Tifmurray

The 7th Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Easterbrook, made short work of a challenge by anti-vaccination students challenging IU’s requirement that students get vaccinated. Specifically, the policy requires students to be vaccinated as a condition of attending the university unless they qualify for a religious or medical exemption. Six of the eight plaintiffs claimed to have some sort of religious reason for not getting vaccinated. The seventh qualified for the religious exemption but wasn’t claiming it. And the eighth wasn’t eligible for any of the exemptions. Those who claim exemptions have to wear masks and get tested twice a week.  The students were asking for injunctive relief (meaning that they wanted the courts to prohibit the university from enforcing the policy.) At the district court level, the judge issued a long (101 page) opinion denying their motion. On appeal, the 7th Circuit was more efficient (4 pages). (Seriously – go read the opinion, it’s one of the better crafted opinions I’ve seen.)

The legal bedrock for these kind of cases is the 1905 Supreme Court opinion in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. In that case, the Supreme Court affirmed the criminal conviction against a man who refused to get a compulsory smallpox vaccination. Citing Jacobson, the 7th Circuit in this case says there can’t be a Constitutional problem with requiring a COVID vaccination. There is no substantive due process right being violated because vaccination requirements, like other public-health measures, have been common in this nation for a long time. In fact, the 7th Circuit says, this case is easier than Jacobson.

First, Jacobson had no exception for adults. IU allows exemptions. Those who claim exemptions have to get tested twice a week and wear masks which, the 7th Circuit observes, are not Constitutionally problematic requirements. Second, where the Jacobson case involved everyone in the community, IU isn’t the only place to get an education. Students can go elsewhere if vaccines and testing are simply intolerable to them. The Court recognized that a University has the right to determine what’s necessary to keep students safe in a congregate setting. Vaccinations protect not just vaccinated persons but also those who come in contact with them. The Court also makes analogy to other rights which are not violated by a University imposing conditions of attendance. A student has a right to property, but it’s not a violation of that right for the University to require the student fork over $11,000 worth of that property as a condition of enrollment. A student has First Amendment rights to expression, but that right is not violated where a University requires students to read something they prefer not to read or write something they prefer not to read “even if the student deems the books heretical.” And, at this point, Judge Easterbrook just seems to be having fun. “A student told to analyze the role of nihilism in Dostoyevsky’s The Possessed but who submits an essay about Iago’s motivations in Othello will flunk.”

If conditions of higher education may include surrendering property and following instructions about what to read and write, it is hard to see a greater problem with medical conditions that help all students remain safe when learning. A university will have trouble operating when each student fears that everyone else may be spreading disease.

who’s craving a bit of comfort food, hmmm? i could go for some classic American diner fare, so today we’re sock-hopping into new york city’s Soho Diner, a 24-hour modern diner that pays homage to its neighborhood’s rich history by blending the simple pleasures of an old-time New York five-and-dime with the spirit of the city’s current dining scene. envision a wide selection of over-the-counter remedies for early birds, night owls, and everyone in between. we’re going to dress for a bit of afternoon brunch and grab a Montauk tuna melt and dark chocolate shake! careful not to spill though, we’re wearing white jeans, but funked up to match Soho Diner’s colorful decor in a favorite faded tee and striped sweater vest with a layering of gold necklaces and paisley bandana (aka mask) — and don’t forget to wear your favorite converse hightops. something to read whilst you await your feast is Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin. this tale follows Ohio-born Pru Steiner arrives in New York in 1976, she follows in a long tradition of young people determined to take the city by storm. But when she falls in love with and marries her hotshot young Shakespeare professor, her life takes a turn she couldn’t have anticipated. a novel about the love between women and men, and children and parents; about the things we give up in the face of adversity; and about how to survive when life turns out differently from what we thought we signed up for.

wear this there: j.crew Linen crewneck T-shirt in weathered rose; cos RUCHED BUCKET HAT; Anthropologie Whipstitch Raffia Stretch Belt; Nili Lotan Celia Jean; urban outfitters Converse Chuck 70 Tri-Panel Sustainable High-Top Sneaker; Hansel From Basel Retro Floral Crew Socks; Ilia Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm in warm peachy nude; Karen Walker Northern Lights Cat-Eye Sunglasses; read this there Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin; The Marc Jacobs Mini Compact Wallet; madewell Toggle Chain Necklace Set; Anthropologie Striped Leather Tote Bag; urban outfitters Paisley Bandana; mango Striped knitted vest.

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If you’re looking for something to spice up your breakfast routine, look no further than this pineapple upside down overnight baked oatmeal. This is a fun one! It has the flavors of a pineapple upside down cake but packed with whole grains from the oats (and probably quite a bit less sugar, ha).

You certainly don’t have to serve this like you would a cake—here’s how she will look just out of the oven. When I’m not taking photos of my overnight baked oatmeal for the world to see, I tend to just scoop it from the pie pan into a bowl to eat while I sip my coffee. I’m fancy like that.

Why overnight? Of course, there’s the convenience in that all you have to do in the morning is pop the pan in the oven and wait. So, that’s nice. But also as the oats sit in the refrigerator overnight, they soak up the moisture and bake up nice and soft, almost like a cake.

I love this pineapple upside down overnight baked oatmeal! Every bite with a cherry feels extra special, ha. Enjoy. xo. Emma

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Pineapple Upside Down Overnight Baked Oatmeal

Course Breakfast

Cook Time 30 minutes

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 20 ounces can pineapple rings, 1/2 cup juice reserved
• 2 tablespoons melted, cooled butter
• 6-8 maraschino cherries, cut in half

Instructions

• Arrange the pineapple rings and cherries on the bottom of a buttered pie pan. You will likely have a few pineapple rings left—cut these up into small pieces to add to the batter.
• In a large bowl, stir together the oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• In a smaller bowl, stir together the milk, egg, melted and cooled butter, and vanilla extract.
• Combine the wet ingredient with the dry in the large bowl and stir to combine. Then, stir in the chopped pineapple pieces.
• Add this mixture to a pie pan, add your pineapple and cherry pieces, and cover and store overnight in the refrigerator.
• In the morning, remove the cover and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. If you want to be fancy, you can turn the slightly cooled pan out onto a cutting board so you can see the pineapple slices. But it's not necessary—just a fun presentation.

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

Oh yes, you read that right. These are potato chip cookies! I am not sure of the origin of potato chip cookies, but I think of them as a kind of country cooking thing.

I hail from the land of many Cracker Barrels … if you know, you know. But if you’ve never had potato chip cookies before, you are in for a treat!

Potato chip cookies are salty and sweet and sort of remind me of rustic shortbread. Some cookies are meant to be eaten alongside milk (or even dunked in milk). And these certainly fall into that category.

Potato Chip Cookie Ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Softened Butter
• Granulated White Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Crushed Potato Chips
• Vanilla Extract

I have seen potato chip cookies made with a number of variations, like adding a little chopped chocolate or peanut butter chips, or sprinkling the tops with powdered sugar before baking.

Personally, I like them simple, but feel free to try a variation if you’re feeling it.

You may note in the recipe below that these (again, like shortbread) do not have a leavening agent. There is no baking powder or eggs—just plenty of butter and potato chips.

These potato chip cookies won’t spread or rise much when baking, so you’ll want to shape them a little so the centers don’t turn out too doughy (unless you want that, then go for it).

What Kind of Chips Should I Use?

You can use classic, ruffled, or kettle potato chips. Just be sure they are plain and non-flavored. I am experimental, but BBQ potato chip cookies just don’t sound good to me! Haha. Happy baking. xo. Emma

Love cookies? Give my Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles (Without Cream of Tartar) a try!

Print

Potato Chip Cookies

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cookies, potato chip cookies

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Servings 16 cookies

Calories 113kcal

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter softened
• ¼ cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup potato chips crushed

Instructions

• In a medium to large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, and vanilla extract.
• Stir in the flour and crushed potato chips until a crumbly dough forms.
• Shape the dough into 16 disks. Place a baking sheet (or two) lined with parchment paper or a baking mat.
• Bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes. The bottoms should turn a deep golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack after baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

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I have always loved the outdoors space here—when it was Black Market and now as Bodhi. They have mature wisteria growing through the roof and it is a nice spot. They are still doing good social distancing as well, which is appreciated. I also like the updates they made to soften the interior feel a little bit with plants and new lighting.

The friends we were with are like us and like to try lots of things, so we started with three apps. We had the spring rolls ($9), the crab puffs ($12), and the chicken wings ($15). They give you nice portions on all of the apps, and our favorite were probably the crab puffs—which were like crab Rangoon in a slightly different shape than usual. The spring rolls were mostly outside crunch without much inside. The wings were fine too—the little bits of crispy garlic on the side were tasty, but they weren’t overly spicy. None of the apps were amazing, all were fine, and I think we decided that next time we would save more space for more main dishes, which were clearly the stars.

And we ordered several items to try. Probably my favorite of all of them (but they were all good) was the chili and basil stir fry (Pad Kra Prow) (we had it with the chicken) ($17). It had some heat at medium, but you could appreciate the taste of the basil in the dish. It also had onion and red bell pepper, and I really liked the addition of edamame, which was unusual and very tasty. This was delicious.

