how to work better.

My sister once told me to make sure I smile during interviews, even if theyre not on camera. You can hear a smile in a voice, she said, even if you cant see it. And you know, I think the same is true of writing.

I had a different draft of this post written before the weekend. And when I reread it, instead of hearing a smile, I could hear a frown. The sense of exhaustion was palpable. Whatever battle with inertia or gloom or being hungry at 4:00 pm that I was facing when I wrote it, you couldread about it between the lines.

And as much as those feelings were true in that moment, I decided to tackle the post again. This time, with a smile.

Fayes asleep. A new weeks not yet begun.Im wearing raw honey smeared on my face which makes me look part shiny superhero and part gooey monster. The apartments about a million degrees because were on a Sunday night sourdough pizza kick and our steam radiator is still working overtime, bless her little heart. Ive got a list of things to do tomorrow thats about a mile long, and thank goodness. Nothing beats inertia like a good sprint in the opposite direction.

My point is:I got this. You do too.

Lets forge aheadthis week andtackle things one at a time. Lets distinguish sense from nonsense. Lets remember that even if were having a shit week, were not shit. Thats as simple as I can say it.

Sorry for swearing. Twice.PS.First installedon a wall in Zurich in 1991, this mural from artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss is currently being exhibited on the corner of Houston and Mott Streets in Manhattan. Its a nice to thing to stumble upon and an even nicer thing to return to. To learn more about the work, visit the Public Art Fund.

What Are Wood Grades, and How Are They Determined?

Many factors go into determining which hardwood floor to choose for a new project, including the species, board size, and type of finish. But another factor should be the wood grade. If you're [...]

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make-believe: california dreaming.

Regarding the title: I had to. I'm sorry.

This is only partially make believe. (Thank god!) I'm headed to Southern California in a few weeks, and if I sound like I'm being very casual about it, trust, I am not.

I'm hoping the trip will include some much-needed sunshine, a little celebrating of Simple Matters, West-Coast style, and some pure desert magic. Mostly, I'm bonkers excited. Gawking at LA instagrams has become like a second, not-at-all lucrative job for me. I'm fully expecting to be cloaked in sunshine and bumping into palm trees left and right! I can practically taste the tacos! Faye-girl's gonna get some time outside of a puffer coat! James is gonna make us all move to the beach! I'm gonna be high on serotonin! I can't wait.

(DO NOT BURST MY BUBBLE)

Here are a few things for sporting on an imaginary afternoon in LA:

These sunglasses, because with a name like that, how could I not?

This "crop" and this "hipster" for just in case.

This jumpsuit, because it's sleeveless and gauzy.

This scarf for a little color.

These huaraches, because...sandals.

This market bag for treasure hunting and other things.

habit shift: period.

As in my period. Of all the questions I get via email, the ones about my period are the ones that surprise me most. Not that they should. Most of the people who read this blog are women of menstruating age. Those are just the facts. For better or for worse, here's my approach to managing my period in a way that feels good for the planet, and mostly, good for me.

When I entered middle school, my mom sent me off to school with a zipped cloth pouch full of period supplies for just in case. Unbeknowst to me, it would be years before this late-bloomer could put any of it to use, but I kept the pouch on the top shelf of my locker for years anyway. It was filled with panty liners and disposable pads, a plastic bag, and a clean pair of underwear. I also seem to remember an illicit dose of ibuprofen and quarters for calling my mom from the payphone.

Luckily for me, on the day my period first arrived, I was at home. My older sister, Cait, heroically tried to save me from the tyranny of the inch-thick disposable pad by sitting with me and a mirror on my bedroom floor, teaching me how to use a tampon. An hour later, when my cramps began to kick in, I figured the pain in my abdomen was a sign of Toxic Shock Syndrome and that I would soon perish. I swore off tampon use for the next year.

Since then, I've learned a thing or two about managing my period.

Here are a few ideas for approaching feminine hygiene with a nod toward the environment.

