I glance at my phone to see that little red circle alerting me of a new text message. At the right moment, that can be the nicest sight. It says "headed home" and I'm happy. I'm in the kitchen, standing in socked feet at the stove. The twinkling strands of white lights, strung above the mantel, are glowing and Van Morrison sings warm love on the speakers. I've already made dinner, and I just need to reheat it.
Read moreSIMPLE POTATO LEEK SOUP
Life, lately:
1. "How long would it take to watch all seasons of Project Runway, working backwards from season 16?" she mused to herself. Ever equal to a challenge, she dives in, bolstering herself with dishes of white chocolate baking chips from the freezer. (She is me, guys. I love Heidi Klum and sometimes now I whisper aufwiedersehen softly to my threadbare, overly-loved and worn teddy bear before I leave in the morning. It's perfectly fine if you all stop reading now after discovering how patently uncool I, in fact, am.)
Read morePerfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
A few things I love lately are surprising, and others wholly unsurprising. I hope they brighten up your October in some unexpected way. I hope something here makes you smile, or feel a pang of the good kind of nostalgia, or gives you a little shiver of comfort. The sort of comfort that makes you sink into yourself: The same sensation you get when it's chilly outside and you wrap a sweater tightly around yourself, or when you're cold and you step into a warm storefront, or when you smell the aroma of garlic and olive oil cooking on the stove.
Read moreSPICED LAMB + CAULIFLOWER TABBOULEH
It's 9:44 PM on Thursday. I'm sitting on the couch with a blanket tossed over my lap. The dryer is clinking in the background, and the apartment is still warm from heat of the day. I threw open the windows this morning and let the sun stream in. Upstairs, the bedroom is cool and dark and quiet, and my bed awaits: I'll pull back the crisp white cotton sheets and slide in.
Read moreBLACKBERRY PIE BARS
Let's talk about good things, okay? There are so many of them. Every day, if you look in the right places. For example, if you pause outside the grocery store and stop being so absorbed in your list of laundry detergent, bananas, paper towels, cocoa powder for a moment, you'll notice the heavy scent of lilacs hanging thickly in the air. There are buckets of them, and for $10 you can buy a bunch. The woody stems always stymie me at home; I go at them with scissors and a knife and still end up twisting them apart with my hands. But it's worth it when the entire living room is perfumed with flowers.
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