We also really enjoyed the shrimp pad Thai ($15). At first it seemed like there weren’t a lot of shrimp in there, but they were buried in the noodles. The rice noodles were plentiful and I love a good tamarind sauce combined with the chopped peanuts and crunchy bean sprouts. It is just the right combo of sweet and spicy and the shrimp were cooked perfectly, as were the noodles. I would definitely order this again as well. 

Our next favorite (and some at our table liked it best) was the laab salad (which we had with pork) ($16). It was a nice change of pace with its chili lime dressing to give a nice hit of acid. There was a lot of minced pork, onions, red bell peppers, lettuce, herbs and crispy rice bits. Honestly, it was hard to pick favorites because they were all so tasty.

The last dish we had was the massaman curry ($21 with beef). It was by far the heartiest, richest dish It came with Naan bread on the side, which we thought was slightly odd in a Thai restaurant—and honestly it was better with the extra side of rice  ($3) we ordered instead. The curry had big hunks of beef, carrots and fingerling potato. Very stew-like in my mind. It had a deep flavor though and also a nice touch of heat (we pretty much ordered everything medium).

All in all, this was a really tasty dinner—particularly the entrées. I love the interior of this place (as well as the outside seating) and I look forward to returning. They had a nice cocktail list and a decent wine list as well. Keep in mind, you have to be 21 and over to eat here, but what a nice addition to Mass Ave. They don’t take reservations, but it looks like you can add yourself to the waitlist on their website. We will definitely be back so let me know your favorite items. 

Bodhi

922 Massachusetts Ave

Indy 46202

https://bodhi-indy.com/

It’s a strip mall location and I didn’t expect a lot atmosphere-wise, but it was actually very cute—lots of wood and several booths and a banquet of tables. They do a good job of only seating every other table and have sanitizer on every table that they do use. There were only a few tables that were seated while we were there, but they had a very steady stream of take out orders. They also have a cute little bar area and a decent wine selection for a small place. They served one of my favorite less expensive roses, and that is what I ordered. Nice glasses too. They are definitely making you feel like you are getting a true “out to eat” dining experience.

The menu is very large and quite appealing. They have a lot of interesting-sounding things. We ordered the crispy wontons ($6.99), mostly because we were curious about what they would be.  They were little wontons stuffed with lightly seasoned chicken and deep fried. They were served with that clear vinegar-based, slightly sweet Thai dipping sauce. The chicken was maybe a little bland on its own, but they were pretty tasty, especially with the sauce drizzled on them. 

For my entrée, I ordered my classic Thai dish—sauteed eggplant with meat and veggie. Here it is #34 and called “Eggplant Lover” ($11.99). It was so good. One of the best versions I have had in town—everything was cooked just right—the eggplant was still bright in color, but cooked soft and with the rich Thai brown sauce all absorbed into it. The chicken was thinly sliced and tender. There were also green peppers, thinly sliced carrots and basil. Oh, and of course white rice. The sauce was super delicious and plentiful so that you could really make your rice pretty well coated and get the flavor in every bite. I loved how bright and colorful the dish was and everything seemed really fresh. 

My friend got the (#33)($14.99) garlic and pepper preparation with shrimp. This was shrimp stir-fried with a garlic pepper sauce all on top of sliced cabbage, cilantro and green onions. I just had a bite of the veggies with the sauce and the sauce was really good—lots of garlic. We both ordered our dishes medium spice level and I think it was just right. Definitely some heat, but not crazy.

This may become one of our new go-to carry out places. There is a ton of stuff on the menu, including various fried rice versions and noodle dishes and I know everyone in the house will find stuff they like. I can’t wait to try more stuff. If you have been here, let me know what you like. 

Thai Station

3317 E. 86^th Street

Indy. 46240

317/929-1983

Long on my to-do list was to start making my own vanilla extract because it pained me how expensive it was and I knew there would be savings if I could get my act together and do it. Let me warn you, IT IS EASY. So the delay wasn’t even necessary. It’s just vodka and vanilla beans and it’s much higher quality than many vanilla extracts and, as previously explained, much less expensive. Storebought from an average brand, this amount would be about $250 and this for my first batch was $75. That number will crash even lower on my second batch to like $15 because most of the cost was the vanilla beans, and those are re-usable.

I’m not really like, a canning type person if you know what I mean. This was a very passive venture.

Also better flavor, better flavor. Below are pictures from day 1 and day 68 and the link to the vanilla beans I got from AMAZON!

HOMEMADE VANILLA EXTRACT
Makes about 60 ounces, or 1.75 liters

1.75 liters vodka
40 vanilla beans
Additional smaller bottles, if you’d like to bottle or give away your vanilla in smaller quantities

First I used a razor blade to scratch of the ugly vodka logo printing off the bottle. Then slice into your vanilla beans and gently open them, not cutting all the way through.

Place beans into vodka. I had to pour a little out because the volume got too full. Then just let it sit in a cool, dark place! Allegedly turning it daily or weekly helps, but I don’t know how important it was. Six weeks is the lower end, but eight weeks is even better. The longer you wait, the better the depth of flavor.

After the first batch is finished, you can remove vanilla beans and place them into a new bottle to make another batch. The vanilla can be kept in the big original vodka container or dispersed into smaller bottles.

EASY HOMEMADE VANILLA EXTRACT (ENORMOUS MONEY SAVED)

 

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Author: Rachel Schultz

Ingredients

• 1.75 liters vodka
• 40 vanilla beans
• Additional smaller bottles, if you'd like to bottle or give away your vanilla in smaller quantities

Instructions

1. First I used a razor blade to scratch of the ugly vodka logo printing off the bottle. Then slice into your vanilla beans and gently open them, not cutting all the way through.
2. Place beans into vodka. I had to pour a little out because the volume got too full. Then just let it sit in a cool, dark place! Allegedly turning it daily or weekly helps, but I don't know how important it was. Six weeks is the lower end, but eight weeks is even better. The longer you wait, the better the depth of flavor.
3. After the first batch is finished, you can remove vanilla beans and place them into a new bottle to make another batch. The vanilla can be kept in the big original vodka container or dispersed into smaller bottles.

3.5.3251

A couple fun places to use your new vanilla is this vanilla buttercream frosting or these carrot cake pancakes with cream cheese syrup. And like, every other baked good ever.

I met Julie way back in 2015. You know how some people just fill the room with light and energy? That’s Julie. She’s a brilliant mom and brilliant writer. Julie and her family are in Oak Park, Illinois and I was fascinated to hear how she and her husband formed a mini school and pod at their house to make it through the last year. And the way they’ve added a school and a gym to their home is just wonderful. Welcome, Julie!

Hello, hello. I’m Julie. I am an independent copywriter working on everything from websites to print pieces to interpretive content (the signs you read at museums and nature centers). In my past life, I was a middle school teacher and taught history and civics. I also help with Girl Scouts, wound up the PTO Secretary, and volunteer as a Sister District local leader, which pairs progressive activists in blue areas with candidates for state legislative seats in other states. 

My husband Brett is an independent web developer. He is such an intrinsically good human and partner. He will do nearly anything without complaint and with joy — from most of the cooking to getting up with the kid to dealing with taxes to tackling gross homeowner stuff without complaint. He is an endurance athlete at his core, willing to do the hard work and continually challenge himself, and I see that manifest in his professional life, his commitment to parenting and partnerhood, and as a school volunteer and OWL facilitator (a lifespan sexuality program that helps kids develop healthy relationships with themselves and partners).

We met on the internet when it was still something you kept kinda quiet about. Thanks, Match! I don’t really understand how someone else hadn’t snatched him up but am grateful the universe conspired in my favor. We met in our late 20s and had both done a lot of work on ourselves in order to be ready when the right person showed up. We both kinda knew we were stepping in to the big one from the moment we met.

Brett and I align on the intentionality and intensity with which we do most everything from financial planning to parenting to researching throw pillows, our goal to see as much of the world as possible, a desire to not have professional ambition drive our decisions, and a belief in the power and importance of hard conversations on the couch. We butt heads most over our relationships with time (his is more fluid, I need more margin).

Loie (rhymes with Joey) is our copper-topped exclamation point of a 10 year old. She got a whole lot of all of Brett’s awesomeness, they even bounce up the stairs the same. She’s earnest in an overnight summer camp counselor kind of way. Need someone for a singalong or to read aloud in class? She plays soccer year round, loves a good youth mile race, plays the ukulele and picked up the violin this year. She’s fiercely competitive, has a quick wit, and is a fantastic writer (see, there’s me in there, too!). She’s a great traveler and adventure buddy. I can’t think of a time she’s said she’s bored in the ten years I’ve known her. Loie does everything at an 11, even when a 6 would suffice, so sometimes we encourage her to chill, make some space for other voices, and generally not expect perfection when progress will do. She is a delight to parent, a joy to know, and her energy could easily power a small town.

Over our decade plus together, Brett and I came to realize how our world views reflect our different upbringings. His childhood was grounded, with calm and stability at the core. I moved around a ton and couldn’t imagine living in the same state, let alone the same house. His family saved and carefully considered, my family took advantage of opportunities and figured out how to pay for it later.

We reconciled some of his need to root and my need to scoot by living in a phenomenal community and then relocating 4-6 weeks each summer for a working sabbatical. It’s become a core component of our family mission statement, with Lo deeply identifying as a global citizen. We’ve lived in Reykjavik, a small town in Normandy (thanks to many generous recommendations from Gabby way back in 2012!), San Francisco, Christchurch, New Zealand, D.C., Vienna, Cape Town, and Vancouver (and a postponed trip to Singapore in our next up bucket!). Sometimes we house swap, sometimes we rent, sometimes we rent our own place out. For those curious, we put 10% of our income from any project directly into a trip fund to set a budget since our income can vary pretty significantly year to year. Money conversations with a trusted financial planner to set this all up was our version of couples therapy. 

Beyond budgeting, to pull these sabbaticals off we needed flexible approaches to work, a house that can absorb us both working from home, and an ability to spend inordinate amounts of time just the three of us. Little did we know this would all come so wildly in handy during a global pandemic. This year, we’ve been hosting an eLearning pod with two other fourth graders while both working. Phew, it’s been wild!

We live in the northeast corner of Oak Park, Illinois on a block with rows of mainly bungalows and a soccer field and playground across the street. 

Oak Park prides itself on being — and hopefully continues to strive to be as there is much work to be done — a progressive and diverse community. Families and folks without kids, people who identify in all kinds of ways and with all kinds of backgrounds choose Oak Park. 

We value having a wide age range of people including empty nesters, childless folks, rainbow families, people from a number of different national, religious, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, big families, small families, adoptive families and multi-generational households all in a handful of homes. We are so glad we live on this block, as nearly every family on every block in Oak Park will say. It’s kind of a running joke that we all live on the best block.

Oak Park is the first village west of Chicago, our house is closer to the city border than to downtown Oak Park. Many who choose Oak Park for its diversity will also quickly say “Don’t live east of Ridgeland…” because of proximity to a consistently under-resourced neighborhood of the city. We do live east of Ridgeland. We love that the playground across the street is a place kids from all around come to play, and we have never felt unsafe in our house. There are scary things like burglaries and carjackings and not just our area, but mainly Oak Park has crimes of convenience, like package theft and bikes stolen off lawns. Conversely, if cops pull up to see what teens are doing across the street, I absolutely want us all to step out on the porch to be visible for our Black neighbors’ safety. I’d say implicit bias is a greater threat to what we all say we value than our closeness to any neighborhood.

But you asked about housing. There are a good number of rentals including multi-family units and homes with 1+ bedrooms all around. To buy, homes range from condos and 2 bedroom/1 bath bungalows in the high 200s/low 300s to Frank Lloyd Wright beauties closing in on a million to multi-million dollar mansions. I appreciate that variety, and kids generally notice your snack offerings more than your square footage.

Our 3 bedroom, 2 bath bungalow was $350K when we purchased it in 2010. I think today it would be up over 400, and there are newer constructions and gut remodels in the 500+ range. Newer constructions were rarer here when we first moved in but are becoming more common. Most try to at least flirt with the architectural heritage of the area rather than a McMansion-y walls-to-the-curb approach. There is tension over new hig hrises going up in the village center and whether they conflict with Oak Park’s aesthetic or create new housing options or both.

Beyond price, Oak Park is known for high property taxes. The schools, park district, and libraries help mitigate some tax frustrations, and we’re happy to pay higher taxes. We genuinely love living in a mini-socialist democratic state (and loved Reykjavik, New Zealand, and Vienna in part because of the way the societies take care of their own). It’s really a special place to live in terms of walkable elementary schools, incredible parks and camps and services, and a library (and two extensions) that feel like both public gathering spaces and palaces of information. We pay about $10,500 per year and our house is about 1500 square feet. Having taxes up past $20,000 per year is not unheard of, and not just for homes in the estate area. It’s a competitive sport to appeal each year and creates tense discussions about affordability, priorities and spending in local Facebook groups. 

From my friends looking either to move here or move within Oak Park, it is bananapants right now. Stock is low and homes are flying off the market with multiple offers above asking price. I try to be helpful, but it’s just not how we experienced things. We bought at the tail end of the housing crash in June of 2010. Then, it felt like there were endless options to choose from. I feel like my best advice is time travel?

I will say, being in our local mom Facebook group is a fast pass to insider information…those 6,300 moms know what’s up. Many choose to share they’re going to list in there first, and I’ve had friends join before they move in not to pick a preschool but to score an early listing. 

Most houses are close to one of the gazillion parks or the two community pools, and we have a smattering of grocery stores and coffee shops and the like in a few areas, so it’s more about how much house and yard you want and can afford. Houses to the center of the village or northwest corner tend to have larger lots and more living space. Proximity to the CTA Blue or Green line may matter for commutes to the city, or you may want to be able to walk to the couple main commercial and community areas on Lake Street or the Arts District a bit further south. Like I said, you’ll hear every elementary school is the best and there’s not a bad block in the bunch.

Our Oak Park homeowner journey is really unlike us, considering how much we tend to overthink and overplan. A friend from college and her husband at the time moved a few blocks from where we’d eventually land. In 2010, as non-kid-having newlyweds, we decided to “just look” knowing we’d eventually want to land in Oak Park. We were under contract within months, ha!

We met with their realtor and pointed to their house and said “walkable to this.” Brett was already working from home and I had plans to, so we needed space to work (this was before coworking was really a thing, too). We wanted a place with a terrible kitchen so we could make it our own because we love to cook and host. So many kitchens had minor upgrades to be what we dubbed “the Tuscan browns” at the time and we didn’t want to demolish a newly done kitchen, even an ugly one, both as a cost and on principle. 

We had seen a dozen or so homes, and we almost skipped the winner because the listing photos were so color corrected I thought the porch, which is cedar, was a garish orange. It was not (but we’ve painted it anyway!). Neither of us like a full open concept, we wanted distinct zones of living and entertaining. Our house is a traditional bungalow (bedroom / bathroom / bedroom on one side, living room / dining room / kitchen on the other but it also has a second story addition with two bedrooms, a bathroom, laundry and a linen closet). We loved that it has two first floor zones. People can be in the front half of the house watching a movie, and other people can be in the back half chatting while we cook. We liked that it had a crappy kitchen and already partially knocked down to open to what had been a bedroom. My mom always says you want a circuit for kids to be able to run—and we have that around the central enclosed staircases up and down. Many, many circuits have been run since.

It also has a bizarrely large closet with a window off one bedroom upstairs. We walled half off with IKEA closet doors for our clothes, and then added an IKEA butcher block desktop to create Brett’s office. My office was in the step-down in our room with another butcher block desk, but we’ve since reimagined the guest bedroom downstairs as an office because what’s a guest in 2021? 

We absolutely picked what might be a starter home for other couples/families but this house fits like a perfect pair of jeans, even after the last year, and we don’t think we’ll ever move. It feels like every inch is enjoyed and purposeful. Now…that doesn’t mean I don’t want to redo the two bathrooms with every fiber of my being, but a decade in this home has meant making peace with it being a potential never-ending project. In some ways, I feel the same way about our house as I do my own mid-40-something self. I can be mad at every imperfection, spend all my time and money trying to change it, or maintain and enjoy working to make it the best it can be. We do have dreams of reconfiguring the upstairs a bit but if it never happened? Eh, whatever.

Our parents and my sister live out of state, so we’re lucky several of the families around us are also our family now. There is no fence between our house and our neighbors to the south, who treat Loie with such kindness, always have a tool to lend, and enjoy a backyard happy hour with yard games aplenty. Other neighbors, some of whom have moved around Oak Park to other “best blocks” are home bases for Christmas Eve dinners, trick-or-treating, New Year’s Eve, and more. I love that Loie knows adults who do all kinds of cool, creative, world-changing stuff. I wasn’t close to my parents’ friends growing up so it feels special to catch Loie chatting with someone down the street. Knowing she feels known and seen and is surrounded by support and love is just magic.

Over the summer, we podded with a beloved neighbor family. The kids spent days roaming back and forth, we had big family dinners every Saturday night, and traveled together for a few days to a lake house. We happily trashed our backyard (we had plans to landscape in the works) with a pandemic pool and swapped all-day outdoor playdates with a few kids to give parents time to work. We got Lo a Relay, which is like a cute walkie talkie with geolocation, and definitely expanded her orbit of freedom to counter balance all the no / not now / can’t do it happening. She biked to get ice cream, walked to get bagels, and had freedoms we might have waited a year or two for (all with masks, distancing, and lots of hand sanitizer!) 

As ridiculous as this sounds, nine and ten seem like good ages to live through this. She’s old enough to follow the rules and understand why they’re important but not yet old enough to rebel in the ways middle school or high schoolers might. I am grateful she can learn fairly independently but still enjoy seemingly endless time with her parents. I cannot imagine doing this with preschoolers or kids stuck at home instead of at college. My heart breaks for every missed ritual and milestone, minor and major. 

All my full-catastrophe thinking fired up by the start of July about how the 2020-21 school year was going to be impacted. We began to consider how we could manage without in-person learning by shifting learnings from our sabbaticals to the school year. We decided the best course of action was to host an eLearning pod.

First, we talked work. Brett’s development work requires a different level of blocked time and consistent hours. My work can toggle up/back more. I talked to the teams I work with and leaned into the built up trust that I’ll get the work done. (Hip hip to all of them!) They’ve all graciously supported me this year as I’ve had kids running in with a tech question, blocked times during math lessons, had violin and trumpet lessons going on in the background. I do think revealing some of our often-hidden humanity is a small gift in all of this. May we all be more human at work from now on.

My teaching background, flexible work schedule, and our house set up meant we felt like we could support a couple kids while allowing their parents to work full time. We thought about which kids might learn here successfully who had parents we’d trust to take health and safety as seriously as we were. 

We reached out to two of Loie’s classmates whose folks were excited to give it a go. We met over the summer and have met regularly since (along with a group chat) to talk protocols, logistics, snacks, schedules. In normal times, Brett and I are in a babysitting co-op of 25 local families, and we’ve learned that families working together need rules and structure to take emotion out of decisions and reduce resentment and frustration. So while at times it seems fussy, having structures and agreements help a ton.

I know folks will say three is a challenging number, but I really wanted three kids to be learning here. It provides enough variety that one-on-one dynamics can lack, demands some conflict resolution and peacemaking practice without letting it break into two groups of two. The girls have had their moments of sniping and disagreement, but my goodness they have also held each other up all year. I really respect and appreciate the way they show up day after day. It is weird to have a friend’s mom in this bizarre supervisory role, but I have loved learning about each of them as learners, friends, and people. I hope I can be a person they know has their back long after we wrap the school year.

It has taken a tremendous amount of trust, accountability, and transparency to pull off. We have eight adults counting on one another to act in good faith, check in with questions, continually build consensus, and think collectively even on individual family choices. We’ve spent holidays together, mourned and celebrated together, worked on house projects together, and generally helped each other mop up the mess of one heckuva year.

This is some of the best and hardest work I’ve ever done. I love facilitating, I love working with kids, I love creative problem solving. I don’t always love it all every day and sometimes I am frustrated with myself, with Brett, with other people, with the kids, with everything. But, as we round out the year, I would do it all over and choose the exact same people in a heartbeat. We’ve survived and the girls have thrived as best as I could hope in this fox hole. I’d maybe do a few things differently, ask a few more questions earlier on, establish a few more routines. But all in all, this has been a tremendous thing to have pulled off. I’m really proud of us all.

To create a sense of separation from school / home, we named the playroom the Penny Lane School (Lo’s uke teacher is one of our pod co-parents and she was learning Penny Lane as this all unfolded!). A few years back, papa and dad reimagined the grody basement into a playroom. With the subtraction of an old play kitchen and the addition of three desks, we had a workable school room. This is also when we moved my office downstairs, so I could be closer to the chaos.

The only thing missing was a play space, a place to burn energy especially during long, dark winters. We took our first stimulus money and invested it into building out the garage in secret. We brought in a local parkour space owner to install monkey bars and a climbing wall. Then we spent late nights putting up insulation and walls. We added some yoga swings (they can hold adults!) hula hoops, and turned a table extension we made for a past Thanksgiving into a chalkboard. I kick the kids out for an hour every day while I exercise and they exercise and I think we’re all saner for it. 

We recognize the outsized privilege we have to be set up to ride this all out, to have the flexibility and space and time to build play spaces, for me to be able to help with long division, and for other families to host crafternoons and sleepovers. At times, I feel awful when I have a “bad” day because, all things considered, we’re just fine. So I’ve tried to step up by helping people schedule vaccine appointments, help organize things for teachers at school, and generally help my face off wherever I can. 

Our main goal for the pandemic, aside from staying as safe and healthy as we can, was to preserve whatever elements of the magic of childhood that we could. Having playdates with her two podmates, doing Outschool classes, turning our fridge into a message board with outrageous spring break to-do lists, watching Master Chef Junior and more movies than normal, family game nights…we’re trying to jazz hands our way through some of the inertia and ennui of it all. Lo has learned to cook with Brett and bake with me. She plays Battleship with her grandparents over Zoom. We turned an unused closet into an American Girl apartment. We took one weekend trip within Illinois to ski. We stockpiled a lot of LEGO Friends and Harry Potter kits, too. Lots and lots of jazz hands.

We didn’t succumb to a pandemic pooch but there is definitely now a betta fish named Garlic and a golden mystery snail named Monsieur Speedy.. Oh…and we’re getting chickens this summer. Chickens! We’re thinking they’ll be named Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy.

Looking back while still in it, I’m unsurprised but still grateful for our rock-solid partnership and the foundations we’ve put into place for Loie to navigate this year. We genuinely enjoy time as a family and still have lists of things we hope to do together. Our 2021 summer trip is a road trip around national parks. So, it’s even more time together in a smaller space which I think is a testament to how we’ve handled things.

I wish I had known, don’t we all!, that we were closer to vaccines than we could have dreamed. I mentally prepared for it to be a multi-year journey. I am so grateful and thrilled that all our pod parents, all Lo’s grandparents and aunt and uncles, and most of our friends have already had access. I choked up at the first photos posted and still get really emotional thinking about it. We have a ways to go till we’re in the light but at least we now know it’s a tunnel, not a cave. 

We try to encourage a can-do attitude in general, but have had to make sure we create space to mourn and moan. This is all hard. Soccer got shut down for a while in the winter, it rained on picture day. It sucks to cancel a roller skating birthday party and a summer sabbatical. Missed field trips and school crushes. While it’s fantastic to have two friends here, it sucks to not see other friends. It all really sucks. Lo continues to be a lil’ flower that bends toward the sun. Even on down moments, she digs deep to say what could go right or that could improve. I am not wired this way, and she’s been a ray of light when I’m reading the news and just feeling all the feelings.

Over winter break, she had spikes of pretty acute anxiety, so to balance how sunny she is we also need to let her be totally complicated and multidimensional as every other human. She’s had moments of worry before but this was our first foray into an extended stretch of what she called Big Worries. Due to my own wiring, I get panicky that anything we see hints at major long term challenges, and had to remain calm and cool with Brett’s steady presence as we worked through it. Meditation, making lots of time for movement (it coincided with soccer stopping, and this kid needs at least an hour of movement to feel her best), and balancing active listening with offering gentle perspective have all been parts of our days since. We offered the opportunity to talk with a therapist now or at any time. Lo has lots of friends who talk to therapists, and I’m genuinely hopeful this generation treats mental health as something to tend to proactively their whole lives. It was also a gut-check reminder that even those with sunny dispositions are struggling. Continue to check in on all your friends, even the usually sunny ones.

I was always proud of Loie and thought she was a great kid, but watching her stretch toward the light, shake off epic disappointments, be eager and engaged day after day over Zoom has been remarkable. I admire and respect her tremendously.

Our home. Gosh, it feels like that ambient perfect water where you can glide right in and it feels the same temperature as the air. It feels like a second skin and a safe space. We’re always so happy to head out on our long trips, and then coming home is always a “Oh! Here we are” moment of an emotion right in between relief and joy. I love being home, even now!

We try to fill our home with meaningful objects and plenty of snacks for kids and adults. From our front porch to the backyard, we love being a place a kid will pop in to use the bathroom or play or parents gather for a movie night or book club. Folks seem to feel at ease here. We have a “below the shoulder” rule — nothing below shoulder height is brought in that feels overly precious or untouchable. A farmhouse dining room table, brushed quartzite counters, vintage-y looking industrial elements like the media console and kitchen shelving—kids can climb on them or color on them (hopefully by accident) and we won’t gasp. We like weird things and old things so broken alarm clocks, random musical instruments, Etch-a-Sketches, old postcards, and View Masters are lying around. I like to think our home has curiosities and comforts in equal parts.

My generalist super powers are chopping *just* the exact right amount of herbs for a recipe and word searches, I’m very good at word searches. I’m also a great bet for trivia teams, hit me up. 

I felt weird brushing my own shoulder off so visibly, so asked Brett to name my superpower. He says I have a supercharged understanding of people and what drives the interactions and dynamics between them. Maybe it comes from, or explains why I loved, the decade I spent teaching middle school. The thing I most loved was sitting with students and working through social and emotional messes. As a family, we spend a lot of time talking friendship, communication, owning one’s challenges, allowing others to be their own whole selves and understanding them instead of trying to change them. We workshop situations, role play, explore why someone may be responding to things in a certain way. What’s happening in their lives that may be showing up in interactions? How can she, our competitive kid, work to win the peace instead of win the fight? 

Beyond friendships, Brett and I talk about our work, are open about the frustrations we feel at each other, talk about dating, marriage, and intimacy (in appropriate ways). We call out the ways her teachers are rocking the hardest years of their professional (and personal) lives with flexibility, creativity, and grace and what that means about how they care for her and her classmates and what she owes them in return. 

We take a lot of cues from things like sitting in traffic jams or dealing with soccer team dynamics. Why do people show up with anger when they feel shame? Why do people not try so they don’t fail? We both love digging into how people move through the world and love digging into things with her. I hope our home is always a social/emotional lab for Loie.

