Category: Create

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ☕️🌻

amyofhearthridge7 Comments
Took 15 minutes by lake yesterday! ♥️

FOR TODAY~


Outside my window…it looks sparkly and sunny after a wild, gorgeous thunderstorm later yesterday!


I am thinking… of getting some laundry going so I can hang it on the line! Also about the books I found in a Little Free Library yesterday! I need to take some back to it. Do you ‘owe’ certain LFL’s books? 😂. I do this all the time.


I am thankful for…all the beautiful stories I have access to and for my little Delft mug my daughter bought me for my birthday! She found it at a garage sale.


From the kitchen… I am hoping to throw ham, rosemary, and potato soup into crockpot as we have church tonight!


I am creating… new reading journal pages! Last month, I decided to change the way I was doing my monthly spreads. Instead of printing off every book cover, I’m just making a monthly header page, a read list/readthon/buddy reads page, and then I want to do review pages for my favorites! I’d like to decorate each favorite’s review and then write out more thoughts etc, rather than just the small, teeny area around the book covers. I get a lot of inspiration from these two amazing reading journal artists: Manda Made and Michala’s Cozy Life ~

This little space dessert postcard a penpal sent to me is perfect so I made it into a “tip-in” for Sci-Fi September’s prompts. Zoom in if you want to see the darling illustrations on it!
Here’s how I set up the monthly page now. I’m trying to use all the stickers and washi I have currently before buying too much more!
Going to be printing off the Back to Hogwarts Readathon Game Board and placing it here! I may print of this Autumn Bingo Board too! My reading will go significantly down as school begins.


I am going… to my in-person bookclub this week! We are finally finished with Brideshead Revisited and I think it’s my turn to pick our next read! Now to narrow it down! I might make my friends read a Victorian novel 😈 with me since we are so close Victober! Or I could be nice and choose something lighter as we are all homeschooling moms. 🤔


I am wearing… probably my black pants and a Tshirt for the morning. It all depends if I end up lawn mowing today. The grass is super wet.


I am reading… a MILLION things. 🤭🫣 I always try to read too much right before school begins! 🙃 I really am trying to finish a few mysteries that I’m reading for the Keep Me in Suspense readthon. I’m super interested in finishing Moby Dick. You can’t read it fast, but over all I am loving it. The wordsmithing is top notch. I’m SO excited to be starting The Brothers Karamazov with my daughter. I’ve heard amazing things about it. An online friend (hi, Elizabeth! 👋) recommended A Snicker of Magic and I just started this morning after reading my Bible and ADORED the writing of the first chapter. I’m also loving my reread of The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. The little granddaughter Sophia is sorta mean to my favorite character (the grandmother) 😖🥲 and that’s bothering more this time through. It’s so, soooo beautiful though! 😌🥹🥰


I am hoping… to continue my clothing purging project! I was so proud of myself for going through my socks & underwear. Ha. Now to my two younger boys! 😬🫣 My 12 yo grew significantly this year, so I want to make a list of needs to check for at thrift stores!


I am hearing… kids getting popsicles from dad for breakfast?! 🤭🫣😂🙃


Around the house… piles, piles, piles. 😒


One of my favorite things… my deck garden, Idlewild!


A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… Bookclub, continuing all my class prep for various autumn teaching responsibilities. Our own homeschool, homeschool Charlotte Mason co op, local mom’s homeschool group, and church teen girl’s group! Asking the Lord for peace and wisdom for all these things.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you…

How’s your week going? Anything coming up for you? What are you reading or creating? Anything neat you are watching or listening to?

Cozy Corners 🦋✨🌻♥️🌿

amyofhearthridge6 Comments

Hello 👋 ~

It’s taken me until today (Friday) to feel a little more relaxed! 😌 I realized I was trying to “force” myself and the kiddos to relax. Ha. 🙃😂 We were able to pop into our lovely small local library and browse. A couple of my kids have been enjoying the summer reading program, so we picked up some more picture books. I’m sure missing my wonderful, curated living books which are packed away, as you know, for continued remodeling. I may treat myself later by pulling out a few bins of our history period we are studying this coming school year. It will satisfy my itch to be among my ‘friends’ for a little while. My 14 yo daughter chose after the library to get an iced matcha and my two boys chose ice cream from our little drive in diner. We love the local hippy coffee shop with cheerful vibes and the fun diner. Our area has SO much natural beauty, too, and we have a couple of places we plan to haunt soon.

