It’s ten o’clock AM and Busy Philipps is having a life-imitates-art moment. As Philipps describes trying to cram an entire workday into the brief window when her three-year-old daughter is at school, her real-life lament could easily double as dialogue in the script for her most recent project, “I Don’t Know How She Does It,” which stars Sarah Jessica Parker as a woefully overextended working mom.

Another way to look at it is that Busy is just living up to her name. Best known for her role as the terminally single woman pining after Justin Long’s bartender in “He’s Just Not That Into You,“ Philipps has made a habit of working on zeitgeist-y projects aiming to capture the most of-the-moment female archetypes: TV’s “Cougar Town” and ”I don’t Know How She Does It.”

In the latter, which is based on the bestselling novel by Allison Pearson, Philipps plays a Type-A supermom who organizes school bake sales as if she were running a Fortune 500 company and acts as a foil to Sarah Jessica Parker’s frazzled working mom struggling to stay afloat at work and at home. Philipps identified strongly with the film’s premise — that the feminist-era fairy tale that women can have it all hasn’t exactly panned out as promised.

Over the course of a lively conversation, Philipps opens up about her own experiences — in life and on screen — of trying to solve the eternal maternal riddle of how to survive motherhood with a career and vice versa.

Word & Film: What aspect of the story resonated most with you?

Busy Philipps: It’s difficult learning to balance and my life has certainly been a trial by fire. I’ve messed up every day for the past three years since I had my daughter, and especially in the past two years since I started working. So every day I figure out how to do it better the next day. I definitely loved the script, especially since I had personally had experiences with mean judgmental non-working moms. So I was excited to play my character.

W&F: Give us some insights into your character.

BP: I play a woman named Wendy Best, who puts this mirror up to Sarah Jessica Parker’s character and illuminates the worst things she feels about herself as a mother. Which is a horrible feeling. It’s that weird thing that happens where women become very judgmental of decisions other women are making. It’s sad to me we can’t be in a place where we can acknowledge we’re all doing our best and respect the decisions other women make and even offer to help out.

W&F: Was it fun or interesting to play one of those perfectionist supermoms?

BP: I’m just so not that woman. I certainly know women who had children, quit their jobs, and still have full-time nannies. That’s who these women are: Even to the detriment of their own relationship with their kids, they want to appear perfect Martha Stewart moms.

W&F: You could probably make a whole comedy about what it’s like to be that kind of mother.

BP: It’s hard to find the balance and find time and that’s what I love about this movie: Sarah Jessica Parker’s pulled in all these different directions and she’s trying to hold together a relationship with a man that’s maybe not the most exciting thing. Maybe Pierce Brosnan is a little more exciting but only because he’s new and shiny. It’s hard to find a way to be good to your husband, be good to your kid, and be good to yourself.

W&F: Was it refreshing to take an alternative approach to a traditional rom-com narrative, in which a woman’s sole obsession is to find the right guy and get married?

BP: This was certainly a lot of fun. Aline Brosch McKenna is one of my favorite writers, with all due respect to my husband (Marc Silverstein) who makes a living writing romantic comedies. But to be able to tell this story, which is a romantic comedy but from a different perspective, was really fun. We were also given a lot of room in the interview portion in which Aline and director Doug McGrath and occasionally Harvey Weinstein would interview us on camera about the character’s point of view on certain subjects. Some of it was written out and other stuff was freestyle improv. You don’t really get that experience much on these comedies. That stuff ended up in the movie as the segments when the characters speak to the camera.

W&F: I imagine this was a very family-friendly set. Did you bring your kids to work?

BP: The movie was filming in New York and I shoot a show in Los Angeles, so for me it wasn’t even worth it to bring my kids because it would have messed up their sleeping schedule. It was also cold and flu season so I don’t think Sarah Jessica was bringing her kids around because you just don’t want your kids to be exposed to that.

W&F: Did you two commiserate about your own struggles to balance work and life?