Applicator-free Tampons:

I admit that I haven't embraced going totally tampon-free, but I have committed to using applicator-free tampons. At the risk of getting graphic: It's really not that hard to push a tampon a bit deeper in there, you know? (On the other hand: dealing with the cleaning et cetera of a product like a Diva Cup or Luna Cup while working out of the house feels like a little bit harder.) When I buy tampons, I look for organic brands that use 100% cotton instead of the chemical-filled cotton/rayon blend that traditional tampons often include. I've most easily been able to find NatraCare in local pharmacies, but Honest Company, Seventh Generation, and Organyc are other available options. (I'm waiting on Lola to introduce an applicator-free option to their product line. Fingers crossed!) Best part about applicator-free tampons? They take up 1/3 of the space in the cabinet!

Period Underwear

I'm a new convert (and huge fan) of the period underwear companies that have been cropping up lately, like Thinx and Dear Kate. When I first mentioned them on this site, I received a few quips from folks who said that their version of period underwear were black cotton ones that had gone slightly raggedy. I get it. At first pass, it might sound like another company trying to sell women something to fix a problem that doesn't need fixing. But in the case of these, I don't think that's the case. I'm an honest-to-goodness devotee. Since giving birth, my period flow has become a little more unpredictable than it was before. Where I'd never needed them before, I suddenly began to feel like I needed panty liners, just in case. And then--TMI, alert--I started soaking those too. I felt like a pubescent teenager, unsure of how to handle my new "friend," which you'll agree is the very worst euphemism for your period there is. Enter the period underwear. They never leak and they never make me feel like I'm sitting in my own blood. In fact, they're entirely cute. (I bought this pair for starters. And then bought three more of these.) I wear them without a tampon at the beginning and end of my period and with one in the middle. They've hugely cut back on my tampon use and virtually eliminated accidental leaks. In serious love.

Pain Management

I'm not above taking a pill to help alleviate pain associated with menstrual cramping, but I also rely on two basic methods to manage my pain.

The heating pad: I have a rice-filled pad that was a godsend during the last months of my pregnancy and my biggest comfort when I have my period. (Hint: as long as it doesn't have a metal zipper, you can fill any cotton bag with rice and microwave it to make your own. Thick, arborio rice (or a similar chubby rice) works best, I've found. If you don't have a microwave, and if you're prudent, you can put the bag on a pie plate and put it in a warm (and carefully watched) oven.

Walking: I used to be convinced the only way to feeling better when I was suffering from bad cramps was to fall asleep with a heating pad. But while I still swear by a heating pad, I usually use it while sitting upright working. Instead of putting myself to bed when I have cramps, I make myself get up. A walk--even a short one--does more to help me feel better than just about anything else.

What about you guys? Tried and true tips? Strong opinions? Disposable-free eco-champs out there?

make your own: chocolate pudding.

The chief problem with a cold snap is needing to leave the house in search of chocolate should the ration be dwindling. We were stuck with unsweetened baking chocolate and little else this weekend. I had nearly resigned myself to crawling under the covers to moan and whimper when I remembered pudding and the neglected jar of corn starch in the back of my cabinet that I could use to make it.

I'm a fan of recipes with ingredient quantities that come in a neat row of even numbers. Rote memorization of simple desserts is a necessary skill life, if you ask me, and when you're not dealing with too many eighths or quarters or combinations of the two, all the easier the skill is to master.

No dessert in the house? How about an easy chocolate pudding? Two tablespoons of cocoa, two tablespoons of corn starch, 2 tablespoons of sugar, a pinch of salt, two cups of milk, four ounces of unsweetened chocolate, and two teaspoons of vanilla extract (or if you're me: a very hearty glug, gone unmeasured). It's easy enough to have memorized nearly as soon as you've made it once.

The only (mildly) time consuming part of making chocolate pudding is the stove-top mixing--something you have to do in the pudding from a box, too, mind you. So the bonus here is quality ingredients that you likely already have in the house, without any of the dyes, preservatives, or artificial flavors that hide out in the square little box.

Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from Edible Rhody.
Yields about 2 cups of pudding.

2 tablespoons granulated sugar (if you're using bittersweet chocolate, I'd recommend slightly less, depending on your sweet tooth)
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 generous pinch salt
2 cups whole milk
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (or any kind you'd like, bearing in mind sweetness)
2 teaspoons (or one very hearty pour) vanilla extract (less if you don't share my enthusiasm for vanilla extract)
treats enough for topping

Into a heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix together sugar, corn starch, cocoa powder and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking all the while. Whisk the mixture for two full minutes as the chocolate thickens. Ponder the strength of your forearms as you work. Remove from the heat and stir in chopped chocolate and vanilla extract (the chocolate should be chopped finely enough to melt easily into the mixture.) Pour the pudding into a large bowl (or several smaller ones) to set. (I used four of the smallest 3.1-ounce Duralex Picardie tumblers that we have and had just the right amount to leave room for toppings.) Chill in the refrigerator for two hours and top with a smattering of chopped nuts, granola, fruit, whipped cream, or any other decadent topping that suits your fancy. I used chopped roasted hazelnuts here

Note: We don't buy plastic wrap in our house, but like most pudding recipes, the original suggests using plastic wrap to form a tight seal on the surface of the pudding to prevent a form from forming. I say, embrace the skin and cover any imperfections with your toppings.What about you? Easy desserts up your sleeves worth sharing?

What are CARB Compliance, VOCs, and FloorScore?

With growing consumer concern about products that are hazardous to the environment, several standards have been developed within the wood floor industry regarding eco-friendliness. It's important for you, as a contractor, to know about these standards [...]

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habit shift: meal prep.

Less waste. Better food. More time (Better time). Three or four reasons why I advocate the totally mundane habit of preparing at least a tiny part of dinner before dinnertime.

In our quest to eat more whole foods and fewer packaged and prepared foods, there's a certain amount of work that needs to happen before anything starts cooking. Broccoli that doesn't come in a package of pre-trimmed florets needs to be washed and cut. Baby spinach purchased by the bunch and not by the bag needs to be washed and then washed again, and spun dry. Beans need to be soaked and cooked. Homemade lasagna is a one-pot dish that requires more pots than that to make. This all sounds like work--and it is--but I've found that if I break it all up a bit, the tasks become more manageable, and actually easy. As always, it comes down to developing the habit.

A few tips:

1. Not all minutes are created equal. There are calm minutes in a day and frantic minutes in a day. Taking advantage of the calm minutes makes for more of them. For me lately, that time is in the early mornings. The evenings in our house can feel harried. Trying to prepare a whole meal from whole ingredients while everyone is hungry and tired and the clock is ticking its way toward bath and bed time is stressful. But at the 7:00 AM hour? Belly full of oatmeal? Fresh coffee just finished? I can lazily sit in the 3-foot by 5-foot bit of available floorspace in our kitchen and show Faye how to pinch thyme leaves off a stem. I can patiently watch her mangle a strip of pepper with her crinkle knife while I make quicker work of cutting down the rest of it for an eventual stir-fry. She can drag a chair up to the sink and delight in washing spinach with me. By the time it's ready for me to leave the house to work, we'll have knocked out at least some of the dinner prep we'd have to do under less ideal circumstances later in the day. Maybe your mornings are harried. Maybe there's not a toddler underfoot to consider. Maybe the weekend is better. Maybe you prefer a post-dinner prep for the next day? The key is to take advantage of whatever spare minutes you do have.

2. Do what you can. You don't need to plan to tackle an entire casserole every morning or evening. Sometimes meal prep might just mean scrubbing the beets for tonight's dinner during a lunchtime break. Sometimes it's tossing tofu (or steak) in a simple marinade while you've got a few extra minutes and the right mood. My philosophy is this: time saved now is time available later.

