Dinner Diaries

I'm so thrilled to be included in this gorgeous new home-entertaining book from Assouline written by Daniel Cappello. Imagine a Proust questionnaire for the dinner party hostess. I love the iconic image of Jackie O on the cover of the book and plan to give my copy prime placement on my coffee table.

First the pre-nup, then the post-nup....now the no-nu

I wrote an article about cohabitation agreements for The New York Times. Sometimes referred to as love contracts or no-nups, these agreements function basically like a pre or post-nup in that they explicitly state what each party is entitled to in the event of a break up.

I interviewed experts who had mixed opinions about these contracts. Some believe it is healthy for couples to discuss and determine expectations at the outset of a relationship (or even several years into one) while others believe there is something unseemly about planning for a breakup, not to mention distilling a relationship to a 'what I give you/what I get from you' discussion.

You can read the whole piece here: http://nyti.ms/1zaSXpH

One tidbit that didn't make it into the piece: Apparently the origin of engagement rings is less romantic than we are lead to believe. Years ago it was understood that a woman was to some degree intimate with her fiance during the engagement period. If he did not follow through and marry her, her chastity would be called into question. She would have the ring as compensation for the damage to her personal reputation she would sustain.