Category Archives: Life

Because I’m totally ready. Garlands, snowflakes, pine-scented everything… bring it on. I’m officially excited.

But I guess maybe we’ll stick with the gourds and the grains for a little bit longer… I’m excited for Thanksgiving too. Especially since this year we’re headed to New York to watch the big parade. It’s something Mark did as a kid, and it’s always been a really special memory. So this year we’re taking Austin, and hoping we can create something just as special for him.

But enough about the future, let’s talk about the now — how was your Halloween?! It rained on us, but we ran around in it anyway and Austin brought back quite a haul. I think the birthday boy had a pretty great time too.

Eye this beautiful little home.

Buy this great cheap bag.

Make these DIY gold and acrylic clipboards.

Bake this creamy chocolate panna cotta with blackberry caramel.

A rant that all bloggers should read. And a great reaction they (we) should too.

I think I need to make this.

William Faulkner’s little-known drawings.

These awesome ladies.

Remember how I said I love apple desserts?

P.S. Thank you Refinery29 for featuring my Pinterest today, and with such amazing company!

Things are slowly getting back to normal here in DC — but the rest of the country still has some time. Small businesses located outside of America’s national parks suffered through 16 days of shutdown, and are struggling to make up for lost time.

Some are even struggling to make up for their crucial fall rush (if you’ve ever been to Shenandoah when the leaves are changing, you know what I mean).

So here’s the thing. We can’t turn back time and take it back. And we also can’t stop Congress from doing it again. So let’s do what we can now to make up the loss and prepare for the next time around.

1 // Visit a national park — they’re beautiful, and you know you need the fresh air.

2 // While you’re there, eat at a local restaurant or take home a souvenir from a nice mom & pop. Do what you can to help out.

3 // Tell your friends to do the same. Use the hashtag #shutdownshmutdown on Instagram, Twitter, and all of your social media accounts. (And while you’re at it, tag me too. Just because I’d love to know if this is taking hold. @laicie on Instagram, @1000threads on Twitter.)

Screw this thing. Let’s not worry about if and when — whether it might happen again. Let’s fix it for ourselves.

And hey, I know we’re not all close to a national park, or able to invest the time and money to travel. That’s okay. Consider donating to one of these organizations that worked hard to fill in the gaps. They need it now more than ever, especially if they’re going to have to do this all over again.

P.S. The more you share this plan, the more it will take hold… so if you can’t do either, don’t worry. Believe me, I understand. All you have to do is share this news. I’m willing to bet that you have at least one friend who will help out on your behalf.

It really hit me this week. We haven’t even made it to Halloween, but it feels like Christmas is just around the corner, waiting to knock down the door. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Christmas. Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, Dean Martin, Tom Waits, Singapore Slings (have we talked about my family’s random traditions?). Christmas is one of my favorite parts of the year.

But let’s also not pretend that it’s not a little stress-inducing. The added expense, the quest to find the perfect gifts, the extra obligations… we put a lot of pressure on ourselves around the holidays. And it’s all coming up soon. Halloween (and Mark’s birthday), then our anniversary, then Thanksgiving (and a big family trip to New York) and Christmas… it’s all about to hit, and I have to admit that the gravity of that hit me hard today.

It’s going to be an amazing few months, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world… but it’s also about to get very, very busy.

One more reason to take it a little easier this weekend (or maybe get started on that shopping early?).

What do you think? Do you start to worry around this time of the year, like me? Or am I way early to the game and just stressing you out? (I’m sorry!)

Eye the trailer for Wes Anderson’s latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Buy a tiny gold skull ring for Halloween (and beyond).

Make these adorable little clay pumpkins.

Bake this rich dark chocolate and hazelnut cake.

Oh hey and about those holidays, here are a few tips to keep you (well, your editorial calendar) sane.

Rebecca Romijn’s “hand bra” (just in time for breast cancer awareness).

8 awesome cookbooks you need for fall.

The case for deleting all of your apps (would you do it?).

And I don’t just mean on the blogs.

Rants like this one are popping up all over the internet these days, and they’re convincing a lot of people to take action. But one of the central tenets of the argument continues to bother me.

It’s spelled out best by Amy Webb for Slate, who shares the story of “Kate”…

With every status update, YouTube video, and birthday blog post, Kate’s parents are preventing her from any hope of future anonymity.

That poses some obvious challenges for Kate’s future self. It’s hard enough to get through puberty. Why make hundreds of embarrassing, searchable photos freely available to her prospective homecoming dates? If Kate’s mother writes about a negative parenting experience, could that affect her ability to get into a good college? We know that admissions counselors review Facebook profiles and a host of other websites and networks in order to make their decisions.

Now let me just make sure I have this straight. Are we worried that a baby picture or a story about little Kate’s growing pains might someday prevent her from getting into the college of her dreams? Or are we under the impression that we might somehow be able to keep Kate”off the grid” until she’s old enough to join Facebook and ruin her online identity for herself?

Of course we have to set limits on our sharing (or oversharing), but really, that’s a separate issue. This more specific concern, that we might somehow ruin our kids’ lives by sharing their baby pictures with our friends and family on Facebook, feels like it’s going a bit too far.

Then again, I have to admit I’m a little hesitant to post shots of Austin here, and I frequently debate how much I might share when Mark and I decide to have a child of our own. There’s a discomfort with the internet (that flows naturally from its youth) that rightly makes us take a second look. The world is changing, privacy is changing, and our circles are expanding… so how do we make sense of it all?

What do you think? Do I have it all wrong? How comfortable are you with putting pictures of your kids (or future kids) on the internet?

Photo via The Glow. (I loooove The Glow.)

Oh guys… it’s appropriate that I would share my schedule this week, because it feels like I’ve barely come up for air. Work has been extra busy, with extra errands piled on top, and every night it seems I’m walking through the door just to head off to sleep. I’m looking forward to one extra day this weekend (thanks Columbus Day) to unwind and catch up.

How about you? Do you have Columbus Day off? I know it’s not the most common long weekend.

Eye this festive fall desktop wallpaper.

Buy these Retro Print Revival lamps.

Make your own dried herbs.

Bake these salted honey rice krispies treats.

Homemade pumpkin pasta.

Is entrepreneurship a fad?

Dream home.