I love the idea of the Chemex that a friend gave me a few years back–the way that it looks with the wood and the leather and the glass, how you can make several cups of manual drip coffee at once, and being able to brew and then carry the carafe to the table without ...

We’re loving these leather flip flops from the Abejas boutique in Houston, TX . They’re pricier than the average rubber variety, but they last longer than one season, the leather wears beautifully, and they’re not quite as casual as most (we’ve dressed them up and worn them to the office). The fact that they’re domestically ...

I know I’m a bit of a Johnny-come-lately to coconut oil, but I picked up a jar and decided to give it whirl this past weekend to find out what all the buzz was about. I made banana bread, following a fool-proof recipe that I’ve used for years and simply replacing the called for melted ...

We picked up a copy of this Pictorial Webster’s Pocket Dictionary before a recent road trip, thinking it would be fun for our kids (one a solid reader, one starting to pick out a few words) to flip through. The pictures are amazing–about 200 super detailed antique engravings that once filled the pages of Webster’s ...

It’s been cold for months in NYC, really cold at times. This has led to a tremendous amount of indoor family togetherness, which, in turn, has resulted in a constantly messy house, lots of squabbling, and some truly inventive name calling. It hasn’t been all bad, a few new cocktails have been explored, we introduced ...

When I was a kid, my mom used to make Dutch babies (they’re also called  German pancakes, Bismarcks, Dutch puffs and probably a few other names), and it always made breakfast feel special, fancy even, and we loved to sit by the oven peering in the window and watching as the flat batter puffed dramatically ...

Lunch dessert for kids is a slippery slope (not unlike lunch beer for adults). If you give in too often, it becomes expected, demanded even. And if you never give in, well that’s no fun and who wants to be multigrain-with-sprouts-mom all of the time? When my daughter made me an elaborate thank you card ...

I’m not sure how to handle my daughter’s extreme desire to attend slumber parties/her need to be picked up at midnight whenever she tries to stay overnight at a friend’s house.  My now second grader had been obsessed with sleepovers since preschool–talking about them, planning them, and even mock packing for the big night. I love a good slumber party ...

It’s not the sexiest of dishes, but on a cold winter day, this lentil barley stew is what we’ve been craving.  With a fried or hard boiled egg on top and green salad on the side, it makes an easy, healthy, kid-friendly dinner and a great next-day lunch. Ingredients 1/2 cup of brown lentils 3/4 ...

We love how our friend Cynthia paired a wedge Chukka boot with baggy chinos (nicely peg-rolled) .  The wedge makes the chukka a little more feminine and less casual. We think they’d look great as well with skinny jeans.  She got hers at L.L. Bean for a song, before they sold out in every single ...

Now that the temperature has dipped, we’re embracing all things fall. These house shoes made and sourced in Patagonia are looking pretty cozy. Not to sound too much like an episode of Portlandia… they’re made from salmon leather (an up-cycled and repurposed by-product of the commercial salmon industry) and Patagonian wool, and made by local ...

I’m always curious to hear other people’s desert isle beauty picks.  Aside from Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer and Maybelline’s Great Lash mascara, there never seems to be much overlap.  I’m throwing an obscure find into the mix, Living Libations’ Seabuckthorn Best Skin Even.  It’s designed, and I use it, for just about every beauty need:  ...