sometimes a little word like "do" can be pretty wordy...

At the beginning of 2015 I wrote:

"I declare 2015 the year of action. I've realized that I've had time to reflect, to savor and appreciate... years of planning, of saying "in a three to five years _____ will happen"... I am now ready for a year to put my passions and dreams into action {as well as continue to dream, savor, appreciate}.  Each day, each week I am accomplishing mini goals, important steps to be more where I want to be.  Living a locally centered life in a relatively clutter-free home while saving + preparing for the future. All of these things are on the front burner now - financially, physically, mentally. I'm feeling very much on top of my goals for 2015. 

This is all happening because I've done some great reflections, pretty in-depth planning and research. Now is the time to start carrying out my carefully laid plans.  Each day I'm reminding myself to just 'do' something."

Wow. Some amazing things happened in 2015. We. Did. So. Much. 

Home renovations, savings, buying a new home, preparing our first home for the next family who will live there... so much good stuff. I can't even list it all.

"DO" was the PERFECT word for me in 2015.

My 15 in 2015 {3/15}

1. Simplify. 

2. Read.

3. Experience.

4. Taste.

5. Create.

6. Rest.

7. Search.

8. Learn.

9. Photograph.

10. Enjoy.

11. Express.

12. Save.

13. Appreciate.

14. Make.

15. Do.

Now that the year is quickly pulling to a close, I have to finish up my reflections and move on.

 2015, you were just plain fantastic. Thanks for all you did.

.:holidays on the homestead 2015:.

well, we are enjoying our first winter holiday season in our new home.

just a few decorations, a little baking and cooking, and many traditions to establish.

good eats, great tunes, enjoying time together. we even took a short hike this year - because 50 degrees in december. we are so grateful to make this house our home.

we ended our 2015 with two people, one {little} farm-dog, two house-cats, and eight chickens living on our 5 acre lot. i can't wait to see how all our work in 2016 will make our home so very us by this time next year.


happy holidays!

A Bookworm's 2015 Bookshelf: What I Read This Year

Yep, 2015 was a year full of books. And a year for the books! 

I enjoyed re-reading a few novels as well as finding a few important "book lists" to help me select some fantastic reads this year. 

::My Reading List of 2015::

Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Messenger by Lois Lowry

Son by Lois Lowry

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

Books One, Two and Three from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

One - The Bad Beginning

Two - The Reptile Room

Three-The Wide Window

Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner

Cold Antler Farm: A Memoir of Growing Food and Celebrating Life on a Scrappy Six-Acre Homestead by Jenna Woginrich 

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

I re-read the Harry Potter series as well

(just trying to remember what all my students are talking about)

::I enjoyed these stories as audio books this year::

Paper Towns by John Green

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

What was your favorite read of the year? Let me know in the comments below!

around these parts {+ on my bookshelf}

well, i've got a few books to recommend today...

i recently read...

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman and really enjoyed it. there were several chapters that had me teary-eyed and two afternoons where i couldn't put the book down.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and man i got sucked in! just after a few chapters i was hooked into the story and wanting to learn more about the characters.

i've been requesting books from a few "books you just can't put down" lists {like this one from buzzfeed + this one from Modern Mrs. Darcy} and other titles at the library that just look entertaining or inspiring. where do you find titles that you plan to read?

An Exceptional Fourth Wedded Anniversary

over the weekend my husband and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary! 

on friday we drove to bloomington, indiana for a visit! 

just relaxing... a few treats, some shopping, a couple of breweries and an art museum. the kind of weekend where nothing needs to be planned out - but a lady can wear a dress if she likes!

{some of our favorites from the weekend}

FARM Bloomington - serious brunch on saturday morning. 

the walk thru Indiana University's campus was BEAUTIFUL!

