After trying a number of materials, the truly miraculous (and fun!) Sugru proved the only one to fix the $300 noise-cancelling headphones I rely on to calm my super-sensitive nervous system. It has become a staple in my arsenal.
Read MoreAgnes Martin: On the Perfection Underlying Life (+ the Panic of Complete Helplessness)
In her 1973 essay “On the Perfection Underlying Life”, artist Agnes Martin addresses the rewards of “the panic of complete helplessness”; the real meaning of mistakes, and an unexpected path to contentment.
Read MoreSecret Flavor Amplifiers of Clever Cooks + Parmesan Bone Broth Recipe
In Parm Bones: How to Raise Flavor From Foods You Might Throw Away, Zingerman’s Mo Frechette outlines tricks traditional, i.e. frugal, ie savvy cooks use to amplify flavor from the last bits of ingredients. They’re essential, as is this Parm Bone Broth recipe.
Read MoreLine Drawings and Tattoos on Walls or Floor (Cocteau, Matisse, Keras)
This charming line drawing Madrid artist Angela Leon drew on her wall made me think of Matisse, Jean Cocteau AND Mira Keras’ monochrome tattoo designs.
Read MoreEvery Decade, She Gives Up Something She Hates
Recently we heard of a woman who, with each new decade, gives up something she hates. She stopped dying her hair. Ten years later, she stopped wearing the dresses. At first we wondered why she only gave up things she hated only every decade. Then we got real.
Read MoreWe Discover A Low-Stress Work Strategy and Begin Again
During our recent working vacation, we tested out a strategy that yielded the secret to navigating a mountain of work without stress:
Read MorePotent Restful Secrets to a Working Vacation
We were about to take some time to do NOTHING when got a notice for Jury Duty and found a trove of essential, time-sensitive tasks that had fallen by the wayside. We wondered how to plough through obligations AND rest in a beachy, refreshing way?
Read More‘Celestial Sheet-Caking’ in Chocolate
In the course of yesterday’s extraordinary afternoon of the eclipse, readers and friends sent us their many a la minute eclipse improvisations. The most unexpected was the cake Zoe made…
Read MoreHow to Experience the Eclipse By Doing Practically Nothing
We haven’t gotten it together to get truly-safe-for-your-eyes eclipse viewing glasses ourselves. So we’ve figured out lazy-dog, last minute strategies for experiencing this once-in-a-blue-moon cosmic wonder…by doing practically nothing.
Read MoreEmbracing the Walls Within (John Cage)
In our dog-eared A Year From Monday, we read this astonishing story from John Cage, in Lecture on Commitment. As usual, it changed our view completely.
Read MoreLive Rose Jackets and Other Lovely Flower Apparal
This wonderful live rose jacket got us thinking about ways to use fresh flowers to sparkle up our summer wardrobe…
Read MoreThe Value of Objects I Can’t Afford
One of the most curious, charming and compelling blogs I’ve come across lately is Objects I Can’t Afford. The title page says “Welcome to my on-going wish list of things that are juuust out of my budget”…It’s an amazingly clarifying head trip.
Read MoreSolar Eclipse: How to Experience the Awesomeness + Free Safety Glasses
What’s all the hubbub about next Monday’s solar eclipse about? We’ve put together a succinct guide, from where and how to view it wherever you are, to readings from art, philosophy, poetry, to where to find free eclipse glasses.
Read MoreAn Analog Productivity Tool Like No Other
In writing the very digital Improvised Life, I rely daily on analog magic.
Read MoreEssence of Summer Tomato Candy
When we have a surplus of smallish tomatoes like plum or cherry, we often make them into addictive “tomato candy” — a chewy, intensely tomato dried fruit —by drying them the same way we dry herbs for tea or kale chips: drying them on racks in the heat of our pilot lit oven…
Read MoreE. Jean on Life, Decor, and The Best Piece of Advice She’s Ever Given
E. Jean Carroll, the longest running advice columnist in history, lives alone on a small island in the woods of upstate New York.This short video profile gives us a glimpse of a pure original whose carved out a completely original life, in the mainstream, yet completely OUT.
Read MoreThe Dirty Little Secret of Spare Minimalist Interiors
When Houzz featured our friend Laura Handler’s Harlem renovation on their site, we spotted the great secret to maintaining a spare, orderly space.
Read MoreJim Carrey’s New Life of Color
Over the transom came a whole side of Jim Carrey we would never have guessed: Jim Carrey the artist who has much to say about vocation, art, healing…Check out his lovely, very surprising video.
Read MoreBox of Smile, Jar of Time and Space (Yoko Ono et al)
Yoko Ono’s 1971 A Box of Smile reminded us of the many kind of conceptual vessels that can hold ideas for us, and give us experiences. Including a log cabin, and a canning jar.
Read MoreThe Secret Flashcodes of Fireflies
For a summer evening, some lovely silent videos of fireflies, haiku from centuries ago, and a hint at their secret flashcode.
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