making space for creativity
After stopping using shampoo, the next stop on the hygiene-crunchy-train was deodorant. This was the first time that I read somewhere that a fairly ubiquitous product (in this case, antiperspirant) could have a negative effect on health (in this case, slow your metabolism) and decided to switch it for something with fewer chemicals. Deodorant…
Last Friday morning we got a late start heading out to the beach. I find that determining when you set out is a pretty common tension on vacation days. On the one hand you want to get an early start, to stretch day out, and soak up the sun. Then on the other hand,…
Here’s the recipe for the flourless chocolate cake I mentioned making before the 4th of July. It’s my go-to cake to celebrate. It’s made an appearance for my goddaughter’s first birthday and celebrating the beauty of a regular Saturday night visiting best friends. I love really good chocolate, and this recipe is all about…
When I was little, Fourth of July celebrations were marked with red and blue frosted cupcakes, little plastic flags in the lawn near the lake, potato salad and wet towels, before mosquito bites and 9:30 fireworks. It was easy to smell that mix of slightly burned hotdogs, sunscreen, and lake water and celebrate. …
As Evan and I prepare to head to the beach with thousands of other Mid-Atlantic citizens this weekend, I thought it would be a good time for another installment of 10 favorite summer reads. Today’s list is 10 modern fairy tales. These are single volume works similar in tone and cosmology to my 10…
I have always loved trees. They mark time with their silhouetted bare branches, budding fragrant blossoms, cool shady leaves, and firework finishes. For Christmas, I got Evan Sibley’s Book of Trees, and we’ve been marking off slowly the ones we’ve seen on hikes and mountain vacations. I have always been drawn to stories about…
I have always loved breakfast. It makes sense since I’m a morning person. I was that kid at a sleepover who woke up a 6 am and had to sit around quietly for hours before anyone else got up. I read some strange books in friends’ basements. But, whether it’s at 6 am or…
Church retreat weekends have always had a special place in my heart. I love the change of scenery and being in nature. I particularly love the way that being apart from the routine seems to stretch time. It allows you to look back on yourself and your life in new ways. Each spring, our…
Sharing a meal together is a wonderful way to practice hospitality. It is symbolic of communion and a special part of every culture. But cooking for people with food allergies, intolerances, and preferences can feel overwhelming. It’s harder to break bread with people who don’t eat bread! Today I’ll suggest six styles for inviting…
Last Sunday our church moved to its new summer home. This is the fifth space that we have regularly worshiped in over the past six years, just now overtaking the number of apartments that my husband, Evan, and I have shared over the same time span. As I stood toward the front of our…
School is officially out in Maryland this week, so today is another installment of Summer Reading: 10 Favorite Books. (Check out my fantasy series list). Just like the charming May B that I wrote about on Thursday, these books are set the in rough and romantic late nineteenth century. The late 1800s with its…
When I picked up Caroline Starr Rose’s book May B. this spring, I did not know it was going to be about a girl who had dyslexia. Until I was in my 20s, I did not know that I had dyslexia. I checked out May B. along with a host of other…
My first foray into natural hair care was when I went to France in the summer of 2005. My gorgeous spiral-curled brunette artist roommate Charity had brought along two English books. One was Gone with the Wind and the other was a paperback called Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. Charity was the most beautiful…
In honor of our sixth anniversary last Sunday, here is the beginning of the story of Evan and me from seven springs ago… We met at history honor society. He was a tall handsome senior. I was a curly-haired, blond junior. In such a small program, we were both surprised there was a…
As temperatures fluctuate from 50 to 90 in late May in Maryland, and trees are in full summer greenery, school is about to be out. Summer is upon us. In honor of all my tutoring students who, even if they do not know it, are in search of good books to read over the summer,…