Facebook’s strange punishment when I inadvertently published an “offensive” image on their platform mirrored the artwork Michael Druks made 45 years ago.
Read MoreUnexpected Mandalas To Take With You (Meg Hitchcock)
Meg Hitchcock’s assemblages of letters cut from sacred texts remind us of mandalas: harmonious images designed to create a calm, meditative feeling.
Read MoreIkigai: What is Your Reason For Being?
When a friend sent us a VENN diagram of the Japanese concept of Ikigai last week, we found we couldn’t get its big fat question out of our mind.
Read MoreHomemade Lemon-Scented Olive Oil For Bright, Summery Flavor Anytime
Casting about for foods that could sparkle things up and remind me of warm places and summer, I remembered my simple Lemon Olive Oil recipe. YES, that’s what I need, to use and give as gifts.
Read MoreRugs on Rugs Are an Ancient Tradition that Comfort and Transform
Patterns of rugs create a space that is welcoming, cosy, colorful, and mutes the difference between seat and floor, no matter what your style: moderne, Bohemium and even outdoors…
Read MoreWhat Writing Scripts for AI Taught Her About Humans and Art
In describing what writing lines for AI like Siri is like, Mariana Lin nails what human to human communication actually does.
Read MoreThe Rocks I Use Around My Home are Really Ancient Artifacts
Seth Boyden’s charming video, An Object at Rest, has changed the way I view the nearly two dozen rocks and stones I use around my space.
Read MoreWe Go Inside a 1500 Year Old Tree (Judi Dench and Jo Shapcott)
We can think of no better way to start our day than to spend three minutes inside a 1500 year old tree (with a poem).
Read MoreWhen Not Kondo-ing Pays Off (Louise Bourgeois, Susan Dworski, Italo Calvino)
There are many reasons not to follow Marie Kondo’s mission to declutter. Witness this report from Susan Dworski, with Louise Bourgeois and Italo Calvino…
Read MoreSalvaged Marble and Stone For Tables, Shelves, Backsplashes…
A budget apartment overhaul by a Brooklyn design student reminded us of the great design possibilities inherent in salvaged cuts of marble and other stone.
Read MoreLove is Telepathic
Walking along the Lower East Side of Manhattan, we looked down and found this amazing message pasted onto the curb…
Read MoreImprovised Feminism: 11-Year-Old’s Barbie Reconstruction Obliterates Stereotypes
We were knocked out by an eleven-year-old’s evocative description of returning her Barbie to a clean slate through the mightily therapeutic act of “reconstruction”.
Read MoreHow to Maintain a Kind of Summer in the Horribleness of Winter
Roz Chast’s January New Yorker cover “Cruellest Month” made us laugh out loud. “I wanted to show just the horribleness of January.” Chast says. And she did. Then we thought of ways to change our winter mindset.
Read MoreReg E. Cathey’s Goodbye Love Song, in His Own Beautiful Voice
We are heartbroken that the great Reg E. Cathey passed away. The Goodbye Love Song he recorded for Improvised Life in 2009 resonates all the more deeply with the magic of his voice and words.
Read MoreEase and Many Pleasures in a Cookbook Pot-Luck
Our clever friend Fran Black’s brilliant innovation of the traditional pot-luck dinner party model where guests are asked to bring a dish to forge an entire meal, yielded a to-die-for party that felt like Sicily.
Read MoreFree Downloadable Coloring Books from the World’s Great Collections
This trove of free downloadable coloring books from museums, libraries and universities around the world amplify the powerful the practice of coloring.
Read MoreHang a Book By the Bed or Loo (or Anywhere) for Quick Access to Illumination
How charming (and easy) to hang a small book of essential reading by the bed, or, as we imagine, anywhere. You can take the book off the cord to read it in a moment and just as quickly hang it back up. Here’s how.
Read MoreGet Your Financial Act Together with Mr. Money Mustache
We’ve discovered that, even with our very creative, non-linear artist’s brain, we can learn to manage our financial ecosystem IF we have the right teacher. Here’s a good place to start.
Read MoreImpossible is a Dare! (Mohammed Ali and Fred Astaire)
When we stumbled on this sublime minute-and-a-half of Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling Mohammed Ali’s powerful declaration on IMPOSSIBLE came to mind.
Read MoreSalt-Roasted Root Vegetables: Potatoes, Shallots, Sunchokes and Others
One of my favorite ways to cook small, whole firm root vegetables is to bury them in Kosher salt and roast them. It yields an extraordinarily pure flavor.
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