Bits and pieces

Three things I'm loving right now:

1. The idea of hot-cross buns in the morning. Did you know hot-cross buns are a traditional Good Friday food? I did not know, and we're not having any (!), but don't these look good?

2. This book by one of my new favorite authors. Also this one, which a friend recommended, and this, which for some reason I put off reading but then couldn't put down.

3. These Chicago White Sox players wearing 'Boston Strong' T-shirts in their game against the Red Sox gave me a lump in my throat. We'll be in our usual spot on Monday cheering loudly for the runners in this year's marathon, and without a doubt I'll have another lump in my throat as they go by.

I hope you have a very happy (long) weekend.

(Photos by londonbakes for Food52 and AP photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

For sale

For two years (OK, three), I've been talking about having a yard sale. There are corners of the basement and attic where I've stored throw rugs, dining room chairs, art prints, a bed frame - all things we no longer have need of or room for. And yet, that yard sale hasn't happened. Partly it's finding the time to organize and execute; partly it's feeling unsure about pricing; and partly it's the idea that there's a better way. There are so many online marketplaces beyond craigslist to buy and sell, and I'm intrigued.

My latest intrigue is Hunters Alley (affiliated with One Kings Lane). Have you seen? It's like poking around a great flea market where someone has weeded out the bad stuff. As a result, I'm making very little progress on the real-life corners of the basement and attic - the art prints, the chairs, the throw rugs are all still there - but I'm having a wonderful time imagining the buying and selling I could do.

And so winter turns to spring.

This will happen, someday.

(Guanajuato Knoll Tulip Chair on Hunters Alley).