Simple Pleasures

We are enjoying a quiet long weekend at home before getting back into the regular swing of things with school starting this week. Like last year, I am taking the first part of September off to not only help ease us back into school life at home, but to spend two weeks recharging myself and gearing up for the new year ahead. To me September feels more like a time of renewal than January 1st does. 

I have a few house projects on my list, like repainting the hallway,  and lots of purging/organizing endeavors. But I'm also finding time just to think and work on an upcoming creative project that I'm really excited about.

I've finally started an Instagram account for the blog so you can also find me here.

The weather this weekend has been stellar. Comfortably warm but with a bit of a chill in the air that seemed to happen as soon as the calendar flipped to September 1. These are perfect conditions to spend time in the garden.

I harvested the last of my cucumbers and my Row 7 potatoes which were a  huge winner. I'm devoting an entire bed to them next year. I also started moving plants around and cleaning out crops past their due and cutting back the blackberry vines that take over my front slope this time of year. 

I wrote about Floret Farm's book at the end of last summer and followed through and ordered Dahlia tubers from her in the spring. These giants are lighting up the front yard right now...

I've been making watermelon juice that is even more refreshing than the gazpacho I've been downing the last two days. If you don't have a juicer, simply blend up the watermelon in a blender. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer and let it chill until it's good and cold. When you're ready to drink, squeeze half of a lime in your glass and a pinch of salt.

It is summer in a glass...

I have loved watching All or Nothing: Manchester City. LOVED. Go watch it.

I also just finished reading Attachments which was recommended by my mother-in-law (Hi Pierr!). It is such a perfect summer read - great dialogue, smart and incredibly funny. I couldn't stop reading and read it all in one go...

My hair is the longest it's ever been and after a summer of playing in both the surf and sun the ends are bit fried. I love Weleda products and just discovered this rosemary hair oil. I've been putting it on my ends (and even my scalp) before bed and washing it out in my morning shower. It has made a world of difference.

I've also been using this wonderful salt scalp scrub shampoo (say that three times fast) the last two months. You use it just once a week though I really want to use it daily I look forward to it that much...

Also in need of a little TLC after the summer heat and constant sunscreen, my skin needs a little decongesting and I super love this new Squalane + Glycolic Renewal Facial from Biossance...

I'm looking forward to testing out their new deodorant...

I bought a few of these air-purifiers recommended by Wirecutter this spring during allergy season and the difference was immediate. After one night, we all woke up with cleared sinuses. Fast forward to last month when Seattle was hit hard from wildfire smoke. We were so grateful to have these in our house. I also bought one for my studio...

I'm really liking these twin-line flossers. They are also helpful for teaching my six year old how to floss...

And I have a new pair of favorite jeans. These relaxed boyfriend ones from Everlane remind me of my old 501s from high school. I have the vintage sky blue wash below...

But I have my eye on the washed black ones as well...

FATHER'S DAY

My son and I are getting ready to celebrate the #1 Dad in our life tomorrow. Breakfast will include a frittata with yukon golds and lots of herbs from the garden and per my son's request, "A LOT of bacon" (presumably so he doesn't have to battle his dad for it). If you need a good frittata recipe Pamela Salzman has some great ones. 

Father's Day or not, here are some good gifts to celebrate the great husband, brother or father in your life...

This beautiful low-profile wallet from Grovemade in Portland...

A pair of Allbirds...

Jim Olson's gorgeous new book...

I LOVE the Marie Veronique skincare collaboration with Kristina Holey. Marie just released a new line for men, though I would happily use it myself. I have my eye on the shave prep + daily wash as well as the shaving oil as something we would both enjoy...

This razor would be a nice upgrade to go with it...

If you're in need of more inspiration, check out Huckberry which always has a stellar collection of great stuff. I dare you not to find something there whatever your price range.

Sick Day

My son is sick today so I have an unexpected day off. I am grateful for the day at home and a few extra hours to do laundry, tidy-up and pay the bills. Luckily I also happened to have all the ingredients to make this way delicious savory oatmeal from David Tanis for lunch. I know what I'm making for breakfast tomorrow...

The new Cuyana catalog arrived today and now I want (ahem) these three things, starting with this seersucker flounce top...

This beautiful travel bag...

And this seersucker dress with pockets(!)...

Also going on the wishlist is another pair of Annie Costello Brown earrings. Maybe this pair? Or these?! Too hard to decide.

