Simple Farmhouse Life

Latest Episodes:

128. How to Shop for Antique and Vintage Finds | Amanda Marie of Sincerely Marie Designs Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

Curating a home decor style that feels collected takes time and intention. Amanda of Sincerely Marie Designs has done a beautiful job achieving this look and feel in her home, and she is joining me to talk about one of my favorite topics: decorating your home with vintage and antique pieces. Many of our current home inspiration sources — HGTV, Pinterest, Instagram — can give us the unrealistic expectation that our home decor should be perfectly put together all at once. Amanda and I discuss how there is actually so much beauty in slowly piecing together your decor over time. We are sharing some practical tips for how you can source and incorporate antique, handmade, and repurposed pieces into your own home.

In this episode, we cover:

Where to find decor inspiration that aligns with your style
Favorite DIY projects: ottoman, stair detail, lampshade
How to transform a lampshade with fabric and a hot glue gun
Where to start when transforming a room with antique decor
The trick to finding what you’re looking for on Facebook Marketplace
Tips for avoiding secondhand purchases you’ll regret
A secret weapon decor item for both form and function
What to hang on your wall when you aren’t sure what you want there
Things to consider when searching for a rug
How to bring your home decor together so it feels collected instead of cluttered

RESOURCES

Tessa Foley of Nine and Sixteen

Jean Stoffer

Heather Strommen of Sweet Shady Lane

Pleated Ottoman Slipcover How-To

Adding Charm to a Staircase

DIY Pleated Lampshade How-To

Block Print Quilts on Etsy

Revival Rugs

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127. Starting a Farm When You Didn’t Grow Up on One | Jess Sowards of Roots and Refuge Farm Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

Many people think that beginning a farm or homestead requires you to have previous farming experience, but this isn’t necessarily true. Even if you have never set foot on a farm yourself, it is possible to begin living the homesteading lifestyle. In this episode, Jess shares how her lifelong dream of owning a farm became a reality, one step at a time. We also delve into the topic of making money on a homestead. Whether you have a goal of replacing your full-time income or of simply allowing your homestead to pay for itself, Jess has some really interesting entrepreneurial ideas!

In this episode, we cover:

Starting to live a homesteading lifestyle even without acreage
Nurturing a healthy food culture in your home
The connection between food and homesteading
Exciting upcoming developments for Roots & Refuge Farm
How a homestead can pay for itself

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RESOURCES

Making Money on a Homestead | How a Hobby Farm Can Help Pay for Itself

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126. Simple and Thrifty DIYs to Refresh Your Home for Spring | Andrea Francavilla of Pine and Prospect Home Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

If you don’t believe it’s possible to have a stunning home on a shoestring budget, this episode is for you! My friend, Andrea, of Pine and Prospect Home is joining me for this conversation on giving your home a refresh for spring without spending a ton of money. Andrea is the queen of thrifty decor, and everything she creates looks high-dollar. We’re sharing some of our best tips for curating a beautiful home that reflects your taste and style all while staying within your budget. Whether you are simply looking for a few affordable ideas to welcome spring into your home or you are taking on a large renovation project, you’ll come away from this conversation with fresh DIY inspiration!

In this episode, we cover:

Incorporating faux florals into your decor
How to approach home decor with a DIY mindset
What items are worth splurging on
Our favorite sources for finding thrifty decor
Trying new ideas in your home without spending money
What we are always keeping our eyes out for when shopping
Why even your kitchen tools should be beautiful
How to curate your look and avoid bringing home junk
Creating a lovely home even if design doesn’t come naturally to you
Our favorite sources of design inspiration

Check out some of my current favorite products: activated charcoal face bar, seabuckthorn cleansing oil

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125. Learning New Skills on the Homestead | Melissa K. Norris Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

When you look around the homesteading world and see other people doing all the things, it can be overwhelming to know how to get started. In this episode, Melissa K. Norris, a homesteader for over 20 years, joins me to talk about where to start when you want to learn new homesteading skills. She reminds us not to be afraid of starting small and learning as you go. She also provides many tangible tips for getting started. Whether you have been homesteading your whole life or are still contemplating jumping into this lifestyle, there will always be more to learn, so these tips on self-education are for you!

