About two months ago, somewhere during the process of expanding what was then my intimate little blog, I suddenly got too ambitious for my own good. My web designer, Leigh-Ann, probably thought I’d lost my mind when I asked her to remove my mug shot and my name from Red Typewriter’s home page (“Get rid of all evidence of her and bring me a big glass of vodka!”—a line from one of my favorite movies, Moonstruck). I also asked her to switch to an editorial-style layout, add multiple story teasers, and create bylines for the slew of international writers I planned to seduce into writing. I declared that we’d never use the word blog again. This is something bigger: We would create a frigging magazine!

The truth is, I missed being a magazine editor. Since I was a little kid and sat mesmerized in front of the TV watching the miniseries Lace, in which Bess Armstrong’s character edited a glamorous publication of the same name, that’s all I wanted to do. Then I actually did it: I spent a decade working in the land of New York publishing, meeting insane deadlines and managing a staff of artsy types like myself, but hopefully never turning as crazy as Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada (although some of my former staffers would disagree). But then kids came, and life changed dramatically. No more late-night press parties. No more trips to Paris and Milan. The highlight of my career, in the first year after my daughter was born, was interviewing the designer Betsy Johnson from my bed, trying simultaneously to hold the phone under my chin, type on my laptop, and nurse my colicky newborn—while almost crying from the absurdity of it all. … //READ MORE

If someone had asked my 28-year-old self if I’d ever take a cruise, I would have laughed and told them no way, that cruising is merely for the elderly and the unfit. Fast-forward a few years—OK, maybe 13—and I’m now a cruising fool!

My husband and I decided to embark on our first family cruise four years ago, when our children were 3-and-a-half and 2. The kids had already accompanied us on many airplane rides and road trips. They were familiar with airports, shuttle buses and rental cars. They were basically pros at the whole travel thing. Then friends and neighbors started talking about how family-friendly cruises were, and we became curious.

We started researching. We began with Disney Cruises because, well, Disney is the most magical place on earth, right? And I had to admit, the promotions made the ship look pretty damn majestic: Mickey, Minnie, Donald and all those gorgeous princesses would set sail with us. We’d have nonstop access to Disney shows, character-themed restaurants, and food shaped like the Little Mermaid. My kids would freakin’ love this trip! … //READ MORE

You know the feeling. You open a travel magazine and there’s that photo: white sand beach, peacock-blue water, clear sky and coconut trees swaying (so you imagine) in the background. You close your eyes and envision stepping right into that warm blue water, as shoals of fish begin to gather around and nibble at your feet. As you wade deeper in, a large sea turtle swims past. You wonder if places like this really do exist, and then you read that this is some island off some remote country where only jetsetters ever go, and you are certainly unlikely to find your way there.

Until one day, you do! The island was Gili Trawangan, a tiny coral island barely an hour’s journey from Jakarta, Indonesia, where I once worked. When I realized that I was only an inexpensive boat ride away from my fantasy location, I jumped at the chance. When my feet finally touched the island, it felt like I had stepped into the pages of that very holiday magazine I had so often sighed over. As I waded out into the sea, I noticed … //READ MORE

What do most of us think about, when we think about love? No, not a Raymond Carver short story, however intriguing were his musings on relationships. I think when most of us think about love, and all the entrapments of that fickle emotion, clichés pop into our heads. When we’re young, we envision passionate kisses, dizzying emotions, even the uneasiness of unrequited desire. With maturity comes wisdom, and our slightly-more-advanced selves can accept that even the most frenzied romantic love, if nourished with enough affection and shared purpose, has the capacity to ripen into a secure and long-lasting partnership.

If we’re lucky, we retain some of the passion that ignited our union in the first place. If we’re really lucky, the arrival of children teaches us that love requires equal parts patience, self-sacrifice and surrender. And if we’re really, really lucky … //READ MORE

It happens to even the nicest master bedrooms. First the mattress grows old. Then maybe the lighting and bedding get a little tired. Things that don’t belong there start drifting into the scene. Everything turns messy. If you have children, then eventually the kid stuff —and even the kids themselves—take over. There are many reasons your bedroom may have lost its attraction, but that’s no excuse. Here are a few easy steps you can take to transform your boring bedroom into a bedazzling boudoir.

1. Clean up your act. Clutter in the bedroom is a real libido killer. A messy space can cause stress and anxiety and prevent you from relaxing, which will in turn quash desire. So pick up any clothes, papers, empty glasses, laptops and toys that are on the floor or stacked on dressers or on your bed, and make your room romance ready. … //READ MORE

Remember the Reginald Rose play Twelve Angry Men? Well, I’ve decided write a new production Twelve Uncontrollable Kindergartners. It’s not about a murder-trial jury, but rather a roster of kids at a birthday party. A party during which a slew of 6-year-olds cause household mayhem, the birthday boy commits a crime of passion, and somehow the parents are sentenced to three hours of floor scrubbing and a week of ringing in their ears. This revival is filled with more drama and intrigue than the original, with the added action of dinosaur-mauling and kung-fu fighting. … //READ MORE