status update

December 2016 shall henceforth be known as the month I became Very Boring. After months of frustrating unemployment interspersed with exciting travel to exotic places, I finally took a perfectly acceptable temp job at a Real Company. It's a very dry temp job though. I spend my days staring at spread sheets and sending follow-up emails and tracking misplaced pieces of paper, and though I get a full hour for lunch during which I take a brisk walk around midtown, I sit right back down in my cubicle at 1:15pm each day to reacquaint myself with those darn spreadsheets. It's a good change of pace for me though. I'm finally learning what having an actual office job is like (answer: dull, but they give you things like free flavored coffee and a whole swivel chair to yourself), and it's been a relief to take a pause on the ole' job search. I've also used this time to take a pause on the ole' blog posts, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I have a list of posts I want to write - I have honeymoon pictures to share, a whole wedding to process, and lest I forget the idyllic Thanksgiving weekend we recently spent with friends in Palm Springs. On the other hand, I've been putting a lot of my spare time and energy into my Etsy shop which I've found to be a much-needed push into a different creative direction. So who knows? Maybe I'll come back from this little break with a million more words to write, maybe I won't. What I do know is that the holidays are almost here, I don't have a white dress to fit into anymore, and yes I will have a second helping of Christmas Day Lasagna. Stay cozy, my friends.



- Make good talk not small talk
- Welcome back
- Guilty as charged
- This might be my Christmas present to myself
- A quick, easy, and winning weeknight dinner
- Check yourself before you wreck yourself
- Between the holiday gift exchanges and my burning desire to wrap myself up in a blanket and hibernate for the next four years rest of winter, I thought it best to invest in a few new candles

status update

Welp, this month has been a doozy of emotions. There was that whole depressing/upsetting/baffling election debacle that I'm still not over (not even close), but I also spent two glorious weeks on a boat in southern Europe AND the cubs won the world series. So I'm in a quandary: how do I reconcile the fact that the world is (probably) going to hell in a hand basket and still take such pleasure in remembering some of the happiest times of my life (wedding, honeymoon, world series)? Is it wrong to post pictures and think, aw that was so fun! while we collectively have so. much. work to do to turn this country into one of peace and respect? Oy. I don't know. There must be a middle ground between dwelling on the negative and blithely skipping though life, pumpkin spice latte in hand. What I do know, however, is that these questions are not going to be answered quickly or entirely by me. So in the mean time I will take long walks with friends through crunchy fall leaves, spend way too much time planning extensive Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving meals, and cozy up with as much tea and bad tv as I possibly can without actually becoming one with my couch. Be well, my dears.


*I already bought my 2017 calendar, but this was a close 2nd
*You can sleep in a bubble!!
*I love me some trial sized anything and this might be my next indulgence purchase
*It's been a time for comfort food and I've been making chicken soup on repeat
*Didn't think an ESPN article could make you cry? Think again.
*Heartbreaking
*I could stare at these all day
*Welcome back 
*I don't know what I'm doing so obviously I opened my very own etsy shop (!)

status update

You guyssssss - I did it! I actually for real's not for fake got all gussied up and walked down an aisle and got married in front of 100+ of our closest friends and family and didn't fall down once!! And it was fun! It was also stressful and overwhelming and something I need not do again, ever. But it was also a ton of fun! My b'maids were total rockstars. Or rather, they made me feel like a rockstar. They fluttered around me like they were the birds in a Disney movie and I was one of the princesses, shoving me into my spanx (seriously, thanks ladies), buckling my shoes, and last-minute (literally) sewing my corset to my dress because somehow I and my seamstress, over three different dress fittings, failed to notice that the bustier was visible to anyone taller than me (which is most people). We traipsed around a nearby mall taking pictures at the Barnes & Noble and Johnny Rockets (apologies to all the people we made switch tables so that we could have the cute corner booth), had a most beautiful ceremony, and then danced like idiots for the rest of the night. I still can't feel my feet. I have a ton of ideas for separate and subsequent posts that offer actual wedding planning advice instead of just a bunch of exclamations, but for now I'm simply going to bask in the rest of this post-wedding glow and get my honeymoon on. Happy fall, y'all!!

* I'll be taking this advice very, very seriously this week
* My new obsession (and time-waster)
* I put a temporary moratorium on all things baked goods due to the wedding (see: above) but this is a strong contender for First Thing I Bake When I Get Back
* Political pockets
* I'm not alone!
* I needed this a few weeks ago when I swear every line I waited in was the LONGEST ever

status update

I don't want to be one of those people who only talks about her wedding, but my wedding is in 15 days and I can think of no other worthwhile topic to occupy my every waking thought and most of my sleeping thoughts as well. The programs have been written but not printed, the dress has been hemmed but not picked up, the card box that goes on the gift table is a task I keep shuffling to the bottom of the to-do list and you guys, NO ONE TOLD ME WEDDING PLANNING WOULD BE THIS TIME-CONSUMING!!! Blame Pinterest (obviously) and those cutesy little 6-word programs that say "music starts - we kiss - everyone parties." Granted, I knew it was going to be a little more complicated then that, but it's as though I've been in a year-long production meeting for a one-day party. Oh and on top of that I'm still trying to find my purpose a day job and jumping in on a few theater-related gigs because why the hell not. So I guess it's a good thing that my focus has been elsewhere, because this is one of the few status updates that didn't begin with a blithering recap of the current weather situation. Yay me!

