Have a Lovely Weekend.
What are you up to this weekend? Anton and I have been visiting our family in England, and are coming home tomorrow. (Can’t wait to squeeze Toby and my mom, who have been together in Brooklyn!) Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…
Have you played the game Imposter? The boys and I have gotten really into it.
Things all New Yorkers should know. “If you want to make your own pizza at home, your local slice joint will probably sell you some dough if you ask.” True, and it’s usually only $5! (New York Magazine)
The prettiest alternative to chapstick.
Oooh, wouldn’t you love to go to a hotel made for walking? (NYTimes gift link)
Curious about Dan Levy’s new show on Netflix. (It currently has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.)
My friend swears by outdoor rugs in her kids’ room, and this is now on my radar for my own bedroom.
Cherry-blossom season, as captured by 11 photographers. (Vogue)
And these dog sledding photos are incredible. “Like the dogs, I didn’t quit. And I was efficient at checkpoints, those camps or villages en route where teams can rest and resupply. I could churn through tasks: making straw beds for the dogs, taking off their booties, lighting the methanol cooker, melting snow, thawing meat, doling out stew, tucking the dogs under blankets, massaging their muscles… Checkpoints are where most mushers lose time, even if their dogs are fast: The sleeping bag’s too enticing, and the booties’ ice-crusted Velcro gets stuck to itself when your hands are fumbling cold.” (NYTimes gift link)
There is magic in the world. (from the movie Boyhood, via Handpicked and Tiny Revolutions)
Finally, how gorgeous is our editor Kaitlyn Teer’s kitchen garden? (Big Salad gift link)
Plus, two reader comments:
Says Midge on have a beautiful weekend: “I’m throwing myself a Menopause Party! It will be my actual 365th day without a period, so I invited three dozen women over for cake and Champagne. The theme is black polka dots, because I’m putting a period on the period of my life with periods. I am tearful at having them in my home — colleagues, besties, my Pilates instructor, my current and former bosses, my book group, former PTA friends — and getting to stand up in front of all these women I love and admire, who will be part of my next chapter.”
Says Faith on stuff I just love: “I love when I see an adult eating ice cream out in the world, sans kids. It makes me so happy, like, yes, treat yourself! Your younger self would think you’re living your best life being able to have ice cream whenever you wanted.”
Comments
66 commentsAdam Pogue makes the most beautiful patchwork curtains. http://www.iamadampogue.com He inspired me to make patchwork quilts for a couple of our windows because they were very drafty! You can see them near the bottom of this post if you’re interested. https://tinyurl.com/haleycurtains
Ohhhhh, I love the gorgeous pillow cases. Thank you for sharing.
Your mom was on my flight to DTW yesterday afternoon and I felt like such a goober asking her if she was Joanna Goddard’s mom but she was genuinely lovely and so kind in just our brief interaction! And when I tell you that I had many friends I had to tell immediately over text that I met your mom and they were just as tickled as I was!
She told me!!!! She said she met the loveliest CoJ reader!!! What a small world :)
My kids have been playing real life Imposter for years outside with the neighborhood kids. It will definitely be a core memory for them and me! So much fun!
Big Mistakes is HILARIOUS. It is such a welcome addition to our lineup this weekend – already half way through.
This might sound silly, but is it scary? I know there’s a crime element to it, and I usually shy away from violence. But I loveee Dan Levy and think everything he does is hilarious, so I want to watch!
Not scary! I watched the entire thing this past weekend and loved it too. I was laughing out loud multiple times each episode. The crime aspect was much milder than I expected, with the exception of one scene towards the end.
I am so curious if this post is subtly sponsored by Ruggable? You previously posted a Ruggable rug and had so many people sharing their terrible experiences with them (mine included) and now are sharing another one? Most rugs do not need to be machine washed, a highly patterned rug with some good upholstery cleaner is all it takes, without making more polyester/off-gassing/toxins even more popular by repeatedly posting them.
