1. this table. {moved twelve inches.) 2. this rope. {and a half-baked idea.} 3. these sun prints. {and office supplies, always.} 4. this old sweater. {and the weather to wear it in.} 5. this over-taxed paint tray. {and diving right into something.} other things: a family handbook. they’re loud, they get in the way, they exist. what we wear. to want a baby in post-Roe world. indifference as a corrective to despair. v pleased with a new tee and tank ..read more

I suppose I’d say I had a blue in mind that was more Araucana chicken egg than robin egg. Something a hint softer and a touch lighter than this color turned out to be? Maybe less saturated? A little muddier? A whisper of a color instead of a hit-you-in-the-face color? But when you decide to paint a room on a whim on the walk home from dropping your children at school, not precisely what you had in mind is sometimes where you land. If I’m being honest, not precisely is where I land most of the time, even when I deliberate for weeks and finally tire of my own waffling and just pick something ..read more

Q: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? A: To sort plastic beads into tiny plastic drawers. I hate the stranglehold that clear plastic storage solutions have on the organizing and shelter media world, which is why I feel compelled to confess the deep personal satisfaction I recently got from sorting my children’s extra large mason jar of beads and pipe cleaners into the clear plastic drawers of a vintage hardware box. I have organized a drawer for perler beads and one for tri-beads. Heart-shaped beads and star-shaped beads are mixed together in one drawer ..read more

1. milky tea, extra hot. 2. gardenia, jasmine, vanilla. 3. bittersweet. 4. rubber clogs. 5. wool, washed. other things: dads, please enter the chat. room for reverie and action. i can bestow my attention on the things that grow around and in front of me. ugly beautiful things. what it means to not always be okay. a living remedy. long live the shoreline east. like she had broken his trust. psst: use the code EARTH for 20% off (thru sunday). Where possible, this post includes affiliate links to online shops. Reading My Tea Leaves might earn a small commission on the goods purchas ..read more

1. this jar of broth, and the others. 2. this punchy project. 3. this old favorite workhorse, back in heavy rotation. 4. this overnight treatment. 5. this kid, and the others, home sick again, and it’s not even february. other things: a narrative about taking care of ourselves has to evolve into a narrative about taking care of one another. my rattling window. a respite from trad propaganda. unreformed. BQE. (related.) shoppy shops. the monkiest monk of them all. Where possible, this post includes affiliate links to online shops. Reading My Tea Leaves might earn a small commissi ..read more

Three hours and four minutes until sunset and in this minute the sunlight is flooding the back room of our apartment, at least as much as the Christmas tree in the window will allow it to. It’s the shortest day of the year. I am stretched on a couch that’s not a bench, which is luxurious and also leaves a pit in my stomach. This couch retails for more than we paid for our old station wagon, but there were Black Friday discounts and a credit card to help cover the costs. Choosing comfort is not always comfortable. On the table, papery bronze paperwhite bulbs appear to levitate above the bowl I ..read more

1. this not-for-pregnant-people-only sweatsuit. 2. this wreath. 3. this #$^*!@% comb. 4. this repurposed daycare art. 5. this body stone. other things: what’s for dinner? (especially)! eating acorns. the trees of new york. strawberry and salty peanut! one of the truest and most sublime rights. red velvet sneaks. black covid care. The sweatsuit and body stone were gifts sent to me by friends and colleagues. Where possible, this post includes affiliate links. Reading My Tea Leaves might earn a small commission on the goods purchased through those links.  ..read more

1. this sewing machine cover. 2. this tea light holder. 3. this windowsill. 4. this sheepskin. 5. this thumbtack. other things: a hundred ways to kiss the ground. ’tis the season to want nothing. related! 24 days of making, doing, & being. puddle art via anorak ..read more

1. matte-paged catalogs for cutting up. 2. perfect grasses (and sphere). 3. wrangled fabric scraps. 4. templates ready for gift season. 5. notebooks and scrap paper, always. other things: dumpy owl. just this daily fact of loving each other and showing up. i wake up tired. laundry line animals. a whole crew of humans who can fill in the gaps. buy a book or three. (lynn’s is *the* perfect pre-holiday read!) acid league. i love stalking these threads ..read more

I made a dog bed for my children. This was not my intention at the onset, but it is what I ended up with and I’m not complaining. A puppy is a puppy is a puppy, human, canine, or otherwise. A number of weeks ago, Faye and I found ourselves in the Muji Store near Astor Place. She stationed herself by the table of rubber stamps, I hunted for the elusive kraft paper sticky notes that seem to have gone the way of the Dodo. Together we sought a bit of relief in a temple of shoppable organization and order. Eventually we ventured below-deck where we found a group of twenty-somethings lounging on a ..read more