SOMA Coffeehouse was a nice quiet stop for us to grab drinks after a long walk thru campus 

{and not over-the-top-sweet beverages either}

a wine tasting at Oliver Winery - they have the cutest little pond + picnic area. 

we had the best burgers + fries at Upland Brewing Co.

we sampled several great brews at Function Brewing

we hit up Hopscotch Coffee on our way out of town for cold brews to go. 

i was so thankful for the time to just hang out with my favorite guy - hand in hand strolling thru the bloomington entertainment and arts district {BEAD}.  i'm a lucky mrs. for sure. 

all the happiest anniversary wishes to you, dear j. you are tops on my list and i'm ready to start up our fifth wedded year! xo ;)

some of the links in this post take you to the shops + businesses that we enjoyed over our visit - just simply sharing the love. if you'd like to read about our past anniversaries click away for our first, second, and third. 

garden + homestead update {july 2015}

so you may remember that i had big - big dreams for my garden this summer. well, it is interesting when real life happens and how much work just one or two of your {other} big visions take...

this summer we've focused our extra time and energy on a few home projects and our lovely little chickens.

this means i haven't moved our garden beds to a sunnier spot yet. nor have i planted them. i'm dedicating more of my food growth/prep time to canning and using up {or putting up} what our great CSA brings us. we were early adopters of one of our local CSAs and man after a few years of working out what to supply they are bringing the veggies I tell you!

so as to what we've actually done this summer with our garden plans... our coop is perfect! my husband out did himself this time and i love how it has turned out. we even cleared a little portion of our back yard to place the girls back in a mostly shady area that we think they really enjoy {think low branches for roosting and pine needles for scratching}. we are into a great little routine with our girls and they've decided that i am the source of food and my husband is the source of loud, unpredictable noises - such as mowing the lawn, or general wood-maker/saw sounds. it is pretty great. i love the chickens just as much as i thought i would.

we have a few finishing touches to put on the coop + run. so i'll just have to promise a super tour sometime soon.

as for what's next... i'm thinking about canning up local tomatoes, hoping for the time to make roasted red pepper ketchup and then maybe even making a year's worth of salsa.

how about you, enjoying summer's bounty? what are you growing? canning?


*I'm happy to also note that I just added this blog post to the {Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop #10} click ::here:: to check out some of the great posts featured on this link up!

sew lovely::a few significant stitches

i had gotten into a bit of a sewing rut. where many other things always seemed more important of a task and i just didn't get out my machine.

plenty of little project ideas, and even all the materials to do them.

but yesterday. that was the day. the day to put a few stitches on the studio curtains. 

short. simple. needed.

needed for me. and for those windows.

how about you? any good stitches lately? 

moments in the kitchen :: summer kitchen fun

okay my dears! we are in the thick of it... summer kitchen excitement!

i've been busy with pickling, smoothie + kombucha making and veggie chopping a plenty. i think it is time for sharing some links as a way to celebrate july in the kitchen...

making the best refrigerator dill pickles known to the history of cucumbers. {even my dear gal pal kaytie thinks so!}

trying out this banana ketchup recipe and making enough to freeze a jar.

and considering making this mango jam recipe to be showcased during an upcoming brunch at our house.

How about you? Loving some summertime cooking in the kitchen? I'd love to know more about it!



**I added this post to Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop #9...  click on over to check out all the fun links!

Completion of a 30 Day Declutter {Part 2}

yes, today i'm declaring a happy dance dedicated to my second 30 day declutter! this time i removed 465 unneeded things from my life! {read about my first work and triumph here + here}

i did a few things different this round of the 'minimalist game'...

1. i did it {mostly} on my own. 
my husband added an item or two here or there when he found something he really wanted us to get rid of. but this was a more personal quest.
2. i declared a war on all clutter in my life - not just my home. 
i pulled unneeded things not only from my closet - but also the car as well as my classroom {many of my desk drawers and shelves are already super ready for the fall!}
3. i did some painful separation with clothing.
i have been thru my closets about a million times this year. i'm getting down to many favorites - or clothing items that i just really want to be my favorites. but somethings don't wear as nicely as they used to, or don't wash well anymore. i've let many past favorites go because i truly don't wear them anymore for some of these reasons.
4. i made it part of my tasks while tidying/setting up rooms in our home.
many of you might have read how i am creating a studio space for myself. it is currently in working order! which also means i intend to keep it that way - tossing out and donating goods that i just don't want happens as soon as i touch those materials. or on the flip side, hanging up/displaying favorite things as soon as i touch them remind me why i am trimming away the things i don't truly love.

what have you been doing to keep your home happy + healthy? i'd love to hear about it!

