my week in objects (mostly).

November 4, 2016

five little things that made my week.

1. leaf etchings.leaf etchings | reading my tea leaves

{and getting to do all my favorite childhood stuff all over again.}

2. these remains. ashes, etc. | reading my tea leaves

{i don’t know if it’s the election, or the pregnancy, or the general time of year, but i’ve been extra jittery in the evenings lately. burning stuff is helping me feel more grounded.}

3. this magic powderdrink powder | reading my tea leaves

{more soothing powers. much needed.}

4. these tiny tools. tiny tools | reading my tea leaves

{freshly polished by tiny hands.}

5. these fading jack o’ lanterns.pumpkins | reading my tea leaves

{headed to the compost tomorrow but they made the apartment feel cozy all week.}

other things:

i waited 96 years.

science of sourdough.

cookbook clubs.

blue marble.

i love ruth reichl in the fall.

+ 95,000 women

rules for living with roomates.

may she never change.

ps. in case you missed it, there’s a chance to win a $300 gift to shop bridge & burn, right this way. (and a special discount for everyone else!)

pps. there’s a weekly newsletter en route later this afternoon. stay tuned…

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26 Comments

  • Reply MA November 4, 2016 at 11:48 am

    Love that Washington Post article. (may she never change) As the fellow-mother of a climbing daughter, I feel her pain. I take great pride in my 7-yr-old’s calluses on her hands. She earned those suckers, and can now skip every two rungs on the monkey bars and climb the free-hanging rope to the top of the gym ceiling. I’m constantly reminded of the bravery that is required of parenting – both for watching your kids antics and responding to the judgment of others. Guess I’m building calluses of my own. 🙂

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    • Reply Lynn @ The Not Dead Yet Blog November 6, 2016 at 3:29 pm

      Yes, yes, yes. I also have a 7 year old girl who loves to climb. If you have a climbing gym in your area, I highly recommend taking her. It’s one place where no one will tell her to be careful, come down from there, etc. Bravery, strength, and climbing are highly encouraged!

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    • Reply sam-c December 14, 2016 at 2:42 pm

      Yes +1- that was a great, well written article. This article reminds me that i should appreciate my son’s energy, independence, strength, and willfulness rather than wish he wasn’t so exhausting. It’s a joy to have girls and boys like this in the world! 🙂

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  • Reply Samantha November 4, 2016 at 11:55 am

    I really hate to be “that” person but where did you get that crayon set and those tiny wooden tools? My little would love those. Thanks in advance.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle November 4, 2016 at 12:20 pm

      The crayons I found locally, but they’re Stockmar crayons like these ones. The little case actually came with a different set of beeswax crayons that we had—we loved the idea of 100% beeswax, but those crayons broke super easily and we ultimately melted them down into a new shapes! The little tools have all been gifts from my mom. I think she sometimes finds her wooden tools through Bella Luna toys but also in little kitchen shops, etc.! Hope that helps!

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      • Reply Doe November 4, 2016 at 3:50 pm

        So, lurking mama here: In addition to my favorite local kitchen shops and beloved Bella Luna, I regularly check Nova Naturals at http://www.novanatural.com/ and For Small Hands Montessori at http://www.forsmallhands.com/

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        • Reply Nicole November 4, 2016 at 11:56 pm

          You beat me to it–those three are definite favorites at our house as well!

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  • Reply Mihaela November 4, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Burning stuff used to also help me sometimes. Hope you have great cozy weekend. 🙂

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  • Reply Sadie November 4, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    I’m all sorts of jittery this week leading up to Tuesday! Thanks for the great links, Erin. 🙂

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  • Reply lauren November 4, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    Yes to jitters and yes to burning stuff. Having a fire in he backyard might be just what I need.

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  • Reply Taryn November 4, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    Regarding the Washington Post article: I have two very active and daring small sons. I get plenty of concerned comments about their safety as they climb the playground equipment, trees, etc.

    I don’t think this is a girls vs boys thing so much as an ever-growing concern for the physical safety of children.

