Friday Faves / vol. 20
Hellooo!!
The smoke has cleared and it’s been a rather lovely July so far in Michigan. Hugo and Clementine are at sleepaway camp this week, and it’s been blessedly quiet with just Elliot, who always enjoys returning to his former status of Only Child, a position so cruelly snatched away from him at the tender age of two.
This weekend we have our annual camping trip/family reunion with my mom’s extended family. My kiddos run around with various second cousins who they see once or twice a year, and we swim in the lake and roast s’mores over campfires and wake up with the birds and/or crying babies. It’s always exciting to discover which essential camping thing we forgot to pack this time. Previous years’ forgotten things include: the tent rain flap - there was torrential rain that year - fuel for the cooking stove, any long-sleeved clothing for Hugo.
I started mending a pair of torn jean shorts* yesterday using techniques I learned with Jessica Marquez of Miniature Rhino a couple of years ago at Squam, and it’s making me really excited to be back at Squam Lake in just a couple months. For those not familiar with Squam Arts Workshops, I wrote a couple of blog posts here and here.
A few other things to share as you head into the weekend…
sewing: a Garnet top with tucks (above) and another Garnet top with a Ruby yoke. I also made a knit PJ set for Hugo using the Flashback Tee and Parsley shorts (again). He wears the set I made him last year daily so I made him another one.
listening: I listened to all of the episodes the Witch Trials of JK Rowling this week, and it was…very interesting. I can’t stop thinking about it. A central premise is the protection of free speech, and that silencing views you don’t agree with is a danger to democracy. Megan Phelps-Roeper interviews JK Rowling and the fact that she’s hosting is itself an interesting element that the podcast dives into.
reading: Circe by Madeline Miller. This book got a lot of hype a couple years ago when it came out and it’s easy to see why: it’s a quick and easy read, and it sparked my interest in the greek myths enough that I cracked open our copy of D'Aulaires. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, with the one-star penalty only because it was somewhat sad for a summer read.^ Highly recommend for winter or fall!
Also: Good Talk by Mira Jacob was so good — I want my kids to read it next. I don’t know how to describe the style, graphic novel crossed with collage, maybe? The author is a mom trying to figure out how to talk to her kid about race in America, and she reaches back to 911 and the story of her parent’s arranged marriage, among other things, to tell her story.
sipping: lavender lemonade. I’ve been simmering a large handful of lavender in a pan along with 1 cup water and 2/3 cup of sugar, then letting it steep for an hour before straining the liquid into a jar. We love to add it (about a shot) to a glass of lemonade - it’s so delicious!
loving: a new tubular mascara called blinc. It’s a bit spendier than your average drugstore mascara, but hallelujah it is the first one I’ve ever tried that doesn’t give me raccoon eyes by the end of the day. When you’re ready to take it off, you gently press a wet washcloth to your eyes and the tiny little tubes slide right off your eyelashes. So creepy, so weird, so good. (Ann Arbor folks: Rasa at Birch Studio on Packard sells it locally)
xo,
Rae
PS. see all of my Friday Faves here.
*I’m almost afraid to admit to you that I bought them NEW (gasp)…at the MALL (double gasp). In my defense, they were labeled “Mom Shorts” at a teen clothing store at the mall that Clementine was shopping at, so they were undoubtedly meant for me, as I am undoubtedly a mom. When I saw how torn they were, my heart went out to them. “I can fix you,” I whispered tenderly as I attempted unsuccessfully to fend off the rewards program at checkout.
^So shallow!! I know. Let’s all admit tho that you didn’t come here for the deep literary recs.