Friends, I am absolutely giddy to share our Yoderbilt greenhouse with you! After the last incredibly hard few weeks of navigating COVID-19 both personally & within our business, this beautiful space has served as such a refuge.
If you haven’t yet heard of Yoderbilt, they are an amazing Arkansas-based small business that designs & constructs greenhouses for backyard gardeners, small farmers & more!
Working with Yoderbilt is an absolute dream. You can custom design nearly every feature of your greenhouse from the size to the stain color of the wood. You can also add electricity along with custom shelves & tables built inside.
The greenhouse arrives fully assembled & is put in place using small machinery. Once it arrives, you can immediately get to work!
Our twin-wall polycarbonate greenhouse is 12ftx16ft with Yoder Gray stain. We added the electricity package & had custom shelves built inside. It is placed on the side of our garden, which we plan to double in size & wrap around the greenhouse this year.
We have so many plans for this space as time & money allow. We hope to add an outdoor washing station on the back along with raised herb beds on the side. I cannot wait to add large pots of blooming bushes in the front along with pea gravel & a small table with chairs for sitting. I’d also love to add a beehive or two, but Luke’s not yet convinced, ha!
I have slowly begun to transform the inside of our greenhouse with what we already had on hand along with a couple of new additions. We want this space to be a practical place to start seeds & grow plants, but we also want it to be an inviting space we enjoy spending time in.
I gathered all of my terra cotta pots & garden hand tools that were stored in our shed & now they’re conveniently displayed & ready for use. I purchased this hook rack, which works wonderfully for hanging tools, brooms & more.
I also brought my lime tree inside the greenhouse & plan to add many more fruit trees later this season! Can you imagine enjoying limes & lemons this winter? I am so excited!
In addition, Luke setup wifi along with a bluetooth speaker & I added a desk to the corner so that I can utilize the greenhouse as a second office! It’s really such a delight to check off computer work & answer emails to the sound of birds & the views of the garden just outside.
We also hung edison bulb string lights from the rafters. You can purchase similar lights here. There are light fixtures included, but we love the ambiance of twinkle lights as we work.
This space is, of course, the perfect spot for planning our garden & starting seeds. This past weekend, we spent time planning out where we want each crop to go (we’re growing quite a few varieties of seeds for my sister-in-law’s wedding this October! So exciting!) & starting early summer seeds.
If you have never started seeds indoors, here is a step-by-step guide that Luke created last year. We have always made do, starting seeds from our kitchen table & transporting them to a makeshift shelf with grow lights near our sliding glass door. Our Yoderbilt greenhouse is such an upgrade & the built-in slatted shelves are the perfect size for the trays.
I cannot wait to share more with you as we grow within & add to this space!
If you are interested in purchasing your very own Yoderbilt greenhouse, they are currently delivering within 250 miles of their manufacturing location in Mansfield, Arkansas. For more information, you can visit their website here. Mention “Natalie Creates” & receive two FREE 8ft shelves with your greenhouse purchase (a $200 value)!
*Please note this greenhouse was gifted to our family by Yoderbilt in order to promote gardening, homesteading & year-round growing/harvesting within greenhouses. All opinions & thoughts are my own.
love,
natalie
I have attempted to reflect on 2019 a couple of times yet the words still continue to feel a little messy & imperfect. Quite fitting for a year that felt just like that. But I’ll go ahead & try anyway –
Simply put, this year was full of very high highs & many low lows.
In 2019, we celebrated ten imperfect, hard & wonderful, life-changing years of marriage. Being Luke’s wife is indeed my biggest life accomplishment. In 2019, we also both turned 30 (they were right – there’s just something really stretching about turning thirty).
Our business flourished & our team doubled in size to include the most amazing people I have the true honor of working alongside each & every day.
We traveled a ton (Hawaii, you are an absolute dream & we miss you every day!), ate such good food & stuffed a hell of a lot of living into 365 days.
In 2019, we also grieved. We learned to live life alongside loss & I am forever changed by this very hard lesson. My best friend moved. We left our church & inevitably the community within. I made some painful yet necessary choices within our business, navigating what sometimes felt like the loneliest journey as a leader.
