What do you do?

Also in here: braking for roses, a text from my best friend, and a grand finale

Hi! Okay, before we get into it, I just have to show you this photo so you can see what putting this newsletter together actually looks like…

My boss 🧡 // Kodak Portra 160 film

I snapped this in between making a photo book of our trip to the Sequoias and gathering links 😊 anyway, thought you might like that little peek behind the curtain. And yes, my table is always this untidy! Sometimes worse!

“You feel differently towards the world when you make things.”
– Milton Glaser

12

This weekend marks twelve years since Nate and I got married. We were so young and so in love and couldn’t imagine life without each other. I still can’t – if I had it my way, he would never be more than ten feet away. It’s been spectacular and unfathomably hard and literally magical at times. I'll probably never fit into my wedding dress again, and he’s not not getting a smidge gray; the today Us is so different from bride and groom Us in a thousand other ways. But the biggest difference is the exponentially greater love. And, I suppose, the four people we’ve added to the party 😉

05/20/11

“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?”
– George Eliot

coming up roses

Compared to the unmatched beauty of the seven springs we spent in the Midwest, spring in Los Angeles could technically go unnoticed. But for a flower obsessive like myself, there is simply no missing every glorious May flower after many (unusual) months of showers. Right now there are cereal-bowl sized roses blooming in every other yard and 7-Eleven parking lot. Golden poppies by the sidewalk, wild mustard by the freeway, bougainvillea everywhere, wisteria in the bougainvillea, neon orange nasturtium and neon lavender ice plant on the slopes. But it’s the roses that get me.

Driving through our neighborhood last week, we took an unusual route home and discovered an overflowing rose bush in a neighbor’s yard. Immediately I pulled over and made everyone get out to take a whiff. I wish I could link a smell!

People must have thought we were pretty ridiculous, fully freaking out over the fragrance and abundance of these giant peachy flowers, but I didn't even care. It was one of those moments where I thought, *this* is why I love being your mom, because I get to be your tour guide for all the awesome stuff in our life. 

“'Tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes.”
– Beatrix Potter

today’s bouquet

• You know it's going to be good when it's a text from your best friend that says "important recipe alert.”

• 11 beautiful post offices around the world.

• How to answer the question, what do you do? (Favorite link this week)

• Let’s give this a whirl. *ahem* I’m a mother who makes photographs for other mothers.

• Very delighted that one of my favorite reads has moved to the friendly neighborhood of Substack, too. 

• In my Madewell cart right now: this Doen-ish summer dress and a cool dress set (never seen this before!). I’m equally sad and relieved that this splurgey floral dress is sold out, it’s my favorite thing I’ll never own.

• Anthro's seashell department is really getting it right these days: a vintage-inspired swimsuit, pearl chandelier earrings – these would be pretty for a beach wedding! (more affordable: scallop posts), and a breezy-yet-cozy top.

• An apartment tour featuring 225 plants and the most joy.

"Like plants, we need water, sunlight, nutrients, and room to grow. But you can’t always water yourself. I have a community of loved ones, including my given family and chosen family, and I’m learning that it’s okay to lean on them."
– Christopher Griffin

• My brother just bought a home (very exciting! and he’s looking for roommates if you are or know a non-crazy nice man in Provo, Utah!). I've taken it upon myself to shop for furniture and such – he did not ask me to do this – and while doing so found way too many cute things for my own house, such as this petite fleur dinner plate and this stoneware mug. Where do you like to shop for housewares?

• This two-tier fruit basket would look friendly and fun on a countertop in a small kitchen. And this simple silver one is a keeper, too.

• I was yesterday years old when I learned how to properly peel a carrot. (via)

• The world's smallest versions of beloved childhood toys. That tiny Bop-it!

• Adding the Orange County Museum of Art to our summer to-do list. Mom, if you’re reading this, how have we never been here?!

• Midcentury American street photography = Alex clickbait.

• Mr. Rogers teaches us how Pink Pearl erasers are made. My kids and I loved this! (via Storq)

• Know a grad? I bet she'd like this funny pillow. Also, hi, it's me.

• You guys, Amazon thought I wanted this. I have no words.

• No idea how this happened but it sure is beautiful.

• The prettiest motherhood moment I’ve seen this week.

• Now here is an article that all of us should read: the best of the TJ’s frozen case. Thank you, Eater, for this important work.

• Unquestionably the greatest finale ever. I think I’ll start blasting this through the house after we finish the last bedtime story.

from the archives

• 05/22/19 - Crafts, roots, and better names.

• 05/13/20 - Guest writer Emily Tate Hawker is here!

• 05/19/21 - Mother, mountain faces, and uncut Target gems

• 05/18/22 - This one's mostly dresses and food

5 things from trader joe’s in my kitchen right now

1. Ginger lemon probiotic sparkling beverage. A step above my usual favorite, Spindrift. Juicy and somewhat tart. It’s 30 calories but feels more like a soda than a sparkling water.

2. Crunchy jalapeño lime and onion. Still on this! I add a little mayo to make a DIY-aioli for sandwiches. Yum.

3. Fennel bulbs. Years ago, Pitfire Pizza, a local favorite, had this delicious vegetarian sandwich with sliced fennel in it. I haven’t recreated it perfectly, but lately I can’t not add mandolined fennel to all my sandwiches! Crunchy, herby, and bright. Also… the bulbs kind of look like human hearts. Which is extremely cool.

4. Sun-dried tomatoes in oil. Continuing to love a thing I hated so deeply as a child. I scoop a spoonful of these on top of all pastas lately.

5. Milk chocolate peanut butter cups. Yep. Still.

last thing

• Do you write a newsletter/ own a shop/ have a cool thing? If so, will you please share in the comments? We’d love to hear about it!

• Last week’s most popular link: a terrific podcast about excellence (kind of).

• THANK YOU so much for reading, clicking, and shopping the links in Handpicked! If you know someone who would like Handpicked, will you tell them about it? Word of mouth makes the world go round 🌍