Our lovely friends let us chrysalis babysit and we got to watch three Monarchs hatch this week. 😍♥️🌿🦋 Such a rewarding experience!

We spent the afternoon at a nearby lake and I truly felt myself relaxing. The cool wind and toasty sun, flickering through the trees was perfect. I’ve been wanting to reread my Summer Book by Susan Branch and I was able to slowly savor her lovely illustrations, quotes she collects, and recipes. I love her work so much! It made me excited to be a home keeper again. 😍☕️✨🌻 One of my favorite things was sitting on the fishing dock with the sun beating on me. The weather was perfect. We also saw a pair of Belted Kingfishers flying low over the water. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

I did a little journaling set up! I like doing little goals sheets, not religiously or anything, but to give myself a pretty way to track my habits etc that I’m continuing to work on. I’ve done these little symbol keys before! They are fun! ♥️

I made a massive Brain Dump List and some other to-do things because it helps me to focus and calm down without all that rattling around in my brain. I’m also figuring out a way of curating the quotes from my reading that I want to jot into my commonplace. I read a lot and mark my books up, but I want to figure out how to better choose quotes! I loved this video about recently on this topic. I’m letting Jane Austen’s Bookshelf simmer before choosing favorite quotes to add out of the ones I marked.

I’ve been on a Booktube watching break and it’s interesting how many other things I get done and how much actual reading I get in! 🤣 I finished The Opt-Out Family and I must say it may be so far one of my favorite things I’ve read this year. I’m going to slowly go back through it, as I want to note ideas and passages better. Highly recommend! ♥️✨

Finished my reread! Love Miss Austen so much! This isn’t a favorite of hers for me, but the 2nd half was such a wonderful character study. ♥️✨

How was your week? ♥️😍🌿✨☕️🌻

Monday Ponderings ♥️🌿✨ Baggins “core” (with a Side of Tookishness) Refresh Week

amyofhearthridge3 Comments

Hello, Friends! 😁♥️✨🌿 We are on the other side of my daughter’s wedding! It was a lovely day. 🥰🥲♥️ I thought I’d do a cozy refresh this week before I dive full force into to my autumn planning for all my homeschool and other responsibilities. The house needs some deeper cleaning and organizing, but mostly, my younger children and I need some summer cozy and fun. I’d like to bring you along and share little bits here and there. 😍🥰☺️ What are you up to this week?

🥰🌿😍✨♥️

Monday Ponderings 💕 {Day 93} •cozy corners, Scripture, fuzzy beastie•

amyofhearthridge1 Comment

See, God has come to save me,

I will trust in him and not be afraid,

The LORD GOD is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.

~Isaiah 12:2, NLT

The Simple Woman’s Daybook {Day 89} ☕️

amyofhearthridge8 Comments
I used to participate in this blog link up on my old blog YEARS ago! I don’t think it’s done officially anymore, but loved reading them, so unofficially joining here. My Wednesday Wonders post is inspired by this original one! Thank you to the original creator wherever you are! ♥️✨

FOR TODAY~

Outside my window…golden and pink sunrise with a haze, promises to be very hot today! Yesterday it was near 100 degrees! 🥵

I am thinking…about last night’s local homeschooling mom’s meeting and how good it was to see the ladies! Need to figure out which book won the vote for our Autumn read!

I am thankful for…my cat Sophie 😂♥️She’s so comforting!

From the kitchen…we’ve been making our chicken or tuna salad a lot! Usually shredded carrots, chopped celery, sometimes chopped apples, s&p, canned chicken or tuna drained and dill weed! Yum! We eat it on lettuce, bread, or with crackers. Sometimes I shred any available veggie like cucumber 🥒 I have to use things up!

I am creating…I just finished my collage and little article for the letter/zine I write for! I really want to write a penpal letter and I’m trying to blog daily here. This autumn I’d love to pick quilting back up and learn to make granny squares!

I am going…possibly to the lake today so the kiddos can cool off swimming and I’ll sit in shade with my water and book!📖

I am wearing…a green tshirt and probably a flowy green, cream, and orange skirt! My pearl earrings and new brown slide sandals.

I am reading…I may take Moby Dick to lake as I love reading it by water! 😍😅 I’m also loving Captain Blood and Jane Austen’s Bookshelf. Among many more. 😉 Here is a wonderful Booktube about some lovely summer reading options!

