The March Edit

What we watched, cooked, wore, and loved this month. Plus, a genius tip for finding affordable wall art.

Hi! Welcome to The March Edit! We’ve published some really fun issues this month, including:

• my two first date outfits and six funny things I’ve seen on Hinge

• Tembe Denton-Hurst’s bookstore marriage proposal

• a podcast episode about therapy with my friend, plus a funny interview with a therapist-comedian

• and, most recently, a tour of graphic designer Diana Moss’s Cape Town home

Tomorrow (Friday), I’m sharing a recap of my first date since divorce (eeks!)…

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We asked the Big Salad team and our friends to share their recent faves (and we’d love to hear yours in the comments)…

1. “I’ve been listening to a Lebanese-American singer/songwriter called Samia after reading about her in the New Yorker. I love her lyrical indie-pop style. If you'd like to listen, start with Honey.” — Joanna Goddard, founder

2. “WHAM! — the documentary about George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley — is a remarkable story about friendship and how the talent of one extraordinary person never got in the way.” — Diana Moss, graphic designer

3. “My friend gave me one of these tees and, oh my gosh, now it’s all I want to wear. Soft, oversized but not boxy, and long enough to cover my expanding pregnant belly. It’s the piece that’s first in and first out of the laundry, and the best gift for pregnant friends.” — Maureen Heffernan, partnerships director

4. “I recently read and loved Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story. Leslie Jamison is iconically brilliant and it’s my favorite of her books yet.” — Ely Kreimendahl, comedian and therapist

5. “Everybody needs Ikea dish towels. They’re 100% cotton, very cute, and like $2. They don’t miss. We use them constantly. I’ll never go and spend hella money on dish towels as long as these exist.” — Tembe Denton-Hurst, journalist and novelist

6. “When

   Jenny Rosenstrach
   shared the recipe for this crispy ramen with cabbage and bacon, I knew I’d found the answer to the ‘what should we make for dinner’ question. I made it with mushrooms and the leftovers were just as good for lunch — all the more reason to check out the new Hot Sheet cookbook.” — Kaitlyn Teer, newsletter editor

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Here are the links that Big Salad readers clicked on most in March:

1. This funny reel by Matt Buechele from Joanna’s post about first date outfits.

2. The checkered canvas tote bag that Tembe Denton-Hurst uses for carrying everything, including her favorite books.

3. Comedian-therapist Ely Kreimendahl’s “therapists are just like us” reel from The Therapy Issue.

4. The inspiring design manifesto that Diana Moss keeps tacked above her desk.

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Tretchikoff and Vermeer

When we shared a peek at Diana Moss’s charming Cape Town house, readers wanted to know more about how she finds beautiful, affordable wall art using public-domain images. Aimee asked, “Silly question, but is open access art through museums available to be downloaded?” The answer is yes! Here are more tips…

Museums like The Met, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Art have great collections of images available to download for free, unrestricted use. You can use filters to search for “open access” or “public domain” artworks. To download, look for an arrow button, usually in the bottom right corner of the screen. Then, print the image through a photo printing service of your choice, like Mpix, Artifact Uprising, or even Fedex. For frames, Diana suggests browsing vintage and secondhand stores.

Adds Diana: “There are also many Etsy stores that sell downloadable prints of public domain art, like Legacy Fine Art Prints.” We’ve had good luck at the Public Domain Print Shop, too.

Where have you found cool artwork online? Would love to hear…

(Above: one, two, three, four, five, and six.)

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From Everything Comes Next via @poetryisnotaluxury

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“On our second date, my now-husband and I went dancing. In the middle of the dance floor, he whispered to me, ‘There's something I need to get out of the way,’ and then KISSED ME. It’s been 14 years and thinking about it *still* makes me swoon,” commented a reader named Blythe on Joanna’s post about first dates.

In response to the six funny things I see on Hinge, a reader offered an explanation for all the men-with-fish photos: “I heard that it’s less socially acceptable for hetero men to take photos of each other when they’re out with friends. So they have far fewer solo photos to choose from for their profile pics. Summiting a mountain or holding a fish are apparently acceptable times to ask someone to take their photo!”

On a recent trip to Ghana, book writer Tembe Denton-Hurst brought an amber book light. “I just ordered one for an upcoming flight,” commented reader Josy. “I’ve always felt too awkward on night flights to turn on my overhead light for fear of disturbing other passengers, whilst simultaneously dying to read the next chapter of my book.”

“The two blogs I've read the longest, coming together!“ says reader Brandy about Diana Moss’s (aka Miss Moss) home tour. Adds Catherine: “I gasped when I saw this subject line! I started reading Diana’s blog when I was 20 (and am 35 now)!” Another reader, Annie, wrote, “Thanks to Diana, I found my dream wedding dress from a Parisian designer she featured on her blog (Laure de Sagazan, if you’re curious!).”

(Opening photo by Micheile Henderson / Unsplash. Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission or have a sponsored relationship with the brand, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like and use ourselves. Thank you so much.)

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A post shared by @thedailytay

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1. This Reader’s Husband Built Her an Introvert Nook. “It’s my dream come true.”

2. The Script We Used to Talk to Our Kids About Divorce. One of the biggest questions I get is, “How do you break the news to the kids?”

3. How to Be a Good Dinner Party Host. Cookbook writer Adam Roberts shares his seven rules — one was controversial!

4. Spring Pieces I’m Already Wearing a Million Times. I find myself reaching for the same things every morning.

5. Um, Is This the Sexiest Podcast? I bit my lip while walking down the street.

6. Nine Women on Going Gray. “Gray is just a hair color like any other.”

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Thank you so much for reading Big Salad. It’s so fun to have you here. Next week, we’ll be sharing all the details about our upcoming Chicago event on April 25th! And, we’re looking for a couple Chicago-area musicians to perform their favorite solo piece, so please send your bio and audio/video links to newsletter@cupofjo.com if you’re interested and we’ll reply with details! xoxo