*There's an entire world of competitive steel drumming and it's a rabbit hole but one worth going down
*I'm seriously considering signing up for this and this
*The eye of the artist
*I can't unsee this
*The best sushi in all the land
*It turns out I've been slow blogging this entire time!
*I don't know the first thing about neuroscience, but this was one of the sweetest stories I've heard in quite a while

status update

I don't want to be one of those people who only talks about the weather, but you guys, it's like a sauna out there. Seriously I broke a sweat just walking to yoga the other day. I really don't remember it being this hot and humid when I was a kid, but then again I spent the first 18 summers of my life at our local pool, first as a pool rat then as an actual lifeguard. So it's entirely possible that it was this hot but masked by my ability to jump in freezing cold water whenever I wanted. Since this adult life of mine does not have such easy access to a cool body of water (note to self: become friends with someone who has a rooftop pool), I instead have been obsessively watching every moment of the Olympics while setting a personal best record for ice cream eating. Those athletes are working so hard down there, it's only right that someone compensates for all their burned calories, right? Here's to Team USA!

*Read this, watch that
*Be still, my fabric-loving heart
*This sparked a fantastic brunchtime conversation
*Just in case you forgot
*Method man
*The darkest of comedies (but still so funny)
*every.single.one
*"...Leona Watson Chalmers would cite those grueling six-day weeks of theater life as the inspiration for the Tassette, the first commercial menstrual cup."

status update

Today, my beloved Fitbit app told me that I have walked a total of 1,600 miles since first donning the tracker a year and a half ago - the equivalent of the length of the Great Barrier Reef. I for one am just grateful that we in this world have the technology and the means to aggregate such ridiculous data for people. I mean, think about it: I put on a rubber bracelet, go about my business, and then months later I get a notification from the tiny computer in my pocket that I've covered a distance equal to one of the natural world wonders. It's a technological amazement. You know what else is a delightful advancement? The internet. It's full of weird and magical and sometimes even informative things, and in case you've had enough awful news this month (I know I have), here are some things that aren't so awful and that may brighten your day. Be well ;)

- Sweet (home) Chicago accent
- Be more Hemmingway
- Aziz for the win 
- Claire and I made this last week and it was delish
- This one hit close to home
- Are you confused as I am about this whole Pokemon thing? Rolling Stone explains it all
- Life hacks of the poor and aimless
- The most delightful piece of mail I've ever received

status update

I've been light on the posts this month for reasons that range from acceptable to excuse. I got caught up in a work project, I got caught up in an arts and crafts project, I had to drop my winter coats off at the dry cleaners, I spent too much time lounging in a park with friends over Memorial Day, I'm doing a 30-day plank challenge AND a 30-day step challenge and after all that planking and walking I'm just plum tired out, I didn't have (and still don't have) the appropriate words to talk about Orlando, we cleaned out our storage closet and it took longer than expected, I started taking a class about brand management, I had to pick up my winter coats from the dry cleaners, I spent too much time lounging in another park for a friend's birthday, and ultimately, I ran into good old-fashioned writer's block. But this marks my 300th post on this little blog of mine, and while I certainly didn't expect to make it this far, I'm really glad I did. Though I'm decidedly less pie and more smorgasbord these days, this site has been one of my longest non-human relationships outside of an ill-fated seven-year tryst with T-Mobile. And despite the writer's block and the post-travel blues that descended upon me after my whirlwind world tour of this past April and May and the fear of having virtually no plan or foreseeable path towards any form of consistent employment, I write and I photograph and I post because frankly, I just really enjoy creating this space. So thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me this long - and I hope you will join me in raising a (digital) glass to the next 300 ;)


*This was me at a BCBG in boca
*Spread the light
*Art, anyway
*Are you as obsessed with the Brady Bunch as I am? No? Well you should be because this exists.
*Cultural literacy is an Always Food
*I dedicate this book
*love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love

status update

Thanks to a recently diagnosed tree nut allergy, I've been starting my mornings with an egg as opposed to my usual bowl of allergens vanilla almond cereal. I'm uncomplicated when it comes to my eggs - one egg scrambled and fried on a piece of toast, sprinkle some shredded cheese during the last five seconds of cooking, maybe a swipe of avocado if I'm feeling fancy. It's quick, easy, and foolproof, and I've been making my eggs like this for quite some time now (and even more so now that I have to remove my beloved cereal routine). Except that this morning I completely screwed it up. I don't know if I added too much milk or didn't use enough heat or maybe I scrambled the uncooked egg too vigorously? Whatever errors I made, the egg was bubbly and oversized and entirely too runny and took over the toast like a b-movie blob. I still ate it, though. Runny or not, it was still an edible breakfast, and anything can be tasty if you cover it in enough cheese.

