Every month we profile a neighborhood resident who’s also a fan of our Facebook page. If you’re not a fan, become one now … we give away loads of free stuff, nearly every day. And, if you’re interested in answering a bunch of goofy questions and being featured in an upcoming profile, let me know at crobinson@advocatemag.com. Include in the subject line “I want to be a Facebook fan profile” and tell me what neighborhood you live in.
In our September issue is L Streets neighbor Laura Andrews Matura, 39. She works as project manager at Brown Books Publishing Group, and is principal and owner of marketing and design firm Moxie Studio. She and her husband, Matt, got married June 12 at Lakewood Theater. They have a toddler named Andrew and three dogs.
What’s a little known fact about you?
I’m a fairly open book. Kind of bummed I’m not that mysterious.
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
I’m a total klutz, so there is no one moment. Most of them include me on my back or backside after a massive failure in staying upright, with my things strewn everywhere. The last time this happened it was in the parking lot behind Breadwinners, in the rain.
What would your career be if you could do it all over again without consequences?
I would have done something where I could help people more, like a nurse, doctor, social worker. When a disaster hits, like the earthquake in Haiti, I feel remorseful that there’s nothing I can do besides donate some money.
What’s the one thing you wish you could do but are reasonably sure you never will?
Sing well in front of people.
What makes you laugh out loud?
I laugh easily, but I don’t laugh at “mean” things, like when people fall (except myself). My mom said, “Never make fun of people’s laughing, singing or dancing, because they are laughing, singing or dancing.”
What’s your most treasured possession?
A card that I received from my parents when I graduated from high school.
What’s your strangest or most random Facebook friend connection?
The photographer Hal Samples. I thought I had found a friend from college. When I went on his page to send him a message, I realized it was the wrong person. But now I get to see all of the amazing photography he does.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A Dairy Queen lady, an architect, a fashion designer and a mommy (in that order).
What’s one question you think other Facebook fans could help you answer?
Not a question, a statement: I don’t get Farmville.
How would you explain your neighborhood to someone living in, say, Newfoundland?
I live in a “transitional” neighborhood north of downtown Dallas. Some parts are nice; some parts could have used some zoning 20 or so years ago. Fifty years ago, it was basically a suburb, built-up near a lake. Now it’s full of lots of old trees and streets filled with modest homes and nice people.
Whole Foods, Central Market, Kroger, Tom Thumb or somewhere else — where do you grocery shop and why?
Tom Thumb has always been my favorite. But usually it’s my nearby Albertsons, or for the special things, Central Market. To me, Tom Thumbs are set up in the “proper” way. Food is with food, other stuff is with other stuff, and you don’t have the row of paper towels next to the row of vegetables.
What brings a smile to your face every time?
When my son says “bye-bye”, and follows it up with blowing a kiss. “MUUUWAH!”
What item in your closet is most humiliating?
My maternity bras (yes, they’re still there).
What do you miss about the you from 10 or 20 years ago?
My hair was red, red, red.
What do you love about the age you’re at now?
Everything, although I’d love to be fitter, not so many wrinkles, etc. But I’m comfortable in this not-so-toned, crinkly skin, and hopefully it shows.
What are some jobs you’ve held in the past?
Bartender (still my favorite job of all time), working in plant nursery. But since the mid-‘90s I’ve mainly done marketing, design and communications.
What celebrity would you most like to meet for coffee and why?
Chef Anthony Bordain. I like food, but I wouldn’t classify myself as a “foodie”. I just really enjoy the zeal and true excitement he has for all of his adventures.
What’s your favorite guilty-pleasure website?
A handful of mommy blogs (ugh, I hate that term), like dooce.com, amalah.com and shelikespurple.com. A girlfriend and I are working on a new blog, swissarmywives.com. Hopefully we can replicate the appeal that many of these women have created with their own blogs.
What are you afraid of, rationally or irrationally?
Overpasses. I know every end-around in Dallas to keep from driving over them.
If you could import the brain of any person, living or dead, into your own noggin, whose would it be?
It’s a tie that I can’t break: Dorothy Parker for wit and undeniable brilliance; Mother Teresa for empathy and compassion.
Would you skydive in the most beautiful place in the world? Why or why not?
NO! I’m really scared of heights.
When did you realize you were no longer a child?
When I was 19. I was having dinner with my parents and I looked at them and said, “OK, you guys really do know everything.”