Behind the Mask(s)
Masks are the most depressing fashion accessory of 2020. In March, when it became clear that we were all going to be wearing them for the foreseeable future, I sewed a few for my kids and me.
Read MoreDoomscroll Alternatives to Improve Your Terrible Life
Doomscrolling is SOOO July. Do you remember July? China started sending us random seeds, Ghislaine Maxwell was finally arrested (we do not wish her the best), and Trump wore a mask in public for the first time, and it wasn't even Halloween. So. Brave.
Read MoreChip on The Big Shoulders
I was thrilled when I learned that Phil Rosenthal’s show, Somebody Feed Phil, was coming to Chicago. Phil’s enthusiasm for food and places is similar to mine – he squeals, gesticulates wildly, and literally jumps with joy. I've watched him eat and dance his way around the world, and I hoped he would not only enjoy Chicago with his infectious joy in discovery.
Chicago is a popular food and travel show destination, but I have been burned before.
Read MoreA Menu for Change
I noticed that even though my cookbook shelf was full, it was dominated by white authors and western-European cuisine. As someone who embraces new food, new experiences, I was embarrassed by the glaring omissions of the culinary foundations of American cooking on the shelf. Time for more change.
Read MoreThe Power of Yes
A few months BC (Before COVID), I read Year of Yes, by Shauna Rhimes. The premise is deceptively simple: Despite incredible professional success, the Queen of Shaunda Land felt lonely and unfulfilled. On a dare from her sister, Shaunda spent a year saying “Yes” to everything – speaking engagements, parties, working out, salads, events – and she found her new life surprisingly rewarding and exciting in ways she hadn’t imagined it could be.
I was inspired and energized as she told her story, but as I considered my own life, I felt like I was very, very far away from So Much Yes.
I said no. A lot.
Read MoreThe Bird Who Lived
I Googled what to do when a bird hits your window. Make it comfortable, the Audubon site says, leave it alone if it doesn’t seem injured. If it does seem injured, contact animal control. There is no information about what to do if a bird hits your window during a global pandemic.
Read MoreGonna’ Make You Sweat (Or Not)
I am okay with the idea of sweatpants: Loose, soft pants that you throw on over workout gear, on the way to exercise or in transit on the way to a post-workout shower. In my mind, they are purely transitional, not actual clothing. Not workplace attire.
Read MoreBoys’ Rules for Life
I started writing this essay with the intention of providing advice for my sons as they grew into men. Some tips were specific (Change your socks every day); some general (Learn to be OK with failure), and some were based on my own life experience (Don't get married until you're 30). But as I observed my sons with a journalistic eye, I realized how much they can teach us all.
Read MoreA Nice Love Story
When I did the post-first-date phone debrief with my sister, I confessed: He might be too nice for me. I am not that nice, what if I am terrible and break the heart of this nice man?
She admonished: You will go on at least three dates, and you will have fun. You deserve someone who is nice, who is nice to you.
So I did, and I did, and he was, and he is.
Read MoreResolve Beyond January
Welcome to the New Year! Time to get off the couch and back to the real world where you are expected to wear pants and function in society once again. This year I’m setting goals through seasonal themes to keep me motivated beyond the New Year’s burst of enthusiasm. This structure offers a chance to check in throughout the year, rather than going out in a blaze of glory when Oreo launches a new flavor in January. (Side note: Chocolate marshmallow? That hardly seems fair.)
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