Things I love.....

So as I've been reading up on how to become more self reliant and teach myself how to have my little back yard farm, I've come across a few blogs and websites I love!

•  http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/site that has tips, recipes, photography, design and a ton more!
• http://www.homegrownevolution.com/ amazingly educating
• http://www.fourgreenacres.com/ love it!
• http://www.thetanglednest.com/ one of my favorites....
• http://www.backyardchickens.com/
• http://www.poorgirlgourmet.com/

I'm sure I can find a few more blogs I'm obsessed with these days!


I just can't seem to get enough when it comes to reading about what others are doing to better their lives and our world...I used to be the one that made fun of people that made such a big deal about how we live and waste everyday. How we waste and take advantage of what we have on a daily basis. I can see it now..my friends will start to think I've lost my mind and label me one of "those" tree huggers...or as we call a couple of friends of ours "dirty hippies"....


These are some things I'd like to put on our "honey do" list:

• Rain Barrel system, first we need gutters!
• Build out 3 system compost bins out of the pallets we can get from work
• Expand our existing garden (we're doing this very soon!!)
• Buy a chest freezer...so we can start freezing what we can't eat!
• Start buying local fresh chicken, pork and beef to put in the above noted freezer!

I recently bought a sign that hangs in our kitchen that says "Simplify your Life"....its very simple, but to the point and it stares at you when you enter our house......That's my goal, is to simplify our lives and enjoy this change that I seem to be going through....

My happiness in life is evolving to things like: my new clothesline that my husband put up for me...the smell of the clothes off the line is so yummy and the feeling I get of not using our dryer is like how I used to feel when I bought new shoes!!

My new clothes line!

Remember...Simplify your Life....take a tiny step and go through a drawer or cabinet a day and get rid of what you haven't used in the last 6 months....More to come!

And so it begins...

I've recently had an epiphany...I'm changing from a woman who valued material things like expensive handbags, labels that I couldn't afford, to someone who is appalled by such things. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy looking at a gorgeous Kate Spade bag from a distance, but own anymore of them....I don't think so.

When did this change happen? I'd say the timing was around my recent July vacation to a camp that I've gone to since I was a child. Every year myself, my 3 boys and my husband (married since February 2010!) go to this wonderful escape we call camp on Hot Brook Lake, Danforth Maine.

It's about 5 hours away from us and we spent a glorious 7 days filled with fishing, drinking, reading, napping, eating and playing plenty of UNO at night....During this time I began to realize as I watched the locals enjoy the "bare" minimum they lived off that hey, maybe I can downsize some of my crap I have at home and learn to be less materialistic and more comfortable with "less".

During this vacation, we had the chance to go visit my mom and step dad at their new farm house in Maine. They recently bought the house, old farm and the 80 acres to begin their retirement years together. At first I was like "why would anyone want to live out in the middle of no where"..but I quickly realized that (a) its not in the middle of no where and (b) ITS AMAZING!

They have acres of raspberry bushes, enough garden space to have multiple gardens if they choose, an old chicken coop and outdoor run that could hold 20 chickens and a house that screams "Martha Stewart Approved!"

Sitting on their front porch I started to see my husbands point of view about living on less and living in a country setting. For years I've always said I wanted to end up living in NYC and enjoying the culture, food, entertainment and hustle and bustle it brings to its many. But now, I've completely changed my outlook and the thought of living in the city makes me sweat!

The next visit we made that added to my revelation was to my dad and my step moms amazing farm also way up in Maine. They live on approximately 23 acres, have a large barn, garage with an apartment over it (which they lived in for 6 months while building their house!) house with plenty of guest rooms and a huge wrap around deck facing the mountains....

They also have Black Angus beef critters they raise and sell.....oh and did I mention the HUGE garden they have and root cellar with all of their home canned goodies! I'm not talking a small root cellar, I'm talking "the end of the world" root cellar. The kind of stow away that can hold a seasons bounty, some great wine and then some. Plus, they have their own grow room for seedlings to jump start their garden early.

All of this combined made me come home after these 2 trips to realize a couple of things:

1. I want to have backyard chickens, 4 would be good....

2. I want our existing garden to be much larger, even get rid of half of our lawn if needed..who needs grass!

3. Hang my clothes out on a line..the old school kind that goes from my house to the big tree in our yard...(Done!)

4. Learn to can vegetables, pickles, jams & jellies! (taking a class this week!)

5. Make my life more simplified..as well as getting my 3 sons and husband on board.

6. Make and sell handmade soaps (learned through my stepmom Linda!)

7. Be happy with less!

I'm very excited to start this journey and am reading everything I can get my hands on as well as online postings and blogs.

Chicken Coop pics will be posted soon! Chickens will hopefully come to live with us mid September!