Hi Kat! Thought I’d jump in here to answer. :) This particular post wasn’t sponsored by Ruggable. But, we do include affiliate links in our posts, which is one of the ways we’re able to support the site and keep it free for everyone to read. Over the past few months, we’ve noticed that when we’ve linked to them, there’s actually been a pretty significant amount of reader interest and clicks (even alongside the thoughtful pushback), which is part of why they’ve come up again. And on a personal note, Joanna and a few of us on the team (myself included!) have had good experiences with them, especially in busy, kid-heavy areas where things get messy fast. That said, we really do take all the feedback to heart! It’s always helpful to hear the full range of experiences, and it definitely informs how we think about sharing things going forward. Thanks so much for being here and for speaking up! We always appreciate it xx
Hello Joanna! Hope you had a great time visiting family!!! Toby is a teenager now and wanted to stay in New York with his friends? They grow up so fast..!!Enjoy these family trips:)
The boys had different weeks off school this year for the first time, so I took them each on a solo trip! Toby to see family (and the warriors:) in SF, and Anton to see family in England. Xo
I thought the same thing! I didn’t want to be a snob about it, but we try to keep all our furnishings to natural fibers/materials, ideally with no PFAS/flame retardants, etc. wool naturally resists stains, lasts forever & there are companies that will come & pick up your rug, take it to clean it & bring it back. We do it every few years.
How do you manage horrible messes on wool rugs? We want to switch away from rugs that can be washed if possible, but after 2 of my dogs got hit with a stomach virus two days ago, I’m so glad I was able to throw my rug in the washing machine. Serious question, because I want to be able to make this work!
For the last four years, we’ve had an off-white, textured, 100% wool area rug from Citizenry in our living room. We have a (now) ten-year old daughter. No pets. The wool material itself is durable and has some natural stain resistance. For stubborn stains or odors (my father-in-law once spilled half a glass of beer on it) we use Biokleen Lime Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator All-Purpose Cleaner, which works really well. We vacuum it a couple times a week and last year we shook it out outside. We kind of refrain from eating on it, but it’s not a hard & fast rule. So far, so good. No obvious stains. I feel confident if I wanted to get it cleaned, it would look even better. We do not use a rug pad — part of our sectional sits on it so it doesn’t wiggle around. Hope this encourages someone to try a wool rug.
I have a natural wool rug I picked up at an estate sale. I have a senior cat that will spite pee in the corner when I upset her. The Bissell Green machine has been a lifesaver. It combined with a professional cleaning every other year has kept the rug looking gorgeous. https://shop.bissell.com/pf/march-2026-launch/4075/product/salesforce%3A%2F%2Fbissell%2F4075%3Ftile%3D3a6df5c1-f85b-43d4-8a91-931c1f7db632?fermat_adid=%7Badgroupid%7D&fermat_adtype=%7Badtype%7D&fermat_campaignid=%7Bcampaignid%7D&fermat_channel=google_shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5Badv%3ABISSELL%5D%5Bcou%3AUS%5D%5Bchn%3APaidSearch%5D%5Bini%3APDC%5D%5Bplt%3AGoogle%5D%5Bfun%3AEngage%5D%5Btac%3APLA%5D%5Btgt%3APLA%5D%5Bcrt%3APM+NB+PDC%5D&PID=google_%5Badv%3ABISSELL%5D%5Bcou%3AUS%5D%5Bchn%3APaidSearch%5D%5Bini%3APDC%5D%5Bplt%3AGoogle%5D%5Bfun%3AEngage%5D%5Btac%3APLA%5D%5Btgt%3APLA%5D%5Bcrt%3APM+NB+PDC%5D&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18600495575&gbraid=0AAAAADq4hs1YSGaDUIRDSWQX-KmldbJWs&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqPLOBhCiARIsAKRMPZqBqgX926gUE7YSq7O24BHEWTWQtM37JCryA-nj7QwYvnPj-ffmNVkaAnV6EALw_wcB&productFunnelId=bdda45bd-5fad-46b4-9a19-50b2111fb0fb&funnelLayoutId=224c3aef-7ace-4479-9dc5-6e82522b6a5f&experimentConfigId=c3e26052-bf2a-4aed-a6af-46edd7ffa62e&variant_external_id=4075
I’ve had a wool rug for ten years. We do not eat on it but do have two dogs (one is a doodle) and a six year old. I vacuum twice a week and shake it out before each season. It is still lovely. Very durable.
