Welcome to Carrots! I'm so glad you're here. This is where I share thoughts on liturgical living, faith, parenting, culture, and an extra dose of Jane Austen. You can sign up for my email newsletter here to stay in touch, or look me up on Instagram!
Have you seen the “5 Things” posts showing up on everyone’s blog? Well here’s mine after getting tagged by Christy of fountains of home (one of my favorite, favorite blogs. Seriously, I never miss a post and think Christy and I would be besties IRL, except she lives in Canada and I truly can’t comprehend how anyone survives that kind of cold. But sometimes she does get moose in her yard so…there’s that.)
1. At age 27, married for 7 years with my third child on the way, I still don’t feel like a grown-up. I was telling Daniel how anxious I was to be attending BlissDom next week (hey, will anybody else be there?! Let’s hang out!) because there will be….WOMEN there. As in, grown-up women! Women with organized purses who know what color belt to wear with an outfit! Terrifying! While confiding to him that I didn’t think I could fake being an adult for a whole weekend he did point out that I’m nearing 30 and definitely in the grown up category. But boy, it doesn’t feel like that. Does anybody else have this problem? I feel like an adult fraud.
2. 4 out of the 7 years we’ve been married, Daniel and I have had housemates. We actually really enjoy living in community, but have also enjoyed it just being us since a couple of months after Baby Lucy was born. Mostly because we don’t have to wear pants inside. There’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night and realizing you have to find pants before you can go into the hallway to use the bathroom. NOTHING.
3. The best job I ever had was working at a French Pastry Shop and Chocolaterie. Oh my heavens. Free strong coffee all day, lots of amazing food, and serving mostly thrilled and happy customers. Because who isn’t happy after ordering a Raspberry Almond Croissant fresh out of the oven or a piece of Chocolate Truffle Cream cake? Excuse me, I think I have an errand to run…
4. I don’t really like beer, much to the chagrin of my home-brewing husband. It’s the hops that I don’t like, so some beers are ok. But in general, I would prefer cider, reisling or other sweet wine, or a sweet cocktail. Basically, girly sissy drinks that taste like fruit juice. Yum. See #1 above about how very sophisticated and grown-up I am.
5. I’m a huge baby about being sick. That includes morning sickness, colds, sinus infections, headaches, etc. So you can imagine how much fun I’ve been the past few months: 21 weeks of morning sickness, brief respite, than a month of a cold/sinus infection. Sorry, Daniel! And could someone please get me a colorful cup with that crunchy ice you get at the 7/11, ginger ale, and a special straw? And set me up with some BBC miniseries and tell me I never have to do laundry again? No really, I’m a huge baby about it. Thankfully, I can already tell the antibiotics I started yesterday are kicking in. I HATE taking antibiotics, but after three weeks of being sick and when my teeth hurt so bad from the sinus infection that I was seriously considering asking a dentist to remove the teeth on the right side of my mouth to relieve the pressure…something had to be done.
OK, I tag Abbey, Sarah O., Kaitlin, Katherine, and Haley. If you’ve been tagged already, ladies, just carry on and ignore me!
I always feel like a fake grown up too! In fact, I feel the need in conversation to clarify when I am speaking about a friend that she is a real grown up. Not sure if it ever ends, but at 28 and with nearly 4 children, I ought to be over it by now, I suspect. But seriously, if I was a real grown up, wouldn’t my van be cleaner? And shouldn’t a real grown up clean their bathroom more frequently than I do? Case made, I believe:)
Oh Brittany, our bathroom usually looks like a college boys bathroom. When someone comes over for the first time I usually say, “Sorry about the bathroom, it’s soooooo messy right now!” as if that’s not the usual state of things. But after the third or fourth time they come over, I figure they’re on to me and know that that’s how our bathroom ALWAYS looks. Oh dear.
Oh dear. Are there rules? I’m so ignorant of these award/tag/list things…
Also, if I can have your job from #3, that’d be great, thanks.
No fancy rules! Just five things about yo’self!
I am 30 and still feel like I’m waiting for adulthood to kick in!
p.s. I know you’re like half way across the country, but it would be awesome if you could come to Illinois next year for the Behold Conference!
What time of year is it? And what exactly is the conference about?
It’s a Catholic Women’s Conference – Hallie Lord heads it up I believe, the dates for 2014 haven’t been announced yet, but last year it was in early March. Quite a few of the Catholic Mama’s I “know” have been talking about finally all of us meeting in real life next year at it! http://www.beholdconference.com/
That sounds so awesome. I want to go!
I’m with Molly. I’m pushing 30 (June is my 30th birthday) and I still feel like I’m just pretending to be an adult most of the time. And I want that croissant you spoke of in #3…yum!
