have you noticed the blog changes? i’m absolutely giddy about it. really, i get all teary-eyed just looking at my blog.
you see, i’ve been writing in this space for over six years. this blog is a piece of me. it holds a big ol’ place in my heart. this blog has stretched me in my writing skills & photography, captured a bunch of amazing moments, recorded our life story & has allowed me to make a ton of amazing friends along the way. this blog is basically my baby. & now it reflects who. i. am.
for so long i’ve just made do with the design believing it wasn’t so much about the design as much as it was about the content presented. well, i still believe that’s absolutely true, but there’s something so good about signing onto my blog & feeling good about all of it.
i can take absolutely no credit for my blog design. heather of life made lovely designed this glorious page & held my hand through the decision making process. she’s like a blog angel in my book.
i think i wrote something along the lines of, “i am looking for a space that is clean & fresh with pops of color. i want it to express my passions: my love for making a home, growing our farm, living a thrifty life & creating. vintage linens, mason jars with home canned preserves, paintbrushes & sewing machines. i’m a simplistic farm girl who likes rust. is that too much to ask?!!“
basically, she took my hot mess of an answer & created magic. clean, crafty, farm goodness magic. i love that girl.
& did you see the tabs?! you can now learn about my six years of blogging with the “about” tab & quickly get to our shop with just a click of a button. there’s also a page dedicated to our farm adventures with a link to our Facebook page, too. finally, i have a place to catalog our home improvement projects & house tours under the “our nest” tab. of course, i know y’all are all here for my homemaking tips. you can find those under the “homemaking” tab- tons of recipes, how to’s & the nitty gritty details of budgeting. dreams really do come true!
if you’ve been around for long enough, you know luke & i live within a very tight budget. for the past six years, i have been writing & blogging for absolutely free. i’ve made zero income from this endeavor. it has come from the heart & it will continue to do so.
to be completely honest, often the expenses of projects i complete & share on this blog come from our pockets. i’d love to supplement those expenses with income generated from my blog through six monthly sponsors. these sponsors will be small businesses, artists & companies i love & know you will, too. it’s just $10 for a small ad space & $20 for a large ad space. this is no get rich scheme! if you’re interested in my blogging adventures & would like to support what i do, click here & purchase an ad space today. yay!
seriously, friends. thanks for being a reader. i am humbled to my toes that you join me in this space, read about our lives, care about our stories, comment on posts, email me with encouraging words & cheer me along the way. you make life so good & i am thankful for you.
thank you! thank you! thank you!
look around, have fun & i cannot wait for what’s to come!
love,
natalie
happy friday, friends!
i am so excited to share that the etsy shop is open!
there are so many goodies to choose from, including happy flags, reversible headbands & coffee cozies. i have been sewing my little fingers to the bone & i am thrilled with the results.
each fabric is inspired by spring. deep in the midst of winter, it’s so refreshing & needed to add a bit of color to our days. some of the fabrics are vintage, too. my dear friend, kara, let me take a stack of vintage fabric off her hands so i am giddy to have bits & pieces of that in the mix.
stop by for a look 🙂 thank you so much!
oh & don’t forget to enter the code “HAPPYSPRING” at checkout to receive free shipping. yay!
love,
natalie
do you have a tribe of women in your life?
i believe there are seasons in our lives when we can feel friendless & lonely. when luke & i first moved to arkansas, i felt so alone & disconnected from our amazing community in missouri. in missouri, i was just a bike ride away from a coffee date with a girlfriend or dinner with our favorite couples.
our life looks very different now. we live miles away from town, our schedules aren’t as flexible as they used to be & it feels like we are busier than ever. i still crave that deep connectedness, though– that kind of connectedness with friends that a husband or partner simply can’t fill.
after nearly three years, i am finally able to say that i have found my tribe. we work out together, we share coffee together, we cry together, we encourage together & we eat together.
i recently participated in a group at church that was centered around meal planning, budgeting & the enjoyment of food in community. week after week, a small group of us women shared one of the most intimate parts of our lives- our food story. we exchanged recipes & our food practices. we re-organized our fridges & worked on breaking some unhealthy habits. we planned meals & leaned on each other for financial accountability. at the end of our group, we shared a meal, good conversation & friendship. we are all so different, from our personalities to our seasons in life, yet we come together with a love for food.
i’ve also started scheduling weekly coffee dates with my tribe. these women are amazing. i am so thankful that i get to share a cup of coffee with them for an hour each week. we talk about the big life stuff & the small beautiful stuff. this has been a big life-changer for me.
of course, these kind of relationships, like all relationships, take work. it requires a bit of time & effort, but it’s absolutely worth it. living life with women who get you & you get them is like a breath of fresh air. i am so thankful to have this tribe of connectedness.
if you’re struggling to find or create your tribe, here are some suggestions:
+ invite a handful of women to coffee // this is an inexpensive way to get out of the house & around a table with women.
+ don’t search for the perfect women to be your friends // i know this suggestion might sound crazy, but i have found myself only wanting to be friends with girls who had the same convictions or preferences as i do. life is about learning from others & what better person to learn from than a friend who is different but near & dear to you?
+ difference is good // a lot of my girlfriends have children. i am the youngest in my tribe of girlfriends who are in their late 20s to early 40s. i have learned so much from these seasoned women & their wisdom has been invaluable to my life.
+ plan a potluck // this is a great way to have a delicious meal & not put too much pressure on the hostess. invite a group of women to your house, share in the responsibility of the meal & open a bottle of wine. good conversation will happen, i promise.
+ experience a shared interest together // join a book club or yoga class together. go for weekly walks or bake together. find shared interests with women & set aside time to do them regularly. this will create a connectedness that will lead to deeper friendships.
most of all, love & serve people fiercely & it will be returned to you.
love,
natalie