I recently bought the pair I've been wanting for the last few years and can't stop wearing them. They elevate any outfit. By the way the pants that I am wearing below are these fantastic wide leg ones from Everlane. I just ordered them in white too...

Something else that looks gorgeous with these earrings is my new dress from Doen. I bought it to wear to a California wedding this fall but plan to wear it every chance I get before then...

I also took some time today to sit in the sunshine and read a bit of the third Maisie Dobbs book. One of my clients turned me onto the series and now I am addicted. I love historical fiction and these are great fun to read.

How to Break Up With Your Phone

I'm not sure where I first saw the image below but it resonated strongly with me. Often when I have a break teaching and walk down to the coffee shop I pass person after person looking down, only to open the door to a room full of people again looking down, and stand in line to order my coffee behind a handful of people each one, again, looking down...

Our lives are what we pay attention to.

I hope this slim and life-changing book by Catherine Price becomes as ubiquitous as another slim and life-changing book I love. Read more about it here and also here.

At home we follow a 24 hour "tech sabbath" beginning Friday at 8pm until Saturday at 8pm (which Price mentions) which has been a game changer. I first learned about the idea of a "tech sabbath" from Tiffany Shlain and her converstation with Krista Tippett.

Do yourself (and your kids) a favor and read this book.

March 4

Ah Sunday. My favorite day of the week. Just today I feel like the cold I've been carrying around the last two weeks is finally on its way out. Right now as I type, I have some blueberry sauce bubbling away on the stove, laundry ready to be folded and a fridge that needs to be cleaned out and a grocery list to be made. This is the stuff of my days off, the basic routines and rituals that make me happy.

Also on task for today, I am attempting to make preserved lemons for the first time with the help of Renee Erickson's lovely cookbook...

The light this week has changed and it finally feels like Spring is nearing. My rhubarb thinks so too...

My raised garden beds still need some fresh dirt and amendments to get ready for planting but the prospect of digging in the dirt and getting things going puts a smile on my face. I am even more enthusiastic after reading about Dan Barber's new seed company, Row 7.

Dan Barber's On Being conversation is among my top five (I mentioned it back here) and in that conversation he spoke about why pursuing flavor matters...

***

MS. TIPPETT: Right. And this wonderful — I don't know why it's surprising, but surprisingly, between doing the right thing and doing the ethical thing, is also the pleasurable thing. And that sustainability is also about resurrecting flavor.

MR. BARBER: Yeah. And the most pleasurable thing and the most delicious, so that they're all run along parallel lines. I mean, that's the serendipity of what I do, which is that, you know, my shiv is like I want to cook good food and it's in the pursuit of great flavor. It just so happens that you're attached to great ecology by definition. I mean, this is one of those things that's so axiomatic we forget. I think it's part because of what you mentioned. We went through this period, especially in the United States, where we're so removed from how food was grown and where it's coming from and who was growing it that we forget just the most obvious thing is that a delicious carrot, a delicious slice of lamb, has attached to it these decisions in the pasture and the field that are both thoughtful and intensely ethical as well as ecological, that you can't have an unethically raised lamb, an unthoughtfully raised carrot, and have a delicious lamb and carrot dish. It's impossible. Even the greatest chefs couldn't do that.

AND THIS...

MR. BARBER: There's two things really quick. The first is that I think one of the things that's been overlooked in this issue that we've talking about is breeders. I'm not talking about bioengineering, genetically modifying seeds. I'm talking about old-school breeders. At Cornell, they're like the hippies that came in the '70s that are there and have seeds literally in their desk drawers that we've been growing now; unnamed varieties of tomatoes, unnamed varieties of onions, unnamed varieties of squash have been sitting for years in the desks of these breeders.

So these breeders — and they are largely retiring, at least at Cornell — are the ones who have literally a vault — literally a vault — of information that I think is going to be so important as we transition away from the conventional mindset of agriculture and into this more regional look at agriculture, which is going to rely on these seeds that can withstand the challenges of growing locally and in a diverse system. So I'm really excited about that and I'm working with Jack Algiere and with a lot of these breeders in trying to get them to stay on and work more with us. What they say to me over and over again is, "No one's ever asked me about flavor." I hear it every time from the breeders. It was like clockwork, it's so weird. No one asks me about flavor. They always ask me about yield and about disease resistance. They're just like all we have to do is select for flavor.

