LINK LIST

I've been collecting a list of a few of the favorite links I've come across over the past several weeks, and I thought I would share them with you.

Patience is Not a Virtue, It's a By-Product: "Patience begins with an embrace of our circumstances, but it grows as we enter into the condition of our hearts, when we embrace everything we find there. Because impatience is essentially the urge to run from our inner temper tantrum, the urge to take control so we don’t have to feel it."

Not Without Salt: Dating my Husband: "Love isn’t simply about how he makes you feel. I know that now. Love is a choice and love is action."

Manger: Sunday Best: "Out of all the days of the week, Sunday is the golden day. We take time off and enjoy a quality ‘déjeuner‘. Our kids love this family ritual, and I secure it by making sure to cook something memorable. I would like to imagine my children’s lives bookmarked by food memories, especially Sunday lunches. It’s a sacred moment in time where all the ingredients matter."

The Mess Will Set You Free: "When we try to control, and order, and perfect everything, we may successfully hide our shame. For awhile. But we are also creating a delusion. Because real life is messy. It’s blood-sweat-and-tears messy. It’s anxiety and sadness and embarrassment messy. It’s tragic and unpredictable. And it is absolutely beautiful. Not despite the mess, but because of the mess."

Marilynne Robinson, The Art of Fiction No. 198: "People are frightened of themselves. It’s like Freud saying that the best thing is to have no sensation at all, as if we’re supposed to live painless. The ancients are right: the dear old human experience is a singular, difficult, shadowed, brilliant experience that does not resolve into being comfortable in the world. The valley of the shadow is part of that, and you are depriving yourself if you do not experience what humankind has experienced, including doubt and sorrow. We experience pain and difficulty as failure instead of saying, I will pass through this, everyone I have ever admired has passed through this, music has come out of this, literature has come out of it. We should think of our humanity as a privilege."

Manger: Life in Médoc: "We’ve been living in Médoc, France, for nearly 18 months now. And it’s taken me some time to adapt. Getting out of a city is like a detox program. No one is stressed out here. Stores, banks, post offices – they have long daily lunch breaks. No one is in a rush. People you meet talk about the mushrooms they found in the forest, or where the geese are flying to (it’s an indication of how soon summer will come). It’s nice."

I love these Palomino Blackwing wooden pencils and these stylish black paper towels from Renova.

I'm a bit behind, but I have been reading Kinfolk Vol. 4 on the iPad, and it's incredibly inspiring both in words and images. I especially enjoyed the piece on The Woodsman Market in Portland.

The beautifully crafted artisan toys at Babe in a Blanket are the perfect gift for little ones this Nativity season, created by Misty of Around the Wooden Table. 

This evening I'm looking forward to a big bowl of stovetop popcorn, apple cider, and the second episode of BBC's Call the Midwife.