This is authentic |

So it’s come to this…

Say hello to my daily companions: Copaxone, Chaste Tree Berry, Rhodiola, A “women over 40″ multivitamin, Omega 3, a bunch of Vitamin D, and Magnesium Theonate.

Today I have decided to call attention to the rarely mentioned workhorses of my daily routine. These are not beauty products, though they most certainly contribute to my well being and as such could fall under that umbrella. As could sleep (which rarely puts in enough of an appearance) and delicious food. And travel to exotic places. And spa treatments. And babysitters…

But I digress.

This is a photograph of just the medication (be it a super western injectable, or an herbal tincture) that has been prescribed to me for various conditions by people with certified medical degrees. It is a snapshot of my physical reality. And a reminder, in pill and liquid form, of my mortality. And I am sure I’m not alone here. I mean, I just saw a post about grey hair in A Cup of Jo, for Pete’s sake.

But rather than look at this impressive heap of ingestibles and feel sad or overwhelmed, I take it as a call to action. Both to be thankful that my health is as solid as it is and to motivate myself to actually do some of the projects I have been circling around for years. Because now is the time.

This blog is one of those projects, and I will be forever grateful to all of you people out there for motivating me to post and for reminding me that I am not just shouting into the void.

If any of you have questions about MS, hormonal imbalance, or benign fibrosis give me a shout. I’ve got lots of opinions. Oh and if any of you have found an attractive pill box out there, I’m all ears.

We can get to all of the more fun stuff– creams and oils and superfoods– some other time.

Monday, Monday — or more links about people who make music and things that make noise

links

I mean, who doesn’t want to listen to this record after seeing the cover? (photo thanks to Brian Eno’s Twitter feed)

Brian Eno just tweeted this link to a six hour MP3 of women making electronic music and I’m listening to it right now.

Speaking of unconventional music, is cricket the other other white meat? Modern Farmer seems to think it might be…

God bless Apartment Therapy for giving us some great ideas for how to store and display our record collection with style, now that we’ve taken all of those LP’s out of the basement…

I hope you have all already seen the incredible James Brown biopic Get On Up. But if you haven’t you must do so. Right. Now.

The people over at Cup Of Jo (because it’s a team of superhumans over there now… not just the inimitable Joanna Goddard) recommend these as the best 7 podcasts to try and I am inclined to believe them.

Gather Journal (which is mostly about food) has some great mixtapes on their website that you guys should check out.

And last, but not least, after much internet research and hoot comparisons, we have determined that we have a Great Horned Owl living on our roof or somewhere very close by. Ah the wilds of Brooklyn…

Yesterday, at some point…

food - photography

2 dozen Maryland Blue crabs, steamed in Old Bay.
Potato salad in the covered white serving plate
A little taste of spinach dressed in sesame oil
Arugula salad with thinly shaved fresh rhubarb (this came out later)
Water for all
Plenty of beer

Perfect Mother’s Day Dinner.

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Yesterday, at some point is a series of photographs that describe a moment I experienced during the previous day (or thereabouts). The posts are meant to be stand alone images, though at times I can’t control myself, and I end up expanding the caption into a more lengthy bit of text. Hopefully the extra information is useful, or at least interesting. If not, feel free to ignore it.

For all future world travelers… and their mothers

kids

Maps Activity Book by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski

To be honest, I really got this activity book for myself. I am just using my daughter as a vehicle through which I get to experience it. And I have all sorts of legitimate reasons for feeling this way.

First off, I love maps. All kinds of maps. I like to collect them, but am in the process of weeding out my excess clutter, so this is a way to have a whole bunch of lovingly hand drawn maps all neatly bound in a book that is educational. And for my kid. No hoarding here.

I am horrible at geography and am determined to learn about all kinds of basic things like the national flag of the Seychelles and the route of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Not to mention the difference between a reef stonefish and a yellow tang. Oh and also the exact location of the Brandenburg Gate. I will know all of these things, and so much more, once we delve into the projects that lie within the covers of this book.

A map of the United Kingdom. OK who knows which one in Scotland and which is Ireland?

Here’s what a typical page looks like… You’ve got a map (or a bunch of animals that live in a certain habitat, or people in various cultural costumes, etc) and then a directive. In this case, you get to imagine your own castles and put them all over the United Kingdom. Other pages ask you to draw animals that live in Australia, or draw the flags of various countries… it’s hours and hours of geographically creative fun.

And by the end, if I can easily draw you a typical musical instrument from India and a popular meal from Morocco, and can name all 50 of the United States and show you where The Parthenon is on a map, I’ll be in great shape. And so will my daughter (who will most likely retain far more of this than her mother, who also has to be in charge of bedtime and school lunch and other nonsense that crowds up her brain…)

Maps Activity Book by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski, $14.99.

Another thing I really don’t need but totally want, regardless

style

Are these my new sunglasses for 2015?

