What I Published in September 2022
If I could boil this month down to a single image, it’s this: Me, reheating a cup of coffee for the second time, only to have it go cold again. I don’t know what happened to September — it went away faster than the coffee I pour into progressively larger mugs. Most of my work happens on a monthly basis, which means that the clock resets and winds down within the span of a few weeks. And within that time, I write and edit several stories at once. It’s a whirlwind, but one that I know well. Except a few things took place this month that, well, made my schedule feel particularly brisk.
“Voices of Disability,” the once-a-year series I guest edit alongside the team at Refinery29, went live in September after months of planning. And Behr’s Color of the Year, an annual event for a select group of writers and editors, took place a few days before that series went live. I knew I couldn’t work during this event, mostly because it required that I travel to the Hamptons for one full day of festivities (I know, such a tough life I lead). So that meant that three work days were off the table, including travel. I also knew that days I’d ordinarily devote to my own articles would be taken up with edits and finishing touches on “Voices” (although this was the first year I also did a letter from the editor). And while I may not mention it much here, I am also a deputy editor at Apartment Therapy. Needless to say, my plate was full. Thanksgiving-level-proportions full.
But, at the same time, everything on my plate brought me such satisfaction. This year’s “Voices of Disability” was the most intimate it had ever been, and I was proud that the writers and I were able to push ourselves to be so vulnerable. I somehow got into a groove of writing two stories a day, thus the reheated coffee, so I was able to go on that super quick trip to New York without a laptop. In the end, it all worked out.
Writing isn’t nearly as glamorous as television and movies make it out to be. A lot of it is a muscle that takes years to build and properly flex, and all of that grinding is occurring next to a coffee mug that needs to be washed out. But then, when it comes together — and sometimes it all comes together in the same month you get to go to the Hamptons — it can be pretty fun.
Here’s what I published this month:
Refinery29: Letter From The Editor: Disability Reaches All Relationships
Real Simple: Space of the Week: This Beautiful Guest Bedroom Went From Dirt (Literally) to Fresh Digs
Real Simple: Space of the Week: Two Lawyers Get a Moody Home Office Thanks to an All-Over Paint Job
Real Simple: Space of the Week: This Bathroom Makeover Feels Bright and Airy After a Few Style Shifts
Cup of Jo: How to Invite a Disabled Friend Over
Arch Digest: This L.A. Designer’s Living Room Is a Minimalism Master Class
Arch Digest: How to Clean a Blackstone Griddle—And Season It Too
Arch Digest: How to Clean a Bathtub So You Can Enjoy a Proper Soak
Arch Digest: A Couple Finds a Clinton Hill Apartment Where They Could Take a Few Promising Risks
Arch Digest: How to Clean a Toilet and Keep It Stain-Free
Arch Digest: How to Clean a Washing Machine in 30 Minutes or Less
Dwell: A Couple Carve Open a Working Sonoma Farmhouse to Savor the Surrounding Fields
Better Homes and Gardens: “Shades of Nature” Feature in the October 2022 Print Issue
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