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
My 15 Go-To Skincare and Makeup Products
I've been searching for the perfect makeup and skincare products for years! Now I'm finally starting to find what works for me and what items will be keepers...maybe for the rest of my life. Here's what's in my simple makeup bag.Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile know that I like to do a different type of post for my birthday! My annual tradition is to publish a list-style post, something more personal. Last year I shared 29 habits, recipes, and things that simplify my life. In the years before I've done:I’m Not Jo March (and Other Shocking Things I Learned Before My 28th Birthday) My 27 Favourite Heroes, Heroines, ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Taking a Bath
Taking a bath is a simple luxury and a lost art. But it's such an easy and fun way to relax! Here's why you should make time for baths, plus 15 things to make your bathing experience a soothing at-home spa.I've often said to myself that if I was rich, I'd indulge in very long, hot showers. It would be a luxury to ignore the water and heating bills and just enjoy the massage of hot rain while I let my thoughts drift on and on.But when I think about it, life has plenty of luxuries to offer...regardless of one's bank account. For instance, I am blessed to live in a house that has a bathtub. Fancy it is not, but I can add a few details to ... Continue Reading
10 Go-To Dishes Every Homemaker Should Have in Her Repertoire
Simplify your time in the kitchen by collecting a repertoire of no-fail, go-to dishes. You'll pull these recipes out MANY times in your homemaking career for hosting, hospitality, or just busy seasons of life.Today I'm going to share a little homemaking secret I've discovered that will make your life so much easier--whether in your daily routine, when hosting company, or in your outside social activities. Yes, in all that!As I explored in my previous blog post, I believe every homemaker should recover the lost art of cooking from scratch. Cooking doesn't have to be your passion (although great if it is!), but it should be a basic ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Cooking from Scratch (the non-trendy way)
With takeout options galore and grocery store convenience food, it seems that our culture is fast losing the art of cooking from scratch. Here's how (and why) homemakers can recover the old-fashioned practice of home cooking.Among the other lost arts we'd do well as a culture to keep alive, perhaps one of the most practical is the lost art of cooking from scratch.For me, cooking from scratch conjures up homey feelings of tying on an apron in a sunny kitchen, starting the music, and burying myself in the rhythm of measuring and mixing.But that picture might seem too domestic for some--or simply not enjoyable. And what I'd really ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Porch Sitting
Want to slow down your hectic life? Practice the old-fashioned habit of porch sitting! Here's how to embrace a more intentional life by enjoying your front porch, + ideas for making your porch pretty and welcoming. "Sitting on the summer-night porch was so good, so easy and so reassuring that it could never be done away with. These were rituals that were right and lasting; the lighting of pipes, the pale hands that moved knitting needles in the dimness, the eating of foil-wrapped, chilled Eskimo Pies, the coming and going of all the people....Oh, the luxury of lying in the fern night and the grass night and the night of susurrant, slumbrous ... Continue Reading
Spring Bucket List: 15 Ways to Make the Most of the Season
These 15 springtime activities belong on every spring bucket list! Here's how to enjoy spring so you can shift into the slow lane and live intentionally in the season.I love every season, but spring is the most fun to watch. Every day there's some new progression, some new accessory of leaf or flower, as all of creation responds to beckoning sunshine and warming winds.How can we stand not to answer this call, too? Spring is ephemeral; if we hesitate to embrace it, the world will turn beneath our feet and we'll stumble into summer before we know it.Sure, we're busy. This is the time of year we make a mad, overscheduled dash toward ... Continue Reading
What’s Saving My Meal Planning Routine Right Now
Has your meal planning routine gotten off track? Mine did. Here are three things we've done to fix our meal planning routine so we could stop overspending our grocery budget. They're easy and free.Earlier this year I shared 11 of the most effective things we've done to save money Missing from the list was the common, good-sense advice to meal plan. I didn't include it because for much of last year, we were horrible about making and sticking to a meal plan.And predictably, we went over on our food budget almost every month.However, I do believe that if you want to significantly save money--on a continual, every-month basis--you ... Continue Reading
Recovering the Lost Art of Dressing Up
Today I'm beginning a new series on old-fashioned habits and practices that I believe deserve a comeback. Because with all of the improvements in technology and convenience that our society boasts today, there are a few good, old-fashioned things we've lost. Simple things, like the art of writing letters, of dressing up, or of spending evenings together as a family.I believe these "lost arts" and others like them deserve another look. More than that, they deserve a revival. These old-fashioned habits have the power to enrich our lives, to help us live slower and more intentionally in this hectic, attention-split world. Hence, the ... Continue Reading
