Dear Friends,

I became a feminist in 4th grade, when I defended my friend Katy from two cocky classmates. Katy was tall and blonde, smart and funny, and completely crushable. I wasn’t surprised when I overheard Daron B. and Eric C. talking about how much they liked her.

Their conversation turned when they wondered aloud who should “get” her. Like she was the last donut in the box or a baseball card to trade. The boys politely discussed their merits and how they each deserved the pretty girl (Eric got better grades, but Daron was a strong athlete, blah blah blah).

I erupted: “Have you even asked Katy what she wants? She doesn’t even like you!”

I don’t remember how that conversation ended, but I do know Katy didn’t date anybody until high school, and I am still enraged at men treating women like property or prizes.

I eye the next generation with a little bit of hope and faith. I have a daughter who is heading up the feminist club and a son who knows that women are equal to men. My friend’s children treat each other with decency and kindness. They challenge gender roles. They care about the world around them, even the people who are different. The kids are alright.

xo Christine

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Good Things

• My husband left me a care package. He knows me, he really knows me.

• My baby boy turned 17. He’s not a baby anymore, but he’s mine.

• A few days off

• And total control of the TV while everyone is at school

• A living room reset

• Coupons that save me some dough

• Restocking all the delicious summer fruits, the only upside to our 90-degree weather

• Satisfying my strange eggplant craving with Farfalla takeout

• The VIP treatment at my hair salon

• Eavesdropping on the the kids’ catch up sesh after school

• An early morning at a new-to-me coffee shop while Henry takes his SATs

Good People Doing Good Things

Speaking of young feminists, I’m so proud of Olivia Rodrigo who organized The Daisy Chain music festival to celebrate women and effect social change. Rumor has it Olivia is dropping a new single tomorrow called “Serena Joy,” named after a character in The Handmaid’s Tale. I love her music, and I love her heart.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

It’s Back to School season. Be gentle with yourself and others during this transition. Emotions might be heightened as kids return to campus and they settle into a new routine.

Dear Friends,

My son Henry is one year away from college. This summer, Rama has been taking Henry to visit colleges to figure out what kind of school he’d like to attend. They’ve toured schools that are practically next door and a few hundred miles away, smaller private colleges and larger state schools, and many options in-between.

Every time the guys leave to visit another university, I feel a twinge of envy and a pang of sadness. I want to witness Henry take every single step, and I mourn the eventual day when those steps lead him somewhere else, away from home.

Even louder than those feelings is a deep yearning to find the perfect spot for Henry to land, where he can continue to grow and laugh, learn and thrive. A place where he will be happy.

My heart and mind know this dance. When I finally quiet them down, I can admit that it’s not up to me. Neither Henry’s choice nor each school’s decision. I’m not in charge, and that’s actually a good thing, because life usually has a better plan.

Joseph Campbell teaches me, time and time again: “We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

So I try to loosen my grip. I close my eyes, then imagine Henry at any number of colleges, having fun and becoming the best version of himself. And I picture him coming back home to us every once in awhile and myself opening my arms so wide for a hug.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Checking things off my summer bucket list in the nick of time

• Pad See Ew leftovers

• Decisive clients

• Blueberry scented hand soap

• A weeknight movie date with Rama (plus sharing a bucket of popcorn)

• The Skirball Center’s punk culture exhibit was better than I thought it would be

• Rallying for a late-night karaoke sesh

• Haim on repeat

• Accidental color coordination

• Rockstar parking

Good Watch

Ted Lasso is back. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was watching the new season, sitting at the edge of my seat with an ear-to-ear smile.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

There are 2 1/2 months until the Midterm Elections. Do what you can to help fight for democracy. I appreciated Amanda Nelson’s Daily Midterm Checklist of possible actions. I also ordered another stack of postcards to send to voters.