{2015::do} an update of taking action

I declared 2015 the year of action. Each week, each month I am accomplishing mini goals, important steps to be more where I want to be.  Living a locally centered life in a relatively clutter-free home while saving + preparing for the future. All of these things are on the front burner now - financially, physically, mentally. I thought it was time for a little update of my 2015 goals.  

 Each day I'm reminding myself to just 'do' something. Some things that I'm pretty pleased about so far this year...

using my fitbit to track my sleep + healthy movement 

creating a space to make

eating well, drinking water + simple menu planning

considering daily rituals + weekly routines

having fun + finding time to play

making plans -as well as time- for friends + family

continuing our budget + financial planning meetings

Check out my list of goals for this year:

My 15 in 2015 {6/15}

1. Simplify. 

2. Read.

3. Experience.

4. Taste.

5. Create.

6. Rest.

7. Search.

8. Learn.

9. Photograph.

10. Enjoy.

11. Express.

12. Save.

13. Appreciate.

14. Make.

15. Do.

...there are many more days of 2015 + I hope to do all that I can.

Have an awesome weekend!

Keeping Up with the Throwing Out of Clutter

Simplifying my life has been something I've been working on for a few years. I'm feeling more in control of my clutter and craziness every month. And actually completing a few larger efforts has really put me in the driver's seat.

However, some days it still feels unsurmountable. I feel as if I will always be participating in some major overhaul of freeing stuff. I really want to get to a place where things are manageable. Where everything has a place in our home.


What I'm trying:

asking the question - 'Does it bring me joy?': I find that often I have useful things that just are no longer needed now that I'm no longer interested in something or that I have doubles of tools. This makes it easy and I can simply select the one that I will keep. More of one thing doesn't make me happier. Being surrounded by useful, beautiful and important items brings me happiness.

decluttering 'by category' - which may not always link up to 'by room': If I'm working on something and I have everything that I need I try to assess what is extra and cut from there. Or if I'm putting away laundry and I have a stack of t-shirts then I can see how abundant this one specific category is... it is pretty easy to admit that I don't need thirty t-shirts to wear around the house.


Things that are working right now:

cherishing the progress: I've recently noticed how happy I feel in specific rooms ... they are so livable and open. These are rooms that we've done a major overhaul together - my husband and I - where we both had some say in what went and what stayed. Rooms that we set the way we wanted to and only allowed back the items that we truly loved and valued.

continuing the process: Each day I keep my eye out to grab things that I just plain don't need/want for example when I try on something to wear that I thought I truly loved and realize it doesn't wear nicely anymore I place it in my donate bag right away.

Now that it is summer break I've started a second minimalist game. This time I'm just cutting clutter from my life, work included, not just in our home. I think it will allow me to breathe a little more easily when it is time to return back to school in the fall. So far I'm really enjoying it! How about you, any plans to cut the extras? What is working for you?

Around these parts {nowhere to be expected}

A little spring holiday - that was what we decided we needed. To run away from it all. We both had vacation days scheduled, no need to head in for work.

Made some plans for the pets - a few friends and family members taking care of our four-legged roommates.

Us, the tent, our gear, + the car - no major plans, a few possible destinations, just get out-of-dodge...

So when we got out of the house... we found ourselves in our old town. {Let's just stop for dinner and a coffee} Favorite brewery, throwing darts, teasing + laughing. Nowhere to be expected. Why not just stay the night?


And just like that - our needed holiday was over. We jumped in the car and went right back to dodge. One night away was all it took.

And friends, that is how we ended up with a construction zone in our guest bathroom. Starting the project that we hadn't planned. A whole week's worth of time... that's right, nowhere to be expected.

We may just up + leave dodge for one more night... we'll see how the tile work goes.

Happy Spring Break.

Garden Thoughts for February 2015

February has been for planning the garden! 

