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girls club weekend, raleigh, nc.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a conference that the Clarkson family put on. You’ve probably heard of Sally Clarkson from reading my blog. I enjoy her books and especially her podcast, At Home with Sally. Her daughter, Sarah, wrote Book Girl, which was one of my favorites from last year. All of the Clarksons except one were in Raleigh for this conference, which was about the book Sally just published with her daughters, Sarah and Joy, called Girls Club: Cultivating Lasting Friendship in a Lonely World. Several friends from Columbia also went to the conference, but I drove up alone and roomed with my friend,…
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the workshop, 2019.
I’ve got a couple of house update posts for you, which make me very happy. First off, the backyard. David dismantled and gave away our kids’ play house a year ago, and built a workshop in its place, which I shared with you here. He painted the workshop, but then it sat for a year while we saved up money to finish it, and he focused his outdoor efforts on smaller yard projects. We’ve composted for several years, but David has always wanted to build a system with several bins to make it more efficient. His secret to quick turnaround with compost is using lots and lots of dry matter,…
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january.
Hello from sunny but cold South Carolina! This winter has been bewildering. It started back in November, and has given us lots of rain and nighttime temperatures in the low 20’s. This is not typical South Carolina weather. I got winter boots and a very soft pink beanie for Christmas and have put them to good use. January has flown by. I thought I’d jump back into blogging by telling you what we’ve been up to this month. I’m sorry to say that I have zero recent photos to include. I’ll do better in February! Riding bikes Amie got a new bike for Christmas, and Noah got one for…
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what worked and what didn’t in 2018, part 2.
Hi friends! So I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the things that didn’t work for me in 2018! Have no fear, I am back and ready to finish up this series. What didn’t work: Running Yes. It’s true. Running did not work for me in 2018, and I have no one to blame but myself. Here’s the secret: I just don’t like running. I’ve tried for years and years because I know it’s good for me, and because, as my husband tells me, it’s the most time-efficient form of exercise. I’ve also tried because, in all honesty, I want people to think I’m a runner.…
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what worked and what didn’t in 2018, part 1.
Hello there, my friends! I hope you’ve recovered from the holidays and are settling into 2019, ready as I am to embrace the comfort of familiar rhythms and routines. This post was a request from my husband and it gives me a chance to say: I love blog post requests! I enjoy writing and sometimes run out of ideas, or think maybe you get bored of reading about the same old/same old, so if there’s anything you want me to write about, don’t ever hesitate to ask! I like a good assignment. In lieu of making New Year’s Resolutions I typically take some time during the first couple weeks of…
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giving thanks on january 1.
Happy New Year, dear readers! On Sunday afternoon I pulled dusty storage boxes down from the attic, and turned on our Spotify Christmas music playlist one last time while the kids and I took ornaments off the tree and unwound strings of white lights and rolled up the stockings. I’m usually more than ready to take down decorations and reclaim our living room, but this year I found myself a bit melancholy, not quite ready to say good-bye to the Christmas season. We made beautiful memories this year, like always, and I can’t quite put my finger on why it was so special, except maybe a new feeling of togetherness.…
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december bookshelf and the evolution of a reading life.
I’ve been full-to-bursting with wanting to write a real bookshelf post for months now, because they’re my favorite posts to write. But they take a bit of time and work. Thank you for accepting my haphazard one right before our road trip. You can see from the above photo that the souvenirs I chose to buy on our trip were: you guessed it. Books! In Mansfield, I grabbed a couple slim volumes by Laura Ingalls Wilder to round out our series at home. And one of our favorite parts of Moab, Utah, was Back of Beyond Books, which we visited several times (and I’ll admit, never left empty-handed). It’s fun…
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december projects.
Happy Monday, friends! Today I thought I’d tell you about my November/December projects. It took pretty much the entire month of October to recover from our Road Trip, and then I was ready to take on two new hobbies: sourdough bread and kombucha. First, bread. I baked bread with a sourdough starter several years ago, and have always wanted to get back in the rhythm. Thankfully my friend Beth offered to share her starter and recipe with me. I love baking bread. There’s something soothing about it. Working with my hands quiets my mind, and homemade bread feels like the most basic and nurturing of comfort foods. This…
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saturn v.
Last month, David, Judah, and I watched the movie The Martian, which we enjoyed very much. Afterward, our friend Nick loaned Judah his amazing LEGO set, the Apollo Saturn V, to take apart and rebuild. Thankfully, David and Judah waited until I took the three younger kids to a birthday party, or I would’ve been a little nervous about one of those pieces getting lost. The set has over 1,900 pieces, and the guys had it taken apart and rebuilt it in about 5 hours!
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he says.
Letter Noah dictated to our friend John: Santa Claus is coming to your chimney, only if you have a chimney. And you have to go to sleep, and you have to put your pillow on your face. And let Santa Claus come in and try to go to sleep! And when it’s Christmas time, the presents will be in your room! And don’t forget to make cookies for him. Make good, yummy cookies for him! Put a cup of milk there so he can drink it. Well, don’t forget you need it to be good and fresh! Santa Claus will have a lot of candy, presents, and toys. Well, you…