Dear Friends,

Rama and I left our kids home for a night and came home to a clean house and a sweet note. We went swimming in two different pools in one single day, then ordered room service for dinner. I took Maira on an independent bookstore crawl that zig zagged us through the city. We drove a new way home. I took naps when I felt like it. I ate lots of watermelon. My family took a train down the coast and spent a night in a maximalist’s dream with sublime branding. Maira and I broke in a new pack of playing cards while Henry and Rama visited colleges. The four of us taste tested 10 bakery chocolate chip cookies, and we learned that that’s too many bites of cookies, but milk helps. I finally finished Ina Garten’s memoir and started a new book that hasn’t quite hooked me yet. I drove down to my old neighborhood, then met up with one of my childhood bffs for lunch. We talked for hours over lunch and a stroll around the mall, and I felt comforted by the history and acceptance that we share. I did more that I probably don’t remember because all of this was already a week ago, but that’s time for ya. I know that it was good, and that I’m grateful. And I know I need to do it again sometime. Soon.

xo Christine

Good Things

• The word “hijinks”

• A portrait party brunch with my guy

• A bowl of stone fruit

• Spotting one of my favorite celebs at one of my favorite bookstores (but playing it super cool)

• Eavesdropping on a conversation with Amy Poehler and Anne Lamott

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day

• A beautifully branded hotel, with details like custom swizzle sticks and hotel stationery with our name on it (Plus a double-sized bunk bed!)

• Persepolis on the big screen

• Finally finding the perfect metal ruler that fits perfectly in my pencil pouch

• Being told I look pretty when I don’t feel it

• The smell of a stationery store

• Ikea froyo

• Craft supply shopping

• Last-minute coffee dates with my friend Denise, who always splits a sweet treat with me

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Do you leave voicemails or voice memos for friends? My daughter does it all the time, and a friend started doing it with me. I love that it’s a way to let someone know you’re thinking of them and letting them hear your voice.

Dear Friends,

I’m on vacation this week. For my break, I’ve set small goals every day, but it’s not what you think. My missions are fun, low stakes things like “drive around town to taste test chocolate chip cookies,” “make a leather traveler’s journal,” and “go to the mall with one of my high school friends.”

I’ve also included room for lots of nothing, which will probably mean lying down and spacing out in front of the air conditioner. If you don’t hear from me this week, it’s because I took a much needed nap. Or five.

I’ll be back next week with stories to tell, good things I noticed, and, well, everything else. Until then.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Our baby girl turned 15, and she’s graceful, gracious, and a delight to be around

• New-to-us, delicious restaurants, like Woon

• Lingering at breakfast with friends

• Silicon Valley still makes me laugh

• Alice in Wonderland is a feast for the eyes

• My own neopolitan: Jeni’s watermelon taffy ice cream, Haagen Daz matcha green tea & vanilla

• A nod to my Dad before I take a bite of adobo fried rice because it will always remind me of him

• Finding new, sometimes ridiculous ways, to put my hair up

• Reusable bendy straws

• The excitement of sending packages and snail mail across the country

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Offer a drink to someone, like your kid, or your partner, or your friend. I’ve been trying to fill our Brita water dispenser every morning so that everyone has cold water to drink throughout the scorching day.

Dear Friends,

One of my favorite things to do is to go see art. Other people’s. In person. This summer has been a wonderful time for art here in L.A., and I’ve spent many afternoons immersed in it.

Nearby gem Norton Simon reopened their sculpture garden. My friend Laurice and I had ourselves a little portrait party next to the lily pads in the pond.

Rama, Henry, and I listened to scholars and curators talk about The Odyssey, then we wandered the Getty Villa to explore pieces inspired by it.

After lunch with a friend one afternoon, Rama and I strolled through the new LACMA Geffen Galleries. We made time another weekend to explore and play at the Yoko Ono exhibit at The Broad. We even visited an old hospital that was transformed into a museum of emotions.

It’s one thing to view someone’s work through this screen, but it’s another to stand in front of that work of art and experience it in a physical space, in communion with other people. It feels more alive, and that makes me feel more alive. I almost always leave inspired by their ideas, my mind racing with many of my own.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Coffee with two of my absolute faves

• Watching Mamma Mia with the fam (but really watching Henry dance and Maira sing)

• Wandering aimlessly around the Arcadia mall

• Performing a very unscientific key lime pie taste test

• Atsuko Okatsuka’s humor and style

• Scoring my own candy jar party favor from a kids party I didn’t attend

• Warm sourdough bread

• Henry went on his first college tour

• Feeling good about the work I’m doing

• Sometimes, it all works out

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Support the arts. Visit an art show or gallery, send a message to someone who makes art you enjoy, become a member at a museum near you.

