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How To: Layer Your Area Rugs

January 17, 2021

Gorgeous layered rugs in my friend Elise's mountain home (full tour here)

You know the layered-rug trend that's been all over Pinterest these past few years? I always liked the way it looked, but never really thought of doing it myself, because rugs (or at least the ones I usually like) tend to be expensive, and if I'm buying a fancy rug I'd like to see...well, all of it. But lately, my fancy rug is having a rough go of it. Since life has been more than a little exhausting lately, by the time dinner rolls around I am ZONKED, and usually just plonk all three of us down in front of the TV to eat.

I know, I know, TV during dinner = bad, but what-EVER. I grew up with two parents who worked full-time in office jobs, so dinnertime was usually our first chance to actually see each other; had we all zoned out in front of the TV while we ate we would have cut down the time available to actually interact with each other by half. But I interact with my children a lot these days. And I also really, really love watching TV while I eat dinner, and I am the boss, and so TV during dinner it is.

DIY Projects

I Do Not Need These Things (And You Don’t, Either)

January 4, 2021

I spent the entirety of New Year's weekend living my very best life, by which I mean I watched all seven episodes of The Queen's Gambit while Marie Kondo-ing every inch of this house. You guys, my Tupperware is organized. WHAT. (Related: How is it that I have reached the age of nearly forty years old, and have only just realized that the tops of Tupperwares click together for easier storage?)

One of my favorite things about being single (and there are many, starting with shared custody that permits the aforementioned living of one's best life) is that I have total and complete control over what comes into this house, and what goes out of it. In non-toy-related categories, at least. K is a lot more sentimental about possessions than I am, so there was a constant push-pull over what could and couldn't be tossed. As an example, I do not keep my children's artwork. I keep *some* of it, sure - the really special pieces, to the tune of, say, ten per year per kid - but anyone who has ever had a preschooler knows that they regularly get sent home with foot-high stacks of "artwork" that mostly consists of paint splotches in varying shades of purplish-brown, which is the result you get when you're thinking less about color theory and more about mushing your brush into the paper as hard as possible.

Eat

Caviar, To Celebrate

December 28, 2020

I'll be alone this New Year's Eve, for the first time I can remember. I think for the first time ever, actually. I'm okay with that; I swear - Kendrick has always cared way more about New Year's than I do, and I never want to stay up until midnight anyway, so it just makes sense for the kids to go to his place for the weekend. Besides, even in "normal" years, oh my god do I ever not want to go out on New Year's - just the thought of it makes me want to nap.

But there's another reason I'm not only "okay" with being on my own, but rather actively looking forward to it.

When Kendrick and I divorced, I realized very quickly that I did not know how to be single. I’d moved fairly seamlessly from relationship to relationship my entire adult life (with a year-long foray into casual dating in my mid-twenties that I somehow survived, but probably shouldn’t have), so when my marriage ended I found myself completely at sea, and wanted someone – anyone – to save me. I wasn't sure I knew how to make myself feel better all on my own, because I’d never really had to do it.

Recipes

Santa Needs Some Cookies

December 17, 2020

I'm having a bit of a rough time getting into the holiday spirit this year. I know, YOU'RE SHOCKED AND HAVE NO IDEA WHY.

This candle helps quite a bit. And so does baking. Especially when your six-year-old has decided with 100% certainty that what she wants to be when she grows up is a chef ("because they get to eat a lot"), and wants nothing more than to perch herself on the kitchen counter with some carols playing in the background and help you roll out perfect little balls of dough.

This morning, she asked if coronavirus would still be around when she went to college. "No," I said, "but probably for another six months." ...And do you know what she did? Screamed - in joy! - at the top of her lungs. "Six months?!" she said. "That's NOTHING!"

Eat

All the Cozy Recipes You Need Right Now

November 21, 2020

Hey, did you hear? California's in lockdown again. GOOD TIMES. So one thing's for sure: This year Thanksgiving will look very, very different for most of us. It's OK if you aren't feeling particularly celebratory, and decide to just skip it - those emotions are 1000% valid and understandable. Thanksgiving has always been sort of a crapshoot holiday for us - sometimes we were with Kendrick's family, sometimes we were with mine, sometimes were with friends (and if you're wondering whether looking at those posts I just linked to made me cry, the answer is: yes. obviously), and sometimes we crashed other people's celebrations. So it's not like there are any huge traditions that we'll be breaking. But still: I miss my parents. You might be missing yours, too.

TL;DR, I think we can all agree that it's not an especially jolly holiday season.

But! Hunkering down with some carbohydrates until this cursed year is over isn't the worst idea I've ever heard, and Thanksgiving Week seems like as good a time to get started as any.

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