BP: Definitely. I shared with her how I only worked a couple days during the first year of my daughter’s life. I shot the pilot for “Cougar Town” and then it got picked up and I started to shoot the series after her first birthday. I had been part of a mommy playgroup for the first year of her life and then I was working so much on the show, I stopped getting the e-mails and stopped being included in the group. TV shows only shoot seven months out of the year, so I had this moment when the show was done shooting when I felt so alone. Then I sent out this big mea culpa e-mail saying, “I know I let the ball drop and I was overwhelmed with the show. But I’d really like to get back into things.” And really only three of the fifteen women e-mailed me back. I had a really hard time. I had to go to therapy. I was really devastated by it. I felt incredibly hurt. Like, ‘You’re mad at me for working. Don’t take it out on my kid.’ I guess I missed all those months of important bonding.You have to be able to talk to other mothers. It is so vital. Just so you know you’re not crazy. The short version of the story is: I got kicked out of my playgroup. But it was about so much more than that.

W&F: “Cougar Town” has a whole different take on what it means to be a mom and have a social life.

BP: Absolutely! On our show Christa Miller and Courteney Cox are both moms. Christa Miller’s viewpoint is hilarious: She’s a stay-at-home mom who gave up her career and has a nanny and drinks wine all the time.

W&F: The wine is just basic survival.

BP: You got that right!

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I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Busy Philipps here today. Do you guys watch Cougar Town? If not, you should, and why? Because it is the most underrated show on TV. Flat-out hilarious. And the most hilarious part of it is Busy. Seriously: she’s brilliant. Cougar Town isn’t back on ABC until this winter (sob), but the good news is that Busy – whom you’ve seen in everything from Freaks and Geeks to Dawson’s Creek to ER – is hitting the big screen tomorrow in the adaptation of Allison Pearson’s bestselling novel (and must-read for any juggling mom), I Don’t Know How She Does It. Both the book and the movie are all about one mom’s quest to find that impossible balance that so many of us seek. Along the way, she deals with unsympathetic co-workers, demanding office hours, children who miss her, children who love her, a husband who is both devoted and frustrated, and even something many of us wish (and hope) we never have to deal with: lice.

Yup. It’s real life.

Busy plays that mom whom we all know and whom we all (kind of, maybe) secretly hate: the perfect mom, or at least the one who looks perfect but who probably isn’t at all perfect if you examined her a little closer. When Busy’s not lighting up the silver screen, she’s a real life mom to Birdie, who’s 3, and given her fabulous answers below, I think Busy’s pretty close to being perfectly imperfect, which as you know, is exactly the goal that I aspire to here on The Balance Sheet. For more on Busy, be sure to follow her on Twitter.

1) This is a blog about balance in parenting – in essence, the blog version of I Don’t Know How She Does It. I’ve learned balance by saying no (to outside distractions), saying yes (to my kids when I can and when reasonable!), and trying not to be perfect. You’re a busy working mom: how have you found balance between your home and work life? Or, in other words, just how DO you do it?
I think learning to say no is very important, however, I have not mastered that yet. I, in fact, feel like I say yes to everything – making cakes for other kids’ birthdays, doing improv shows at midnight, stranger’s podcast… The list goes on. The truth is, I’m happiest when I’m living up to my name (oh god, I’ve just made a Busy joke — kill me now). But my daughter, Birdie, is always my first priority and I cherish the time we spend together. I would say 98 percent of the time, I’m able to put her to bed at night. Since that’s something that is really important to both of us, I try to schedule work things around that. You know, like, yes, I’ll do your podcast but only AFTER 8pm… Look, some days you win and some days you feel like you need to do it all better — I think not being too hard on yourself is key — and also knowing when you need to ask for help…that’s for sure something I’ve needed to learn to do since becoming a mom…

2) What’s the most important thing that your own parents taught you?
To follow your dreams, whatever they may be. To be true to your self and not to be afraid to stand up for something you believe in, even if it doesn’t make you popular. That my opinion mattered and that I could do anything as long as I was willing to work hard and persevere.

