Strange Closets

It’s been a long time since I ordered anything from Rejuvenation, but the Portland-based “classic American lighting & house parts” company was a lifesaver when I replaced the painted-over hinges throughout my apartment several years ago. The spring catalog arrived the other day, and the ‘Hood’ chandelier pictured on the cover made my pulse quicken, [...]

I happened upon an estate sale several weeks ago, so I pulled over and waited in the short line, tapping my foot, checking my e-mail and not at all living in the moment – two people in, two people out until it was my turn. As I looked through the piles of piles of ephemera, [...]

Jill Birnbaum’s friends were perplexed when they first spotted her Merchandise Mart sample sale splurge – a Barbara Barry blue powder slipper chair that didn’t match a single thing in her apartment. She ignored the naysayers. “All part of the master plan,” explains Jill. “Next came the rug, then the brown velvet sofa, the Asian [...]

Thanks to everybody who participated in the Strange Closets tabletop contest. Great turnout, and I like something about each and every entry I received. Thankfully, I don’t have to pick a winner, because that’s your job.  So here’s how it works: pick your favorite entry and leave a comment telling me which one you chose. [...]

Friends come and go. It’s just the ebb and flow of life, and it’s perfect. Because people change over a lifetime, sometimes dramatically, and sometimes the new you doesn’t get along with your old friends. But my friend Marla and I didn’t evolve away from one another. Circumstances just got the best of us; life [...]

Hello everybody.  FYI, I’m now going to be contributing pieces to Make It Better, a terrific website and magazine founded by Susan Noyes.  While the soon-to-be-released print magazine will be directed toward North Shore households, the MIB website is updated frequently and features interesting articles and tips designed to make the world better (which starts [...]

Thanks to Father Jason Malave for allowing me to take photos as he showed me around the parish rectory. Father Jason is an old gym buddy turned good friend, so while I’ll do my best not to tease, I can’t make any promises.  Also, I don’t call him Father Jason in real life.  Nor do [...]