I came face-to-face with my food addiction & began the path to healing with my therapist. I committed to close friendships, started a book club & made these life-giving relationships a priority. I honored my day off more times than not, but struggled to figure out what to do when not at work. I became a student in the art of not giving a shit & still continue to learn what it looks like to pave my own path, not the one others would be more pleased with me to follow.
My word for 2019 was grow & without a doubt, I did, in fact, painfully & without choice, do just that.
It was necessary growth & I believe it’s the start of something powerful & undeniably good in 2020.
As I set my eyes on 2020, I am determined to continue down a path of healing.
I am stubbornly convinced that this is Not Quite It. There’s more growing, more learning, more digging deep to do.
And quite frankly, I did not choose my 2020 word. My 2020 word chose me.
Discipline.
It’s a hard word for me, friends. As I sat down with my therapist & began to uncover what this word might mean for my year & life, I began to full-body sob. I am even tearing up just writing this now.
Because in almost every aspect of my life, I have failed at discipline. As an enneagram 7, the word “no” is simply not part of my vocabulary.
Yet here I am facing my own demons & committing to Discipline in 2020.
For me, Discipline looks like:
– Sitting with my innate desire to always say yes & learning the art of saying no in order to pursue what’s most important.
– Equipped with the knowledge I gained in 2019, committing once again to my Weight Watcher journey & wellbeing.
– Reducing our travel schedule (yet not entirely – it is our favorite hobby!) for lazy weekends at home, short excursions in our camper & lots of reading/gardening/swimming.
– Challenging my need for more. While we do save for rainy days, I want to get a little closer to the basics. For starters, I plan to not buy clothing for the next three full months (with the exception of a new pair of jeans I plan to purchase today & a couple of things – such as a rash guard – for our annual trip in February).
– Bring a book, instead of my phone, into the tub with me.
I am excited, energized & determined to make 2020 count.
What is your one word for 2020?
See my words since 2013 here & comment below with yours!
love,
natalie
This blog post is in partnership with ALDI.
This will be the first year we cook Thanksgiving Day dinner at home & I am so excited to establish our own traditions as a little family.
We are looking forward to preparing our own feast for the very first time, but I want to make sure we are thoughtful about sticking to our monthly food budget. Thankfully, the selection of Thanksgiving Day ingredients at ALDI allow us to stay within our budget without compromising quality!
One Thanksgiving Day essential we will not be going without is pumpkin pie! I used Bake House Creations Pie Crust & Baker’s Corner Pumpkin Pie Mix – both found at ALDI – to make this delicious pie, but changed things up a bit by adding a caramelized brown sugar glaze on top!
Below you’ll find my go-to pumpkin pie recipe – it’s simple to make, but offers up that made-from-scratch flavor. I cannot wait to serve this pie on Thanksgiving Day!
Brown Sugar Glazed Pumpkin Pie
Makes 1 pie
Prep: 10 minutes Bake Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
– 1 Bake House Creations Pie Crust
– 1 can Baker’s Corner Pumpkin Pie Mix
– 2/3 cup of evaporated milk
– 2 large eggs
– 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
– 2 tablespoons heavy cream
– 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Begin by preparing your pie crust. Thaw crust according to package. Unroll & place on pie dish. Create your desired crust around the outside & set aside.
To make your filling, mix together Baker’s Corner Pumpkin Pie Mix with 2/3 cup of evaporated milk & 2 eggs in your mixer until well blended. Pour into pie crust.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees & bake for an additional 60 minutes. Once the pie is done, allow to cool.
To make your brown sugar glaze, pour 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons heavy cream & 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract into a medium-sized saucepan. Cook on high heat until your ingredients begin to boil. Once boiling, remove from heat & stir until your sauce begins to thicken. Allow to slightly cool.
To make your pie extra cute, use the second pre-made crust in Bake House Creations Pie Crust to cut out fall-themed shapes. I used a mini turkey cookie cutter & placed each one on a baking sheet, baking at 350 degrees until lightly browned. I then placed each turkey atop the pie once it was cooled.
To eat, drizzle the brown sugar glaze on top with a dollop of homemade whipped cream on the side. Enjoy with loved ones around the table as you share what you’re most grateful for!
I’d love to know – what are your Thanksgiving Day traditions & favorite recipes? Share your thoughts below!
This post is in partnership with ALDI. Click HERE to locate a store nearest you so you can thoughtfully save & enjoy the holiday season!
love,
natalie