3) What’s the biggest lesson that your daughter has taught you?
To let go. Becoming a mom allowed me to just relax in a way I never had before. I used to care A LOT about what I looked like in public, or what people thought of me. I care at least 40 percent less now (she says sarcastically…HA!). I want Bird to see her mom as a woman who is confident and real; not someone who’s always trying too hard. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to dress up and get fancy from time to time but it’s OK to be sweaty and without makeup at the grocery store or when you’re flying internationally. I may be an actress, but that is NOT what defines me as a woman. It’s just a part of who I am. The bigger part, to me, is being Birdie’s mom, (my husband) Marc’s wif,e and how I’ve worked very hard to grow the past ten or so years. Does that make sense?

4) One thing that I love about your Twitter feed and I find eminently relatable is how you use humor when things aren’t going perfectly. I think that moms who can cut themselves some slack and find the humor in the ridiculous (because parenting can be totally ridiculous) have a slightly easier go of it and may be a little less stressed. Is that just your natural parenting style and have you found this to be true?
I think that very early on, I realized that if I couldn’t come at this parenting thing with humor, I would not only lose my mind, but probably my marriage as well. I took great comfort in something I read in a Dr. Sears book which basically said to remember that the difficult moments WILL pass, and then at some point, you’ll long for the days when your child wanted nothing but to be held by you or rocked to sleep or breast-fed for ten hours straight. (I’m not sure about that last one…)

But basically, this early childhood time is SO fleeting and before you know it, you’ve got some huge person living with you. I think the chances of liking your kids as they grow into adults, and I mean REALLY LIKING, not loving (because obviously you always will love your children no matter what) has a lot to do with this early time in their lives. Birdie is at a point now where she’s more likely to laugh when something doesn’t go her way than cry or get mad. She’s developing her own, very unique, very weird sense of humor. I like to hear the stories she wants to tell me, or the way she interprets things that have happened to her or that she’s seen. The fact is, maybe because I’m lucky enough to have a job that affords me the luxury of SOMETIMES being a stay at home mom and SOMETIMES working full time, I’m able to appreciate both sides so completely.

5) Recently, I was labeling my kids’ clothes for camp, and I felt very much like a MOM – like, hello, I am so my mother! Do you have a moment or memory in which you felt the same?
Anytime I’m packing a bag of any sort for Birdie, I feel like a MOM. Because if it’s lunch, I want to make sure she’s got good healthy things to eat…are all the colors of the rainbow represented — enough veggies, fruit, protein and brown rice crackers or something? But also, I want her to be happy…maybe some organic cookies or Greek yogurt for dessert? And if it’s for a trip, I want to make sure I bring the right clothes, enough leggings, sweaters, tank tops, her favorite Crocs, favorite books, her Tiana doll, favorite pillows and sippy cups and snacks….

6) If you had one hope or aspiration for your daughter, what would it be?
You know, I just wish for her to find happiness, whatever that means for her. For me, it’s all that I have in my life. Which is a job I love, a stable relationship with a partner who helps me to not take it all too seriously and loves me deeply, an awesome kid, a great extended family, amazing friends and some really great vintage dresses and shoes…

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Vegas fan Busy Philipps is in the throes of working at a job she loves (playing opposite Courteney Cox on ABC’s überpopular Cougar Town) and planning the perfect holidays for her family. But while life may be hectic, the 31-year-old doesn’t seem all that fazed. “I’m getting to fulfill my childhood dream,” she says. Things will certainly wind down on the professional front toward the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean Busy will be—for lack of a better word—less busy.

For one thing, she’s got a toddler, Birdie, who turned three in August. (Husband Marc Silverstein is a writer, one of the people behind romantic fare like He’s Just Not That Into You and Valentine’s Day.) Not that facing the terrible twos is an issue with the LA-based star—in fact she’s relishing the holidays with her daughter. “The thing that I’m looking forward to the most,” she says, “is Christmas morning with my little girl.” Sounds like the perfect gift. Here, she shares her favorite things—including what she can’t miss in Vegas.

Fashion splurge: I’m going to buy Louboutin green felt military booties this fall. I love them!

Fashion item that makes me feel beautiful: High heels! The higher the better, as long as you can walk in them.

