Ever wondered what stuff you'd do on a date with Winnie Cooper?

Mark Sachs

November 17, 2005

IT'S been a wondrous year for Danica McKellar, who was Winnie Cooper on the long-running coming-of-age series "The Wonder Years." There have been half a dozen guest shots on TV, including an appearance next Monday on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother," and she just signed a deal for a movie that begins shooting in New York in March.

And then there was the Stuff magazine photo spread in July, the one with the sultry pouts and lingerie that closed the books on winsome Winnie forever. McKellar, single and living just down the street from UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude in math a few years back, seems more than ready for a grown-up weekend.

Popcorn perfection

There's a great place to see movies in my neighborhood called the Majestic Crest Theatre, and I love to go there with my boyfriend on Friday nights. It's been there since the '40s, and it's got this really classic, old-fashioned feel to it. They even have raffles before the movie. They just have snacks, so I'd make myself a sandwich or something simple before I go. But I always have to buy some popcorn. It makes me feel happy somehow.

Strike a (yoga) pose

I'd start out Saturday morning with an hour and a half of yoga and meditation at Yoga Blend in Burbank. I'm developing a yoga DVD with the owner there, Christy Marsden, who is the best yoga teacher I've ever had. She makes you feel so comfortable, and she can do the tiniest adjustments to your pose and make you feel so good. It's a great way to start the day, going from groggy to energized.

Then I'd come home and take a nice swim. After that, I'll go walk around on Montana and find a place to have breakfast. After all that exercise, I'll need a big breakfast — an omelet and a fruit smoothie, and not an egg-white omelet, either. I hate that — it's the nutritional equivalent of eating your fingernails.

My boyfriend and I would then go to Color Me Mine, where you choose plain ceramic mugs and plates and get to paint them yourself any way you want, right at the shop. I'd make a vase for my 95-year-old grandmother, who loves my artwork now the same as she did when I was 5. My boyfriend and I would drive up the coast to Geoffrey's in Malibu. I'd have the sesame-crusted ahi tuna and baby bok choy and just sit, eat and enjoy the sunset.

Check the math

On Sunday I'd do some yoga at home and head over to John O'Groats in West L.A. I always get the fresh cantaloupe juice and vegetable hash on scrambled eggs. The hash is delicious, with sautéed potatoes, vegetables and even apples in there. And I'd get one of their applesauce pancakes, with applesauce inside. You can do that there, order just one. I tried the applesauce once and I was in love.

After that I'd go shopping at Whole Foods, where they have things like cage-free chicken breasts that can make you feel a little bit better about what you're eating. I'd go home and cook something simple, but I also always check my website to see if anyone's sent me a math problem to solve. I'll look at it and everything else gets eclipsed. I can't resist a math problem.

— Mark Sachs

Back to Danica McKellar's biography