“I wake up around 5:30 AM before the rest of my family, and that’s my time alone. Then I spend some time tending to my garden. We have apple trees, blueberry trees, lemon trees, strawberries, butter lettuce, arugula, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, mint, thyme, oregano and sage. [My dad] is more of a landscaping type of guy, and I’m more of an edible garden person.”
“I love L.A. style because seasons don’t really play a role. I’m able to wear whatever I want, whenever I want. It gives me the opportunity to experiment and try new looks.”
“Harlow [my daughter] is interested in what I do, and I’m going to bring her in and show her. But more importantly I really respect her eye. Nobody knows kids better than an actual kid. So I’ll be using her eye when I move into kids’ apparel.”
“My idea of being a grown-up was living behind a white picket fence and changing who you were—getting a bob and wearing beige—but I found freedom being myself... being able to do it my way.”
“We’ve obviously gone back and forth [between Los Angeles and Maryland] because Joel and I did grow up so differently, and there are aspects about the way he was raised that I wish I’d had and vice versa. We just apply both of those ideas to our family.”
“[My favorite people to follow on Twitter are...] Kelly Oxford, Jenny Johnson, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman… I’m always looking to laugh, so anyone who can make me do that, I’m down.”
“The best part about raising kids here [in Hollywood] is that I was never told that being gay or mixed race was different at all. It’s such a big melting pot, and everybody is so open-minded and welcoming here, I don’t know where else I would raise them.”
“I love [reality TV]! We have some great ideas for the show. I’m so excited to step back into that world because I have so many questions, just for myself!”
“Music plays a huge role in my life and is a huge inspiration for my brand. It’s constantly surrounding me at all times. “I want [my kids] to be educated in music and get to know music.”
“I have a few favorite [radio] stations. On the weekends we have Louis Armstrong radio on, which I would highly recommend to anybody. When I’m outside gardening, I listen to a ’60s playlist, a lot of the Kinks, a lot of America—I love ‘Sister Golden Hair.’ And then I also play ‘House of the Rising Sun’ radio a lot.”
“I really just want to empower people to feel like they’re strong enough to make their own decisions.”
“Sparrow [my son] wanted turtles for his birthday, so I got them for him, and he has not looked at them since. I hated these turtles. I wanted nothing to do with them. They don’t even have names. They were just pointless pets sitting in this cage. I legit invented the ‘turtle coop,’ and then I built them the most beautiful outside lagoon that you have ever seen. Now they’re mine. No one takes care of them but me.”
“I found myself interviewing people [for #CandidlyNicole] in a very non-traditional sort of way. I love stepping into people’s worlds and seeing different walks of life, but I wasn’t sure if people were going to get it or not.”
“[For Candidly Nicole] I met with Telepictures—they had been a fan of my Twitter—and we just wanted to have a fun platform to dig deeper into the things I was talking about.”
“[I'm most proud of] my family, my work and my turtle coop.”