I get emails asking me decluttering questions on the regular (because I wrote a book about living with less). And yes, I do know a lot about paring down, making do, and living in small spaces (we lived in a 650 sqft apartment for a year and got rid of more than half our possessions to do it!). Have you been around long enough to remember our teensy apartment at the farm? It was pretty … [Read more...]
Goodnight, Notre Dame. Easter Morning Is Still Coming.
The baby is napping and I am sitting here just sobbing my heart out over the fire engulfing the beautiful 850-year-old cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. As a Catholic, as a medievalist, as a lover of beauty and history, I am absolutely wrecked. I have always wanted to visit Europe to see the cathedrals. The reality that I will never see the architectural masterpiece of Notre Dame is … [Read more...]
What Bakonzo Naming Conventions Taught Me about the Gift of Siblings
Give a warm Carrots welcome to one of my favorite people in the universe, my dear friend of 18 years and fellow writer, Katherine Grimm Bowers! I twisted her arm into writing a post for you for National Sibling Day.-Haley We were gathered around the bonfire, and our hosts had detected a trend. They couldn't believe it. We were, one and all, Brits and Americans alike, firstborn or maybe … [Read more...]
Easter Basket Gift Guide and Giveaway!
Lent is drawing to a close and it's time to get geared up for Easter baskets! Our family usually attends the Easter Vigil late on Saturday night. That means wearing our fancy clothes and really hyping up the Mass for our kids: "There's gonna be a fire! We're all gonna get sprinkled with water! People be gettin' baptized and confirmed!" It also means lots of bribes because that Mass is LONG … [Read more...]
Liturgical Living at a Glance: April 2019 (Holy Week Resources and More!)
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to … [Read more...]
A Mother’s Grief at the Stations of the Cross
Trigger warning: stillbirth and infant loss. This post and the images included may be difficult to see for those who have suffered the loss of infant. No matter how many times I pray the Stations of the Cross, the Holy Spirit shows me things I had never thought of before. This year going to Stations at our parish for Lent, one image almost knocked me to my knees. The parish uses St. … [Read more...]
My February/March Reads
Since I love chatting about books, I've been trying to share our family's current reads on a regular basis here on the blog. And I like sharing the love by giving away books to my readers! Here’s a few of the great titles I’ve picked up lately as well as my #cathLIT2019 reads (And just scroll down to see how to enter the giveaway!): (This post contains affiliate links. If a sale is made … [Read more...]
Pursuing Beauty Must Be an Intentional Choice
Carissa Pluta's beautiful blog The Myth Retold is a new favorite of mine and because I loved the idea behind her blog so much (finding beauty in the everyday) I asked if she'd expand on the idea for my wonderful Carrots readers. Here's her post. I know you'll love it. -Haley Have you ever watched a sunset, breathed the air from the peak of a mountain, or looked out over the sea? Have you ever … [Read more...]
Liturgical Living in March 2019 (Lent and more!)
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to … [Read more...]
Hey Penniless Jane Austen Heroines, Millennials Get You
Can't make rent, Elinor Dashwood? Trouble surviving on your adjunct pay from Highbury Community College, Jane Fairfax? Millennials get you. We understand a world in which the last generation really did a number on the economy while you get to pay the price. Keeping your ancestral manor house isn’t in the cards, sweetheart. And despite what Lady Catherine de Bourgh says, giving up a weekly avocado … [Read more...]
