Welcome to our New Home Makers' Quizlette: A place where we get all the details from real people with real lives and very real budgets all on a quest to build the modern home. No fuss. No frill. Just facts (plus some furniture).

THE BASICS

Name: Alexandra Cadena Stempel 

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 30

Location: Los Angeles

Occupation: Script Coordinator 

Type of home: A very old charming apartment 

Time in your space: 6ish years 

Cohabitants: My husband and our sweet angel dog, Frida. 

YOUR SPACE 

Side tables: 

Where you cook: 

Where you dream: 

Your biggest splurge: This Gae Aulenti pipistrello lamp that I coveted with a passion. It still makes my heart flutter. 

Latest addition: Our new couch! 

THE GALLERY WALL

Your go to recipe: There are dishes I keep coming back to despite being someone who cooks a lot and experiments with a lot of new dishes. For example, I make arepas almost every single day. Always the same — cheese and butter. Last year I had an almost concerning hyper fixation with a delicious couscous recipe from NYTCooking by the amazing Melissa Clark. It’s so creamy and hearty. I could eat it every single day with a mountain of dill and cilantro for sprinkling. 

I also adore #thestew by Alison Roman. It’s a classic for a reason. Her latest recipe, a lentil soup with squash is also becoming a classic in my home. Another slam dunk. 

Your trusty steed (thing that you cannot live without): My Dyson vacuum. Greatest thing I’ve ever bought. 

"Homemaker" idol: Nancy Meyers! She really sparked a curiosity in me for interiors. I wanted to have a little charming cottage in the English countryside, a mansion in Los Angeles, a house I could remodel in Santa Barbara while simultaneously having an affair with my architect (my husband is an architect which makes this scenario even more attainable). 

I also loved Dakota Johnson’s home in the Hollywood Hills (I love limes!), I adored Troye Sivan’s home in Melbourne, Joan Didion’s New York apartment was a dream come true. I also think about Molly Baz’s Los Angeles home quite a bit. I love the prosciutto-themed bathroom. 

FINISHING TOUCHES

A tip (advice for an aspiring homemaker): My advise, which is often dismissed, is to not rush through the process of decorating a space. I think collecting pieces that you adore over time is such a special thing — it brings your personal style into your home in a way that rushing the process will never be able to. I love seeing a home and thinking it reflects its owner perfectly. Time is so valuable when getting to know a home or an apartment and its needs (and your needs within it). Don’t be scared of blank corners or empty spaces, worry about filling them meaningfully. 

Today's to do list: 

1. Dishes. Always dishes.
2. Make that lentil squash soup I was talking about earlier
3. Pay for a parking ticket. Gotta love Los Angeles