Check out Public Radio’s The Splendid Table interview with Sally about her favorite gift ideas for cooks and eaters. Most are inexpensive but give a big bang for the buck. To find more about the gifts on Improvised Life, click here for a roundup. You can also hear her favorite holiday tabletop decorations (some of which made great…
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As we start the run up to the weekend— we thought we’d feature the Mojito recipe from our new favorite cookbook, The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History by Ellen Silverman and Ana Sofia Pelaez. Pelaez tells the story behind the delish cocktail that is made right in the glass:
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After Holton Rower emailed this photo of a car festooned with christmas lights, we wondered if we’d find more iterations of this unusual holiday decoration. Sure enough, we found all manner of vehicles decorated for the holiday,
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Looking for something new to decorate the holidays this year, I’ve become smitten with origami decorations for the tree, to hang in the window, or place on the table. Or even to give as a small gift. I learned of the idea from my friend Peta Rimington, who had a gourmet food store and cafe called…
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We returned home from Thanksgiving with friends to find this email from Sybille Palmer, a long-time reader: Let us treasure those who show up in our lives. Those who stand by our side. Perfect words.
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For all of you scrambling (as we are) to wrap our heads around Thanksgiving, here’s our tried-and-true food traditions that lend themselves to tailoring and improvising.
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As fall turns inexorably toward winter, the Day of the Dead festivities serve to help us re-experience
a powerful and sustaining truth: that the intense sorrow of death and the intense joy of living are indivisibly
and forever, One.
Harlem where we’re headquartered has some seriously inspired Halloween action going on…
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Recently, we came across a portfolio of images created by legendary photographer Inge Morath in collaboration with the ever-illuminating Saul Steinberg. In the Mask Series. paper bags and pieces of cardboard totally change ordinarily dressed people into OTHER….
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Haven’t gotten your Halloween act together? Here are some alternatives to the traditional carved pumpkin that you can do in time for Halloween, one of the BEST holidays for the wild creativity that is in evidence everywhere. A re-envisioned pineapple makes the perfect scary face… …Traditional Cornish jack-o’-lanterns were carved from turnips. Dig this baby:
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Halloween is Friday, and we’re anticipating many examples of The Art of the Pumpkin. As with other materials-for-making, pumpkins inspire what to do IF we “listen to that which wants to be done“, a la Anni Albers. If the message is unclear, or you’re feeling uninspired, here are some unusual jack-o’-lantern examples to spark your imagination.
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“Sensual wave“, an art installation by French architects Marion Moustey and Alexandre Arcens, gave us ideas for late summer-fall gardens lit with Soji Solar Lantern. Susan Dworski first posted about the wondrous, inexpensive solar shoji lights she festooned her garden with. “Sensual Wave” takes her idea a step further.
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While putting together our post on Sea Shell Salt Cellars the other day, we stumbled on this lovely idea: impressing cookie or pie dough with a small ridged scallop (or other) sea shell. Then we wondered what to we recommend that we KNOW will take the impression? H-m-m-m. Eh voila! Our friends at Kitchen Repertoire’s…
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As caregiver for our friend who had a big crisis recently, we’ve been trying to go with the flow of things NOT going as expected, and noticing the miracles in the midst. It may be the biggest lesson of an improvised life. So we’re taking the holiday to hang out with our pal and DO NOTHING except…
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The city is quiet already, as many people have blown down in preparation for their 4th of July celebrations. In case you need a few ideas while you do your shopping, here’s some of our favorite summer recipes. Most are easy to make; all are delish and perfect for a summer evening, from Mamma Lucia’s Insalata…
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EVERYONE we know has questions about wine and the best person we know for answers is Anthony Giglio, aka The Wine Wise Guy, an Improvised Life contributor and of late, wine blogger for Details. Here’s some essential advice.
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Our friend Holton Rower eats baby watermelons by slicing it in half and eating it with a soup spoon: a perfect and refreshing improvisation to start the summer season. Happy Memorial Day from Improvised Life! Thanks Holton!
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I’ve always struggled with Mother’s Day. Too pink, too saccharine, too much forced happiness when the reality so often cloaks a good deal of ambivalence, sadness, and hidden anger. That all changed when I opened our Little Free Library on the front fence yesterday and discovered Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Marjane Satrapi’s extraordinary graphic memoir of…
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A sensual description of Anson Mills’ Appalachian Heirloom Sweet Flint Popping Corn reminded of my popcorn improvisations, when I went haywire experimenting with different flavorings. Download 6+ recipes plus a ton of inspiration in a free PDF from The Improvisational Cook.
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There are many explanations for the symbolism of the maypole, around which people dance in celebration of May Day…Here are a few.
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