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Today, my husband surprised me with a day trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum, where I hadn’t been since finishing grad school in 2010. We had a great time checking out the permanent collections and had lunch at a brewery nearby. It was also perfect timing, since I had already written this blog post and …
On the Crumbling Manor House
What is it that fascinates us about the crumbling manor house? Is it Schadenfreude? The air of genteel mystery? I personally can’t get enough of the ‘crumbling manor house’ trope. I’ve written before about my ultimate childhood favorite books, and The Secret Garden topped the list. My ultimate favorite non-childhood story is ‘The Fall of …
Tennis sweaters, anyone?
With both spring approaching and me in the thick of shamelessly binge watching Downton Abbey on Netflix, I’ve been thinking of my favorite transitional fashion staple. Personally, I love a tennis sweater (or cricket jumper, if you will), but I think it takes a bit of…? I don’t know. They can be tricky to pull …
Launch day! The Dream Kingdom is out now
It’s been six months since the initial series launch, and I’m so excited to be sharing a new title with you! This is one of my favorite titles in the entire series, and it’s the book that really pushed the series to grow into itself. The Dream Kingdom is Book 6, although as a timeline …
A citrus season tea
I got myself into some trouble last winter with a serious cream tea habit. Working from home in the dead of winter was depressing in an already depressing season of the year and a depressing year in general. That four p.m. teatime was instead called ‘scone o’clock.’ To be honest, a year later, I still …
Four indestructible items
I have quite a few things that I’ve owned for a couple of decades now. Many or most of them have held up nicely. I chose to share these four items because they are all a) twenty years old or older and b) have been treated terribly over their long lifetimes. It’s honestly crazy what …
Five children’s books I still read
The first movie I was allowed to see in theaters with a friend and no parents present was 1998’s You’ve Got Mail, which of course follows the owner of a children’s bookstore. A favorite quote from the movie is “When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way …
Thoughts on the New Year
I had planned to write something about being excited to share more in the new year and the same types of things everyone else writes. Don’t get me wrong – there’s a lot I’m looking forward to in 2022. However, I feel like I’m ending the year a little more weary than excited. It’s an …
Chronicles of the Overdressed, Part II
I really believe everyone has a style that works for them, things that are flattering and make you feel comfortable and, most importantly, make you feel like you. We all go through bad fashion periods, though. Looking back on my own bad fashion periods, I think many people go through these awkward phases as a …
Writing Inspiration: The Wrong Reasons
The epic mismatch of Rachel and Mackie is alluded to early on in the series – Mackie isn’t allowed to partake of family activities, his family members grumble about his spouse, Poppy and Mimmy trash Rachel’s less-than-illustrious background because of course they would. I realized Mackie’s story couldn’t possibly be one of the more lighthearted …