One other silly super power is naming stuff, which can help make things more fun or even just barely palatable. Working in branding has definitely powered some of my parenting wins like dubbing the after school clean up the “Two Minute Tidy” or the need to hike parent-kid-parent “The Safety Sandwich.” I try not to abuse that super power because false marketing serves no one…but it’s good to have in my back pocket when we need it.

I hope Loie remembers that we will always, always, always show up for her. We are conscientiously not yellers or punishers (I have worked for a tamed temper). We’re fortunate that she isn’t keen on doing much troublemaking but I see so much of how we respond to mistakes and missteps now in how she imagines we’ll handle a future crisis. 

I want her to know we will help her out of any bind, even one of her own creation. Someday she will be at a party that gets out of hand, or really mess up something with a friend or at school, or god forbid get pregnant when she’s not ready to be a parent or be stuck in an abusive relationship. I never, ever want her to not come to us or call home for help because she’s afraid of getting in trouble. 

I also hope she remembers we’re just two of the people who are on her team. When I was teaching we talked about the charismatic adult. It’s the hope that each kid at our school had one adult who knew them well, saw them, heard them, was an ally and an advocate. Lo has a list of folks she can go to for advice if she ever felt like she couldn’t come to us. 

I may be an outlier, but I hope she doesn’t forget the times we screwed up or failed, because we do, since we try really hard to circle back, apologize, and try again. It was Josh’s post that gave us one of our parenting maxims: You don’t have to stick the landing. We try to own our flops and forgetfulness. There are no perfect parents or heroes, we’re all just people muddling through.  

Loie nudges me into being a better and better version of myself, and I’m incredibly grateful to her. I think more about what I say, what I model, how I move through the world, how I show up for people because I know she’s a witness to my life. 

I adore the trips we take together. Seeing her navigate a new country, jump into a circus camp in Cape Town or an art camp in Vienna, hearing what she is processing and learning about history, cultures, religions, and world views, it’s just the best. 

I also love how parenting together has given me all new ways to love and appreciate my husband. Dude is just the best dad, and I love their relationship.  

We are a one-family kid by choice. I know for so many it’s a fraught decision, one that can be rooted in disagreement, disappointment, and loss. I am grateful we knew as it made all the hard moments feel more momentary and rooted us in a sense of “we should enjoy this” around the good moments because we know we won’t have first steps or potty training (thank god) again. A friend once told us to be mindful of how Lo’s orbit would shift from around us to around others. I know we’re there in normal times — she’s at school and practice and playdates more than she’s with us. Even though we spend all our time together now, I know I’ll miss her constant presence as life rights itself in coming months. I am looking forward to it and sad, too.

This is a house where people know they can show up as themselves and we’ll show up for them. We celebrate, support, love hard and try to keep a hand on the back and lighten the load of our community members. I don’t know what she’ll wind up doing or the path she’ll take but I do hope she takes those values and principles with her.

I wish someone had told me not to just gut it out and try to prove I was ok in the earliest months. I like being high achieving and successful and fully planned to continue that as a mom. I was all set to be the chill parent who strapped her newborn on her back and hiked Machu Picchu. I thought I would parent in the same way I taught, on instinct and with ease, right from the get-go. I had tons of support and we were very excited to be parents. 

After getting pregnant easily, a complication free pregnancy, and a routine delivery, I struggled mightily in the first months. It all just went wrong. I had left my whole identity as a teacher behind and hadn’t realized how much my confidence was rooted in that. We’d also lost Brett’s mom while I was pregnant and were navigating a handful of other family challenges. Add in my own complicated wiring and postpartum depression/anxiety rocked our little house. 

It went from me worrying about naps a little to me not sleeping at all to me being in the hospital for two days. I can’t tell you all the levers that started getting pulled while I was there, but I know everyone rallied round our little family. My mom took a leave from work, moved in with us for the summer and hired us a postpartum doula. Friends showed up to get me out of the house or sit with me in the house. I went into intensive therapy (where we landed on writing as a next career!). Loie was surrounded by a world of love and cuddles. Looking back, that horrible summer wound up setting us up for this incredible life we have now…but I wouldn’t have been able to see it at the time even if you told me what to look for. 

And bonus, in the aftermath, I suddenly had a “preexisting condition” and struggled to get health insurance. Had I ignored the PPD/A and gotten worse, I could’ve gotten insurance. By actively treating it, I was a liability. As a now two self employed people household with a baby, we had to put me on a separate policy. It was *so* expensive at a time we were just squeaking by. I am forever grateful that Brett gutted it out as I built a new career, never once making me feel bad about not earning enough or giving up a tenured job. I think in those early months I sometimes made $500 and he was nothing but proud (or at least hid his worry well!).

We try to be advocates for maternal mental health to all our expectant friends, and Brett’s available as a resource for partners supporting new moms in a way only someone who lived through it can.

To all the moms in the dark right now, you will and can get better. I was convinced I’d never feel ok again. I almost didn’t want to start meds because *what if they didn’t work.* 

Get help of any and all kinds. There is no shame in handing the baby over to go to therapy or in taking medication to help your brain chemistry. It is far more common to experience PPA or PPD than we think, and we’re told the Baby Blues are to be expected. They may be, but more than 10-15% of women experience a postpartum mood disorder, and we’re often underdiagnosed or undertreated. One of the most important things a mother can do is take care of her whole self so she can be fully herself in her own life and fully present in her kid’s life. If you’re struggling, get help. Email me, I’ll help you find it.

——

Thank you, Julie! I am so in love with the converted school and climbing gym in the garage. I think we have all had to make so many adjustments to the way we use our houses in the last year, and I am so glad Julie was lucky enough to have the space to make something like this happen. I’m sure having a space where kids (and parents) could burn some excess energy during the winter months made a huge difference in everyone’s mental health.

And I love this so much: “I want her to know we will help her out of any bind, even one of her own creation… I never, ever want her to not come to us or call home for help because she’s afraid of getting in trouble.” For me, it’s the trickiest part of parenting. I always want my kids to know that I am on their side. But sometimes it is really hard to walk that fine line — being a parent and holding kids accountable, but also helping them know they are safe with you and that no mistake is too big. I think Julie said it so well.

How do you walk the line between being your kids supporters and safe space but also disciplining when necessary? Was it harder when they were younger? Or when they were older and the problems got bigger?

SOURCES

Front door sign

Lo’s play cushions (Nugget)

Julie’s Desk

Kitchen Built In Shelving

Back patio chairs

Photo squares

Family photo credit to Jamilla Yip. You can follow Julie on Instagram or check out her studio. Her husband’s studio is here. Living With Kids is edited by Josh Bingham. You can find him on Instagram, too. 

Would you like to share your home in our Living With Kids series? It’s lots of fun, I promise! (And we are always looking for more diversity in the families we feature here. Single parents, non-traditional parents, families of color, LGBT parents, multi-generational families. Reach out! We’d love to hear your stories!!) Email us at features@designmom.com.

Hi, I’m Gabrielle Blair and this is my blog. New posts and the archive are completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my work, please consider a paid newsletter subscription: just $5/month or save money with the $50/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $75. Not a fan of newsletters? You can also send funds directly via Paypal or Venmo (@Gabrielle-Blair). Thank you! Support from readers keeps this blog sponsor-free.

The post Living With Kids: Julie Schumacher appeared first on Design Mom.

My husband and I purchased this 1925 Craftsman home in the summer of 2018, before we realized I was pregnant with our second child. The plan was to do a 2-3 month renovation and not touch the kitchen (spoiler: We touched the kitchen). The entire renovation took my full nine-month pregnancy to complete and involved updating bathrooms, kitchen, and opening up walls. Once we finally moved all of our boxes in and spent the first night, I went into labor the next day. Before this home, we lived in a 1950s home that was mid-century in style. Since this home is from 25 years earlier, I think we’ve naturally adapted into a more classic version of what our style used to be. It was very important to us to renovate our home in a way that it looked fresh, yet age appropriate for 1925 and was still honoring the history of the home.

I’m an interior designer and truly have a love for all styles, so sometimes I struggle narrowing what I would say my personal style is other than eclectic. I like a little Scandinavian, a little vintage traditional, a little mid-century … you get the idea. I would say my style is finding a way to put together all the things I love that make our home feel welcoming, cozy and fun. Many items in our home have been collected through the years by thrifting, estate sales, picked up while traveling (remember traveling?!) or family pieces that have been passed down. I believe people can have more than one style preference and reserve the right to change their minds and evolve in style as they move through different life stages. (cough … kids … cough). One goal I have now that we have children is to create a space our kids (1 and 5) feel comfortable.

Above shows the main family room space as it was when we moved in and how it looks currently. We widened the opening into the dining area, matching the original millwork around the wider opening to create an optional look. We also opened up the wall into the kitchen that you can see through the doorway, where the built in shelving is seen in the before shot.

Our living room (below) has the main fireplace and is just off the main entryway. The previous homeowners used this area as a dining room since they had a larger family, but we love having both living areas on the main floor and utilizing the fireplace while hanging out.

When we first moved in we had everything painted white (if you’ve ever rounded the end of a nine-month renovation and pregnancy … you understand saying “… just paint it all white!”). We have since introduced a historical peach color into the family room and a dark green into the dining area, which really warms it up. I would love to add some wallpaper eventually, but my husband worked so hard making sure all of the walls were totally smooth, I don’t know if I can do that to him just yet. The green velvet chairs are actually from my grandmother’s home and are still the original upholstery, which is really special. The artwork and accessories are a mix of collected items from local artists, vintage pieces and a little IKEA sprinkled in here and there. Our schoolhouse light fixtures were located at an antiques store in a small town about 45 minutes away and we ordered the vintage down-rods online to fit them. I was unsure if they would even fit into the space well when I purchased them, but they were such a good deal I took the risk and they ended up being perfect! One tip I have is mixing expensive, one-of-a-kind items in with normal, inexpensive items. It really seems to make everything feel like it’s somehow more expensive.

All of the rugs on the main living floor of the home are vintage (mainly Turkish or Persian) rugs around 70-100 years old. They really make the home cozy and I don’t regret having them everywhere. Spending a little more on vintage rugs I will keep for the long haul has been my main splurge on furnishings for the space. Another rule I always try to stick to is filling my home with items I truly love that are interesting. I guess that’s why I like old stuff so much, it’s usually one of a kind and has a fun story to go along with it. Having a style that’s inviting and cozy is a big goal for me. I like the more “collected” look while my husband is more of a minimalist. I love that he has an opinion on the design of our home and we really work together to find a happy medium. He helps edit my crazy ideas and I make sure he doesn’t live in a white box. Win-win.

The entryway seen above is the main entrance into the home that opens up into a sitting area and the main staircase. This is where I have a workspace on the opposite wall than pictured. When I’m trying to create a unique space, locating one-of-a-kind items is really important. They are what give a space character and make it custom to each person. I love vintage shopping, stopping at estate sales and keeping items from grandparents that are meaningful. It’s more fun and creates a more unique space that doesn’t look like everyone else’s.

Just for fun, let’s break down where I got the items from the photo above: The green lamps (we have one on either side of the entry) were literally left on the side of the road in our neighborhood (already green and everything!). The cuckoo clock we purchased on a trip to Salzburg, Austria and the chest is a mid-century find and was purchased from IG stories, the teal chair and quilt are garage sale finds, rug is vintage, and bookend is from my grandmother. The gold vase is from a trip overseas, the wicker ducks are vintage, the shadowbox cabin is vintage and the garland was made and sold by a friend in my neighborhood. Curtains … IKEA!  It definitely takes more time than running to one store and accessorizing everything on a single Saturday, but when you take your time, everything has a backstory behind it and just feels special.

The before and after above is one of my favorites of the entire renovation! As you can see, the existing refrigerator was blocking one of the large windows in what was the mudroom area off the back door when we purchased the home. There was no place to put a refrigerator in the kitchen configuration, so it had been in this location through the past couple homeowners. We were just going to leave the kitchen like it was, but the flooring wasn’t original and couldn’t be sanded and finished again, so it had to be replaced. Then, we tried to come up with a way to sink the refrigerator into the wall to the left of it, cut a hole in the existing cabinets to put it, and so on. Every idea we came up with was OK, but not ideal. Each idea also involved cutting, patching, fixing, or moving everything around, so we finally just called it and decided to do a whole overhaul and took the kitchen down to studs. We actually listed the existing kitchen (countertops, sink, cabinets, dishwasher) on FB Marketplace and sold it for cash. The buyer even removed it and assumed the responsibility if he cracked the granite. It was great to start from a clean slate, repurpose the old kitchen so it didn’t end up in a dumpster, and also get a little cash to help with the new kitchen cost.

One thing that was a big deal was being able to completely remove the doorway and header into the mudroom and make the ceiling flush to connect into the full kitchen space. Since we were joining a kitchen area and a mudroom, having the ceiling flush and smooth really make the whole space feel like it was connected and not awkward. When we opened up the wall on the left where the walnut counter is, we kept the header and had a structural engineer take a look and get us some drawings since it was load bearing.

We debated whether we should put counters under the large window or should make it a window bench, but I’m so happy we settled with additional cabinet storage. I remember thinking we would never fill all the cabinets … but one instant pot and air fryer later, they’re full. I always vote for more storage when you can add it. (I also keep all of the kids art and craft supplies under that window). I don’t know what I’d do without the extra space now!

I can’t continue the home tour and not address the story of our kitchen floors. We really took a risk with those bad boys and are so happy we did! I said earlier that the kitchen floors weren’t original (added in the ’50s with an addition to the home) and they couldn’t be refinished. We were going to just match the original thin 100-year-old wood like the rest of the home had. Jerry was our sweet late ’70s woodworker and did all of our floor refinishing and some other millwork in the home. He and my husband, Jonathan, actually came up with this idea and texted it to me late at night and said, “What about something like this?” Jerry for the WIN. It’s actually a historical parquet style that just happens to be popular in black and gray tile right now. We felt like we were going with so much white in the kitchen we could really “go for it” with the floor.

The floor is a mix of three types of wood with no stain, just a natural finish. Jerry actually hand cut each piece out of normal wood and assembled it by hand (bless him). We had some left over so we actually used it in the floor of our main floor half-bath as well as our entryway. Sometimes in a renovation you want to appeal to the masses for resale, and sometimes you say, “We may die here and we like this cubic geometric parquet floor.” Jerry also built our dark green, wooden range hood around the existing hood. He built it in a way that it could be replaced if it ever quit working and covering up the normal stainless hood really gave it a custom look.

Another thing I love about the kitchen was the decision to take the tile and cabinets all the way to the ceiling. The cabinet maker and tile guy both weren’t sure about that idea since the ceilings are 9′ tall, but I’m very thankful I stuck to my gut after being asked “Are you sure?” a couple times. I have a little step ladder I just slide over if I need to get to a tall shelf and it doubles as a kid stool to help with cooking. I love the additional storage space and have all my seasonal and party plates up there. Having 6×6 tile all the way up to the ceiling for the entire space actually didn’t cost much more than tiling one of our bathrooms and really gives the kitchen space a cohesive look, especially since we were joining two areas into one. I have already splashed spaghetti sauce above the window over the sink one time already … so see? It’s very practical.

The image above shows the angle from the kitchen into the dining area. I love that there used to be a wall where our kitchen counter is now where we spend so much time crafting and having fun.

All in all, we opened up the two main doorways into larger openings and joined the mudroom to the kitchen here. This created more flow between the family room, dining area and kitchen in this space of the home. What we wanted to do was make sure it felt bright and open, but at the same time, we didn’t want to go through busting down everything to create a home that looked nothing like a historical home on the inside. We were careful to match the millwork around the widened openings to make it look as though it was all original.

Fun fact: Our table is located where the original 1925 kitchen was! Our family room was the original 1925 dining room (our kitchen was an addition to the home in the ’50s).

Thanks for taking the time to look through my living spaces! Just remember, this all took nine months to complete. There were lots of ups and downs, we spent more than we planned to, and it’s all worth it on the other end. Hopefully, this gives you the encouragement to take on that small or large project you’ve been itching to do. You can do it!  (or … Jerry can.) xo, Shailey

Credits // Author: Shailey Murphy. Photography: Janae Hardy and Shailey Murphy. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

I’ve always thought the expression “easy as pie” was a little misleading. I’m not saying making pie is rocket science, but I’m not sure I would classify it as easy. Rolling out cold pie dough and getting those beautiful pie designs you see on Pinterest actually take more kitchen skills than I possess. Ha. But you know what IS easy? These apple pie bars!

These easy apple pie bars have a buttery bottom crust, a sticky sweet apple pie filling, and then my favorite part: crumb topping! An alternative name for these apple pie bars would be “apple cobbler bars” since I often do a crumb topping like this for cobbler. These are delicious, easy to make, and super easy to serve or travel with.

My friend, Mara, has an apple tree in her yard and gifted me a big bag of apples, which was the inspiration because making these apple pie bars. 🙂

You can make the filling in advance–it’s similar to making a thick and chunky applesauce. The crust and top take only minutes to throw together, so this whole recipe is super simple to make, even if you are making multiple dishes for a bigger meal with family.

The below recipe is perfect for an 8-inch square baking pan (what I like to call a “brownie pan”), but if you are making this for a crowd, double the recipe and use a 9×13-inch baking pan.

I know Thanksgiving and the holiday season this year is looking very different for me and I have a feeling many of you are there too. Although I do believe in letting ourselves feel all the things we may be feeling (grief, anxiety, etc.), I also plan to practice gratitude and love myself and my family/friends as much as possible and in whatever safe way I can. Making gratitude a big part of my life has always helped me during up and down times. And one thing I am grateful for is this community where I get to share recipes and crafts and little bits of my life. I am truly thankful for YOU and I hope you find joy and gratitude no matter what else you may be going through this year. Lots of love, Emma

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Easy Apple Pie Bars

Course Dessert

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 9 servings

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

• 4 baking apples
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1-2 tablespoon water

Instructions

• Peel and cube the apples, avoiding the core.
• In a small pot, combine the apple pieces with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 6-8 minutes until the apples begin to break down.
• Stir in the cornstarch and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens. You are looking for a texture that is in between applesauce and jam.
• For the crust, mix together the butter, granulated sugar, and flour. Add a tablespoon of water and continue to mix until a very crumbly dough forms. If needed you can add another tablespoon of water.
• Divide the dough in half. In a square baking pan covered with parchment paper, press half of the dough into the bottom. Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.
• Then spoon the apple pie filling over the partially baked crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, until the crumb topping begins to brown.
• Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

If I’m making a salad in the fall, there’s a good chance that I’ll drizzle an apple cider vinegar dressing on top. Maybe it’s because fall is apple season, but there’s something irresistible about the combination of apple cider vinegar and autumn foods like cranberries and squash. In a hearty salad or side dish, an apple cider vinaigrette adds a tangy pop of flavor that brings these sweet ingredients to life. I’ve made a million apple cider vinegar dressing recipes over the years. Some are spiced with cinnamon, others are infused with sage, but the recipe below is the one […]

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This red lentil chili is simple and a classic. A very quick and easy meal to make, and I personally LOVE chili this time of year so much I tend to double recipes like this so I can eat the leftovers as lunches for days. Viva la chili!