Oh goodness. I am so glad I am not the only one who doesn’t quite feel like a grown up. (I even use the words “grown up” instead of “adult” half the time, hah!) It doesn’t seem fair that at 26 I should have to stop and think really hard to remember what age I *am*, exactly, and yet still feel so immature!
I never feel like an adult, except when older people drive me nuts…then I feel like a grouchy old lady. I used to think that the 6th graders looked grown up when I was in early grade school. Then the junior high kids looked huge, and then the high schoolers were surely adults. Now I look at them all and think, babies, all of them! So I’m sure as I look at my older friends as ask them questions galore about parenting and houses and money and jobs, they really are looking at me thinking the same thing, baby… someday, maybe i’ll be a grown up.
Oh my goodness – I so agree with you! I still feel like a young’un until something happens such as our previous downstairs neighbor throwing a party at 3 am and waking us all up…
Yup, then I’m the grouchy old lady, too!
Besties for sure! Especially when I finally escape perpetual winter and move to Florida!! It’s exciting you’re going to Blissdom though- I’d be so intimidated to be around so many awesome bloggers at all!
I’m here with a friend, so at least I’m not all by my lonesome! But it is a little intimidating just with so many people.
I never feel like a real grown-up. It still seems like I’m just playing dress-up and house. haha.
Are you talking about Au Peche Mignon, by any chance? I adore that place and one of my best friends worked there for a couple years. And now I’m thinking about croissants…oh man.
Yes! Au Peche! It’s the best. Who’s your friend? I wonder if I know them.
Allison Wilson-Ayers. She doesn’t live in Florida anymore…I can’t remember how many years it’s been since she worked there. Do you know her?
Hmmm, I don’t recognize the name but it’s been years since I worked there so I might just not be remembering.
Yes to pretty much everything…..especially not feeling like a grown up. I’m the same age and I’m wondering when that adult feeling will kick in. Getting married and buying a house didn’t do it for me….maybe having kids will? It doesn’t help when I get carded every time I try to buy spray paint and the cashier gives me the 3rd degree asking if I’m “REALLLLYYYY older than 18?!?!?”……
Well, there’s something else I have in common with you. I just don’t like beer. I’ve tried all different kinds and none have been at all enjoyable to me. It cracks me up that people (even people who don’t know me at all) are always trying to suggest a beer to me with a tone like, “Oh, well you’ll like *this* one!” and I can’t seem to communicate that, in fact, they all taste the same to me and they all taste gross!
But cider I sometimes enjoy. And yes, a citrus-y, sweet cocktail anyday!
Hahaha! “You’re gonna like this one!” is what I always hear, too.
a new carrots design
very lovely, haley! Will be enjoying even more 
I too often feel as a child and don’t want to grow up. While all the other mothers seem so mature 
Haley –
The trick to the belt thing is to buy one that even you aren’t sure if it’s black or brown and wear it with everything. Or wear those flowy tops (as I’m sure you are now) which hide belts. When I had to be an adult, these were the kinds of things I did to “fake it till I make it”.
I saw your new logo. I actually quite enjoyed the books, but I see what you’re doing. Gotta brand the blog, right?
And I think going through and cleaning your blog makes you a grown up. You’re organizing something after all.
I feel like a bloggers conference would be an extremely awkward place. Not because bloggers are awkward folk, but because sometimes it’s easier to speak through the written word than face to face. Can’t wait to hear about it though.
I’m a new follower! I’m so sorry that you are so sick right now! It must be so horrible! I had to smile when you talked about what kind of alcoholic beverages you prefer. I agree with you 100%, the more it tastes like fruit juice the more I like it. Everyone rags on Arbor Mist but they make Mango and Strawberry Moscato and it’s pretty fantastic
I drink my weak wine proud! haha I’m really looking forward to reading more and following along on your family journey 
Thanks for following, Erin! I think we’ve finally reached full recovery mode from the month of the plague
Yay!
Life for me stopped at 27! I feel like that is the year that things just stayed the same. I can’t believe I’m almost 32. I will forever feel 27! But I had my first that year so that might have something to do with it
And you just gave me the best idea ever – I am going to force all of my children to work at a pastry shop now. I can visit them daily! Oh I can’t WAIT NOW!!!
I just had a visit with a friend here in town, Jessica B., who told me about her friend who is a “semi-famous Catholic blogger”. So happy she spread the word!!
Come to think of it, I think of myself as the age I was when I had my first. I think you’re on to something!
And I am sooooo not semi-famous, haha! Jessica in East Texas?
Yes! She saw that I posted about Pope Francis on facebook and then told me the other day that a good friend of hers converted to Catholicism and is a blogger!! She is awesome – I am probably her number one fan of her apothecary goods