I can make waffles.

Hi, I'm Catherine. I live outside of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, PA, where I write and edit for magazines and websites. I also document cool house numbers at House Number Handbook.

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Even if people are not conscious of it, they can sense when you have paid attention to every little detail.

Jocelyn K. Glei on Ideation and Being Accountable in Your Projects – Own Your Content

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If you’re unsure of what shape your nails should have, just look at your cuticles. Imagine your nail as an oval—an odd oval, yes. The U-shape of the cuticle should be reflected (upside down) by the top of your nail. And, since the top is often wider than the cuticle, you may have to adjust for size; the primary goal here is to mirror the shape.

How to Clip Your Nails Like a Pro

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When people talk, listen completely. Don't be thinking what you're going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out, know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling. Try that for practice.

Ernest Hemingway

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You know how your mother always told you to pick up after yourself? It wasn’t nagging. It was preparation.

Vanessa Friedman

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Some people have a nose for perfume. I have a palate for memories.

Mimi Thorisson in Vogue

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Good Word: Welter

I love when I'm reading a book and come across a new word. They're usually incredibly specific in meaning, so they don't get used as often as more common ones. I'm planning to share one here each Wednesday.

THE WORD

welter: a large number of items in no order; a confused mass. 

THE SENTENCE

"I have a hallucinogenic memory of a throbbing welter of people in a large circle. It must have been Washington Square Park."

THE BOOK

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

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The things that embarrass you about your parents when you’re a teenager are precisely the things you love the most about them as you grow older.

Bowndling | The Best Gift

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‘You know, the thing you have to understand about the Danes is that we believe that when you’re moving, your soul doesn’t catch up with you until you stop for half an hour.’

Our Hygge moment: How a Danish cultural concept can help cut through the dark Minnesota winter | MinnPost

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Discovered a PDF of my favorite thesaurus, The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale. Super handy!

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A life without beets or lima beans is a fine, full life. But to forgo leeks, collards, broccoli, string beans, escarole, and the vast profusion of beautiful green, yellow, and purple vegetables stems from a prejudice that must be challenged.

Laurie Colwin in Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen

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Merlin and I spent a carefree couple of days in Ohio visiting my family. The weekend was full of ice cream and flowers. Even though it's still early in the season, my mom's backyard is full of blooms perfect for gathering into petite bouquets. 

Merlin was not a fan of the sliding glass door's track (he paused each time he went in or out of the house before jumping over it), but the big backyard seemed to make the extra effort worth it. 

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Eating ice cream is pretty much every Ohioan's favorite pastime (well, at least this one's!), so for the Country Living Across America blog, I put together a list of where to get the best scoops in the state. To make sure we didn't miss any hidden gems, I had Country Living readers weigh in on Facebook, and more than 400 responded—people in the Buckeye State love their ice cream.

>>The Ultimate Guide to Ohio Ice Cream

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How is it already Wednesday? I'm working for the weekend and hoping this one will be as nice as the last, when pink petals completely covered sidewalks and plants finally went into the ground. Turbo has a thing for vegetables and tries to nibble the tomato leaves every change he gets.

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I love when your clothes can help you project that you’re witty—you know, when your outfit does some of the work for you.

Mindy Kaling in Vogue

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Cool Online Tools

At the beginning of April, I went to Columbus, Ohio, for the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism. It was an awesome week devoted to learning about engaging with readers online, finding sources through social media, and reporting with your smartphone, among other things. We learned about how to use a slew of different tools for journalistic purposes, and I thought I'd spread the wealth: 

HipChat: Secure group chats and IM

Treehouse: Learn to code (check with your public library to see if they offer free access)

Leaflet: Open-source JavaScript library for interactive maps

TileMill: Open-source map design studio

TinEye and FotoForensics: Reverse image search

Tweet Archivist: Track a hashtag on Twitter

Snap Bird: Easily search a Twitter user's past tweets and interactions

All My Tweets: View a Twitter user's past 3,600 tweets on one page

Gramfeed: A search engine for Instagram

Glympse: Share your location with a group of people; could be useful when covering a breaking news event to see where everyone is

For more tips, check out this play-by-play, with advice from incredible speakers including Robert Hernandez, Sona Patel, and Mandy Jenkins. 

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When the weather's gross and gray, it's easy forget that the weekend looked like this. 

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When you fit so perfectly somewhere, you stop imagining you don’t fit anywhere.

Eve Epstein in My Hotel Room, Myself