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how do you love your neighbor? 

luke & i ask ourselves that question a lot. you see, farming isn’t the most lucrative career choice. surprise! we live simply, relatively speaking. i am thankful each day for a husband who manages our finances so well. we stick to a budget & find so much freedom in living within our means.

yet discontentment often creeps into my heart, especially when it comes to giving. i am a gifter. gifts are how i like to be loved & i long to love others in that way, too. this may look like purchasing an item from an instagram adoption auction, donating money to those in need, or purchasing the perfect gift for a friend’s birthday. it isn’t selfish, consumer-driven, lavish gifting; it’s the kind that comes from the heart. in this season, we simply don’t have the funds to love in that way.

simply put, we love our neighbors with what we do have. 

this concept took me a long time to grasp. i mean really, who wants what we have? surprisingly, many. we have fresh eggs, baskets full of greens, bouquets of wildflowers & bundles of kale. we have a lot to give. so i began filling baskets, creating bouquets, gifting eggs & loving our neighbors. it’s quite simple yet it allows us to support our community.

so how do you love your neighbor? begin looking around. it might just be right in front of you… or outside growing in your garden. 

how do you share what you have with others? little gifts or your time? i’d love to hear how you love your neighbors.

love,

natalie

oh, what a productive weekend it was! we spent most of our time outdoors planting (48! oh my!) tomatoes. i also managed to sneak in a bit of painting. 

if you’ve been following along, you know we are slowly renovating the exterior features of our home. here’s a before & after of our painted brick. i finally got around to painting our robin’s egg blue door the prettiest terra cotta orange (toffee glaze by valspar).

although the blue wasn’t bad, i wanted a color that matched our painted brick a bit more. i painted our outdoor light the same orange color (light found at a yard sale). we also ripped off our storm door with the outdated brass details. we are now saving up for a simple cedar screen door. you can’t beat the sound of an old screen door opening & closing.

a front door isn’t as happy without a warm greeting. i found the “hello” decal on etsy.  at one recent craft night with a girlfriend, i made the wreath. i love how it matches everything on the porch.