*Speaking of breakfast, it's 8am somewhere
*And speaking of cheese...
*Nail biters anonymous
*There's more than one way to write a recipe
*An old friend and her new endeavor
*This is everything I love about everything (did I mention I love this?)

status update

I'm between gigs right now and as a result, my brain is a giant jumble of thoughts and schedules and to-do lists and all the things I want to get done and all the things I need to get done and all the things I know I'm not going to get done even though I add them to my list each week and make a truly half-hearted attempt to accomplish. I did manage to knit almost 20 giant squares that I will eventually sew together to become a blanket (which is 20 more squares than I ever thought I'd make) and I treated myself to a float session in a sensory deprivation tank for my birthday where I discovered I could isolate individual muscles and learn exactly what they do and how they operate. Also, we saw Hamilton and I openly wept for the last 1/3 of the show because it was just that damn beautiful. April, yo.


*Building a better sandwich
*I can't stop scrolling
*Count memories, not calories
*How to find the allergen-free product that's right for you
*I thought I loved my Fitbit, but then I got the Alta. Now I'm obsessed.
*Equality parenthood

status update

I recently downloaded a new app for my phone that displays the weather, MTA travel alerts, a three-day pollen count forecast, an icon that let's me know if my hair is going to be frizzy or not, and a humorous meme inspired by the results of the previously named factors. One of the recent graphics told me, in a giant "greetings from dallas" postcard font, that TACOCAT spelled backwards is TACOCAT. So basically, even though the weather has gone from gorgeous to awful once again and the pollen count is through the roof and I've already taken three more than the recommended amount of allergy pills and my hair is so frizzy I need two hats to tamper it, it's pretty cool that we live in a world where all this depressing information is immediately aggregated and beamed to our phones in an instant. Also, it's March which means it's my birthday month which also means that I have to put another $100 in my "in case of travel fund" (because age 32 = $3200 in the travel fund), but it's also pretty cool that I'm at a place in my life where I can have a separate "in case of travel fund," something that never even occurred to me four years ago when I was merely a silly and unrefined 28 year old. And now for some other news:

*Food for thought
*I want to spend one week here and one week here
*Art for Insta's sake? Guilty as charged
*Let's bring back the walkabout
*9 ways to tie a scarf
*This month's artist crush
*I've spent many a night at his bar, and I can attest that he is truly a class act (and pours a great drink)
*The ultimate road trip
*Misty + Degas = simply gorge
*Good news/finally/it's about damn time/oh thank god

status update

I've been a little light on the posts these past two months, but that's because I entered the deep dark hole of off-Broadway theater and am only just beginning to claw my way out. That's a really overdramatic statement but I'm only kind of apologizing because I've been in tech for a million hours and it's also crazy cold out, which you'd think would make it easier to be hauled up in a theater all day long, but somehow makes the situation worse, not better. Granted, I go through this every February, and every February I tell myself that I cannot endure one more minute of a northern winter and that I'm moving to San Diego tomorrow, but then March and then April and then sweet and lovely May rolls around and I proclaim that I could never leave my beloved large northern city life and only the weak seek the south. It's a Sisyphean task, but somebody's gotta do it, right? In the meantime, here are some bits and bobbles of the internet that struck my fancy, and may be just the thing to tide you over until this horrid cold spell passes.

*How to eat your way through 50 states without leaving the 5 boroughs
*Mark your calendars for these 16 fee-free days at all US National Parks
*This is just awful
*But this is not 
*My love for bath bombs knows no ends
*Nor does my love for subscription services - is this my next box??
*One reason to thank the French
*And another reason to love the French
*Finally, this is just too funny (and too close to home?)

status update

I'm back in black and rehearsing a new full-length play for the first time since last summer. Things that are on my mind: do I remember how to be a stage manager? (answer: probably) am I a sell-out for going back to stage management because I need the health insurance even though I said I was going to investigate other routes of employment? (answer: not at all) will I loose my mind trying to move and organize 55 different pieces of furniture because this play is natural realism and we have to put an entire house on stage? (answer: hopefully no, but probably yes). In other news: we got a new coffee maker and I finally bought a humidifier, so we're pretty much single-handedly keeping the small appliance industry in business. Also, I can't stop watching the Planet Earth series on Netflix. Two words: earth porn. Finally, some other interestings and oddities:

* One of the most honest and fascinating #longreads I've read in a while
* This is Home
* Who wants to start a cookbook club with me?
* I will take one of each, please
* My thoughts exactly
* Speaking of Netflix, this site exists and now I'm not going to get any work done. Ever.
* How to write better headlines (spoiler alert: apparently mine suck)
* And I thought the 6 train was crowded
* Tough questions generate much better results
* Priority passenger