there is so much to be done before we transition to our home on the farm. all of the packing, cleaning, paperwork, utility switching, uhaul trucks & the list goes on.
there is also so much to be done when we arrive. that little list of what i hope to do to our home before we settle in continues to grow into a several pages & pinterest board list. we need to scrape the popcorn ceilings, paint the kitchen cabinets, pull up the carpet in the bonus room… the list goes on.
simply put- i am guilty. i am guilty of discontentment. this especially rears it’s ugly face in regards to our home. i have talked about this topic several times in this space, but i am still noticing a lack of change in heart & mind as we move into our first home. because it is ours – well mostly the bank’s but that’s another topic for another day– i feel this need to make it “ours” instantly regardless of our financial status.
it will be an initial financial stretch for us when we move onto the farm. as first time home buyers, we should be more concerned about saving for any unforeseen costs. instead, i am more concerned about the small cosmetic changes because i am worried it might just seem like an average house.
the culture that we have created through our pinterest boards, fancy blogs & magazines tells us that each room should reflect our own unique selves while also buying into the idea that our homes must also be updated with each new trend. friends, i do all of the above & more because parts of me believe it will make me happier.
nesting does make me happy. decorating on pennies makes me happy, too. thrifting & going to yard sales makes me really happy. once i start to realize how much time i invest & ultimately idolize this certain part of myself, i am not so happy.
as we make this transition into our new home, i want to be thoughtful with our money. we can wait, we can be wise, we can be thankful for what we do have.
we have so much right now…
love,
natalie
for a little over four years, luke & i have been dreaming of owning our own farm. a place to grow our own food, to raise a handful of animals, to spread out, truly invest in the community around us & cultivate deep roots. beneath those hopes & dreams of one day owning our own space was the fear of settling down at such a young age. there is always that twinge of doubt when making a huge leap of faith that perhaps this isn’t right, maybe we shouldn’t farm, or there might be other bigger & better things just around the corner. so, we moved several times, established gardens, grew our own food in pots & created little mini farms on postage stamp size yards that weren’t our own. we embraced our lifestyle, growing & learning along the way & believing we would farm one day.
well, i am here today, with a full & thankful heart, to write that we have taken that leap of faith. if all goes as we hope, we will be moving to our own farm in late july! we are still pinching ourselves & wondering if we will wake up from this dream that is finally coming to fruition.
it’s a beautiful piece of land that instantly felt like home when we first arrived. our house is just over 1300 square feet with a wood burning stove & plenty of room to grow. the homestead sits on a little over 3 acres of pasture and hills with a large organic garden & a beautiful pond. there is a wood shop & an established barn for animals.
we negotiated with the sellers to give us five of their goats, too! thankfully, the sellers are also our dear friends & will be sharing their goat knowledge with us as we transition to goat mama & papa. we are smitten!
it just all feels so right. we have fallen in love with this town. we would love to grow food for our family & friends here. we dream of having children who will live just down the road from their grandparents. this space is right outside of the city & allows us to enjoy that quiet we crave while also having the opportunity to easily run into town.
as we wait for the inspection, jump through the hoops of home ownership & finalize all of the details, we can’t help but feel blessed to tend to this land. our dreams are unraveling right in front of us & it’s so exciting! thank you for following along… we can’t wait to share more details soon!
love,
natalie & luke
oh, it has been far too long since i was last here. where did the week go? our lives are changing in unexpected (& very exciting!) ways (that i will hopefully share soon!) & those many ways have left us tucked in bed a little earlier than usual from sheer exhaustion with a book in hand. sometimes we have to just rest!
our garden has been doing everything but resting. the many rain showers have left our yard bright green, lush, & full of life. the planter in the top photo was given to me by my papa before he passed away. this year, i am planting my favorite flowers & plants in remembrance of him. i miss him so much, but these little bits of his past life that he now shares with me are so comforting.
i have also noticed how much i now rely on my iphone for daily photos. i hope to change that this summer by using my dslr more frequently. i really do love sharing my photos of our garden & chickens with you, but most of all, i love the visual journal i am able to keep throughout the years. our many gardens in all shapes & forms, the first ripe strawberry, where we planted our kale in such & such year, the swiss chard bounty, our battle with bermuda grass, the many pests that enjoy our garden just as much as we do… all of those visual snapshots help us to improve for the next year & remind us of the goodness of this season.
i would love to know – how do you keep a “journal” of your gardening happenings?
love,
natalie