Ever wished these famous fictional houses were real? Check out the top 10 best and worst homes from literature...and maybe get a little inspiration for your own home in the process. (Both what to imitate and what to avoid at all costs!)Long before we have homes of our own, many of us envision what we want our "dream house" to be like. Didn't you? I did.In one early version, my imaginary house had a red slide inside, with a fountain and an always-freshly-mown lawn out front.Nowadays, I'm still into dream homes, but instead of trying to find one I'm trying to create it. You see, you have to work with what you've got, flourishing ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Solitude
In today's world we're too busy and too plugged in to enjoy the art of solitude. We should embrace solitude, but many of us avoid it--wrongly equating solitude with loneliness. Here's how to find more alone time, and why we need to.Do you find joy in solitude?Solitude is when you're alone with yourself, absorbed in your own thoughts and senses. I can see three camps of people when it comes to solitude. One type of person avoids solitude, equating it with loneliness or boredom. Another type finds value in solitude but rarely engages in it, due to a hectic lifestyle. And the third enjoys solitude and seeks it out often and ... Continue Reading
10 Things Every Homemaker Should Know
Want to be a more intentional homemaker? These 10 homemaking truths will give you focus, purpose, and direction–and make your job a little easier, too.When I was in college, there was a special spot I liked to visit off campus when I needed a little perspective. I could walk there, taking a trail through the woods along the crest of Lookout Mountain. The trail ended at a stunning overlook, where the trees had been cut away in a swath down the mountainside to make room for power lines.Yes, my college was on a mountaintop. But sometimes I was so taken up with the minutiae of daily school life that I forgot to take in the views. Going ... Continue Reading
19+ Old-Fashioned Blogs You Should Follow
Old-fashioned blogs are alive and well...you just have to know where to look! In spite of social media and other forms of content like podcasting and video, it's clear that people still love reading blogs. Here's a list of blogs that follow an old-school approach. Curl up with your favourite hot drink and enjoy getting lost in blogland again!Years ago, it became a Sunday afternoon tradition for me to grab a blanket, my laptop, a cup of Nescafe, and a snack. Then I'd visit my favourite blogs to see what was new, and pour over the archives to find posts that pre-dated my readership. I loved being able to read what were essentially really ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Old-Fashioned Blogging
Let's bring back old-fashioned blogging! It may have changed a lot in the past decade, but blogging isn't dead. It's just time to revive it a little. Old-school, unpretentious blogs are the answer.It's tradition. I always do a yearly wrap up/look ahead in January, where I list my top blog posts, discuss upcoming ideas, and reflect on the state of blogging (in my own corner and in the larger bogging world). That's what you'll find today. But since I have more I want to say about the state of blogging this time around, I decided to include this in my "Lost Arts" series.The practice of keeping a blog won't apply to everyone, but if ... Continue Reading
7 Kitchen Resolutions for the New Year
Set kitchen resolutions for the year ahead to help you be intentional in this area of your home! These are my kitchen resolutions for 2019 (and beyond). It's my hope that these goals will become habits in the kitchen that are simply second nature to me.It's a lovely practice to make general resolutions for the year ahead, but I've also found it helpful to make niched-down resolutions in various areas of my life. For instance, I make yearly blogging goals. When we moved into our current home, I made a list of ongoing house resolutions.Why not grab a pen and paper (or your list journal) and make resolutions for different focus areas of ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Analog Living
Do you miss the analog days of the past? This isn't just about nostalgia, though. Analog living has value for anyone who craves a simple, slower, more old-fashioned pace of life. Here's how you can ditch the digital and practice the lost art of an analog lifestyle. How to Live an Analog Life Ah...the internet.There's so much to say on this topic, and I've been thinking of writing this post for a while now. You see, I've been a heavy internet user since my college days, and in the last decade+ I've experienced many of the benefits and frustrations that internet brings.As an adult, I've never lived without the internet. But the bulk ... Continue Reading
My Minimalist Birth Plan
Giving birth doesn't have to be complicated. This simple natural birth plan will help you achieve the labor and delivery you want! Read on for how to write a minimalist birth plan that your care providers will actually read and remember!I've found in life that you're more likely to get what you want if you keep things simple. If the variables--and your expectations--are simple to begin with, it's easier to be satisfied (and pleasantly surprised).Case in point: I wanted another natural birth with baby #2, and I was very happy with how it all turned out! That outcome wasn't a given, though, since I was birthing in a hospital where just ... Continue Reading
Baby Roo’s Birth Story
This is the story of my second son's birth. He was born in the hospital and I had him "naturally"; without an epidural or painkillers! Here's how it went.It's always hard to wait for what you very badly want, but it's even harder to wait for it when you're uncomfortable. As my pregnancy wore on with the Alabama summer, I became increasingly ready. More like increasingly impatient. I was dying to meet my baby boy, and dying to get some physical and emotional relief from being constantly on the verge.Many months earlier, I'd taken a pregnancy test at the earliest viable day. We entered the holiday season with good news to share, and as ... Continue Reading
Easy Caffeine-Free Cinnamon Vanilla Tea Recipe
Enjoy a cozy cinnamon-vanilla rooibos tea with this recipe! It's completely caffeine free, so you can drink it any time of day--and your kids can, too. Note from Elsie: My friend Anjanette is guest posting today, while I enjoy my new baby boy and a self-assigned maternity leave! Enjoy a cup of this cozy tea while you read a good book this fall(: For book ideas to pair with it, check out one of the "quick classics" Anjanette recommended over on my literary blog. Guest post by Anjanette BarrA hot cup of tea is so comforting! I even enjoy warm tea in the summer when I'm just waking up and anything cold would be shocking, or when I'm ready ... Continue Reading