Agree, Nicole, on the solid benefits of this rug cleaner – I have cleaned MANY a mess from cats getting sick and the spots come out without fail. It also fits in one side of our bathroom under-sink cabinet so that’s handy. When we pulled up all our carpet, I gave my large carpet cleaner away not thinking we’d purchase some area rugs. And boy, can you find great quality rugs for pennies on the dollar at estate sales if you can transport them, keeping in mind that they will likely be dirty/dusty and need a solid cleaning to start. But like most things, the effort is well rewarded.
I inherited a high-pile white wool rug from a friend, and a few years of my dirty dog on it (even after a few professional cleanings) drove me to regift it. I saved a small flatweave/low pile Persian rug from a neighbor’s trash which was infested with flea eggs and cat hair. Truly horrifying potential. It was small enough for me to stuff in my bathtub, pour boiling water on it, scrub with soap, and soak in vinegar. It’s gorgeous now. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to abuse it this much if I had spent a lot of money on it, but easy come easy go, and it didn’t make it worse. It’s one of my favorite possessions now.
Right there with you! We are moving to mostly natural fibers in our home, but I am not yet willing to give up my Ruggable rugs! We had a wool rug when my son was a toddler and our elderly cat was still alive, and I grew to resent the green machine with a passion. I hated how gross using it was! I will also tell you from experience that if you have the fun of a flea infestation, being able to toss the rug in the wash is amazing. All in all, throwing the rug in the washing machine just SO much easier. I’m hoping they start making more natural fiber washable options over the next few years.
I converted an antique quilt top a friend gave me into patchwork curtains in the sunniest room in my house! It was a last minute/urgent decision but now one of my k favorite things in my whole house. I also swear by outdoor rugs as a person with a 2-dog household. We get the faux-sisal ones from Ernesta, a great company that does custom sizes (even for the 30’ x 5’ sleeping hallway in our 1927 bungalow (look that up— it’s an amazing feature of pre-AC era houses and we love them!! I have bought 1-2 per year as budgeting allows and have one room left to go. I found this amazing brand that makes tinted lip balm that truly works for the most sensitive skin. I realized that most lip balms have fragrance and other stuff in them (even the ones that market themselves as being for sensitive skin), and that was part of what was causing my lips to dry out! It’s so affordable too! https://www.beautyethics.com/s/search?q=Lip%20balm Finally, I am obsessed with learning about menopause ever since I realized that all this mysterious symptoms that started in my late 30s were related to hormones. I got a Menopause certified gyno and even though my periods still arrive like clockwork and I’m 45, have been on HRT for 2 years. I am definitely doing this Menopause party when the day comes!!
I love the quote on magic. It’s perfect. We are taking a road tip to Utah to camp and mountain bike. I feel like the Southwest is Magical and I am so excited to introduce it to my 14 year old son to this amazing place. I hope he sees the magic in it, too. Happy Spring!
I love Utah. It is a magical place that leaves you in awe. Hope you have an amazing trip. I have said this before and will say it again, we don’t have any posts on this site that highlights or asks people to share their national park experience. It is something very unique to the US. I am surprised sometimes that folks who have been all their lives in SoCal haven’t ventured out to even a single NP.
I also love adults enjoying ice cream! Such a simple pleasure that spreads a contagious joy. I’ve often sat at our local custard stand with my kids and watched countless solo adults in the drive-thru treating themselves 🫶
We play imposter all the time. Great in a large group, but even with 3 people it’s fun. Just went on a trip with our 10 year old daughter and played it every night while waiting for our meal. If you are only 3 people, they give the imposter a fake word to say which makes it easier.
