Random Link Pack

DIY Cardboard Wallet

Following @APStylebook on Twitter is making me think more about word choice. Oh and there is a twitter bot that tweets words when they appear in the New York Times for the first time. Like walktail and doomscrolling.

The Maine 2020 Biennial Artists are now posted on the Center for Maine Contemporary Art website. Follow the links to learn more about the artists. The 2020 exhibition is scheduled for October 2020 – February 2021. I sure hope it happens and that I can see it. 🙏

Which reminds me — the 2020 finalists for the Redress Design Competition are posted on their website. I love picking my favorites in advance.

Little Lad’s is a little company in Maine that is famous for its herbal popcorn. They are now selling the herbal seasoning separately so you can use it on whatever you want — at home! I can tell you from experience — It’s addictive!

Red lentils are an easy and tasty substitute for taco meat. Saute an onion, add red lentils, tacos seasoning, and water. Stir, smoosh, and serve. It’s that easy. Oh and I heard that Rancho Gordo Black Caviar Lentils are delicious. I look forward to trying them.

The Terry Gross interview with Tim Gunn is maybe one of best episodes of Fresh Air of all time. Tim and Terry are national treasures. Take a walk for 43 minutes and listen.

I have a private “X-Mas Presents” board on Pinterest. As I come across gift ideas, I pin them to that board. Otherwise I’d forget about gems like this gift I got for my son. I paid more in shipping for this gift than the actually cost of the item. And it was totally worth it.

The Mother-Daughter Duo Taking Socially-Distanced Fashion to the Streets of Paris. So cuuuute.

This is crude. Forgive me. I hate air freshener sprays. When my boys stink up the bathroom I ask them to light a match. I’ve just discovered Incense Match. I just ordered a dozen (6 sandalwood + 6 patchouli).

I think I might get on the waiting list for this coffee table.

Um. Rachel Burke makes dresses out of tinsel and I’m obsessed.

I have created a playlist of my favorite runway shows on Youtube.

My advanced style Pinterest board gives you an idea of how I want to age with style.

Stay safe. Go for walks. Drink water. Take care of yourself.

xoxo jam

Random Link Pack

Stay High

I don’t blog like I used to. I shifted to what so many others do — I micro-blog on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you want more content from me you might want to follow me on those channels. However, the stay-at-home orders have allowed me a little more time so I’m going to TRYYAH to blog a little more. Let’s start with a random link pack.

I’m watching Mrs. America. I N C R E D I B L E cast including Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan and Uzo Adub as Shirley Chisholm. I even like the opening scene.

My friend loaned me Lindy West’s new book — The Witches Are Coming. Lindy is technically a Millennial and I’m a Gen-Xer so I don’t actually get some of her popular culture references but what I do get is that Lindy is smart and brave and she is challenging us all to be better people.

One of the things I miss most about pre-Covid life is thrift shopping. I’ve taken to The Real Real for virtual window shopping. I love that Mister Mort did a Maine Man edit.

I was infatuated with sweat suits as fashion before Covid-19 and I have a Pinterest board to prove it.

Surf Point is achingly beautiful. I’ve never seen it in person but it is on my short list. It’s located just up the road from me in York, Maine. The story behind it is interesting too.

I stumbled upon With Wendy on Youtube. I especially like her THRIFT FLIP video series where she upcycles thrift store finds into fashion. Like the one where she turns a sleeping bag into a puffer jacket and the one when she turns a blanket into a Cecilie Bahnsen inspired quilted wrap coat. #NotEasy

I asked about buying weights on my Facebook page. My friend recommended just filling gallon milk jugs with water which equals eight pounds. Works for me! Here is a milk jug workout if you are interested.

This absolutely gorgeous 6,000 SF brick firehouse in Rochester, NH was listed for $149,000! Sorry, It’s under contract.

This make-up got me searching for vintage Colorforms on Etsy. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to create a make-up collage masterpiece on your face for a next-level at-home selfie photoshoot! I die!

GIVE to 3S Artspace because ART!

This sustainable gift idea beats all!

My sister-in-law gives the best presents. One year she gave me a milk frother and I’ve used it practically every day since.

This year she told me about the gift she gave her husband and I’m telling you — we all need to steal this idea! 📚

Her husband, my brother-in-law, is an architect and designer. He has a great minimalist sensibility. Below is a photo of the backyard of their home that he remodeled. Notice the footrest in front of the butterfly chair. It’s a used fireplace grate with a block of wood on top. I love that upcycled detail! You can learn more about him and his projects at Big Fish Design. He doesn’t have an Instagram account unfortunately but I hear his daughters are working on him to create one. 😉

So anyway my sister-in-law knows her husband well. She knows what he likes and what he doesn’t like. Her first thought was to buy him some gorgeous design books — but he’s a minimalist kinda guy. If she got a book he didn’t love he might feel obliged to keep it. What she decided to do instead was to borrow a pile of books from the public library and give it to him as a gift!

She curated a stack of hard-to-find architecture and design books (some through Interlibrary loan), then she wrapped them up and included the due date on the card. She arranged it so he got plenty of quiet time to enjoy them before they needed to be returned.

I mean … Genius, right?! Can we all do this for Christmas 2020?!

Think about roaming the stacks of your local library with a loved one in mind. It’s such a great exercise to think of a person you love and what they might like and then create a stack of library books that you think they might appreciate. And to take it one step further and get hard to find books from a college library through interlibrary loan is genius!

The only thing this idea needs is a good hashtag. Any suggestions? How about #libraryxmas or #checkoutxmas 🎄📚

Thanks for the inspiration Emily!