Over a year ago I was on a quest. I wanted to share with a friend a talk given at the 2000 BYU Women’s Conference about the simple things we can do to make a home. I searched and searched but with no luck. The only way to share the talk, “Who Sweeps a Room,” by Nancy Young was to send her my copy of the book Arise and Shine Forth. It is by far one of my favorite talks, full of scriptural examples, and beautiful accounts from literature.
In all my searching, though, I came upon a gem! A publication called The Storybook Home Journal, produced by the Young family.
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| (the contents in the Deephaven (by Sarah Orne Jewett) issue) |
Replete with wonderful photos and artwork each issue (six per year) is full of ideas for creating a more pleasing home. All aspects of homemaking from recipes to gardening to music to art to decorating are covered. The best part? The ideas for each issue come from a beloved classic in literature! Definitely right up my alley.
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| (Cent shop gingerbread cookies in The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne) |
I have loved every issue I received this past year. From making Cent Shop Gingerbread Cookies in The House of the Seven Gables issue to Talking over a Ball in Austen in Autumn (yes, a whole issue dedicated to Jane!) each one has been a special treat.
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| (Building Freckles Room from A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter) |
Along with my subscription I also ordered some back issues. Thank goodness you can do that! Little House in the Big Woods and A Girl of the Limberlost have been big hits around here, as I knew they would be.
The upcoming issues for this year have me giddy with excitement, especially Summer with Eleanor H. Porter. My all time favorite children’s book is Just David (read it for free here). I hope, I hope, I hope it makes an appearance in that issue!
I look forward every other month to The Storybook Home making its way into my mailbox. It brings me simple pleasure.
What brings you simple pleasures?
The illistrations are beautiful. I am sure the content is as well, but the pictures really draw you in. Thanks for the link, I will have to go check it out.
I wanted to tell you thank you for the wonderful things you have been posting on your blog the past few weeks. I’ve always enjoyed reading your blog, but all this new info about homemaking and creating is just exciting to me. I ordered a subscription to the magazine you spoke about today. I love that kind of thing!!!! So thank you for all this. I find your blog uplifting and interesting AND I’m learning new things.
Amy
Oo-ooh! Cocoa!! This is the Young family that produced Elspeth Young! Did you know? She is their daughter. (See the article I linked to in my comment on your Elspeth Young post).
@Michelle, Oh I know! That is how I found Elspeth’s artwork while searching for Nancy’s talk and stumbling upon their family website. They are certainly a very talented family and I’m so glad they are sharing their talents with us!
@Amy, thank you for your kind words. The Storybook Home Journal is one of those things I thought, “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this before?”
Can I be like you when I grow up? 🙂
Wow! I grew up in the same ward as Nancy, I was very lucky to have her as a Sunday School teacher as a teenager, and her house is amazing-so beautiful inside and outside.
Is there a way to find these articles without ordering the magazine? I’m not sure my husband would approve of LDS literature being in the house :-/ but I’d love to read some of the articles in here. Would there be a place that I could go to just read them?
@Rebecca, You can look at sample pages here. Just scroll to the very bottom of the page and you’ll see that option. Though they are produced by a family who are LDS, there is no mention of religion at all in any of the journals. HONEST! All of the articles are strictly about the piece of literature they focus on, giving some history to the time period, explaining recipes, etc. After viewing the sample pages you could also try ordering just one issue to look at and see.
these are beautiful! I totally missed the art post til now–one of my daughters has a Biblical name as well…and I love the print!