“Before the baby, Jesse and I were living in a tiny, 550 sq. foot 1920s cabin in Mt. Washington that was dangling over a canyon and was 40 stairs up from the street. I loved living there, even though nothing was plumb, and it was essentially camping (not even being particularly hyperbolic here). When I found out I was pregnant, my #1 anxiety was moving. It became an obsession! We found this place nearby (Glassell Park) and moved in in December. Moving into this house was pretty symbolic for both of us, I think. It's more adult, it's definitely a family house. It was the first decision we made together and for our as-yet-unborn son and our family."

Zinzi wears a vintage top, Uniqlo leggings, and Martiniano shoes. James wear a Giggle tee and Hansel from Basel leggings.

"It's just your classic, clean mid-century California ranch house. I've never felt more like I live in Southern California."

"It's been really nice to combine things from the past with new stuff picked just for James. The big white lamb and most of the books were mine when I was a kid, the bookshelf is actually a secretary desk and what I used to work off of. It feels like we're mixing him into our life by combining in that way."

Cutest face.

Cutest toes.

Haptic Lab Sailing Ship Kite, $40, Half Hitch Goods.

"James Arthur is for each of our maternal grandfathers, two really incredible men. James (Jim) was my grandfather—he was Pennsylvania Dutch, his family members were coal miners and through the GI Bill he went to college and graduate school, became an engineer, and worked on government contracts. He came from the most nothing of nothing during the Depression and raised a big family and retired on Martha's Vineyard. Jesse's grandfather, Arnold (in Jewish tradition we named for the first initial), had a similar trajectory. He grew up on the Lower East Side (also in the Depression), became a dentist and then a contractor. He built major buildings in New York and the surrounding area. He helped build part of the World's Fair! I was only able to meet him once, in Boca Raton, before we got married, but he was a person with an aura about him—a fascinating man, whip smart and pretty funny, to boot. Those are big shoes for little James to fill, but more than anything, I want him to have an appreciation for his history and for his family—and maybe be a little inspired towards greatness, as well.”

Doll by Polkadot Peanut Parade.

A cute changing nook in the closet.

"We splurged on a fancy mattress, which is incredible. It's been a little bit of torture, knowing it's there while up late (or early) with a newborn."

"I like to think I'm not too precious about this stuff, although I can definitely see friends reading this statement and rolling their eyes. We'll see. Like everything I've found out about being a parent, it seems like you don't really know anything (about what to do, yourself, or your kid) until it's actually already happening.”

Shapes and textures, everywhere.

"I get a front row seat (well, for as long as he'll let me) to watch my favorite person grow up. I can't think of anything more incredible than that."

“Driving."

"He's still not able to stay awake too long between naps, so we have to squeeze in his favorite things when we can. A reading of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is definitely involved, being sung to, going for a walk, and maybe finding some other babies to wonder about. He loves staring at the curtains in my room—the sun glows from behind them, which must make them fun for him somehow. Pretty simple needs at this point."

"That I would like it so much! I was never the type."

#shelfie

"I feel wholly unqualified to answer this, but I would just say to make sure it's fun. In the beginning I felt like I turned parenting into a to-do list. 'How much tummy time did we do?' and 'Good job, two more wet diapers than yesterday!' Once I got a little more sleep it was like, get a grip. Having a baby is fun and remembering what it's like to be a kid, reading all the books and rattling around all the toys can be enjoyable if it doesn't feel like a developmental checklist. Another thing: When I was pregnant, I got ahead of myself, worrying about raising a whole person. I kept thinking, holy shit, what am I going to do with a teenage boy? Jesse said the best thing and it changed my whole perspective. The idea was just that I don't have to parent a teenager. When he's a teenager, I'll also be 13 years older. When he's five, I'll be five years older. We'll always grow together and find our next phase together. It's not only more manageable conceptually, but it's pretty poetic, too."

