Jennifer Garner often shares videos and photos of herself gardening, baking and working out. That’s interesting but doesn’t resonate with me since I avoid all but one of those things and don’t have a team of fitness experts. (Can I brag that I mowed my own lawn for the first time yesterday? The guy who usually does it broke his foot. I hated it so much.) Her latest photo is kind of a genius move though, because it’s not specific to moms or to her lifestyle. She shared a picture of her arms full with stuff from the car.
I have a sh-tton of things to carry in from the car and most of them are mine. It’s even worse when my kid is with me and so this was so familiar. I feel like I’m two trips away from my car looking like one of those contractor pickup trucks with papers and empty cups strewn all over the dash.
Does anyone else store things like non-perishable snacks, dress shoes, water and soda in their trunk too? Some of that migrates to the inside of my car and I invariably have to carry it in and out of the house. This makes me wonder if Garner or her assistant drives. I bet it’s the assistant and that she uses her car like a mobile office. I can’t imagine what a PITA it is to drive around LA and I don’t envy anyone who has to face that maddening traffic, but wouldn’t it be awesome to have a driver? You could just sit there and get all your crap done. Still, it’s not like you’re in the back of a limo with a fridge with cold drinks and a hot young guy taking notes while telling you all your ideas are awesome. I think about the perks of being famous way too much.
The paper that Garner is holding is titled “Thoughts of The Day” and has sayings like “Laffy Taffy – Live in the moments” and “The A-List: Accept everyone for who they are.” I can’t find the source for that online (I just googled some of the phrases) and at the bottom it says “LLook for a special email coming soon” and “Crazy Camper Chronicle.” It could be a prop for her show on HBO, Camping. That’s out October 14th. This makes me think of Amy Adams, who is starring in HBO’s Sharp Objects. She’s an exceptional actress who is long overdue for an Oscar, but she isn’t on social media and we barely hear about her. Imagine how much Amy would get papped if she showed up at the celebrity hot spots and courted the attention. Are the actresses who aren’t on Instagram or Twitter missing out on opportunities compared to their peers who are hustling to be relatable? It sure seems like it, especially when you consider their talent levels.
Photos credit: Backgrid, Everett/Avalon.red and Instagram/Jennifer Garner
I solved my “stuff” problem by getting a nice big bag for work. One that zips so when it rains my papers don’t get wet. And my teens have gotten into the habit of carrying those string backpacks for their stuff so our cars tend to stay pretty tidy.
I’ve always liked Jen since her Alias days…but that sweater and skirt combo, oof.
Yeah that combo is bad but separately I like them.
My car is always nice and clean because I can’t stand clutter in such an enclosed area. I will clean crap out at midnight if I have too. My husbands car literally gives me anxiety because it’s full of papers, bags that he uses as garbage bags for wrappers and cups, and other stuff for work. He doesn’t go to an office and travels so most of the time he’s working it of his car so it’s understandable but I still hate it and don’t understand how he can stand it. I’m the one that cleans out his car every few months.
Yeah, I’ve always been a big bag person too. My car never gets that messy, but I can never find anything in my purse and my shoulder’s screwed up! Can’t win.
I like a big bag too. but I found that the bigger your bag the more stuff you mentally think you have to put in it. I don’t carry a lot of stuff around anymore. Just the basics. Wallet, lotion, hand sanitizer, pen, pad and lipstick mascara. nothing major. I never want to be one of those people in some kind of emergency that can’t find what I need.
Always have one or two of those grocery plastic bags for cleanup the car.
PBAN that is a really good tip to keep a grocery bag in your car. I’m also one of those people who needs stuff in case of emergency and so I keep too much around. I didn’t think to mention that there are people who need stuff vs. those who make do.
I don’t think those amazing actresses are missing out on anything as per Kate Beckinsale and Jennifer Garner here ho do not have the brightest careers. On the contrary. As someone pointed out yesterday, Beckinsale posts a lot of pictures of her beautiful body and does not use her platform for anything other than promote that or be cute/funny. Garner uses her platform to create the slightly conservative earth mother image in order, most likely, to slowly evolve into the cookbook, self help, children products area. I am not sure social media helps serious actors. It’s the other way round, they use it to promote side-projects or as a platform for raising awareness for their causes.
I think part of Garner’s challenge is that her narrative will also be partly written alongside someone else – Ben. So she has to have some control of a narrative that isn’t Ben’s and this is one way of doing – she can tell a story of moving on, having your own interests, and not GAF about the mess that is her ex. Not to say there isn’t an element of also trying to be savvy with promotion to maintain interest, but I think Jen has some extra work today to brand herself as more than Ben’s ex.
Yeah, I have no need to see Daniel Day-Lewis or Cate Blanchett or any others I consider great actors lugging papers in from their cars on IG. I actually don’t want them to be “relatable” because I’d rather retain the mystery of seeing them in movies. For people like Garner, it’s fine. She’s not a great actress and has to rely partly on her mom persona and personal business/food/cooking stuff to keep her relevant.
She seems to work hard and be a consistent and good professional to her job.
Man, my car is full of random (but necessary? Useful?) crap. A lot of it is pet related – spare towel in case he goes for a swim on a walk, spare leash, water bowl, large bottles of water, treats, yoga mat for him to sleep on for his old man joints, poo bags…and then the human stuff like shopping bags (no plastic!), spare flip flops, sun screen, lip balm, sunglasses, pens etc. It’s embarassing when someone else get in the car, but I can’t help it, I need all that stuff almost daily!!