3. Be prepared. Keep supplies on hand that allow you to tackle prep ahead of time. For me, that mostly means keeping some large-ish food storage containers around. My absolute favorite multi-tasking tool in our kitchen is a set of three stainless steel mixing bowls with plastic lids. I might fill one with chopped veggies. Another might have marinating tofu. The third, a leftover portion of plain, cooked rice. Dinner, prepped.

What about you guys? Do you have tricks for getting dinner on the table minus a meltdown?

Habit Shift is a new series. I'm hoping the series will offer quick tips, concrete takeaways, and a whole lotta can-do spirit for focusing on ways to shift personal habits in an effort to be little bit more environmentally friendly, a little more healthy, and a little more happy. Good for us, good for our planet.

giving: online gift registries.

'Tis the season for wedding registries. I know. Never occurred to me that there was a season for this sort of thing, either.

I write about wedding and baby registries a bit in my book (right this way in case you need a copy or ten, wink, wink), but I thought it might be nice to accompany my philosophy on the subject with a practical roundup of a few tools that help you to do some of the work of actually building an easy registry online.

In an effort to compile a thoughtful, considered registry with an emphasis on beauty and utility and things you actually like, I've found it to be most helpful to go a little bit indie and a little bit tech(y).

In lieu of feeling wedded (heh) to just one store for all of my registry needs--something, I'd argue can force you into making decisions that are good for the store, but not quite as good for you--I chose the route of building my own wedding and baby registries from scratch, online. I added a few things from here, a few things from there, and one or two little things from way over there.

In the season of my own wedding and baby-planning, I used MyRegistry. It's a site that allows you to add goods from just about any site on the internet selling something. It was easy for me to put together and more or less painless for guests (though I wouldn't say entirely foolproof).

Since then, a few new sites have cropped up that offer a variation on the theme. If you're on the hunt, here are a few that have caught my eye:

Thankful Registry: This beautifully designed option is super customizable and allows registering couples or individuals to add gifts from any online shop of their choice. Any store! So, as long as your favorite little boutique does e-commerce, you can send folks their way. Honeymoon, charity, and group gifts (say, four favorite aunts going in for a print from your favorite artist) are all available. Thankful charges a $30 fee but does not take fees on charity or cash funds. Bonus: Registries can also be totally private, so your wish list doesn't have to be available for world-wide stalking.

Blueprint Registry: Designed with betrothed couples in mind, Blueprint Registry, allows couples to register for gift items for every room in their house. The slick site design guides shoppers from garage to dining room to bedroom, depending on what the registering couple has opted to include. Couples can choose to include gifts from a number of partnering stores (mostly the usual contenders), but they can also add gifts from any shop on the web. Blueprint also includes an option for honeymoon funds and group gifts. They charge a 2.75% + $0.45 credit card fee for all cash gifts.

Tendr: A brilliant option for folks hoping to only encourage gifts of the cash variety. You can take a tour of the process on their site, but suffice to say it's easy and beautiful. Instead of folks tucking checks or cash into cards, they can choose from an array of artist-designed digital cards curated on the Tendr site (current themes include wedding, baby, graduation and bar/bat mitzvahs). Recipients receive a personalized virtual card with each gift (complete with a sweet and classy animation of the envelope opening). Gift givers pay with their credit cards and funds are delivered directly to the recipients' bank account. Tendr charges a 5% fee for all gifts.

The Good Beginning: For the most altruistic among us, The Good Beginning allows you to register with charities of your choice instead of for gifts. If you don't have a charity in mind, you can choose from among a list of charities featured on the site. The Good Beginning charges a 9% operating and service fee.

What about you guys? Have you ever built an online gift registry? Any new sites or services that you've enjoyed using?

*Gratuitous love-bird shot from Alice Gao, at our wedding.

make-believe: valentine's day date.

Announcing your Valentine's plans to stay in, drink a bottle of red wine, eat pizza, and cozy up with a movie (or lovah) has become nearly as cliche as the bouquet of red roses, the box of chocolates, and the diamonds in a heart-shaped box. Though odds are very much in our favor that we will end up watching a movie in bed and trying not to get crumbs of chocolate on the white sheets, it's nice to think about a slightly different approach to a Valentine's Day date (with just enough of business as usual to remember what day it is).

