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a fall scene worthy of poetry
Go, sit upon the lofty hill, And turn your eyes around, Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound. The summer sun is faint on them — The summer flowers depart — Sit still — as all transform’d to stone, Except your musing heart. From “The Autumn,” Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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Literary Looks: The Sun Also Rises
Lately, I’ve been feasting on a lot of good reads. To celebrate, I’m compiling the first of a series of literary looks inspired by books and writers. My book club recently finished The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. It’s a well-researched, fictional account of Hemingway’s relationship with his first wife, Hadley, told from her point of view. During their 5-year marriage, Hemingway wrote and sold his first novel, The Sun Also Rises (1926), which is set in Pamplona among the bullfights and running of the bulls during the Feast of San Fermin. Remembering that novel got me thinking about Spanish style, and prompted this literary look, which would be perfect for watching the festivities in…
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Last Scenes of Summer
As September settles in with sweater weather and the smell of wood smoke from chimneys, I thought I’d offer here on my blog one last glimpse of summer. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I’ve been busy with a number of endeavors, including tending to a smiling but always hungry two-month-old and tackling another revision of my book. In all the busyness, summer has started to slip away, quietly, as it always does, like a guest leaving a party without saying good-bye so as not to interrupt the fun. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to taste the spectrum of summer’s final, peak flavors at Milkweed, a private family farm…
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Frugal Fashion
While scouring the racks at my local thrift store, I spotted this phrase on a chalkboard above the vintage dresses. A new mantra, perhaps? Certainly a sign of the times. But I also see it as a challenge. What tricks do you have to look fabulous without spending a fortune?
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CSA: Community Supported Art?
I’ve finally started to work my way through my pile of Food & Wine magazines from the last several months. While I was pregnant, F&W just made me angry because (1) I couldn’t drink the cocktails and Cabernets on its pages and (2) it made me crave elaborate meals that I didn’t have the energy to create. Now that I’m spending a lot of time glued to a chair while breastfeeding, I’ve been catching up. A short article about CSA shares in the September issue of Food & Wine caught my eye. The article discussed an art subscription program based out of Minneapolis. The program is modeled after the Community…
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Coffee & Cuteness
I am friends with a bunch of coffee fiends. Our shared addiction is most evident on group camping trips. As we unload cars or canoes and set up camp, someone always poses the question: “Who has the coffee?” Panic spreads as the person who was supposed to have it inevitably empties her bag and can’t find it. The next twenty minutes are spent flinging around sleeping bags and rain gear, frisbees and bags of chips until someone–THANK GOD–finds the double-ziplocked bag of freshly-ground coffee beans. In the morning, the earliest riser takes on the painstaking process of building a fire and setting up the special coffee pot over the flames.…
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Pop-Up Vintage
Last weekend, I went to a pop-up vintage sale held at Zip Dang on Monroe Street. Because I have a newborn baby and therefore a short attention span, I like the idea of a pop-up sale, which is essentially retail’s answer to a flash mob. Since pop-up sales are carefully curated and arranged, I can go in with a mission and usually find what I’m looking for, which, in this case, was anything unique that fit my post-pregnancy body (read: A-line dresses). Zip Dang normally carries some vintage apparel, but also carries upcycled items, one of-a-kind art and clothing, cheeky stationery, and kitschy-cool household goods. The event this past weekend, which…
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Summer Stripes and 60’s Style
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with 60’s style. I suspect my obsession grew from playing with my mom’s Barbies, with their mini dresses and painted-on smokey eyes. Buried somewhere in a Rubbermaid container in my parents’ basement is Fashion Queen Barbie, shown at left, with her fabulous gold striped swimsuit and creepy wigs. The most interesting Barbie accessory from my mom’s much-played-with collection is a mini diet book with politically incorrect advice on “How to Lose Weight”: Okay, so maybe the real 60’s weren’t as altogether fabulous as the style-savvy sixties of my imagination. Still, my fondness for the fashion of that decade persists. I even…
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A Seasonal Recipe with Swiss Chard
I’ve been busy these past few days taking care of my brand new baby boy. I wrote this post last Sunday, the day I went into labor! I didn’t have a chance to post it then (for obvious reasons), so I’m posting it now in case anyone is looking for a good recipe to use up summer veggies. I’ll be back soon! Back to baby cuddles and kisses… At this time of year, big bunches of green things arrive in my CSA box from Vermont Valley Community Farm. Some of them have obvious uses, like lettuce for salads or pea pods for stir fry. Other veggies require a little more…
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Baby, You Look Fabulous
Those who follow this blog know that I am expecting a baby boy any day now. I don’t write much about kid or baby stuff because (1) I have no idea what I’m talking about and (2) I’m sure my life will be consumed soon enough with thrilling topics like nursing bras and cloth diaper covers, so why blog about it? Given that I’m just four days from my due date, though, I thought I’d allow myself a baby-themed post this week. I have to admit that when I found out we were having a boy, I had to give myself a day or so to get used to the idea.…
a blog on fiction, fashion, food + family