gifts

  • a clutter-free advent calendar, updated.

    When I first posted about our plans for a clutter-free advent calendar, Faye was a wee thing of 19-months. That original list of holiday activities has all the hallmarks of a family with one…

    November 29, 2018 18 Comments
  • make your own: compound butter.

    Compound butter sounds fancier than it really is. It’s butter, softened, with herbs or fruit or other bits of tastiness stirred in. You can shape it into a log, chill it, and serve it…

    November 27, 2018 13 Comments
  • gift guide: gifts to savor (now or always).

    A precious spice jar to fill on repeat +/or something special for seasoning. A bottle opener to last a lifetime +/or something bubbly to open.  Linen terry towels for everyday luxury +/or something to soak up during…

    November 26, 2018 16 Comments
  • baby proof: bedtime stories lately.

    Both of my kids are off at school these days and it’s meant that at the end of the day they don’t have quite the stamina for the multi-book bedtimes that we’ve been used…

    November 15, 2018 35 Comments
  • waste not: pumpkin seed brittle.

    Waste Not is a collaboration with my friend, Carrie King. The premise is simple: Carrie, a food writer and editor, shares a recipe highlighting at least one particular way that we can curb food waste.…

    October 29, 2018 6 Comments
  • make-believe: vote.

    There are a lot of reasons to feel disenchanted with the democratic process these days, to say nothing of the folks in office. It’s understandable to feel angry, or to feel like voting won’t…

    October 10, 2018 8 Comments
  • make-believe: rainy day.

    On a very rainy day, a make-believe version of the same with something for outside and something for inside: Outside: A coverall for splashing. A pair of boots for most any kind of weather. A…

    September 10, 2018 16 Comments
  • gift guide: father’s day.

    For anyone looking ahead to giving the fathers in their lives a little something special on Father’s Day this year, here are a few ideas for the sweet, silly, sensitive, caring, compassionate, and crafty fathers in…

    June 7, 2018 9 Comments
  • gift guide: mother’s day.

    For anyone looking to give the mothers in their lives a little something special on Mother’s Day this year, here are a few ideas for the adventurous, thrill-seeking, tech-savvy, gadget-loving, handy, all-around brilliant and…

    May 7, 2018 5 Comments
  • make/do: for earth day.

    Becoming a parent has made me realize just how much of young childhood is centered around the seasons and celebrating them. (Thank goodness.) Of course, celebrating seasonal change was already very much my bag,…

    April 18, 2018 22 Comments