It’s my hobbit coming-of-age birthday. So my fellow Tolkien nerds know I’m 33 today! via GIPHY And I get to share a birthday with Mama Mary which is pretty special (don’t forget to call your mom pray a Rosary). Daniel and the kids made me some homemade candles with wax from Daniel and Benjamin’s beehives! And then a friend came over to watch the big kids so Daniel and I (and Baby … [Read more...]
Launch Day for My Book is TODAY! Here’s what you need to know.
The day has finally arrived! My book, The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture, is officially available! LAUNCH DAY IS HERE. The writing process to publishing date took about 18 months, but it’s been much longer in the making because it’s the result of life-changing experiences and many, many late night conversations with my husband Daniel and dear … [Read more...]
My August Reading Stack (and a giveaway of my new book!)
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 want to celebrate that MY book is releasing next Friday (eek!!!!) by giving away a copy to a lucky reader. The giveaway is at the bottom of the post! Here’s a few of the great titles I’ve picked up lately: (This post contains Amazon affiliate links.) Lately I … [Read more...]
My June Reading Stack (And Some Book Giveaways!)
So many books and so little time. Since I love chatting about books, I was thinking I might start sharing what we're reading around here on a monthly basis. Love the idea? Hate the idea? Tell me in the comments. Here’s a few of the great titles I’ve picked up lately: (This post contains Amazon affiliate links.) The Scandal of Redemption by Bl. Oscar Romero: I started learning more about … [Read more...]
Anne of the Island Is the Best (or at least the coziest) Anne Book
Anne of Green Gables is the first and most famous book in the series of L.M. Montgomery’s beloved Anne books. And it is marvelous. But it’s not the best in the series. In fact, two books easily beat it out: Anne of the Island which follows Anne Shirley’s college years and Anne’s House of Dreams which sees her enter newlywed life and young motherhood. These two installments in the series are … [Read more...]
Big Book News: Pre-orders are HERE!
Last week a friend messaged me to tell me she pre-ordered my book. "HOW?!" I asked. "It's up on Amazon!" she said. So OBVIOUSLY I dropped everything to check it out and lo and behold, it was there. MY BOOK. The one I've been working on for the past 14 months with Ave Maria Press. It doesn't even feel real that it's finally here. I took a deep breath and shared the big news with … [Read more...]
When You Realize You’re Amy March…
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. One of these March sisters is not like the others. While we all want to believe we’re Jo (because she's the greatest), some of us admit to ourselves that we’re actually more of a Beth or a Meg. Nobody wants to confess that deep down they’re an Amy. Because Amy is the worst. One of my only beefs with the beautiful newly released film adaptation of Little Women is that … [Read more...]
My Reading Stack Lately
While the first half of this pregnancy mostly involved me lying on the couch watching every Masterpiece Theatre series ever released, as the HG nausea has improved I’m trying to make up for lost time on my to-be-read pile. Here’s a few of the great titles I’ve picked up lately: (This post contains Amazon affiliate links.) One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler: Sometimes you read a book … [Read more...]
Self-Care for the Bookish Woman
There was a time when I thought self-care was for sissies, or self-indulgent wealthy women. The Gwyneth Paltrows of the world. Self-care was NOT something I needed. Or so I told myself. Then I became a mom. And two years later I became a mom of two, then three. Three kids four and under was the name of my game. And I was definitely losing. My husband started sending me out of the house for a … [Read more...]
Tyler Blanski’s An Immovable Feast Is the Spiritual Memoir of Our Generation
(For our podcast conversation with Tyler Blanski for the Fountains of Carrots podcast, click here). Tyler Blanski is one of my favorite living writers, so his spiritual memoir An Immovable Feast: How I Gave Up Spirituality for a Life of Religious Abundance being published by Ignatius Press has been my most anticipated read of 2018. A few years back I reviewed his fantastic book When Donkeys … [Read more...]