***

I  want to try them all, but am going to start with the Badger Flame beet, Robin's Koginut squash, that tiny beautiful 898 squash, and the 7082 cucumber.

Image from Net-a-Porter

On the Spring fashion front, Trenchcoats are in and I like the way they're being styled. Time to pull mine out of the back of the closet. I have a great one from Everlane, but think this one from Zara is super cute!

I also love these new little suede sandals from Loeffler Randall...

I think I'm adding them to the wishlist...

If you don't have anything in mind for dinner tonight, you should cook this simple and delicious dal with lime kale from Tejal Rao...

Image from NYT

We devoured this last week and I plan to make it again this week. While you're at it read Tejal's guide on how to cook rice...

In fact, all the these NYT cooking guides are just fantastic resources. Even if you know your way around the kitchen, you'll learn some perfect little tip. 

A few great ones...

How to Make Soup

How to Cook Asparagus

Basic Knife Skills

How to Use an Instant Pot

How to Cook Beans

My big plan for the evening is to sit by the fire and read my new book The Self-Driven Child...

A pretty perfect Sunday.

For the weekend

Watch this amazing video of Candide Thovex skiing across the planet on everything but snow...

I loved this interview "You Don't Look 60" with Bobbi Brown on Goop...

photo from Goop

I relate to her outlook, especially this part about being curious and open-minded and knowing best...

“I’m constantly curious—I’m a seeker. I try everything. I tried Bulletproof because it sounded great, but I’d consume 450 calories worth of fat in my coffee and I was still hungry—so that didn’t work (for me). So I went Paleo—that didn’t work, either. I try, and I figure it out. What’s working for me is Intuitive Eating. It doesn’t make me feel bad because I had cottage cheese, or I had really good French bread in the best bakery. It’s my body, my health, and I know best. I’m open, though!”

I just got Nadine Levy Redzepi's (wife to Noma chef René) new cookbook Downtime from the library and as you can see below, I've flagged nearly half of it. It is full of lovely, simple and delicious recipes and excellent tips no matter your cooking prowess. René wrote the forward and I loved this passage:

"You may feel it's hard, or even impossible, to cook one meal a day when you have to make a living in the modern world. I see your point (in a way, even I can't do that for my kids!). Yet in this book I see someone who, by creating habits just like people do with exercise, has made the act of cooking effortless and endlessly generative. There is so much you can do if you simply begin to try."

We love Patagonia at our house. If you have 30 minutes this weekend listen to this conversation between Guy Raz and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard on the How I Built This podcast...

Andrew Holder for NPR

The best wisdom comes at the very end...

“I believe in the more you know the less you need.

The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life, because everything pulls you to be more and more complex...Either we’re forced or we decide to go to a more simple life, it’s not gonna be an impoverished life. It’s gonna be really rich.
”

I am still a die-hard Blue Bottle Coffee fan. I make myself a cup or two of Bella Donovan every morning with their ceramic dripper. I often take a cup with me on my drive to the studio, but in my thermal mug it stays way too hot to sip. So I picked up this beautiful little Keep Cup so I could actually sip my coffee while listening to On Being...which makes contending with Seattle traffic all the more civilized and tolerable...

It has been pouring here the last week(s), paired with pretty consistent winds. I am loving our Blunt umbrella that not only shields from the rain beautifully but can withstand the wind to boot. We have the classic but they make a smaller metro size too...

Despite the weather, I picked up these incredibly bright and fun sandals on super sale at Net-a-Porter. They will stay in the box for the next few months but I can wait...

2018

Hello, New Year.

After getting hammered with back to back bugs, the flu, sinus infections...I am healthy and thrilled to welcome the new year. My son and I were fortunate to tag along on my husband's photoshoot last week to enjoy a few days under the Mexican sun...

While it was wonderful, it feels so good to be home; my favorite place. I am excited to be back in the studio and finally back to my regular schedule this week.

While on break I've been hitting my local library hard. The two books I am currently reading and loving; The Lonely City by Olivia Lang. From the first few pages...

“Loneliness is by no means a wholly worthless experience, but rather one that cuts right to the heart of what we value and what we need. Many marvellous things have emerged from the lonely city: things forged in loneliness, but also things that function to redeem it.”

And Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, which I learned about from his wonderful conversation "What Matters in the End" with Krista back in October. 

