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the simple life magazine feature + shop news!

when citiscapes reached out to write a story about my business & our farm, i squealed! they’re such an amazing resource in our region – creating content that’s relevant & interesting – so it was such a gift & honor to be featured! 
 learn a bit more about our lives within my studio & on our farm… here’s the full article here.
in other news, my etsy shop opens tomorrow morning at 9 am cst! yay! 

keep an eye out for my favorite set of happy flags to date – the happy homesteader set inspired by the late summer season harvest!

there will also be a limited supply of adult & kiddo bow bands along with stretchy bands & our classic skinny headband!

i can’t wait to see you over at the shop tomorrow morning! thank you for being such a gift to my heart & our home. xo.
love,
natalie

a day with oliver

my precious nephew & his sweet momma are starting a new chapter in our little town. it’s already such a gift to have them so close! this weekend my momma came up & on saturday we picked up oliver for a little date.
we went out for donuts & then came back to the farm for a bit of exploring.

we walked throughout the garden & he picked out flowers. he pointed to them, i cut the stems & we placed them in a jar together.

back inside, we played with toy tractors & drew with colored pencils. i wrote “Oliver Loves Mom!” on his doodles & cut it into a small tag for his mom’s bouquet of flowers.

he dug through the fabric scraps & picked out his favorite to make fabric ribbon.

such a simple little project with such a special little guy!
what are other fun & inexpensive activities to do with littles? we cannot wait to have weekly dates with him!
love,
natalie

in the garden: august 2015

if you’re new to this space, welcome to the “in the garden” series! during the spring & summer months, in celebration of gardening, i share a monthly garden overview of what our garden looks like along with garden happenings! welcome!
july was an unexpectedly busy month full of time-sensitive bathroom remodels (hello moldy walls & floors!) & prep for my canning workshop. it was also a hot month. a lack of time combined with hot days & very little rain makes for a not so pretty garden. of course, our garden often looks less than pinterest-worthy as we transition from late summer to early fall crops.
in the garden – august 2015
our cherry tomatoes continue to produce. we planted a bumper crop of both cherry & large tomatoes a few weeks after our initial tomato planting, which has allowed for harvesting throughout the entire summer. 

we got a very late start on cucumbers, but we’re excited to finally start makin’ pickles in september!
speaking of pickles, i am teaming up with euna mae’s to co-host a pickling party at her shop on september 12th! i’ll teach you how to make my very favorite spicy dill pickles! local friends, check out the details & sign up here! it is sure to be a fun one!

we’re also still harvesting loads of zinnias & basil. i don’t even want to think about the change in season when we will no longer harvest large bouquets of garden flowers each day! 

our beans are coming in quite nicely. i love fresh green beans & freezing the surplus for fancy winter meals!

other garden news:
+ i am canning tomatoes like it’s my job right now. i am using this recipe exclusively & loving it. i can’t imagine why anyone would do anything else!
+ i plan on roasting some tomatoes & freezing them for pizzas this winter. does anyone have a favorite recipe?
+ we’re currently planning our fall garden. fall gardens are my very favorite. oftentimes gardeners stop planting after the end of the summer’s tomatoes, but i find we have the best luck at the beginning & toward the end of the season. hello, beets, carrots, lettuces & greens!

not sure what to plant in your fall garden & when? grab a planting poster from my shop! it’s designed for specific regions throughout the entire USA, guiding you through what to plant & when. use the code “FALLGARDEN” at checkout to receive 25% off your order until this sunday night (that makes each planting poster just $15!)! happy gardening!
what’s happening in your august garden?
love,
natalie