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one pact. letters from beijing and paris.
There were preserves and jams and jellies and doughnuts. But best of all, Almanzo liked the spicy apple pie, with its thick, rich juice and crumbly crust. He ate two big wedges of the pie. – Farmer Boy, 1933 *The apple pie looked delicious, its homemade lard and flour crust glistening and golden. “Is this one ofRead On >>
Today is Friday the 13th—fear of this date, known as friggatriskaidekaphobia, is named after Frigg, the Norse goddess whose name inspired the word “Friday.” Norse mythology has it that 12 gods were having a lovely banquet at Valhalla when Loki, the god of mischief who was not invited, showed up, bringing the number of diners to 13.Read On >>
Last fall, I flew to New York under the guise of supporting Sam Singer while he ran 26.2 miles in the freezing cold wind through all five of the city’s boroughs (aka the New York City Marathon or something). Meanwhile, I engaged in a week-long, full-on eating marathon. After several days of eating out inRead On >>
Here’s a post I wrote for The Daily Telegraph about my training for my first half-marathon in Brighton, England. Don’t expect pro advice, though. I’m just hoping to finish/show up. Here’s how it’s going so far: Midway through my 3-mile run in London, my lungs and legs feel too heavy to continue and I stopRead On >>
In the book, I mention my favorite late-night snack / hangover snack in Beijing: Pocky (or Pepero in other countries) It’s a crunchy cookie shaped like a stick and half-covered in chocolate (or white chocolate, strawberry and green tea icing). It is perfect for snacking while binging on DVDS or sitting on your orange couchRead On >>
Paris is a tricky, slippery little city. It can be like a grandmother: gorgeous, bedecked in jewels and richness. Or it can be like a punk-ass teenager: dirty, assuming attitudes, out until dawn. It can be a scholarly middle-aged man, going to the same cafes and perpetually reading the same books; it can be aRead On >>
In case you were wondering about the best thing that’s ever happened to us, it was when Gilmore Girls creator, writer and producer, Amy Sherman-Palladino called us up and told us she loved Graduates in Wonderland and wanted to make our book into a movie. Okay, so that’s not technically a GG movie, but itRead On >>
“I like to collect things. I’m good at it” — As “research” for my cover article about the beautiful Lizzy Caplan (star of Masters of Sex and previously known as playing Janis Ian from Mean Girls), I came across this short funny video of an artistically shot “Fashion Film” spoof by Matthew Frost starring theRead On >>
It’s 2am and my neighbors in London are blasting the same song over and over again. I’d complain, but I think I kind of love this song. I hadn’t heard it until now, but after googling the lyrics (the walls are paper thin), I’ve discovered it’s this song by Ed Sheeran: Don’t by Ed SheeranRead On >>
Hello! I’m currently in Tuscany, where it is beautiful and warm and sunny, but also ripe with snags that I’ve taken to (obnoxiously) calling #tuscanyproblems such as having no hot water, going to various restaurants and grocery stores only to find they are closed just as we need them and getting constantly lost on windyRead On >>