THE CULT OF DOMESTICITY

I used to think cooking was for squares, but it's totally fun. Especially after you've watched Top Chef and all that talk of 'poaching fish' and fois gras...

Because I am so domestic, a few things have perked my interest. The most interesting one is Terrain, the newest venture in the Urban Outfitters empire... Urban Outfitters might sicken those of who feel like trudging through six or seven tiny boutiques before finding what they want so they can stick with mom and pop, but I say make the masses hipper (and hey, where else can you buy feather head bands at 10 PM in a pinch?) ... Their philosophy of 'observing' the customer and then 'romancing' them by creating experience sounds a lot like dating. Plus they have an indoor coffee and lots of good coffee & I always am looking for excuses to see the other 97% of my native state, PA.

I am planning a trip there with my horticultural mom. UO bought Styer's (a landscaping center that had a branch less than half a mile from my house growing up), and created an extravagant organic fertilizer, indoor/outdoor, colorful twine mecca that opened last summer, but is the subject of much buzzorama...

Which is pretty much the opposite of my actual lifestyle...


As a toast to my new cooking, cleaning, and caring about gardening, here is a photograph of my actual backyard, which looks nothing like TERRAIN.