Kate Mantilini’s macaroni & cheese is the best I have ever, ever had. Better than the mac they serve up at North, better than the Hollywood 101 Café, better than Fred 62, better than my own recipe that’s garnered a lot of praise in my circle of friends. The cheese is creamy, the bread crumb […]

I don’t know whom I love more: Anne Lamott for speaking her heart, David Foster Wallace for making me laugh and cry in the same breath, Michael Chabon for his nervous leg twitch, or Dave Eggers for quoting Will Ferrell and publishing a beautiful book and CD. I guess I have a crush on everyone […]

The boo-tiful Penelope is holding a Halloween costume contest — online. Submit illustrations and photos of your costume, real or imaginary. Winners get a pile o’ candy (yum) and a Penelope-illustrated mug (double yum). The deadline for submissions is October 18th, so don’t delay.

Is there anything more perfect and pure than the new and improved iPod? No. There is not. I have long been tempted by its sweet siren call and I have, for one reason or another, resisted. But I fear I cannot resist much longer. The 20gb model has just the right size, weight and space […]

As if my love for the Fishers didn’t run deep and wide enough. Now I have two hundred reasons to adore them even more: Six Feet Under: Better Living Through Death, a 208-page history of the family’s life. The beautifully designed and bound book includes such treasures as Nathaniel’s letters to Ruth from Vietnam to […]

Give me 5 minutes, and I’ll stalk your site. Here are the people, places and things that lately have a hold on my heart (in no apparent order): * Rosie Thomas * Jen Gray * Boy Girl Party * Mary Oliver * Superhero Designs * Loobylu * American Elf * The Onion * Daniele Young […]

The 5-Minute Crush has found its soulmate: I like.org, one girl’s record of all the good things that she finds and adores. Like me, she appreciates sweet illustration and beautiful signage. She even uses the same font for her graphics as I do. “I like is a a half-pint, a low-talker, a cheeky besom, a […]

I have so much more to say about this, but for now I will just say this: All of you who have HBO, please, please, please watch Iron Jawed Angels on Sunday night. If you don’t have HBO, find a friend, relative or neighbor who does and invite yourself over. You won’t be sorry. The […]

I met Miha on a job interview–hers, not mine. I was hiring freelancers for a web project I was heading, and she was one of the interviewees. After talking to her for a couple minutes, I knew I liked her. The New Yorker was sweet, funny and ridiculously talented. Although fashion photography clearly her passion, […]

If you know me, you know that I don’t watch much TV. It’s not because I don’t enjoy it nor is it because I think it’s bad for your brain. It’s because I love it. TV is my time travel machine. I sit down in front of it to watch one show and, the next […]