I've got planting dates marked in my calendar and books about growing galore from the library.

I've also been doing some thinking about our chicken coop plans and the lay out of our yard...

Guide to Designing the Perfect Chicken Coop with One Acre Farm

I've been considering numbers of plants and counting up my need for seeds... 

How much should you plant in your garden? with The Well Fed Homestead

Oh! and reflecting on the blueberry bush we planted last year...

You Can Grow Blueberries with The Paleo Mama

I am getting myself so excited for this year's planting. 

How about you? Any great plans for the 2015 gardening season?

{2015::do} taking action

I declared 2015 the year of action. I've realized that I've had time to reflect, to savor and appreciate... years of planning, of saying "in a three to five years _____ will happen"... I am now ready for a year to put my passions and dreams into action {as well as continue to dream, savor, appreciate}.  Each day, each week I am accomplishing mini goals, important steps to be more where I want to be.  Living a locally centered life in a relatively clutter-free home while saving + preparing for the future. All of these things are on the front burner now - financially, physically, mentally. I'm feeling very much on top of my goals for 2015. 

This is all happening because I've done some great reflections, pretty in-depth planning and research. Now is the time to start carrying out my carefully laid plans.  Each day I'm reminding myself to just 'do' something. 

A few things that have been important to me as I've begun this year with "do" on my mind... in no particular order:

getting plenty of sleep + rest

scheduling time to "make"

eating well, drinking water + simple menu planning

considering daily rituals

having fun + finding time to play

creating usable spaces in our home

time for friends + family

working on our weekly routine

reading + crafting

healthy movement

making decisions and sticking to them

continuing our budget + financial planning meetings

I'm feeling pretty great about the first few weeks of this year and the momentum that is gaining...

Need some inspiration? Or motivation? Check out my list of goals for this year (already started!):

My 15 in 2015 {3/15}

1. Simplify. 

2. Read.

3. Experience.

4. Taste.

5. Create.

6. Rest.

7. Search.

8. Learn.

9. Photograph.

10. Enjoy.

11. Express.

12. Save.

13. Appreciate.

14. Make.

15. Do.

Or read a few choice words from Leo Babuata + his blog zenhabits on movitation:

Finding the Motivation to Change {+ Make it Happen Actions}

The Ultimate Guide to Motivation

Cutting Down on Sugar {reflection of my second Whole 30}

Over 30 Days have passed since I began a second Whole 30. This time through was difficult and I wasn't a perfect eater. However, I feel better than I did prior to starting and I lost about ten pounds! So I'm feeling pretty positive about my second Whole 30 experience!

I'm leaving this Whole 30 focusing on keeping forward motion and making healthy choices just a daily routine. Sure I might have some birthday cake this month for my niece and nephew... but I don't want to make it a weekly habit.

Our family is trying to figure out what we can enjoy as a healthy Whole 30-ish menu that gives us a little wiggle room for foods we love. Foods that are not compliant but foods we can still eat because they do not negatively  dictate our moods or cloud our thoughts {say oatmeal...} . I've just started really poking around the website whole9life.com to see the wisdom shared there and possibility let that inspire our upcoming meal plans and food choices.

I'll wrap up this reflection with a few tips that I thought about during these last 30 days.

Build Momentum + Make Eating Healthy Easier
It is definitely easier to turn down sweets after the first two weeks of Whole 30. Build on that and just keep staying away from all forms of sugar. When you sneak a little something it is very difficult to keep that sugar high off your mind and sweets away from your plate.

Bulk Prep + Stream Lined Planning
The final two weeks of our Whole 30 I really simplified meal planning. As in I made the week's worth of compliant breakfasts {one breakfast item that we ate daily - such as mini breakfast bakes} and the week's worth of compliant lunches on Sunday afternoon {also one main lunch dish that would be enjoyed with a fruit and large salad for the entire week's worth of lunches - such as a hearty soup or stew}. Then Monday and Tuesday I would make dinner, but make enough to eat several times. This meant I was buying in bulk and cooking in bulk and making very few menu decisions. It was automatic and simple and didn't give me the option to stray from the diet guidelines. We were not having loads of choices, but since our foods were based on healthy proteins and vegetables we were getting all the carbohydrates, calcium, and protein our bodies needed from maybe five to six total different meals over the entire week.

