Phaidon on Rose Essay

Nice mention this week in Phaidon, and a couple photos, for all you De Feo fans.
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Move Over, Estee Lauder

This might surprise you, but there’s nothing I love more than getting to write a fashion or beauty business profile.  Fashionistas don’t take themselves too seriously (the way a U.S. senator always does.) And an individual with loads of creativity + business smarts is usually open, self-aware, colorful, intelligent, and thrilled to be interviewed.  Leslie Blodgett, the visionary behind Bare Escentuals who caused a cosmetic industry revolution with [...]
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The Sawataishi Family is Safe

I know how much the Sawataishi family would appreciate all the calls and emails of concern I’ve gotten about them since the earthquake and tsunami hit the north of Japan last week. So many readers of Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain came to feel close to this wonderful, resourceful family, whose lives were chronicled in the book. Their family home [...]
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My Life in Salvage

Sadly, I am not a  do-gooder or chronic volunteer type. I won’t go into various excuses for this, except to say that my idea of making the world better is to not lie or cheat or steal, and take good care of my family. I also believe in the virtues of cleanliness. Three years ago, though, I signed up to work at the swap shop on the [...]
Also posted in Cape Cod memoir, Free Stuff, Free-cycle, Salvage, Salvage Shack, The Gift House | Comments closed

Remembering Morie Sawataishi

This is the time of year to remember Morie Sawataishi, the man who saved the Akita dog from extinction. The anniversary of his death, October 22, is less than three weeks away.  Morie did more than just devote his life to rescuing and restoring the Akita dog in Japan after World War II.  He devoted [...]
Also posted in Dog Man, Hachiko: A Dog's Tale, Japan, Mountain Life, Slow Life, Snow Country, nature writing | Comments closed

If you want to go sailing . . .

A few photos from our the Cape Cod sailing trip that I wrote about in this month’s Conde Nast Traveler. We highly recommend our captain, Brad Smith. www.captbradsmith.com
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New Collection from Esquire: Fathers and Sons

I’m not sure if I should be flattered — or very troubled — that I am the only woman writer in the new Esquire collection or that the subtitle is “What it Means To Be A  Man.”    Hey, I may not be a porcelain doll but I’m not a man, either!  Seriously, though, I’m very happy [...]
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HACHIKO: A DOG’S TALE

Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale is coming to movie theaters on December 18, 2009. For those who aren’t familiar with the story,  Hachiko was an Akita puppy who was owned by a Tokyo University professor in the early 1920s. A special bond formed between them, the sort of bond that Akita dogs are known for. Each morning, the [...]
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In Hokkaido — for Conde Nast Traveler

In March 2009, I explored the northwest corner of Hokkaido with my cousin Leslee for Conde Nast Traveler. It was wintry, stormy, remote and utterly beguiling.  We skiied, dog-sledded and took untold number of hot springs baths. The food in Hokkaido is amazing too. We can’t wait to return!  Click on this photo to see the article  
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Arizona Daily Star — “Dog Man”

I had a quick and very pleasant talk with Valerie Vinyard at the Arizona Daily Star last week — which resulted in this piece for the books page.
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