"Oh man, how hasn't it is the real question. This is such a big one and one I'm still grappling with—I mean, I'm only 4 months in, after all. The bad is sometimes more obvious, I think, than the good. Your pre-baby self only understands sleeplessness and disruption and lack of freedom negatively, so when all those things start happening, it can be a rude awakening. I have a bunch of friends with babies and kids, but for my core—the people I would see every week or multiple times per week—child-rearing is the last thing on their minds. With that comes a lot of alienated feelings. And while that is tough and I have felt deeply bummed at times, I'm also trying to understand the other side. After all, I chose to have a baby and be different. One of my least favorite qualities is that I can be a bit of a social chameleon, and being a mother, having a baby, is an instant way to cut out bullshit and be true to yourself. Which isn't really filed under ‘bad,' but socially challenging. I'd also like to revisit my Acne Needles sometime in this lifetime…"

Zinzi wears a vintage top, Urban Outfitters jeans, and Dieppa Restrepo shoes. James wear a sweater hand knit by Zinzi and Gap pants.

"The good is so intangible and unrelatable and doe-eyed—it’s why I feel most parents are always complaining about their kids instead, getting all Scary Mommy about things. No one really wants to hear about this new, special person in your life, who has changed you and the way you look at life, the world, your other relationships, and yourself. (For me, in a stronger and more intentional way.) It's completely alien (or just kind of boring?) to yammer on about a new level of happiness and joy and priorities. How do you even approach describing the way your heart jumps when you're greeted by a giant toothless smile in the morning? The feeling is alien and new to me, too. But man, it is the absolute best, whatever it is.”

A pretty corner.

"Celebrity moms feel like they're just style icons with a little something extra. Sometimes I'll see women out with their babies, women who definitely have it going on, and I'll be like, 'OK, it's possible.’ I think I have this uber-mom in my head that is an amalgamation of different friends' qualities. Like, oh this one is graceful and that one is so patient and this one always manages to look good and this one is working so hard. Everyone's reality is messier than that, but it's good to build this community to just see what's possible. What people are prioritizing and how they're dealing with incorporating a new part of themselves. I'm grateful to have them in their full picture more than that tendency to single out their most admirable qualities, though, so I can remember that I'm only falling short of an impossibly high and fictional standard!"

"I mean, not to grease the wheels, but I do feel like Mother is unlike any others. I also subscribe to the Storq email newsletter, which I like, and I read my friend Erica Chidi Cohen's blog on The Mama Circle. I'm honestly not super up on my mom media, though."

A beautifully illustrated record from Zinzi's band, Kisses.

Tabletop treasures.

“Seventies prep? New England without deodorant? Mitch from Dazed and Confused? I keep it pretty simple, but then every so often I remember I have an extensive collection of rayon."

"I'm not sure its changed in its essence, but in its application, most definitely. I'm nowhere near my original size and all of the sudden I have a bust, so my normal clothes aren't an option and almost everything I wear is new in the past year (this coming from a person who until being pregnant still wore things from middle school)."

"I got some Urban Outfitters jeans that sort of resemble my pre-pregnancy jeans, so that with a button-down or t-shirt is a go-to. If an actual zipper and button isn't happening, Uniqlo jeggings have been great for helping me pretend I'm actually wearing pants."

"I tend to like things that are a little boyish, I think. Acne has my number, so does Jesse Kamm, Base Range, Rachel Comey."

"I kind of just want to dematerialize and live inside Lisa Says Gah. Everything is so spot-on. I get cold feet when I shop in person, so I tend to research and ruminate on purchases, then buy things offline. Except vintage, of course, but it has to be cheap or else I'll spiral."

"I always forget about my beauty routine, so I set reminders for myself, like a total freak. So, like, every x days a little alert comes up: “Pluck your eyebrows!" etc. It beats being in public and realizing you look like you've never seen a mirror."

"When I was pregnant, I was so good about self care and it’s something I really want to get back to. I was journaling a lot, walking, listening to guided meditation, taking baths, drinking tea. Someday again soon, I hope.”

"My family has a dinner tradition called Cream of Icebox, which, yes, I know sounds disgusting. It's basically a 'look in the fridge and figure it out' tactic. I always gravitate towards a bowl formation. If I was to make one right this second, it would be leftover farro, canned tuna, arugula (I think I have some?), capers, some lemon. Maybe some cannelini beans, but I'm unsure if there's actually any around."

An outdoor nook.

Woven play.

"I'm in a band, called Kisses, with my husband. We're about to put out our third record on October 9th, actually. I play keyboards and provide backup vocals. I also started Knit Wit a year ago—it's an independent (I mean, obviously) magazine that covers the fiber art and craft community. I wear a lot of hats."

Work in progress.

