WHAT’S NEW

Weekend in DC, Severance, and Car Shopping
THERE HAS BEEN a lot going on and now I’m having to try to remember two weeks of my life. I got my new desk chair. The Deacon Swivel Office Chair from West Elm. She’s pretty. I got my hair cut. I’ve decided to stop coloring it. So far it doesn’t look bad. There’s not...

No Texture
Driving home from school the other day my daughter described life these days as having, "no texture" and I've never heard a better description of January. Hello! Happy Friday. Another week has flown by. Flown by like a flock of geese, making a racket, pointed...

Observations this week
This week, as I drove through town, I passed a church that said, "Only Jesus Saves." Then, right next door, a bank, with no sign. "Really?" I thought. What a missed opportunity. Last Friday, the husband and I went out to dinner at the PA House. It's an amazing little...

Hey What’s New
Hey what’s up? Okay, here we are. It's a new year. But I’m not going to talk about newness, just what I've been up to. This past week: This past Friday I went to visit my family in DC. (Actually, we got down there Thursday and saw my cousins, spending time in...

My Favorite Shows of 2020 — Ranked
I've been wanting to break down all my favorite shows from this year. I really watched a lot of "tv" in 2020, but I'm probably not alone in that. It's funny how you find a show you like and binge it, or sometimes try to make it last and then feel so lost when it's...

Remember April?
It's been awhile. I haven't been blogging. I haven't been socializing. I haven't been a part of the world. So I thought I'd check in with you all. After much thought and reflection, I've come up with a vision for this platform, this blog. And that is this: just post...

January-ing
One of my goals this year is to write more posts. Like many bloggers, I do it for love, not money. It's a creative outlet. It's fun and makes me feel connected to others. In many ways it's like journaling. It helps me see what I've accomplished and what I hope to in...
TRAVEL

My Trip to California — Santa Cruz, Monterey, and the Bay Area
We spent a week on the west coast in July. Santa Cruz is like a second home and even though I go there fairly often to visit family and friends, it never seems to work out for the four of us to go together. The last time the kids had been there was when they were 4...

Paddleboarding
The first time I went paddleboarding was in Stone Harbor NJ. We called a place called SUP Guy and he met us on the bay side with four boards and gave us a quick lesson. It was so much harder to stand up than I thought it would be! Eventually I got the hang of it. Soon...

What I Packed for a Week in Mexico
We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with an overdue tropical getaway. After a lot of discussion and many nights of scrolling through travel sites, we decided to call the travel agent who booked our Disney trip. Jennie designed the perfect trip for us,...

What I Packed for a Week in California
I just got back from a trip to Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista. I have family, friends, and clients there and really enjoyed getting away for a bit. Packing for a trip is a challenge for me, and probably for a lot of people. I want to make sure I have everything I...

I Love Japan
You know what I love? Being able to listen to a song whenever I want. The other day I remembered a song I discovered in high school. I think it was high school. College? I don't know. Anyway, it was Forbidden Colours by Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian from the...

What I Packed for Santa Cruz
Packing for a trip is a perfect way to obsess endlessly about the exact right clothes I'll need. My OCD kicks in as I ponder what to include so that every item coordinates with every other item and I'll have everything I'll want, never be too hot or too cold and have...
WHAT I’M READING

Books Reviews — July-December 2024
The Lost Daughterby Elena Ferrante Recommended by a friend, I wanted to like this story. It's hard to say why I didn't. Perhaps it was too real. And showed the uglier side of human nature. Throughout the telling of one woman's holiday at the beach, conflict develops...

Books Reviews — January-June 2024
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan I should have liked this book, very Gen Z, music industry based, but had such a hard time keeping track of the characters and who was speaking in each chapter. And I guess I had a hard time really empathizing with the...

Book Reviews of 2023
Tom Lake Ann Patchett I love Ann Patchett but had a hard time getting into this. In fact, by the time I met with my book club to discuss it, I was only half way through! I finished it two days after that and wondered if it was actually better to read the book after...

Book Reviews: July – December 2022
The Saints of Swallow Hill Donna Everhart I wanted to like this book, but it had some really unpleasant events. It takes place on a turpentine camp in Georgia during the depression. The story focuses on two white protagonists who endure terrible abuse, while the black...

Book Reviews: January – June 2022
PiranesiSusanna Clarke This was such an enjoyable read. It was so different from what I usually choose. From the beginning, I was immersed into a world that didn't make sense. I'd loved how the author set the mood and tone of the place. For the rest of the story, I...

The Last 8 Books I Read
It’s been about 6 months since I did a book roundup…I have read some amazing books lately. The Last Thing He Told MeLaura Dave I just finished this one. I sped through it in about 3 days which is crazy. I never read that fast. If you’re looking for a light thriller,...

Summer (Literary) Escapes
Some books I've read lately. I've read NINE! books since February. Ah, COVID. These are they. Enjoy.The News of the World by Paulette Jiles This was a really nice read. It's set in Texas, 5 years after the conclusion of the Civil War. It had me looking up words,...

Book Roundup
Hi there! It's been a while since I talked about books. Here's a catalog of what I've read over the last year. I like to keep track and also give a bit of a list of suggestions for anyone looking for something new to read.Untamed by Glennon Doyle The most recent book...

What to Read this Summer
Hello! Welcome to July. I'm finally getting around to going through the books I've read since, March? Here they are, newest to oldest. It seems I've read about 2 books per month. That's a lot for me. I'm not saying you should read all of these. If I was going to pick...

