Peckerwood Manor

Dolly makes a great CoverGirl because this photo is so her, and she makes an excellent case for her selfless reasons to remain Childless by Choice. One of the most fundamental decisions some of us make as adults is to decide if we want to become parents of children beyond our furry or befeathered ones. The answer changes the trajectory of our lives, informs us about what our older age might look like, and forces women to come to terms with life choices and our limited biological timeframe to produce babies. We have about 20-25 years of fertility in adulthood, and we have decisions to make that are more nuanced with each advancing year. What we decide at 19 certainly differs from what we choose at 40. When the door slams, our bodies make it a moot point; it has made that decision for us. For better or worse, we must live with our choices and forge lives living with the results. Men aren't faced with this reality; just look at Robert De Niro or Al Pacino, choosing to become parents i...

Ina Garten is hands down my favorite chef. She is who I count on when I want delicious, cozy meals, when I am entertaining, or when I want to nurture someone I love. Her food is comfort food, never extra fancy or full of incongruent flavors; hers is for when you want to eat restaurant quality without too much fuss or labor. Do I love her versions of dishes, best of all, 100 percent of the time? No, but I am never disappointed, rarely have to adjust, and always feel satisfied. Joan's on 3rd in LA reminds me of a place Ina would like, and everyone who knows me, including Joan, knows I have to eat there as much as possible when I am in LA.  Ina Rosenberg Garten was born on February 2, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, in a household that valued academic excellence above all else. Her father, Charles H. Rosenberg, was a surgeon, and her mother, Florence, was a dietitian. Despite her natural inclination towards science, Ina's love for cooking was stro...