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Lifestyle

Just A Few Current Objects Of Obsession

Ignore the mess; focus on the handsomeness

The entire Art Class kids' clothing line at Target. My son just grew at least two inches (and gained several years, #whydoeshelooksoold), and suddenly found himself in need of an entirely new wardrobe. I've been pretty lazy about his clothing these past couple of years because he really wasn't the kind of kid who cared about what he wore, beyond being comfortable. Sweatpants and t-shirt, check. But now, for the first time in his life, he kind of...does care. (My heart.) So I wanted to get him stuff that would be comfortable, yes, but would also be in line with his style, and this collection just killed it.

Here's what I picked up:

Eat

The Very Best Instant Pot Lentil Soup, Because I Said So

I would not consider myself a "soup person." Soup seems to me like a thing you let someone else order and then take a sip of, while you go ahead and eat the steak that you very smartly ordered instead. But last week I got a completely random craving for lentil soup, and made it...and have since made it three times - the last time for Francesca, who thought she was getting sick, and then didn't, because in addition to being unbelievably delicious this soup is also a miracle potion with magical curative powers.

You should make it.

What You Need:

DIY Projects

Today In Questionable Decisions: Why I Renovate Rentals

My daughter, painting her bedroom

In the month or so since I moved into the new place, I've painted my daughter's room, put down floor tiles in the kitchen, patched the ceiling, painted the front door, installed kitchen drawer pulls, and added lighting both indoors and out. Tomorrow, I have "replacing the iffy doorknob" on the schedule, and blackout blinds are in my future. So it didn't surprise me when a reader asked why in god's name I would do so much work on a house that I don't even own - I'm saving up to hopefully buy in the area within a couple of years, because the owner has eventual plans to build a new structure on this lot.

There's a simple answer, and a more complex one. The simple answer to "Why put so much work into a rental?" Because that's what I do. It's what I've always done, even as far back as college, when I spruced up every single one of my dorm rooms to the point that they looked like (teeny-tiny) twentysomething apartments.

Lifestyle

I Visited Sloo Moo – The NYC “Slime Institute” – And It Was Completely Unreal

This doesn't happen very often, but in trying to succinctly describe Sloo Moo, words fail me: I wish I could communicate the sheer wonderful insanity of this place to you directly via telepathy. Alright, let me try: Sloo Moo, a.k.a. The Slime Institute, is an experiential wonderland that defies imagination, and literally must be seen to be believed.

(Hey, that was pretty good! Also, before we get started, full disclosure: The co-founder, Karen Robinovitz, is my former manager and dear friend, but that fact is coloring what is about to be a rave review for the ages ZERO. I was so into this place that I basically sparkled my way through.)

So here's how it works: You enter Sloo Moo, roll up your sleeves, walk down a hallway festooned with slime-related facts, and then arrive in the first of many exhibits: A massive wall of slime (top photo) that attendees are encouraged to add to. Then you just start exploring, because there's awesome stuff around every corner: A glittering curtain leads into a crazy neon-lit cavern; rainbow-jacketed visitors hang out under a slime shower (!); a slingshot station lets you take slow-mo videos of yourself being slimed. There's even an ASMR room offering projections of the most chilled-out slime you've ever seen on every wall (chilled-out slime is apparently a thing).

Lifestyle

Links & Love & Stuff

I don't think I've ever had more people stop me to ask about something I'm wearing than these slides. You will actually not believe the price.

If you are a parent and exist anywhere on the socioeconomic spectrum apart from "insanely rich," you need to read this. (I Killed My Teenager's Fancy College Dreams. You Should, Too, via Slate.)

I was in & Other Stories yesterday, and these earrings literally stopped me in my tracks.

Makeup & Beauty

The 10 Beauty Products I Am Never, Ever Without

When it comes to my beauty routine (or occasional lack thereof), I am an enormous creature of habit. Some of my favorite products have been in the rotation for literally over a decade - but my feeling is that while it's great (and fun) to discover new stuff, sometimes you just gotta find what works for you, and stick with it.

Related Read: What Do Top Beauty Bloggers Spend Their Own Money On? 

Here's what works for me, time and again (and again, and again).

Lifestyle

I Made A Float, Kinda

 

Me, about to do something random and rad.

I’ve done a lot of random (and rad) things over the course of my 10-year career as a blogger. I’ve been lifted in glass cubes onto Las Vegas stages. I’ve used myself as a guinea pig for everything from laser treatments to Rogaine. I’ve clogged on rooftops, worked with the FBI on a sting operation to take down a Moroccan hacking ring, and walked around New York City dressed as a superhero to source decor ideas. 

ENTREES

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Tetrazzini

I would like to officially announce that I shall be commencing my residency as "That Blogger Chick Who Won't Shut Up About Her Instant Pot." I can't help it; it makes me feel like a GENIUS.

Enter the dish I fully went ahead and improvised the other night, because I happened to have chicken thighs and mushrooms in the refrigerator, because everybody likes cream, and because my son requires pasta to be present in 100% of his meals. Presto: Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Tetrazzini. (I'm not sure this is technically tetrazzini, but whatever: My recipe, my rules.)

What You Need: 

DIARY

Ramshackle Glam’s 6 Most-Read Posts Of 2019

The family ornament we chose to sum up 2019

Well. THAT was a year.

I'm ready to be boring for awhile, please and thanks. Because 2019 was a lot of things - oh god, so many things; all the things - but a snoozefest it was not. I published a book that resulted in the most emotionally intimate and exhausting book tour of my life. I wrote two more that'll be out next year (you can preorder one of them now), and put my seventh (!!!) into contract. I started a new marketing side-hustle, and actually work out of an office (IMAGINE) a couple of days a week now. I moved. Again.

Decor

Living Room Reveal!

I have been working my little tucchus off these last couple of weeks getting the new place in order, and I can't wait any longer: I need to start doing some room reveals, even if they're not perfect-perfect. (Which, of course, nothing ever is - especially in a house with oh god, so many children and cats and pillows that will not stay in the spot where I put them.)

The extent to which our living room - as distinct from the family room, where we keep the TV and thus my offspring - came together was such a surprise to meSee, when I moved into my last house I realized that I'd vastly underestimated just how large it was - it was easily twice the size of our place in San Jose. What that meant was that I had multiple completely unfurnished - and kind of enormous - rooms, and so I ended up buying furniture on a much bigger scale than I ever have before. That Ikea couch, for example - you know, the one that I had recovered? It is a BOAT.

When I toured this house before moving in, the formal living room - where that couch-boat would have to live for reasons I'll explain at a later date - struck me as kinda small, or at least too small for that couch. But I figured...you know, we're not in a couch-buying moment right now. So I'd just make it work.


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