I stole the unorthodox pairing of popcorn and champagne from an awful Jay McInerney book that I’m trying to forget. The combination creates an effervescent, salty/sweet taste that is all too perfect for watching movies on the couch. McInerney claims to live and die by Krug but for
Poinsettias are beautiful plants, but as far as Christmas gifts go, they lack some creative thinking. The variegated jade, despite its intolerance to cold, is one wintry-lookin’ succulent that's off the holiday radar. With its blend of deep greens and eggy whites, the variegated jade evokes a slumbering,
List of Lights and Buoys is an eerie album by Norwegian vocals and keyboard duo Susanna and the Magical Orchestra. The music is bare bones with some sporadic distortion and Susanna’s gorgeous voice navigating the lonely void. Honestly, it sounds as if she’s lost in a desolate forest,
It doesn't really matter which book by Lorrie Moore you pick up first, because they’ll all floor you. Not one of her stories is cozy or cliched. She takes the piss out of everything; life and language are far from sacrosanct. Her characters are all ordinary people—
Peanut butter, banana, and honey. What could possibly flatter this tercet of deliciousness? I’ll tell you: pork fat. In a peanut butter, banana, honey, and bacon sandwich, your taste buds begin with the sweet, kind crunch of peanut butter and conclude with the savory, ineffable joy of bacon. After
If there were a way I could bankroll Beth Ann Fennelly, I would. Tender Hooks, a series of strange and brutal poems about motherhood, is one of the best books I’ve ever picked up. Fennelly is deeply sensitive of what she sees, yet refuses to look away, meeting every
Pomodoro in Boston’s North End is unpretentious Italian dining at its best. The restaurant works trattoria style: eight tables huddled in a small room with a hard-working waiter busting his ass around them. The wine list is easy—red or white—and though I can’t say that the
Syndicate Design’s cards are so pretty you'll want to send a letter to everyone you know. Or at least the people you like. Printed by Aardvark Letterpress, Syndicate chooses gorgeous papers and rich inks to match clean, clever, and often offbeat designs. Buy a few of their
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we help a college student out of her end-of-school doldrums by suggesting a hobby both interesting and adventurous, but that sometimes skirts the wrong side of the law.
In the final installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer returns home with a heart full of remembrance for the experiences she’s had, as well as for friends she’s made in her time abroad.
In the eighth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer blissfully listens to a talking head, then turns around and runs for her life.
In the seventh installment of her letters from Scotland, our letter jets to Sofia to meet a friend, explores the city in all its relative weirdness, and learns to speak, or at least gesture, a new language.
In the sixth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, considers the weather on her term break, then jaunts down to London and attends an alternative fashion show.
In the fifth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, settles into a routine abroad, learns from a friend how she needs to break away from the everyday, then does her Sunday shopping.
In the fourth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, visits Italy, where she marvels at people and architecture, and can never seem to elude those church bells.
In the third installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, visits London, where she fights crowds and considers looting the British Museum.
In the second installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer watches “Neighbors,” hits the Highlands, and meets the most helpful shaggy dog in Scotland.
In the first of her series of letters from Scotland, our writer moves into her flat, learns the Scottish hoedown, and goes on a countryside jaunt that turns out to be anything but “Withnail & I.”