Favorite way to spend Sunday afternoon: The Hollywood Farmers’ Market with my friends and family and then making lunch and eating outside

Favorite Vegas hotel: Wynn Las Vegas

Favorite guilty pleasure: If you enjoy something, there’s nothing to feel guilty about!

Favorite Vegas restaurant: Craftsteak

My jewelry style: Minimal

Favorite places to shop: Selfridges and Liberty

Favorite way to unwind: Watching TV with my husband

Favorite show I’ve seen in Vegas: Bette Midler

The last time I saw Courteney Cox was: This morning, to be exact

Most played artist on my iPod: Arcade Fire

Last book I read: I’m currently reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Most surprising thing in my fridge: Energy drinks, believe it or not

Favorite type of food: Mexican, especially the spicy shrimp tacos in lettuce cups from Loteria Grill in Hollywood

My favorite date with my husband was: Our first date to Islands (the burger place) in Burbank

Most prized possession: The baby blanket I’ve had since birth

Being a mom could be compared to: Nothing compares, seriously.

I take my wedding ring off when: I work

I never leave home without: My phone

My driving could be described as: Aggressive!

Favorite thing to do in Vegas: Play blackjack at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (I never win, but it’s fun anyway, right?)

LA and Vegas are so close, but: We don’t get there often enough!

Vacation of all time: Parrot Cay, in Turks and Caicos

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Finding two actors with the magic of perfect chemistry is hard. And finding three? Near impossible. But in the underrated, unfortunately titled banter-fest that is Cougar Town, ABC has exactly that. The rapport among Courteney Cox, Christa Miller and Busy Philipps can’t be forced, faked or, yes, bottled. What makes their on-screen partnership work so well? The secret may lie in their easy off-screen camaraderie, evident even when the conversation is about career challenges and Emmy chances. It doesn’t really come from vino. We think. During this interview, they drank iced tea… (We’re pretty sure…)

TVLINE | The truth: Are your performances enhanced by alcohol?
COURTENEY COX | I think so.
BUSY PHILIPPS | I think so, too.
CHRISTA MILLER | Just a little free-er.

TVLINE | Kidding aside, there’s no actual alcohol consumption during shooting, right?
COX | I would not say the word never. At the very end of the day when we don’t have that much left to do, we ask for some “pomegranate tea.” That’s what we call it. I even got the craft services lady to hang a little teabag from my “tea cup.”
MILLER | But only if you have tiny things to say or no dialogue or you’ve finished your coverage.
PHILIPPS | I can’t drink it if I’m going to be talking a lot, because a) I’ll start slurring and nobody wants that, and b) I’m too much of a control freak.
COX | Her brain is very fresh, though. She’s very young so she has a great memory. I can’t remember anything sober, so I definitely can’t drink and [then] speak.

TVLINE | When did you feel the chemistry between the three of you start to click?
PHILIPPS | I don’t remember which episode it was where we were filming at the beach. What’s the name of that beach where the planes take off? Dockweiler Beach?
MILLER | Yeah.
PHILIPPS | Literally, it’s right in the takeoff path of LAX. So you can only film for five minutes at a time and then a jet comes overhead. But I remember doing that scene with the three of us sitting on a blanket and [executive producer and Miller’s husband] Bill [Lawrence] coming over and saying, “I just want you guys to know, this is the show. I love this.” It was the three of us sitting there drinking wine on the beach.

TVLINE | How familiar were you with each other’s work beforehand?
COX | I had personally known Christa years ago. I could tell we were going to become really close friends, and I don’t know what happened. We had all these plans.
MILLER | We had kids.
COX | Life happens. But we immediately were like, “Oh my God, I’ll tell you everything. I’m telling you everything — every secret.” But she has three kids and things happen.
PHILIPPS | Christa and Bill knew me personally from our mutual friend [and fellow actress] Nicole Sullivan (The King of Queens).
MILLER | I obviously can’t help but be very familiar with Courteney’s career. And then you [guested] on Scrubs. I think Bill and Courteney were both trying to see how it was going to be working together. It was like a little test run for both of them. Courteney was such a good sport, because Scrubs is hard to come on. It was such a tight, clique-y kind of group.
COX | I did three episodes in two days. It was the most work I’ve ever done. And Bill was so much fun that I was like, “Oh God, please, I hope we work together.”

