If your home is peaceful, then you're going to go out in your day peacefully.

My dad's side of the family are missionaries who are more comfortable sitting around in sweatpants than they are in a five-star restaurant. But those two influences converged in my life. My heart is in helping people and in the less materialistic side of things, but there's the side of me that's more polished. If I were to live in Africa, serving the poor, the number-one thing I'd miss wouldn't be running water or electricity—it would be style...being able to get dressed up and feel beautiful.

One of the great pleasures of working in Middle Earth is you get to be another being.

When I am doing things around the house - when I'm decorating, setting up furniture, putting out a vase of flowers, lighting my candles, my mind is always thinking, "What do I need to do to make this space peaceful and restful and comfortable so that when people walk into it, aesthetically they're heightened and enlightened?"

I was a good student, I was good at soccer, I was vice president of the student council, I was a pretty girl.

I am who I am and I am what I am. And it's beautiful. And it's okay even if it doesn't look like the sexiest Victoria Secret model. It also boils down to my interactions with people.

I don't know why, but the warmth and the comfort of flickering light help. And a fire, in the fireplace or on the beach, is very comforting. I think when you make something consistent and familiar, it helps. I light candles every single night in my home.