Homesteadista anthropology: paying attention to how people actually live—not how sectors say they live.
Field Notes is an ongoing editorial space exploring city life - from the garden, kitchen, gym, home, the metro, work—and wherever else something worth noticing turns up.
City Slowly continues as an ongoing editorial thread on Substack .
Eggplant, two ways.
I came home from the garden with Japanese and Italian eggplant, which means this week’s very practical question is: what do I want to eat?
Meet Me at The Garden
We made plans to meet at the garden. Not for a volunteer day or a workshop. Just to hang out—the same way we might have made plans to meet for coffee.
Another Trip Around the Sun
A birthday, a quiet ritual, and a few honest questions. A field note on getting older, growing toward the light, and becoming a little more yourself each year.
Scribbling in the Margins
Some seasons produce finished work. Others produce fragments, half-thoughts, and questions that haven't yet learned how to become sentences. A reflection on strategy, creativity, and recognizing the story that was there all along.
Big Ideas, Small Places
Returning to New York for the She Should Run June Summit reminded me that while we often imagine systems change happening at the scale of cities, states, and nations, it almost always begins much closer to home—in neighborhoods, libraries, gardens, and conversations.
A Long Line for Free Stuff
A university dorm giveaway left me thinking about abundance, scarcity, and an old lesson many of us learned as children: sharing is caring. The older I get, the more complicated that lesson seems to become.
Emptying the Bowl
Lately, my house has looked like a staging area. Seed packets cover the dining room table, books are stacked for donation, and bags wait for their next home. In the midst of the clutter, I'm learning that not everything can be Marie Kondo'ed away—and that some seasons are meant less for arriving and more for preparing.
What a Vacant Lot Taught Me This Week
Community gardens are often described as places to grow food. Increasingly, I think they are places to grow something else entirely: relationships, reciprocity, and trust.
How Slowing Down Can Boost Productivity and Well-being This Fall
Feeling the pressure of the fall hustle? 🍂 It’s time to recover from your Type A tendencies and embrace a more intentional, mindful approach to life and work. Studies show that slowing down can actually improve productivity and well-being—especially for city women balancing multiple responsibilities.
The Real Reasons Why You Cant Get Hygge Right
Hygge takes some planning at first. The approach to setting up a cozy home, pajama breakfast, or peaceful getaway in the middle of the chaos of the world can (and should be) joyous. Otherwise, it's just another trend - a thing we do as opposed to a life we live.
Can I Thrive in My 600-Square-Foot Apartment?
It's not about the size of the space; it's about the mindset that accompanies conscious and slow living. Amidst the limitations of square footage, urban dwellers have harnessed the power of intentionality, redefining the boundaries of their homes and creating havens of well-being.