TVLINE | Courteney, as a producer on Cougar Town, I’m guessing you had a hand in casting… Did you instantly know Busy was your Laurie?
COX | I knew instantly. We read tons of people. We took a couple of people to the network. But hands down, hand to God, on everything I have inside of me, when she came in, I was like, “I love that girl. I love her energy.” She was my first choice. There wasn’t a question.
PHILIPPS | It was actually one of the crazier testing experiences for me, because the other girl I [competed against] had another test offer, which happens a lot in pilot season… [She was also] up for another job at ABC. Bill came out into the waiting room and he’s like, “OK, so Busy, you’re going to get [this] job,” and he turned to the other girl and he’s like, “And you’re going to get that other show. I already talked to the showrunner. I just want you to know that that’s what’s happening right now. I’m only saying this because I just want to alleviate all the pressure from the room, so Busy, you have [this] and you, you’re getting this other job this afternoon in two hours.” … And he walked away and she was like, “Well that was weird.” I’m like, “Yeah. It was super weird.” She’s like, “I mean, awesome for you.” I was like, “No. Awesome for you too, you have a job too!” It was like one of the greatest testing experiences ever.
COX | I didn’t know that story. That actually is crazy.
PHILIPPS | I have been in many situations before where I’ve been told by showrunners and executive producers going into a network test that I am the first choice, that they will be damned if I don’t get this part. I’ve had more than my fair share of phone calls and e-mails after the fact saying, “I’m just so sorry. They just really feel like this 23-year-old Canadian girl is fresher.”
COX | That happens at the network?
PHILIPPS | Yes. Part of the reason why I had [my daughter] Birdie, this is no joke, is because that happened with me with Kath & Kim [NBC’s short-lived Molly Shannon/Selma Blair-starring adaptation of the Australian sitcom]. I wanted that show so badly. It was the same exact situation, and then the next day, the showrunner wrote me this crazy email. “I don’t feel like this is the end of our story, but [then-NBC president] Ben [Silverman] wants to just go in a different direction and we have to play that out…’’ I just looked at [husband] Mark [Silverstein] and was like, “F— it, should we just have a kid? I can’t do this anymore.”

TVLINE | What is your perspective on the Emmys? Do you think about that stuff?
PHILIPPS | I had a dream the other night that I was not nominated for an Emmy and I was really upset in my dream. So I don’t think about it on a daily basis, but clearly, in my dream world, it affects me.
COX | I’ve never been nominated for an Emmy, and I’ve been doing this for a long time.

TVLINE | Did getting snubbed for Friends all those years harden you to award shows?
COX | No. I’d love to be nominated. God, it would be such an honor. I’d be so excited. I’d probably be one of those people who just cried. I wish I could say I didn’t care about stuff like that. Maybe if I didn’t, it would be some sort of karmic thing for me, but I actually do. I think it’s nice to be recognized. [Not being so] makes me go, “Oh s–t maybe I don’t know what the f— I’m doing.”
PHILIPPS | Sorry, but it’s crazy that you were never nominated.
COX | Now I’m going to get really personal. When the first person [on Friends] was nominated for an Emmy, I think it was [David] Schwimmer, you’re so excited. Then the second person, [still] so excited. The only time I was like, “Whoa!” was [in 2001 when Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow] were both nominated and not me. That’s when it’s like, “I have a lesson to learn here.” I had a hard time not taking it personally when it was both Lisa and Jennifer at the same time. One guy, one girl, whatever. But both girls and not me? It hurt. I’m very sensitive, though.
PHILIPPS | For me, it doesn’t even really seem like a possibility. So, it would be the most exciting thing ever and I would love it. Clearly, my dreams are stating so. But it just doesn’t feel like it’s even going to [be a possibility]… Especially our category is like the hardest ever.
MILLER | You don’t want to look at it. You want to pretend it doesn’t happen, but then there’s that secret part of you that thinks, “Wouldn’t that be the greatest, most fun thing?”

