For the past several Novembers I’ve created a small business gift guide here at Carrots for Michaelmas. I think this is a worthwhile endeavor, but this year, I’m not creating one. I’d like to do something different and I’m going to need your help. As we look toward the challenges of supply chain issues and the madness of holiday gift purchasing--what if we set all that aside to give a … [Read more...]
Big Life Changes for the Stewarts!
If you haven’t been following on social media, you might not know that our family just began an exciting new adventure! My husband Daniel cut back his hours to part-time at the distillery (he makes and blends whisky) to become a full-time homeschooling parent and I am a full-time self-employed writer and creator. I know many of you have been following for years and years, so I want to … [Read more...]
Remembering and Processing the Unprecedented Year
I’ve only written here on the blog a handful of times over the past year. I’ve popped in here and there, but mostly I’ve been quiet. Any creative energy has gone to other projects and this poor blog has been woefully neglected (and probably will continue to be). But one year seems like a milestone that simply must be processed. I have many exciting things to share about what’s ahead for our … [Read more...]
Samwise, Treats, and Puppy Sunshine in February
This post is sponsored by WellPet®, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own. On January 1st, 2020, a few weeks before Unprecedented Times, we brought a new puppy home just in time for a wild year and I’m so glad. Having an entertaining little (now enormous!) bundle of snuggles has been such a gift. In full disclosure, it had been more than 20 years since I trained a puppy and I … [Read more...]
Carrots 2020 Small Business Gift Guide (with coupon codes and giveaway!)
In 2016 I created my first Christmas gift guide post, so this is the 5th anniversary of the Carrots gift guide! Readers have requested a new guide each year and over time I've intentionally pivoted to including ONLY small businesses. This year we've all seen restaurants and storefronts close due to the pandemic. 2020 has hit small businesses so hard! This year more than ever it's clear that we … [Read more...]
35th Birthday Musings
I'm 35 years old today and feeling like some good old timey blogging. Not the shareable with viral potentional kind of blogging. Just the old fashioned here's what's going on in my brain type blogging. I'm writing this from my own hotel room: the best birthday gift imaginable for a homeschooling mom of four living in a tiny house and working from home six months in to a global pandemic. My … [Read more...]
The World Needs More Gilberts
This is a guest post by my dear friend Tyler Blanski about what one of my favorite literary heroes can teach us. - Haley The world needs more Gilberts. The fictional (and admirable!) character Gilbert Blythe of the L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series seems to capture so many virtues that can help men succeed in their vocation to fatherhood today: he gives a standing ovation for … [Read more...]
7 High Quality Graphic Novels for Young Readers
I shared all about our daily reading hour and suggestions for good summer reading choices for young readers last month. But I thought I'd follow it up with a post about good graphic novels. To be honest, I haven't always been excited about graphic novels. Captain Underpants and Dog Man make me want to tear my hair out. I have a visceral reaction! And I think because of some of the twaddle … [Read more...]
Escape to Rainbow Valley, Then Keep Fighting
Last week was hard. There were fresh waves of anxiety over a huge spike in Covid cases in my city. Relief that our curve was flat for so many months gave way to weariness and worry. Now each day we're getting more new cases than we had total from March to mid-June. Our curve is flat....just in the wrong direction: straight up to the sky. The city is open--and our total deaths doubled last week. … [Read more...]
A Very 2020 Kids Summer Reading List
If there's one thing that has helped me keep my sanity while being cooped up over the past two months, it's our daily book time and seeing my kids deepen their love of reading. Because I've been getting lots of requests for book suggestions, I thought I'd share a few of our very favorites from our shelves (newly reorganized, thanks to quarantine angst)! I've found a lot of joy in sharing … [Read more...]