In this episode, we cover:

One prerequisite for becoming a homesteader
Deciding what to start with on your homestead
How to start researching a new skill or endeavor
What made Melissa decide to get a dairy cow
Questions to consider when adding livestock to your homestead
What Melissa’s 20-year homesteading journey has looked like
The mindset shift that makes homesteading accessible to anyone

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124. All Things Spring: Home Decor, Gardening, Cooking | Kali Ramey Martin Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

Especially when it comes to home design, I find so much inspiration in holding beautiful printed books in my hands. That’s why I am so glad there are people like Kali Ramey Martin putting lovely resources out into the world. Her book, Potager, and her seasonal magazine, Notebook Quarterly, curate recipes and gardening tips and home inspiration in such a masterful way. Our conversation spanned a variety of topics related to welcoming spring into our homes through what we are cooking to how we decorate our homes. We talked not only about seasonal decor but also about more permanent home design choices like paint, wallpaper, furniture, and more. I hope this conversation leaves you inspired to embrace in your own home all the beauty that springtime has to offer.

In this episode, we cover:

- The secret to baking with einkorn flour

- New ingredients we are using this spring

- Favorite springtime recipes we are making

- Getting started with a spring garden

- How Kali is restoring her 1920s cottage on a modest budget

- Honoring the style of a home in your decor choices

- Choosing paint colors and wallpaper

- The secret to decorating with natural elements all year round

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Kali Ramey Martin is a farmer’s wife, mom of two sweet boys and amateur at just about everything. She is the author of Potager: From the Garden to the Kitchen and publishes a magazine called Notebook Quarterly. She happily dabbles in gardening, floristry, homesteading, photography, interior design and cookery, and is passionate about making the world a softer, simpler, more beautiful place.

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Visit the blog for the full show notes, links to resources mentioned, and a transcript.

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123. Seasonal Eating: Spring Edition | Erin Worrall of The Cedar Chest Farm Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

With the first official day of spring right around the corner, I am getting so excited to welcome spring into my kitchen. There is nothing like cutting fresh herbs from my garden, gathering eggs from my hens, collecting milk from my cow. In today’s episode, Erin and I discuss the many ways that seasonal eating can be accessible to all of us. Whether or not you have a garden or farm animals of your own, you can find ways to eat seasonally and source your food locally. With all of our modern conveniences, we don’t have to eat seasonally, but Erin and I make a case for why you might want to consider eating this way. There is so much beauty to be found in living in rhythm with the seasons.

In this episode, we cover:

Starting a spring garden
Why it matters to eat seasonally
What changes we make in our kitchens in the spring
Farm animals’ production in spring
How to approach meal planning when eating seasonally
Incorporating bread baking into your daily routine
Sourdough troubleshooting
Living a homesteading lifestyle even if you don’t live on a homestead
Where to start sourcing local, seasonal food
Preserving and storing seasonal food

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Erin is the head farmer and resident mom to all manner of living things at The Cedar Chest Farm! Together with her family, she tends their farmstead in Southwest Virginia, aiming to educate and empower homegrown-minded folks in their journey towards self-sustenance. Whether you’re living in town and supporting local growers, or seeking to raise your own food and resources more rurally, Erin is excited to partner with you in treasuring old ways, delighting in good food, and stewarding the good world around us.

RESOURCES

Dishing Up the Dirt by Andrea Bemis

Local Dirt by Andrea Bemis

Andrea Bemis’s Local Thirty Documentary

Feeding a Family by Sarah Waldman

Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest by Lauren McDuffie

Harvie.farm

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122. Selecting and Caring for Chickens | Kathleen of Oak Abode Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

It’s that time of year! The time when backyard chicken keepers and full-blown homesteaders alike start thinking about expanding their flocks. My conversation with Kathleen of Oak Abode covers everything a new or prospective chicken owner might want to know. We address the four main aspects of chicken keeping: food, water, shelter, protection, as well as many other questions we are frequently asked. Whether you are considering getting chickens or have been keeping them for years, this episode is full of practical tips and lessons we have learned along the way.

In this episode, we cover:

Different types of chicken setups: coop and run, chicken tractor, free range
Mitigating the threat of predators
Dealing with environmental factors: heat, cold, moisture
Features of different breeds
Options for feed and supplements
Supplemental light in the winter
Raising chickens sustainably and ethically
Best time to get chicks

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Kathleen and her husband, Ian, are passionate about growing their own food and self-sustainability on any scale.

CONNECT

Kathleen of Oak Abode | YouTube | Instagram | Podcast | Website

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Get your Berkey Filter with the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast discount. Watch my Berkey review video.

Download my updated ebook with ALL of my sourdough recipes.

