Recipe books - can you have too many?

Recipe books have always been a source of inspiration and comfort to me. Perhaps this is from a family tradition of loving recipes - cooking and baking and food preservation have been about sustenance and creativity for generations. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and grandmothers sharing recipes with each other, friends and neighbors.

As I moved out on my own, one of my feelings of independence was acquiring my own recipes and collection of recipe books. My recipe book collection tends to grow and then I reduce it, keeping my favorites and copying out the favorite recipes in the books that I decide to pass along. I have been wrestling with finding a more comprehensive digital solution other than the few hundred recipes I have in Evernote. There is still something so special about paging through a book and looking at great photography and reading stories from the author. I tend to skim over all the good stuff when using an online option.

A few ways that cookbooks have been inspiring me lately...

A recent podcast episode - Happier with Gretchen Rubin, episode 169 - gave me a great gift idea. In an interview with author Joanna Cole, she shared a tried this at home tip. She buys two of the same cookbooks and she keeps one at home and one at work. She uses this for a convenience strategy when she needs to plan dinner and possibly make a stop at the store on the way home. She also uses this as a gift for parents who are working outside the home. This seems so brilliant!

A friend has been making a recipe a week from Joanna Gaines book Magnolia Table: A collection of recipes for gathering. She is combining making great food with gathering great friends. What a fantastic way to build community and enjoy delicious food and feed the need to create. So thankful to know about this tradition.

For the past couple of years, when a new cookbook is released that has been on our list of "must gets," I will buy two copies and gift one to my mom. It's fun to each explore the book and then share our observations and the recipes we want to make. We are lucky that only a few miles separate us, and I can imagine that if we lived further apart that this practice would possibly be any more meaningful.

My dad is great about finding us recipe books at auctions. One of my favorite things is to flip through books, especially the compilation books that church and community groups have made. It is even more precious to find handwritten notes from the previous owner that comment on the recipe. What a treasure!

Made with Love by Nice People for Nice People

As we have built our business, we have always loved the amazing people we meet. We are very lucky that the type of work that we do allows us to connect with some interesting, and while different, still like-minded people. And, nothing feels better than meeting someone and immediately having something in common and the building on that commonality over time. Even if that commonality is restoring an old building, or the detail on an old piece of furniture, or the character of a rusty old kid's wagon.

A little sappy. A little cheesy. We'll take it!

We have had a motto that we make nice things for nice people. (Or, sometimes find nice things for nice people.) It's the nice people who are the DAY MAKERS!

Some of the nicest people just sent photos of some of their finds at The Market. We were really humbled and pleased to see these things in their space. So special.

 These large signs have been really popular this spring. The natural wood frame makes them a favorite.

 The barn door has been looking for a forever home for a little while. We have loved it for the character and this spot is perfect! Notice the wire pull for a handle and the remaining rusty hinge.

The found several barn wood bookcases and they were the center of several displays. We were glad to see them find good homes.

 We repurposed wine staves with some salvaged canteen holders to make planters. These would also make great organizers.

Our wine barrel pub tables are still some of my favorites. We love the look of this table in this space.

Nice things for Nice People.What a great reason to keep going!