We've spent a wonderful Easter weekend with my husband's family, and since my son's school district also has Tuesday off for a teacher's professional development day we've taken advantage of the exceptionally long weekend. So instead of heading home today we had an extra day to putter around.
If there's one gripe I have since our move to rural New Brunswick, it's that my browsing opportunities have taken a hard hit. There is a town a half hour drive from where our new home is that offers a Walmart and a few other shops if you dig really deep. An hour farther gets you to a 'mall'. My brief stops to price compare, see what's new, check for sales, or just spend an hour at my favorite stores have all but stopped. When a day long trip is entailed it's so much less enticing. I'm trying to get better at online shopping, but it's really not the same when you can't touch and feel and turn the item around.
So this evening I took a few hours by myself to pop into the mall before we head home tomorrow. I looked and touched and oohed at Wicker Emporium, a store that never ceases to inspire my decor brain, and almost bought a very cute little bench that was marked down for (very fixable) damage. I still might get my sister to pick it up for me later, I'm mulling this one over. I can't find a picture of 'my' bench online, but if you don't know Wicker Emporium you have to at least take a peek at their website. Unfortunately they don't ship, another sad part of my New Brunswick shopping scene. Check out these drawers. So cute! Then I was on to check out a double stroller at Toys R' Us. As much as I try online I just can't replace touching and seeing for myself. This one, the Baby Trend Expedition, bottoms out the price list, putting it in comparison with the second hand strollers I've looked at and I wanted to see if it felt like a fall apart piece of work. Honestly it felt fine to me. More on that later.
After quick stops at much missed Old Navy and Children's Place where I lucked out on a few cute little girl clothes on sale and a pop into Payless Shoes where I found gladiator sandals for me (I can at least rock cute sandals while pregnant), I ended up at Chapters for an hour with a banana-chocolate-expresso smoothie. Sigh. I love browsing at Chapters.
What this reminded me was that I've been meaning to post my book wishlist for you. You'll notice a couple strong themes here, they're mostly parenting/ sewing books, very where I am right now. You can tell me if you've read any of them and what you think, or if you have others you think I'd like!A lot of the parenting books I want to read seem to relate to my major parenting struggle right now, in how to mesh my values with what I actually live and do. I've been feeling very preachy lately, in that I talk more about my environmental and natural beliefs than act on them. I like periodically reading parenting books that support me in who I want to be as a mom, that remind me what I want to give to my children, books that push me to be mindful rather than automatic in my parenting. These are a few such titles that have made my 'to read' list lately:
- Zen Parenting - Judith Costello
- I Love Dirt! - Jennifer Ward
- Steiner Waldorf for Baby (and for Toddler) - Christopher Clouder
- All Year Round - Ann Druit
- 7 Times the Sun - Shea Darian
- The Natural Child - Jan Hunt
- Buddhism for Mothers - Sarah Napthali
- Above all Be Kind - Zoe Weil
- Graceful Parenting - Eve Dreyfus
I've been interested in learning more about Waldorf and Buddhist parenting and teaching philosophies. The little bit I have stumbled across to this point really appeals to my calm approach to parenting, high on creativity and nurturing rather than strict discipline. I've also been picking up on their traditions of celebrating the seasons and life cycles, celebrations that seem very earth centred rather than materialistic.
As usual with my pregnancies, I am full of creative inspiration with little or no time to act on it. Some of these creative books have peaked my interest:- Seams to Me - Anna Maria Horner
- Weekend Sewing - Heather Ross
- Linen, Wool, and Cotton - Akiko Mano
- Doodle Stitching - Aimee Ray
- Feathering the Nest - Tracy Hutson
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