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When the Pollen Flies: How We Treat Seasonal Allergies

This is a post by Abbie, with motherly comments from Mrs. Brown. Because being a mother is Mrs. Brown’s favorite thing to do. Like many people in the spring, I have seasonal allergies. They’re annoying. How we figured out I had allergies When I was five years old my family went to a church that had a humongous oak tree in the back yard. Under the oak tree there was a playground that I used to play on every Sunday once the service was ended. One afternoon in the spring I was playing like usual on the swing when the […] Read more »

Coloring Eggs With Natural Dyes – Brown Eggs vs White Eggs {an experiment}

By Abbie and Mrs. Brown · 3 Comments

naturally dyed eggs (brown vs white) - blossomsandposies.com

We love family traditions. Everyone looks forward to our traditional Easter breakfast! Each year we serve homemade Crumb Cake (Grandma Brown’s recipe) and colored hard-boiled eggs. Some years we keep it simple and just buy food dye from the store to color our eggs. The table is lined with little cardboard boxes with holes, and cups with bright vinegary liquid. But other years we make the dyes ourselves. This year we decided to make our own dyes again. We thought we’d try a little experiment while we were at it, and dye both brown and white eggs. Some people dye […] Read more »

“Lady Slipper” Napkin Folding Tutorial

By Abbie · 4 Comments

It’s springtime! All over the Northern Hemisphere, people are enjoying the fresh air, finally warming after a long, cold, winter. And when you get outside in the fresh air, you’re bound to find something new! From bird’s nests, to daisies, nature has it all. Tell us in the comments what new animal or leaf or flower you most recently discovered. Speaking of flowers, we learned a pretty way to fold a napkin into a flower shape, and we’d love for you to learn, too. Isn’t spring fun? I think so! – Abbie Supplies a square napkin (the stiffer the better) […] Read more »

Good Friday – A Day to Reflect

By Abbie and Mrs. Brown · 2 Comments

Today is Good Friday for Western Christians (non-Orthodox). It’s a day in our house when we read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and death.* On this day we stop reading when the tomb is still full. And we ponder what it would have been like to be there, to have not known what was coming. On this day we each choose a spiritual discipline to help us focus. We don’t lay down rules about it. We keep it personal, meaningful. We will not be posting any new projects today, but we did want to share these with you. Here are […] Read more »

How to Grow Mint from Cuttings

By Abbie and Mrs. Brown · 2 Comments

We recently were given a bunch of spearmint that was from the grocery store. It looked a bit wilted so we trimmed the ends and stuck it in a jar of water on the windowsill. It perked right up and even started growing! A few weeks later the mint was covered in roots. Time to pot them up! You can start with mint from the store, or mint cuttings from a friend. If you plant your rooted mint outside, be careful because it can be very invasive! We like to add fresh mint leaves when we use teabags to make […] Read more »

How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

By Abbie and Mrs. Brown · 4 Comments

With Easter around the corner, egg-y recipes and crafts are popping up left and right. This got us thinking about hard boiled eggs, one of our favorite ways to eat eggs. Hard boiled eggs make a quick snack or lunch with loads of protein, and taste great cut up in salads or mashed with mayo for egg salad sandwiches. You can eat them for breakfast too! Hard-boiling eggs is a basic kitchen skill. They seem easy, but they can be fussy… shells cracking, green rings forming around the yolk. Here is how we boil eggs so that they are cooked […] Read more »

Irish Soda Bread

By Abbie and Mrs. Brown · 6 Comments

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day… and what could be a simpler bread recipe than Irish Soda Bread? This recipe has only 5 ingredients and no rising time. From start to a lovely loaf takes only one hour! Ingredients 4 cups flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons lemon juice Directions Preheat oven to 375°. Pour lemon juice into milk and stir. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture and stir in the milk/lemon juice. Dump the dough out […] Read more »