TVLINE | Courteney, what would a nomination mean now versus if you had gotten one during Friends?
COX | It would mean more now. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been great back then. But I think it would mean [now] that I’m on another show that is regarded and is written and performed as well as [Friends] in some ways.
MILLER | Let’s see how much work Michael wants to put in so he can get all three of us nominated.
PHILIPPS | You have a lot of work ahead of you.
MILLER | What would we buy you? I’m going to say a house. Courteney?
COX | Do you like to fly privately?

TVLINE | I’d be happy with just an upgrade to Business.
COX | Done. You’re getting that today.

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We first loved her as Audrey on ‘The Creek’ – the popular teen drama Dawson’s Creek, that is. Now we can’t get enough of Busy Philipps and her wino pals on the quick-witted sitcom Cougar Town. The 31-year-old actress sat down with Celebrity Baby Scoop to chat about her “sweet” and “cuddly” daughter Birdie who is all about the potty training these days. The mom-of-one also talked about teaming up with Pepto-Bismol just in time for Cinco de Mayo, Birdie’s upcoming third birthday and plans for Baby No. 2.

CBS: Birdie is so cute!

BP: “Well, I’m obviously a huge fan!”

CBS: How is she? What is she into these days?

BP: “She’s great. The biggest thing of recent months is the potty training which she basically did on her own. I feel so lucky! When we went to Hawaii to shoot the season finale of Cougar Town 6 weeks ago, she didn’t want to wear her diapers anymore because it was too hot. So she just took them off and started using the potty. We haven’t gone back and now she’s sleeping through the night with no diaper. She actually woke up in the middle of the night, went to the bathroom, and got back in bed! I’m really excited about it! It’s the type of thing that I can only talk to other moms about. My friends without children are like, ‘Can we stop talking about your kid’s bathroom habits.’ It turns out nobody else cares [laughs]!

I’ve heard that if you’re having problems potty training your kids, just wait until the summer because it gets hot and uncomfortable and you can just have them go diaper-less outside and they’ll figure it out. But we were lucky that she just brought up the idea – she was only 2 1/2 at the time.

The other thing we’re doing is a lot of pretend-play. She’s into playing shop. So she’ll set up her toys or clothes, lined up on the floor to make a little store. And then depending on how she’s feeling, either of us will be the shopper, and we’ll go shopping with her stuff. She also likes playing school and we’re getting ready for her to start preschool in the fall.”

CBS: Do you have any party plans for her third birthday in August?

BP: “We’re doing a giant renovation on the exterior of our home. Part of it is adding a big, flat front yard that will be hedged in and will – hopefully – be beautiful. I’ve told my contractors that it has to be done by her birthday because I’ve promised her a beautiful outdoor party.

She loves the movie Tangled and we read the books from the movie – and she wants lanterns. I think I’ll hang Chinese lanterns outside and I thought a fun activity for the kids would be getting white lanterns in China Town and all the kids could decorate them with glitter and paints. And of course she wants a Rapunzel cake so I’m going to make her the Rapunzel tower for her cake.”

CBS: What are some of your favorite mommy memories?

BP: “Every day there’s something new and fantastic that happens! My daughter is very cuddly and sweet and has gotten to the point where throughout the day she’ll throw her arms around me and say, ‘I love you mommy, you’re the best,’ which is really sweet and makes me feel so lucky that I have a cuddly kid because not all kids are really cuddly. She’s a really sweet, thoughtful kid.”

CBS: Any plans for baby No. 2?

BP: “Not imminently. It’s really difficult working on a show with long hours. I was so lucky that the first year of Birdie’s life I didn’t work. I did the pilot of Cougar Town and I think I worked a total of seven days the first year of her life! I was really able to be there with her and be a full-time mom. I didn’t even have a nanny – or any help – for the first 6 months. I would like to think that with a second child I’d be able to give them the same amount of attention and time. That’s just not possible when you’re doing a network television show. We’ll see, I’m still young. Who knows what will happen in the future.”

