You got served! The ONE-PERFECT-ITEM theory of decorating for Spring
Some ideas for celebrating without filling your house with more stuff, region by U.S. region.
Do people decorate for Spring beyond bunnies and eggs? Do you? Is there a moment when the birds are singing and the daffodils are popping and all of a sudden you are Maria on the hillside in the Sound of Music, surrounded by the lingering despair of snow on the mountaintops but filled with the most unstoppable, irrepressible, unimpeachable joy?
I’m having that every other day over here. Like, one day I am actually directing the last two minutes of the 1812 Overture in my head and the next I am flooded with rage at the state of things.
Trying to have more fun, so this year I’m bringing some of that Spring energy inside with a melamine tray by Kate Blairstone x Cargo, which I bought for my mom for her March birthday.
Kate’s work (above) is a rush of charm, deeply inspired by the natural world and by the attachment humans create with the life that grows around them. Since she lives in the Pacific Northwest, her wallpapers, home products, and wrapping papers draw on a visual language that feels personal but also relatably regional.
It all connects for me because I am naturally drawn to maximalist patterns, but I have never felt completely at easy making permanent maximalist choices for the home. I go in and out of wallpaper frenzy (more on that soon), and a little goes a long way for me.
A serving platter might be the best way to catch some Spring love when the decorating is really happening outside. So what might other regions of the U.S. use?
New England: Blue Poppies
Lots of fun to be had over at PATCH NYC, where trays with cats sell out quickly and this Victorian-inspired one with New England Blue Poppies made of wood strikes just the right balance of wild and civilized. You can be both!
American South: Hydrangea
Cute, a little girly, light in color, bit on blooms, this one from Home & Earth Shop speaks to the person in me that used to think hydrangeas were for old ladies and the person I am now, who knows better.
Southwest/Cali
Very much a fan of Persian-American Seattle artist Misha Zadeh and everything she touches, including this pretty poppy serving tray, anywhere in the West/Southwest where crazy crowds Insta-tromp on all the poppies.
Midwest
Daffodils are everywhere of course, but I’m liking these large trays by artist Sarah Fitz for the Midwest, where there are a ton of daffodil festivals. Bright and happy.
Hawaii
An iron tray! There are a ton of forced tropically-themed trays and they are all made in weird places (I have had a nuanced relationship to Hawaii ever since I read
’s book of essays on Hawaii, Volcanoes, Palm Trees & Privelege), so I found something that could be used in a Hawaii without feeling like tourism. If you have a better idea, let me know!Alaska
File this one under: I know anything about Alaska beyond igloos and Sarah Palin. Someday. In the meantime, a Spring wildflower tray from Rifle & Co. with some species that pop up in the largest U.S. state.
Have you heard about: Project Mail Storm
Instagram (and several friends) fed me this movement begun by home writer and magazine editor Gina Luker of the Shabby Greek Cottage, which calls on citizens to flood their reps (and the White House) with actual mail. Here’s the full post if you want to know more. And if you live close and want to come write letters with me, I’m gathering names. Here, on Substack, someone put together all the posts for you to read as one. Just reply to this email if you want to join.
Questions no one has asked me
📖Is it okay to buy picture books when your kids are “too old” for them?
It sure is! This week I bought Buffalo Fluffalo, about a grumpy buffalo who gets rained on, for my nephew, and Millie Le Fleur’s Poison Garden, about a girl who moves and plants a garden of weird and poisonous plants, for my neice. They are both good but it’s the pics that slay. I read them to my boys, 15 and 12, and they both acted like they didn’t enjoy it.
🎥 What happened to your screenplay!?
Well, I had a classic moment. I was at a party, described the story to my friend, Amy, and she let me know there was something similar that came out two years ago. So I’m thinking a bit on it. I imagine if you live in LA this happens all the time, so just taking a moment there to regroup and maybe re=envision a bit. It’s good information.
🎧 Why do you write like you’re running out of time?
Leslie Odom, Jr. is reprising his role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway and I’m considering going. Recent events have sent me down my fifth Hamilton rabbit hole. It is my comfort music. I learn something new every single time I experience it. It has been such a source of love and learning and connection for me and my sons, and it opens wild conversations with them about our country’s founding and history, re-interpretation and how important it is to fight for ideas. Soul-altering. I’ve been Hamilton and half-caff all week over here.
🏡 What’s going on in your house?
I skim-coated a wall! Got out the mud, vastly underestimated how much mud I actually needed, bought like 10 times more mud, and then took three days to do it (four if you count the sanding afterwards). It’s going to be a feature wall in our upstairs den, and I’m finally going to commit to wallpaper.
😦What have you been doing differently?
I skim-coated a wall! I am so bad at it! I am embodying the main themes of my favorite TV musical comedy Girls5Eva, where an aging girl group has songs that hit pretty hard, like “Coming up 4 Stars.” Four stars sounds good to me.