Over the years, I’ve learned so much from this community about travel, parenting, and beauty, you name it. So! Here’s a grab bag of 16 brilliant reader comments on everything…
On low-stake burns:
“When my daughter was two, she went through a phase of being my husband’s biggest fan, always preferring him over me. I asked her why. Her words: ‘On account of the smell.’ Burn!” — MLE
“When I get mad, I wish minor inconveniences on people. If someone cuts me off in traffic, for example, I wish that they get a tiny piece of apple peel stuck in their teeth and they don’t have floss with them, so they have to feel it until they get home. It lets me laugh myself out of a bad mood.” — Megan
On best buys:
“Every year on my birthday, I buy myself Molton Brown shower gel. I can make one bottle last all year. It’s my way of reminding myself that, even as I strive for big goals in life, I am enjoying myself along the way. ‘Happy on the way to happy,’ as they say.” — Abe
“I just bought my first wetsuit! It was not cheap, but it was the biggest lifestyle upgrade I’ve made in years. I live near San Francisco, and I go to the beach every week to breathe the salty air. But now I jump in the whitewash! I dive through the waves! I boogie board! It’s incredibly healing.” — Ali
“The BEST FLOSS, seriously life-changing!!!” — Elise [Ed. note: Agreed.]
“I discovered Turtle Fur fleece neck warmers on Cup of Jo, when you did a story on a woman who walks every day, no matter the weather. Game. Changer. Lived in New England most of my life. Really dislike the cold. Put one of these on — what cold?” — Carol
On home touches:
“I’m an introvert with a husband and four kids, so I’m always trying to find a space where I can be alone. I joked to my husband that if we could just move the back wall of our bedroom forward, we could create a tiny room for me. And reader, for my 40th birthday, he did it! He and my designer friend built bookshelves with a hidden door that opens to my own cozy, beautiful, alone-time space. Dream come true.” — Kristen
“A somewhat transgressive thing: I hung a framed picture of *myself* on my wall!!! Shocking, I know. The shot is very cool, so I decided, to hell with it and put it up.” — Kai
On movies to get you in the mood:
“Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams in Disobedience is SEARED INTO MY BRAIN and that of every queer woman I know. All you have to do is say ‘The ____ scene’ and THEY KNOW.” — Coco
“Aafrin (Nikesh Patel) and Alice (Jemima West) in the gorgeous English series Indian Summers. It’s just WOW beautiful. Youtube has montage clips…yes, please! — Meg
“The answer is always Colin Firth! Colin Firth at the stairs with Bridget Jones, saying ‘I like you, very much, just as you are.’ Colin Firth in front of the wallpaper saying how ‘ardently I admire and love you,’ in Pride and Prejudice. Nothing like Colin, mortified by his affection, declaring his love out loud.” — Fay
On cool words:
“Starting five years ago, whenever I come across a word I didn’t know, I actually look it up. I keep a Note on my phone called ‘Cool Words.’ It’s the nerdiest thing but delights me endlessly. Lassitude, adroit, equiponderate!” — Lisa
“In Kay Thompson’s Eloise books, Eloise ‘sklathes’ out of bed – that sort of lazy slither we all do when we’d rather not get up. Our family now uses this word all the time.” — Sophia F
On life advice:
“When someone reacts negatively to a boundary, just think to yourself, ‘I’m sorry you bumped into my boundary and hurt yourself.’ Giggling while thinking this helps.” — Robin
“The lowest note in ‘Happy Birthday’ is the very first one. Start low! Keep it together, people!” — Abbey
Haha, we love this CoJ community!!!
P.S. More amazing reader comments and the trick of life.
(Photo from PEN15.)