"It's been tough. I left my job at Bon Appétit in 2010 because the band had all these international touring opportunities. I hadn't studied or lived abroad, so I thought, 'Now's the time!' I still agree with my younger self, but since then, I've always been a little professionally transient. I freelanced and bopped in and out of some more regular jobs, but I always ended up leaving them to tour again! I have definitely felt rudderless and even before being pregnant I felt like I needed to do some re-examining. Here's hoping motherhood helps me answer some of those unanswered questions, eh?"

"Be helplessly co-dependent? Just kidding. I think I just don't know any different at this point. It’s helpful to have other band members to distill the coupleness of it all and to stop you from indulging in petty arguments. Creatively, I think it's great that we value each other’s thoughts and ideas. I always ask his opinion about Knit Wit and he does the same to me for his company, Dart. Honestly, I feel really lucky to be around someone so talented all the time—maybe I'm hoping I'll get his run-off."

"Being in a band has been very similar to launching a magazine. In both, you vacillate between triumphant and humbling moments. Something we've never really done in the band, and something that my partner in Knit Wit and I have been trying to do, is to take stock more often. Like, looking back at what's happened in, say, 6 months and say, 'You know, this is going really well.' It helps, especially because I feel like I'm always thinking about the next thing."

"I could write an entire essay about this. Jesse and I were recently talking about how your time is more precious with a baby, there's less of it to go around, so being around people that are maybe negative or don't add anything feels especially like a drag. They are literally draining your resources. I feel the same way about work. It's got to feed me (not literally) or provide enough money to help my family (literally). Pure, simple, and pragmatic."

"Luckily the album was already finished halfway through my pregnancy (although we did take press photos when I was 8 months pregnant—oof), so there hasn't been too much to get done since. It's been hard. I'm not sure what we expected. I think we just thought that since we're both at home during the day that it will all be fine, but we weren't giving ourselves enough credit for how much work we both actually do. We haven't quite figured it out yet!"

Zinzi wears a Journal Standard dress, Hansel from Basel socks, and Alexander Wang booties. James wears a Petit Bateau top and Ermie pants.

"This has been consistent from my first days pitching and writing stories for Daily Candy, Refinery, and the like. I just love finding out what people are up to and talking about it. Everyone is so busy creating or being really good at what they do. It's cheesy, but it's so inspiring just hearing people's stories."

"Our new album! I love it and I'm so, so proud of it. It's the first we've done with full, live instrumentation, instead of programmed, in-box synthesizers and drum machines. The result is this sound that Jesse and I have long admired—it's a band take on disco. A lot of classic artists had these token disco songs (their labels likely forced them into it!) around the late ‘70s/'80s and that was the vibe we were really thinking about. Our newest single, 'The Nile,' is a really good example of it."

"Yes, which is why we're not planning on doing it. My dad recently retired and offered to be the tour nanny, but yeah, no thanks. There's something nice about the limits a baby can impose on you. Jesse and I were fed up with touring at the end of the last album cycle and we said that on this record, we would only play major markets—meaning a fly-out gig to New York, one show in S.F., one in LA and that's it. If it weren't for James, we probably would have waffled on this or buckled under label or agent pressure. It's really nice how a baby can really hold you to your own ideals in some ways."

"We're just closing issue three right now and are exploring a couple ideas for phase next, none of which are particularly ready for discussion unfortunately! We've been lucky that so many people have been interested in us and in the idea, so now we're just figuring out what the best way to develop for both us and our readers.”

"I love my community here and I feel like James will be surrounded by some really special people. LA in its specificity scares me a little. I'm from Rhode Island and can't imagine back to school without crunchy leaves or snow days or summer thunderstorms. Wealth is sort of quaint there compared to LA and I think it changes the attitude quite a bit. It's hard to even visualize something you've never seen before. Like everything else, wait and see is my new motto!"

"Jesse's mom and dad live nearby, so that's been really helpful and, like I said, we've got some friends with kids, but otherwise we're a little bit on our own. There's not really anyone we can rely on but ourselves if we need to run out and have someone hold the baby for an hour."

"Absolutely, where is the only question we can't seem to answer. Plus, the aforementioned community. Rats."

"Well, that's all going to change—I'm just about to start nanny sharing with a friend for a few days a week. But, so far we've just been reacting to James, trying to suss out what his routine is. Like, when exactly is naptime? We're just starting to find out in the past few weeks, as he begins to assert his rhythm and we fall into one together.”

To follow along with Zinzi, check out her Instagram feeds here and here.