Making Myself Read Books
Actually, I like reading. But, you know, Netflix. And Instagram. And other mind-numbing activities. Reading seems like it's good for the brain and the soul. So here's what I've read since I last posted about books. To the Land of Long Lost Friends:No. 1 Ladies'...
SLOW FASHION

Transitioning to Spring — 9 Outfits I Wore Last Month
When we got back from Mexico this past March, I thought, “Oh good, we will get back just in time for the beautiful Spring weather.” Uh, no. The middle of March was warm. Then bitter cold. Then everything in between. April was all over the place but actually not too...

What I Packed for a Week in Mexico
We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with an overdue tropical getaway. After a lot of discussion and many nights of scrolling through travel sites, we decided to call the travel agent who booked our Disney trip. Jennie designed the perfect trip for us,...

April Showers
I recently learned that rainy days aren't so bad if you have rainwear you love. Last year I bought a new raincoat and I'm excited when I get a chance to wear it. I had a raincoat but it's not very waterproof — kind of necessary for a raincoat. My original coat is from...

Sweater Outfits
I have about a dozen sweaters. In an effort to appreciate them more and avoid buying new ones, I did a shop-my-closet, try-on session recently. It really helps me to pick out items I don't usually wear and also pair them with things that I wouldn't usually choose. I...

Dr. Martens 1460 Mono Boot Review
I got the Dr. Martens 1460 Mono boots back in October. After going through all my boots to assure myself I did not need another pair of boots, I started to think maybe I did. There was one style I really loved and kept thinking about: the black, chunky, lug-sole boot....

Outfit Inspiration: Shopping My Closet in 2022
What to wear? I'm still trying to figure it out. I have clothes. I have clothes I love. But how do I make outfits? Here's a collection of looks I feel like I can recreate. I got to them when I need inspiration and ideas. It also encourages me to shop my own closet....

How to Style Sneakers (aka Trainers)
I love sneaker outfits... on other people. I see photos, on Instagram and Pinterest, but when I try them on me, well, it never seems to work. Or I don't even attempt it. Most days, lacing and unlacing shoes seems too ambitious. Then, I got inspired by a vlog by...

I See You Patagonia
I was born second. So I got the hand-me-downs. Even though my older sibling was a boy. Let's be honest, my parents were frugal. God, how I hate that word. My dad was a penny-pincher and my mom learned to be really good at shopping at yard sales. I didn't know my...

Where I Get My Jeans
I recently went through all my jeans (and other pants) and ended up donating a few pairs that just weren't working for me. Among the pairs that were lovingly passed on to a new home were: the GAP black cropped jeans, the AG skinny jeans, the H&M boyfriend jeans,...

All About Sweaters
I keep seeing sweaters. I keep thinking I need sweaters. But what about all the sweaters I already have? It's very hard to change the way we think about clothing, about buying new things. All the new stuff is, well, new. And they're all just slightly different from...
LET’S GET FIT

My Favorite Healthy Smoothie Bowls
I LOVE A SMOOTHIE BOWL. I used to think the whole idea of a smoothie in a bowl was weird and didn't understand it. They seemed so unnecessarily complicated with all the layered fruit and coconut and chia seeds and I wondered why people bothered. Now I'm totally on...

Juicy — What I Like About Juicing
Hello friends, fruit lovers. When I was a child, the only juice in our house was orange juice. It was made from a can of frozen concentrate, the cheap generic brand. And my dad watered it down. We drank it only at breakfast. Fast forward to today, our grocery list...

How These 4 Women Are Learning to Love The Skin They’re In
I interviewed 4 women, at different stages of life, to find out what they do to feel their best. Here are their responses.ZOEY, AGE 15 How do you feel about your body?I think my relationship with my body is constantly changing. Depending on factors such as weather,...

How to Boost Your Mood
I find that the weather can really dictate my mood, and my motivation. If I don't see blue sky or sun for a while, I feel ... not good. So, when that happened recently, I thought, maybe there's something I can do. I sat down and wrote this list:...

I Love Track Pants
Thanks to this post by Lindsay Kubly I have now joined the Adidas track pants fan club (not an official organization). These pants. I have been wishing for them forever. I hesitated to get them because... uh, I thought I'd look ridiculous in them. Like my son's soccer...

Light Therapy
Hi there. I have things to share with you! First is this light that I got for ... Christmas? my birthday? ... last year. I had saved the link to one from a company called Alaskan Northern Lights. Their Aurora LightPad Mini is $188. Someone recommended it and now I...

Let’s Get Fit — Ready for Summer
Let's get real. I did not follow through on my goal to get fit in time for summer. I completely abandoned the idea. As soon as I set out to promote the idea of "getting into shape", it felt altogether wrong. I mean, getting and staying healthy isn't wrong. But setting...

Let’s Get Fit: Making Working Out a Habit
Happy Spring! How on earth is it March 20th already? I remember thinking that it would be 6 weeks before the new years resolution crowds would disappear. That was over a month ago. I didn't really notice when it happened but the Y is a lot less mobbed. By the way, I...

Let’s Get Fit: Diet Swaps
Years ago I read an article about how small changes can make a big difference. I wish I could find it but I wouldn't even know what to search...

Hello!
My name is Leigh. I am a graphic designer and a photographer. I love minimalism, danish modern decor, clogs, books, and art of all kinds. I strive to live a healthy life and promote sustainability.
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