Cloistered Away
is a lifestyle blog, focused on simple, purposeful family living, written by Bethany Douglass.
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one equal temper of heroic hearts
I gave Mark a wallet for father’s day in June with the last line from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Ulysses, “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” I might have inscribed the last seven
fresh flowers in the late summer home
A small bundle of fresh flowers for the home can be water for the soul, especially in these late summer months when the temperatures soar and the fields lie crispy and parched. I tend to
printing childhood artwork + homeschool notebooks
Childhood art is magnificent, isn’t it? Children have a way of seeing and coloring the world in the early years without the constraints of reality, without the pressure of perfection. I’m not exactly sure why or
an open letter to a homeschooling mother
Dear mother, I’ve been thinking lately about the looming school year and also about this oppressive heat, how every living thing seems to wither under it. “And consider, always, every day, the determination of the grass
simply living | a webinar to clarify your daily routine
To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work. ― Mary Oliver On my personal (and familial) quest to live more simply, I have learned one overarching truth: simple and easy are not always the same. Living simply requires
nurturing the whole self | unplugging
Consider the regular practice of unplugging a cleanse for the soul, an opportunity to listen to both yourself and others in a different way. Like many thirty-somethings, I am old enough to remember life prior to the internet, before
a sample meal plan for summer
I regularly have people ask me how I plan our family meals, and also how I include the kids in the kitchen. I’ve been working on a small upcoming project regarding this topic, which I’ll have more on
for the weekend | an outing to the garden shop
When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save
cultivating kindness in children
A simple act or word of kindness can be a light for the soul, so can be a listening ear. From personal experience, the two are not entirely separate. During those playful and harrowing toddler and