Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens … Oh, mittens. Knitting mittens for a holiday gift is one of those ideas that sounds fantastic in July but ends up being a last-minute, curse-filled sprint in December. Trust me, as a seasons-long veteran of Christmas …
Sister Catherine, a distant relative by marriage, spent her golden years retired from the nunnery but still in its service. For most of the year she worked tirelessly on whimsical felt ornaments, embellished with embroidery, beads and sequins. As the holidays approached, she would sell her crafts, often at parties …
Today’s Day 12, the halfway point of our holiday countdown. To celebrate, we created our own Halfway There holiday playlist featuring twelve of our favorite songs by women artists that will have you humming along while you drive, wrap and bake all those holiday memories. It’s available on Spotify to …
You may remember our friend Trudy from Monday’s story about Bim Willow’s tree-making workshop. Trudy was our neighbor and sister in arms that morning; we shared laughs and suggestions while struggling to coerce our willow branches into anything resembling a tree. (Reminder: It takes a village to make a holiday …
Is there anything better than a new book for Christmas? (Trick question – there’s nothing better!) We could always list a bunch of recommendations from the Best Of 2019 lists, but we thought, why not ask the women we featured in mutterhood this year to tell us what’s topping their …
When I first brought my tree home (left) my husband said it looked like it belonged at Burning Man. I blinged it up for inside and Ellen decorated hers (right) for the outdoors. Not sure they’ll ask us to decorate holiday windows on State Street, but it was fun.
Bim Willow sounds like the name of a charming character in a delightful children’s fairy tale. Instead, he’s a taskmaster of tree-limbed furniture whose not-so-whimsical workshop we attended one early Saturday morning in November. The Chicago Botanic Garden, which hosted the session, offers classes in everything from drawing to yoga to nature-walking. …
This time of year, when night falls in the late still-afternoon, we welcome bright, twinkling holiday lights. There’s an art to a holiday light display though, and in that spirit we offer mutterhood’s five unwritten rules to achieve a warm holiday glow. That extra bulb. You know the one, it’s …
Spotted: this confusing mashup of holiday icons in the window of a thrift shop.
I scurry around the house looking for the usual suspects. Bottle of wine? Candles? Coffee mug? Picture frame? Does this ornament look used? Does this book look read? I don’t have time to bake cookies. Those earrings I never wear? This fancy box of tea that I never opened? Does …