Friday Love

I’ve been enjoying round-up posts all over the blog-o-sphere, and I thought I’d round up some links as a send off to the weekend, too:

• Yesterday I gathered lavender and made lavender wands. I used this tutorial from Herbal Lifestyle and nine stalks of lavender. The first two rounds are a bit tough, but then the weaving is easy. This would be a great project with kids!
• Lemon Sour Cream pie turns out to be quite refreshing on a hot summer’s evening. I used low-fat condensed milk and sour cream, and it tasted great.
• The fabulous Word Strumpet Charlotte Rains Dixon was kind enough to share my thoughts about writing and travel.
• You can listen to me chat about writing with Robert Wall on his Minimalism for the Rest of Us Podcast (episode 21, though you won’t regret listening to any episode!)
• I made Cookie & Kate’s summer squash salad with lemon citronette yesterday. I don’t want to eat anything else. Ever. Except lemon sour cream pie. (I’m seeing a lemon theme here!)
• Creativebug is free to join, and there are some charming free videos. I especially liked the Sketching with Alison of Kata Golda
• Even though I’m a big grown-up girl (aka woman), I adore Amy Poehler’s Smart Girl videos.
• Courtney Carver talks some common sense talk about choreless weekends.
• If you need a little fix of Paris, you can’t go wrong visiting Anne Ditmeyer’s site.
• The charming Rebekka Seale makes my favorite desktop calendars.
• It’s the last day to board the Starship with Tara Swiger. Crafty-preneurs, you’ll love working with Tara!

I’m taking tomorrow off from all activities except reading, writing, and painting. I’ve been waiting for a quiet day to delve into Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane. What are your plans?