Make a Mistake + MOVE ON!
I wrote about my run-in with a bowl of ice cream. I forgave myself and then continued right on. If I would have made a huge deal I would have made more poor food decisions in the following days due to my guilt.

So, how about you? Try any great Whole 30 inspired recipes lately? Or healthy meals without a ton of sugar, gluten, or dairy? I'd love to hear about it!

30 Days of Declutter {Completed}

I am so thankful to write this post! We've survived {triumphantly} our month of the minimalist game. Yes 30 days of declutter. And declutter we did. 

Both myself and my husband decided to take on this challenge. Over 30 days we removed 960 unneeded items from our home. Wow. And it feels great! 

We are really noticing a difference in our house. Especially certain - mostly often used - spaces. We found it easy to identify items to remove from those common places. There is still more work, organizing and letting go to do but much has also been accomplished. We plan to take a little break while we are working on a studio space for me. But we will revisit the idea of maybe returning to the declutter challenge or something that might work for a more daily/weekly routine.

A few things that worked for us during our 30 day overhaul:

Leaving out a container for donations

Having a "catch all" bag or box in a central location was very helpful to aide in quick decisions. If I noticed something during daily life it made it so simple to quickly say goodbye and place it in the box. {We kept a running list to tally up our number to make sure we were on top of the challenge amount each day. We kept that in an obvious space as well.}

Virtual yard sale

My husband belongs to a local virtual yard sale group which allowed us to make a few bucks on some items that I had a hard time letting go. Nice, working items that we just didn't need. {I wanted to know that it was going to be used. Since I had hopes of using those things.} It wasn't a ton of money but it was a nice perk to grow our savings while slimming down our clutter.

Quick drop offs to Good Will

We did a quick trip to our local Good Will Donation Center twice or so a week in order to not have any second thoughts and to keep our pile of goods to a manageable amount. 

Setting a time to bulk declutter 

Two times during our month we got behind {typically during the work week} on our tally. When this happened we decided to dedicate some time on the weekend to get rid of many, many items {one day we completed the goal of finding 100 items to leave our home}.

Short bursts of declutter

Of course, there is the flip side - such as doing a quick walk through the house - finding ten items and then moving on for the day. 

Asking the hard questions

+Would I buy this again? (As inspired by this Pure Green Magazine Podcast)

+Can I find a replacement for this?

+Do I have time to fix this right now?

+Do I love and use this regularly?

+How many copies of this do I need?

It was amazing how as the month grew I would find myself picking up things thinking 'this is not worth the clutter it makes in our home' or 'I would rather be one item closer to my goal than keep this'. It was invigorating!

So, how about you? Any tips for declutter and managing the madness that we may unnecessarily keep in our homes?

Homegrown: Garden Dreaming

It may come as no surprise. But I've been doing a bit of garden dreaming these past few days. Making 'Garden Resolutions' and considering a schedule for this year. Last year I had a poor garden display. Partly my {lack of} doing, partly lack of sun, partly who knows...

In 2015, I'm moving on and hoping for a better year. I'm claiming a fresh start and making a few Garden Resolutions {as inspired by this post}

2015 Garden Resolutions

::grow fewer types of produce and more of what we actually eat {such as}::

• tomatoes
• peppers
• onions
• lettuce, spinach
• zucchini
• cucumbers
• potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• carrots
• garlic
• herbs: basil, thyme, bay, cilantro, rosemary, sage

::spend time on our food or garden everyday {cooking, prepping, menu planning, gardening, etc.}::

::grow flowers::

::make plans for chickens {and possibly carry out those plans - I've been just dying for a few layers}::

::plant a fruit tree::

::find ways that work for us to preserve some of our mushroom harvest::

I'm using January to read some gardening books, lay out my garden plan, and consider the year's schedule + flow. How about you, up to some garden dreaming? I'd love to hear about it. Just comment below!