HomeLife
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard
-
My Pinterest Test Kitchen. Still going strong.
It’s not that I haven’t been perusing Pinterest lately. It’s not that I have been ignoring its many virtues. In fact, I still loves me some Pinterest and I still treat it as my personal cookbook primarily. I haven’t forgotten about my Pinterest Test Kitchen. I forgive you if you have. It’s actually a little more like this – I’ve made a concentrated effort to carry my phone less. Which means I am less likely to take a picture of the food attempts I am creating. So let this post suffice – with or without accompanying photographs. Here is a recipe on which you should not waste your time –…
-
B. I. N. G. O. – Laura Ingalls Edition.
It’s been a while really. But when Papaw and Grandma made their pilgrimage from the great north to the even greater south, they brought along a little game with them. It was a fishing version of bingo. The kids got kind of obsessed. Otto is a huge fan of all things fishing. (“Hissing” he still pronounces it.) And all the kids love to play games. They played this bingo game about eight times every afternoon. And then again after dinner for another half dozen rounds. Insatiable. Their appetite for bingo was insatiable. Of course I needed to tap into that insatiability. And so. We created our own Laura Ingalls bingo…
-
Dear Chacos.
Dear Chacos, I saw you once. Years ago. I was younger. You were too. You looked … rope-y. You left the toes all bare and open to roots and rocks. I was wearing Keens. They were close-toed and I was close-minded. Arrogant, even. (I’ve been known to have opinions. Strong ones. And verbal ones. Written ones too.) I climbed aboard the Keen train and we’ve been chugging along together. Me and my husband and our six children. And the many friends we’ve dragged along for the ride. Yes. I’ve written letters to Keen. Blog posts. Love songs. And King Keen has never acknowledged my voice. I’m not bitter. I’m a…
-
Keigley Campaign: Pisgah. The Camping Mecca.
When we first came up with our Keigley Campaign two years ago (What? Two years?) we wanted to simply find woods and to sleep there. The end. We all decided to focus on South Carolina state parks the first year. It seemed logical. It was definable. It made sense. It’s the direction we chose to run. Early on we struggled with the campsites not being exactly what we had in mind. We love Lake Jocassee but are always a little disappointed to share its beauty with so many strangers sleeping in plastic coverings so near to our own. But we did it. One full year. One new South Carolina campsite…
-
The Tale of Two Siblings
These two Keiglets have a special little bond. Many is the morning that I find them reclining on the sofa together, London reading books out loud to her little brother. London keeps a list of daily activities and ideas on a dry erase board she has in her bedroom. (She’s a natural-born planner, apparently those genes are strong.) One day I noticed her list went something like this: Play Legos. Water my garden. Bake scones. Bathe Otto. When I asked her why she felt the need to add a cleansing routine for her young brother to her list, she responded, “When we were cuddling last night – I noticed he smells bad.”…
-
Tuesday.
I’ve been quiet for a few days. Well. That’s not at all true. I’ve been quiet here online for a few days. In real life, the one I’m living and breathing, I haven’t actually been quiet at all. Quiet is not really my strength. But I have been busy. You know, with the stuff of life. The raising of many wonderful humans. The addition of a half dozen new chickens to partially replace the fowl lost in the spring massacre. The embracing of sunshine. The shopping for groceries. The sitting on the porch. The good stuff. We are wrapping up school at our house. Struggling to ever head to bed…
-
Simple and Sweet – Today’s Winner Is …..
I’m keeping it simple and sweet today. I’m just going to tell you who won. (Mainly because it’s waaaay past a Keigley kid’s bed time when I am typing this and I’m not going to wake them up for a sleepy photograph.) I just received a few of Sweet Blue’s too cute little bow ties and hair ribbons myself – so I can guarantee you’re going to find them irresistible. So. Yes. Ahem. The winner is ………………………… JULIE! (There’s only one Julie so I don’t have to use your last name!) YOU are the winner! It’s so fun to know that you have both a little gent or two (or…
-
Why I Am Not Writing A Post About My Mother on Mother’s Day
Sunday will be Mother’s Day. I have nothing against the holiday. I like my breakfast in bed as much as the next mom. Actually, I may like mine even a little more than the next mom as my children have grown increasingly skilled in the art of cooking. I no longer have to endure sticky, smothered open-faced peanut butter toast served with a side of dripping-down-the-glass orange juice and an apple that has fallen off the plate twice before it made its way to my breakfast in bed tray. I might actually get an omelet made to order with gouda cheese and chives and kiwi cut in a delicate pattern…
-
Walnut Grove. Plum Creek. Oh, the Places We’ll See.
Every time we’ve finished another one of the nine Little House books this year I’ve wanted to weep a bit. (Now that I’ve confessed that I’m a crier, why try to disguise it anymore?) For, you know, a myriad of reasons. I. Love. These. Books. I love them for what they are – a treasure of memories from a girl whose life might not have seemed to matter at the time she was living it but whose life, when viewed collectively, is a history and a recollection of an era and a family and a lifestyle fading into our country’s past. I love them for what they have brought to our…
-
Sweet Blue: A Giveaway!
Hey guys – remember how just last week (or the week before – I blame my unreliable memory on age – or my plethora of children – or the air – or whatever) I had this really great little giveaway? So many of you responded and sadly, only one of you could win. (Meaghan placed an order already – I was thrilled to hear that! And she already has her shea soaps and whatnot is enjoying them!) Anyway – the giveaway was all so much fun that I figured – if the first giveaway is a good time – then surely a second giveaway will be a good time too!…
-
Small space. Big changes.
A while back I had a black sharpie in my hand, a bathroom decor I didn’t really love and a couple of random ideas from Pinterest. The current curtains were brown and leftover from another room in another house. They just looked tossed together. Because they were. I had this little stack of cute ruffled curtains I had in the kitchen but had taken down to wash and had never returned them to their respective kitchen homes. Turns out being lazy about returning kitchen curtains works out well for improving the bathroom. Then the real fun started. In a throwback to my childhood days (goodness, my mother was gracious to…
-
Spring.
Every house has a season, right? You know – a season that shows off that particular home’s best features? Like people have a good side, I think houses do too. Or, I don’t know, maybe every house has the same best season. Anyway. This house for sure has a best season. It’s spring. For certain. Spring. When the heat is turned off so you aren’t cursing your cold fingers and wearing sixteen layers and seeing your breath in the laundry room and still paying four hundred plus dollars to the power man. Spring. When the window are open and the breeze is blowing and the green green green outside is…
-
Here We Go: The Winner Announced
I’ve got my act together. The possum was returned to the woods. I wrote down a number for every entry (and yes – if you liked Elly’s Facebook page you were given two numbers) and I put all those numbers inside a coffee mug I found placed on the school room table. (I’m not sure it was clean, but noone’s drinking these slips of paper anyway.) I am so excited to have so many entries – thank you guys for visiting Bethany’s website and for liking her page. I’d truly love to hear about any orders you place with her and what your thoughts are about her products after you’ve…
