I'm in France this week, so in the spirit of Gallic appreciation, this week's round-up is of some good things that happen to be French. There's now a walkway in Paris named after Jane Birkin, and her daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon
When does novelty graduate to annual tradition? That's a question I've been asking myself about The Family Stone because I can't pinpoint which year it became essential holiday viewing in my home. I do know for sure that its origin is tied to my
A brief weekly round-up of some things that are good. House socks. I saw these at the MoMA Design Store last weekend; while I didn't buy them, they represent my ideal winter fantasy, i.e. swaddling myself in layers of protective fabric and never leaving the house.
"Rebecca, hi from Open AI! Holiday hosting w/ChatGPT?" This fragrant morsel appeared in my inbox about an hour ago, coincidentally right after I'd put a batch of Dorie Greenspan's World Peace cookie dough into the refrigerator to chill. When I was at Eater,
A brief weekly round-up of some things that are good. Lactaid. The ideal Ashkenazi stocking stuffer, if we did that kind of thing. Cookies. As both a general category of food and the title of Jesse Szewczyk's baking book. The latter serves a dual purpose as my
I first met Deborah Shapiro all the way back in 2002, when we were fact-checkers at New York magazine. After that, we were fact-checkers at Elle, a job I got in part because of Deb (thanks, Deb!). I always knew she was a writer outside of work; I
A brief weekly round-up of some things that are good. Samuel West on Rosebud: Samuel West has been one of my favorite actors since 1992, when he played Leonard Bast in Howards End. He has one of the best voices known to modern humankind and also seems like a
First, a disclaimer: it is most often weird and gross to comment on the physical characteristics of women in general and actresses specifically, and doing so typically accomplishes little outside of reinforcing sexist double standards. So I feel some trepidation in doing this, but after watching eight full hours of
A brief weekly send-off with some things that are good. 1. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (Jane Austen a Gâché Ma Vie): A very French movie about a woman who loves Jane Austen, it's got dry humor (again, French), believable complications, and a grouchy heroine. So, my
This weekend, my friend Jess (hi, Jess!) and I decided to follow our morbid curiosity to Hester Street for Alison Roman's First Bloom pop-up. First Bloom is Roman's bespoke grocery store in upstate New York; for the month of November, it's also here
As of this writing, it’s been three months and four days since I was laid off from my job at Eater. I had worked there as an editor for almost six years, the longest I’d ever worked anywhere. Since losing my job, two things have continued to resonate.
News
A brief weekly send-off with a few things that are good. 1. This trailer for Hamnet caused me to start weeping almost immediately, which is usually a good indication that I will enjoy a film, or at least not mind being emotionally manipulated by it. I haven't