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A ‘Fall Florals’ Tablescape…For People Who Aren’t Into Fall Florals

November 5, 2020

I am not a "fall colors" person - orange is not my jam. But the fall tablescape I put together to shoot Noritake's new Charlotta Gold dinnerware collection (featuring gold edges that are microwave! safe! YES) turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.

I started with my go-to palette (gold and white, pale pinks, texture and texture and texture), then added in autumnal elements with the eucalyptus, tall grasses, wintry berries, and wheat. One styling trick I've returned to again and again over the years (dating wayyyyy back to the flowers-in-a-teacup years, #memories): I love placing florals in unexpected containers, like the vintage tea light holders you see up there, and even laying them directly on the table (as I did with the wheat). It just feels so casual and light and easy.

Related: How To Make Candles In Your Mismatched Teacups

Crafts for the Uncrafty

The Tiger-Stripe Cat Cake

October 22, 2020

We've done spooky, Halloween-themed cakes for a few years now, and so this year I thought I'd try something different.

Cat Cake.

See, my son loves cats. LOVES them. He has an especially deep bond with Riggs, who trails him from room to room, sleeps in his closet during the day, and lays next to him reading books (on his back!) like a furry little human at night. But I also didn't want to test my sculpting powers by going full-on Here Is A Cat, so I had to get a little improvisational.

Eat

The Improvisational Egg Bake

October 20, 2020

Look at that stunner!

Way back when Kendrick and I first moved to our little Upper East Side walk-up, I developed a thing for baked eggs - or, more specifically, oeufs en cocotte, which are eggs baked in cream. I just love how they take something so ordinary, and treat it like a luxury. It's how weekend mornings should be: slow and a little indulgent.

Which brings me to the baked egg dish I made this weekend: It's kind of similar the North African dish called shakshuka, except quite a bit milder because a) children and b) I was improvising with what I had on hand. (As an aside, I first started looking into shakshuka recipes because I keep hearing that Trader Joe's sells an amazing starter, and I keep wanting to buy it. Except the closest Trader Joe's is a solid 45 minutes away, soooo: no starter for me.)

Decor

Lovely Late-Summer Scents

September 10, 2020

Me as a garden nymph at a home scenting event, 2014

I'm not willing to accept that it's almost fall, because my internal calendar remains convinced that it's still April 2020. Or maybe April 2025; who knows! This reluctance-to-embrace-the-new-season is made vastly easier by the fact that it is approximately ten thousand degrees in Southern California at the moment, and I can barely walk my dog around the block without dissolving into a pool of sweat.

You know by now that I'm a bit of a candle obsessive; even when it's hot out, I have candles burning. Beyond being something that's always been a personal habit of mine, it's just kind of necessary when your home is filled with Child and Dog smells (yummmm).

ENTREES

Before Summer Ends

September 6, 2020

'Tis almost the day when the grill gets covered up for the cold months, and all that lovely fresh corn disappears from the shelves (or becomes terrifying and inedible, as evidenced by the fact that the corn I bought at Trader Joe's yesterday had actual, living CATERPILLARS in it, and if you think I screamed like Ghostface himself was hanging out inside that husk, you would be correct).

So here are ten recipes that I think you should make lickety-split, before you encounter any surprise beasties of your own in the fresh produce section.

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