Oh Clare, yes… AND….my work equipment: watering can, hoses, pruners, trowels, etc. A man from church asked if I could give him a lift…I said: sure, but MUST WARN YOU…you will not come out clean. There will be dog hair, for sure! He chose to make another plan!
I have OFTEN said my car is simply an over-sized, portable handbag. Oh, I almost forgot….my swim bag for spontaneous (never happens) dropping by the pool. My Earthquake Bag because here on the west coast….it’s coming! (boots, TP, stuff like that). The stuff i NEED in my car is epic! I clean it about 4 times a year – the rest of the time, I tidy sporadically…. 🙂
I hear you on the dog stuff. I have a dog “kit” in the cargo area. It is one of those flexible plastic bins with handles and I keep all that stuff you mentioned plus baby wipes, paper towels and spare plastic grocery bags for clean up because one of my dogs has been known to get car sick from time to time. Some of that stuff does migrate to the back seat sometimes but the bin is my attempt to be organized, which is not my natural state.
I usually have a lot of bags in my car. It is like a small office. I have a large bag with all the medical papers of my husband and another big bag for my job with a small notebook, a pen, a hand crème, a small perfume, and wet tissues. I have also a postman bag and a lot of bags from cloth for the supermarket which I wash and reuse. The most crazy I had always a garden scissors and a box with a lighter, a small bottle of water , a hat, an umbrella, a soap, a towel and the ball of my son. I keep a pair of shoes and socks for walking. If I have lost something in the house, I am sure I will find it in the car.
As a commuter, that is my briefcase/purse during the week. I am pretty sure I will have back problems because I carry so much stuff.
My bags, I believe are bottomless.
I have a beach chair in my trunk. The beach is 2 hours from my house and I haven’t been there since last summer, but it’s still there. And I have no plans to remove it.
I’m always just bringing a basket out to my car to get everything out of it. Car basket. (Cardi can get a bambo basket)
Who happens to be standing there ready to take this (staged) photo?
I cannot stand clutter in my car. I want to look inside and see nothing but the latest mystery on cd I’ve borrowed from the library and a bottle of water. My trunk has spare shoes, several sweatshirts and towels, a blanket for the dogs and more water. The trunk of my last car was a mess and I hated it. I needed more stuff then for work but I still could have been more tidy. My chest literally constricts when I see a lot of crap. Now I open my car and trunk and feel that I can breathe. And smile.
I can’t breathe if my stuff ISN’T in the car LOL I love how different we are. I love that for all our differences…..”we all bleed the same” (Thanks @Mandisa)
This is like the “cute puppy” version of Jen Garner Super Woman.
One of my pet peeves is wealthy people talking about how harried and rushed off their feet they are. Usually their definition leaves a lot to be desired.
Go, Celebitchy, for tackling the lawn! I also mowed for the first time when my guy broke his ankle, and I found that I liked it so much I took it over.
I used to keep a box of emergency stuff in my trunk, but I lost the habit after I got a truck. I tried to keep a smaller box under the back seat, but my kids kept raiding the snacks and water and then took over the cab with toys and notebooks. I recently swapped to a van and told them they can’t mess it up. You remind me that I need to give the emergency box a try again now that I have some trunk space.
Thanks Sparkly I need all the encouragement I can get for mowing the lawn. Also in the interest of brevity I didn’t admit that I haven’t actually finished it yet and have to tackle that today.
When I have to do repetitive chores that I hate (hate almost all of them) I try to “write” in my head – solve some text I need to finish or some problem I need to tackle. It helps and somewhat mixes up with the dopamine of having finished a task, albeit a boring one.
The problem for me is starting. Once I am doing it, I use my method: escapism.
her arms are so sculpted
The difference between this lady’s personal street style and her work attire is so startling. She’s so pretty. I just…I get it. She wants to be relatable to moms, but I KNOW there’s a stylist that can have her looking amazing with regular mall store clothes.
So contrived. A hat in the teeth, really? I wonder how many photos it took for her pro photographer to get this shot. RME.
She is so irritating.
A brand new, never creased, spotless hat no less.
If I decided that I never wanted to be attractive to any other person or animal ever again, I would put on that sweater.
WTF is she wearing in those bottom pics?
Her clothes are fine and comfortable for a morning at the church. I like more her shoes and her bag.
She’s gotta have the worst off duty personal style of any prominent female celebrity. I always cringe when I see what she’s thrown together.
I don’t like the image she’s choosing to project of herself. It’s too childlike. Over the top goody-goody, ya know?
Something nice: I admire her fitness & I’ve no doubt she’s as committed and loving a mother as one could hope for.
Amy Adams is PHENOMENAL in Sharp Objects!
I have a shop & i will put store supplies, cleaning supplies,etc. neatly in bags in my car so i do not forget to take them. My husband always teases me about those bags but if i don’t do that, i will forget them!
I also started leaving a blanket in my car, which has come in handy, lately. If I pick up a piece of furniture, i can use it for protecting it.
Also I have black leather seats in my SUV, & i did not realize how hot they got for my 2 shihtzus’ paws. I had them at my groomer & i was carrying them out into the hot car to leave. I put the blanket on the seat. I wash it every week or when necessary. They say if you put the palm of your hand on the concrete & it is hot, it is too hot for your dogs paws….