Here’s a complete list of everything in the 2016 Oscars Gift Bags.

I didn’t realize the gift bags aren’t actually affiliated with the Oscars. They’re distributed by a company called Distinctive Assets, and the Academy is suing them.

According to Vanity Fair, “The complaint said that media coverage of the 2016 gift bags has focused on ‘the less-than-wholesome nature of some of the products contained in the bags,’ citing a $5,500 certificate for plastic surgery, a $1,900 “vampire breast lift,” a $250 sex toy and a $250 marijuana vaporizer.”

The bags also contain a 10,000-meal donation made in the nominee’s name to an animal shelter or rescue of their choice ($6,300), a private walking tour of Japan for up to 15 days ($54,000), and a chapstick ($6).

I want this Leash Pin, and also one of these lady incense holders. Both by Kaye Blegvad.

Fa-bo is a new office and lab that is earthquake resistant thanks to hundreds of carbon fibres that come out from the building like a web. (via Spoon and Tamago)

On how hard it can be to start as an amateur. I am doing this right now, so I am going to stop. Or start? I am going to do both.

Cozy mermaids.

Emma Watson started a feminist book club, and the first pick is Gloria Steinem’s My Life on the Road.

My neck was starting to do a crackle-glaze thing, so I bought Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration Treatment Mask. It makes my skin soft and pink and glow-y for a couple of days. I generally believe beauty potions to be tomfoolery, so I thought I’d let you know.

Justina Blakeney’s quick outline of how to create a repeating pattern. Now I’ll know how to make my own fabric on Project Runway.

The New York Public Library just put its public domain collection online (via kottke) and is offering a Remix Residency for people who want to do a project with the collection. Apply by February 19.

Raaar!

Also, friends are doing cool stuff!

Meg Keene just published A Practical Wedding Planner, and if you’re getting married, I recommend it. We’re finding it so helpful.

Maile Wilson just launched a new line of natural leather Epiphanie camera bags, and they’re lovely. If you need a new laptop/camera bag, have a look.

Brad is a Photoshop wizard. Here’s to 2016!

  
I’m finishing a morning errand with Ozzy and he falls asleep just as I buckle him in to his car seat. He’s been ticked about car trips lately, so my first thought is, “I could go anywhere!”

We drive to my favorite antique store near Sebastapol. He wakes as we arrive and babbles in his carrier. He tries to sing along with the big band music, which is the best.

He laughs at everyone who stops to talk to him, and the counter ladies pass him around while I buy this set of highballs. Heavy in the hand, five bucks a pop. 
Then we get a grilled cheese sandwich. 

  
I went boating with my college boyfriend and his family my sophomore year. I still remember how he looked emerging from the water, grinning, with this piece of wood in his hand.

“Keep this forever,” he said.

His mom gasped. “Don’t saddle her with that!”

She really got me.

Stunning girl at the coffee shop with her boyfriend hops up when she notices me struggling to get my stroller through the door.

She holds the door and smiles at the baby, then sits back down to resume the world’s longest, most awkward breakup conversation.

  
When I was pregnant, I stopped losing hair. I’d shampoo or comb it, and every strand held steady.

Then Ozzy came along, and now I’m shedding like collie on a hot summer day. I leave a wash of hair in my wake. I find strands in the baby’s fists, between my toes, joining forces on the hardwood floor. My head feels lighter.