Botany and Bookends

April 10, 2021

library love.

Feeling very…sentimental…today about all the trips to the library I’ve made in my lifetime. The excitement never changes. I am so deeply appreciative that libraries have coped and adapted so that we can still sail to other lands while huddled safely in our homes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, library systems. Your […]

April 10, 2021

THE INVISIBLE LIFE of ADDIE LARUE by V. E. Schwab

What is it about my weirdo brain that says, ‘Oh…this is a really popular book out there in the world? Then let’s be sure and NOT read it yet.’ What? Why?? Whatever mental defect I have, it happens every time a book skyrockets to popularity. But I’ve heard so many fantastic things about this one, […]

April 10, 2021

OLD BRITAIN CASTLES

Quarantine has been about tying up loose ends, like this once-started-but-never-pursued collection of Johnson Brothers dishes: Old Britain Castles. The thrill of the hunt will never cease to excite me. Finding new pieces at fantastic prices is a sweet reward. I’ve added to my collection this year, all from my living room sofa. Not quite […]

April 10, 2021

INTIMATIONS by Zadie Smith

I didn’t check to see what this book of essays was about before starting to read it. Some respected people recommended it, so I opened the front page with no expectations. I found a collection of essays filled with reflections on the first half of 2020. Unique reflections. Powerful comparisons. But all with room enough […]

January 5, 2021

Bitter drinks. Better South.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband, Scott, planned a weekend getaway, staying at a historic hotel in Boonville, Missouri called the Hotel Frederick. It was an idyllic weekend. The restored 1905 hotel was like walking onto a quaint movie set. The bar downstairs was filled, the rooms were each unique and it felt like […]

December 31, 2020

2021 thoughts…

I have spent the past couple of months ‘getting my mind right’, as many of us do at year’s end. What am I being drawn to? What do I need to gently lay down? I have been increasingly drawn to my past during this quarantine year. Not necessarily my past, but my roots. Where I […]

December 22, 2020

She wore pearls and felt.

These 5” felt trees were meditative to work on. A perfect craft for a chilly winter afternoon. Scott is becoming a master Cricut user. (It’s a new-to-us tool that I’ll talk more about in the future.) He cut out a bunch of Christmas trees for me. I love using non-traditional Christmas colors. This cool aqua […]

December 20, 2020

Textured Decor

There is something cozy about a bowl of yarn. It adds warm texture to your living space. If you’ve ever made a yarn ball you know it takes a lot of yarn (and a lot of mindless looping.) This is such a simple hack that I’ve used for many years. It’s also a great way […]

December 20, 2020

Peppermint Hearts

I didn’t mean for this simple wreath to be an ode to Rudolph, but it kind of looks like it, doesn’t it?? I hot glued two candy canes together like a heart. Then glued their tips together to form a wreath. Pretty simple. I made a crude circle to use as a base to glue […]

December 19, 2020

A Few Christmas Glimpses

So many people struggled with the decision of whether or not to decorate for this weird 2020 holiday season. I can fully appreciate those who decided to skip it or simply go smaller than normal. For whatever reason, I felt unusually excited to decorate this year. I think I needed the safety net of memories […]

December 19, 2020

Hawt Chocolate

We made a deliciously rich and decadent hot chocolate recently that I decided must be a part of my #2020s20HolidayCrafts. I insist you make it immediately then sit back with a good book and one of those arm-knitted throw blankets and have yourself a merry MERRY weekend-before-Christmas. This recipe is adapted from a Southern Living […]

December 18, 2020

Away. At The Manger

December 18, 2010 Mom had been incoherent for a long time. Alzheimer’s turned her into a completely different person for the last eight years of her life. I sat next to her in the assisted living cafeteria. Dad was at the piano playing Christmas carols for the room filled with other residents, staff, and family. […]