Happy Thursday 6/11/20

Happy Thursday! How are you? I am coming at you a day early this week in solidarity with Friday’s state-wide strike (in Washington state) supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. 

It’s been a couple of heavy weeks over here as we’ve listened, learned, and reflected. I’ve been thinking a lot about where this home/renovation/lifestyle blog belongs in the midst of a pandemic, deep economic uncertainty, and important social change to dismantle systemic oppression. What can we do? Where can we go from here? And frankly I don’t have any answers. But I do know I want to do better. For starters, you can expect more diversity on this blog in the links I share, the renovations I feature, and the homes I send you off to love. 

And while this blog will always be a small home/renovation/lifestyle site at heart, centered around our lives, I want to make sure it reflects our values and doesn’t shy away from topics that matter. Because this week has taught me that silence can be interpreted as ignorance, indifference, or acceptance of the status quo. 

I’ve really appreciated taking time off to listen and learn, but I’ll be back next week with more regular posts. In the meantime, deep breaths, full hearts, and wishes of a good weekend.

a shed at our Farmhouse

More from the week…

Brigette Romanek’s breathtaking abode. Pinned every one of these photos. (jennikayne)

I don’t feel like buying stuff anymore. “A whole lot of things we thought of as needs have revealed themselves to be pretty deeply unnecessary.” (buzzfeednews)

Last month, This American Life, the NPR podcast/radio broadcast, earned a Pulitzer Prize for it’s episode “The Out Crowd”. And not just any ol’ Pulitzer Prize - the first EVER awarded to a radio show. I haven’t stopped thinking about this podcast since listening to it a couple of weeks ago! (thisamericanlife)

An 18th-century Seaside cottage saved from the wreaking ball. Holy moly it’s so good! (veranda)

When parents get parented: the joys and challenges of living with grandparents through a pandemic. (nytimes)

How to overcome our biases: walk boldly towards them. Our school district shared this Ted talk and I was captivated. (ted.com)

The story of how Nina Simone’s childhood home in North Carolina was saved by 4 artists. (savingplaces.org)

I love the wallpaper (and everything else) in this bathroom. (@sabbeinteriordesign)

My oldest son is turning 7 this weekend and he asked for this homemade ice cream. We use spearmint from our backyard and mini chocolate chips and everyone enjoys it. (Eva-bakes)

Highly recommend Just Mercy (the book and movie)! The novel is by Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and it gets five stars from me. (Indiebound, Amazon affiliate) psst: the movie is free on Prime right now.

Have a great weekend!

This post includes affiliate links.