The Fountains of Carrots Podcast

  When we found out we hadn’t read some of each other’s favourite books of all time, we decided to fix that by reading them at the same time and then talk about them on the podcast! Christy read one of Haley’s favourites, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell while Haley was told to read Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. These two books may seem to be completely different, except that they are both really fun to talk about!               Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an intricate fantasy about magic in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century, while Gaudy Night is a detective novel set in Oxford during the 1930’s. We chat about feminism, marriage, and the intellectual life with Gaudy Night, then talk about magic, evil, and an alternate history of England with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. This episode has a little of everything! We also talk about how we find time to read, what works best for us, and how we find the books we read. We hope you’ll share your favourite reads with us too, and maybe inspire you to pick up a little fantasy or detective fiction! You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.   Coming next week:   

    Hallie Lord is one of the loveliest bloggers around and if you’re married chances are you’ve read her inspiring posts on marriage at one time or another. Hallie is the author of two books and at least three blogs, a wife and mom to six with one on the way, a speaker, conference creator and planner, as well as a lovely lady with style for miles. Today we have a great chat with Hallie about a gamut of things including blogging, how she met her husband, the seasons of marriage and what we can do to keep our marriages a priority as well as take care of our spouses, her spicy ebook, and her newest project The Edel Gathering. We really think you’re going to feel like you’re having coffee with Hallie, it’s a great conversation. In this episode we talk about Hallie’s blogs. She currently writes at hallielord.com, but previously focused on marriage at the blog Moxie Wife. Her post which sparked a lot of discussion on how to spice up your sex life with your husband is entitled 15 Ways to Spice Up Your Marriage (Without 50 Shades of Grey). Hallie’s books Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter and Spice Up Your Marriage: A 28-Day Adventure are great reads, pick them up if you can! Follow Hallie: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter Also, more tickets have become available for The Edel Gathering this summer, and you can check out the website for all the good info about this wonderful conference. You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com Coming next week:    

    You’re in for a treat today (and a good laugh) because Kelly Mantoan is here discussing her new planner to help you organize the New Year! Kelly is the hilarious and honest voice behind the popular blog This Ain’t The Lyceum. She’s recently released a yearly planner, The Best Laid Plans, that includes weekly reflections with her characteristic humour and insight.     We talk about how to get a handle on the daily chaos of being a mom, scheduling homeschooling/school activities and extracurriculars for our kids, Kelly’s time machine, hosting Seven Quick Takes, Kelly’s speaking engagement at Edel this summer and how you can get her to speak at your next event, her legendary robe, as well as compare accents! And just a warning – we laugh a lot. Here are some of Kelly’s many hilarious posts we talk about in today’s episode: Livin’ Magazine Stitch Fixings The Homeschool Mom Capsule Wardrobe Jennifer Fulwiler’s podcast of her radio show in which she talks about Kelly’s performance at Edel 2014 (the episode is entitled Jen’s Opening Monologue from 11/06). The YouTube version of Kelly’s epic rapping performance. Kelly’s blog, as well as the hugely popular link-up Seven Quick Takes, can be found at thisaintthelyceum.org. Kelly can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You know you wanna follow her! You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming episodes, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com   Coming next week:        

      Today we are lucky to have journalist and author of the new book, , Arleen Spenceley on the podcast with us. Arleen has written a clear, yet thoughtful book, Chastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin on what chastity means and how to live chastely as a single person. We have a great discussion talking about the important differences between chastity and abstinence and why the two terms are not interchangeable, why chastity is for everyone not just single people, and what we can do to be thoughtful and considerate of our friends who happen to be single. Arleen’s book, Chastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin, is a great read for anyone, but if you’ve got single Catholic friends they’ll love hearing such an articulate presentation of what it really means to live chastely. Arleen’s blog can be found at arleenspenceley.com, she’s also on Twitter, and Facebook. (And a quick apology for the random crackling noise throughout this episode – it’s a mystery and I couldn’t figure out how to edit it out, but I promise to never let it happen again! – Christy) You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming episodes, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com We’ll be back in the New Year with a great episode with the hilarious Kelly Mantoan!     