Happy Spring Holidays to everyone who celebrates something special to them! This weekend was really chill in the loveliest way. I rewatched the movie Crazy, Stupid Love with a goofy grin on my face the whole time. What a great movie (except for the disturbing storyline of the kid and his babysitter). Even though I was 28 when the movie came out, it made me nostalgic for high school and early college days. And damn, Ryan Gosling! I also watched the 3 part documentary series Murder in Boston on HBO. I was not aware of these race riots at all and seeing some of these footage, one would think these images were from 1960s in the Deep South and not the 70s and 80s Boston, where many of these people are very much alive. I took my kids out to the Midtown Egg Hunt. My kids love the thrill of the hunt lol and I love that these midtown shops take the time out of their very busy days to prioritze kids by planning for and entertaining them every year. The next day I took myself out on a date to Brooklyn Heights. I love Queens to my core, but I would move to Brooklyn Heights in a heart beat. I stopped at Diljan for chai and pastries. The chai was OK by but the sheer pira was delicious. Browsed at Books Are Magic, sat outside and had lunch at Nabila’s (delicious, highly recommend) walked down to Carroll Gardens, popped into Liz’s Book Bar and Poetica Coffee (where proceeds go towards fighting book bans and they sell Palestinian olive oil straight from Nablus- I bought some bottles), went to Owl Tree, a kids consignment shop and bought my kids some cute summer pieces and took a picture of every spring and cherry blossom I saw along the way. It was so good for my soul. My son was part of a Stem Camp in the Queens Botanical Gardens and everyday he came home so excited about his nature adventures and hikes and learning about why our planet is so amazing and magical. My daughter and I explored local neighborhoods trying out different foods and burning energy in different playgrounds across Queens. I hope everyone is enjoying their week and in the spirit of these holy days, keeping the oppressed of the world in their prayers and thoughts and fighting for them.
Yes yes yes to the menopause party! I threw myself a crown ritual. My whole body just let out a big happy sigh remembering it. It’s so precious to mark and be honored in our transitions, to be held in community. Menopause is a lot to ride, but it can be empowerment, too! I find greater stability and agency in this season of life. May your party be a grand smash!
Oops! CRONE ritual, not crown.
Details of Crone Ritual, please, if you feel like sharing, Dahlia :)
I am obsessed with Blair Braverman, that musher who the NYT article is about. She is often a guest on the podcast You’re Wrong About and all of her episodes are AMAZING. After her episode about Balto, one of many sled dogs who were part of the dogsled-team relay to get diphtheria antitoxin to dying children in Nome, Alaska, I spent a few weeks being obsessed with dogsled mushing and consumed every book, article, and podcast about it. And this is coming from a New Jersey born, DC-suburb resident who is not exactly an extreme outdoor sportsman. It’s really an incredible story. Everyone go listen!
Yes to Blair Braverman on any podcast! Her episode of You’re Wrong About, Flight 571: Survival in the Andes, is maybe one of my favorite podcast episodes of all time!
As a fellow female musher who has raced around Blair I can attest she’s the real deal. There are some real characters in this wacky world of dog sled racing. I wish more people were wired like Blair.
I just finished Blair Braverman’s memoir (after reading the NYT article—hadn’t heard of her before). Did not know she was a podcast personality: I’ll save some cold episodes for the height of east coast USA summer.
Liza! You’re a dog musher?! So cool. I think we need your story!!
Can someone tell me what the lipproduct is? I live in Europe and for some reason the link goes only to the Sephora homepage.
Hi Lenn, it’s Ilia brand, Overglaze Hydrating Lip Gloss
EVERYONE young and old in Ireland eats ice cream cones in Ireland when it gets warmer and it’s full on come summertime! The ones with a chocolate flake sticking out of them are called 99’s! It’s a national past time. They can be purchased in small shops, petrol stations, supermarkets and the vans.. They are icey cold and delicious.
This is great to know bc I am headed to Ireland for the first time this coming June. I will look out for the 99s, and can’t wait to bite into one.
I am Canadian and it is common to see people of all ages enjoying ice cream in the summers (at least where I live). It is such a treat after a long, cold winter!
