My sundresses are all folded up and put away and the lemonade's going to the back of the pantry for another year. It's sad. But you know what? It would be a lot sadder if fall wasn't such a really great time of year. Not only does the weather in my neck of the wood magically transform from hot and...

Becky's already said it this week: even though it's hot as anything outside, it is September, and that means it's time to start thinking about fall. That means leaves are...

The September issue of W arrived in my mailbox last week and when I opened it to the letter from the editor, one single word stared me right in the face: "heritage." The letter wrote about "heritage" as the current buzzword in fashion, where it seems to refer to anything even remotely related to...

Today I'm going to see a super interesting exhibit at the National Building Museum. An artist named Adam Reed Tucker has created all kinds of famous structures - like the Gateway Arch and the Empire State Building - entirely out of LEGOs. I loved LEGOs as a kid and I'm sure I'm not alone. In fact,...

It's that time of year again. School started in my county yesterday and the kids who go to the three (yes three) colleges in my town have all just arrived, en masse, to take over the roads and bars. And all of that means...it's homework time. When I was in high school, I ditched my desk and did all...

I write a lot of ideabooks, but my favorite is a big, messy one that I add to on a regular basis. It's just called "Cool Spaces" and it includes anything that catches my eye for any random reason. The other day, I was perusing Cool Spaces and realized that I must really like color and I really like...

About two weeks ago, I went to IKEA on a Sunday. That's a regular trip for me, but it was decidedly not a regular day at the Swedish superstore. I'd forgotten: it's back to college season. For IKEA, that means hordes of family-sized groups trying to decide if their rising freshman needs a...