CBS: Tell us about teaming up with Pepto-Bismol just in time for Cinco de Mayo.

BP: “Pepto-Bismol asked if I’d like to make a funny video on YouTube for Cinco de Maya. It was the perfect pairing because Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite cultural holidays. I love Mexican food, so I celebrate! They’re making these really funny videos on YouTube and I was on board! The campaign is about smashing piñatas and if you happen to have a sore stomach, be sure to have some Pepto-Bismol on hand. Which is actually something that I do keep around the house.

If you’d like to see the video that I made, you can go to YouTube and from there you can create your own perfect piñata smash by choosing a bunch of different options. There’s some pretty funny ones on there. My favorite is the turkey that explodes the pinata. It’s fun and a good thing to do if you’re sitting at your desk on Cinco de Mayo!”

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The fun-loving “Cougar Town” star participated in Pepto-Bismol’s Pinata Smash, a series of hilarious videos that let you virtually celebrate the holiday. If you haven’t already, check out our favorite “smashing” option which involves Busy and an extremely well-oiled boy toy. Days away from her favorite holiday, we caught up with Busy to talk style and shopping.

That video must have been a real drag to shoot. Kidding, obviously.

It was pretty hilarious. The whole concept was funny— but mine’s the best.

Cinco de Mayo’s your favorite holiday. What do you like about it?

I grew up in the American southwest in Arizona and Cinco de Mayo was always a huge deal. We’d have our quesadillas and shredded beef tacos— the ones that are super-bad for you because they’re probably deep-fried. Those are my favorite.

For our “Cougar Town” fans, what’s next for Laurie?

There’s more drinking and more games and at the end of the season we have this big trip to get Travis back. We shot in Hawaii at the Turtle Bay Resort and it was just a blast. I tried to convince them to relocate the show to Hawaii.

Laurie’s style is on the flamboyant side. What’s your personal taste like?

Very eclectic. I wear a lot of vintage. I just think as the saying goes “they don’t make them like they use to.” So if you can get really great vintage dresses it’s the way to go, even if it means a little bit of tailoring or a little bit of love. In L.A. I go to Shareen and Wasteland and What Goes Around Comes Around.

Do you ever bargain shop?

Yes! I frequent Gilt.com. I can’t get enough of it. With clothes for my little girl, I do all of the kid sale websites like theminisocial.com and Zulily.com because it’s so hard for me to spend a lot of money on clothes that she will literally outgrow in a matter of months.

What are you looking forward to wearing for spring/summer?

I am a sundress kind of girl but I also have to have pockets. Being a mother plays into almost everything that I do. I have to have pockets to throw my keys in, or a water bottle, ChapStick, tissues. I also just bought these amazing shorts from Bird by Juicy that are made of sweatshirt material. They’re weirdly flattering even though they look like a diaper.

Do you have an all time favorite red carpet outfit?

The dress I just wore to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences “An evening with Cougar Town” event. It was a striped Opening Ceremony dress from this season. I loved the pattern, the fit. It just all worked for me. And I like way I styled it. I don’t have a stylist so I’m pretty much on my own. I did black tights and black YSL shoes, and didn’t really do any jewelry because the dress had a lot going on.

That’s awesome. What do you think you’re going to be wearing to your Cinco de Mayo party?

Probably a vintage tribal print muumuu so I can eat a lot!

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Busy Philipps has been involved with a number of TV series since getting her big break at 20, but it’s that big break that remains her most beloved role for many TV fans. In the vital role of Kim Kelly on Freaks And Geeks, Philipps turned what could have been a stereotypical stoner’s girlfriend into something heartfelt and vulnerable, to the point where an early episode focused on the Kim character kept getting rescheduled by the network because it was so dark. Since then, Philipps has bounced around the world of film, but she may be better known to TV fans for major recurring parts on both Dawson’s Creek and ER, as well as guest roles in series like How I Met Your Mother. Philipps’ latest role is the self-assured, breezily trampy Laurie Keller on ABC’s Cougar Town, a series that has made an unlikely journey from punchline to critical favorite in the two seasons it’s been on the air. Philipps talked with The A.V. Club about the evolution of the show, its relationship with fellow comedy Community, and the Carlos Jacott/Noah Baumbach sitcom you’ll never get to see.