Dear Friends,

I took my own advice this weekend and gave myself a break. After the past two weeks*, I didn’t just deserve it. I needed it.

And that’s why I’m here on a Sunday afternoon, ending the weekend with a hello rather than beginning it with one.

Hello.

I hope you’re finding some good things to brighten your day and lighten your load. If not, you’re always welcome to mine.

xo Christine

*Nothing major, thankfully. Just some small surprises and minor inconveniences.

Good Things

• Sliced peaches, fresh mozzarella, torn basil, and a balsamic drizzle

• Tidying up that takes shorter than you thought it would

• Girl weekend

• Bookstore and matcha run

• Watching one of my favorite movies with my favorite girl

• Being reunited with our boys without whom the house is way too quiet

• Spontaneous drives to the other side of town with no traffic and pretty views

• Tender Greens delivers

• A summer ‘do

• Listening to our bodies

• Tempera paint sticks

• The thrifting gods smiled upon us

Good Mail

I look forward to receiving The Cloud Report every month. It’s such a delight. Christine Tyler Hill has a beautiful perspective on life and the world around her, and her artwork is simple but often profound.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Find a Little Free Library near you and donate a book. Can’t find one? Send a book you’ve enjoyed to someone you think might enjoy it too.

Dear Friends,

Today is the 4th of July and, well, I am not really celebrating, not like I used to.

For so much of my youth, I just wanted to belong. And then I finally kind of did. Lately, though, it’s been hard to ignore that a big chunk of America doesn’t want me, or people like me, here. That makes things a lot more complicated.

And yet, here I am. I would be lying if I said I didn’t love this place—its beauty, its grace, and its goodness. I am not going anywhere, and I’ll continue to help fight for the life, liberty, and happiness we all deserve.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Cool June days

• Wandering the new LACMA David Geffen Galleries

• Making art at the Yoko Ono exhibit

• A slender box of donuts

• Putting the yard back together

• The YMCA (the place, not the song—well, maybe also the song)

• Podcasts that make workouts zoom by

• Poppi on ice

• Four day weekends

• Relief from driving duty

• Perfectly seared salmon on orzo salad

• A fan of Pantone color chips

Good Poem*

Please indulge my sharing a poem that I wrote years ago. It just felt right for the day.

*If I may say so myself

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Be kind to your neighbors. Depending on where you live, that might just be waving hello as you pull out of your driveway, or if you’re both lucky, you might have summer’s bounty growing in your garden to share. Community is everything.

Dear Friends,

I’m trying to take better care of myself.

It’s boring to talk about, but if you must know, it involves stuff like vitamins, naps, acupuncture, and moving my body. It includes bottomless glasses of water and taking a few slow breaths when I remember. It means going to bed at a reasonable hour—and not scrolling once I’m settled.

The really hard work, though, is paying attention to my insides. My tender heart and buzzing brain that I don’t love nearly enough. I’m learning how to cheer myself on, ignore my inner critic, and forgive my missteps. I’m working on it, and bit by bit, I’m getting better. Every day gives me another chance to try.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Brunch with the Whiteners

• The incredible lightness of being in a swimming pool

• Photobooth shenanigans

• Old school delis, a plate of pickles & black and white cookies

• Hanging out at the mall like a couple of teenagers

• Jollibee fried chicken

• Mark making with a thick brush and deep ink

• Settling into a comfortable position in bed

• Sharing hard things with friends and feeling supported when you do

• Home before dark

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Hold the door open for the next person. If you’re feeling extra friendly, greet them hello, too.

Dear Friends,

I’m calling it now: It’s the summer of simple, spontaneous acts of joy.

Ice cream for lunch? Sure. Hopping in a photobooth because you can? No-brainer. Reserving a last-minute, pool-side room because dear friends are in town? Heck yeah.

