Each year we get the kids a new pair of shoes for St. Nicholas Day (the ones above are for the girls, my favorite shoes for babies and toddlers!) and then we fill them with treats. It's our big gift-exchange day instead of Christmas (although we do Christmas morning fun with Daniel's family). We start out the day with Mass, then the kids get to open their gifts and try on their new shoes while we … [Read more...]
The Feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim (Menu and Recipes)
It's been awhile since I've shared about it here at Carrots, but celebrating the liturgical year is one of the ways that why try to live out our faith. This is the menu and recipes we have used in the past to celebrate The Feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim coming up on July 26th. Enjoy! About the Saints: St. Anne and St. Joachim are the mother and father of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the … [Read more...]
Catholicism: Empowering Women for 2000 Years (Part III: Female Saints and Doctors of the Church)
So we’ve talked about how Marian doctrine taught me to celebrate my womanhood and how the Catholic idea of vocation honors women. But I want to share with you how learning about the saints and doctors of the Church taught me to love the diversity and strength of women in the communion of saints. In Part II I shared how before converting to Catholicism, I felt that my gifts didn’t fit in … [Read more...]
A Simple Meal for St. Brigid’s Day, February 1st
Tomorrow is St. Brigid's Day, so I wanted to share a post I wrote for our neglected real food liturgical year blog. Included is a simple recipe for a seasonal soup to be paired with bread and honey butter. It's quick, easy, and as St. Brigid's Day falls on a Friday this year, vegetarian. Enjoy! February 1st celebrates the Feast of St. Brigid (c. 451-525), a nun, abbess, and friend of St. … [Read more...]
The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas: Recipe for Grilled Pork Chops Lazio Style
January 28th is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. This is a post Daniel wrote for our woefully neglected real food liturgical year blog a couple of years ago. This meal was amazing. Reading the writing of St. Thomas had a huge impact on our conversion, so he holds a special place in my heart. Happy Feast! Thomas was a 13th century Dominican priest and scholar from Aquino, Italy who made gigantic … [Read more...]
Little HolyDays: The Feast of St. Nicholas
Welcome to our first Little HolyDays link up and Happy New Year! No, I haven’t gotten the months confused, it’s the beginning of a new liturgical year. Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent. Let’s hope you were more organized than I and didn’t spend part of your Sunday scrambling around looking for your Advent wreath (don’t worry! I found it!). Anyhow, for our very first Little HolyDays … [Read more...]
The Feast of St. Andrew, Nov. 30th
Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Andrew. Daniel whipped up this fabulous meal of Tahini Tilapia for our celebration of St. Andrew (a fisherman) a couple of years ago and it's still a staple at our house. And since November 30th is on a Friday this year, how handy that it's fish for us Catholics, right? The following is drawn from a post on Feast!, our woefully neglected Christian Year blog, that … [Read more...]
Michaelmas Traditions: Prayers, Food, and Flowers
Michaelmas is quickly approaching: September 29th (next Saturday)! It will come as no surprise to you that I love St. Michael's Day. It was the first feast we celebrated when we started observing the Christian Year in 2009, the Fall before our conversion to the Catholic faith. What is Michaelmas? Michaelmas (pronounced Mickel-mas) is a feast day celebrating the Archangels. It follows the … [Read more...]
I’ve Got Greens and the Terrible Threes Growing in My Garden
Here's what's been going on outdoors in our neck of the woods: Lots of park dates and outside play for this little guy. Baby girl is content to just sleep in the baby wrap with Mama while Little Bear gets his wiggles out. Although the terrible threes subsided a little bit in the past couple of weeks (perhaps due to extra time with Daddy during our trip), they were back in full force … [Read more...]
The Feast of St. Patrick
I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day today! It is spring in North Florida and the outdoors are green in honor of one of my favorite saints. The dogwoods, azaleas, and wisteria are in bloom and the scent of flowers is downright intoxicating. And here's a little something from the archives about St. Patrick, why I love him so much, and a St. Patrick's Feast we made with links to a … [Read more...]