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What are you up to this weekend? Last night we saw the incredible movie Her. Have you seen it yet? The color palette was exquisite—everything was dusty pink, orange or red—and the story was so compelling. (As the NYTimes review said, she's just a voice, "but oh what a voice.") We really loved it. Also, thanks for all your fun comments this week—it's so nice to be back! Hope you have a good weekend,...

What kind of accent do you have? While growing up in Michigan, my brother, sister and I picked up slight Michigan accents. We'd say things like "maahm" instead of "mom," and "caehr" instead of "car," and "Bab" instead of "Bob." After living in New York for twelve years, I've basically lost it, but sometimes when I drink too much wine, it can randomly bust out again. Yes, Michigan!George Mason University...

This past fall, when I was feeling bummed out, Alex and I started a tradition to try to cheer me up...When we would lie down in bed at night, we each had to say:* two things you're grateful for overall* two little things you enjoyed that day* one reason why you're glad you're married to the other personIt was so nice to end the day with this little chat, and we would tell each other anecdotes and...

How gorgeous is this engraved locket? I don't wear much jewelry, but Alex gave me a locket for Christmas, and I really love it. He put family photos inside, and it feels surprisingly heartwarming to wear it all day. Have you ever worn a lock...

Lately I'm grateful for: Sunday afternoons at the dog park.    A loving cohort who cares for one another and drives each other crazy. Friends named Mary. Having friends with extra beds in the NRV when I'm too tired to drive back to Roanoke. A husband who claimed to me last night that he is "capitalist by trade, socialist by heart." Visits from mom and sister. A pleasantly sweet...

Dulce et Decorum Est                Wilfred Owen Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,Till on the haunting flares we turned our backsAnd towards our distant rest began to trudge.Men marched asleep. Many had lost their bootsBut limped on, blood-shod. All went...

Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves and Gardenista and her husband live together in seriously small quarters—a 240-square-foot studio, to be exact. She agreed to share her surprising tips about how to make it work (and not drive each other crazy)...Read More &...

My aunt Lulu is visiting this week (we're all ecstatic!) and of course on Monday night we drank wine and watched The Bachelor. She was totally into it, but kept saying, "Who are these poor women? Why would they put themselves through this?" And I remembered this fascinating New York Times article by Andrea Seigel about the psychology behind the reality TV shows, including the Bachelor...*****Just...

This month, we're featuring delicious meals that you can make using a single bowl. First up: Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion, authors of the fantastic cookbook KEEPERS, share their recipe for lasagna that you can make in a skillet (yes!)...Read More &...

My sister sent this vocabulary test over the holidays, and our family went nuts for it. Since I know a bunch of you are word nerds, too, I wanted to share it...Take the quiz here, and leave your score below!P.S. Can you read emotio...

For the holidays, we went to Palm Spring and Los Angeles for two weeks. It was great to get a blast of California sunshine, and a few funny things happened during our trip...Read More &...

Hello! I'm back from a three-week blogging break, which was by far the longest break that I've taken since starting Cup of Jo seven years ago. Thanks for coming back! How are you? It was a rare treat to be able to step back and think in an overarching way about the site, and I'm excited to be rolling out a few changes. Here's the plan...This past fall, I was feeling pretty burned out. Part of that...

I don't make them. But I do try to do better than I did last year. And I try to get my shit together a little more each year. I've got a long way to go. However, I was reading at this blog the other day about using January as your cleaning month. The only thing I have actually done is to clean up my inbox from all of those obnoxious e-mails and unsubscribing from them (Loft, Old Navy, Printstagram,...

I found out where the Roanoke Mission is yesterday. I've been meaning to get over there for a while now to learn about their volunteer opportunities. But I didn't go in. I pulled up to the curb, my passenger got out, thanked me and in she went. In an hour and a half we would be under a Wind Chill Warning. The wind right now will take your breath away and it did as I was trying to ask a lady...

Is there anyone else who instantly wants to move wherever they visited last? Maybe I just don't get out much but after visiting most places I've been, I return ready to move there. This weekend it happens to be the Poconos in Pennsylvania. We made a quick trip up this weekend for Drew's bff's birthday festivities and it was lovely. The snow certainly helped. I'm so jealous of all places that have...

I'm watching Dirty Dancing as I type this, for the second time this week. Drew and I sat in my parents living room last Sunday morning (when we were supposed to be on the road back home) and watched it like we'd never seen it before. And just to tie it all together Drew and I did a little dirty dancing of our own on New Years. The Taylors drove to Roanoke and spent the evening/night/following day...