The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
The other day on Instagram I was all like “here I go with the Mod Podge” and there was a clamor for an “after” (if you can call one person asking for an “after” a clamor) so here you go — I'll have the other little project next week, as it's a bit more involved.
This is just my little ensemble on the kitchen table. Seasonings, matches, candle. Sometimes a stray button, but we try to keep that to a minimum. The salt and pepper grinders sort of shed their contents over time in little messy dustings, and I like to keep everything in one place. That way I can whisk the whole shebang off to the sink to wipe things up. I had a little tray, but it got rather shabby (and not in a good way, just in a ground-in-ground-pepper kind of way).
There was this little red wooden tray that a kid's Melissa & Doug toy came in. I couldn't bear to throw it out, but on the other hand, it had “Melissa & Doug” emblazoned on the side. Since we are not Melissa & Doug, I decided to decoupage. Voila!
On to our links:
- A thoughtful lecture on modesty.
- We are so afraid — as a nation. We are afraid of babies and the trouble they bring to our safe, frightened little world. We need more encouragement, and this post by our friend Kelly Mantoan might help with that: I Am Not Exceptional and So Can You.
- Really breathtaking: Using medical technology to heal a baby in utero: A baby “born twice.”
- Rosie brought this article to my attention, about Franz Jagerstatter and his martyrdom. I had read about him in the book of our friend Robert Royal, which I highly recommend for your high school student's spiritual reading (and yours): The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century: A Comprehensive World History. The complete letter of Franz, an obscure family man whom we might well never have heard of, will move you to tears.
- If you love to hate on bad design, you have to see this blog. It might help, too, when making choices in building — it's always good to know what not to do!
- Guys just have a different way of doing things!
From the archives:
Today is the feast of Saint Pope John Paul II! Enjoy!
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
Dixie says
That was a thoughtful piece on modesty. I attended colleges without dress codes, and now I teach at one with a dress code (for class/dinner). I will say that having everyone dressed like adults makes a big difference in just the way the author mentions: it makes it easier to focus on the life of the mind. It functions similarly to workplace dress codes, I think; they are not there to coerce or infantilize individuals, but to prioritize work.
Laura Jeanne says
I really enjoyed the McMansion Hell blog…so funny, and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who cringes when she sees another subdivision of huge, pretentious, aesthetically questionable homes going in on teeny tiny lots.
Catherine says
Someday could you share details about Mod Podge? Google tells me it’s one of the most well-known craft supplies, but my knowledge of it is limited to seeing the beautiful, clever things you and the girls make with it.
Thanks as always! And congrats on another granddaughter on the way!
Leila says
I will have a more detailed post soon — but really, you just brush it on, put the paper that you want to attach (or fabric), let it dry, coat again… it’s really very easy!
Anamaria says
Oh my. That McMansion website is fantastic (especially on Saturday night with my husband gone… sorry, Kristin Lavransdatter).
So many houses near where I live are definitively McMansions; many others fall into the borderline category. After awhile, it really dulls the judgment! When we are able to buy, we are hoping to move nearer our parish, into an older house- this just gives another reasons for that decision.
A question related to good design: beauty is so intertwined with consumerism for Americans, me included. I’ve been looking a few books and blogs, trying to learn more about creating beauty in the home, but so many of the books (at least, from our library branch!), even those who offer ideas for people on a limited budget, seem to aim at that magazine look, just with DIY projects. I don’t aim at that magazine look! Perhaps because my parent’s house has never resembled that but exudes the hospitality that characterizes them. It feels homey to those who enter, which was often somewhat stray friends of me and my siblings. Some of it is too cluttered, the couches have never been quality (generally just something from the first garage sale sighted after the need for a new couch became apparent, with little regard for anything except not-brokenness), there is still a bit of leftover “country-style” wallpaper my mom has always hated, but it is much more comfortable and welcoming than most houses. So, where do I even look for example of beautiful houses that are not trying to look like a spread from Southern Living/Real Simple/whatever magazine with tons of white and all open concept? I’ve looked a bit through your archives, like the house tour of your friend, and that is helpful- but I don’t know if there’s anything else on the internet like that, and the books I’ve borrowed from the library certainly aren’t.
