCraft Get in touch on Threads: @Sfain & @LizCraft Visit our website: https://happierinhollywood.com Sign up for Liz & Sarah’s free weekly Substack newsletter at https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com and Sarah’s Chickening Out Substack at https://happierinhollywood.substack.com. They’ll come right to your inbox! Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/HappierinHollywood/ Happier in Hollywood is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, andSide Hustle School . If you liked this episode, ’S please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices