Category Archives: Lifestyle

Have you ever had a place that you pass by quite often, but have never made time to go inside? If so, perhaps you’re like me and you never had a reason to, or, never made the time to, but it’s been in your periphery as “this place exists”, but nothing further was jotted down in your mind. To go a step further, after a number of years of passing by this place, perhaps you’ve begun to make a mental assessment of the building from its exterior, noting the traffic going inside, the state of its cleanliness and silently, unacknowledged, affirm or contradict that original opinion formed about why you have not yet made a point to visit this place of business, until something, or someone, changes your perspective.Continue reading “Adventures in Reading”

Every year I tend to buy at least two planners: my Erin Condren for the year, and I’ll experiment with a new brand that I haven’t tried out yet, just to see if the grass might be greener elsewhere. This year, it was a close call between the Cultivate What Matters planner (bright, fun, playful, inspired) and the Blessed Is She (BIS) planner (modern, functional, Catholic-focused). You can see from my post title which one I decided upon.

And then this week, a lovely gold box with Scripture showed up on my porch.Continue reading “Unboxing: Blessed is She 2019-2020 Academic Planner”

This year’s birthday marked a quiet celebration of lavender, lovingly woven into the decorations and gifts from loved ones (see below) and culminating into a long-wished-for dream, visiting a real-life lavender farm.

As it turned out, we didn’t have to fly to Provence, just to find lavender fields. In a small town in the Midwest, tucked between fields and a copse of trees, is the small farm of Long Row.

The barn is the showstopper in terms of architecture at Long Row, boasting a timeless design, and classic charm like a tin roof and timber-frame construction. Chip and Joanna Gaines would be proud. The interior is part cafe, part gift shop, and includes a space for rentals.

At the time of our visit, the lavender had been harvested, save for a few late-blooming plants, a favorite attraction to eager bees.

We were however given permission to see the recently harvested lavender drying in the barn loft, and the lavender ropes were turning blue-purple as they aged.

You can imagine the fresh lavender scents and the sensation of blue buds crushed underfoot as we walked. The scent of tea wafting from kettles in the cafe. The allure of lavender-filled treats awaiting consumption.

So yes, the farm is quite charming overall and while I regret missing the peak bloom season, I’d love to come visit again next year and see the fields abloom and restock on some loverly lavender products. Learn more about Long Row Lavender here.