I'm thinking a dreamy day would include:

A morning minute with a bit of body polish for a fresh start.

A turquoise bra and underwear for breaking the mold.

A beautiful hat for staying mysterious.

A leather bag for toting around a boxful of locally made chocolates.

A special little sparkle to keep things festive.

An afternoon spent admiring the male physique at the Dance on Camera Festival.*

A magnificent bouquet in the palest peach.

A temporary tattoo, because love might be everlasting but ink doesn't have to be.

(There'd be clothes and meals and spousal squabbles mixed in there too, but we're playing pretend, and who has time for those things in the land of make-believe?)

*Photo of Ted Shawn and dancers from The New Yorker. Original image courtesy of the Harvard Theater Collection and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Archives.

7 Wood Floor Industry Experts to Follow

The best way to become a master of your craft (besides, well, actually practicing it) is to follow people who are sharing helpful information about it. We've put together the following list of […]

The post 7 Wood Floor Industry Experts to Follow appeared first on City Floor Supply Blog.

natural beauty: cheek color.

If I was tasked to come up with names for makeup, I'd call my favorite cheek color Snow Day Pink. Forget all those flower names.

Maybe this is strange to say, but I feel especially beautiful when I come back inside from being outside in the snow. I dunno: something about all of that vasoconstriction that produces the perfect rosy glow. Doesn't matter if my hair is matted and I've had to peel off layer after layer until I'm left standing in nothing but leggings, a t-shirt, and socks pulled up to my knees. If I've got a good snow blush going, I still feel pretty.

Since I can't always have just returned from a day in the snow, I rely on a little cheek color--in the winter especially--to keep from falling into the depths of despair when I see my wan reflection in the mirror.

I'll add a note: When you venture past skincare, natural beauty can get a little more tricky. There are just more ingredients needed to engineer cosmetics. For me, that means identifying brands that I feel like have done their homework. It requires a certain leap of faith and a lot of trust. I consider myself to be a fairly well-educated person, but it's hard for me to to find a blush, for instance, with ingredients whose names I can really understand, even from cosmetics companies that I admire. In the name of beauty--er, vanity--I decide to trust what I read and choose cosmetics companies that adhere to strict safety guidelines, that go above and beyond in terms of sourcing thoughtful ingredients, and that proudly proclaim their commitment to making safe cosmetics. I'm the first to admit it's not a foolproof system, but I'll also say that girl wants a little cheek color come January. I don't think I'm the only one.

Do It Yourself.

+ Gather red things. Beets? Hibiscus? Anyone who has ever peeled a beet or brewed hibiscus tea knows that both can provide a nice little natural stain for fingertips (and countertops). So it stands to reason that using either in a little DIY concoction made for staining your cheeks would work too. Most recipes I've seen call for adding the natural color to a carrier oil or similar neutral base, like vegetable glycerin. Full disclosure: I've never made my own beet blush. And I'm not sure I ever will. But here's a nice-looking beet tutorial if your interest is piqued. Any beet blushers out there who want to chime in?

+ Pinches. You do this, right? Pinch your cheeks before a photo? It's the oldest trick in the book, and I almost never remember to do it, but one of my best friends is a cheek-pinch devotee and gives a little squeeze before every photo. And she always looks rosy!

Have Someone Else Do It For You:

+ W3ll People Universalist Multi-Stick Luminous*: I've had this for a few months and it's really terrific. It's creamy and goes on easily without looking too luminous. (They also let you order samples so you can get the color just right!)

+ Stowaway Cheek & Lip Rouge*: I have this little guy in Peony and Cantaloupe. Extra huge bonus: It's terrific on cheeks and lips.

+ Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee: This is one of very few makeup products that I've bought and used all the way up. The gelee name is apt since this isn't creamy like the others on the list. It goes on smoothly and the extra moisture feels especially nice in the wintertime.

