This print by Marc Johns says it all. For purchase here.
Read More
We Leap into The New Year (With Yoko Ono, Mary Oliver, Muybridge, More)
As always we are taking the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. It’s a time to slow way down and reflect on the year that’s passed so quickly, and on the new one we are about to begin. Here’s a few of the things we look at, and think about.
Read More
Happy Holidays from Improvised Life
Years ago, Maria Robledo sent us these photographs of charming graffiti she spotted painted on plywood. They perfectly convey the magic of the season, and its hope…
Read More
Mindful Eating’s Role Model, via Al Hirschfeld
When I was a kid, the legendary carciaturist Al Hirschfeld gave my father this drawing of a French gastronome savoring escargots in a Paris bistro. Nobody had to tell this guy about Mindful Eating. He’s a model for for it.
Read More
Last-Minute, Inexpensive, Artisan-Made Gift (They Won’t Throw Out)
actress Hari Neff said hers was a pineapple a schoolmate gave her many years ago. There’s nothing worse than a bad gift you don’t know what to do with that and you just throw out. You can’t throw out a pineapple. We heartily recommend this inexpensive gift for friends and family (or even yourself), that is way better than Neff’s luscious pineapple…
Read More
Italian Pot Roast (Fast, Freezable, Perfect for Dinner Parties)
The Italian pot roast I had many years at a dinner party has haunted me ever since, lurking in my memory as pure deliciousness. It is perfect for entertaining: it can be made ahead only has to be reheated to be wonderful. It you call it by its Italian name, it tastes even better.
Read More
Gift: Spring Bulbs for Effortless Blooms + Magic
I rely on spring bulbs as one of the inexpensive “little gifts” I give around the holidays, for their ability to bring a breath of spring into our winter lives slowly, miraculously, over several weeks.
Read More
Holiday Respite: Lil Buck Dances with Modern Masterpieces + Yo-Yo Ma
Wondrous to watch, Memphis-born jookin’ dancer Lil Buck took us right OUT of the frenetic holiday vibe. Check out his utterly expressive dances to works of modern art AND in collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma,
Read More
Saying NO to Holiday Gift-Giving Guilt (Mira Keras)
Despite all pressures and temptations, this year I will not be buying any Christmas gifts this year; I’ll use other strategies to show my love.
Read More
Gift: The Essential Rumi’s Poetry and Wisdom
The Essential Rumi is a beauty of a book, one that you can open anywhere, even mid-poem, and find a perfect bit of illumination. It makes a fine gift. Here’s a taste with a new way to read poetry.
Read More
Improvised Life’s Thoughtful Un-Gift Guide
Here’s our list of things we think are worth giving for the way they expand minds/hearts/creativity, or are just downright useful…
Read More
Gogo’s ‘Focus/Fuck This’ Practice
My daughter is two years old and is learning so much right now. Mostly, we are practicing patience. It’s easy to get frustrated when chubby little hands fumble zippers or shoe Velcro or doll clothes…To bring her down to earth, I say to her “FOCUS”. Then she usually repeats it back to me, sounding a lot like “FUCK THIS”.
Read More
Gift: Yayoi Kusama’s The Little Mermaid for Adults and Children
The inspired pairing of Yayoi Kusama’s drawings with Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale has resulted in a unique experience. The text and brilliantly patterned images infiltrate the senses in unexpected ways.
Read More
String Light Wreaths, Trees and Freeform Decorations
Terrain’s circular displays of their holiday lighting made us think “wreath” and gave us lots of ideas. Just coil the lighting (using a form if necessary) and tack it to the wall. There are all sorts of iterations of lighting made into wreaths, decorations and wall trees.
Read More
Dangerous Curves: Pole Dancer Roslyn Mays’ Most Rebellious Heart
Our friend Merete Mueller’s documentary Dangerous Curves, featuring pole dancing powerhouse Roslyn Mays, was featured in the New York Times’ Op-Docs series. The film is truly a celebration of ‘a most rebellious heart’.
Read More
Daily Labor: Nye’s Poem, Patti Smith’s Mistake, S.J. Bernstein’s 3-words of wisdom
We’ve been thinking about the theme of ‘daily labor’ in poet Naomi Shihib Nye’s poem ‘Frankly’ all week. Patti Smith, S.J. Bernstein’s and Ram Dass converged to illuminate it.
Read More
Food Gift: DIY Chocolate Shards or Slabs with Surprising Flavors
Shards of chocolate embedded with surprising flavors and crunchy elements make terrific gifts for much less cost than pricey “artisan-made’ chocolates. Here’s how to make them.
Read More
The Fabulous Revenge of Analog
According to David Sax author of the Revenge of the Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, analog, that is, the very tactile world of things outside the computer, is experiencing a bracing revival. Here’s how analog sparks joy and balances digital life.
Read More
Ode to Age (Antidote to Agism) with 40 Portraits in 40 years
Everyone we know seems to be feeling old, time flying, obsolescence. Daily, we find ourselves doing things to antidote the agism in our head, about OURSELVES. We find this Ode to Age helps mightily.
Read More
Overpainted Nails (Why Stay Within the Lines?)
Recently, we came across two rather astonishing plays on “nail polish”. We think they are both rather liberating. The bottom is particularly smashing.
Read More
Simplest Possible Curtain Tie (And Hotel Room Strategy)
We love this impromptu-looking curtain tie made of a strip of leather. Ribbon would be swell as well. It reminds us of our improvised hotel room strategy for calming down curtains with busy prints…
Read More
Pauline Oliveros: Deep Listening is My Life Practice
“Deep listening” was sonic pioneer Pauline Oliveros’ life practice. Here is her simple instruction for doing it yourself (with music).
Read More
Saul Steinberg: How to Find Something New
We’ve found A LOT of great stuff in Sandra Davidson’s book The Calder Family and Other Critters, Portraits and Reflections, about the many interesting people who surrounded her famous father Alexander Calder and the family. This lesson she learned from the great Saul Steinberg is WAY more than about making a portrait.
Read More
Tasting Spoons: Essential Kitchen Tool and Welcome Gift
A tasting spoon is an essential kitchen tool, allowing you to add flavor experiments directly to the “taste” to see if you like them. Over the years I’ve collected —and given — quite a few tasting spoons. They make great, unexpected gifts. Here’s a roundup:
Read More
Wabi-Sabi Lesson: Broken Blossom with Rubber Bands (+ haiku)
At dinner at photographer Ellen Silverman’s house, I noticed a beautiful on-the-verge-of-flowering Amaryllis plant on her kitchen island…and next to it her clever, fast save of a cluster of buds that had broken off. It was as beautiful as the plant itself and embodied the elusive quality of wabi-sabi.
Read More