I love this year’s birthday dropback photo taken by my great friend Sarah Herrington. Other than changing the background and/or my outfit, it’s hard to find a new spin on this series but in 2016 we found one: just add my Mom! She did confess that it was easier to give birth to me than to watch ...

On the edge of my NYC terrace there’s about a foot-wide stretch of gravel with maybe 1/4 of an inch of soil mixed in with the rocks and pebbles. I think it’s for drainage (although maybe it’s just aesthetically pleasing). I’ve long had an admiration for the weeds that simply sprout ...