If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. We asked Molly Yeh — the host of Food Network’s Girl Meets Farm and author of the recently released cookbook Home Is Where the Eggs Are — about her baby carrier that doubles as a fanny pack, the TV subscription that lets her stream hours of figure skating, and the sleep mask and pants that always come with her when she travels.
The Tushbaby is a lifesaver — a back saver. I’ve used it with both of my kids, and Ira is in like the 96th percentile for weight. It looks like a cool fanny pack, and they perch on top of it and I can hold on to them really easily. At the same time, I can do things with my other hand. I use the pockets all the time. I put my phone in there, the monitor, lip balm, random Barbie shoes I’m picking up off the ground because they’re a choking hazard. At this point, we use the stroller when we’re out of the house, but at home, I walk around with this on at all times.
This oil-based cleanser is fancy and magical and just otherworldly. I love all the May Lindstrom skin care, but this is the one I use on a daily basis. My least favorite thing at night is having to take makeup off. I don’t like scrubbing; I don’t like doing the whole disposable-pad thing. You’re supposed to put it on dry skin and then I’ll rub it a little to take my mascara and eye makeup off, put on warm water and continue to rub a little bit more, and then rinse. Afterward, my face doesn’t feel dry at all. When I’m really good about my skin regimen and I’m using all her stuff as often as I’m supposed to, I feel like I can wear less makeup because my skin just naturally looks glowier.
I’ve been a sleep-mask person for a long time, but it always used to be those cheap ones you get at an airport. But a friend got me this one right after my daughter, Bernie, was born, and I’ve been wearing it every single night since. If I’m traveling or sleeping somewhere where I don’t know about the little lights or curtains in the room, I know I can put on my mask and it’s one of those Pavlovian things where I get tired and it helps me sleep. It’s comfy, too — soft and padded. It doesn’t crease my hair or feel too tight, and I never lose it in bed, either.
Snow falling outside, soup simmering on the stove, figure skating on the TV: That’s my happy place. I used to skate competitively from second grade to high school, but I’ve always been a fan. So much exciting stuff is happening in figure skating right now. Somebody landed a quad axel for the first time in competition this season. I feel like the ice dancers recently have just been pushing the sport forward and creatively just stretching it beyond what it used to be. Peacock lets you watch the entire feed. If you want to watch every single skater, that’s where it is.
I could live in Cuyana. This scarf is a perfect weight — big but not too heavy, warm but not too warm. It can transition from dressed up to dressed down. It’s so soft, and it doesn’t wrinkle easily. I like to bunch it up and wrap it around a few times when I’m going out. But then if I’m inside, I’ll drape it down and feel like I’m wearing a fancy blanket. It’s perfect for the holidays when you want to look put together but you also want to be very cozy.
I don’t know how anybody breastfeeds a baby without this amazing thing because when you feed on one side, milk comes out the other side. I started using the Haakaa as soon as Bernie was born; a friend gave it to me at my shower. When Ira was born, same thing. I was able to stock up thousands of ounces of milk. I could donate milk or give it away to friends, especially during the formula shortage because we had more than we needed. When I went on a book tour, I had that peace of mind knowing she wouldn’t run out. I actually bought three more for her. We had this routine: Every night, I would clean them out and carry them in a basket upstairs and place them next to my bed. Then I would wake up in the middle of the night to feed her and fill them. We actually kept a mini-fridge in our upstairs bathroom so we wouldn’t have to go downstairs. In the morning, we’d transport them back down again.
I had a couple of book signings this round where I would have to go from home to the plane and straight to the signing. These pants are comfy, but they also look presentable. They’re lightweight, and you don’t get too sweaty in them; they pack really nicely, too. Whenever you’re traveling, you never know where you’re going to end up, and it’s nice to have one pair of pants that can go with a fancier blouse but also a T-shirt and a sweater.
The East Fork Everyday Bowl shape is just perfect for everything — rice bowls, hummus bowls, salad, eggs, casseroles. When we added a new kitchen onto our house, it was going to be our personal kitchen, with the other one reserved for filming Girl Meets Farm. We had this open shelving built, so I knew we needed a set of new dishes — and I knew I wanted them to be rainbow East Fork. That was my dream. So I emailed them to see if they would be open to making a custom set, because normally you have to collect them individually as they introduce new colors. I basically begged them. They worked with me, they sent me all these swatches for colors, and the pieces arrived just in time to photograph my book. Then it turned out they were able to offer a condensed rainbow set to send out with advance copies, and now they’re selling it online.
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