(Video link here.) So, er, yes, well, er, we DO have a regifting drawer as well as a gift drawer of stuff we’ve bought because we think it’s universally great. Truth be told, the stuff in the regifting drawer tends to languish, we suspect because it can take a while before we find someone for whom…
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We regularly go through periods of needing to retreat for a few hours or a day, just because…we’re tired, or a bit overwhelmed, or need to process something or just…rest. We chalk it up to our constitution, natural introversion, life. Although we know that EVERYONE goes through these spells, for one reason or another, barring just…
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Our memory is so bad —our mind SO full of images, emails, to-do’s, errands, ideas — that we are always on the lookout for techniques to help us remember a fact, name or list. We love memory champion Joshua Foer‘s demonstration of the ancient technique of using a memory palace or Method of loci.
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The holidays have us thinking about ways to remember all those folks — some who traveled FAR — with whom we visited or shared a meal, celebrating and counting blessings. So compiled our collection of traditional and not-so-traditional forms of “guest books”.
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Every morning when we open up our office for work, we take a minute to look at this image taped on our wall, of artist Lucio Fontana approaching a blank canvas. We never tire of it. We think two things: That canvas is the day or a project or a new path, full of possibility AND… Look…
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Everyone I know, including stellar chefs, all have their moments of retreat into dark hungers and unique combos of flavors. The practice is deeply personal and satisfying, but now new. M.F.K. Fisher wrote about the odd combinations people ate when they were alone in 1937. Here are several longtime favorite “secret suppers and private snacks” from my files.
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In this season of frenzied holiday shopping, Quartz asked 40 leaders in art, business, fashion, science, and social justice the question: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Their surprising answers cast a lens on just what a great gift really is, along with some really lovely ideas….
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At London’s Southbank Centre, architecture studio Jonathan Tuckey Design created an archival space featuring a mid-century shelving system that echoed the building’s heritage. When we looked closely, we realized it is made of slotted angle iron, an inexpensive structuring material available at many hardware stores. We first realized its potential for creating modular furniture when we bought a second-hand copy of High-Tech, The Industrial…
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In the New York Times Magazine, Bret Anthony Johnston described the video a friend made for him on his 41st birthday, of him falling off his skateboard nearly 160 times during his four-year quest to successfully execute a trick. Falling is a wonderful description of the grueling process of mastery that we’ve so often written about using a…
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Over many years of cooking professionally, amidst sharp knives and fire, I learned that an accidental cut or burn was in fact a signal: a message from myself to myself that I was distracted. I needed to listen deeply to what was going on, or at the very least, slow down and take care. I…
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When we are scrambling to pull their spaces together in preparation for big crowd of family and friends, we take a cue from the unexpectedly chill interiors of this 12th Century château in France…
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Recently in a secondhand bookstore, a jazzy little book jumped into my hand. I was drawn to it by its beautiful cover design which read “Dickinson”, meaning Emily. Finding the book, and the first poem I turned to, proved to be a lovely bit of bibliomancy.
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Yoko Ono‘s swell one-word bit of advice is what we are taking the time off to do. We’ll be back in a week. While we’re gone, we invite you to forage our vast archive.
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(Video link here.) While we’re taking a week off to rest and regroup, we thought we’d leave you with this time-lapse of a Sol LeWitt wall drawing being created, per the late artist’s instruction, at Blanton Museum of Art. It embodies the combo platter that is Improvised Life: an artist’s idea that is possible to apply at…
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(Video link here). For the lazy days of the long Thanksgiving weekend, here’s an entertaining riff of every gadget provided to James Bond by Q of Q Branch in every James Bond film, in chronological order. After our own improvised life hearts…
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At some point during the Thanksgiving meal (or any meal), taking a moment to acknowledge all we have with whoever we are with is a fine way to give thanks and climb right into the moment. Here are our favorite blessings — which all can be said/read aloud, as a grace or a toast — though…
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Hosting during the holidays can mean a lot of pressure. My husband and I didn’t want to spoil the joy of actually being with the people we love by fussing over inconsequential details. Instead, we have opted for what we lovingly call, Thanksgiving Picnic.
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(Video link here.) Adele’s Hello IS an amazing antidote to the traditional Thanksgiving family disfunction that occurs when too many disparate people come together. Watch and laugh. And then you listen to Hello all weekend…
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In the run-up to Thanksgiving, we often get calls from friends anxious for easy, foolproof strategies for the big meal. Here’s our updated tried-and-true, “best of” recipe traditions that lend themselves to tailoring and improvising.
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If you’re planning on hosting a crowd, now’s the time to figure out what tables you’ll serve everyone on, and where the guests will sit… Here’s our best mostly makeshift ideas.
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