Oona Out of Order. Dear Ijeawele. The Children of Willesden Lane. The Family Upstairs. Suburban Nation. Happy City.
architecture
The kid’s book was the best: Book reviews
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Recipe for a Perfect Wife. Good As Gone. Home from Nowhere.
Earth Sightseeing: Pittsburgh’s North Side
If you've been sticking close to some other place on Earth, maybe a little photo journey to the exotic North Side will be just the refreshment you need to feel less trapped!
How to Build a Gym in Your Hallway
This article by Daniel gives more detail about one of the space-saving ideas listed in Becca's article at Kitchen Stewardship: I’ve enjoyed rock climbing since I was pretty young, but these days I don’t actually get out to climb on rocks very often. I do tend to climb on stuff at the playground when I take … Continue reading How to Build a Gym in Your Hallway
Eco-Friendly Kitchen Renovations
We Earthlings are planning to renovate and slightly expand our small, shabby, 1950s kitchen, so I'm very interested in this guest post by Sofia Lockett, a freelance writer based in Auckland, who is passionate about travel, technology and innovation. Sofia has written for New Zealand businesses such as seacontainers.co.nz. Kitchens are the heart of the … Continue reading Eco-Friendly Kitchen Renovations
Houses Built from Plastic Water Bottles!
This guy in Panama is building a village of houses whose walls are insulated with empty plastic beverage bottles! Click through to watch the video. This is a really great idea for making use of garbage, reducing construction costs, and building well-insulated homes that will require less energy to cool or heat. BUT! This is … Continue reading Houses Built from Plastic Water Bottles!
4 Eco-Friendly Modifications for Your Foreclosed Home Purchase
This is a guest post by Paul Denikin, author of DadKnowsDIY.com. Paul began learning the ins and outs of do-it-yourself home repair while making his home better fit and more accessible for his daughter, Maggie, who has special needs. Paul wants to continue to help special needs parents like himself, and offer them a source for … Continue reading 4 Eco-Friendly Modifications for Your Foreclosed Home Purchase
Books from Other Cultures: Japan, Sweden, Louisiana…
I didn't specifically plan to read about foreign cultures in 2016, but the books I got for Christmas happened to include three translated from Swedish, one translated from Japanese, one set in rural Louisiana, and one about houses around the world--so these are what I've been reading! I reviewed the other two Swedish books last … Continue reading Books from Other Cultures: Japan, Sweden, Louisiana…
Eco-Friendly Building Materials for Your Home
This is a guest post from the staff of Modernize.com, a site for home ideas and inspiration. The Earthling's Handbook is not affiliated with any of the businesses whose products are linked here, and the editors of The Earthling's Handbook have not used any of these products in our own home--but we strongly encourage recycling … Continue reading Eco-Friendly Building Materials for Your Home
My 9-Year-Old Architect
I love drawing floor plans--even though I failed to become an architect--so I looked forward to illustrating my article about how we rearranged our home to make space for our new baby Lydia. I thought this also would be a great opportunity to learn to use TouchDraw, a drafting app I'd bought for my iPad … Continue reading My 9-Year-Old Architect
Why I’m Sleeping in the Dining Room
Welcome to the September 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Home Tour This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have opened up their doors and given us a photo-rich glimpse into how they arrange their living spaces. *** … Continue reading Why I’m Sleeping in the Dining Room
How We Survive Without Air Conditioning
Today's Works-for-Me Wednesday lead article is about staying cool in the summertime. The author lives in Texas, where it is a lot hotter right now than it is here in Pennsylvania--but we do get hot weather here, we've had several 90-degree days already this year, and we know a lot of people here who think … Continue reading How We Survive Without Air Conditioning
Our Favorite Publisher of Affordable Books
I recently had a birthday and was very pleased to be given three books from Dover Publications. Daniel knows that I can never get enough floor-plan books, and Dover prints gobs of great ones! They also have a wide selection of nonfiction, classic fiction, children's books, coloring books, how-to-draw books, clip-art collections, puzzle books, nature … Continue reading Our Favorite Publisher of Affordable Books
How a silly Website brought me a great book
I have been a fan of passiveaggressivenotes.com for some time now. It's one of those sites that perfectly utilizes the Internet's awesome power to collect silly things seen around the world. It almost always can make me laugh in that wonderfully sudden way that really dispels stress. Last summer, I saw a note posted there … Continue reading How a silly Website brought me a great book
7 Quick Takes on visiting New York City again after 21 years
I grew up in Oklahoma, visiting my grandparents in New York City every summer from age 6 to 14. Then my grandma died, and my grandpa began spending most of his time in Arizona. I had two more brief visits in New York before he sold the house when I was 17. I had thought … Continue reading 7 Quick Takes on visiting New York City again after 21 years
Our Neighborhood Public School Works for Us!
Today is my son's last day of kindergarten! This has been his first year in public school, and we are very pleased with our neighborhood public school, Pittsburgh Colfax. It's a great example of how an urban school can thrive when faculty encourage parent involvement. On "Take Your Special Person to School Day" last month, … Continue reading Our Neighborhood Public School Works for Us!
Tips for a Tiny Kitchen
I saw this article on how to make the most of a small kitchen--with over 200 helpful comments!--and realized I have learned some things about this in my years of making do with smallish kitchens. The 3 places we've lived in the past 15 years all had kitchens under 100 square feet, but we were … Continue reading Tips for a Tiny Kitchen
A family trip to Wheeling, West Virginia
Today is the backwards edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, when writers get to ask for help, so I'll start with a question: We are planning to visit New York City this summer. Our son is six years old. What are some things we should be sure to see, do, eat, etc.? I visited my grandparents in … Continue reading A family trip to Wheeling, West Virginia
Reflections on a Bathroom Renovation
(I really, really want to say "Restroom Renovation" just for the alliteration, but I know this article will be more relevant to people searching for "bathroom renovation," so I'm stuck with this title!) We had our house's main bathroom completely renovated last month. We are thrilled with it and learned some things in the process … Continue reading Reflections on a Bathroom Renovation
Steel Kitchen Cabinets!
Our house was a bargain, priced about $40,000 less than similar houses in the immediate area. Our realtor said, "Well, it's a bargain to you because you like the kitchen. Most people would expect to spend about $40,000 totally redoing the kitchen." Yes, we're charmed by our kitchen decor, which dates from the 1950s: pink … Continue reading Steel Kitchen Cabinets!
The Earthling's Handbook 