northern life
I didn’t realize the depth of my unmet need for outdoor adventure until I hastily concocted a winter tent camping trip over lunch one day with a co-worker. While I love exploring with my family, I read Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail thru-hiking memoirs all winter, and I am consumed by a longing to hike to […]
When Beatrice was little, people said to us all of the time, “She’ll sleep well tonight!” And we always laughed, but inside we thought, “Nope, she’s going to sleep the same as she does every night, because she’s always this active.” Since then I love to ask other parents what comment they hear most […]
Like we often do, because great minds think alike, Jen and I decided independently to get standing desks this year. If you’ve read any of the research, they are calling sitting the new smoking, and saying that even if you exercise regularly you cannot overcome the adverse affects of sitting at your work all day. I’ve […]
Forget filling your car with hand warmers and signal flares, true winter survival is about keeping your spirits up and your eyes on the prize (i.e. spring). Here’s a foolproof recipe to help you survive winter a.k.a. enjoy our fourth season. First, get comfortable. Head to your favorite pharmacy/co-op/Amazon and fill your cart with Vitamin D, a […]
Last year in Minnesota there was no winter. No, really. None. I went for a run in short sleeves on a sunny 50 degree Christmas day. It rained all day on New Year’s. The grass was green and the garden growing by March, and for a region in which snow in May is commonplace, spring […]
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My very first post for Borealis was recapping a backpack-in-to-a-cabin trip to Lake Maria State Park that my husband and I took with then 9-month-old Beatrice. It was one of those trips that barely tipped the scales into the “worth it” category. We had ran around beforehand scrambling to pack everything up. When we arrived […]
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Practical gifts can really show how well you know someone, what you notice about them, and that you know what they love to do. A gift that makes their favorite (or necessary) tasks a little easier or more enjoyable is a thoughtful one that you know won’t be gathering dust. Here are some we […]
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Welcome to our third gift guide — edible gifts! Because it’s already the second week of December we’re skipping the homemade food gifts and focusing on ones you can buy. (But if you’ve still got time to DIY, check out our tutorials for: hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows, soup mix in a jar, and spice […]
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The second in our gift-guide series: personalized gifts. These are some of our favorite gift options that we return to Christmas after birthday after Mother’s Day. They are a lot of fun to make, order, and give, and the high-quality online options available make it easy to find a gift that is both stylish and […]
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We are almost ready to share our next gift guide — our favorite personalized gifts — and to kick it off we are thrilled to introduce you to custom jewelry designer K Kay Designs and her beautiful work! Kirstin makes hand-stamped, hand-forged metal jewelry with a funky, modern flair. Her silhouettes are fresh and new, […]
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This is the first in series of four holiday gift guide posts. Most of our favorite holiday gifts fall in four categories — cozy, practical, edible, and personalized — so we decided to do a holiday gift guide around each theme. Here is the first one — cozy gifts! Minnetonka Moccasins makes the best […]
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Every year for the last four years we’ve gotten our Christmas tree from a tree farm. This is something I’d always wanted to do, but when we had babies and were both working we just opted for the greenhouse, where it is warm, quick, and they shake, bag, and tie your tree to your car […]
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