Fresh Eucalyptus (& Friday Links)

Last Sunday we had a dinner here—a baby shower—for one of my good friends. It was a super simple evening, with Thai takeout and good friends—and Knocked Up screening outside.

One fun part: Aron and the kids foraged a huge bouquet of fresh Eucalyptus for me the day before and the whole house smelled amazing from it. I had no idea how nice that would be. My intention was to use floral paddle wire—as I did here—to make a garland, but I could find mine and used some clear thread instead. Then, I just set a couple of these paper flower garlands—that I’d picked up at Target a while ago, with hopes to one day use—on top. (Anthropologie has a fun one, too.) I loved how it came out!

We’re going to head back up to Tahoe today and spend the weekend at the cabin. I’m looking forward to being up in the mountains for some cooler weather.

Any fun plans for you?

Some links, if you’re in a browsing mood… 

A secluded library retreat in the woods of New York State.

The infuriating if unsurprising “manterrupting” during the first debate.

And just in case my bias need be disclosed, I really appreciated this endorsement for its focus on the “why her” rather than the “why not him.”

So simple, so good. (And more egg recipes.)

And what to make for dinner this week.

Thank you for all of the wonderful comments suggesting more diverse children’s books last week! Now, two books about books and the pleasure of reading… for kids: new from Oliver Jeffers and from Mac Barnett.

And more books: a bundle I’d like to get.

How much do parents matter? 

Fiona Apple in Andrew Bird’s living room. Two favorites.

This weekend is the Hoes Down Festival at Full Belly Farm (where I once celebrated a memorable birthday!)

Hello, October! Have a good one!

Swedish Cardamom Buns

One of the things that we’d wished we would have been able to bring back with us from Sweden was a basket of freshly baked Kardamummbular, the cardamom buns we’d fallen in love with during our stay.

But as it turns out, we may have been gifted a better alternative: Aron’s mother, Christine, kindly did some recipe-testing and, after a few trials, shared with us the secret to making them at home.

If you haven’t tried them before, they’re a wonderful alternative to the very sweet cinnamon rolls we’re more accustomed to: the cardamom is very fragrant and complex, the sweet is balanced, and the dough is both soft and crisp. They also tend to be smaller—just right for an afternoon coffee break or Fika.

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Travelogue: Copenhagen, Denmark

The final leg of our summer trip to Scandinavia (I’m really drawing this one out, eh?) was Copenhagen. We drove across one of the longest bridges and crossed from Sweden into Denmark.

Danes are routinely noted for being some of the happiest and most peaceful people in the world—and we were excited to see why.

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