my week in objects (mostly).

December 8, 2017

five little things that made my week.

1. this top-of-the-fridge storage spot.

{now with cleaner lines and calmed down colors. like breath of fresh air for the darkest corner of the apartment.}

2. this greenery.

{just like every single year. never not happy to track paperwhite progress.}

3. this new jar of honey.

{nothing so good as that first teaspoonful.}

4. these empty paperclips.

{and counting down days.}

5. cinnamon stars.

{year two, no glue required.}

other things:

bundle up.

workplace rage.

you had me at gingerbread humans.

earth tiles.

yes to all this.

loveable.

a holiday shop.

to help california fire victims: send money.

firewomen (not for the faint of heart.)

300% (neither this.)

me in other places:

I’m so excited to announce that I was selected as the small-space winner of the 2017 Design Blogger Awards hosted by Domino. If you’d like, you can read the profile right this way. Huge thanks to everyone who voted and to Domino for the honor. I’m so very grateful for your support.

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11 Comments

  • Reply Alexa December 8, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    Hooray! Congratulations, Erin!

  • Reply Judith December 8, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    Congratulations on the award, Erin. During these terrible times, it’s always a source of peace and beauty. Thank you for that.

  • Reply Alison December 8, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    As always the articles you post are beautiful. 300% had me in tears and leaves me contemplating so many things, thank-you for making sure it was shared with so many of us.

  • Reply Courtney December 8, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    Congratulations! I’ve read and enjoyed your blog for years. Thanks for providing a peaceful break whenever I need it!

  • Reply Rita December 8, 2017 at 5:27 pm

    I’m happy yours won! I super voted for you! Although I feel Domino could havr made a more in depth interview/article..

  • Reply Madeleine December 10, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    Hurray Erin – I also super voted for you! So well deserved.

  • Reply Sarah EM December 11, 2017 at 10:17 am

    Congratulations on the honor! Well deserved!

  • Reply elizabeth December 11, 2017 at 1:00 pm

    Hi Erin!

    Please allow me to shed some light on the “firewomen” link you shared. I am married to a federal wildland firefighter and have many friends (male and female) who fight fire or work in other fire-related jobs.

    The article about female inmate fire crews is written from a very biased perspective. And also includes some statements that are just not true. {I think that it also twists what firefighting actually is into an ugly light.} Inmate crew members are paid $2 an hour when fighting fires – and no one (inmate or state or contract or federal firefighter) works less than 16 hour days on the fire line – so $36 a day. Jobs inside the prison bring 35-90 cents an hour. The inmates do have a choice of if they will work on a fire crew or not. And their time on a fire crew gets them out of the prison and allows them to earn qualifications and a public record of those qualifications and experience and hours on the fireline – an invaluable resource for future employment. Those records are dramatically important for job opportunities, whether the applicant is an inmate or not. So, for the person who truly deserves to be incarcerated, the fire crews are a way of learning a useable skill, for earning money for things like birthday cards for their kids, for shortening their sentence, etc.

    Also, incarceration costs state and federal taxpayers. Firefighting costs state and federal taxpayers. Having incarcerated persons make up some of that difference does not seem unjust to me. {For the person who is unjustly incarcerated – does any of this make it any better? . . . well, it is still a different and maybe better chance in a sometimes twisted system.}

    Please consider this this video
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07RQOcsCVio
    alongside these two
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hD33ngip90
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmo_NhGh7Mc

    I have always perceived from your blog that you appreciate thoughtful and careful consideration of topics concerning justice and kindness and truth. Thank you for your consideration and time in reading my comment and watching the videos.

    And may the rest of your Monday have moments of joy and peace,
    Elizabeth

    • Reply Shelly December 12, 2017 at 3:14 pm

      Thank you for this comment. My husband is also a firefighter in Oregon and it’s nice to see someone read the article the same way I did. These inmates sign up to do that job and they earn skills that can actually help them on the outside. The article does seem to forget one thing, mistakes are made, but these inmates are paying for their mistakes and must accept the fact that they aren’t going to make the same wage as someone who hasn’t followed a “crime” path. Plus, they aren’t “thrown out on the fire lines” as the article suggests. They simply sign up, agree to the conditions, earn a wage, and do a great deal of work to help fight the fire efforts on the west coast. I live in Oregon and our wildfires were the worst I’ve seen in the 14 years I’ve lived here. Inmate work crews are appreciated more than they realize and much more than that article seems to want to imply. The system could be better all the way around, I will give the article poster that, but this is one form of the system that helps out in a great way.

      -On a side note: Do you purchase new paperwhite bulbs each year, or do you store the same ones and bring them out when the time is near?

  • Reply Elizabeth December 13, 2017 at 8:15 am

    I have six kids…my oldest is twenty, my youngest is three.
    Over the years, they have all played with the magnet tiles…my three year old plays with them every single day!!!
    Well worth the investment. I promise!

  • Reply Elizabeth December 13, 2017 at 8:18 am

    Also…I forgot to tell you CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS!!!
    I’ve been following your blog since you were first pregnant with your daughter.
    I also absolutely love, love, LOVE your book and have shared it with many people…I actually color matched your headboard at the paint store! Haha. The doors in my kitchen match your headboard.

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