An Elegant Hair Thing

 

 

I've been using hair forks almost exclusively for my hairstyles for years. These just seem so much more romantic and elegant than a plastic claw clip or hair elastic. My newest acquisitions are these gorgeous handmade brass hair forks from tkiDesigns on Etsy. I love the way the brass changes and ages over time. 

Creature Comforts

 

 

It's a chilly day and homeschooling is done, so I've returned to bed with some ice cream, my roses, and Pride & Prejudice. 

Mother Mouse

 

 

I tided the dollhouse today and decided Mama Mouse needed some tea and cake in bed while the baby sleeps. 

Beautiful Things

My Favorite Roses

This Beautiful Fantanstic

Have you seen the movie This Beautiful Fantastic? It was in my recommended movies on Amazon Prime and was great! It reminds me a little of The Secret Garden and Penelope.

A New Hat

I bought a new hat today! I had to choose between the same style in all black and a caramel one with a black velvet band. This will be more versatile, but I reserve the right to add the splashy caramel to my wardrobe later!

Snip, Snip

I got my hair cut yesterday!

Hats in Church

My friend Kelly and I are wearing hats to Liturgy today. We decided to do it together for moral support. That's how we ended up wearing scarves on our heads, too. We picked a Sunday to start and never stopped. Now, there are a handful of ladies in our church that cover their heads. Maybe we'll see more hats now, too!

Frilly and Frothy

Baby Dish

 

Chicken stew leftovers in the baby dish my parents carted home from their honeymoon/junior year abroad at Oxford (along with their three-month-old baby, Emily).

Oxford

I was surprised to see a catalogue from Emma Bridgewater in our mailbox today.  I couldn't help squealing when I spotted this Oxford mug within the pages.  I was born in Oxford, England nearly 37 years ago and though I have not lived there since I was three months old, it is a very special place for me.  I noticed that the mug was on sale for 30% off and they were also offering free shipping, so I impulsively bought it.  I can't say that I regret the purchase, either!

Favorite Things: Bookends

 

My reward for enduring the indignity of my annual medical exam was to take a turn 'round a nearby antique store.  These cast iron (bronze?) bookends were tucked nearly out of sight.  Marked 'lovely bookends,' I could not resist them. 

Favorite Things: Aveda Dry Remedy...

I bought a bottle of Aveda Dry Remedy last week while we were away and was so impressed that I shot a little video one night in our hotel to tell you all about it!

Favorite Things: Flowers by My Bed...

Several months ago, I bought this little vase on a whim (I think that it was two or three dollars at Target).  I really liked the shape and thought that it would be nice to have on hand for the times when my little ones pick flowers with short stems.  So far though, I have been mainly using it for few flowers that are still perky when the rest of the bouquet is past it's prime.  This little vase has been the perfect size to put onto my bedside table and it is so nice to wake up to something that is green and fragrant!  It's a bit luxurious, but at this time of year with gardens fairly bursting with blooms, completely do-able and very worth it!

Favorite Things: Bird Watching...

Our children have become increasingly interested in knowing what the names are of the birds come to our little feeder by the dining room window.  After the untimely demise of all but one of our nature guides (they were left outside during a stretch of very rainy weather), I spotted this pretty little poster for sale.  We brought it to Staples to get mounted on foam board and then just punched a hole in the top and hung it on a nail.  It has only been a couple of days, but we really like it!  We're now 'real' homeschoolers with learning posters hung up around the house!

Favorite Things: Jensen Bluetooth Wireless Speaker...

Remember that post I wrote last year about how revolutionary it was to have a little music dock in our playroom so that we could listen to books, Sparkle Stories, and music?  Well it got much easier today!  It became so frustrating to remove my phone case (an Otterbox) every time we wanted to listen to something that we just reverted to our old ways of listening to things in the car.  My sister mentioned that she thought that they now had bluetooth speakers that eliminated the need to plug the phone in and boy was she right!

On our trip to pick up school supplies at Target today, I swung by the electronics department and asked the guy to point me in the direction of something wireless that didn't cost more than $40.  He really didn't think that such a thing existed, but then we found two different options.  I took the more expensive of the two ($30) since it truly was wireless and while the kids were playing in the toy aisle, I checked out the reviews.  There were only 3, but they were all 5 star ones!  I decided to take the plunge and brought it home with me.  After only a couple of tries, I was able to set it up by myself (a huge feat!) and I can tell you that this thing is great!  It has good sound quality and decent range (the phone was in the living room and the speaker was in the playroom two rooms away and there was no trouble).  It is a tiny little thing and very light.  If you are in the market for something like this, I recommend it!

Favorite Things: Dinner at Mid-Day...

With our flexible lifestyle (Father John works from home and the children are home-schooled), we have found that we can order our days in any way that we want. Right now, that means that we want to have our dinner at lunchtime (which we have done a little of in the past).  

The temperature is rising, and so the early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to be outside to play and swim.  Our family has also found over the years, that going to the beach at about 5 or 6 pm is best because all of the tourists have left to find food and entertainment elsewhere.  If I feed everyone a hearty meal at noon, then our dinner is often something easy like cheese, crackers, fruit, boiled eggs, small sandwiches, yogurt, muffins, etc.  It's all very easy to take with us or eat when we come back and the majority of the dishes, pots, and pans can be washed during the hottest part of the day when we stay in to play, read, and do crafts.  

Does your family follow a traditional meal schedule or do you do things a little differently like us?

Favorite Things: Bean Bags...

A few years ago, my sister asked me what the little ones would like for Christmas, and I suggested bean bags.  She made nine (one of them is hiding somewhere and I couldn't find it for this photo) and they are easily the most played with item in our playroom.  They are used for play food (it is fun to flip them like a pancake!), bean bag tosses, hide-the-bean bag, etc.  I love how they look stacked up on our little piano with Mr. Horsey looking on.  They are such a cheerful sight!

Favorite Things: Cloth Napkins...

For a few years now, I have been using washcloths in our kitchen to wipe up spills, clean faces, wash dishes, and clean the counters every evening.  We go through quite a few each day and I have noticed that it has helped us to keep our use of paper towels down to a minimum (we haven't eliminated them completely).  Typically, I throw dirty washcloths into the laundry room throughout the day so that they can go into the next load of wash that I do.

Despite my positive experience with reusable cloths in the kitchen, I have been resistant to using cloth napkins.  I think that it has something to do with thinking deep down that they are for fancy meals and shouldn't be used everyday lest they be ruined.  Isn't that silly?

We have begun to use a set of chocolate brown hemstitch napkins that I bought years ago for Thanksgiving dinner fairly regularly and despite being rather messy eaters, we have not ruined a napkin yet.  Feeling brave, I recently purchased five (I'd like to buy more as the budget allows...  I haven't decided if it is better to have 8 or 12) red and white gingham napkins with  dear little red picot trim.  We broke them in last night with a dinner of ravioli, meatballs, and lots of spaghetti sauce.  I simply tossed them into the washer before bath-time and voila!  They were ready for breakfast with nary a mark on them!  I am not very fussy about how they look, so I simply smooth them a bit as I fold them and don't worry about the creases in the least!  In fact, I think they look better if they are a little rumpled.

Do you use cloth napkins?  How do you care for them?  How many do you find you need for your family?