Monday, Monday– or links to a few things you might want to get your mom (or wife, or sister, etc…) for Mother’s Day

links - shopping

A bouquet of seasonal flowers ($29.49) because, well, she deserves a little fresh beauty in her life.

A self watering planter ($100) because no one really wants to have to check on the potted plants every day, but everybody likes a little green in the house.

What mother has not secretly (or not so secretly) wished for a bottle of Magic Energy Spray ($16) to her her get through the tough times?

Is there ever a bad time to give her a silver bracelet (from $285) from Jill Platner?

A watering can upgrade ($68) is never a bad thing.

Pour some water (or wine, or whatever you’re drinking) into this Shigaraki ion bottle ($40) and the radium minerals in its glaze change the ion content. Which makes everything taste more delicious and is evidently much better for us. We should probably get two of these and keep one for ourselves.

Yesterday, at some point…

decor - home - photography

Last night, One Kings Lane threw a party to celebrate their collaboration with Sister Parish Design. An elegant capsule collection of upholstered furniture that brings new life to Sister Parish’s decorating legacy. The guests were all invited to build their own bouquets, and needless to say, we came home with an armful.

May all future party favors include fresh flowers of some sort of another…

(and may you all go check out the Sister Parish for One Kings Lane collection before it sells out!)

Music to listen to when your kid’s piano teacher is staying for dinner

music

My daughter, photographed by my husband, practicing the piano (which is actually a midi keyboard hooked up to my laptop but whatever…)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to present to you the first of what I hope will become a long series of playlists full of all sorts of wonderful music that we can all love. Some tracks will be old favorites, but hopefully some tunes will be completely unknown (or unbeknownst, in Spaceballs lingo) which is the whole point of listening to other people’s playlists, right? Look for these monthly, unless I suddenly get over ambitious and try to post them more often.

For this one, I thought about the music I played (and some songs I wish I’d played if I’d had a tiny bit more time to plan) when my daughter’s piano teacher stayed for dinner after her lesson this week. He plays the upright bass but also has a rock band and somehow feels to me like he went through a sort of post-punk-new-wave phase at some point, though I may be totally making that up.

Anyway, you just have to click on the little play triangle and enjoy (or maybe sign up for Spotify first, if you are not already on it.)

Oh and here’s a tracklist, so you can read along:

Lean On Me – Bill Withers
Watermelon Man – Herbie Hancock
The Here And After – Jun Miyake
The Ghetto – Donny Hathaway
Just Kissed My Baby – The Meters
Son Of A Preacher Man – Aretha Franklin
Coconut – Harry Nilsson
Sweet Jamaica – Lord Kitchener
Hidden Place – Bjork
Es-so – Tune Yards
Words Of Love – The Mamas & the Papas
Bye bye – Destroyer
Canis Lupus – Alexandre Desplat

Another thing I really don’t need but totally want, regardless

kids - style

On the one hand, my daughter has plenty of clothes to last her through the next six months or so (as long a she doesn’t have some kind of crazy growth spurt between now and next winter…) But on the other hand one can never have enough outfit changes for a kid who loves to both wear lovely dresses and roll around in the mud catching bugs and building secret hideouts.

Plus how am I supposed to resist the incredible cuteness of the Meow skirt by Semo Nemo? It’s the pet kitty that my poor daughter will never be able to have (we are all allergic…) Plus it spins out when you twirl around, which these days is a required trait in all skirts and dresses. And it’s not pink, which is something that I shouldn’t care about, but I do.

Win win win.

In my world utilitarian does not automatically mean ugly, damn it.

decor - home

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a huge difference. Why not insert a little beauty into the things we use everyday?

If I had this fire extinguisher, I wouldn’t feel the need to hide it under the sink. This solves two issues: First off, moving the extinguisher to an exposed shelf somewhere means I will now have a bit more space under the sink and might be motivated to actually organize the chaos that reigns in that forlorn area. Second, one is always more motivated to use a piece of equipment that one finds attractive. (This also goes for file folders and garbage cans, by the way.)

I can’t believe it took so long to design a good looking smoke alarm. Especially since we are ALL required to have A WHOLE BUNCH of these babies in our homes. The Nest alarm even hooks up to your phone and sends you text messages when problems arise. I actually smile now when I notice my smoke detector in the kitchen. It’s a whole new world. They also make a nice thermostat. Just sayin…

I’ve written about this before, but this door wedge is worth mentioning again. Such a huge step up from the random wooden shim or brown plastic wedge we so often encounter. It’s like moving up to business class.

Finally a humidifier that you can leave out even when you have company. Brilliantly designed by Plus Minus Zero. Thank you Japan, for this and so many other things…

If you upgrade your plastic hardware store bucket to a (preferably vintage) enamel pail like the one above (currently on eBay) you will suddenly find yourself transported back to a simpler time when people shared things and everyone had gardens and smiles for their neighbors and there weren’t huge luxury condos going up all around you and… but wait… I digress…