Mother Stories
Pregnancy Style: Lia Ices
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Maria Del Rio
Jul 12, 2016
If you haven’t yet carved out time for a summer vacation, this profile on Sonoma-based singer/songwriter Lia Ices is something like a virtual sunny getaway. Now based in Sonoma (after decamping from the East Coast three years ago and marrying Scribe winemaker Andrew Mariani), the musician is feeling the country life. Pregnant with the couple’s first baby (a girl), Ices’ resides in a beautiful modernist cube smack dab in the middle of the Sonoma hills, just a short drive away from the Scribe property. While showing us around the jaw-dropping property (which includes a separate guest house/music studio), the blooming beauty talks about style, the music biz, becoming a mother, and more.
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- "Our home is all about the oak trees. It was built amongst a oak grove on Moon Mountain in Sonoma, and next to and under one especially impressive large oak. The walls are mostly windows, so you really feel like you’re living with these trees and are deeply connected with nature—the birds, the sky, and the sun. I’ve always needed my home to be my sanctuary, especially because I work and write from home, too, but now I enjoy the benefits of a separate music studio! Living in nature is endlessly inspiring and grounding for me, and this home is definitely my favorite place I’ve ever lived. The two of us spend most nights cooking and listening to records and checking out the stars. We love having friends up and entertaining here, too."
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- "Comfortable, open, eclectic."
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- "More plants! And mix the old and the new."
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- "Our house isn’t set up for a separate playroom, or any 'rooms' actually—lucky we have lots of built in storage and lots of outdoor play space."
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- "The large-scale tapestry in our bedroom is a piece I had commissioned by our friend and one of my favorite living artists, Tom Jean Webb. It was my wedding present to Andrew." Lia wears a vintage Pakistani dress and a Lady Grey choker.
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- "Rediscovering the world through the most curious eyes, having that much more love and joy in my life, and letting myself be transformed by it."
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- "The mother-daughter relationship is so deep and I look forward to being on the other end of it. I’m so excited and honored to raise a mighty little woman and help her become her fullest best self."
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- "My friends who already have babies are my mom icons! They continue to discover themselves, grow their businesses and deepen their passions, and raise wonderful loving humans."
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- "I love being pregnant and feel very lucky that it’s been uncomplicated. Because it’s been pretty smooth, I've been able to really enjoy how truly psychedelic and mesmerizing it all is."
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- "Any and all Ina May Gaskin and The Gentle Birth Method by Gowri Motha, and Mother Mag!"
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- “Natural.”
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- “For first trimester cravings Wise Sons Bagels in S.F. was a savior. And International Orange for an In Fiore facial, which is the most beautiful line of natural, flower-based oils.”
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- “I’m having two! A big family shower in Winters, California, where Andrew grew up and where a lot of his family still lives, then a smaller friends one in Sonoma.”
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- “Yes. We both feel the sibling relationship is one of the strongest and most important relationships you can have as a human. We both work with our siblings, too. I write music with my brother Eliot, and Andrew runs the winery with his brother Adam.”
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- “Minimalist hippie x Virgin Suicides.” Lia wears an Isabel Marant dress and Rogue sandals.
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- “I wear more dresses and more drawstring pants.”
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- “Denim (in all forms), jumpsuits, and neutral knits.”
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- “Isabel Marant is a go-to for me, the designs are effortless and feminine, and cool without doing too much. I also love Suno for its prints, and Acne for jeans and outerwear.”
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- “Now that home base is on a mountain in Northern California, it’s mostly online. But when I’m in NYC, my favorite place to shop is Narnia for stunning, far-out vintage.”
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- “I use a Tata Harper serum every morning, and either In Fiore’s Complexe de Fleur or a Moroccan rose oil before bed. I use minimal makeup, but I do love a little bronzer in the summer.”
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- “I am deep into my pilates practice, which is slightly limited now because of my size. So, I walk on the mountain a lot and swim whenever I can! Swimming feels the best during pregnancy.”
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- “I am a singer/songwriter on Jagjaguwar Records.” Lia wears a jumpsuit bought on vacation in Italy, Maryam Nassir Zadeh shoes, and Garrett Leight sunglasses.
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- “I was born in Chicago, where my parents met, but I grew up in Westport, Connecticut, a seaside suburb of NYC. I knew at a young age (with my parent’s help) that I wanted to be a performer, and went to an arts boarding school outside of Boston, where my major was theater. I then went to Tisch at NYU, where I ended up in the Experimental Theatre Wing. After school I modeled and acted, and I started writing music and playing music around NYC. I had my first solo show at CBGBs in 2005, and started a couple different bands until I made my first solo record in 2008, at which point I got signed to a record deal a year later. I lived in New York for 10 years, then moved up to the Hudson Valley for two years, and have now been in Sonoma for three years!”
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- “I’ve felt very creative throughout my pregnancy. I hope motherhood will provide even more inspiration.” Lia's necklace from her husband Andrew has two meaningful charms, one turquoise eye and the other a coral rose.
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- “Yes, lots of friends and family around. We are lucky!”
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- “I’m recording my next album in January, so I will at least have September through December to be completely focused on the baby. But who knows, maybe I’ll want to keep writing even during those early times, too, but I’m not putting pressure on myself to show up every day in the studio like I do now. There will be a new balance.”
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- “Making music makes me feel free.”
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- “Yes, Scribe has such an amazing community around it, and it’s a huge part of our lives. I’ve been helping with interiors of The Hacienda, the old mission revival-style house we’ve been renovating for over two years now that will be used for drinking and eating all the great things made at Scribe. It’s almost done!" Lia wears a Hatch cami, Paige Denim maternity jeans, Grevi hat, Thierry Lasry sunglasses, and Stan Smith sneakers.
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- "For her be surrounded and in tune with the natural world. On our property, we have a big flower garden and fruit tree orchard with plums, pears, lemons, apples, figs—it's so fun. And new to me, too, coming from the East Coast. Then, of course, the Scribe vineyards down the road. I’m also excited that she will grow up in a very social enivironment. Scribe feels like a big, open family, with so many events and guests coming through all the time. There's never a dull monument up here in the country!"
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- "It's been a slow and steady transition, but now that I’m three years in, it really does feel like home."
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- An outdoor chandelier on the property.
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- "Sweet New England vibes. We grew up on a cul-de-sac close to the beach. My brother played lacrosse and skateboarded, I went to tons of dance classes and had piano recitals. By the time I was a teenager, my friends and I would go into NYC and hang out in the East Village and Soho, we’d go to Kim’s Underground and buy Built to Spill CDs and stuff like that. I remember going to a PJ Harvey concert at the Beacon when I was 14. I felt encouraged by my family to be whoever I was, which was actually not like most kids in Connecticut."
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- Delicate details.
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- "It's hard to imagine us being anywhere else because of what we are building here. But I will say, we will always carve out time for some New England summer."
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- To follow along with Lia's journey, check her out on Instagram.
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