“Moms don’t have time to read books,” Zibby Owens jokingly told her partner when he suggested she turn some of her essays into a book. But that phrase soon became the name of her buzzy podcast and, later, a publishing empire. The mother of four — whom New York Magazine has called “the Oprah of…
Read moreLearning to Swim at Age 37
I’m learning to swim for the first time at 37. I never learned when I was little. Swimming was mandatory in my high school gym class. Because my public high school was well known, many freshmen came to the area to attend it, even if they hadn’t grown up in that upper-middle-class Chicago suburb. Cut…
Read moreThree Tried-and-True Ways to Serve Kids Vegetables
I’ve probably written the how-to-get-kids-to eat-their-vegetables story more than any other in my career as a food writer. And by the way, I have two grown-up daughters, one of whom, as a toddler, consumed only one kind of vegetable for months at time, and it was almost always in the form of a French fry. You…
Read moreHow Do You Bond With Your Family?
Have you ever sat next to a family member at a summer get together, and midway through your usual “life-update” exchange, you start realizing that even though you love them, you don’t really know them? I have. It happens to me all the time. Most recently, it was Memorial Day, and I was sitting at…
Read moreA Magical Banana Dessert
My sister got the New York Times No-Recipes Recipes cookbook a while back, and now every time I chat with her, she’ll mention something new she’s made. “Have you ever had savory French toast?” she’ll tell me. Or, “we made a Boursin asparagus tart for dinner last night!” But the dish that finally got my…
Read moreHow Did You Learn About Sex Growing Up?
When you were growing up, how did you learn about sex? This weekend, I finally watched Dirty Dancing, so omg the topic is FRONT OF MIND. My mom was super open about sex when we were growing up and straightforwardly answered any questions we asked; and I’m trying to do the same with my boys….
Read moreHow To Buy Happiness With Money (For Real)
A worthy investment. Money can make you happy – if you spend it right. Studies by Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahnemann and happiness researcher Matthew Killingsworth show that… “In the simplest terms, […] for most people larger incomes are associated with greater happiness.” But as so often in life, conditions apply. Spending your money to…
Read moreDate Ideas For You to Go On With Yourself
Cartoonist Sophie Lucido Johnson is the author of the graphic memoirs Many Love and Dear Sophie, Love Sophie, as well as the audiobook Love Without Sex. She contributes cartoons to The New Yorker, and her work has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times and Bon Appétit. For Cup of Jo, she’s written…
Read moreOur Beauty Uniforms: The 10 Most Recommended Products
For the past decade, we’ve run our beauty uniform series, where women we love — including comedians, restaurateurs, poets, and Joanna’s aunt Lulu — share their favorite finds and bedtime routines. We’ve discovered the best foundations, lipsticks and hair tools that we now swear by, too. Today, we’re revealing the 10 most recommended products of all…
Read moreThe Amazing Zucchini-Tomato Thing That Goes With Everything
Last week, I was foraging in my fridge, hunting for dinner ideas and grumbling about it. It was one of those sticky July weeknights when the idea of real cooking sounds awful. I opened the vegetable drawer to find the farm-fresh summer produce I’d giddily hauled home days ago, while envisioning all sorts of elegant…
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