If we’re lucky, we’ll drive home from our small adventure with zero traffic and the sun setting behind us.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Laughing so much with besties

• The first watermelon of the season

• Learning to poach an egg

• Plus, toasted olive bread from Bread Lounge

• Being in the creative zone and finishing work in time

• Old-fashioned candy shops

• Ice cold water

• The Backrooms was sufficiently suspenseful and creepy

• Sunscreen that smells good

• Sleeping in with no place I gotta be

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Tell your people you love them. You think they know, and maybe they do, but it’s always nice to hear.

Dear Friends,

Last week, I treated myself to an ice cream cone for lunch. I had extra time before picking up the kids, so I made a sudden turn up Victory Boulevard and toward the Baskin Robbins drive-thru.

It felt indulgent and even a little decadent, but I was on my period and there’s no arguing with hormones. I ordered two scoops of Peanut Butter Cup in a waffle cone. It was enormous, and I was giddy. I drove back home with the cone in my left hand and the steering wheel in my right, taking occasional licks to keep it from dripping down my wrist.

I kept thinking of it as a guilty pleasure, but really, it was just pleasure. One I deserved, wholly appreciated, and totally recommend to anyone who needs a pick-me-up.

I won’t be repeating that meal again any time soon, but then again, it is summer, so I’m not saying I won’t be enjoying more spur-of-the-moment sweets or delicious detours either. Isn’t that what summer is all about?

xo Christine

Good Things

• Stone fruit season

• Maira’s fresh new ‘do with fringe

• Rama & Henry watching Rick & Morty

• Pretending I’m on vacation while Henry takes his SATs in a hotel ballroom

• Dinner with longtime friends, grownups at one table and our big kids at the other

• Fly swatter skillz

• Art date with Laurice, complete with a portrait party in the Norton Simon garden

• Remembering my reusable bags when I do my market run

• Live jazz on a Saturday afternoon, courtesy of What It Is, our friends’ son’s band

• The best back rubs from the mister

  

Good Grief for Good People

Rest in peace, artists Marjane Satrapi and David Hockney, who passed away just one week apart from each other. Their art, while wildly different, both moved and delighted me over the years. We’re so lucky they shared their perspective and stories with the world.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Support your local farmers. The farmer’s market is teeming with the season’s bounty. Peaches, and berries, and corn, oh my!

Dear Friends,

Last week, a friend asked me for some parenting advice. I always hesitate to advise my fellow moms. It’s not that I’m especially humble; I’ve just barely figured anything out myself. As I searched for words to comfort my friend that day, though, it occurred to me that there is something I am continually practicing as a mother: Being cool.

Not rockstar cool or let’s be best friends cool. But cucumber cool. Relaxed, unfazed, and in-control cool.

I summon that chill when I don’t want to spook my kids. When they feel like a crush who has finally noticed me or the skittish neighborhood squirrel I want to befriend. Either way, the answer is the same. Be cool, Christine. Be cool.

This is what it looks like in practice: Oh my goodness, my son is standing beside me, taking photos of the full moon. My daughter put my arm in hers and her head on my shoulder. They laughed at my joke! They think I’m funny! Inside, I am dying of exquisite joy, savoring every precious second. But outside, I am like, yeah, big deal, whatever. This kind of thing happens all the time.

Same goes for high stakes conversations or heated arguments. When I want to make a point or teach a lesson, I am tempted to get loud and in their face. But instead I take a slow breath and select my words. And then I say my piece, in a matter-of-fact kind of way. This is how I see it, no discussion necessary. Crisis averted.

Does it work? Sometimes. When I find that calm, I’m able to enjoy these tiny, miraculous moments with my children. And when it doesn’t, well, that’s when the universe pokes me in the shoulder, reminding me I am not in control. Not even a little.

xo Christine

Good Things

• When a precious package makes it safely to its destination and I can sigh relief

• The Getty Villa plus Bay Cities makes a pretty perfect day

• Seeing a new brand I’ve designed come to life

• Two pots of soup on the stove

• Making friends with the people at my local Trader Joes

• The day after acupuncture

• New-to-me music I’m enjoying: CMAT and Rostam

• Widow’s Bay is creepy and funny and delightfully surprising

• Funny messages from my favorite uncle

• Even voting with Rama is fun

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Take someone you like out for ice cream. Bonus points if it’s a mom-and-pop shop. You’ll be brightening someone’s day and supporting a local business. Plus, it’s ice cream! Win, win, win.