          We love Advent Music (and Christmas music, of course)! Today Catholic musician, mom, recording artist, and friend of Haley’s Colleen Nixon joins us to chat about what songs we all look forward to every Advent, the importance of good sacred music especially in the Liturgy of the Mass, and our favourite little ways of observing Advent in our homes. We hope this gets you in the spirit of Advent and preparing for the great feast of Christmas! Colleen’s music can be found at her website colleennixon.com. She’s also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Marian Grace’s album In The Bleak Midwinter is the perfect album to have for your advent music mix, you can find it on iTunes! We also mentioned Advent at Ephesus by the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Heaven, Handel’s Messiah,  and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, which we really recommend for great sacred Advent music. We’ve written about what we love about Advent in the past as well. Christy has these posts: The Beauty of Advent Music and The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Advent. Haley has an Advent playlist here, as well as another post on Advent music here, and a roundup on celebrating all things Advent. As a surprise bonus, here’s Christy’s instagram of the moose outside her Canadian window:     But wait — there’s even more great stuff this week: Also, just in time for Advent – Haley’s new book, More Feasts! With 10 new, gluten free recipes inspired by liturgical feast days from the year, this new ebook is a easy way to celebrate the liturgical calendar while eating great food. There are also excellent spiritual reflections and ideas on how to celebrate from Haley and Daniel. To get yours for only $3.99 head on over to Carrots. (Haley’s first ebook is also on sale for just $4.99 for Advent, so these are a smoking deal!) Both Colleen and Haley are excited to be giving away, to one lucky winner, a copy of In The Bleak Midwinter and both of Haley’s books, Feast! and More Feasts!,  just  rafflecopter to win. a Rafflecopter giveaway

    In today’s episode we venture into a dearly beloved topic for us both: the British costume drama. We love em — if BBC has made it, we’ve watched it. We may get a little carried away and talk about it for about an hour, but we leave no stone-with-an-accent unturned and we hope this will give you great watching for all those late night nursing sessions, sick days, nights up late with sick babies, or laundry folding marathons. If we’ve missed any we’re dying to know of more! The Paradise: Season 1 Mr. Selfridge Lark Rise to Candleford Cranford North and South Wives & Daughters Foyle’s War Downton Abbey Seasons 1, 2, 3, & 4 The Forsyte Saga Daniel Deronda He Knew He Was Right The Way We Live Now The Buccaneers Aristocrats

  In today’s episode we have a terrific conversation about the Church’s teachings on sex, marriage, NFP, kids, and our culture with Jenny Uebbing, the eloquent writer behind the blog Mama Needs Coffee. Jenny devoted the month of October to writing about the Church’s teachings on sex and marriage: dispelling myths, setting out the theology behind the “no’s”, and proclaiming the greatness of family life. We really enjoyed talking with her in light of the recent Synod on the Family that recently took place at the Vatican. Links in this episode: Jenny’s blog Mama Needs Coffee and her series: Catholics Do What? (31 Days to Understanding the Catholic Church’s Teaching on Sex and Marriage). And find her on Facebook. Books on The Theology of the Body: Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility by Ted Sri Men and Women Are From Eden: A Study Guide to John Paul II’s Theology of the Body by Mary Healy Papal writings on sex and love: Humanae Vitae Encyclical Letter by Pope Paul VI Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology Of The Body by Pope John Paul II Endow Groups – Catholic Women’s Studies   Remember to follow us on iTunes and leave us a review. You can also listen to us on Android using Stitcher.  To find all episodes and show notes head to FountainsofCarrots.com.     Coming next week:    

      Welcome to our first foray into podcasting! We wanted to spend this episode sharing how we met and bonded online over Anne of Green Gable, how we started blogging, our shared Catholic faith, and a love of podcasts. We will also point out how vastly different the weather in Florida is from the weather in Canada and talk about marrying young. So grab a cup of coffee to spend a little time with friends. Our Blogs (just in case you didn’t already know): Carrots For Michaelmas (Haley’s post “10 Books You Must Read To Your Daughter”) Fountains of Home   Links: The Art of Simple Sorta Crunchy Molly Makes Do The Motherhood and Jane Austen Book Club by Nicole Bennett of Gidget Goes Home   Books: Northanger Abbey Anne of Green Gables   Podcasts we love: A Good Story Is Hard To Find How They Blog Podcast The Inspired to Action Podcast In Our Time Read-Aloud Revival This Inspired Life The Art of Simple Podcast    You can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes here, and Stitcher for Android devices. Remember to listen to all episodes and for all the show notes, head to fountainsofcarrots.com . And to follow along for all the latest episodes and upcoming guests like our page on Facebook. Stay tuned for next week’s episode: an in-depth and insightful conversation about sex and Catholic teaching with the great Jenny Uebbing of Mama Needs Coffee!