I’ve got something I once read stuck in my head, and it’s sort of like when you get a song stuck in your head: both comforting in its repetition and awful, especially if you don’t like the song. The something is this: from an interview with Sally Quinn, Washington writer/hostess/wife of Ben Bradlee and owner of the 28-room storied Grey Gardens on Long Island. “When it rains,” she said, or something along these lines, “you can still smell the cat urine.” This is definitely a song I don’t like. Whether or not you know anything about Grey Gardens, I’ll cut...
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You know you are having One of Those Days when you arrive at work and those two words are going through your head. Specifically, today: I have a cold and possibly mastitis. Baby -- who as far as I'm concerned should be sleeping through the night, and is, sort of -- has developed his first cold, poor dear, although that doesn't keep him from giving me his adorable, lopsided grin when he wakes up -- at 11:15, 2:07, 4:41, and 5:17. Our Indespensible Nanny arrives at work this morning and has a cold, too, on top of the fact that...
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A few weeks ago my mom told me that whenever my life gets too calm, I intentionally complicate it. I've been thinking about this observation ever since, because it might finally unlock the mystery of why I decided to have a baby and undertake a major house renovation in the space of two months this spring. (And so why, by my own bone-headed design, my heart starts racing with stress before I even open my eyes these days.) I'm not sure what I needed less: another child or a new kitchen. But my husband and I wanted both, and more...
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Those of you who read Real Simple magazine may recognize my mug from the editor's letter page, because by day I am the editor of Real Simple. By night I am a suburban mom, wife, pet wrangler, friend (who could always do better in that department), loyal daughter, enthusiastic sister, and owner of a house that is 100 years old and sometimes feels like it's conspiring against me. Adventures in Chaos is an Everywoman's look at life in a messy world. I get a nice response from my editor's letter in the magazine, both from readers who need to scold...
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