Weekly Roundup

Greetings from Chicago! I’m in town this week because Ross is here for work and I just can’t say no to visiting one of my favorite cities. Ross has been working the same gig in Chicago every year for the past three years so it’s become a tradition every summer to dine in Wicker Park, go to a live recording of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, hang in the backyard of my favorite blogger pair, and admire the architecture throughout the city.

These “not longer life” photographs are reinterpretations of classical still life paintings, but with a twist to highlight plastic pollution and consumption. The art major and environmentalist in me really digs these.

I came across a book that dives into how to design an efficient kitchen in the year 1914. I absolutely adore it because 1. My home was built in 1914 so it seems beyond fitting 2. I love seeing the traditional tips for kitchen storage and functionality that I strongly identify with - no matter how much it differs from popular opinion (kitchens shouldn’t be huge nor part of an open floorpan) and 3. Some of the concepts are just funny and so different from today’s ideas (one 60w incandescent bulb is enough lighting for a 12’x12’ kitchen). Anyway, I’m loving it and I always find value in looking back at how kitchens have evolved for better or worse. I wrote a whole post about this when taking a close look at the kitchen in The Marston House.

A favorite design team, Workstead, made over a 19th century cottage and I adore it.

Steps to go zero waste in 31 days.

Do you follow Cheap Old Houses? You should. Elizabeth shares listings for old houses around the country listed for under $100k. They are fun to admire but more importantly she’s promoting preservation and people are buying the houses to restore them! I recently bought a couple of the t-shirts she sells, too - this one couldn’t be more me. Should it be my slogan?

The Still We Rise auction is back! Hundreds of items from markers, artists, and small businesses are available on the Instagram auction and 100% of the purchase price is donated to organizations fighting for reproductive rights. Go get bidding!

You’ve heard me talk about cutting out single-use plastics and reducing waste for awhile now. I’m guilty of buying a few reusable replacements for the single-use items, but I’m now getting irked seeing brand new “eco-friendly “ products for sale. Take a look at this article and think about how wasteful it is to buy those replacements that have a big impact beyond the plastic they avoid. When thinking about shipping and manufacturing waste, also think about where these factories are and what they do to the communities the live near them. And check your privilege. Zero waste and environmentalism goes far beyond cutting out the plastic bag at the grocery store - it’s a human rights issue, too.

Thank you all so much for your virtual cups of coffee and insanely kind words. Y’all are too good to me.

Well that’s it for today, I’m off to go hang out with everyone’s favorite instagram pup.