Dear Friends,

I am in denial that June is a day and a half away. That the house will soon be buzzing with my family of giants* lazily grazing on the couch. That the 90- and 100-degree days will follow and no amount of ice cream will cool me down. That Henry will be doing the college prep thing and Maira will be finding ways to fill her resumé. That they are growing up, and we are getting older, and and and…

Ready or not, here life comes.

Every moment, I tell myself, is a reminder to be here now. I take a deep breath and use my senses to try to savor it all. I taste the sweet juice of the first ripe peach from the market. I hear Henry faintly singing in the back seat of the car. I smell the mix of shampoo and toothpaste when I embrace Maira before bed. I see their mouths agape in laughter when Henry and Maira riff in a language only they understand. I feel my husband’s head land on my shoulder as we settle deeper in to the sofa. I blink. I file the memory away. I blink again.

My mind inevitably begins to race ahead, and then I slow it back down with another deep breath. Yes, that day will come, I remind myself. Yes, it’s sad, it’s scary, it’s ridiculous, it’s unbelievable. But that day is not today. Today we are still here.

xo Christine

*They are all taller than me.

Good Things

• Bottomless conversation and so much pizza with our pals Sheila & Michael

• A well stocked tin of Nespresso pods

• Petal pink nail polish

• A dazzling performance of Into the Woods and the best seats in the house

• Spotting a rainbow in the hose spray while I water the plants

• I do miss shopping at Target, but the hardware store is surprisingly fun

• Troubleshooting a tech thing and finally getting it to work again (although I’m not even sure how)

• A doctor’s visit that is unhurried yet efficient

• A doctor’s office that’s a stone’s throw from so many boba spots

• The Hacks series finale hit all the right notes

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

This one’s for my California homies. The primary election is on Tuesday, June 2nd. If you haven’t yet voted, you can drop off your ballot at your local voting center. If you already have, thank you and please remind your friends to vote.

Dear Friends,

When I was in high school, my English teacher told us we become one parent and marry the other. I don’t know if she meant it as a prophecy or a curse, but the words stuck with me.

Now that I’m a parent, I see that—as is the case with so many declarations—it’s not true or false. The truth lies somewhere inbetween. I am very much my own person, but I also see a little bit of my mom and my dad in me (and a little of my parents in Rama).

Just this week, I caught myself doing things I vividly remember my mom doing and I couldn’t help but smile:

• Counting gray hairs (I don’t mind my salt & pepper locks, but I’m still not used to the silvery eyebrow hairs)

• Noticing little messes on the floor that nobody else does

• Adding black pepper to my food before I even taste it

• Worrying about what other people think when they come to our house

• Making time for making tsismis (a.k.a. hot goss) with my girlfriends

Once in a while, my mom will compare herself to her mother, and laugh at the ways that they are alike, too.

I see the humor that history repeats itself, but I also feel some comfort in it. Someone has been here before. I will live through this too. And someday my children will likely catch glimpses of their own parents as they age and, hopefully, smile at themselves too.

xo Christine

Good Things

• A woman abruptly pulled her car over to watch a family of ducks waddle by

• Watching my niece present a touching and impressive Bat Mitzvah teaching

• The satisfaction of a slightly reorganized cabinet

• An Indiana Jones matinee with Henry

• The way Maira gracefully shows up for her social commitments

• Picking up Rama from the airport always feels like the early days of dating

• No lines at the post office

• Leftover enchiladas

• Air fried Japanese sweet potatoes

• Finishing all my work so I can enjoy the long weekend

Good Reads

I’m consuming two memoirs this week: Ina Garten’s Be Ready When the Luck Happens and Gemma Correll’s Anxietyland. They are very different books about the lives of equally gutsy, creative, and inspiring women. I’m not done with Ina Garten’s book yet, but I am confident to recommend both.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Give someone your full attention.

