Saturday Distractions

One of my favorite artists, Austin Kleon, wrote this earlier this week: I love meeting my readers, but I am so aware that the person who writes the books that they read is the best version of me — the most hopeful, the most helpful version of me. In my day-to-day life, I am as confused, and stupid, and pessimistic as anybody. I’ve stayed offline lately because I’m having a hard time even finding my best version of myself during a national humanitarian crisis, and my rage won't help anything. But this blog is mostly about books and recipes and cocktails, and it all…

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Take Your Goddamn Meds

Anthony Bourdain was my introduction to foul-mouthed, bad boy chefs. But he was much more than that, and if you are not familiar with his work, I encourage you to skip over the salacious stories that are sure to emerge this weekend and instead read about some of the good he did. He was a perfect example of how to be a traveler, but he was also outspoken about the role of the immigrant workers in the restaurant industry. Most importantly, lately he was totally aware of the role he may have had in sexual harassment in food world, and…

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Summer-ish Links

This is the time of year when I say things like, “Husband, why won’t you build me an outdoor fire pit surrounded by swings?” And he says, “Dammit Woman, I’m a computer geek, not a carpenter!” And then I point out all the carpenter-type husbands in our neighborhood who would build gigantic swing sets for their wives, because nothing says “I’m an excellent wife” quite like pointing out the skills of other husbands. And then he says, “Yeah, but they can’t fix a computer, can they? It’s all part of the battle of life.” (I’m just kidding, he doesn’t say…

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Dream Dinner Party

I got antsy today and thought up my dream dinner party for you. Check this out: Dream Guests: Let's invite creative, smart people with a wicked sense of humor. Check out this especially charming story about the Celibate Love Affair of Nora Ephron and Mike Nichols. So I propose you invite them (I know they both died. Let's not ruin this fantasy with details. We'll also invite their spouses, Diane Sawyer and Nick Pileggi.) It ought to be raining outside, and we can sit around the table talking and laughing until all of a sudden another bottle of wine is…

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Soup Roundup

Ask any former waiter what food they can’t stand the sight of. We ALL have one item that turns our stomach because we served it a million times a day. In college, I worked at a café that was famous for its French Onion Soup. We had to scoop the soup into a crock, put a hard-toasted crouton on top, and hand it to the cooks. The cooks would throw a handful of parmesan on it, drape it with a giant slice of Gruyere, and then run it through the salamander (which is like a long broiler with a moving…

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What's Saving My Life Right Now

Today is the mid point of winter, and I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to share what's saving my life right now. Because depression can hit me any time of year, no matter the weather, I've never really understood seasonal depression. It’s no secret that I’m a Daughter of Winter. I’d choose a grey, rainy day over hot and sunny any day of the year. That said, this winter has been particularly rough. I’m making an effort to notice things – big and small – that lift my spirits or make me feel alive, human, and not insane. Movie…

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Let's Go To The Movies

  I'm thinking about hosting an Oscar party. (By party, of course, I mean I will invite Denise over to watch with me, and we will drink champagne in our pajamas and look askance at anyone who dares to speak over Meryl Streep or Viola Davis.) I am as annoyed as any feminist by the "Who Are You Wearing?" question that all women get on the red carpet. That said, I LOVE looking at Oscar dresses. This is a fun chart of the most iconic Oscar dress every year. Cher is the obvious winner for straight up crazy, but I'm…

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Tacos, Gardens, Sci Fi

Here I go again, bitching about eating healthy. Three of my four kids claim they are vegetarian (even though the youngest hates all vegetables and indeed, most food) so by default we are eating mostly vegetarian food these days. I only prefer to cook meat because it's easy and I don't have to think about recipes, but obviously I want to be like every other red-blooded American in January and eat more vegetables. How is it going for you? I'm not sure these Beer Battered Avocado Tacos really count as health food, but they were delicious and technically vegetarian, so let's call it a…

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The Crown

It's no secret that I am obsessed with All Things Related to the British Monarchy. They are endlessly interesting to me, even though yes, I see your point that the idea that certain people live a life of radical privilege due to nothing more than the luck of their DNA while others of this world are starving is lunacy. And I also see your point that the notion that there are people in this world we are required to curtsey to - curtsey! in 2018! - is silly and goes against all of my egalitarian beliefs. And yet. I am totally…

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Good Riddance 2017

The week between Christmas and New Year is weird, right? Everything feels off kilter. I stay up too late, sleep too late, am still eating cookies for breakfast and living in my house bra. Husband and the kids are off school and work so there are SO many people around all the time. I'm doing my best to stay off of social media because a) mental health and b) no, I can't actually think of another reason. It's entirely for mental health. So I'll keep this quick so you can get right back into your carb-fueled haze. We can worry about…

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