(I’m considering ordering that Christopher Lasch book off abebooks but it’s taken me long enough to get through Kristin Lavransdatter and that’s fiction. Also, not exactly the right category.)
Leila says
Anamaria, I anticipated your question with my first post in the “archives” section in this bits and pieces!!
See what you think about the books I recommend and the Pinterest thoughts.
Anamaria says
Thanks! I should have clarified I did look through that post- the book is lovely. I guess I am searching for more like that. The pinterest thoughts seem like they will be helpful once we own our house, but right now, I’m not sure what to search. I’m not looking for painting solutions to work with kitchen cabinets etc, just trying to get ideas on how to better arrange what we have, etc etc. “Small house lots of books”? “Simple girls’ room”? “Montessori toy storage small house”? Those seem too general, but maybe they will work.
Leila says
Anamaria, essentially, Pinterest is a way of building your own “design book” if you do it right. You have to keep looking and pinning and then deleting. Not to keep sending you to my boards, but if you look at them, you can see how I’ve collected things that I like according to category. Yes, there is that one with paint for certain countertops, but that is just an example. For instance, there’s “making kids’ spaces pretty”… and yes, you will find plenty for “small spaces” and “organizing small house” etc. Also “cottage living” “country farmhouse” and Montessori will bring up plenty.
Here’s another post of mine that might help:
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2015/07/ask-auntie-leila-setting-up-housekeeping-building-a-home/
Mrs. B. says
I repurpose Melissa & Doug’s boxes too! They are the perfect catch-all containers. But it has never occurred to me to decorate them like that, being one of the most un-crafty, clumsy people I know… That paper looks very pretty – is it scrapbooking paper, or something sturdier?
Lots of good reads, as always – thank you! That doctors can do such things is nothing short of astonishing… News like that are a slap on the face of anyone insisting that a fetus is not a baby, and confirm that such opinions are untenable: the truth is before our eyes, still some refuse to admit they see it (I have no doubt they see the truth like everyone else… they just don’t like it).
Leila says
Mrs. B — the paper is wrapping paper that I happened upon at Marshall’s. So less sturdy than scrapbooking paper, but also less expensive 🙂
It’s a good use for wrapping paper that you think is beautiful but, honestly, saving wrapping paper is rather misbegotten, isn’t it? Unless you can decorate something… I have a hard time throwing away lovely paper. This was not used, but nevertheless, too small a piece to actually wrap anything up in.
Mrs. B. says
You mean, it’s all right to save those scraps one really loves, even if I end up forgetting where I put them?? Sometimes I save even really narrow strips… I tell myself they make lovely bookmarks, except I hardly ever use bookmarks.
Just this morning I was at HomeGoods and perhaps I overdid it a little with gift wrap… They had a Stewart tartan I had to grab, and a red-and-gold paisley-like one, really thick and with the design in relief… And a couple more… My kids still believe in Santa, so I have a rotation of gift wrap rolls that I hide in my closet and only use at Christmas (and for the Epiphany, since Italian kids receive gifts on the Twelfth Night as well): this is how I justify my new purchases!
Question about the Mod Podge: does it simply glue, or does it also protect the paper, making it last longer? In other words, how long do you expect you beautiful tray to stay pretty, before you have to cover it again? Thanks!
Leila says
Mrs. B, it protects the paper, basically laminating it. There are different versions of it — you can easily find out all about it online. I don’t know how long the tray will stay pretty, except that it really stays put there on the table, and I only covered the outside walls. I think as long as you don’t soak it or anything it’s fine. We shall see!
Cynthia says
I have been known to purchase a kids toy or two mostly for the wooden tray it came in…shh! That is a clever solution to all the “crumbs” of pepper that end up everywhere with a grinder, and easy to wisk off the table to prevent 3yo’s from making it snow with the salt…