We live in a rental apartment with a chandelier, which sounds fancy, and maybe it is, but it’s taken a bit to get it gleaming. The chandelier that hangs in our living room is…
In the middle of our tin-ceilinged living room is a tin medallion. It’s pressed into an ornate pattern, an imitation of the fancy plaster medallions you might find crumbling in the parlor floors of…
1. this old bronze bracelet from my mom. {and the way it tarnishes and shines right up again after a day on the beach.} 2. this thirty-year-old owner’s manual. {and getting to know it.}…
In the world of old kitchens that have not been gutted or renovated in the recent past, or ever, old-fashioned faucets with taps that spill gallons of clean tap water with absolute abandon are…
About a month ago we painted our deeply honeyed kitchen cabinets white. This is not the first rental apartment I’ve lived in with truly lackluster cabinets. But it’s the first time I ever plucked…
1. this tiny bouquet. {and getting to pluck it from our own little pots.} 2. this bag. {as trusty as ever and filled with mostly sweats for a rainy weekend.} 3. this giant paper…
We’re back in Brooklyn after a few days away. Before we left I filled glass bottles with water and jammed them upside down into the freshly saturated soil of my rooftop pots. My hope…
1. this self-portrait. {on the occasion of my thirty-seventh birthday.} 2. this tote. {and the perpetual usefulness of standing up straight.} 3. this third little letter. {for being added to the mix.} 4. the…
1. these pencils. {because there’s nothing like a fresh start. 2. these bags. {for (also) covering the phone jack.} 3. these many glasses of iced tea. {for helping me push through the afternoon slump.}…
1. this sun tea. {chilled.} 2. this pot of mint. {for doubling before my eyes.} 3. this dress {and the perfect weather to wear it in.} 4. this rearranged closet. {for being a better…