Update: We have winners! Congrats to Alyssa R for winning Mansfield Park, Vanya for winning Garlic and Sapphires, and Shianne Kropf for winning Canterbury Tales. The only thing more fun than finding a perfectly delicious book is forcing all your friends to read it as well. (Don’t ask my friends if I am annoying this way; I already know the answer.) Anyway, I think my friends’ “To-Read” lists are all quite long enough, so there’s nothing left to do but…
In November I had the opportunity to pack myself into a car with four other people and drive the many hours first to Bainbridge New York, then down to Queens for several days to practice my au pair skills with Roman and Mimi on their business trip. Now, spending 24 hours in a car with two kiddies and then babysitting them for several days in a wee New York apartment may not sound like the most fun to you, but I…
It feels like sitting in front of a screen, wondering about the meaning of life, and not being able to put any of it into words. It feels like endless rabbit trails of researching the effects of SPF and watching screaming goat videos and taking stupid quizzes to see what kind of pizza topping I am most like in order to avoid opening my drafts and working. It feels like browsing the explore tab on Instagram to avoid even writing…
One of my goals for 2018 was to read or get rid of all the unread books in my library, with the exception of a couple reference books, and a wee French book I have, because je ne parle pas francais. It was a hefty stack, although some of them were gotten out of the way in short order, such as the treasury of Beatrix Potter. I really couldn’t help myself from throwing some additional ones into the mix, so…
There are a lot of things I think people should stop arguing about because they’re stupid and divisive and less consequential than we think. Many hills I don’t think are worth dying on, as it were. But there are some things I feel very strongly about, namely, good literature, a good bed, and good pickles. Enter Bon Appetit’s December/January issue. Now, you might expect a Christmas issue of a food magazine to be full of hams and sweets, and while…
There is a common misconception regarding many love songs and romantic books, and today, I’d like to set the record straight. When reading or listening to these, many people have misattributed who the writer was talking to or about, but it’s time the truth comes out. Let’s look at a few examples: “I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer. These past [hours] have been a torment… I have fought against my better judgment, my…
Pack up the rest of your sort-of-summer clothes that you were still wearing and put them far away out of sight. Get out your biggest coats, and furriest boots if you haven’t already. Put an extra cozy blanket on the bottom of your bed, for when you want to curl up and keep your feet warm. Invest in a couple good pairs of fuzzy socks if you don’t have any. If you do, make a point of wearing them. Slippers…
Everyone loves to make fun of a southerner in a snowstorm, myself included. Last night as I drove 35 mph on perfectly clear roads behind some anxious little person, kind thoughts were not first and foremost in my head, to be honest. And of course, there are memes galore about the inevitable bread and milk wipe out, and while nobody seems to understand why people buy those items, yet with each impending snow cloud, whoosh, the shelves are empty. Actually,…
I don’t know what it is with broccoli and I. I’m not particularly obsessed with it- frankly, I even forget to stock it quite often in my quest to eat As Many Peas As Possible, but I keep finding myself elbow high in broccoli florets when I go to make my Bon Appetit recipe for the month. Maybe it’s because broccoli recipes tend to be less fuss than something fancy like goose livers cooked in Cabernet and seasoned with cashew…
I’ve toured DC before, but I had never toured it with my youth group. In fact, I hadn’t ever taken a trip with my youth group at all, so when plans were made to spend a short weekend in DC together with the purpose of seeing the Bible Museum, I was thrilled. You jam twenty-five great people onto a bus for 12 hours, and good things are bound to happen, don’tcha think? The weather decided to humor us, and our…
Dear Autumn, is it just me or are you particularly lovely this year? You sure took your time getting here, but then the cold came, and with it, a profusion of colors which leaves me almost in pain at the beauty of it. I’m afraid I spend much more time looking out my office window at the brilliantly red and yellow trees than I should, but I just can’t help myself! Love, Enchanted Dear Dancing, thank you for being the…
It was a day just like any other day, fairly uneventful and commonplace. The rain fell from a gray sky and darkness came swiftly that winter night as I tucked myself into my apartment for an industrious evening at home. I had food to make for my church small group, a gift basket to assemble, furniture to rearrange, and I was happily plodding through my to-do list when the first ominous pangs struck. “Whatever, it’s just a few stomach cramps,”…