Reading all these ice cream comments is the first time I heard that adults eating ice cream was anything unusual. Why wouldn’t they ? Never heard of this. The 99s sound interesting !
Thank you so much for sharing Blair Braverman’s article with us! I love Blair (have read all her books and followed her on Twitter back when it was fine to be on Twitter). I cried seeing so many of her beautiful dogs, whose names I know so well! Pepè especially. Sob!
I feel the exact same way about adults eating ice cream! And I remember when I was in Italy it was not a rare sight at all to see individuals of all ages enjoying gelato on their own!
I took my daughter out of school this week to go to our local ice cream parlor for lunch(a birthday ritual), and there was a couple in their 70’s getting waffle cones. The wife got chocolate almond — the husband vanilla- all he ever gets, he said. My grandfather was the same.
My teenager told us about Imposter at the dinner table the other night and we all gave it a go, and we learned that it’s the rare game where the fact that my husband and I have been together for SO LONG (almost 26 years!) and know each other’s most minute expressions is a disadvantage. At least, whenever he or I was the imposter! One of us would offer up an answer and the other one would glance over and confidently say, “no, s/he’s lying,” and there you go, game’s over. ;) On the other hand, we’re not allowed to be on the same team for Celebrity or Codenames…
Anton and I were the same, among our extended family — he knew when I was lying, and I knew when he was lying, within seconds!
Ha! We played with extended family over the holidays, and my brother and I also could immediately tell when the other was lying!
Joooo, so happy that you’re (almost) back home, xx.
aww, thank you!
man I need to re-watch Boyhood. I miss how big and open the world feels when you’re young (and that movie captured the feeling).
And that it took 10 years of filming! I had a reset on Ethan Hawke from that film. Loved it!
YES to the adults eating ice cream comment. It’s so true and always makes me smile.
Totally, I love it too <3
It’s funny, I read this and was like…what do you mean? Are other childless adults like myself not eating ice cream?
I hear you Katie ! Thought the same thing ! I’m 67. I don’t feel like me eating ice cream is ” cute ” This is all kinda bizarre to me !
The menopause party and the adults eating ice cream comments made me tear up. I always stop by Cupofjo every day.
Sooo, the outdoor rugs…they’re made of materials with high off-gassing, and treated with stuff you don’t want in little mouths (or any mouths), like anti-fungals, and anything water-resistant is about as toxic as it gets. Better to keep them outside.
thank you for this!
Thank you!
Good point! Also, not to be all comfortably-middle-class-California-girl, but they’re made of plastic, with all its attendant thousand-year ecological hazards. Secondhand wool rugs are affordable, can be incredibly beautiful and unique, pose no health risk, and will quietly return to the soil at the end of their lives.
Or not buy them at all. Polyester fibers are basically already microplastics.
100% to this
Wish we could *bump* comments like in early 00s Internet forums! Bump!
This was my exact thought. The only thing I’m struggling with in my home is finding a rug pad that isn’t made of plastic?!
Yes… agree! I feel like since we don’t know how to take care of different stains/fibers anymore, people just want a rug they can put in the washing machine. There’s such an art to taking care of things, especially natural fibers. It could be a fun series to highlight. Wool rugs are really easy to care for once you know a few tips!!
I totally hear you on the outdoor rug, but just want to say that, when I had a toddler and an elderly cat, our estate sale wool rug made me want to cry on the regular. I HATE using the Green Machine because it’s so gross. The one time I yelled at my toddler in a way I still feel bad about was because he poured my whole cup of coffee on that rug. Finally, we got fleas and it was the last straw. I would actually like to see us start to normalize just not having rugs sometimes! Yes, rugs add warmth and coziness. But it’s also OK to have an easy to clean bare floor! In places where I really want a rug, I do use washable rugs and have no regrets. When they give me more options for washable natural fibers, I’ll take them. In the meantime, life is too short to cry over spills on my rug!
Is it not normal to have bare wood floors??? I have a whole apartment full of them, lol. Sometimes I think a rug would be nice but then I think about the cleaning and I say nope. I do have rubber mats made out of recycled tires in my hallway, to prevent slips.