New polaroid paintings that might be very bad

Also in here: my Oscars best-dressed and 3 substack gems

Mar 05, 2025

Hi my dears! Thank you for the support you shared publicly and privately when I opened up a bit about my beliefs last week. My highest values all tie into gratitude, love, and honoring the divine nature of every human being, so I’m very sensitive to hurting anyone with my comments on big issues. Not that I don’t have feelings about them — I absolutely do. I take a very strong stance on every hot button topic; abortion, marriage equality, immigration laws, election reform, public education, tax law, religious freedom, patriarchy, debt, billionaires, healthcare, caring for children, guns, and more. My religious beliefs are complex and simple, personal and public, constantly in flux.

I’m happy to have one-on-one discussions with my readers on any topic. But I have learned through painful encounters over the years that it’s not safe to put myself out there online the way I can in person.

All that matters to me on this almost-spring day is that you feel loved and welcome on this planet.

And now for some silly old links and a couple paintings I’m unsure about…

painting

acrylic paint on fujifilm instax mini photographs // manhattan beach, ca // march 2024

Hmmm what do we think? I don’t know if I’m proud of these or if they are insanely terrible! The left one is from a winter sunset a while back, I found the Instax on my desk under a pile of papers. On the right we have orange ranunculus, the spring flowers I obsess over as soon as they arrive at Trader Joe’s, shot on Monday and painted immediately afterward.

Lately it’s been hard to make myself take time to paint (there’s always some colony of clutter that could use my attention), but the moment I read this quote in my friend

Kylie

’s newsletter, I immediately put my phone down and got out my easel:

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just get up in the morning and go to work.”
— Chuck Close (via painter Allen Garns)

my fancy studio (aka my kitchen table) + another polaroid painting in progress

today’s bouquet

Did you watch the Oscars? The only Oscar noms I’ve actually seen are Dune: Part 2 (loved!!) and A Real Pain, which I thought was brilliant and heart-breakingly beautiful (with the caveat that I am not Jewish and know it may have felt different to those who carry the burden of Holocaust generational trauma). My best-dressed of the night were Ari, Selena, Sebastian, and Adam haha. Who were yours?
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Hopefully 2025 will be the year I become a popcorn snob. I’ll serve it in this!
Dare you to find any rhubarb more beautiful.
This week’s homework: go get this Target teacup, brew a pot of the best mint tea, turn off your phone for 20 minutes, and read a magazine.
Are we watching With Love, Meghan? I keep trying to love this woman…!
Reading: Mick’s current favorite book several times a day, listening to this with my girls, and reading the story I bought my kids before they were born at our school’s Library Night this week.
Definitely going to try some of these paper airplanes with my kids.
Grandmas re: baby socks :-)
*Exactly* how to hand wash precious wool sweaters (much easier than I thought!)
LA readers, is anyone going to the Alex Mill x Goop pop-up at Brentwood Country Mart this weekend?
Grace Atwood
reported that these pens are a delight to write with, which I heartily second.
Tomorrow marks SIX YEARS since I started my weekly newsletter, can you believe it? I think I only had a few dozen readers back then, and now look — hundreds of issues later and I love newslettering more than ever. Newsletters are where it’s at, you guys. (Even
Ballerina Farm
has joined the party!) If you think writing a newsletter might be for you, I’d be happy to help you get started. Hit reply, it will come straight to my personal Gmail inbox.
A few recent gems from Substacks I read:
- Extraordinary photographer
  Noah Kalina
  shows us all the different lights he uses in his studio and why.
- Jeans expert
  Jane Herman
  asked cool founders exactly what jeans they’re wearing.
- Loeffler Randall owner
  Jessie Randall
  offers nine tips on table setting.

“Perhaps ultimately, spiritual simply means experiencing wholeness and interconnectedness directly, a seeing that individuality and the totality are interwoven, that nothing is separate or extraneous. If you see in this way, then everything becomes spiritual in its deepest sense. Doing science is spiritual. So is washing the dishes.”

—Jon Kabat-Zinn

in my basket

Adam Sandler’s Oscars look is sold out for now, but the purple version is on my birthday list.
Gorgeous dried California flower crown from a very unexpected source.
Last year we watched the show Beef (enjoyed it but it also gave me nightmares) and I ~*LoVeD*~ Ali Wong’s character’s wardrobe, I’ve been on the lookout for a crochet bucket hat ever since episode one.
“Dad hat in white or cream” has been on my shopping list for about 2.5 years and I am so glad I waited. PS: did you know that the American Cancer Society ranks hats higher than sunscreen?
Wishing I had this fun gingham rain slicker today.
My sister Sarah asked where to get some pretty bandanas to brighten an outfit. I own and love this plaid rainbow-y gauze one from Terrain, and I wish I had added this turquoise and blue floral one to my order. They’re super lightweight yet cozy. And this paisley pink would be so cute with a messy bun. Good news: Anthro has free shipping over $50 this week, plus they always offer no-brainer 2% cashback from Rakuten.

last call for classifieds

If you have a product, service, small business, podcast, newsletter, brick and mortar shop, etc, here’s your chance to shamelessly promote it to Handpicked readers! Please fill out this form ASAP so we can share it in next week’s issue.

Handpicked Classified Submissions

Two photos from the week making me happy: