(Video link here.) On the heels of Sally’s how-to-make-herb-salt-video on The Splendid Table this weekend, we thought this piece by British ‘ecclectic, eccentric and innovative musician’ Imogen Heap would make a nice combo-platter. Heap “sings” salt into a beautiful and very controlled, rather cosmic-looking pattern. Actually, singing might not be the right word – we actually…
Read Moreif not balloons, how about sky lanterns + wishing papers?
(Video link here). Our recent balloon post about how wonderful it felt to let balloons go (and make a wish) created quite an uproar. It seems we hadn’t considered the environmental impact of balloons – especially the foil kind – on the environment, so we redacted it and tried to impart some semblence of fair-and-unbiased…
Read Morewhen nature reminds you to stop what you are doing
Last week, we were working away when suddenly we felt the air change. We looked out the window to see a storm cloud right out of a Disney movie: ominous swirls of gray collecting on the horizon. A fierce wind was whipping through the trees in the park across the way. All we could do…
Read Moregratitude to our ‘friends with benefits’
A couple of weeks ago, after we posted our invitation/plea to become a ‘friend with benefits’ and support ‘the improvised life’, we received quite an outpouring of support, from subscription sign-ups to one-time donations to messages of how much our daily postings mean to our readers. Our favorite was this one: Hi, Love your work…
Read Moreimprov alternatives to traditional flower arrangements
Our new neighborhood is hit-or-miss for flowers…come to think of it, our old one was as well. Sometimes, when you REALLY need them to liven up the place, there just isn’t much of a selection. Then we took the word “liven” to heart in thinking about alternatives we could use when we couldn’t find great…
Read Morevideo: sally making herb salt with lynnne rossetto kasper (now there’s no excuse not to make it!)
(Video link here.) As promised in yesterday’s post, here ‘s the video of Sally on public radio’s The Splendid Table showing host Lynne Rossetto Kasper how she makes her Fragrant Herb Salt, and the many possibilities for improvising with it, from roast chicken to vegetables to butter cookies. You’ll find the recipes for it and…
Read Moresplendid table’s ‘key 3’ recipes from great cooks
Over the past few month’s public radio’s The Splendid Table hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper has featured an illuminating series called Key 3: a series of discussions with great cooks (not just professional chefs) about the three recipes or techniques they think everyone should know. In a break from traditional radio, Kasper and her team…
Read Moregarden of delights: béquet montana caramels
A while after we posted about Laura Handler’s lovely Montana cabin, and after many emails back and forth in which we discovered we lived in the same neighborhood in New York, and many other affinities, we received a package in the mail. With it came a note: “Just another worlds-colliding-thing from here that I hope…
Read Moresightings: fishs eddy’s spoon dress
More improv fashion via Maria Robledo: Fishs Eddy‘s fab spoon dress. We imagine it CLANKING rather than tinkling like Bjork’s bell dress, and revised it in our heads to be made with thin coin silver spoons…wouldn’t THAT be something….?
Read Moremaira kalman on life, death, work, love…
(Video link here.) We can’t think of a better way to celebrate this lovely ordinary day than with this video of the great Maira Kalman – whose remarkable books are a blend of images and words into vivid stories – giving her two cents on what it is to be human. She covers a lot…
Read More2 minute miracle: 88 women ‘flying’
(Video link here.) The 88 member ‘Pearls of Russia’ women’s skydiving team pulloff a stunning flower formation jump. Daring, breathtaking, wondrous… via Core 77 Related posts: ‘tiny wings’: more on the theme of flying fly around the earth! do you want to fly? skateboard in style! (1974) practice flying (via the uganda skateboard union)
Read Moreharlem lab renovation: ‘before’ photos
I’ve been circling the story of the transformation of ‘the improvised life’s new Laboratory from vin ordinaire apartment to its new incarnation of fluid, morphable, multi-use space for living and improvising (a glimpse above), wondering how to tell it. Having shown the early sketches and plans, it seems like the best bet would be to…
Read Moredesktop (+floor +wall) inspirations from unlikely sources
Since we started renovating ‘the improvised life’s space’ we’ve had our eyes peeled for solutions to various design problems. We’re finding that once we have a question in our head, inspiration and ideas can come from the most unlikely places. Desperately needing a proper desk to work on, we hurredly devised one out of hollow…
Read Morefour from our readers…from typeface to pallet art
We’ve gotten quite a few email submissions from our readers lately, along with a stead uptick in traffic. Yaye. Or should we say YUM, the beautiful fragment of type Maria Robledo’s daughter Isabel created. At bottom, a shipping pallet that’s been transformed into an artwork by Mexican artist and reader Mary Carmen. You can see…
Read MoreGift: Balloons for Grownups, Rethought and Redacted
UPDATE: After we published the post below, about giving balloons to grownups so they can experience “setting them free”, we got a number of comments alerting us to the dangers balloons pose to birds, wildlife and the environment. Charmed by balloons, we confess to having been completely naive about these harsh realities, which you can…
Read Moregood maker’s ‘blogs for good’ contest (+ jesse bernstein)
Good Maker is running a contest for bloggers trying to make a social impact. Selected by popular vote, the winner will get $1,000 for the cause they support plus a $500 prize. The ‘Blogs for Good’ run the gamut, from blogs that advocate for the positive aspects of pit-bull-like dogs or the virtues of home-grown foods to…
Read Morereader’s improv: cardigan sweater skirt
Last Fourth of July, Antonia LoPresti sent us an email about the emergency improv she came up with for her daughter Sofia: After an impromptu dip in the Washington square park fountain, Sofia’s skirt was soaked. A hunt to find a children’s shop yielded no luck SO I took my cardigan sweater out of my bag,…
Read Moreblank folding canvas room screen for d-i-y decorating
In our wanderings online – always on the lookout for room screens – we stumbled on this intriguing room screen with huge possibilities for improvising and tailoring to your space. Comprised of a series of hinged canvas-covered panels, you can use it as-is for a neutral, minimalist look OR paint or draw designs on it…
Read Morethe healing powers of ipads…laptops…computers…
Our friend Jody Lotito Levine sent us an email filled with images, some of them really wondrous. With them came this message: …from my former boss and dear friend recovering from pancreatic cancer: he says his ipad has been so healing and connective – We mention it on the heels of our post about disconnecting…
Read Morevacation (or weekend) mental prep
This recent New Yorker cover by Mark Ulriksen called “Capturing the Memories” is, curiously, the perfect illustration the New York Times article Call Waiting: It’s Me, Your Vacation: Eight Rules for Getting the Most Out of Your Time Off that appeared a week before. Matt Richtel outlines “Vacation Mental Prep” for people who have a hard time letting go…
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