Dear Friends,

Our plumbing is a wreck, and our yard is in disarray. During the day, while the maintenance workers do their thing, the water is shut off. I camp out at cafés with good wifi and nice bathrooms. In the evening, when we turn the faucet back on, the water drips brown for a few minutes before going clear. I have nightmares that I give myself a bacterial infection by filling a drinking glass too soon. I have no idea how much more work needs to be done, but judging by the ditches still in the lawn, I guess another day or two.

And yet, I tell myself, isn’t it nice to have a landlord who takes care of this house for us?

And aren’t I lucky to have a home with a yard and a job that lets me work remotely?

Isn’t it a wonder that we have running water at all?!

In a week, I’ll stop fretting about the water quality. In a few more weeks, the grass will have grown back in the patches of dirt. And later this summer, I’ll unravel our new hose and water the plants, having forgotten that this even happened at all.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Hummingbirds hanging out in our yard, plus a squirrel sunbathing on our driveway

• Friday Night family dinner with a special guest, one of Maira’s bffs

• Mango froyo with mochi

• Demetri Martin’s comedy set in a gallery of his work

• Hearing Rama’s laughter from across the room

• Jemaine Clement sighting

• Gott’s Roadside at the Original Farmer’s Market

• The LA Art Book Fair

• Compliments from clients you’ve long admired

• Rama & I celebrated our 20th(!) wedding anniversary with the kids at one of our favorite restaurants. He surprised me by getting down on one knee and re-proposing to me at the restaurant. I am still shook.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Offer someone a drink. Maybe that means grabbing a cold sparkling water from your frdige for a maintenance or delivery worker. Or just offering to pour a drink for your partner or kid when you get one for yourself.

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, the kids and I drove the hill up to their school. They usually take the bus, but Henry had an early AP exam. After dropping him off, Maira and I drove to a nearby coffee shop and set up our laptops. She was putting the finishing touches on a slideshow for class, and I was getting a head start on my work for the day. Every few minutes, we’d take a sip of our drinks and compare notes.

It wasn’t a vision of motherhood I’d ever imagined. It was better.

When Henry was able to sit up on his own, Rama and I placed him in a bumbo seat on the couch between us. We watched TV while Henry grinned and babbled and kicked his feet up. “He’s such good company!” we exclaimed. Sixteen years later, I can say that Henry still is, and so is Maira.

I am continuously surprised and delighted by the adults they are growing into. They’re kind and capable, smart and creative. We talk about politics and relationships, philosophy and art. And we have fun. We have so much fun.

As Henry and Maira change, so does motherhood. But one thing never does: I’m so grateful they’re mine.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Finding the kids’ baby footprints and realizing they’re the same basic shape

• All the graduating seniors in my life (I’m so proud of them!)

• The arts festival at Rama’s school was so inspiring

• Taking the city bus to the library with Maira

• Writing on the porch

• Surprise care package from dear friends

• Bucatini is my new favorite pasta shape

• Picking a sprig of Italian parsley off my kitchen windowsill

• A new bathroom faucet

• Adding sea salt to storebought rice krispy treats

  

Good Poem

Mothers Carrying Things
by Rachel Beachy

We begin by carrying the car seat,
the diaper bag, the pump parts
and pacifiers. Then they grow
and bring us collected rocks,
Lego blocks, remains of snacks,
dirty tissues. All of this, we take in
so they will know: whatever you
hand to me, I can handle -
no matter how heavy it gets.
I once carried my whole world
in the crook of my elbow.
There is nothing I cannot hold for
you.

Good Deed of the Day

Say thank you. Whether it’s to the person who serves you coffee or the one who teaches your kid… those two words can mean so much.

Dear Friends,

My body is a minefield. If I stretch a limb too far or twist my torso just the wrong way, I’m struck with a twinge of pain. I wake up feeling like the Tin Man who needs a squirt of grease to my rickety joints to get myself going again.

I’m sure the late night, blue light doomscrolling doesn’t help. Nor the pint of Haagen Dazs I may have eaten last week. But I also know that it’s just aging, and that this particular perimenopausal stage of it, is especially menacing. There is no definitive manual for this. I, and all the women I know of this certain age, are re-learning how to take care of ourselves.

