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.
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.)
My thoughts on distance learning precisely.
About two weeks into our public school's new distance learning program - approximately on the date when the above photo was taken - I lost it.
My daughter, who's in a learning pod with a classmate and bounces between our house and theirs, seems to sort of enjoy distance learning, or at least tolerate it. Not that she's actually *learning* much - holy god, the muting and un-muting and kids with their microphones turned up to 10,000% and tl;dr teachers are superheroes and I don't know how any of them are holding onto even a tiny shred of patience or sanity - but she's basically fine. (Not that distance learning is in any way, shape or form fine for me, or for any working parent - just saying, she seems fine.)
Thank you, The Bold Italic. (Download a printable PDF here.)
Let's throw it back to 2019, when I wrote a post that is 2020 in a nutshell if I've ever seen one. (Updated with brand-new outfit suggestions.)
Today's post is a twofer, inspired by a couple of reader questions I received via Insta.
The answer to the first question is a resounding "yes," and am certain that it is so, because otherwise I would be naked. There is just no power on earth (except for, perhaps, the possibility of a date with Jason Momoa) that could get me out of the house attired in clothing that makes me feel restricted in any way.
Chrissy Teigen posted about our book, NBD. Update: Utterly heartbroken to hear of Chrissy Teigen and John Legend's loss. I'm sure the news is triggering for so many; please go here for resources if you are suffering.
This is my new favorite shade from Static Nails - it makes your fingers look miles long. (And I agree, it makes literally no sense to wear faux nails right now, but it helps me tame my terrible, horrible cuticle-picking habit.)
Plaid fleece jacket by Carve Designs, yes.
me. 2009.
That's the general consensus on bloggers who share about their personal lives, right? We don't "owe" our readers anything? It's what I've heard countless times over the years, anyway: Whenever a reader asks me about a topic I don't feel comfortable touching - the specifics of my finances, for example, or the precise reasons behind my divorce - other readers will jump in, reminding me that what I choose to share (and not share) is...well, my choice. I don't owe anyone my story.
Except that's never how I've really felt. I do owe you. So very much. And so what I owe you, right now, is an explanation.
When you work in TV (or "TV," whatever that means nowadays; the visual medium has evolved just a smidge since my Clean & Clear girl days), you're supposed to keep a reel showcasing your latest work. I put together my last official reel in 2013.
It was probably time for an update.
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).
'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.
