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DIY Projects

Five Super-Easy Denim DIYs Literally Anyone Can Do

Omg, this photo. MEMORIES. I no longer have that pair of sandals, that hair, or that zip code (just re-watched our moving day video and sobbed through the whole thing)...but the shorts? Those are still hanging on. (I wore them today, in fact, which may have been a not-so-hot idea considering the fact that they're in the process of disintegrating, but whatever: I love them, and they fit me perfectly, and they are not going anywhere until the wearing of them results in the exposure of actual NC-17-rated body parts.)

If you've been reading here for awhile, you know that denim is sort of my thing. It's just what I feel best in - and what that means is that I've amassed a truly enormous collection of jeans over the years, approximately three of which I actually wear (so sue me: I'm fickle). And so every spring, I dig out a couple of old pairs that I can hack up with a pair of scissors and transform into new items of clothing that I'll actually wear. (As an aside, I know that jean cutoffs sound like the kind of thing you don't need a tutorial for - "...So you, like...cut them?" - but trust me: there are myriad ways in which to go wrong when doing something as permanent as slicing up your clothing. Let me help you.)

But DIY cutoffs aren't the only denim trick I have up my sleeve - and I am not a person who owns a sewing machine or enjoys do-it-yourself projects that take more than five minutes. Which is to say: The below projects require no experience, knowledge, or talent whatsoever, making them - to my mind - just about perfect.

Decor

I Am A Trucker Now

Just a girl and her (huge, huge) ride.

If you're wondering why, exactly, I decided to rent a 16-foot truck and drive it from Los Angeles to San Jose, my feeling is that the answer should, at this point, be obvious:

For a chair, of course.

ENTREES

Gnocchi with Simple Marinara Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

four ingredient gnocchi with marinara sauce and fresh basil

love it when it's 5pm and I realize that I have to feed my beasts, then poke around in my refrigerator and discover that I have everything I need to whip up a dinner that they'll be thrilled about with just about zero effort.

This sauce - which is thrown over fresh store-bought gnocchi and finished by a quick run through the broiler with some fresh mozzarella on top - is the Platonic ideal of marinara sauce, I swear: it's light, but super flavorful, and 80% of the process of making it involves ignoring it.

(Did I mention my kids love it?)

Anxiety

Less Sorry

A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh. - Leonard Cohen

I wanted another baby.

It’s strange to be saying that out loud, because for a long time not even my own mother knew that I wanted a third child. A couple of my friends knew, but when we discussed it I never used the word “trying.” I danced around the subject. Oh, you know, we’ll see what happens.

Lifestyle

I Took Metamucil For Two Weeks, And This Is What Happened

That is not for you, cat.

Here’s what I always like about doing something proactive for my body: it has ripple effects beyond the thing itself.

Basically: once I stop treating my body like a trash dump in even the smallest of ways, I start realizing how good it feels, and end up doing other things that make my body feel good, too. Like, say, waking up before my kids to do 15 minutes of yoga (really, and I KNOW), or stretching while watching TV at night instead of vegetating on the couch with a jar of pickles. Drinking more water. Paying attention to my posture while sitting at the computer (I am at this very moment activating my core, and yes, I am impressed with myself, too).

My Looks

Mommy and Me (And a Fun Little Friendship Origin Story)

Dresses from the Stripes Boutique Mommy and Me Shop

I'm not ordinarily a "mommy-and-me" outfit-type person. I mean OK, my daughter and I have matching pom-pom shoes...but come on: when matching pom-pom shoes exist, buying and then wearing them (at the same time) is clearly non-optional.

So when my friend Elise told me she wanted us to model some of the mommy-and-me dresses she'd designed for her label, Stripes, my answer was "...Eh, I don't know."

Decor

Why You Should Give Fake Plants Another Chance

Every single plant you see in this photograph is fake. (Sorry, faux.)

Bonus: Spot the blogger in the mirror! 

I've been singing the praises of fake plants practically since I started this site. There's a good reason for this: While I've gotten better at plant-parenting over time, I still kill about 30% of the greenery that enters my house. Sometimes it's nice to have a plant and not worry about killing it. But the past few months have seen my thing for artificial plants reach a whole new level, because apparently some focus group somewhere determined that there was a gap in the market for affordable plants that actually look real and are actually in cute pots that you'd actually buy yourself...and then Target went ahead and filled it.

Lifestyle

Links & Love & Stuff

eBay bathroom selfie featuring the outfit I never want to take off lately (pants - part of a two-piece set - here, shirt here, shoes here). P.S. That tampon dispenser is definitely looking at me.

I just added this (super cute and way affordable) round rug to our living room, layered on top of another rug, and I'm obsessed. (Especially obsessed with the fact that it's technically an outdoor rug, and thus extremely durable and resistant to disasters of the child-and-pet sort.)

The fact that I saw the title of this article and said "Ooh!" and immediately clicked over confirms my suspicion that advanced age is making me boring. I'm ok with that. (7 Surprising Things You Can Do With Cream of Tartar, via The Kitchn.)

My Looks

Pure Grace and Elegance

Hatch Dress (yes, it's maternity; no, I'm not pregnant) | Sunglasses | Sandals | J. Crew Purse

See how this dress is pretty demure? Yeah, yeah, it's short, I know, but it has that high neck and that loose fit and those mid-length sleeves, so it's always made me feel genteel and graceful, like someone who'd carry a structured handbag and who probably stores her hats in actual hatboxes as opposed to where I store mine, which is in a stack on the floor of my closet, underneath my cat.

It turns out that even a dress this pretty and demure stops being pretty and demure in certain situations. Like, say, when you are spread-eagled on top of a pile of rocks and wet sand (mud), having just been dropped from really quite a significant height by your husband, and especially when the rocks and wet sand (mud) that you have found yourself laying on top of happen to be located directly in front of a restaurant where all the patrons are seated facing towards the beach, making the precise spot where your husband deposited you effectively a stage upon which you now find yourself performing the grand old tragicomic classic, "Hey Everyone, Check Out My Underpants!"


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