What an incredibly fascinating talk by Lera Boroditsky on how language structure shapes thought! Highly recommend!
The Opposite of Addiction
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection.”
Heard here. And here’s the full TED talk by Johann Hari. (Thanks for the comment, Pablo)
The Third Thing
“What we did: love. We did not spend our days gazing into each other’s eyes. We did that gazing when we made love or when one of us was in trouble, but most of the time our gazes met and entwined as they looked at a third thing. Third things are essential to marriages, objects or practices or habits or arts or institutions or games or human beings that provide a site of joint rapture or contentment. Each member of a couple is separate; the two come together in double attention.”
– The Third Thing by Donald Hall
I am Not Sure That I Exist
“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.”
― Jorge Luis Borges
Now is Better
The conversation starts at 16:47
We closed out our CreativeMornings/NYC year with a conversation between two design legends, Debbie Millman and Stefan Sagmeister. I love Stefan’s orientation towards optimism and urging us to think longterm. Jump to the start of their conversation by clicking here and skipping over all the intros. You can buy Now Is Better Book here.
Things That Aren’t Doing The Thing
“Preparing to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Scheduling time to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Making a to-do list for the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Telling people you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Writing a banger tweet about how you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn’t doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn’t doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Fantasizing about all of the adoration you’ll receive once you do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Reading about how to do the thing isn’t doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn’t doing the thing. Reading this essay isn’t doing the thing.
The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.”
On Bringing People Together
The wonderful Madeleine Dore interviewed me for her podcast/newsletter A Social Life with Friends. You can listen to it on Spotify or Apple iTunes. And you can read her Substack post here.
I love love love love how Madeleine shows up in the world – her thoughtfulness – the sparkles she sends out into the world with all of her projects.
Hank Green On The Problem With Being A Creator
(via Weekly Highlights, the CreativeMornings newsletter)
Zum Clean Laundry Soap
I am obsessed with the smell of this Zum Clean Frankincense and Myrrh laundry soap. I get asked all the time, “Tina, what’s that subtle, delightful scent?” And after I ran a load of laundry the entire home smells so good. It’s a non-toxic plant-based liquid laundry soap.
Yoto Mini
The Yoto Mini almost makes me wish my kids were little again. FUN!
Reading Rhythms
Reading Rhythms is not a book club. It’s a reading party. Read with friends to curated music. I love this idea!
Garcia Expanding Paper Seats
This expandable paper bench system made me look. So incredibly cool!
(Ugh! I can’t seem to find a link to an online seller that is with a reputable company, with good consumer ratings. I am astounded how there are more and more really professional looking scammy e-commerce sites out there!)
Abbeyville Door Mat
This doormat made me chuckle. (Thank you BB!)
ps: ugh, had to take off the link to Cozymatic as they have very very poor consumer ratings and seem to be a scammy site. If you know where one can buy this doormat, let me know! I did a google image search with no success.
Everything isn’t Terrible
I am a big fan of Brad Montague. This new print stating that Everything Isn’t Terrible made me smile. (This one hangs in my home and is my favorite!)
Seed
Whatever seed
you are, bloom.
– Atticus
Myoung Ho Lee
I adore the work of photographer Myoung Ho Lee. I proudly display one of his photographs in my home.
Trying to Make A Life Worth Living
Everything is on fire,
but everyone I love is doing beautiful things
and trying to make life worth living,
and I know I don’t have to believe in everything,
but I believe in that.
– Nikita Gill
Country Life Vlog
This couple is the most soothing content I watch these days on YouTube. Their son films them cooking and gardening. Delightfully slow. (And here is there Instagram account.)
If You Could Change One Thing About Your Body
Stay until the kids come on. They are so pure. Heart melts.
Be Realistic
Be realistic, expect a miracle.
– Osho
Stackable Bed
Yep, I am on a minimal guest bed hunt. Turns out the ones I am into are not available in the US. Like this one from Manufaktum. Love the minimal aesthetic of this brand so much.