Confidence
Is it unprofessional to cry at work?
Tears are a physical reaction, not a professional failing. What to do in the next five minutes, what to say afterwards, and how to…
The archive
Journal
109 pieces on clothes, rooms, books, food and the ordinary business of taking up space.
Plus-Size Living
How to stop thigh chafing (in dresses, heat and everyday wear)
Chafing is a friction problem with friction solutions. Shorts, thigh bands, balms and the clothing choices that stop thighs rubbing.
Books
Is rereading books a waste of time?
Only if reading is a race. Why a second reading is a different book, why comfort rereads count, and when it might be time…
Home
Should you make your bed every day?
The dust-mite case for an unmade bed is weaker than the headlines suggest, and so is the case for hospital corners as a life…
Style
How to tell if a sweater is good quality
Price and labels tell you less than your hands do. Seven checks, from knit density to the neckline, for spotting knitwear that will last.
Relationships
Is it rude to leave a group chat?
Leaving a group chat is ordinary, and a muted chat you never read is the stranger choice. When to go, when to think twice,…
Food
How to cut onions without crying (and what doesn’t work)
Why onions make you cry, the few methods that genuinely help, and the kitchen myths, from bread in your mouth to a candle by…
Food
What to bring to a dinner party (and what to leave at home)
The best gift for a host creates no extra work. Wine or not, flowers or not, what to do when they say bring nothing,…
Relationships
You’re allowed to call without texting first
A ringing phone is an invitation, not a summons. Why calling a friend unannounced is fine, why letting it ring out is fine too,…
Beauty
How long does makeup last?
From mascara to powder, how long each product keeps once opened, what the open-jar symbol means, and the signs that something has turned, whatever…
Life
Yes, you can ask guests to take their shoes off
Your home, your floor, your rule. Why asking is perfectly reasonable, how much of the world already does it, and how to ask without…
Confidence
How to stop apologising for everything
Keep the apologies you owe and drop the reflexive ones. What to say instead of sorry, at work and with friends, and why the…