November 14th I’m sitting by my kitchen fire this chill November evening after a long day of almost monkish domesticity. I’ve been so industrious today that this welcome pause is almost too much: the warmth of the fire and the weariness of my bones is conjuring a somnolent spell I can scarcely resist. But my…
You cannot get to England by bus, or train, or any of the customary modes of transportation. Even a car will only bring you to the gates— but these are everywhere, of course, wanting but the beholder. There will be a style, or a post worn smooth by fellow sojourners’ hands, and a…
This year has been flying so fast it seems every time I turn my head another month slips by. How can it already be October? I’ve been so busy of late, both at home and abroad. In September I had the joy of a much-anticipated houseguest, and later that week she was able to journey…
This past Saturday I was standing on the beach at Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia. It was an absolutely perfect summer day. We had taken the ferry over from the mainland early in the morning, before the rolling, sun-shot mists had fully cleared from the marshes and spits of land we passed. Indeed,…
A year ago I embarked on a reckless (and often humiliating) venture into the French language, and to mark the occasion I’m re-posting this piece I wrote for The Rabbit Room last summer about my decision to take the plunge. But before I can do that, I find myself honor-bound in an equally-reckless pledge to…
Some days are just kind of stupid. You sit there early, hands cupped around a half-mug of cold coffee, feeling that the world beyond your own bed is exhausting. And perhaps just a little bit insupportable. Vacations, among other things, will do that do to you. You haven’t the heart to consult the best-laid-plan you…
Last month, I had the great privilege of interviewing one of my heroines, Andi Ashworth, upon the occasion of the re-release of her book, Real Love for Real Life by the Rabbit Room Press. You can find the interview here, and I really urge you not only to avail yourself of the gentle wisdom of…
I wrote this piece for The Rabbit Room last year, but I’m posting it here again. Because after an intensely busy spring and early summer, and a serious writing sprint on the horizon, I need to be reminded again. And again and again… So surrender the hunger to say you must know, Have the courage…
My husband and I have recently returned from an extended stay on one of the barrier islands of Georgia. I’ve been visiting this beloved part of the world my entire life, but this one island in particular for the past two decades, without a lost year among them. I honestly could not believe it when…
On the second-to-the-last day of September, in the year of our Lord 2011, I came into possession of a hill in the English countryside. I marked the event that evening with all due solemnity and appropriate honors. My husband and I had ostensibly walked out in the late afternoon to watch the sunset from a…
I hadn’t even gotten her home from the airport before we were scheming about changing her return ticket. Five days just wasn’t long enough—not nearly sufficient to celebrate fifteen years of friendship or to reclaim the winding span of months since we’d parted. The last time I had seen her was in a dim Oxford…
Oh, friends, the Spring Collection is up over at Olive & Jane! These talented milliners have been busy in the atelier and the results are simply stunning. Do go and feast your eyes on the lovely new hats and fascinators in the shop, including the launch of a precious line for little girls. The Strawberries…
We spent yesterday in company with a clutch of the dearest folks in the world, working together on a project for our beloved friends’ new millinery shop, Olive and Jane. From the first morning hours it was a day of filtered spring sunlight and pale pretty dresses. Sherbet-hued balloons and hobnail vases and a pastel…
There are few things in life I love to celebrate more than the flowering of a dear friend’s passion. And, on this occasion, the joy is more than doubled, because it’s two friends I get to celebrate at once! Sisters Katie Rambo Eaker and Amy Rambo are honestly two of my favorite people on the…
January is for hibernating. A friend said that in an email the other day and my heart warmed with her understanding and sympathy. For many folks, January is a new beginning, a fresh leap off into resolutions and enthusiasms. But for me it is a deep dormancy. All the things I put off during the…
Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare, One more seed is planted there: Give up your strength the seed to nourish, That in course the flower may flourish. People, look east and sing today: Love, the Rose, is on the way. Eleanor Farjeon It has been a Christmas of gold and silver dawns, spiced keen…
It has been such a beautiful Adventide, bright with times to keep. Like sitting by the fire with a little clutch of beloved friends all in formal evening dress, sipping eggnog and discussing the Incarnation. Like watching the late afternoon sun warm the walls of the Cathedral downtown while the old, old Story was told…
It all started two years ago. In truth, it started well before that, probably back in my childhood, when I would pore longingly over the crafts section in my Highlights magazine, laying on my bedroom floor with my chin propped on my arms. From my earliest memories, I have always loved to fashion things with…
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