If you are looking for a vegetarian chili that feels traditional and still packs a decent protein punch (not to mention fiber), then look no further than this red lentil chili. It’s a good one.

You can certainly use canned (already cooked) lentils if you find them. But I usually only see dry red lentils at the grocery stores I frequent most often. You do not need to be intimated by cooking dry lentils. There is no soaking needed, and it is as simple as boiling water and waiting 15 minutes—honestly!

This red lentil chili almost looks meaty, doesn’t it? And all those little chopped cilantro bits make me so excited. Ha.

For toppings, I am a big fan of shredded cheese, sour cream, and Fritos. In a pinch, I substitute sour cream for Greek yogurt sometimes and it’s almost just as good. Enjoy! xo. Emma

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Red Lentil (Vegetarian) Chili

Course Main Course

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups water or vegetable stock (or a mix)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Prepare the lentils. Rinse well. In a medium to large pot, boil the liquid. Add the lentils and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 3-8 more minutes, until the lentils are splitting and very tender.
• Chop or mince the ingredients that need this including garlic, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. I remove the seeds and veins from the jalapeno to reduce the heat some, but this is up to you and the level of heat you prefer.
• In a small to medium saute pan or skillet, add the oil over medium heat and saute the onion and jalapeno for 2-3 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two.
• Once the lentils are done cooking, assess the remaining liquid before adding the tomato sauce. If your lentils still seem very soupy, you may want to drain some of the liquid off, but this may not be necessary.
• Stir in the tomato sauce, sauteed vegetables, cilantro, chili powder, cayenne, and season well with salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Serve alongside chips, crackers, shredded cheese, and sour cream. 

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

This is our family’s favorite snack mix for fall. It is HEARTY. The kind of hearty where if you serve it with like a fruit and cheese board it feels pretty much like a meal. It is really nice to have on a cozy fall night watching movies.  What is it about a snack mix that is so fun to eat? First you target your favorite items. And then move on to others. Something about searching for your preferred items and alternating between different tastes is very fun and adds something to this special time of year.

My favorite piece is the chocolate covered pretzels OF COURSE. I make slight variations to the mix. No one in my family adores the mellowcreme pumpkins yet for some reasons I still sometimes keep them around for the seasonal-ness and cuteness.

Also reese’s pieces feel so nostalgic halloween for me, I just love them in october. They are kind of a must for me this time of year.

Autumn Snack Mix
Makes one big bowl, about 15 cups or so

10 ounces reese’s pieces
11 ounces mellowcreme candy pumpkins
10 ounces white cheddar cheezits
7.5 ounce bag chocolate covered pretzels
14.5 ounce bag gardetto’s
6 ounces pistachios

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl!

AUTUMN SNACK MIX

 

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Author: Rachel Schultz

Ingredients

• 10 ounces reese's pieces
• 11 ounces mellowcreme candy pumpkins
• 10 ounces white cheddar cheezits
• 7.5 ounce bag chocolate covered pretzels
• 14.5 ounce bag gardetto's
• 6 ounces pistachios

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl!

3.5.3251

This post was originally published in 2012— we have since updated the recipe and photos. Consider this your reminder to make this caramel apple cheesecake because it’s SO good.

Here’s the back story about this cheesecake. Elsie has been raving about this caramel apple cheesecake that her sister-in-law, Katrina made a couple years ago. I’ve heard about the dessert multiple times. So, when I asked Elsie what she thought I should make for Friendsgiving dessert, she, on cue, brought up this cheesecake again.

I emailed Katrina asking for what I was sure was an old family recipe, and she sent me a link to a Food Network recipe from Paula Deen.

I adapted it to fit a standard size spring form pan, plus a few other small tweaks. Lots of guests enjoyed it but it’s always so hard to eat dessert after a big meal. It’s hard to leave room. So I sent a few folks home with extra slices. A few days later, a certain (nameless, to protect identities) guest mentioned that her husband may have eaten all three slices I sent home that very night.

So, my point is, this was a hit. If you like cheesecake, you should definitely give this caramel apple cheesecake a try.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sour apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
caramel sauce (for the top)

For the crust, combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Press into the bottom of butter spring form pan. Bake at 350°F for 5-6 minutes until browned.

For the cheesecake, combine the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. I did this in my mixer. Easy as pie (hey!). Pour into your prepared pan. Combine peeled, chopped apples with a few sprinkles of sugar, the cinnamon and the nutmeg, and then layer those over the cheesecake.

For the topping, combine 1/2 cup flour,1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Mix together by hand until crumbly and layer on top. Bake the cheesecake for another 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving (you can make this the day before Turkey Day!). Drizzle on a little caramel sauce just before serving. xo. Emma

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Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Course Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 granny smith apples
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• caramel sauce for the top

Instructions

• For the crust, combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Press into the bottom of butter spring form pan. Bake at 350°F for 5-6 minutes until browned.
• For the cheesecake, combine the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. I did this in my mixer. Pour into your prepared pan. Combine peeled, chopped apples with a few sprinkles of sugar, the cinnamon and the nutmeg, and then layer those over the cheesecake.
• For the topping, combine 1/2 cup flour,1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Mix together by hand until crumbly and layer on top. Bake the cheesecake for another 30-35 minutes. 
• Allow to cool before serving. Drizzle on some caramel sauce just before slicing and serving.

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

Anyway, hubby got the 4 course (which is $65), in which you pick 4 courses from the menu, or you can go the a la carte option, which is what I did and then we split everything. But first, they brought us an amuse bouche that was cold soba noodles with a little bit of tuna and some carrots and fish eggs—I have had this flavor combo before here at Vida—and I love the sesame flavor here and the kick of salt from the fish and eggs. I could easily eat a whole appetizer of this.

Our first ordered course was the Hamachi crudo (a la carte is $16), which was two large but thin slices of raw hamachi with slices of perfectly ripe mango, a little avocado mousse, sliced radish, habanero onion and cilantro. This was so good. I wasn’t sure how I felt about mango because it really needs to be just perfect, but it was. And the dish was salted/seasoned just perfectly too. The fish almost melted in your mouth.

Our next course was the wall greens salad ($12) and the crispy chicken thigh ($12). The salad was a good mixed salad with some of my favorite things—blue cheese, nuts, sliced figs and a tangy vinaigrette. The lettuce was soft and supple (and I assume came from their wall of greens, based on the name). The chicken was even better though because you got a little of a similar salad aspect, but with a slight sweet, slight spicy perfectly tender fried chicken thigh underneath. And the flowers on top made it look like art. Art that tasted delicious.

For the main dishes we had the ribeye ($42 a la carte) and the cacio e pepe cappelliti ($28 a la carte). Hubby wanted the ribeye really badly after having a bite of someone else’s the last time we were there. He was not disappointed. There were roasted potatoes and black truffle gnocchi and a few Brussel Sprouts leaves on top. It was rich and delicious. The pasta was soooo good. It was little stuffed pastas with Trillium cheese, crispy roasted broccoli, slices of pecorino cheese and black pepper. Fresh pasta is so worth it—and the cheese inside was delicious. The most amazing part was the broth it sat in that was rich and buttery with just a hint of lemon. The waiter brought us some extra freshly made focaccia for soaking it up and it was much appreciated (oh yeah, the complimentary bread plate is always awesome too—this one had the herb focaccia and zucchini bread).

Finally, we had the ricotta doughnuts ($11 a la carte) which I think have been on the menu since the start. And there’s a reason. They are little like beignet-sized doughnuts with a bourbon maple glaze, candied bacon and caramel ice cream. Seriously, a perfect mix of sweet, rich and salty and savory all at the same time. And one of the best dessert wine lists in town (just ask). 

Our service was also spot on, and it is one of the nicer feeling atmospheres in the city. And I love the extra space between tables. I know it’s not cost effective, but I would love it we could maintain some of it even post-pandemic for having more private conversations. 

Overall, one of the best meals I have had since I can remember. I am already thinking about how I can plan some private dinners in some of the private spaces for some even safer dinners. Seriously, this is probably one of Indy’s best fine dining places right now. Check it out and don’t let them close!

