It's a Classical Life

Hello friends and welcome back! If this is your first time, my name is Kirsty and I love to share ideas and tips inspired by the classics - literature, poetry, music, art and more! Homemaking is one of my favourite topics, and in times past it was considered an important role, thus exists in many forms of classic works. I know there are also many women (and men) who still consider it an important role and they all do well to encourage and lift up other like-minded people to do their best to make home a happy and welcoming place. The world we live in has the ability to create anxiety, stress and even illness if we let it. Having a home that is a sanctuary, a place of retreat from the outside world, is a wonderful way to safeguard hearts, minds and souls. It can look differently for everyone. In my opinion, h omemaking includes (but is not limited to): cooking; cleaning; being prepared; creating an atmosphere of welcome, peace and sanctuary; and seasonal living.   I have shared homem...

We are deep into autumn and winter is knocking on the door. We've had the gamut of weather lately - beautiful sunny autumn days, freezing cold nights with frost, blustery winds and grey drizzly days. Last Monday as I drove to work I saw that there was snow on the mountains! I wasn't really surprised because Sunday had been freezing and wet. Autumn is absolutely, hands-down my favourite season and it inspired me to get creative. Earlier, when summer was weighing us down with her heat, I did a bit clear out of things and went for a whole "minimalist" look. I always think I like this look, but quickly learn I like it better in pictures than in my own home! I thought I would share with you some autumn shots from what's been happening around our home lately. So, grab a cuppa and come enjoy some autumn goodness. The lounge room got a bit of colour injected into it! I bought out all the things I had packed away over summer - the deep navies and ruby...

I love Saturdays at home. This week was rather busy and I got out of my regular homemaking routine. Saturday was the perfect spring day to throw open windows, wash towels and sheets and get to work on re-establishing a homemaking routine. In so many classic books that I read, Saturday mornings are devoted to chores and then the afternoon is free for leisure. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but for me, I relax so much more when I know that the chores are done and the house is in order. It was warm enough for a cotton skirt and ballet flats, so I popped on my apron and set to work. Join me as I share my homemaking Saturday with you. First step was to clear out the dirty table cloths and set the table with freshly cut daffodils and an embroidered table runner. This sweet one was a gift from my in-laws when they visited Paraguay. Paraguayan embroidery is some of the best in the world. A fresh table sets the scene for kitchen cleaning. After this, I started on my baking draw...

       On the wall at the right a strip of  board  ran the whole length and in it were driven nails on which to hang dishpans, dish towels, colanders and other kitchen utensils....The wall was shelved the whole length. The top shelf was only a short space from the ceiling, and from it down, spaces between the shelves were wider until there was room for tall pitchers and other dishes to stand on the lower shelf. Beneath the lowest shelf was a row of drawers as well made and fitted as boughten furniture. There was a large wide drawer that already held a sack of white flour, a smaller on with graham flour, another with corn meal, a large shallow one for packages, and two others: one already filled with white sugar and the other with brown.                                             The First Four Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder In a h...

 Have you ever heard the term "slow literary living"? I think it was Gracie from Austen and Alcotts who used the term and I thought it sounded lovely. It truly encompasses what I hope to achieve in my own life and here on the blog. I imagine it to mean a slow life, inspired by books and literature. I love not only to read about slow and simple living in classic literature, but I also love to hear and be inspired by people who are living a slow and literary life in our modern world.  Living this kind of life is a deliberate choice; it will not happen by accident. It is quite in opposition to how we live our modern lives and requires commitment and determination. We have discussed  knowing ourselves and having a purpose here on the blog, something that has come up in a number of classics discussed here. By knowing what you value you are in a position to commit to these values and make the choices necessary to live the life you want.  We don't necessarily need to rel...

"As spring came on, a new set of amusements became the fashion, and the lengthening of days gave long afternoons for work and play of all sorts. The garden had to be put in order, and each sister had a quarter of the little plot to do what she liked with."                                                                           Little Women - Louisa May Alcott Spring arrived this week! It was a beautiful few days after the cold winter we have had. But then the rain started early this morning and hasn't let up since! It's a good time to put out buckets and collect rain water, that's for sure. It's still a bit early for us to be planting straight out in the garden (we can get frost as late as November!) but it's a good time to start planting seedlings inside and getting t...

  The sweetest smelling blooms on the plum tree = lots of summer fruit! They say that hindsight is 20/20 and I suppose that if we had known what was coming to the world the last two years then we would have been a lot better equipped to meet those challenges without panic or fear. We would have been in a position to help others, to share what we have, and to promote a sense of calm and preparedness when everything else seemed to be spiralling out of control.  But then, if we continue to look towards the classics as a form of inspiration, then we should not be surprised when life does not go exactly as we planned it. Think of the quote I used in my last post on Preparedness from The Long Winter. Pa Ingalls said: "These times are too progressive. Everything has changed too fast. Railroads and telegraph and kerosene and coal stoves--they're good things to have, but the trouble is, folks get to depend on 'em.” I think it's particularly relevant here because, we have all co...