Rose and I made a book. It has a cover! And a cover means that you can now pre-order MAKING THINGS: Finding Use, Meaning, and Satisfaction in Crafting Everyday Objects. Yes! The book comes out in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia on May 7, 2024, but right this very minute you can place an order and if you fill out our fancy form, we’ll send a little pressie that you can print and turn into a ZINE to put under the tree, or into a stocking, or offer to whichever family member has sacrificed their kitchen this week in the noble pursuit of latke-making. We’ve made the last-minute Hanukkah/Chri ..read more

Or, why I’m writing on Substack and why I hope you’ll join me! I started writing on the internet in 2009. I’ve told this story before, but my foray into blogging began at the urging of a childhood friend. We were both bored in jobs that didn’t challenge us. We’d graduated from college and AOL instant messenger, but only barely. We spent our work days checking in on each other on G-chat from the relatively far flung places we’d landed. We were twenty-four. I had recently sent out applications to a half dozen graduate programs that I thought might make my life and work more interesting, or at l ..read more

When I packed my bag on the very last day of June to come to my parents’ house, I thought I was packing for a few weeks, tops. School was finally out for the summer, there were three-kids worth of clothes to also think about and my own packing was mostly an afterthought. What came with me was what I managed to throw into a bag while the rest of family’s bags were getting loaded into the back of the wagon. I was pacified by the knowledge that unlike in our apartment in Brooklyn, I was headed someplace with a washing machine and dryer and ample outdoor drying space. As long as there was enough ..read more

I bought a pair of shorts. I won’t say I’m admitting defeat, but after a second seam-busting exercise in humility, and the third or fourth, possibly fifth, time extending our stay at my parents’ house this summer, I decided I would not wait until being back behind my own sewing machine to experience some summertime comfort. Work for the last two weeks has been relegated to morning brain dumps while the big kids are at camp and afternoon brain scrambles while I watch them at the beach and scribble ideas onto sandy scraps of paper. I needed something cool and comfortable, something full of ease ..read more

In case you need encouragement to reignite an old childhood flame, or fan a new one, here’s my plea to make yourself a fluffernutter sandwich before summer ends. There’s little better and close to nothing simpler than a peanut butter sandwich for taking to the beach or park or trail. Jelly is the classic, of course. (Blueberry is my preferred.) But over the weekend I had a sudden urge for an old fashioned fluffernutter, which is to say, a peanut butter and fluff sandwich. Fluff being the delightful, somewhat inscrutable, cafeteria classic: shelf-stable marshmallow creme. // If you’d like to r ..read more

1. these drops. {the plus side of a rainy week.} 2. this broken shovel. {i regret to inform everyone i was right. might try a thread repair.} 3. this ice cream sandwich. {and the others.} 4. this accidental ombré. {and embracing it.} 5. greens and whites and a bit of blush. {always.} // If you’d like to read the full-length version of this piece, please consider becoming a subscriber to my TEA NOTES newsletter. Subscribers get notifications of all new posts directly to their inboxes along with occasional free posts (like this one!). Paying subscribers get access to commenting pr ..read more

SOS. SEND OUR SHOVELS. By all accounts, we have not had a terribly spendy summer. Staying almost entirely out of the city means that the usual slow-drip from our wallets directly into those of ice cream and iced coffee and bagel vendors has largely been staunched. Instead of, on steamy walks home from the park, caving and ducking into a neighborhood restaurant for a dinner, we’ve mostly eaten at home. The few dates James and I have gone on have been heavily subsidized by free babysitting from grandparents. James was Calder’s primary companion this summer and small town summer camp, though sti ..read more

$0.00 is the amount I have left to pay on my student loans. Bizarrely enough, a ticker-tape parade was not thrown in my honor when my very last monthly payment came out of my bank account. Indeed, I’m fairly certain that the only direct acknowledgement of the accomplishment that I did receive was a dip to my credit score. (A scam if I ever knew one.) To see the balance for myself, I needed to open a new online account with the latest servicer in a line whose count I’ve lost track of. This loan is paid in full. // If you’d like to read the full-length version of this piece, please conside ..read more

1. this mesh bag. {for sparking an idea.} 2. watermelon. {on repeat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.} 3. this present. {to replace the one lost to summer camp.} 4. these strawflowers. {for sticking around.} 5. these disembodied legs. {cause keeping this old girl running is not for the faint of heart.} other things: “my life as a slayer.” butter art. vessels for everything else. you’re lucky. gatherer. how to help: maui. HOUSEKEEPING! As a reminder, this summer I started sending longer versions of some posts and hosting subscriber-only threads and a lively comments section for paid subscr ..read more

I woke up with a hankering to make something. The joe-pye weed I hung in my parents’ shed a few weeks ago wasn’t really all the way dry and the stems of the cornflowers from last week’s anniversary bouquet were still decidedly green, but I needed to dive into something creative and so I made a wreath. // If you’d like to read the full-length version of this piece, please consider becoming a subscriber to my TEA NOTES newsletter. Subscribers get notifications of all new posts directly to their inboxes along with occasional free posts (like this one!). Paying subscribers get access to comm ..read more