recommended reading

free desktop wallpaper: Oana Befort

i have used desktop calendars from Oana Befort and Geninne Zlatkis for years now. one of the things i don't really like about the calendar style wallpaper is that i feel like i have to change it each month. so, you can imagine my excitement when oana released this floral -non calendar- wallpaper. love it.

hopes for this summer...

pull out the rest of that overgrown laurel... and build a new chicken coop behind that pear tree.

now on to the reading...

i didn't do a lot of reading last year.

i just didn't make it a priority i guess. i did have a few really good reads that i would recommend and they are the snow child, the nesting place, paper to petal, all issues of taproot magazine, and mink river. that is my sad list of recommended reads from 2015.

this year will be different though. it is only february and i am off to a good start. 

my list:

• "how to catch a frog" by Heather Ross. i love this book. it has me completely captivated. instead of sharing my own review though, i am going to share this review by anna maria horner. which is the one that put this book on my reading list. 
• "shooting with soul" by Alessandra Cave. i have only just begun this book, but i already feel inspired by it. it is mostly full of photography prompts that encourage you to find your artistic voice.
• "my rag doll" by Corinne Crasbercu. obviously, this is a sewing book. it has one doll body pattern and then many different hair and face styles, and many different clothing, shoe, and accessory patterns. i find it adorable and inspiring. i have not found any time for doll sewing just yet, but when i do... i am very excited to give these patterns a try.
• "playful learning" by Mariah Bruehl. this is a re-read for me. i love this book. lots of ideas and activities for encouraging learning at home. my favorite section in this book is "build it and they will come" which gives multiple ideas for creating learning spaces in your home. areas where the children will have access to materials so that they can create and learn on their own at any time.
• taproot magazine. i have read every issue of taproot and i am a huge fan.

 i plan to read these books to my older children over the next couple months. they are historical fiction novels and i read both of them as a kid and both of them made quite an impression on me. "johnny tremain" by Eshter Forbes takes place in boston at the start of the american revolution. johnny ends up working at the boston observer, participates in the boston tea party, and many other exciting historical events. i'll share more about this classic after we actually read it... it's been a long time. "the silver sword" by ian seraillier (and later went by the title "escape from warsaw") takes place during world war 2. after their parents arrest, three children must take care of each other and hide from the nazis amidst the rubble of their destroyed city. then they learn that their father is alive and has escaped. so they travel across the battlefields of europe to find their parents.

 some of our favorites for the younger crowd:

• "if you lived here: houses of the world" by Giles Laroche. we love this book. beautiful art and information on different houses from all over the world and throughout history. 
• "the blue hill meadows" by Cynthia Rylant. four seasonal stories about a wonderful family living out in the country. 
• "the little house" by Virginia Lee Burton. a sweet book about a little house that loves it's life out in the country. then slowly the city begins to move in around it and everything changes... but don't worry there is a very happy ending.
• "chrysanthemum" and "lilly's purple plastic purse" by Kevin Henkes. we LOVE these stories. i especially have a sweet spot for chrysanthemum. each of these girls goes through a bit of a hard spot in the story but both have adorable endings.
• "miss rumphius" by Barbara Cooney. this book is so special. it was my favorite as a little girl. if you haven't read it, you must! if only everyone did something to make the world more beautiful.
• "flotsam" by David Weisner. this is a book without words. the incredible illustrations tell a story of an underwater camera that is found by a boy on the beach, and oh! the things that camera has seen!

have you read any of these books?

do you have any recommendations for me?