Fashion banter, the prettiest pepper sprays, and a silly dilly soup I can't quit

Here come the allergies.

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1.

By now, it’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of the Table Manners podcast. It makes me wonder what a mother-daughter series with my own mother would involve (probably something similar, but I’d be the one cooking, my mom would be singing, and our guests would be half as famous, but twice as funny…? Eh, eh?). Anyways, I was so heartened and tickled by this recent episode with Michael Bublé, that I plan on playing it for my mom this weekend. While I cook dinner. 🙄

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2.

As much as I love conducting interviews for my own writing, sometimes it’s far more interesting and fun to listen in on a conversation between likeminded peers and/or friends…or in this instance with Christian Lacroix and Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry, two fashion designers who were cut from very different cloths, but share a mutual appreciation for each others’ work and ideas.

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3.

I love it when the internet plays “Aladdin’s lamp” to my random, curious desires: if you wish for it, then it’s probably already out there in the world. Case in point, this retractable iphone and laptop charger to spare me the maddening cord fight I endure every time I travel with my computer.

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4.

No one really enjoys thinking about the possibility of being the victim of a violent crime, but I’d rather do that—and take some preparatory measures—than consider all the should haves and could haves after the fact. Kate Davis, the NYC-based jewelry designer behind the line Knockout, recently debuted a colorful, Ettore Sottsass-leaning collection of ergonomically-shaped pepper sprays, created via 3D printing technology. The sprays also contain a unique invisible UV dye, which stays on the skin of whoever is sprayed. If you never have to use it, great. In the meantime, you’ve got a beautiful, artful object in your hands.

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5.

I’ve made this surprisingly zippy springtime stew three times now (and the next time I’ll probably be able to do it from memory, considering how easy it is). Aside from the addition of vinegar to give its broth a delightful shot of tang, the major surprise comes from its starring player: CABBAGE, one of the brassica family’s most misjudged veggies. It also satisfies my unabating love of dill, another ingredient that doesn’t nearly get enough credit compared to its other herb-y, green counterparts.

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