Still a Writer

I wrote for aspire design and home about the interior style of JouJou, 

a new French restaurant in San Francisco. 

Link here. Photo by Douglas Friedman.

My friend taught me to “Rest to Succeed” in a workshop she led this winter. It was about goal-setting and tailored to each of our lists about what is important to us, what we value.

It seemed counterintuitive. How could I rest to succeed? Wasn’t I already napping enough, feeling flattened (and fattened) by life, finding that lifting a toothbrush or bar of soap was too much to manage?

But A. was right. For example, today I worked on an article assignment, called in an RX, updated my meds (and took them on time), sent a funny coffee text to Figgy, her BF, etc. I clipped some sweetly scented pink roses to bring inside.

While I ate lunch in the kitchen, I boiled some wilting rainbow carrots in the microwave to make banana carrot loaf cake later. It contains healthful ingredients. I would have whirred the raw carrots 🥕 in a food processor but I don’t have one, so will mash them instead. I don't have cream cheese on hand for the frosting so will skip it.

Work, do task, rest. The REST may be napping, playing Wordle, window-shopping or reading at my favorite sites (but not in an endless funnel of time). Remember, I'm being productive in between. 

Some beloved go-to diversions here. Pls note that my passions overlap with my work tasks and goals. I plan to write more for The NY Times (3) and to pitch articles to Vogue (5).

1. Diptyque Paris. Started in Paris, obviously. Pronounced DIP-TEAK. A brand Sis and I met through Sniffapalooza and love.
2. Sweet Laurel Bakery. Santa Monica, pretty in pink, fresh flowers on GF cakes. Laurel even shared a great recipe to make cleaning spray with water, vinegar and essential oil. I did. (She also showed a pink, of course, refillable glass spray bottle and when I asked, told me where to find it.)  I came across Sweet Laurel during the dark pandemic and it lit my way with small orders winged to New Jersey, such as a beautiful scented candle in pink glass and a niche unsweetened dark chocolate bar in the loveliest pink floral packaging (both not available now).
3. Vanessa Friedman fashion writing in The New York Times. Best, best, enough said
4. Net-A-Porter. Only for sales, dreams or maybe a trendy, mid-priced brand, like a SKIMS Fits Everybody Push-Up Bra in Cocoa (dark brown), on its way to me as I type. I will let you know if it fits everybody.
5. Vogue. Proud subscriber, $15 a month but print issues in store cost A LOT. I plan to write for Vogue one day.
6. Aerin. Estée Lauder's granddaughter, style icon, seems to have good heart.
7. Jamagansett. Fresh fruit jams made with less sugar, from Amagansett in the Hamptons. Figgy went for a weekend there with her girlfriends this month and brought me a jar. Very pricey, very well-branded.
8. Dr. Jill Biden on instagram. She demos her family's chicken parmigiana recipe. Will sub in eggplant for veg Dan but make the homemade sauce this eve.

I better stop listing, have to get back on task. I am more productive, with one can-do thing feeding into another. I am not flopping around like a fish out of water. And one key thing is the word later. If I want to do something but have not accomplished it yet, I prioritize in my mind. I did my article work, for instance, started the carrot cake and then put it on hold to take a break. The carrots were not going anywhere. I made the cake before leaving at 8 p.m. for a meeting.

Still a writer. Links to two May 2026 articles, one lifestyle and one more technical (neurology). Range of vocabulary from paint colors to feeding tubes. Stretching my skills. Here’s to us all moving on with life and using our individual voices. Rest to succeed, indeed.

JOUJOU RESTAURANT IN THE CITY BY THE FOG https://aspiremetro.com/joujou-san-francisco/?noamp=mobile

DECODING HOSPITAL DIETS FOR NEURO PATIENTS https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/hospital-diets-patients-neurological-diseases