Primitive Pleasures {June}

July 1, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 6 Comments

A day late, but here are some good things from around the interwebs that I found in June!

I have yet to develop a green thumb, so this is only possible in my dreams, but I love Natasha’s guide to growing a backyard herbal tea garden.

Despite my inability to keep my plants alive, I do love flowers! I stumbled on Sarah von Pollaro’s video tutorial on transforming a $10 supermarket bouquet into four beautiful arrangements and then got sucked into the vortex of all her awesome video tutorials. She makes flower arranging seem accessible.

Throwing a dinner party can be stressful, but so also can being a dinner party guest. Shauna Niequist (one of my favorite authors) wrote a superb post about how to be a great dinner guest.

I’ve worked several retail jobs and by far my favorite was my stint at Anthropologie. This is a phenomenal list of DIY Anthropolgie products. However, don’t ever pass up an opportunity to roam an Anthropologie store – they are truly inspirational.

Unfortunately, decisions about motherhood and everything that goes along with it have divisive tendencies in the Christian subculture. Instead of coming alongside women and families, we tend to judge and snub. I deeply appreciate this perspective and call for grace. If you don’t read the whole article, please read the last section!

It’s no secret that I love book lists. The Gospel Coalition has a great column called On My Shelf, “designed to help you get to know various people through providing a behind-the-scences glimpse into their lives as readers.” Kathy Keller, Tim Keller’s wife, had wonderful thoughts on finding Christ in fiction (which is why she’s not likely to have the latests Christian title on her nightstand).

Along the same line, this is a great article on finding God’s truth is literature.

And because this made me smile…

Primitive Pleasures {May}

May 31, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 6 Comments

One of the very best things about this May is having a mini family reunion this weekend to celebrate the marriage of my cousin. Since not everyone gets to enjoy such a fun gathering, here are some other good things trolled from the interwebs this month.

Simplicity:

People who chronically multitask have lost the ability to focus on one thing – and they’re actually terrible at mutlitasking…. Interesting article on NPR (man I love public radio) about the myth of multitasking.

When -est should be -er and how that gives us the freedom to live simply.

Books:

I’m a book list junkie. Relevant Magazine has a great list of 10 books everyone should read by 25-ish. I think one of them might be our first book club book. Have you read any of them?

I love Heather’s idea to reinvent what classifies as classic literature for her 25 in 25 list.

Michael Hyatt’s podcast about how to read non-fiction was inspiring.

Marriage:

A New Kind of Sexy is honest and we need more of that when talking about marriage.

So we fought for it. We stumbled on redemption in the unlikely sexy acts of taking out the smelly-diaper trash, going to marriage counseling, and texting each other apologies for misspoken harsh words.

Beth of Red and Honey

And more honest reflection from Tyler Ward with 3 Things I Wish I Knew Before We Got Married.

Etc:

I’ve been there – wanting someone to fully understand why I left my heart overseas…

Because I’m a sucker for articles about the twenty-something stage of life – here’s a good one by Anne Bogel.

Hysterical iMessage version of Chapter 5 in Jane Austen’s Persuasion.

I LOVE McGriddles. Can’t wait to try these.

Primitive Pleasures {April}

April 30, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 7 Comments

This month certainly blew by! Maybe that’s because I spent a glorious week in Southern California. I should do that more often…

Read

On my flight back to Idaho, I read this lovely article in Spirit Magazine {my absolute favorite in-flight magazine}. It was refreshing to see simplicity so boldly publicized.

Friendship: I loved Relevant Magazine’s 5 Types of Friends Everyone Should Have and this guest post by Lesley Sebek Miller on Modern Mrs. Darcy reads like something Shauna Niequist would have written.

As and INFJ, I have a soft-spot for anything written about introverts. These four lies about introverts are so full of wisdom.

Eat

It’s getting to be quite Springy here in Idaho. The warmer weather makes me want to eat strawberries and angel food cake. Pioneer Woman’s Strawberry Shortcake is… I’m actually coming up short on words to describe this incredible cake.

Listen

Andy Stanley from North Point Ministries in Atlanta did an amazing series called Follow. It’s life changing. Listen or watch the sermons and then grab someone to chat through the discussion questions.

Smile

I borrowed this from Katie of Cardigan Way – it was too good not to share. My cousins and I sang this hymn at my Gramma’s memorial service and I walked down the aisle {almost a year ago} to a rendition by Jami Smith. Needless to say, I was alternately crying and grinning like an idiot while watching…

This touches my inner flower child – whimsical and beautiful.

I created this to express the reality of my Zumba experience. I love it though!

{photo credit: heraldpost and asterix611 via photopin cc}

Primitive Pleasures {March}

March 31, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 9 Comments

He is risen! {happy Easter to you all…}

I’m enjoying the glorious warm weather of Southern California and the company of my SoCal family and friends, so Primitive Roads will be dormant for the coming week. However, I did want to leave you with a few things to spark your creativity, challenge your soul, and feed your stomach.

Enjoy this March edition of Primitive Pleasures {if you’re new, hop over to February’s for an explanation}. I’ll be back next week celebrating the release of Shauna Niequist’s new book, Bread and Wine.

Homemade

My mom and I have developed a serious addiction to Sally’s Baking Addiction – a food blog that features a soon-to-be-married gal’s mouthwatering photos, reliable recipes, and kitchen inspiration. My mom sent Tim and I a batch of Soft Baked Monster Cookies which were incredible and then she teased me with photos of the Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookie’s she whipped together. She then went on a Sally’s Baking Addiction rampage and made Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars, Caramel Snickers 7 Layer Bars, and Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffins {all of which I was able to sample yesterday – oh my…}. One thing I love about SBA is that all the recipes turn out looking exactly like her photos.

Afternoon tea is a lost art. Even in it’s simplest form, serving tea with small sweets and savories is hospitable, warm, and gracious. I grew up going out to tea and throwing tea parties so seeing this post about Cucumber Sandwiches {a popular tea sandwich I originally disliked but have grown to love} brought back good memories. Marie does a wonderful job of explaining and illustrating this delicious tea classic.

I adore granola. Something about the nutty, crunchy, sweet combination just does it for me. Making your own granola is so easy and so customizable. Design Crush collated a Grouping of Granolas that is totally mouthwatering. Plus, she included my recipe for Gingerbread Granola!

Soul Stirrings

Jamie Harper‘s heart for God and for women is evident in all that she writes over at Brown Paper and Strings. Read this and be assured that you are seen!

For those who have been burdened by the notion that their marriage just isn’t Christian enough, Heather King of Extraordinary Ordinary has some truth you need to hear!

Do you know what I expect? When you tell God that you feel like you’ve been run over by a truck and you are only able to say that much, I think He sits down with you, on the ground and He waits. Isn’t that what you would do if it were one of our kids? And then they’d find their energy again and wouldn’t you respond like lightening, putting your hand under their arm, lifting them up?

{read the rest here}

Some very true observations about us twenty and thirty-somethings by Elizabeth Hyndman.

The Creative

I’ve never met Katie of The Cardigan Way in person, but I like her a lot! She recently launched the Cardigan Way shop which has some of her Lovely Lines {book quotes} printed for decor purposes. I’m hoping she comes out with notecard versions soon… {hint hint}.

One of my next craft projects is making one of these food passports for Coeur d’Alene!

Have a wonderful week!

I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer of HopefulLeigh.