Happier in Hollywood

Liz and Sarah discuss the joy they’re getting from their work — which is helping Sarah cope with her puppy-related Season of Sacrifice. Then they talk to grief coach and career strategist Laverne McKinnon about the grief of getting rid of stuff. Should Liz let go of her work momentos? Is it disrespectful of Sarah to get rid of her grandmother’s china? Laverne has advice! This week’s Hollywood Hack makes a tedious task easy: the Ogee Makeup Brush Cleaner. Finally, Sarah recommends the 3Racha Sessions Podcast featuring Stray Kids members Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han. 

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!

LINKS:

This Is Grief Too:

https://substack.com/@thisisgrieftoo?utm_source=global-search

Laverne McKinnon:

https://www.lavernemckinnon.com/

Ogee Makeup Brush Cleaner: 

https://link.amazon/B09Ew4R6N

3Racha Sessions Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsRe1HOD2e0

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Sarah discuss the anxiety surrounding the Paramount/Warner Brothers merger that has all of Hollywood speculating about where the chips will fall. In Take A Hike, Sarah reveals why she’s decided to take silent showers from now on. Then, in HIH WFH (Happier In Hollywood Work From Home), they talk about the downsides of working in bed. This week’s multi-product Hollywood Hack is for anyone with a puppy: Paw Inspired Washable Crate Liners, Woof Pupcicles, Kong Knot dog toys, and Martingale collars. Finally, Liz recommends the book Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe.

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:

Paw Inspired Washable Crate Liners: https://link.amazon/B01JofQBI

WOOF Pupsicle Dog Treat Toy:https://link.amazon/B048sqrQr

WOOF Pupsicle Balanced Belly Mix: https://link.amazon/B0cVHhbOU

Kong Floppy Knots Rope and Plush Dog Toy (Hippo): https://link.amazon/B0ed0EoDK

Martingale Dog Collar: https://link.amazon/B0g7Ag5Am

Jean Smart:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005443/

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty: https://link.amazon/B0dFC1oNi

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Liz and Sarah discuss that one of the biggest advantages of having a writing partner is being able to take turns bringing each other up when one is down. Right now, Sarah is feeling the chaos of their career, but Liz is calm and optimistic.  Next month? It will likely be the opposite! In Take A Hike, they talk about how their recent visit to KCON made them appreciate the joy of rehashing. Then, in The Craft (& Fain), Liz and Sarah explore how getting granular with their characters’ wardrobe is bringing clarity to their latest pilot. This week’s Hollywood Hack is giving Sarah joy in the kitchen: the Cuisinart Custom Convection Bread Maker. Finally, Liz recommends the current season of Married At First Sight on Peacock.

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:

KCON USA: 

https://kconusa.com/

Cuisinart Custom Convection Bread Maker:

https://www.cuisinart.com/custom-convection-bread-maker/CBK-210NAS.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaignname%7D&utm_term=&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ax%3A21470027214%3A%3A&nb_adtype=pla&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=&nb_mi=8527973&nb_pc=online&nb_pi=CBK-210NAS&nb_ppi=&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21480652252&gbraid=0AAAAADFjouLkCDUQb6gHEBcKQXUClZOVC&gclid=CjwKCAjw7p_UBhBlEiwAhpIs7-bFC97gBSwmlijUmvWbDLJ94YpMcod6nLuELFkSyjqPyZUmikkKbhoCJA4QAvD_BwE

Married At First Sight Season 20 trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxO1zuoQtyA

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Sarah have added a useful new step to their pitch writing process — the talk-through step. If they’re working with someone they trust, they’ve discovered it’s super helpful to talk through what they’re thinking for a pitch before actually writing it. In Take A Hike, they reveal their new back-to-school plan to carve out every Monday morning for exercise. In The Mailroom, they answer a question from a listener who wants to know whether Liz and Sarah invested in various products they were curious about. This week’s Hollywood Hack makes sitting outside more pleasant: the Mosiller Electric Fly Swatter. Finally, Sarah recommends The Parian Heist by Jo Piazza.

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!

LINKS:

Miss Mary of Sweden Bra: 

https://amzn.to/4x32hh2

Mosiller Electric Fly Swatter:

https://amzn.to/4zbSqqR

The Parisian Heist by Jo Piazza:

https://amzn.to/3UoxvRk

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Sarah discuss how their recent disappointment over a project that went up in smoke has once again taught them not to invest too heavily emotionally (or practically) in something until business affairs is involved. Then, in a new segment, Making It Happen, Liz and Sarah talk to veteran casting director Candice Bernstein about how she set about conquering the world of verticals casting. This week’s Hollywood Hack is great for anyone whose seatbelt drives them nuts: Leather Fixing Clips.

Finally, Liz recommends the memoir Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane by Lindy West.

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:

Hoffman Bernstein casting: 

https://www.hoffmanbernsteincasting.com/

Leather Fixing Clips:

https://amzn.to/4q5PKXw

Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane by Lindy West:

https://amzn.to/45ipWhu

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices