Category: Ethos
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How Does Your Garden Grow?
Ours is lacking in both silver bells and cockle shells… Here in Montana, if it’s not the deer leveling the garden it’s the early frost. Our bounty of tomatoes was decimated, there will be no canning this year. Live and learn– at least we are not starving pioneers, Costco is just ten minutes down the…
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Warming A House: 8 Great Gift Ideas
I’m talking about what I know and love again today– brace yourselves! Even though I prefer to host birthday parties sans the customary gift exchange, I love, love, love giving meaningful gifts… Having purchased countless house-warming gifts for clients during my professional years as a Realtor, I have gobs of experience in selecting simple, thoughtful items…
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Sunday Drive
What’s a family to do when they ACTUALLY make it out the door for church on time (for once) only to realize, en route, that their youngest is quite snot-nosed and feverish? (hint: don’t go anyway, thereby infecting the entire nursery populous, thankyouverymuch) Answer: Sunday drive.
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A Case for Giftless Birthday Parties
Little Man turned three this weekend. yay! sob. hooray! weep. Last year I shared why his birthday will likely always be a bit of a bittersweet anniversary, but this year those sentiments were compounded further by the sobering realization that: 3 = no longer a baby. We hosted a simple backyard celebration with our dear neighbors (old and new), a dash…
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Summer Survival: Cooking For Your Family Without Actually Cooking Your Family
Welcome, Summer. Is it sweltering where you live? I know what you’re thinking: Montana = snow, but it actually gets quite hot here during the summer months. Factor in our current lack of air-conditioning and shade trees (trees here are like shrubs to this native Oregonian), and you might get a picture of just how sweaty we are. We’ve become a family of cave-dwellers–…
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Simple Summer Fun: Egg Roulette
Thank you, Jimmy Fallon, for the fun idea… Materials: A carton of [cheap, non-organic, NOT farm fresh] eggs. Instructions: Hard boil some, and leave some raw (we hard-boiled eight of twelve), then allow your kids to discover which are which by cracking them over their heads– ala Ramona Quimby. We conducted our experiment: 1) outdoors, 2) before showers, and 3) in…
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My Thrifted Wardrobe
I started thrifting for clothes long before it was cool… scouring the Union Gospel Mission thrift shop Mackelmore-style with my bestie after middle-school, back when the ‘Grunge Look’ of the early 90’s was all the rage. (Though we modeled our look more after the likes of Janis Joplin & Stevie Nicks than Drew Barrymore & Courtney Love.) These days, I aim…
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Good Things
For years, my dear Auntie-in-law blessed me with a subscription to Martha Stewart’s Living magazine. As a bumbling new home-maker, I looked forward to it’s monthly arrival in my mailbox with eager anticipation. Without fail, the highlight of every issue was the 1-2 page collection of Good Things; abbreviated little excerpts, ideas, or items carefully curated for beauty, simplicity,…
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Daytime Dating
Who’s got two thumbs and loves going on dates with her husband? This girl. As a homeschooling mama, I spend nearly every waking moment with my darling children; therefore, I feel no guilt at all in occasionally leaving them with a sitter (whom they adore) so Handsome Husband and I can have some PEACE and QUIET. I…
