Cozy and Maple

Category: personal

  • My Makeup Bag

    My Makeup Bag

    There is something deeply humbling about being told you cannot wear makeup for seven days… and then realizing how much that actually matters to you. A few days before Easter, I had a cyst removed from my face. It was a simple procedure, and I’m very grateful, all is well. But, along with the aftercare…

  • My Favorite Painting

    My Favorite Painting

    From where I’m sitting, I have a framed copy of my favorite painting: A Huguenot, On St. Bartholomew’s Day by John Everett Millais. He’s recently come into renewed fame lately thanks to Taylor Swift for his painting of Ophelia, but my favorite is the lesser known one that hangs on my library wall, part of…

  • A Note on Not Being Boring

    A Note on Not Being Boring

    Years ago, before I had kids, I was up late talking with a good friend about hobbies.At some point she said, completely innocently, “Honestly, the only hobby I associate with you is TV.” I remember feeling stunned and honestly, a little sad. Was that really how I came across? Boring. Passive. Just someone who watched…

  • When the Puppy Broke Me: Lessons on Raising Resilient Kids

    I cried today, in front of my kids. Having a puppy is far harder than I realized, and shes just plain loud sometimes. If you know me personally, you know me to be a bit on the introverted side, and I like our home to be really peaceful and joyful. A barking puppy clangs just…

  • Musings on Valentines Day

    Musings on Valentines Day

    It’s the perfect cozy Saturday today. Rainy, a little chilly, lots of blankets, books, naps, fresh-baked beer bread…I love it. It’s also Valentine’s Day, and we have no plans to leave our house. My husband and I celebrated each other a few nights ago at a very swanky restaurant where I had a saffron risotto…

  • I Don’t Want to Write About Politics

    I really don’t. I want to write about backyard science and picture books and watercolor palettes that finally made me feel like myself again. I want to write about homeschooling at the kitchen table, half-finished math worksheets, and the way learning sneaks in sideways when you’re not looking. I want to write about slow, gentle,…

  • Building a Book Part 1: Why Won’t This Book Leave Me Alone?

    Building a Book Part 1: Why Won’t This Book Leave Me Alone?

    There’s a folder on my computer with a very rough draft of a children’s chapter book in it. It’s been sitting there for almost a year. I open it every once in a while. I skim a chapter or two. I close it again. And yet, here I am, still thinking about it. This book…

  • Putting the Garden to Bed

    Putting the Garden to Bed

    The air has changed. It’s subtle, but unmistakable, the way mornings carry a faint crispness, the way the light falls lower and more golden in the evenings. After months of tending and coaxing, the garden is ready to rest, and I find myself ready to slow with it. This week I cut back the zinnias,…

  • When the Blog Traffic Doesn’t Come

    I’ve been blogging for over a year now. In that time, I’ve written a lot, learned a lot, and poured hours into shaping words. But here’s the truth: my traffic is still really low. It’s frustrating. I wish my blog had taken off quickly, the kind people stumble onto and share without me working so…

  • How I’m Choosing a Little Extra (Without Doing More)

    How I’m Choosing a Little Extra (Without Doing More)

    Lately I’ve been thinking about what it really means to go the extra mile. Not in the sense of piling on more work or adding more things to an already full plate. For me, it’s more about re-committing to the life I’ve already built for myself and being intentional in the little moments. Sometimes that…