Ask a Designer: Why does furniture cost so much?
Furniture is where we live our lives, and I believe it is worth spending our money on. But furniture - and the industry responsible for making it - is complicated, and it’s very understandable that it’s a confusing thing to navigate for consumers.
While it’s by no means exhaustive, I hope this primer is useful to help you begin to be able to see quality differences as you shop for your own home.
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice
This soup is such a great choice for a night when you want a bowl of something warm, but also healthy and nourishing. Sweet potatoes! Ginger! Curry powder! What’s not to love? I’ll admit that I tend to throw frozen spinach into just about everything (sneaky greens are my favorite greens), but it works so well here.
Neocon 2021: Trend Spotting
I spent several days last October at Neocon in Chicago. While I walked around, I was really keeping an eye out for connections between the showrooms. I’m not a trend-chaser, but I think it’s so interesting to see the way trends develop and get incorporated into the wider design lexicon.
Cheddar, Asiago, & Chive Scones
This recipe came to me as I considered the best way to use the extra cheese sitting in the fridge after I made my cheesy broccoli casserole. I’m not sure there’s a better way to dispose of spare cheese than these scones, my friends. They are towering and savory, perfect all on their own or with a runny egg and some bacon.
Chicken Enchilada Soup
After a few rounds of tweaking, I’ve arrived at this: my ideal enchilada-ish soup. It’s cozy, deeply flavored, full of pantry staples, and ready well under an hour (yes, even with prep work). Bonus: it’s even better the next day.
The 10 Best Books I Read This Year
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a book roundup, but I’ve continued my tear through genres and bestseller lists. I’ve read as widely as usual (over 50 books this year!), but this list is definitely more heavily weighted toward sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism than most have been. I think maybe I’ve wanted a bit of escapism!
Beautiful Moments: 2021
Each year brings good and bad, light and dark, joy and pain. I try to hold it all as it comes: soak up the piercing beauty, excavate silver linings, find meaning in the highs and lows of being human. But memory is a finicky thing; it discards what seems like most of our lives, holding onto just a few glimmering moments. So here are a few of my moments, as they unfolded through this year.
Gift Guide 2021: The Good Stuff
last year I published an “Upgrade Your Life” wish list full of things I loved and slightly splurgey items that were on my personal wish list, and it was a fun excercise in finding beautiful, quality things that really add to my life. This year I want to share items I’ve received and loved and items I personally love to gift.
Every Product on my shelf right now
It’s no secret that I’m product-obsessed. My lineup of skin care is held in check only by the force of my relentless frugality and my hatred for clutter.
From holy grail skincare faves to the new things I’m trying, here’s what’s in my medicine cabinet right now.
Thai Red Curry and Sweet Potatoes
Fall is here, which means I’m once again rifling through my recipe book for cozy dinners full of fall squash and sweet potatoes. This one definitely fits the bill and is perfect for weeknights: cubed sweet potatoes or butternut squash, cooked with ginger, onions, and Thai red curry paste for a fragrant, nutritious dinner.
10 Spooky-not-Scary Things to Watch This Fall
I don’t like to be scared, but I love to watch seasonally. For me, spook is atmospheric more than topical. As fall looms and then settles in, I want to watch things that are weird or creepy or unsettling, and I’ve got all of that on this list!
For Further Reading - September 2021
I’ve come to believe that the best thing any of us can do is find smart, kind, faithful people who we disagree with and listen to them. For real.
And while I probably spend too much time on Twitter, my favorite thing about it is that these people are always sharing the most amazing articles. So below is a little sampling of what I read this month…
Not a Decorator!
There are a handful of careers that everyone thinks they get because they saw it on tv. It’s probably most commonly the long-running tv dramas, but in my case it’s home renovation shows and the meteoric rise of home decor and residential design Instagram accounts.
9 Things I Bought & Loved Lately
I thought I’d share a few things that I’ve bought and loved over the last several months just in case you’re on the lookout for something similar. All of these have been in my possession for at least 2 months, and I would buy them again and/or rave about them to my friends. Happy shopping!
St. Martin: The Friendly (Foodie) Island
Dubbed “The Friendly Island,” St. Martin/St Maarten is world’s smallest dual-nation island. Its 34 square miles are split between France (Saint Martin) and Netherlands (Sint Maarten). The Netherlands side lends itself to a more touristy/party atmosphere; the French side insists it has better beaches and cuisine, and it’s the side known to host celebrities.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Everyone has their own idea of a perfect chocolate chip cookie. Mine is one that’s chewy, bakery-size, and cooked until just golden. I prefer dark chocolate, which is a little less sweet, and chunks over chips, because I want to bite into pockets of chocolate.
Miso Ramen
I wanted a miso soup that felt like a whole meal. I also didn’t want to work very hard. We always keep ramen in our pantry in case of extreme laziness - we’ve been known to dump some peas and carrots into the ramen pot and pretend that counts as eating our vegetables. So… miso ramen?
In the Garden: First Growth
Every spring, my favorite season is spring. Every fall, my favorite season is fall. I think the reality is that I crave that middle space; whether temperament, politics, or weather, I don’t enjoy extremes. But I’m also perpetually captivated by the rhythms of nature, and the closer I look, the more I see. I’m trying to imprint things onto my brain - what week does our wisteria begin to bloom? When will the ginkgo tree finally shudder and drop its golden leaves? When will the hummingbirds reappear?
The Lost Year
It was like packing for a trip and then getting stranded on the tarmac. I was supposed to be somewhere, doing something. Instead, I lost a year, and my world shrank to a quarter of an acre in northern Alabama. My social circle is a line: me and him.