It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a year since I was sent home from the hospital sobbing. I knew I was in labor and shouldn’t leave. I begged the nurses to let me stay. I knew Hildie was coming and soon. But I was too disoriented and deep in labor to be able to put up a fight and I just cried all the way home only to realize things were farther along than either Daniel and I realized … [Read more...]
In My Fake Life with Succulents, Quiet, and White Couches
I keep dozens of succulents alive. They probably hang on the wall with a contraption I built myself from a design on Pinterest. The light streams in through sheer white curtains onto the wall where my little green charges reside. Not just the curtains but almost everything in this loft is white. White couch, white cushions. White bedspread. White walls with some exposed brick to add some … [Read more...]
Andrew Davies, Stop Sexing Up Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s six novels have been adapted for film numerous times, but Janeites have been eagerly awaiting the airing of a series based on an unfinished work by Austen: Sanditon. Household name, Andrew Davies, is leading the charge as screenwriter with numerous beloved adaptations under his belt (including the 1995 Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth). I’m not the only … [Read more...]
Why You Should Read This Book by a Guy Who Sat and Talked to People at McDonald’s: A Review of Dignity by Chris Arnade
If I could suggest only two books about the current landscape of America right now they would be Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson about our prison system and the recently released Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America by Chris Arnade. I first heard of Arnade from my husband, Daniel, who started following him on Twitter ages ago. “Have you heard of the guy who sits and talks to people who … [Read more...]
Sun’s Out and It’s Time for a Summer Stitch Fix!
This post is sponsored by Stitch Fix. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you schedule through my link I'll earn a small commission at no cost to you. Let me just start out by saying that I've been looking for a midi skirt for FIVE years and each one has fit me all wrong until now. Thanks to my Stitch Fix stylist, I can spend the summer pretending … [Read more...]
Spring/Summer Reads (And books giveaway!)
Since I love chatting about books, I've been trying to share our family's current reads on a regular basis here on the blog. And I like sharing the love by giving away books to my readers! Here’s a few of the great titles I’ve picked up lately as well as my #cathLIT2019 reads I've completed over the past month or two (And just scroll down to the end see how to enter the giveaway for these four … [Read more...]
“Tolkien” Struggles to Explain the Magic that Tolkien Effortlessly Captured
In Tolkien, the new movie based on the early life of J. R. R. Tolkien, myth and romance are the antidote to war. Guest Review by Boze Herrington “To be caught in youth by 1914,” wrote English novelist J. R. R. Tolkien in a second-edition foreword to The Lord of the Rings, “was no less hideous an experience than to be involved in 1939 and the following years. By 1918 all but one of my close … [Read more...]
Do You Need a Budget? We Did.
My husband Daniel and I are about to celebrate our 13th anniversary. We got married before my junior year in college when we were 20 years old. We took turns working to put each other through college and our first baby was born when we were 23. We had three kids by the time I turned 27. As you can imagine…we've been working with a pretty tight budget since 2006. We’ve always had to be really … [Read more...]
When God Loves You Through Your Kids
It was three months after my fourth baby was born and I had been feeling like I was going to have a panic attack all morning. On the verge of tears, lump in my throat, brain whirring through all the things that needed to get done. On repeat: “You’ll never get it all done. You’re terrible at everything. You’re failing at everything in your life. Mothering? Homeschooling? Writing? Housekeeping? … [Read more...]
My Body, My Children’s First Home
As my fourth baby has learned to crawl over the past few weeks, I watch her launch out across the living room to grab toys and explore. After scurrying several feet away, she will turn her head back to where I sit cross-legged on the floor and return to me, climbing into my lap to rest her head on my chest or pat my cheek with her chubby palm before going on her next tiny adventure across the … [Read more...]
