five little things that made my week:
1. this wooden bowl (and spoon).
{for a certain little brother who’s starting to eat solids.}
2. these soap samples. 
{best kind of research.}
3. these rain drops.
{and summer morning thunderstorms.}
4. these leather drawer pulls.
{ for holding up, more than three years later.}
5. these clips.
{’cause it’s not the prettiest item in the world, but gosh it’s useful for our old highchair.}
other things:
the “hardest job in the world” misses the point completely.
20 Comments
As an empty-nester, I can relate to Flanagan’s “Solace in a Box Store.” By the end of my daughter’s freshman year, I felt guilty for thinking she needed so much STUFF to make her dorm room livable and manageable. In retrospect, the excess items probably made her dorm room LESS manageable. Yeah, not my best mom moment!
I am almost upset that you knew about the existence of buttered rolls this whole time and never let me in on this glorious secret! I had never in my life heard of it til I read this article earlier this week. Is it really good enough to replace a morning croissant? I am going to have to do my own personal investigation. <3
HAHAHA! Best hanger cure there is.
I also read “Solace in a Big Box Store” and couldn’t help but be reminded of when I was pregnant with my first (and only) child. How the marketing departments of these goods worked so hard to pull on your emotions – that your new baby will need this-or-that extraneous thing. Possibly with dire consequences if you neglected (or refused, as in my case) to purchase them. I see now that this is a trend, regardless of how old your children are.
I literally *just* took a break from rereading An Everlating Meal (the portion on beans) and was thinking it should be required reading for kids going off to college. Oh, the simple, delicious (cheap!) and ethical feasts you can base around beans.
Yess!
I agree! My very favorite.
That Longest Shortest Time episode was one of my favorites. They should do a podcast together.
YESSSS.
Those clips look great! We have an antique amish high chair for our 22-month old but she can climb out so easily now. Would these work with that chair? Could you share a photo of the clips on your high chair?
Would probably work just fine!
Oh, summer thunderstorms! Be still my heart! … Which almost happened this morning when I was woken up from a dead sleep to a huge crack of thunder and nearly had a heart attack. Totally worth being woken up for, though. 🙂
I’m almost disappointed that the nearest Unyoked to me is in Sydney.
I read Solace because I’m going through the whole empty nest, what is next thing. It was so well written and accurate.
Thank you for the Atlantic link on beans vs beef! One small change, such a big impact. In this age where so many feel frustrated by the lack of leadership, hopeless about the future, stymied by changes that are too hard….aha! There is something you can do. Change your diet. Beans are versatile, delicious and HEALTHY. our health care costs would plummet with this change too. And don’t forget legumes, especially lentils, even better than beans. Farming lentils actually improves the soil. Please read “the lentil underground”, an awesome book about lentil growers in my state, MT, and the only actual farmer in the US Senate, Jon Tester. Eating lentils could literally save the planet.
Thank you for the article on motherhood. Ever since I reached my mid-twenties I’ve thought that women, at least middle and upper class women, who chose to have children were incredibly privileged, blessed even. They had the means, the confidence, and the right kind of brain chemistry for it—and had apparently they had chosen the right partner. I was completely taken aback to learn that people considered women who chose not to have children to be “selfish”!
Of course! I thought the headline was funny, as is often the case with headlines, but the piece as a whole really, really resonated with me, especially the idea that we do a disservice to women by framing motherhood as something that requires total sacrifice of self.
Thanks for sharing Erin – your Friday posts are one off my Sunday morning treats.
“The assertion of motherhood as sacrifice comes with a perceived glorification. A woman is expected to sacrifice her time, ambition and sense of self to a higher purpose, one more worthy than her own individual identity. This leaves a vacuum in the place of her value, one that others rush to fill” – so so soooooo prevalent. Hopefully we can change this over time – in a loving way – not just for your daughters but for our sons too.
Also THAT STEAMER … (faint)
Yes. I loved that essay so much.
Oh Lord – the OCD, A-type personality in me has to correct . . .
* Your Friday posts are one OF my Sunday morning treats.
AND . . .
*not just for OUR daughters but for our sons too.
(slaps forehead)
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