What is your idea of perfect happiness? Mid-October nights. Reading with my kids before bed. A Hendrick's martini with lime. A boiled lobster with lemon. Crossing things off my to-list. Post-deadline euphoria. Having the T arrive just as I'm getting to the platform.

What is your greatest fear? Top 3: Spiders. Public speaking. Driving.

What historical figure do you most identify with? A tie between Dr. Seuss and Simone de Beauvoir

Which living person do you most admire? My stepmother

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I bite my nails when on deadline.

What is the trait you most deplore in others? Bullying (between adults)

What is your greatest extravagance? Dessert. Always. Of every kind.

What is your favorite journey? To Duxbury Beach

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Opportunism

On what occasion do you lie? When people ask me if they look fat.

What do you dislike most about your appearance? My horrible nose. It looks like a two-car drive.

Which living person do you most despise? I'd love to despise Sarah Palin, if she weren't so fun to laugh at.

What I your greatest regret? Not learning piano when I was little.

What or who is the greatest love of your life? My husband. And I'd say that even if I didn't have to.

When and where were you happiest? Directly after the birth of my first child.

What talent would you most like to have? I wouldn't mind being able to sing like Christina.

What is your current state of mind? Frenzied. But that will change soon; September's always my craziest month.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Remember that thing about my nose?

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? My parents would babysit for my kids more.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? My writing.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? Someone taller.

What is your most treasured possession? Well, it WAS my Pucci umbrella. I used to pray for rain. But then I lost it. Utter tragedy.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? A Tea Party-controlled government.

Where would you like to live? Barcelona. Florence. San Francisco. But I adore Boston and doubt I'll ever leave.

What is your favorite occupation? Writing.

What is your most marked characteristic? Honesty. For better or worse.

What is the quality you like most in a man? Servitude. No? Okay, fine: wit.

What is the quality you like most in a woman? Bravery.

What do you most value in your friends? Honesty.

Who are your favorite writers? Fitzgerald. Frost. Hugo. Austen. Nabokov. Salinger. Woolf. Wharton. Tolkien. Steinbeck. Didion.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Holden Caulfield.

Who are your heroes in real life? My stepmother. Austyn Mayfield. My husband.

What are your favorite names? Cleo. Zachary. Alexandra. Simone.

What is it that you most dislike? Waiting.

How would you like to die? Suddenly.

What is your motto? Don't really have one, but it would probably be, "Live every day like it could be your last. And don't bother with regrets."

Which era of fashion history do you personally romanticize the most? The '30s.

Which three fashion icons, past or present, would you most want to meet? Diana Vreeland. Katherine Hepburn. Elsa Schiaparelli.

Who do you think has made the greatest contribution to the art fashion in the past 10 years? McQueen.

Where did you first experience the power of fashion? On Halloween, dressed as a princess at age 7. I Trick or Treated at the door of the boy I had a crush on, and he gushed. I'm pretty sure I turned bright red.

What is your current go-to fashion accessory? My VBH Brera double-zip satchel.

How many pairs of shoes do you own? 76

Which contemporary designer do you believe will stand the test of time? Zac Posen.

Which fashion designer do you believe most influences your personal style? Stella McCartney and Daniela Corte.

How do you weigh in on fashion versus style? Fashion is just stuff. Beautiful stuff, but stuff nonetheless. Style is the way you see the world, and how you move through it.

What trend do you regret having followed? See above about my feelings on regrets.