Real Simple October 2022

ON THE WEB Keep It Simple In our new video series Simple Beauty, REAL SIMPLE editors Hana Hong (above) and Lisa DeSantis try the latest multi-tasking makeup, demo new hairstyles, get skin-care picks from dermatologists, and put readers’ product recs to the test. Watch at realsimple.com/simplebeauty. BEHIND THE SCENES Erica Finamore HOME DIRECTOR @ericafinamore Coziest home item: My hot pink velvet couch! I bought it during a difficult time in my life, and it was literally a bright spot. What you’re looking forward to: October is my favorite month. I’m so excited to go overboard picking apples and then panic trying to eat them all. Most-used gadget: My Nespresso machine. I use it every day, and I’ve had it for almost 10 years! Check out Erica’s decor favorites in the REAL SIMPLE Home on page 100. IN YOUR KITCHEN It’s Pumpkin Spice Season! 12 Recipes…

My fear of heights! A year ago, I did an open-door helicopter ride and let my legs hang out over Central Park. Now I can’t stop seeking that same adrenaline rush! JENNY HAGADORN, GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA I never learned how to swim. After I became a mom, I took an adult swim class so I could feel confident when my babies were in the water. @KIANASTORM Speaking up. I have a hard time with confrontation—I never know what to say in the heat of the moment. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m learning to stand up for myself. Or at the very least, I walk away without saying words I can’t take back. @ERICAMREILLY The fear of looking dumb! So many of us hesitate to ask questions when we’re confused. I finally realized that…

MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT OUR home in a suburb of New York City seven years ago, just before our second daughter was born. After bouncing around apartments—10 in 15 years!—I owned a place for the first time, and I felt…proud! Overwhelmed! And mostly like it wasn’t that different from renting. Yes, I was “building equity,” and I could write off renovations. But I had no intention of overhauling our century-old townhouse. I’d fix what was broken, put some color on the walls, and add a few key pieces of art and furniture. Kinda like how I’d made each of those apartments, through elbow grease, paint, and a trip or two to Ikea and HomeGoods, feel custom and personal and, every time, like home. I’m constantly editing my home—currently for errant…

WHAT TO READ NEXT / DECORATE WITH PAINT / THE PERKS OF A MESSY HOME GHOST TOWN Candlelit metal houses cast an eerie glow. TO BUY: Haunted Houses, from $20; crateandbarrel.com. SOMEONE’S WATCHING Whether you use it as extra seating, a footrest, or a side table (just put a tray on top!), this 100 percent wool pouf is always staring. TO BUY: Eyes Pouf, $195 each; aelfie.com. DARK DESIGN An autumnal wreath gets the Addams Family treatment with black pampas grass and a bit of sparkle. TO BUY: Dried Black Glitter Pampas Wreath, $50; kirklands.com. EYE SPY Serve allergen-free candy in these watchful dishes—teal is the color of food allergy awareness—to avoid unwanted scares. TO BUY: Eye Trinket Tray Set, $115; jonathanadler.com. CAUGHT IN A WEB Serve nibbles on a durable lightweight plate adorned with creepy-crawlies. TO BUY: Spider Web…

Page-Turner With Depth The new novel by Home Fire author Kamila Shamsie opens at a school in Pakistan, where Zahra and Maryam are adolescent girls who have a warm and easy friendship despite the gap in their families’ means. The story gets unputdownable when they grow up to become successful women in London and are forced to reckon with an event from their past. With lots to say about loyalty and how relationships change over time, Best of Friends is great fodder for book club conversations. Coming-of-Age Memoir When New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu, a child of Taiwanese immigrants, was going to college in the Bay Area in the ’90s, he viewed Ken, a Japanese American, as someone whose tastes (Dave Matthews Band, Abercrombie & Fitch) ran a bit too mainstream. But…

Meet the Homeowner TAMARA SMITH @mygrandparentschair When Tamara saw her soon-to-be home in Burlington, Canada, five years ago, two things in the entryway immediately stuck out: the muddy beige walls and a boob light (that type of glass flush mount that looks like, well, a boob). She got to work making the entry a place you’d actually want to enter. She and her husband DIYed most of it, installing a board-and-batten hall tree and painting it a glossy white, then covering the walls in the same shade with an eggshell finish. This project set the tone for the rest of the house. “It made me more passionate about DIY. I realized it was something I really liked to do!” Tamara says. Get the Look MURAL EFFECT The room looks like it’s been meticulously wall-papered, but Tamara…