Category: home and family
Typically I love summer. I love going to the beach and eating at outdoor cafes and wearing little sundresses. This summer was rough on me, though. It was so stinkin’ hot for so long that I felt like I was melting. But even if this summer hadn’t served up week after week of sweltering heat, there’s something cozy about fall’s…
In New York, it’s not uncommon to meet people who don’t cook. At all. They proudly talk about using their fridge only for beverages and maybe leftovers, and keeping shoes or sweaters in their ovens. I’m thankful not to be among them. As much as I do love going out for a good meal, I take serious pleasure in the…
“No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky.” ~ E.B. White I have loved that quote since I decided I simply had to live in New York. It feels like it’s simultaneously a challenge and a promise of great opportunity. So I loved stumbling onto this post on the blog “explore. dream.discover”…
Before we moved to New York, some friends shared their strategy for successfully living in NYC’s small apartments: every time they brought something new in, something old had to go. Sharing an apartment smaller than the one I rented as a college senior has forced us to be ruthless in casting off anything unnecessary. This has been liberating. We’re such…
Did you hear the recession is over? And has been for a year? As the blog Death and Taxes wrote this week: The recession is over. It is official. According to The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), our “Great Recession” lasted 18 months, beginning December 2007 and ending June 2009. Monday’s announcement from the NBER probably came as a…
Michigan Today, an alumni publication at my alma mater, recently posted videos showing a Michigan researcher talking about happiness. Christopher Peterson, a professor of psychology, talks about what makes life worth living, and about happiness, creativity and resilience. He said something in the first video that simmers down the findings of his life’s work to one sentence: Sometimes when I…
I heart New York. John and I made a very intentional move to New York City more than four years ago and it’s amazing here. I look out my office window at the Empire State Building every day and sometimes still can’t believe this is my life. People from all around the world travel to vacation in our city. They…
Another season of Mad Men, another round of Sunday night obsession with what America’s favorite misogynist is up to. I wrote a while back about what a loathsome creep I think the lead character of this cult show is, but Linda Stasi at the New York Post did a far better job: So, what’s his appeal? Simple. Don Draper represents,…
In my fantasy world, someone from the New York Times read my blog post about the challenges some couples face trying to share a bed and thought, “That’s brilliant! We should write about that!” It could have happened.* My friend Lisa Gauchey pointed out a recent Times story headlined Married, but Sleeping Alone. The marital bed, once the symbol of…
My blog post earlier this week on saving for retirement prompted passionate discussion when I posted the link on Facebook, so here’s a follow up to keep the conversation going. On this blog about retirement (see below), the author not only discusses the sources of funding you might have for retirement but also talks about what your expenses are likely…
I can’t stop thinking about a recent Washington Post article on saving for retirement. Two thoughts in particular stopped me cold — first, the situation most workers are in today: In the wake of the recession, the Employment Benefit and Research Institute found that, among other things, fewer workers are saving for retirement, a quarter of those surveyed have nearly…
Nobody has to convince me of the power of relationships in our lives. For example, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a job by applying for a help wanted ad — it’s always been through a personal connection. And when I reflect back on my mom’s death, some of the strongest emotional memories come from the many ways our friends…
John and I went to see Toy Story 3 this weekend, which has prompted several long conversations about the transition from childhood to adulthood. The premise of the movie is that Andy is heading off to college and has gotten too old for his toys. It tells the story from the toys’ perspective, of course, but it’s hard not to…
Say what you will about pop phenom Lady Gaga, the woman can write a catchy tune. More than a week ago, I heard one of her songs at a neighborhood sushi restaurant and I’m still finding myself singing Bad Romance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I] An excellent (if very long) article in the Washington Post recently was headlined: The Marriage Myth: Why do so…
Or: Lessons learned the hard way from ideas that sounded good at the time When I use hair driers in hotels, I’m frequently hypnotized by the giant warning tag they all have. You know the one — it warns you in bold red letters not to immerse your blow drier in a tub of water. For years, I’ve stared at…
A friend recently lost his wife. She was just 47 when she was hit by a car and died.
After getting a divorce a few years back, my friend had remarried and was as giddy as a high school girl talking about his new wife. His eyes twinkled when he talked about her influence on his health, his home and his outlook on life.
I never met his new wife, but my heart gets hot and my eyes tear up when I think about these two people just having found each other, then having it suddenly, unexpectedly, end.
My coworker, Ted, recently posted a link on Facebook. It was a New York Times article about social interactions in real life and online. That Ted and I work in the same building but converse more electronically than face to face is probably relevant here somehow. Charles Blow wrote in his op-ed for the Times: A report issued Wednesday by…
John went to visit an old friend for part of the Memorial Day weekend, so I’ve spent some of my solo time combating my clutter. I tend to be something of a pack rat, but ironically, I also really enjoy having a clean, uncluttered home, so I’m always a little at war with myself. I have some of my dad’s…