Hey friends! It’s been a while. As I’ve done far too many times over the last seven years (!!!) of this newsletter, I apologize for my hiatus. Life got busy, and something had to give.
BUT I do have exciting news: The reason I’ve been so busy is that my husband, Will, and I purchased a historic adobe house down the road from us that’s in need of a lot of TLC. We’ve been working hard to restore it to its former northern New Mexico glory, one mud wall at a time.
To help with our new home-restoration business, I also got my associate broker’s license recently. (Holler if you need help buying or selling a home, or even if you’re curious what your place is worth right now. I’m licensed in New Mexico, but my brokerage has excellent Realtors all over the country, and I’m more than happy to connect you with one I love.)
All that to say, real estate has been on mind. So I’m launching an off-shoot of Sticks and Stones to track our renovation progress on this current flip and beyond and share home reno, home DIY, and real estate stuff I’m doing and reading. Fellow HGTV junkies, unite!
You can subscribe here:
But Sticks and Stones isn’t going anywhere, so back to our regularly scheduled programming now.
Outside of the housing projects, our little family has been ringing in spring with some long bike rides and plenty of outdoor time, including on the farm with our new miniature goats. (Renamed Back Porch Greens, by the way! You can follow our farm happenings here.) Some recent footage:
What I’ve been reading
Why Do People in Nordic Countries Consistently Rank as the Happiest and What Can We Learn From Them?
By Camille Bello for Euronews
The Nordic countries are always winning when it comes to the happiness race. Finland took the top spot for the seventh year in a row in 2024, followed by Denmark and Iceland. But why are they so consistently happy?
Some say it’s because they are small, homogenous, and wealthy. Several years ago, a research paper even suggested it was because they are genetically bound to be happier.
But according to the World Happiness Report (WHR), such theories are inaccurate.
S’More! S’More!: His Artisanal Marshmallows Were the Greatest. Then He Tried To Scale Them.
By Adam Rogers for Business Insider
He ran the company for Hershey for a year, then left to found a food-focused investment firm. But Krave had been more than a financial success. It created a whole new category in the snack industry. And Sebastiani found himself jonesing for that high. In search of it, he went to Paris. There — in cute bakeries, in nice shops, on haute dessert menus — he discovered next-level marshmallows.
The Rise and Fall of the Trad Wife
By Sophie Elmhirst for The New Yorker
At the Darling Academy, Pettitt wrote of a growing “apron-clad army,” fighting back against the haters. “I am part of a community of women who are from a vast array of ethnicities, cultures, and faith beliefs—and we all have a good laugh at this nonsense,” she said. “It isn’t racist or overtly conservative to want to be a good housewife and mother, it’s just common sense!” To the press, in which she was now appearing on a regular basis, she issued a broadside: “So long as you, the mainstream media, continue to try and cancel traditionalism, and the at-home role of the wife and mother—you’ll see me in the opposite corner ready to fight for it.”
Declare war and you’ll soon discover enemies.
Last but not least