Vida

601 East New York Street

Indy 46202

317/420-2323

www.vida-restaurant.com 

Today I’m teaming up with plus size brand Ulla Popken to share a cute fall outfit featuring three trends that’ll give you lots of bang for your buck this season: the denim jacket, embellished sweatshirt, and pleated midi skirt. I also wanted to spotlight Pantone’s 2020 color of the year: Classic Blue. As I’ve been […]

The post A Fall Outfit in Pantone Classic Blue appeared first on With Wonder and Whimsy.

Here in France, my kids went back to school in May and June. They are on summer break now, but schools are currently planning to fully open in September (technically, I think the first day back is August 31st).

Friends have asked what it’s like having kids back in school — what are the safety precautions? — so I thought I’d walk you through what it has been like here to have the country slowly and carefully reopen.

Here’s what the French pandemic response looked like from my perspective. In early March, right after I got back from Alt Summit, there was talk about the country shutting down, but it hadn’t happened yet, and the kids were still in school.

By Mid-March, President Macron closed ALL schools throughout the country simultaneously, and the country shutdown in earnest. Everything but essential shops were shuttered and the streets of our town were absolutely empty. I didn’t see people walking. I rarely saw cars. It was quiet as can be. Grocery shopping happened rarely, and had strict guidelines — only one person per family (you couldn’t bring your spouse or the kids). You had to enter and exit on specific paths. There were plexi-glass checkout barriers for the workers. School transitioned to online, but didn’t take up a big portion of the day.

People continued to be paid for working at home, or had access to government relief funds in order to float their businesses until they could reopen. There was no talk of evictions or not being able to pay rent. No utilities were shut off. Nothing like that.

This continued for two months. Everything was closed. At the one month point, a couple of restaurants reopened for takeout only. No funerals. No travel. No driving longer than a few miles. No handshakes, hugs, or cheek kisses. No hanging out with neighbors on their lawn — even at six feet apart.

Mid-May, things started to slowly and carefully reopen. And all of it was at the direction of the government. The country was labeled with green zones or orange zones or yellow zones, depending on the risk factors of that area for covid-19 to spread, and green zones opened first. Normandy (where we live) was a green zone, which means it was considered low-risk.

Elementary kids went back to school, but with modifications. Each class was split in half and would only attend half the time. So Flora June and half of her class attended school on Monday & Thursday, and the other half attended on Tuesday & Friday. (There is no school on Wednesday for elementary age kids, even when there’s no pandemic.)

All adults at the school had to wear masks 100% of the time. The children were not asked to wear masks, though they could if they wanted to. Any child showing even the smallest signs of sickness was asked to stay home. And you didn’t have to send your kids if you didn’t want to (like maybe you have immuno-compromised members of your household). If you didn’t feel safe attending in person, you could still participate via online school.

The desks were spread far apart, hand-washing was required at several points throughtout the day,. At recess, the kids could only play games where there was no touching and the kids stayed 6 feet apart — so no tag. And the cafeteria process was streamlined so that the kids could avoid touching things. They would come in and sit — every other chair — and the food was brought on a rolling cart and the kids chose what they wanted and it was placed in front of them. No sharing food.

Three weeks after the elementary schools children returned, middle school students and high school students had the option of returning, or continuing with online classes. The plan was that if the whole class wanted to return, they would be split in half and each group would go every other week. But for Oscar and Betty’s classes, only about half the kids wanted to return, so they could go every week.

For these older kids, masks were required and they were each given 4 white cotton masks that are washable and reusable.

Three weeks after that, President Macron announced that all students could attend at the same time for the last week of school. The same masks and handwashing requirements, but they didn’t need to split the classes anymore.

In early June the stores and banks and businesses started to reopen as well. Masks were required to enter, and shops with small square footage could only allow in a couple of people at a time. Stores put vinyl guidelines on the floor in front of registers to keep people properly spaced. And they put vinyl guidelines outside the doors too, so that if people needed to line up and wait their turn to shop, they would be properly spaced too. All stores provided hand sanitizer at the entrance and asked all customers to use it when coming inside. Most shops created plexiglass barriers at the registers to protect their employees. Citizens were still asked to limit their shopping and stay home as much as possible. All of these precautions are still in place and active.

Mid-June, our church reopened as well. We have a very small congregation, so it was possible for us. But it’s very modified. We let our church leaders know if we’ll be there ahead of time, so they can plan for us. Masks are required, and if you forget yours, they have a stack of the blue disposable masks at the door. When we arrive, there’s no chitchat or hanging out. We follow a specific path to our chairs — which are assigned and have our name on them. The chairs are spread out so no two families are close together. The meeting lasts 45 minutes, and then each family is dismissed one at a time and asked to go directly to their cars, no hanging out afterwards. There are special precautions for taking the sacrament too.

As the school year finished, the country reopened for travel within France’s borders, and at the beginning of July, travel within EU countries opened.

All of the reopening so far has happened in 2-3 week segments, so officials can track if there’s a new outbreak with each reopening change. But so far, so good.

Precautions are still in place. Restaurants have reopened but can not take big groups — I believe the max reservation is 10 people, and that’s only if the restaurant has adequate square footage. Tables at restaurants have to be spread out and they can’t take as many customers. Pretty much every store requires masks, as well as any National Monuments. Some stores are by appointment only. Plexiglass barriers at checkout points are the norm. There is still no shaking hands, or cheek kissing, or hugging. There are still no large gatherings. The community pool reopened, but only for laps, and you have to reserve one of the limited spots. Extra-curricular options for kids haven’t really restarted at all.

Even with all these safety precautions, as we traveled last week, it felt pretty normal. The biggest difference is the masks. When people are outside with plenty of space, the masks come off, but anytime there are a lot of people together — like the boat tour we took — masks are required. And I haven’t seen anyone complain or hesitate about the masks. Sometimes you’ll see someone enter a store without a mask and a worker will let them know one is required, and the customer will quickly say something like: Oops! I forgot. Sorry about that. And then pull a mask from their pocket.

I do think mask-wearing has eased up a bit here in outside spaces this month. But again, reopening has been so slow and careful, without signs of new outbreaks, and I think it’s understandable that people are feeling more confident to go without.

But I also know that if there’s even a tiny re-emergence of the virus, the people here won’t hesitate to get strict again. The French are lucky — they aren’t worried about how they’ll pay their bills, because they have vast and deep social safety nets.

I’m sure you’ve seen this chart of America compared to the EU. It is painful to watch covid-19 still raging in much of the U.S.. I’m sick about it and worried for my children, Maude and Ralph, who live there. If they get sick, can I go to the U.S. and take care of them? And if I do, will I be able to return to France when they are better?

I’m also heartsick for all the parents who are still trying to work without school, childcare, or summer camps. For those couple of weeks in June where all our kids were in school again? Holy cow, it makes SUCH A DIFFERENCE for how efficient and productive our work days were. And I’m sure I would be incredibly discouraged if I thought our kids weren’t going back in the fall. (Of course, if there’s a second wave, they won’t be.)

Trying to work at home and parent at the same time is so dang hard. And being asked to come into a store or office for work, when there are no childcare options available, is an impossible situation.

I’m especially frustrated for those people in the U.S. who kept a strict quarantine in March and April and May. If the whole country had done that, and carefully managed a nationwide reopening, the U.S. would be experiencing what the EU is experiencing: a modified, open, and covid-free summer.

But because shutdown orders and reopening orders have happened haphazardly around the U.S., and with different levels of strictness, the virus has only been contained in limited areas, and it feels like people will need to quarantine for a long time still. It’s infuriating to watch, and much more infuriating for the people living through it.

I also keep thinking about the horrible guidance we were all given in March about masks. I know some of it was based on not knowing enough about the virus and how it spreads, but it has also been reported that some of the advice was knowingly bad. And it has caused such huge problems. I remember specifically being told masks weren’t very effective, and that people wearing masks are more likely to touch their faces, and spread the virus that way. I was also told to save all masks for healthcare workers — an action that felt good to support. And I passed along all of that bad advice!

Instead, the experts and officials could have told us: Masks are essential. Save medical-grade masks for healthcare workers whenever possible. And if you have to go out, be sure to make at least a makeshift mask and wear it. They could have told us masks were important and that creating a huge mask supply was important, and Americans (who LOVE to make things) would have been all over that. Instead, this basic and effective safety tool has been politicized.

It’s especially infuriating because we can see now that in cities and countries where mask-wearing is expected and commonplace (like NYC), the virus seems to be under control.

What is all this like where you live? Did your community have a strict lockdown or was it more casual? What are infection rates like in your city or town? Are people still working at home a lot? What about school? Do you think your schools will reopen in the fall? If they do, will you be sending your kids? And do you have any thoughts on masks?

P.S. — The Circus of Covid Testing.

The post Will Your Kids Be Heading Back to School This Fall? appeared first on Design Mom.

The first time I tried this dill pickle recipe, I wondered why on earth I’d spent so many years buying pickles at the grocery store. Sure, store bought pickles can be tasty, but these little guys take dill pickles to a whole new level. They’re super easy to make (the refrigerator does most of the work for you!), and they taste awesome. They’re crisp, tangy, and refreshing, with an addictive garlic-dill flavor. Most often, I eat them as a snack right out of the fridge, but they’re delicious on sandwiches and veggie burgers too. If you like dill pickles, you’re […]

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