I admit it, I love silly poetry. And there’s hardly anyone who does it better than Ogden Nash. Rhythm and meter fly out the window, and he twists words at his own will to force them to rhyme. And yet, it’s so clever! But really, he has no better introduction than to show you one of his pieces. Here we have his “Common Cold” poem, one of his more orderly ones, and one of my personal favorites. Enjoy. “Go hang…
Reasons you should wear a red beret: It makes you look like a grand writer full of noble thoughts and ideas. It makes everybody want to insert you into their pictures when you’re visiting a tumbling down, picturesque graveyard, because you look like a storybook character. It means your roommate can always find you, whether in a forest or a shopping mall, which is pretty difficult for her seeing how little and brown you are without it. It keeps your…
As I’m sure you know, in the quest for living a grateful life, it’s important to not focus all our attention on the big things. I think the quiet little moments of domestic satisfaction are the oil that keeps my crazy life running smoothly. Something as simple as a perfectly cooked egg can be such a pleasure, you know? So today, I wanted to take a look at my favorite little things that are just so nice. The feeling of…
Question: are you any good at geography? A friend introduced me to this countries quiz some time ago, and the first time I took it, I did horribly. Embarrassingly, dreadfully awful. Determination set in, and I retook it over and over, dozens of times over the course of weeks, until I finally managed a perfect score, albeit untimed. Who knew I was so woefully ignorant about the countries of the world! Regardless of my ignorance, I find doing this quiz…
Somebody asked me recently which I’d rather give up if forced to, tomatoes or potatoes. Although my reluctance to part with french fries was great, I knew that I couldn’t imagine a life without tomatoes, because pasta sauces and pizzas and all things caprese are much too near and dear to my heart. But one of the very best ways to eat a tomato, which you might agree with if you grew up with an abundance of them fresh out…
Now for the fun part. I am giving away a mandala cloth to one Striped Pineapple reader this month.
You are totally allowed to give me a sideways look for this one. But a few years ago while visiting a friend in Pennsylvania, she suggested that we go dumpster diving that evening and see what we find. Always up for an adventure that feels like breaking the law without actually breaking it, I said YES! So we piled four girls into the car, and drove out into the dark and rainy night in search of the best trash. Hilarity…
I’ve never been a fan of writing in my books. I label them in pencil and don’t write notes in the margins. So it’s somewhat odd that I decided to try a journaling Bible, eh? At first I could hardly bring myself to write in it. What if I’d want the space later for something else? What if someone else read it? What if I messed up and made irreparable marks in it? Finally, I forced myself to just start…
The air is on the verge of nippy, but the end of the porch is bathed in golden sunlight, warm to the touch. I sit on the steps with my cup of freshly brewed coffee and a few gingersnaps- the kind that you age in a stone crock- and the sun beats on my head, seeping into my sleepy bones and waking me up slowly. The turkey buzzards perch on our roof, warming their hideous wrinkly heads and inky feathers…
I told you all once about how I won an Urban Southern giveaway and was gifted with a lovely triangle clutch. What I couldn’t convey to you through a blog post was just how good it smelled, and how lovely it felt, both the smooth exterior and the soft suede interior. I carried my clutch and continued stalking their business, and making mental notes of which bags I would love to own if I ever found a good enough excuse…
Have you ever heard of currywurst? It’s the kind of food that makes you scratch your head a little and wonder why somebody would want to eat something with a name like that. But let me tell you about it and see if you don’t change your mind. One morning on our recent trip to New York City, we bundled up to the max and set out across town to Chelsea Market, braving the icy winds. We blew in the…
In the spirit of Valentine’s day, I give to you one of my favorite love stories ever. Max Shulman: Love is a Fallacy Cool was I and logical. Keen, calculating, perspicacious, acute and astute—I was all of these. My brain was as powerful as a dynamo, precise as a chemist’s scales, as penetrating as a scalpel. And—think of it!—I only eighteen. It is not often that one so young has such a giant intellect. Take, for example, Petey Bellows, my…