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DIARY

I Didn’t Like My Asymmetrical Eyes, So I Did Something About Them

October 21, 2015

Me, circa 1997

A long time ago, I wrote a post about my asymmetrical eyes. And apparently - thanks to the miasma of oddity that is SEO - I am now the Official Internet Authority on this topic. That post comes up on the first page of a Google search for "asymmetrical eyes" (I checked this because I was confused as to why a post I wrote in 2011 has continued to be one of my most-read posts every single day since). I get emails almost weekly from women looking for advice on how to minimize the appearance of their own asymmetry.

So apparently there's some level of interest in the topic. It certainly continues to interest me, because despite the fact that (cheesy as it sounds) I really do believe that our "flaws" are what make us unique and beautiful...my eyes make me insecure. I notice them in every photo. They bother me. This a big part of the reason why I tend to wear sunglasses in style shoots; it's just so I don't have to worry about how my damn eyes look.

Crafts for the Uncrafty

The Great Pirate Party

October 20, 2015

Alright, so I went into this birthday a little nervous. Because talk about a high bar; Goldie's party in August was silly-fancy. (Seriously: as much as I loved it, it was obbbbbviously a bit much for a one-year-old, and I felt the need to explain to our guests - many of whom haven't known me for long enough to be aware that my children's parties have historically included pathetically lopsided cakes rather than expertly crafted mini-bundts - that I was responsible for exactly none of it). Despite my awareness that what kids need to be happy is the permission to eat ice cream and run around like lunatics (and really not a whole lot else), I wanted to make sure that Indy's fourth birthday (!! cannot stand it) felt special, too...while still being manageable to plan and set up, because we just wrapped up a whole lot of travel and are more than a little busy at the moment.

We came up with the pirate theme (which I later adjusted slightly into a Goonies theme just because everybody loves that movie, Indy included - even if he doesn't know it yet) largely based on the fact that Indy bought a pirate sword at the Renaissance Faire we went to a few weeks ago. Slightly random or no, it ended up being a really cool theme, and the party was easy to organize (whew), relatively inexpensive (win), and fun for both kids and their parents (double win).

The Food: Oh, Trader Joe's, I love you so much. I bought literally everything (mac and cheese balls, a selection of pizzas, lemon squares, brownie bites, and pumpkin cookies) from the store and just heated up whatever needed heating half an hour before our guests arrived. For the cake, Indy decided that he wanted a Ladybug cake (go figure). Fine by me; Baskin Robbins does ladybugs very nicely.

Lifestyle

Links & Love & Stuff

October 20, 2015

When my friend (and glam | camp partner) Erin and I first met in person, I knew she had read my site before. But I didn't know the whole story until some time later. I'm fully aware of the presence of communities on the internet that exist to slam bloggers (and me, specifically); that's just par for the course, and while it's no fun, it's also something I understand. Getting to know someone who used to dislike me and mock my work - and then who, over time, became one of my closest friends - has been a pretty amazing experience. (How I Went From Internet Troll To BFF (And Business Partner), via Bustle.)

Really cute crossbody for a GREAT price.

Tear. (Farewell, America's Next Top Model, One Of The Greatest Reality TV Shows Ever, via The Cut.)

SNAPSHOTS

All Around Pumpkintown

October 19, 2015

One of my favorite Jordan In The House episodes, with pumpkin-carving tips and ridiculous sound effects.

I love fall.

I hate carving pumpkins. (Like, with a passion.)

ENTREES

Lentil “Bolognese”

October 19, 2015

I now grow my own basil and make meatless sauces. Oh California, what have you done to me?

A couple of weeks ago a vegetarian friend of mine came to stay with us for a few days, and I was at a total loss for what to cook. So often, it seems like vegetarians just kind of get handed a side dish "that's totally hearty enough to double as an entree!" and I felt...I don't know, like I wanted our guest to feel a little more special. Except over the past couple of months I've grown so reliant on my go-to system of throwing some meat on the grill, tossing a salad and calling it a day that I couldn't for the life of me think of anything to make her. (I ended up not actually doing that badly; I made cool pizzas and a really delicious grain-vegetable-egg combo and such, but still: we're talking about a limited repertoire.)

This would have been a really good solution. Because it's not only vegetarian, it's also really healthy (full of vegetables and protein) and REALLY good. Like, as good as "real" (meaning meat-containing) bolognese. Maybe even better. No joke. It's not going to trick your tastebuds - it tastes like it's own thing, not like traditional bolognese - but it's super flavorful and hearty without being heavy. I like it so much that I prepared each serving with way more sauce than pasta, because it's so good that it's not even as much of a dressing for pasta as it is a really delicious stew.

Lifestyle

Morning Glory

October 16, 2015

Stretching in the sunrise before entering the madness.

I have never in my life been to a rave.

I think there was a period of time around age 25 when I really wanted to go to one, but for whatever reason (probably that I panic when it gets too late and my bed is still far away from me) it never happened.

Decor

Our Front Yard: Before And After (A Xeriscaped Makeover)

October 16, 2015

Check out that lush, vibrant landscape.

Oooooh was our front yard ever not good. My favorite part was the enormous potted (and dead) tree tethered to the roof to prevent it from dropping straight to the ground. In second place was the red mulch surrounding the enormous (also dead) bush next to my garage.

Enter: a xeriscaper I found on Thumbtack. What is xeriscaping, you ask? Excellent question; I didn't know, either. Basically, it means taking out plants that need bunches of water and replacing them with ones that are drought-resistant, thereby lowering or eliminating entirely the amount of supplemental watering that your yard requires. It's also (in my opinion) very pretty.

DIARY

Working Parents In America: The Fear-Driven Superwoman

October 15, 2015

When I was in my early twenties and pictured having a baby one day — a day that felt, from that vantage point, way off in the inconceivably distant future — that picture included things like a house. A job that made money. Probably a nursery furnished entirely from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. What my life actually looked like when my husband, Kendrick, and I decided to have a baby wasn’t quite like that.

Lifestyle

City Snaps

October 15, 2015

In the years before we moved to the West Coast, I became thoroughly disenchanted with New York City. It was too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter. It was too hard to get around the subway system with a stroller, and too expensive to take taxis everywhere. The restaurants were great, but after we moved to Westchester (despite our insistence that "Oh, we'll still come into the city all the time!"), we never went to them.

Not like we knew the good places to go anymore, anyway.

Last week I took a trip to New York that was technically a business trip but that I extended by a couple of days so that Indy and I could spend extra time with my parents, and ended up roaming the streets for hours at a time, stopping into places I remembered and places that only just sprung up in the months since I left.

Lifestyle

Attagirl

October 14, 2015

What can I say? She's committed to her craft.

I mean, you kind of have to respect the sheer volume of effort my daughter put into this. She didn't just slap that diaper cream on; she applied it. Thoroughly.

So after I laughed at the sight of my marshmallow-child - because really, when things like this happen there is nothing else you can do (besides, of course, take a photograph to show your husband so that he believes you when you tell him exactly how bad your day was) - I started the extremely long process of figuring out what the hell to do when your one-year-old paints herself from head to toe with a product that is specifically formulated to repel moisture.

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