Category: lifestyle


Could we form a creative collective house in Brooklyn?

Could we form a creative collective house in Brooklyn?

Even before we moved to New York City, John and I had a lot of conversations about how long we’d like to live here. It was not a foregone conclusion that we’d be lifelong New Yorkers. Now that we’re here, it’s both maddeningly expensive and difficult to imagine leaving. We recently visited our home state, Michigan, which renewed intense discussions…

How is 2014 treating you? And how are you treating it?

How is 2014 treating you? And how are you treating it?

We’ve just passed the halfway point of 2014 — how is the year going for you? Are you following through on your ambitions for the year?
For our new year’s card this year, we provided a range of verbs we felt showed actions of improving your life, including several pairs of actions: start and quit, commit and release, host and visit, save and give.

Social media gives clues to trouble in relationships

Social media gives clues to trouble in relationships

They say no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. But social media gives us more of a view of what’s happening in our friends’ lives, and sadly, I’ve gotten good at reading the signs of unraveling relationships. Facebook gives users a wide range of relationship status choices, including “separated” and “divorced,” but I’ve never seen a friend be that…

Intimacy and passion are different, advises couples therapist Esther Perel

Intimacy and passion are different, advises couples therapist Esther Perel

My fabulous British journalist friend Jane Mulkerrins travels the globe interviewing celebrities (Kevin Kline, Liv Tyler, Billy Bob Thornton, Tilda Swinton, Victoria’s Secret models … it goes on and on) but that’s not all she does. She recently interviewed Esther Perel, a couples therapist in New York. The headline on Jane’s article in the Telegraph tells you this is going to be good reading:…

Women speak out via #YesAllWomen

Women speak out via #YesAllWomen

This isn’t the blog post I expected to write today — I have a few topics I’ve been meaning to get to, including taking better care of my health and another take on doing what you love. But I couldn’t look away from the powerful #YesAllWomen conversation on Twitter this weekend. Yet another act of mass violence in California, this time…

How to Make a Marriage Work, reblog from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

How to Make a Marriage Work, reblog from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

My husband, John, and I celebrated our 14-year wedding anniversary this week, which had us reflecting on our gratitude for our happy marriage and what we think we’ve learned since we first said, “I do.” Just a few days before our anniversary, Leo Babauta included the following tips in his email newsletter, Zen Habits. I thought it was perfect timing, better…

12 tips to cultivate your own happiness

12 tips to cultivate your own happiness

Happiness is a subject I frequently blog about — specifically, that it’s not just a virus you catch or something that happens to you, but like love or fulfillment, it’s something you consciously cultivate. So of course I loved this column by Jacob Sokol on Huffington Post headlined 12 Things Happy People Do Differently — And Why I Started Doing Them.…

Pointers on hosting simple weekday suppers

Pointers on hosting simple weekday suppers

My husband and I have thrown dinner parties for years, but I always thought of them as big social occasions — a reason to haul out John’s mom’s silver, to set a proper table with fresh flowers and present a multi-course sit-down meal. We started hosting weekday spaghetti suppers late last year, inspired by our friend Pableaux’s weekly red beans…

How can you make the world better with $5? Find out!

How can you make the world better with $5? Find out!

I love birthdays — I think of them as my own personal New Year’s Day, reflecting on where I’ve been in my last year and how I can make my next year better. And my birthday always falls during Lent, which is a Christian season of reflection leading up to Easter. Though many people simplify Lent to giving something up,…

Reblog from Zen Habits: The Child That Holds Us Back

Reblog from Zen Habits: The Child That Holds Us Back

We’re a little more than a week in — have you already abandoned your optimistic New Year’s resolutions? One of my favorite blogs,  Zen Habits,  recently had a post that spoke to the reasons we struggle to make change, even changes we might really want or need. The Child That Holds Us Back By Leo Babauta It took me a…

Step away from the smartphone

Step away from the smartphone

Christmas can be stressful for a lot of people. Maybe your mother nags you, your sibling gets on your last nerve, the kids are hopped up on sugar and new toys … maybe all of the above? But for this one day, can you step away from email, social media and Candy Crush to just be in the moment? If…

Chris Sacca's advice to be your unapologetic weird selves

Chris Sacca's advice to be your unapologetic weird selves

I don’t remember much about the commencement address at my college graduation. We were all crowded into a loud fieldhouse, which as I recall had lousy acoustics, and mainly we were waiting for those few seconds when we’d get to walk across the stage to prove we were graduates. I hope the graduates who heard Chris Sacca‘s  commencement speech were able to…

Art that aims to inspire you to live your life better

Art that aims to inspire you to live your life better

My artist husband, John Tebeau, shows up as a guest star on my blog fairly often. But today, he’s the focus — specifically, an art show he has opening Thursday on a subject that’s near and dear to my heart. “You Want It, You Got It” focuses on the way your attitude and approach to life affects the quality of…

You can learn a lot when you don't assume

You can learn a lot when you don't assume

You know that saying about how when you assume, you make an ass out of “u” and me? I recently read an excellent blog post that drove that idea home — in language that’s pretty close to the cliché. (It’s also language more delicate readers might not enjoy. If that’s you, maybe skip this one? Perhaps you could look at some…