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121. Answering Your Questions About Owning a Dairy Cow | Angel Turner of Rosehill Farm Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

I have been so excited to bring this episode to you all because I get so many questions about our dairy cow! Angel Turner was the perfect person to join me in this conversation. She has gained a great deal of experience with dairy cows in just a short time. It has been less than a year since Angel brought home her first family milk cow, and since then, she has taken on the task of halter breaking over 15 milk cows and matching them with families. We could have talked forever about all things dairy cow, but we managed to address the most frequently asked questions in the time we had together. If you are considering whether a family milk cow might be right for you, this episode will give you a peek into both of our journeys of getting started with owning dairy cows.

In this episode, we cover:

What it’s like owning your first dairy cow
The one thing you should always do before buying a cow
Preventing and treating mastitis
How much land you need to own a dairy cow
Breeding considerations
Calf sharing and weaning
Making the most of the acreage you have
Feeding your dairy cow: grass, hay, grain
Learning as you go in homesteading
The economics of owning a dairy cow
What it looks like to travel when you own a dairy cow

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Angel and her husband Gabe started homesteading on a very small scale. A few chickens, a small garden, a lamb or goat here and there. But as they grew their family in their 10 years of marriage, they began to see the importance and benefits of the homesteading lifestyle for so many reasons. Angel and Gabe are passionate about taking their family back to a more simple way of living that connects them with the land and animals. They are now pursuing farming full-time and very much in the beginning stages of that journey! They also want others to see their potential no matter where they are, so they have begun teaching homesteading skills on their blog.

RESOURCES

Keeping a Family Cow by Joann S. Grohman

Rosehill Farm

Rosehill Farm’s Insider’s Club

CONNECT

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120. Raising Hardworking Kids | Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

I don’t often discuss parenting on this podcast, but when I read Jill Winger’s blog post on how she gets her kids involved on her homestead, I knew I had to bring her on to talk about this topic. Jill began homesteading before she became a mother, so her three children have always known this way of life. Jill and I discuss how we accomplish homesteading tasks with babies and toddlers underfoot, how we begin getting our children involved around the homestead, and why it’s important to give our children the gift of hard work. If you want to instill the values of hard work and creativity into your children, may this episode give you inspiration along the way.

In this episode, we cover:

An old-fashioned philosophy of parenting
How kids of different ages can help around a homestead
Instilling a strong work ethic in your children
How homeschooling can build character
Making space for kids to explore their passions
The advantage of letting our kids experience failure
How we approach chores

Click here to listen to part one of this conversation on Jill's podcast or click here to watch on YouTube.

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Jill is the founder of The Prairie Homestead, an online space with over one million monthly visits dedicated to helping people learn how to grow their own food and opt out of the rat race, regardless of where they live. In 2019, she published her best-selling cookbook The Prairie Homestead Cookbook which was an Amazon Editor’s pick and won Best Cookbook in the 30th Annual Reading the West Book Awards given by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association.

Her practical and authentic style of teaching and storytelling has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of homesteaders across social media and through the Old Fashioned on Purpose podcast, which has amassed over 3.3 million downloads since its inception.

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119. Planning Your Garden, Selecting Seeds, Preserving the Harvest | Meg Hollar of The Hollar Homestead Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

Although winter is still in full swing, it’s already time to start thinking about planting seeds for your summer garden. In today’s conversation, Meg Hollar of The Hollar Homestead joins me to talk all things gardening: selecting seeds, preparing the soil, what we are growing, and even how to use and preserve the harvest. We have both been gardening for many years now, but we are continually learning more each year. Whether you are a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this conversation may give you some new strategies to try this year!

In this episode, we cover:

Ordering seeds
Preparing garden beds
What we are excited to grow this year
When to start planting seeds
Strategies for successful transplanting
Gardening mistakes and what we wish we had known before starting
Favorite methods of preserving
Why you want to include flowers in your garden

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Meg and her husband, Ben, are trading in "normal" for making their own path. After suburban homesteading in Southern California for a few years, they sold most of their stuff, packed up the rest into a trailer, and set out across the United States with their four sons to find their forever homestead. The Hollar family is now revitalizing an old homestead in North Carolina, and they’ve added a baby girl and a variety of farm animals to their family along the way. They live small, love hard, and have one major goal: to LIVE a life worth living.

RESOURCES

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Territorial Seed Company

CONNECT

Meg Hollar of The Hollar Homestead | Blog | YouTube | Instagram

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