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Lifestyle

The Curious (And Dangerous) Emergence Of Jared Kushner

The photo accompanying the Forbes fanfic article says it all.

Over the past week, your daily "Donald Trump does an unimaginably bad thing" news items have spotlighted an interesting new character: Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law (married, as you know, to Golden Child Ivanka). The conspiracy theories keep pouring in: Did Jared's father pay off Harvard to get him in?! (Yes.) Are Jared and Ivanka using their newfound positions to further their own business interests?! (Come on; of course they are.) Is Jared The Boss Of The World now?!?!? (Maybe; he certainly holds huge sway over the decisions of the impulsive, self-indulgent emotional toddler who will soon become president.) The answers to these questions matter, but the reasons why he is extremely, extremely dangerous extend far beyond them. I'm aware that sounds like hyperbole. Stay with me.

Jared's involvement in the national disaster we collectively refer to as "The Year 2016" has been particularly interesting on a personal level, because I know the guy pretty well. We were friends in college, and briefly dated a few years later, and I liked him a lot: I thought he was kind, and interesting, and have genuinely fond memories of him through the years. He's the sort of guy who makes you feel like he's really hearing you. He is, in a word, charming.

DIARY

Some Romantic Evening

Step One: Do Not Own Dogs.

The sudden arrival of hundreds of tiny black specks in my bed should have been a sign that there was something amiss. And yet each morning for the past week I have straightened our sheets and fluffed our pillows while brushing these hundreds of tiny black specks off of our bed and onto the floor, become passingly annoyed at Kendrick for having gotten into bed with dirty feet (or dirty something)...and then forgotten about the whole thing until the next morning, when I have once again found myself brushing hundreds of tiny black specks off of our bed and onto the floor.

This story is going exactly where you think it is, so if you want to stop reading now please be my guest.

Eat

Thanksgiving Recipe Rundown

How pretty is this centerpiece?! 

Here you go: my annual posting of (honestly) unscrewupable recipe ideas for your Thanksgiving consideration. I'm on my way to the store a little later today to pick up the ingredients for our celebration, and Kendrick has requested that I include one of those green bean/pearl onion dishes, so if anyone has an especially great recipe to share I'd so appreciate it!

Happy shopping, happy eating, happy Thanksgiving. (You guys make me happy everyday. Thank you.)

Lifestyle

A Trip Down Memory Lane: Some (More) Ill-Advised Posts From The Good Old Days

Hey...what's that back there? Oh right: IT'S MY PAST, HAUNTING ME FOREVER.


Ummmmmmm so I'm putting together a Thanksgiving Recipe Rundown post (coming up) and just went down a major old-video wormhole searching for my ancient Sugared Cranberries video. That video appears to no longer exist (which is probably a good thing, because helloooooo awkward), but you know what does? Everything else I thought would be a good idea to post to the Internet in 2009/10.

Lifestyle

Just Us (And A Turkey)

Thanksgiving 1982

My memories of Thanksgiving from when I was a little girl are of me, my mom, my dad, a turkey, and Ocean Spray cranberry sauce in the can (which is, just so you're aware, superior to every other cranberry sauce on the face of this planet). Sometimes we combined our celebration with family friends (above; and lol at my grumpy face), and sometimes my grandparents on my dad's side came to visit from LA or a relative on my mom's side came to visit from Canada, but we didn't have any family who lived close to us, so more often than not it was just us hanging out in New York City and eating too many sweet potatoes.

Except, as it turned out, there were more of us than we'd realized.

My Looks

The New Feminine

CeCe by Cynthia Steffe at Macy's

CeCe Blouse

I am not “girly.” With a handful of exceptions, I tend not to choose pieces with floral patterns, with ruffles, with bows. My closet overflows with denim and grey. I think the last time I wore a headband was for my first-grade class photo (it was maroon velvet and actually pretty amazing, now that I think about it).

But just because I’m not especially girly doesn’t mean I don’t like to feel feminine. And I’ve rarely felt more feminine – by which I mean elegant, and polished, and confident – than I did when I put on the outfit pictured here. I have to be honest: I wasn’t entirely sure I’d love it when I ordered it from Macy’s, simply because I’ve literally never worn anything like this. Illusion neckline? Flounce skirt? Peter Pan collar?!

Decor

4 Easy Home Spruce-Ups (That I Hadn’t Thought Of)

Totally lit a fire last night (and yes it is 65F in Cali but I couldn't wait) 


You know how most people (or, rather "most people on Pinterest"; not "most real people") do an annual spring cleaning? I always forget to do that because I'm so excited about actually doing spring-type things (like being outside as opposed to on my couch). Trying to get my house under control in preparation for the colder months simply makes more sense to me: winter - even in not-so-wintry California - is when we spend tons of time at home...so shouldn't we make that home as cozy and pleasant-to-be-in as possible?

Lifestyle

Move Over, Kids

Me and my milk and my emails, 7AM

With two kids in the house, there is a lot of milk that gets consumed on a daily basis. And in our house, it’s even more than you’d expect, because my five-year-old and my two-year-old aren’t the only ones interested in the stuff. (Just to be clear, they're primarily interested when it's located next to cookies or on top of fluorescent cereal puffs, in case you were under the impression that I was raising Health Angels. I'm not.)

Not infrequently, I’ve had a houseguest comment on my habit of waking up, walking directly to the refrigerator, and pouring a massive glass of (super-cold) milk. “Jordan?” they ask. “Are you...what are you doing?”

Lifestyle

OOTD


Alright, so it turns out I love Instagram Stories. When it first came out (about thirty seconds after I finally swallowed my pride and joined Snapchat) I had no idea whether I'd ever actually use the thing. Or, if I did, how I'd use it any differently from Snapchat, aside from the fact that on Snapchat I could look like a nervous deer if I wanted to.

DIARY

Bright Spot

Supergirl on a Sunday morning.

This weekend was rough. I'm aware that the general consensus is "we took a few days off to be upset; now it's time to toughen up and get moving," and I agree with that sentiment for the most part (at least the "toughen up and get moving" part), but these past couple of days weren't any easier than the ones that came before it. Graffiti ("TRUMP!") popped up on my quiet little street for the first time since I've lived here. This happened. I drove my children to the park on Sunday afternoon, and a few minutes before we got there my son asked to hear a new song, so I decided to play Hallelujah for him - in retrospect, an absolutely catastrophic song choice, and one that resulted in me having to try to explain to my children why sometimes songs make us cry.

But something else happened this weekend, and it meant so much to me that despite the fact that I'm aware that only very close relatives (might) consider a five-year-old's piano recital Must-See TV, I'm going to post it here anyway. You guys have been with me since the day this kid was born, and...I don't know, I just wanted to share this with you. It's a pretty beautiful thing, watching children turn into the people they will be in the future.