It's a good thing to imagine yourself doing something you think you can't. I do that every day because, basically, if I had it my way, I'd just stay home and think about what I'm having for supper.

Don't give up or give in in the face of patronising ridicule, amused disdain, or being ignored.

Grace, respect, reserve, and empathetic listening are qualities sorely missing from the public discourse now.

The interesting thing about being a mother is that everyone wants pets, but no one but me cleans the kitty litter.

Don't waste so much time thinking about how much you weigh. There is no more mind-numbing, boring, idiotic, self-destructive diversion from the fun of living.

Instant gratification is not soon enough.

I'm curious about other people. That's the essence of my acting. I'm interested in what it would be like to be you.

I want to feel my life while I'm in it.

You just have to keep on doing what you do. It's the lesson I get from my husband; he just says, Keep going. Start by starting.

It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician.

Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else, too.

Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials.

Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.

My wardrobe for 'Suits' isn't like 'Working Girl' - dressing for work doesn't have to be so on-the-nose these days. The key is to have your own point of view attached to it. Personally, I love cropped pants in vegan leather, a great fitted blazer, and a button-down.

I love connecting with the fan base and sharing my experiences.

My God, I think about way back in the day when we were running around in Mary Janes and Doc Martens, that whole 90210-inspired look. I'm glad that's long gone.

My dad's a lighting director. Growing up in Hollywood, I was around the entertainment industry all the time. I knew I'd end up in show business in some capacity, eventually.

For work I get so dolled up that it's nice to wear boyfriend jeans and a sweater.

I'm from L.A., so I'm used to seeing people in sunglasses and flip-flops. There's something so romantic about a man in a scarf and a knitted hat.

I grew up with that farm-to-table dining before it was sweeping the nation. I do think there's some value to really throwing yourself into food and embracing where it comes from.

I would love to do anything from a really gritty, interesting, indie type film, to that commercial, bigger stuff.

I had always been the theater nerd at Northwestern University. I knew I wanted to do acting, but I hated the idea of being this cliche - a girl from L.A. who decides to be an actress. I wanted more than that, and I had always loved politics, so I ended up changing my major completely, and double-majoring in theater and international relations.

I've always had a propensity for getting the cursive down pretty well. What it evolved into was my pseudo-waitressing job when I was auditioning. I didn't wait tables. I did calligraphy for the invitations for, like, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's wedding.