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    • Reply Alexandra November 4, 2016 at 3:52 pm

      Agreed. My son is only 2, but I field plenty of admonishments and passive-aggressive corrections from strangers about the things I “allow” him to do. Ah, yes, every parent’s favorite – the passive-aggressive “We don’t [do x],” said loudly and theatrically. “We don’t play in the mud.” “We don’t walk on the garden wall.” “WE don’t climb up the slide” (oh, the up-the-slide drama, does it ever end). When he falls – because he is two, so of course he does – and cries and comes running to me for comfort, the guilt that everyone seems so eager to heap onto me, silently, watching, is almost unbearable. But I know I have to bear it, for him. Because he deserves to climb and jump and get dirty and, yes, fall. And he deserves to know the nuanced difference between “We don’t climb up the slide,” and “We don’t climb up the slide when other people are trying to go down it.” He is smart enough and strong enough to learn these things and know them. And he will be better off for having learned them.

      He has a stool in the kitchen that he pushes around to access counters and pantry shelves as he desires, or simply to stand at nearly eye-level with me in the kitchen and enjoy the equal footing. My ten-year old stepson (whose biological mother is extremely over-protective) will not climb the stool. It’s only two steps, but it strikes me how different those two steps are to those two boys: to one, they are freedom; to another, they are danger.

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  • Reply Clio November 4, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    LOVE that huffpo article, it gave me all sorts of feelings. I just have a little boy right now but I also have two niece and I hope they’ll all be as adventurous as each other.

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  • Reply Mary Kate November 4, 2016 at 4:02 pm

    That article about the active little girl is so great. That’s how I was, and that’s how I hope my kids will be.

    Just read your newsletter; I’ve considered signing up to make phone calls, but I hate talking on the phone so much, especially to strangers. I’ve donated to Hillary, but am aware I could do more. Have you done the phone call thing before? If I thought it would really make a difference, I might; but I do live in Jersey which is blue anyways. Bottom line: I’m torn. I really want to do what I can to help ensure that sanity reigns in this country, but really, really don’t want to make phone calls, especially since I’m not sure how much of a difference it would make.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle November 4, 2016 at 4:15 pm

      I have! I made calls for Obama when I lived in North Carolina and it really felt like a proactive approach (even if it was also sometimes daunting). No need to make calls only in your own state, either!

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  • Reply Nicole November 4, 2016 at 10:39 pm

    The article on strong willed little girls! – insert praise hands emoji here – we need more of those girls and those mamas.

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  • Reply alex chua November 5, 2016 at 11:27 am

    That HuffPost article is great. I’m a mother of two very active boys (now teenagers) and suffered greatly for the sin of letting them run wild in open spaces. I’ve dealt with broken bones and scary injuries, but my only regret is for those times I talked them out of doing more daring things. The more you tell kids they can’t do this or that, the more they believe it. And slowly that sparkle of joy and curiosity diminishes until all that’s left are video games and electronic devices.

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  • Reply Coreen November 5, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    Chiming in to the choruses singing praises of that WaPo article! I was fortunate enough to have a really playful (wildly so, complete with climbing trees and being out of my parents’ sight) childhood and get so frustrated to see how many more limits we put on kids today. I spent an entire graduate school semester researching “free play” and its importance in development… anyway. Good stuff!

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  • Reply Mun November 6, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    The rules to having roommates made me ROFL!

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  • Reply jacquie November 7, 2016 at 12:01 am

    Where did the brass (?) plate for burning things in come from.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle November 7, 2016 at 9:04 am

      It’s actually a brass coaster from Schoolhouse Electric!

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  • Reply Eloise Alice November 7, 2016 at 5:09 am

    this is such a lovely post, it lifted my mood somehow haha

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  • Reply Erin November 7, 2016 at 9:06 am

    I totally (and coincidentally) made my first attempt at a sour dough starter last night! Fingers crossed.

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  • Reply Neurotic Workaholic November 8, 2016 at 11:02 pm

    I remember those leaf etchings from grade school! My class took a walk around the neighborhood and collected leaves. I miss doing stuff like that.

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  • Reply Rachel November 5, 2017 at 1:34 am

    Hi Erin! Love your blog and book! Can you tell me what color your blue dresser is? Love it! Thanks so much.

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    • Reply ERIN BOYLE November 5, 2017 at 2:23 pm

      Benjamin Moore abyss.

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