I am hoping…that my daughter’s bridal shower is ok and not too hot or stormy! It’s outdoors! 😨

I am hearing…ac humming and my 12 yo’s voice (he’s recovering from summer flu 😭). I’m absolutely loving this album! So worshipful and comforting!

Around the house…we’ve have remodeling and wedding messes! 😩🤪🤣 I really need to climb into a storage space to find my daughter’s Christmas ornaments because I’m giving them to her with a new one for her and her soon-to-be husband’s first Christmas! 😭😭😭 I need to check all my boxed books and make sure they aren’t getting damp. 😖 I also need to find our graduation party box to use the platters and twinkle lights for the bridal shower. I also need to make some treats for the bridal shower.

One of my favorite things…early morning with the light pouring through my new sliding glass doors.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…a birthday party/book club with local friends and THE.BRIDAL.SHOWER. 😂😱☠️

Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you…

Sunrise 🌅

This Old World of Ours {Day 86} 🌿♥️

amyofhearthridge1 Comment

The Holy Spirit has descended on this old world of ours, and there’s a Psalm 29 powwow in Elmo (Montana) every day of the year: a grace-revealing gesture, a fresh snowfall, a friend’s forgiveness, the first migrating yellow warbler, a miracle conversion, a truth-telling poem, a pasqueflower in bloom, the good death of a parent, resurrection – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-all the endless permutations of life. The beauty of holiness. And we have ringside seats. Henry James once said that a writer is a person on whom nothing is ever lost. That sounds like a focused Christian identity to me: the men and women on whom nothing, at least nothing that has to do with life-and virtually everything does-is lost. “Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

Amen.

~Eugene H. Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire , note mine in parenthesis

Happy Summer! 🌞✨ {Day 66)

amyofhearthridge2 Comments
Click in to read a little boy’s thoughts on jam! 😂♥️🥰😍

Happiest First Day of Summer and Father’s Day! I’m over here at Hearth Ridge enjoying family, sunshine, flowers, and an Anne of Avonlea reread. Church and feasting, too! God is good! ✨

~

Six in Six 🌸📚☕️ {Day 54}

amyofhearthridge7 Comments
Beauty in the midst of construction zone! 😅🥰

I’ve enjoyed Jessica’s blog for awhile now and I saw she was joining in a bookish blog hop about our 2026 reading! I used to blog hop a lot and really enjoyed linking up with others over a common topic. 😍 I’m joining her at Words & Peace for this reading meme reflecting about your first six months of reading.

Instructions from Emma at Words & Peace:

In 2021, Jo at The Book Jotter started hosting the meme Six in Six.
She stopped blogging in 2025, so I have decided to host it myself.

What is 6 in 6?

The idea is to look back at the books you have read so far in the six months of this year.
Now, I love plays with numbers, so I’m extending this meme:
you can post any time in July, or as early as 6/6, June 6th.

What do you post?

Choose 6 books in 6 categories.
You can come up with your own category, or choose among the following examples (copied from Jo’s blog):

  • Six new authors to me
  • Six authors I have read before
  • Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of
  • Six books I have enjoyed the most
  • Six books I was disappointed with
  • Six series of books read or started
  • Six authors I read last year – but not so far this year
  • Six books that took me on extraordinary journeys
  • Six books that took me by the hand and led me into the past
  • Six books from the past that drew me back there
  • Six books from authors I know will never let me down
  • Six books I must mention that don’t fit nicely into any category
  • Six books I started in the first six months of the year and was still caught up with in July
  • Six trips to Europe
  • Six blogging events I enjoyed
  • Six bookish things I’m looking forward to
  • Six Espionage or Historical Novels I enjoyed
  • Six Cool Classics
  • Six Non-US/Non-British Authors
  • Six From the Non-Fiction Shelf
  • Six books that didn’t live up to expectations
  • Six books that I had one or two problems with but am still glad I tried
  • Six books that are related to The Great War or Second World War
  • Six bookshops I have visited
  • Six books I’ve read in an English translation
  • Six books which are better than the film
  • Six books which are worse than the film
  • Six books that have sport as their major theme
  • Six favourite places to read
  • Six books read on kindle and then went and bought an actual copy
  • Six books I abandoned
  • Six classics I have read
  • Six books I have read on my Kindle
  • Six physical books I have read
  • Six book covers I love
  • Six book covers that bear no resemblance to the story contained within
  • Six books to read to avoid politics
  • Six books I have read but not reviewed
  • Six books I have read in lockdown
  • Six classic mysteries
  • Six books about Royalty
  • Six pretty book covers
  • Six books set in a country other than my own
  • Six books that feature a Pandemic
  • Six books that are great when self-isolating
  • Six books recently added to my wish list
  • Six mysteries, thrillers or crime novels NOT by Agatha Christie
  • Six books with titles connected to rivers, seas and storms
  • Six nature related books
  • Six books about Librarians and Libraries
  • Six books I really want to buy in the next six months
  • Six books that feature a building in the title

