Creative Resources
(Books, Baking TOOLS, Art supplies, camera equipment,
and other hopefully helpful things.)
General Creative Inspiration
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life — One of my favorite books. A special read for any type of creative (not just writers); so many beautiful insights about the relationship between discipline and inspiration. It will make you laugh and cry and wonder.
Gathering Gold Podcast — Biweekly podcast all about embracing sensitivity and creativity. A gentler sort of podcast for gentle souls. I am a forever fan. Sheryl Paul, one of the co-hosts, also wrote The Wisdom of Anxiety, which is my favorite book. (Book. Singular. Favorite ever.)
20-Minute Yoga / Stretch — Favorite quick stretch video that I have nowhere else to talk about so I’ve decided it’s going to live on this page. I happily came across it back in the dark days of 2020 and have returned to it ever since.
Celebrate Everything! Fun Ideas to Bring Your Parties to Life — The most idea-packed, colorful, cheerful entertaining/lifestyle book out there. Such a fun resource for party themes and ideas. Not a coffee table book. You will actually open it often.
Pinterest — A little too obvious. I know. But I’m a loyal Pinterest-er and would be remiss not to mention it here.
All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me — A beautiful memoir that will remind you of the power of art.
Diy + Paper Crafts + Embroidery
Embroidery Basics — Explanation of all tools, some basic stitches, and even a few starter projects to check out.
Embroidery Kits — Love Etsy for these! But you can find them all over the place.
Paper Flower Tutorials — Lia Griffith is the queen of paper flower tutorials (and there are plenty of free ones on the site outside of the membership offerings).
Darcy Miller — All of her ideas are out of this world. She inspired me to make these paper cherry blossoms a few years back!
Casey Rubber Stamps — If you love stamps as much as I do, you’ll want to pay this shop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan a visit. Custom stamps available.
Malka Klein — Our incredible ketubah artist, Malka, frequently hosts digital Hebrew calligraphy workshops, and she also offers both English and Hebrew calligraphy kits on her website.
Knitty City — Yarn shop on the Upper West Side that’s just fun to walk through and browse. They also host knitting circles.
Photography
Canon EOS 80D — The trusty camera I use to shoot photo and video when I’m not using my iPhone. I’ve owned the camera body since 2016 (writing this in 2024!) and it’s still operating beautifully.
DSLR/iPhone Tripod — I’ve purchased this several times over the past few years and used it with both iPhone and DSLR. Truthfully, there are sturdier models available (the Amazon Basics model is excellent—it’s what I previously used) but this gets the job done, and I like how compact/portable it is.
Sigma 30mm f1.4 Art Lens — An outstanding large aperture lens that I love using for close-up shots. I strongly suggest trying it out or renting before purchasing!
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Wide Angle Lens — The other lens in my kit!
SD Card Adapter — For newer MacBooks (to connect memory cards).
Adorama, Foto Care Rentals, and just for fun, Contax Rental! — If you’re interested in photography but aren’t ready to purchase a camera, you can rent instead (bodies, lenses, lens caps, tripods, all sorts of different accessories, even lighting). And if you’re not in the tristate area (for those first two), just Google around and see if there are any camera rental companies near you.
Writing + Poetry
A Poetry Handbook — Leave it to Mary Oliver to turn writing about poetry into, well, poetry.
“Poetry Rx” (The Paris Review) — I thought this was an amazing idea and was disappointed when the series stopped in 2020. Such a great place to find new poetry/poets.
The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems — Loved this.
Notion — More of a productivity thing, but this is what I use for…everything! Jotting down ideas, daily to-do lists, recipe-remembering and saving, blog-planning, and more.
Painting
Clare Bowen — My mom introduced me to her channel and I love her! She’s so charming and shares helpful techniques alongside the prettiest scenery.
Jason Lee Tako — More astoundingly beautiful lessons (everything is filmed plein air) to help you translate nature into beautiful paintings.
Ian Roberts — Again, amazing videos; all of his tips are so particular and go right to solving specific questions.
Chaya Toron — A talented friend of mine whose Judaica paintings will make you swoon.
Learn to Paint Podcast — Another rec from my mom (thanks, Mom!). Conversations with different artists about learning to paint!
Baking + Cooking
Challah-Making Tools — I’ve linked all of my go-tos here! You don’t need much to get started (and some of these items are “extras”) but if you’re hoping to build out a real at-home arsenal, I’ve got you covered.
NYCake — Linking for the experience that is the brick-and-mortar shop in Manhattan! It’s a veritable baking emporium full of every tool/specialty ingredient you could possibly want. Hundreds of sprinkle colors/mixes, every cookie cutter shape you can imagine, etc. Expensive, but worth a walk-through just for inspiration.
Two Guys From Woodbridge — The best (and least expensive) place to buy edible flowers is at your local farmer’s market. For tristate area folks, this Connecticut farm has a weekly stand at Union Square Greenmarket with a nice selection.
My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life — One of my favorite cookbooks! It’s special and different.
Sally’s Baking Addiction — The first place I look for basic baking recipes. Her tutorials are always trustworthy and she offers helpful tips/tricks within each of them.
Peter Callahan’s Party Food — More aspirational, but so inspiring to flip through. If imaginative food makes you happy, you’ll love it. (Peter Callahan is one of Martha Stewart’s go-to caterers and the “inventor” of now-legendary mini hors d’oeuvres.)
Carolina Gelen — Her videos are gorgeous, inventive, and always inspire me to jump into the kitchen. (Love her tomato soup.)
Broma Bakery — Adore Sarah’s videos and her recipes turn out perfectly every time.
Edible Living by Sarah Copeland — I’m a longtime follower of Sarah’s (another Sarah!) and am so happy she now has a newsletter!
Psst: Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see on this page! Working on some Jewish resources, too. ✨