The A.V. Club: Cougar Town has evolved a lot. What did that feel like as an actor, that creation process?

Busy Philipps: It happened really organically. It wasn’t like [co-creators] Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel sat us down one day and were like, “Okay guys, we’re gonna change the show.” I think when you get into filming a television show, if you’re able to have writers and actors who can roll with the flow and play on the show’s strengths, you’re going to have a better shot of having a show that works, as opposed to having people who get bogged down in the pilot or in what they thought the show was going to be. What Bill brings in his years and years of successful television experience is that quality and that ability to see what’s working in the show and what isn’t, and they just started writing for that. And it was due in large part to the chemistry that they saw the seven of us cultivating offscreen as well as onscreen. And I always think that the kiss of death for a show is a really, really fantastic pilot, because then there’s just nowhere to go.

Television is about building, and I feel really lucky that ABC believed in the show and saw where it was going. And now with the support of stuff like A.V. Club and Entertainment Weekly online and Vulture, we’ve gotten this core audience. And I hope that more people check it out when we re-launch, because the show is really good and really funny and has a lot for a lot of different people. It’s not as polarizing as maybe the name or the pilot may have made it seem.

AVC: Was there a moment when it really started to click for you?

BP: Yeah, about the third or fourth episode of the first season. We were just trying to get our groove. In fact, there was a scene on the beach with Christa [Miller] and Courteney [Cox] and myself, where Bill came over and was like, “I love this; I just love the three of you talking.” And, you know, we started to feel like the show was getting its footing, and then towards the end of last season we really got our groove. And this season just flew by. I was laughing the other day while I was brushing my teeth because I thought of an episode that hasn’t aired yet that we shot a few months ago, and it was cracking me up just thinking about it. Jules [Cox's character] has an issue with the Pledge Of Allegiance… I don’t want to give it away, but some of the stuff that the writers have come up with this year is just really creative and funny and cool. I really like our show. I’m an avid television watcher—my husband and I have more shows on our TiVo than anyone I know—and at the beginning of the show I was nervous, but by the third or fourth episode, I was on board.

AVC: Do you think your character has evolved?

BP: I think she definitely has. One of the reasons why I do television is the ability to create a character and watch them grow. I think Bill and Kevin are incredibly sensitive to that, and they try to give us a chance to have our characters grow and expand. And that’s more fun as an actor than saying the same dumb thing over and over again. And that’s what makes really successful shows. You get to know the ins and outs of these characters. This year my character had her heart broken, and then you got to see a little bit of a softer side to her.

AVC: It often seems like Bill Lawrence’s shows will have huge supporting casts that come in for an episode or two here or there, like Carolyn Hennesy as Barb or Bob Clendenin as Tom. Is it nice to have that bench as backup?

BP: Yeah, like the extended family. It certainly takes pressure off you, although I have to be honest with you, towards the end of the season, I said to Kevin, “I feel like Bob is getting all the funny lines; let’s bring it back to the main cast please.” But Bob is just so funny, and to have people like that who can come in and out of the show just makes the show richer and makes the world richer. It makes it feel like you’re actually watching a real group of friends and extended friends and neighbors. We love having those guest stars around. And it also speaks to Bill that most of the crew has carried over from Scrubs sand some of them from Spin City. It’s just a feeling of family, and we mess around and just be funny.

AVC: One of the things that I’ve noticed is that Laurie could come across as crass, but you keep that from happening.

BP: I think the secret to a lot of that is in the sweetness of the delivery, you know what I mean? Ultimately, I think that Laurie is a very sweet character who maybe just didn’t have the best upbringing. And also, you just have to figure out how to turn them and make them not as horrifying as they may be. I was talking to Kevin one time, and I was like, “Really, I can’t do that, I just can’t make that work.”

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