My categories I’ve chosen to share about are:

  1. Six favorite genres so far
  2. Six favorite reads so far in 2026
  3. Six favorite Booktube Readathons
  4. Six New-to-Me Authors
  5. Six Mysteries I loved
  6. Six Books I Read from My Shelf

My Six Favorite Genres: (many are a mixture of these below! I’m such an eclectic reader!)

  1. Fairytale/Classic Retellings
  2. Fantasy
  3. Historical Fiction
  4. Mystery
  5. Young Adult
  6. Middle Grade

My Six Favorite Reads so far 2026 (so hard to choose!)

  1. The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco (beautiful, heartwarming Middle Grade)
  2. The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (gorgeous, Biblical Historical Fiction)
  3. The Will of Many by James Islington (wonderful epic Historical Fantasy)
  4. Through Rushing Waters by Catherine Richmond (Heartbreaking Historical Fiction)
  5. Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery (beautifully written classic)
  6. Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw (classic fantasy story of an underdog!)

My Six Favorite Booktube Readathons So Far this Year: (You can still join these! I don’t follow the monthly prompts, I just fill them in as I go!)

  1. Jurassic Reading Challenge
  2. Read Your Bookshelf Challenge
  3. Journey Through Time Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
  4. Passport to Summer Reading
  5. Summertime Bingo
  6. Summer Book Bingo

Six New-to-Me Authors

  1. Carrie Cotten, Christian Fantasy, The Huntress
  2. Derin R. Hicks, Middle Grade, Shakespeare Mystery Duo-logy
  3. Kate Stradling, Cozy Fantasy, Deathmark
  4. Sheri Cobb South, Regency Romance, The Weaver Takes a Wife
  5. Lloyd C. Douglas, Biblical Historical Fiction, The Robe
  6. Michael Perry, Memoir, Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
Want to try this one from Douglas soon! About Apostle Peter!

Six Mysteries I have enjoyed :

  1. Death in a Strange Country (and Quietly In Their Sleep) by Donna Leon (Commisario Brunetti Series)
  2. For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black (cozy mystery)
  3. Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills (Romantic Suspense Mystery Thriller)
  4. Alex Rider: Scorpio (and Snakehead) by Anthony Horowitz (mystery/spy thriller series)
  5. Dead in the Water by Denise Swanson (small town mystery)
  6. Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave (and sequel Tower of Five Orders) by Deron R. Hicks (Middle Grade)
My library is currently all dismantled for remodeling! 🥲📚♥️

Six Books I actually Read from My Own Shelf (Physical/Kindle Shelf):

  1. Caddie Woodlawn (reread) by Carol Ryrie Brink (Middle Grade Historical Fiction)
  2. Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen (Cozy Mystery)
  3. This is Happiness by Niall Williams (hauntingly beautiful Historical Fiction)
  4. The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy (beautiful book in translation about Mother/Daughter relationships)
  5. Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg (charming reimagining of Disney’s Frozen, YA Fantasy)
  6. Persuasion (reread) by Jane Austen (Regency)
Polyphemus Moth on our deck!

How has your reading year been so far? 📚📖

Monday Ponderings ~ Happy June~ 🌲🌿🌱🍃 {Day 49}

amyofhearthridge7 Comments

Starting a bit of a June challenge for myself! June is my birthday month so I want to gift myself health, beauty, relationships, and simple routines. I’m putting this here for additional accountability and encouragement! It’s never too late to start again.

♥️🌲🌿🌱🍃♥️

Deck Delights {Day 46} 🌼🌸🌺

amyofhearthridge3 Comments

Idlewild season {the name of my deck garden😅} is officially started! I read my Bible with my coffee out there this morning. 😍 Bliss! Have some seeds planted in those big tubs, too! ❣️ We also have four tomato plants and a fern.

I was hoping to plant a huge patch of sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos, but it may not happen with wedding planning and remodeling. It’s so lovely to have this bit of cheer to enjoy. Grateful. ☺️

Are you planting or growing anything? 😍🌻