I always used to feel like I had to defend my little farmhouse... ... when people would first walk through the door. No one ever seemed to notice all the neat things about my home; the hand-painted signs adorning the walls, the farmhouse antiques I had salvaged from yard sales, or my creative furniture arrangements... They only seemed to want to talk about the size. "Wow... this is... small." "So, are you going to build an ...Continue Reading
Archives for December 2013
How to Make Buttermilk
I'm a pretty cultured person... I might not attend any ballets, operas, or art shows, but my little homestead kitchen is packed full of cultured butter, cultured yogurt, and cultured buttermilk. That counts, right? ;) Learning how to make buttermilk is one of the easiest things to do if you are just starting out in the world of home dairy. And real homemade buttermilk is out-of-this world. One word of warning-- once you make your ...Continue Reading
Our DIY Wood Stove Installation
We've been cold for a while now... ... Our farmhouse came with a propane furnace when we bought it. But even though the house is pretty small, the poor little furnace just couldn't keep up--especially with the 60+ mph winds we get in the winter... We avoided the idea of a wood stove for quite a while. Not because we don't love wood heat (because we do!), but mainly because our living room is tiny, and the thought of giving up a big ...Continue Reading
15+ Wrapping Paper Alternatives
It only takes a few minutes ... ... for that pile of perfectly wrapped gifts to become a chaotic sea of crumpled wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Even before I had my "crunchy" transformation, hauling garbage bag after garbage bag of wrapping paper out to the dumpster always kinda bugged me. Not to mention the price of the stuff. Have you strolled down the wrapping paper aisle lately? It's expensive! Especially for something ...Continue Reading
How to Make Butter
Care for some water in your butter? As you know, I have a serious obsession with turning raw milk into all sort of fascinating things. A jar of white liquid turning into a delicious, golden-yellow solid. It's darn close to being miraculous if you ask me. Making homemade butter from scratch is magical, ya'll. I officially ditched margarine several years ago, and it's no longer allowed across the threshold in my home. I'm ...Continue Reading