No doubt I've said this before, but lately the world is too much with me. More than ever I crave the escape of fiction, and today I'm recommending one of my very favorite "escape artists" -- Dorothy Emily Stevenson. I wrote about D.E. Stevenson a few years ago when I...
As you might have guessed, when visiting a city I always check out the tea scene. Turns out Brooklyn has a lot of tea to offer! I'd already done my research and planned three tea experiences ahead of time, so imagine my surprise when I randomly walked past this store...
In the second post of my "Brooklyn travel trilogy" I'm featuring Brooklyn indie bookstores. Books are Magic is located in Cobble Hill on the corner of Smith and Butler. It is owned by author Emma Straub and her husband, Michael Fusco-Straub. I love this from the...
I haven't updated "Tea and a Book" since Christmas! I am determined, however, to mend my ways AND account for April with this post... During a recent chat with my friend and crit partner Brandi, she recommended Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings. (I think we'd...
This post is a continuation of my Friday Favorites post on North & South (2004) and perhaps will only be interesting to those who are already fans of the mini-series. (Or maybe it will inspire potential new fans? One can hope.) In 2006 I read the novel and had...
Note: I did not take the featured photo above, but it inspires me to more seriously pursue tea photography! As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I had a wonderful visit with my friend Michelle. (Even strep throat couldn't keep us apart!) If you know us at all...
A little while ago this article reminded me of one of my very favorite costume dramas of all time: the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth's Gaskell's North and South, which premiered nearly 15 years ago. Reading the article filled me with such nostalgia and yearning that I...
I'm always looking for ways to silence the critic in my head--that meanie who loves to tell me "Girl, you SUCK." (Does it talk to you, too?) I also love experimenting with different approaches to the writing process. The books in my featured image--The Artist's Way...
This past Saturday we saw the OKC Ballet Company's production of La Sylphide! Principals Miki Kawamura and Alvin Tovstogray / Photo by Shevaun Williams The evening was particularly special because it was Miki Kawamura's final performance. Though she has retired from...
I'm introducing a new feature here on the blog in which I revisit my oldest blog posts from the archaic platform known as Livejournal. (Shout out if you started the whole blogging thing on LJ. I know you're out there! Do you ever miss those days?) Not so long ago, I...
I have long wrestled with journal lust. I even wrote a blog post about it in 2014. Last year I decided to get serious about this problem and committed to buying fewer journals and writing more in the ones I have. In fact, I set the goal of journaling every single day....
I read 54 novels in 2018, five of them re-reads (which I count because my memory is terrible and subsequent readings still manage to surprise and delight). Last year I was determined to raise my overall count and I managed to do that by 6 books! Here are my favorites...
I come to you with tidings of tea and holiday reads! For young (and young-at-heart) readers: Christmas with the Savages, by Mary Clive: Seen through the eyes of a prim little eight-year-old, and based on real events and people, this novel perfectly recaptures a...
Quick take: Quirky and endearing. From the book jacket: Jessica Vye introduces herself with an enigmatic pronouncement: "I ought to tell at the beginning that I am not quite normal, having had a violent experience at the age of nine." A revered author has told Jessica...
For my final "Spooky Films" post, I'm offering some suggestions for family viewing. If you're new to the blog and have younger children, you might check my 2016 post that includes solidly PG films. If you have tweens and teens interested in watching horror, the...