+ RMS Lip2Cheek: While I've never tried this myself, this two-in-one product has been recommended to me by friends on many occasions. A kind of natural-beauty cult favorite, my friends who have used it rave about the combination of color and moisture, on cheeks and lips.

What about you guys? Any great finds for a little natural blush?

Disclosure: I am sometimes sent beauty products to review for this series (or otherwise). When I love them and think you might too, I write about them. Items that were sent to me for review are marked with an asterik. All opinions are my own.

City Floor Supply sadly announces the passing of Edward P. Glavin

City Floor Supply is sad to announce the passing of Edward P. Glavin.  He was more than a father to Mike, Mary, Joe and Maurice, he was their mentor and rock. A working man and veteran […]

The post City Floor Supply sadly announces the passing of Edward P. Glavin appeared first on City Floor Supply Blog.

make your own: vegetable broth.

We had our first real bout of the stomach bug this weekend. And by we, I mean Faye. The parental units of this family are still in good health—fingers crossed—but when a toddler wakes up vomiting every half-hour for hours on end, I think it's fair to say that the whole family is victim. As I write, our own little bug is mercifully sleeping away. I have a drying rack filled with rags—washed and boiled and waiting to see if there will be time enough for them to dry before being put to use again. And as of a few minutes ago, I have mason jars filled with amber liquid, cooling and waiting their turn in the freezer for the next time disaster (or dinnertime) strikes. 

Not much a good pot of warm vegetable broth can't make better, I say.

The beauty of broth is that you hardly need a recipe at all. And there are about a million similar kinds of non-recipes floating around the internet, should you be interested in seeing other variations on the theme.

+ This one from Food 52 is wonderful and pretty to boot.
+ This one from Bon Appetit is similarly inspiring. 
+ And this beautiful riff on the former is from my friend Alexa.

Vegetable Broth

For the pot I set to simmering this morning, I used:

2 carrots and their tops
5 or 6 crimini mushrooms
1 onion, halved with the skins on
5 garlic cloves, skin on
1 large bunch of thyme
1 large bunch of parsley
2 bay leaves
6 or 8 black peppercorns, who counts?
and a thick rind of parmesan

I scrubbed the veggies and put them along with the herbs and cheese rind into our large dutch oven, filled it up with water, added a healthy sprinkle of salt and brought it to a boil. (There are two schools of thought on whether or not to chop the vegetables first; I, clearly, take the path of least resistance.) Once boiling, I covered the pot, turned down the heat, and set it to simmer on the stove for a few hours while we read Brave Irene twenty times and became increasingly excited every time we got to the page with the DOGGIES (soft g.) (A stomach bug has nothing on toddler enthusiasm for four-legged friends.) At the end of a few hours, when the vegetables were looking considerably less photogenic, I strained the broth through a fine sieve. I reserved a quart or so to use for dinner, a cupful to serve to Faye tea-party style, and poured the rest into two quart-sized mason jars to freeze for later. And that's mostly that, but here are three more things:
A note: If you're freezing your broth, leave a bit of headroom in your container to allow for the broth to expand in the freezer. On the day before you plan to use the broth, let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight so it's ready for pouring (or let it come to temperature sl-o-o-o-wly in a water bath).A plea: Save your parmesan rinds. We go through an enormous quantity of parmesan cheese in this household. This is partially because we eat an exorbitant amount of pasta needing a fresh shave or twenty, and partially because I'm addicted to adding the rind to just about every stew or soup or potful of dinner that I happen to be making. I store rinds in the freezer if I don't have an immediate use for them, and I've certainly been known to lop the rind off the cheese as soon as I bring it home, just to get to the prized part more quickly.A promise: I've written before that we freeze our food scraps and bring them to the farmer's market for composting, but for some reason I've never gotten into a good habit of putting useable food scraps aside to use for broth. I'm vowing to do better this year: separating some of the ends of onions and carrots and other tasty bits from the egg shells and coffee grounds and other nasty bits.What about you guys? What have you been filling your pots with lately? Do you make your own broth? Any secret ingredients you care to divulge?