My husband gave me these perfect little earrings from Bing Bang for Christmas and I don't know that I will ever take them off. Initials for the two boys in my life. They make me wish I still had multiple holes from my 1990s youth so I could have more...

I also love these tiny skulls...

I upgraded our kitchen glasses over the holidays and picked up these bodega glasses from Food52 and am loving them. I have the 12oz size and also the squat 7.5oz size which, just like the description says, I use for everything: small dishes for mise-en-place, condiments, ice cream...

Speaking of Food52, I discovered these gluten-free and vegan spicy ginger cookies on the site and have been making them possibly a little too often...

I did reduce the cloves to 1/8 tsp and added a handful of chopped candied ginger. They are heavily spiced and delicious first thing with a cup of coffee, or late afternoon with a mug of peppermint tea. 

Another new addition to my kitchen is this fantastic silicone ladle from GIR...

The GIR spatulas are the only ones I use. I have three of the ultimate size and four of the mini ones. I use them every single day for pretty much everything.

Lastly, I wrote a few months back about my favorite non-toxic deodorant and I have a new one to add to the list. AER from Vapour Beauty is fantastic. It is a gel to powder formula, super effective and long lasting. I bought it online but just saw it at my local Pharmaca. 

August 19

As summer winds down and we near the first days of school I've really cleared my schedule and am just enjoying being home as much as possible, cooking for family and enjoying the sunshine. 

I am actually getting ready to take the bulk of September off from the studio as I help our son (and us) transition to kindergarten and full-time school life. I am really looking forward to having a few weeks away to recharge and focus on just being mom. I've been thinking about a few projects I'd like to get done too but for the most part I'm just hoping to fully embrace this time and enjoy my son and the magic that is five years old.

A few other things I've been into as of late...

I still love Julia Turshen's cookbook Small Victories. I can't wait for her timely Feed the Resistance out this fall. You can pre-order it now.

This week I revisited Naomi Shihab Nye's On Being conversation and it was just as lovely and soul-filling as the first time I heard it...

Image from OnBeing

I am a long time devotee to the New Wayfarer but I've been craving a new pair of sunglasses with a more round shape. I picked up these from Warby Parker and can't stop wearing them...

Since we're in prime berry and stone fruit season, if you haven't made a galette yet, it is time. Here is a great go-to galette recipe to keep in your back pocket from who else but Melissa Clark...

Earlier this year I bought Floret Farm's book which provides wonderful guidance on having a cut flower garden and how to help blooms last once you've cut them...

Dahlias are among my favorites and while I only have a handful of plants in my yard, I have a feeling I might double down for next year...

I don't follow many people on Instagram outside my close circle of family and friends but I do follow and love Nitch. I'm always taking screenshots of the thoughtful quotations to keep with me. This is a recent favorite...

Doing the Work + Responsibility

Letter board in my house from Letterfolk

Spot on advice from Cheryl Strayed in Tiny Beautiful Things on doing the work...

“I’ve written often about how we have to reach hard in the direction of the lives we want, even if it’s difficult to do so. I’ve advised people to set healthy boundaries and communicate mindfully and take risks and work hard on what actually matters and confront contradictory truths and trust the inner voice that speaks with love and shut out the inner voice that speaks with hate. But the thing is—the thing so many of us forget—is that those values and principles don’t only apply to our emotional lives. We’ve got to live them out in our bodies too...Real change happens on the level of the gesture. It’s one person doing one thing differently than he or she did before. It’s the man who opts not to invite his abusive mother to his wedding; the woman who decides to spend her Saturday mornings in a drawing class instead of scrubbing the toilets at home; the writer who won’t allow himself to be devoured by his envy; the parent who takes a deep breath instead of throwing a plate. The work is there. It’s our task. Doing it will give us strength and clarity. It will bring us closer to who we hope to be.”

Sunday Inspiration

A little inspiration for your Sunday. Watch this video...

I subscribe to Maria Popova's incredibly thoughtful weekly digest. You can read today's here and then subscribe for yourself.

If you've never been on Brain Pickings before, be sure to set aside some time to explore. I learn so much from her, especially book recommendations. The recent favorite being this one, Cry, Heart, But Never Break.

Speaking of books, I just finished Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark. (Maria Popova happens to have a review of it here.) I'd also highly recommend listening to Rebecca's conversation with Krista Tippett. 

On the flip-side of dark, I've added this bright and sunny hair-on Clare V clutch to my wishlist...

Happy Sunday!