As uncertainty looms over me like a storm cloud, I lean in to the things I can rely on. Taking a walk around the block to clear my mind and pump my heart. Indulging in a good skincare routine (which I have considerably simplified since the last time I spoke of it) and a pop of coral lip tint. Weaving my silvery hair into braids and pulling on a loose maxi skirt. Anything to make me feel a little put together to prevent myself from falling apart.

Then, each night, I gulp down a handful of supplements with a glass of water and wiggle myself back into bed, surrounded by a fortress of pillows and blankets.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Uneventful doctor appointments

• Taking inventory of the wildflower varieties in my garden patch

• Mess Hall Kitchen’s elevated comfort food

• Favorite new foolproof blush and lip tint that looks like a tube of paint

• Jeans that get me compliments when I wear them

• Resource sharing with friends

• Co-workers who are good at what they do

• Re-watching The White Lotus with Henry and Maira

• Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day at Vromans

• The drawing I liked the least became the one I liked the most

• James Austin Johnson’s Devil Wears Prada impression (watch it, it’s funny)

• I met Rama 23 years ago, and we still laugh so hard our cheeks hurt

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

If you’re a parent, say “yes” to a child’s request if it’s not a big deal and especially if it’s something you don’t wanna do. If you’re not a parent, say “yes” to yourself!

Dear Friends,

Every week at work, a new get-to-know-ya question is posed in Slack. Last week’s was: What is one thing you can’t throw bear to throw away? I am always trying to lighten my load, but I also come from a long line of collectors, so this question felt complicated.

The first thing that came to mind was a baseball cap that belonged to my dad. It’s red and blue and reads “Links,” which I think refers to a golf course, maybe? I don’t wear hats—no one in this house really does—but I like seeing it on the coatrack hook. It makes me think of him.

Thinking of my dad, of course, reminded me of my mom and the gems she has gifted me over the years. This brought to mind my late grandma, who kept every little thing for literal decades .

Looking around our house, I saw several things I should throw away, and a lot more I could, but in these art-lined walls, among the rows of books and piles of pillows, there are unsuspecting treasures, just like that faded, navy cap. If I really had to throw them away, sure, I could bear it. But I like that I don’t have to.

xo Christine

Good Things

• The luxury of a fully stocked fridge

• Resizing our wedding rings after nearly 20(!) years

• Astro Diner’s new tangerine vinyl booths

• Playing with make-up with a girlfriend

• Introducing our kids to the Upright Citizens Brigade

• A mechanic who always delivers and asks how Rama is doing

• Eensy weensy macaroni noodles soaking up the soup

• Pineapple flavored sparkling water

• Being such a regular at my local Trader Joes that they’ve started to recognize me

• Knowing when to take a break

Good Poem

In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa
by Ada Limón

Arching under the night sky
inky with black expansiveness,
we point to the planets we know, we

pin quick wishes on stars. From earth,
we read the sky as if it is an unerring book
of the universe, expert and evident.

Still, there are mysteries below our sky:
the whale song, the songbird singing
its call in the bough of a wind-shaken tree.

We are creatures of constant awe,
curious at beauty, at leaf and blossom,
at grief and pleasure, sun and shadow.

And it is not darkness that unites us,
not the cold distance of space, but
the offering of water, each drop of rain,

each rivulet, each pulse, each vein.
O second moon, we, too, are made
of water, of vast and beckoning seas.

We, too, are made of wonders, of great
and ordinary loves, of small invisible worlds,
of a need to call out through the dark.

Good Deed of the Day

If you’re spring cleaning (like I should be), might I suggest donating your still-good things to organizations that could use them? Some nonprofits even do pickups at your door. I’m also a big fan of my local Buy Nothing group.

Dear Friends,

Maira asked me to take her to the flea market last weekend, and of course I said yes. It was a new-to-me market that her friend recommended. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I was familiar with the neighborhood. It wasn’t that far away.

We left early, and out of habit, I plugged the address into my phone. Google sent us down a highway, off an exit I’ve never taken, and around this unfamiliar bend. We drove straight to the street address in an industrial neighborhood, but there was nothing there save a row of warehouses and empty parking lots.

We traced our steps back around the bend until, right next to the freeway offramp, we finally saw a sign for the market. We were not even a mile away from home, where we began.

