Other Women's Homes

Trinkets, Girls, White Bean Stew, Eternally Subletting, Grocery Lists, and Butter & Jam.

It’s 11:49 AM on Saturday November 30th and I’m in Maine, drinking a glass of Emergen-C my Mom brought me to flush down one of her osteoporosis supplements.

Almost always sitting out on the counter at my family’s house in Maine.

I’ve just rounded the corner of what feels like a national - soon to be international - tour of other women’s apartments. I’ve become somewhat of a professional subletter over the past couple of months, perhaps years.

L.A. Sublet

I’ve learned that the key to my subletting success and longevity is to find a home I’m excited about. I’ve found that in order to find a home you’re excited about, it’s imperative that the home belongs to a person you’re excited about.

A woman’s home I did not sublet but I dined at in L.A.

Whether it be a stranger from the internet, a close friend, a friend of a friend, or my mother; I’ve been able to stay in the homes of women who inspire me. I get to see who they are in their trinkets, notes to themselves, books they read and what they leave in their fridge. What they’ve left behind feels like little love letters of who they are, to who they will be.

Georgia in my Chinatown sublet/Emily Dawn Long’s Home.

There’s something so charming about realizing that we’re all just girls. Of course, we’re all strong, empowered women. But we’re also just girls. I’m utterly and completely in love with how we take care of ourselves, or choose not to. It gives me so much understanding into the stories of these people I do or don’t know very well.

Chinatown Sublet/Emily Dawn Long’s Home

I truly think it’s an art, settling into a sublet. I’ve learned I can make a home my home very quickly.

Heading home from the Union Square Farmer’s Market.

I come packed with a book, my notebook, my laptop, a red light mask, some ginger tea, my matcha whisk and a face mask or two. My toiletry bag is so large it could substitute as a carry-on. I pack a pair of party shoes, and yoga clothes - then the rest is everyday, comfort is important at home. Suitcase space is important as well, I don’t fully know who I will be in a space until I arrive and almost always pick something up along the way.

My party shoes and my new coat I thrifted in NYC.

The fridge is where I settle the most. Nothing says home like a home cooked meal. I immediately go out for milk (for matcha), some market items (avocado, eggs, greens, butter, honey, broth, squash pending season), dark chocolate, coconut water (also matcha), cannellini beans. If I can make a stew for the next couple of days, I’m golden.

Kale White Bean Stew with Squash and Ancestral Blend Bison Meat

I’m nowhere near the end of my sublet tour, or who knows maybe I am. All I know is the less I insist on my sense of grounding coming from something tangible, the happier I am.

My friend Maria’s home in Brooklyn.

I’m off to L.A. the day after tomorrow to land back in my previous sublet, now with the much welcomed addition of my friend Amanda. After that I’m back to NY for a brief sublet, then back to Maine at my parent’s house, back to NY or LA and then off to Costa Rica for a month. I love it.

Zoë