While my mom has taught me oodles of invaluable lessons throughout my life – especially on the topics of practicality and self-sufficiency – she isn’t one to “give advice.” She’s more of a “lead by example” type of gal.

However, my mom’s mom, Grandma Pat, was in fact an advice-giver. A tall redheaded who spent 35 years as a hairdresser at an eclectic L.A. salon, she fed me tidbits of useful information like only a grandma could! Here are a few gems:

• Never ever dye your hair black. She’d seen too many teenaged blondes come in to the salon to fix the mess they’d created with a box of dye from the drugstore.

• Coffee solves everything. Coffee was to Grandma Pat what cheesecake was to The Golden Girls. I’d like to think I inherited my love for lattes, cappuccinos and plain old, freshly ground coffee from her.

• Wear this, you’re a “Summer.” I should wear colors that are the most flattering on my skin tone, like pastels. She was an autumn, so those shades were out for her.

• You’ve got a nice butt – but don’t let it get too big. Had anyone else said it, I would’ve been offended, but I’d like to think she was just giving an honest, grandmotherly recommendation.

Note: After chatting with my mom about this post, she reminded me of a great piece of advice she’d given me: Don’t get married near your birthday. You’ll always end up with a 2-in-1 celebration. Good call, Mom!