All this time, this gem of a market, full of vendors and treasure seekers, was just on the other side of the railroad tracks by our house. It made me wonder what else is just around the corner down a street I never drive?

The flea was small, but bustling with activity. We circled the stands, tried on some pretty things, and chatted with a couple of sellers. Maira didn’t find what she was looking for, but we left giddy that we’d discovered a new place to hunt.

xo Christine

Good Things

• A bottomless cup of Café de Olla

• Digging my hands in the dirt, again

• Brownies, fresh from the oven

• Maira’s movie commentary, plus Henry’s punny jokes

• Finding a favorite lip balm I thought I’d lost

• Skirts and sweatshirts

• More new TV to watch, like Margot’s Got Money Troubles and Beef

• A spontaneous quintessential LA dinner with our cousin Glori

• Salazar’s churros

• Rama letting me sleep in

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Next Saturday, April 25 is Independent Bookstore Day. Visit your local shop to show your support. If you aren’t able to buy a book right now, shout out your favorites on social media or leave them a kind online review.

Dear Friends,

Recently I stumbled on a treasure trove of letters I wrote to my kids when they were babies. I started the tradition when Henry was 1 month old, and I kept it up with some regularity after Maira was born two years later. The letters were my way of capturing that moment in time and who my children were becoming.

Henry ate ravenously. Maira liked to graze. Henry breathed music. Maira spoke her mind. Henry’s patience came in handy, and Maira’s good humor kept them laughing. The two were great friends from the start. They still are.

I couldn’t help but marvel that we really are who we are from the very beginning. We change and grow, of course, but there is a through line from then to now.

I see it in Maira and Henry, and I see it in myself, too. The things I’m enjoying now as a 50-year-old are the things I did to pass my time as a little girl. I used to craft handmade cards and pass notes in class. I spent hours doodling and practicing my handwriting. I collected stickers and cute stationery. I talked people’s ears off, and I wound down by diving in to a book or a TV show.

I find comfort in this rhythm. It brings me joy and calm when the world feels chaotic and mad. It reminds me that no matter how lost I may feel, I can just trace my steps back to where I began.

xo Christine

Good Things

• Easter’s promise of beginning, again

• The purple and red jelly beans

• A week of day dates with Rama

• An evening with amazing ladies

• Adding dried cherries to my granola

• Jack Black makes me smile ear to ear

• Sheng Wang makes me laugh out loud

• Tsismis over lunch

• All the colored dots on my accountability chart

• Spring is when this city really shines

Good Show

I know I’ve talked about “Shrinking” before, and how it makes me laugh and cry in all the best ways, but I have to share this conversation from the season finale that gripped me this week:

Paul: “Letting go of the past just means you don’t allow your scars to hold you back anymore.”
Jimmy: “I’m covered in them.”
Paul: “Good. What a shame to be 42 years old and not be covered in scars. The evidence of a life fully lived.”

I mean, that message is such a gift, right?

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Are there any maintenance or service workers you see on a regular basis? If so, offer them a cold drink or a friendly hello. I’m slowly getting to know our newish gardener, Francisco. He protects my wildflower patch, and I give him cold La Croix. Win, win.

Dear Friends,

I’ve been on a spring break staycation for the past week, and it’s been pretty lovely. I finished a book and started a new one. I walked to brunch, and I visited a museum I’d never been to before. I even prepped my taxes.

There are a few days left, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some more lazing about to do. ‘Til next week…

xo Christine

Good Things

• “The unobserved pageant of the ordinary,” a term coined by Charlie, the perceptive and kindhearted main character of TV show, “Poker Face”

• Digging through the Goodwill bins with Maira

• Villas Tacos is really as good as they all say it is

• Our annual pilgrimage to The Cheech museum

• Remembering to print photos as proof of life

• Wandering the local garden nursery

• Wildflowers that survived an accidental gardener mowing massacre

• Train Dreams was beautiful

• The communal experience of watching a feel-good movie in the theater

• Finding the last diet Dr. Pepper in the back of the fridge

• Meeting a longtime celeb crush who was as nice as I’d hope he’d be

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Rest. It will do you good. It will do those around you good, too.