Saturday, August 18, 2007

Hot links

You can always tell when the temperature soars here in TN: my blogroll also zooms. In case you're also hiding in the A/C, let me share a few interesting links from the week.

Katherine at Raising Five explains why good homemakers content themselves with "good enough" housekeeping. Here, here!

I rarely mention the same blog in one week, but I couldn't let this one by. Look how Kara painted a pair of stained white shoes to match her little girl's outfit. Even cooler--she dubs the practice "refashion."

Elena shares the 28 things she's learned by her 28th anniversary. It's so rare to find an honest--yet hopeful--portrayal of happy marriage.

Somehow I found Cara's Green Bean blog and her Waldorf toy tutorials. Since Elise loves wrapping things around her, I should definitely make her some playsilks. Can I cut up an old silk skirt for that?

I just received two catalogs from Montessori Services. They've inspired me with honest, child-friendly tools. But oh, no! I think I just gave away our copy of The Red Letter Book, which the catalog sells for $20.

Kathryn's Ink Blot shares more photos of Alexandra Stoddard's cottage from her Happiness Weekend in Stonington last year. Beautiful!

7 comments:

Katherine@Raising Five said...

Hey, thanks for thinking of me. I love your blog. Really, you inspire me so much with your passion, and I love the way you write simply and directly but also somehow, elegantly. Kind of like the way you prepare your food? I can learn from you...

pomo housewife said...

nice spring weather here in Australia. I love your calmness and the pleasure in caring for your home and family, something I'm trying to work on myself - lots of nice practical ideas too!

Thanks for the links, just the thing for some idle browsing with a cup of vanilla chai tea!

best

Helen

Anonymous said...

Oh boy, if you liked the green sneaker refashion, I think you might enjoy Wardrobe Refashion at:

http://nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion/

My favorite post so far is one in which a green silk drape is transformed into a beautiful dress.

Some of the refashions are ingenious (and some are not).

Cara said...

You sure can cut up silk shirts for playsilks :) If they're 100% silk they would take any dye really well. Also, you can order them from Thai Silks, I use China Silk Scarves in size 36x36 inches for pre-schoolers and 22x22 inches for my babe (11 months). Thanks for linking to me!

Green Tea & Kimchee said...

Wardrobe refashion is kind of a trend right now, I've been enjoying the ideas I get.

A lot of people over here use old clothes to make softies, I think I will be doing that for some upcoming Christmas gifts.

Queen of Carrots said...

Oooh, I like the cut-up shirt idea! That's the perfect thing to do with some old silk shirts that don't fit my life anymore and are really too worn to use (or even give away) anyway. The backs are still fine, after all.

K E Fleck said...

oh, by the way - you can certainly cut up the shirt and also, we go through the scarves at the thrift store all the time, too. My daughter has a collection of about half a dozen silk (or at least "silky- like") scarves ... some plain, some flowered, etc. The flowered scarf has been a princess cape, bunched up into a bouquet, laid on the ground as a "garden" ... it's amazine the things kids can come up with with just a square of fabric :-)

Best Wishes!