Homesteading buddies?

While I dearly love my DH he is not as into homesteading as I am. He loves the product, but with a demanding job he just doesn't have the time. He understands that this is the life I want and he is content to live it with me. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying he does nothing! In fact he does a lot. Right now we're building a chicken coop together, he helps with all the cost analysis of everything, he helps me pick out things, he chops down dead trees, chops wood, keeps up with all my crazy ideas, and DIYs things with me and of course, most importantly he tests all my recipes. HA HA. But, seriously, he loves me enough to come along on my wild and crazy ride. He is working 12 hour days for 6 days a week this whole month and that doesn't give him time to do much at all to do anything. Yet, it is spring and it is the time of the most work or nothing else will get done for the rest of the year. I have planted trees, bred and raised babies, planted a lot in the garden and tried to get some flower bulbs in the group so the entryway to our house looks inviting to people coming inside or relaxing to my DH and I.

With all that being said, I would love to have a homesteading buddy. Someone to share the trials and part of the workload. Someone to half the rewards of meat and veggies with, someone who could watch our place when we decide to go visit family in other states.

I only have rabbits and chickens at the moment, but don't let that fool you. They still require care and attention everyday. Gardening takes up a lot of time and planning as well. After all of the planting is over I begin harvesting after a time and then I start with canning. There is always something to keep me hopping. Having an extra set of hands would be wonderful sometimes. It's just not in the cards at the moment I suppose.  I do have an amazing neighbor who shares recipes with me and even gave me some sourdough starter. She and her husband watch our animals when we are away. Although they have their own thing going on, I am immensely grateful to them for their help and support.

Spring Peeps

It's spring time on the homestead. And that means one thing...BABIES!
I've got baby bunnies and baby chicks running about the place. and more baby chicks set to come in another couple of weeks. I'm going to get even busier soon.


Things have picked up considerable around here with the weather warming up(although you wouldn't be able to tell by today's temps, since we're back in the 30s and 40s today.) I've got a good start on the garden. It's all plowed up and ready to go. I have planted my shallots, some onions and my fava beans. Which my DH keeps making a hannibal lector reference to EVERY time I mention them. I think the first time I make them I'm making them with liver and a Chianti (not that he's even a wine drinker though.) just to see what he says about it. HA.

Since this is going to be a short post today, I will leave you with some pictures of the new babies.

But my favorite is yhis one. Yes, i have a chocolate bunny. 

They are starting to open their eyes and explore their world. 

Henny penny and chicks. 

Also, I planted fruit trees along the driveway.  

Get outside and enjoy spring!

How I've worn my project 333 in February

I haven't had the new additions in my wardrobe long, but I wanted to give them a good test run to see how I will wear them and decide if they were worth what I think they are.
I want to say that I do not own these white chucks. I have a pair of athletic shoes I wore and the Keds. (but no picture of them yet.)

Monday I wore a skirt because it was up in the 40s. I didn't go outside a lot I just wanted to wear it. I wore my fleece lined leggings underneath. They are grey but I have no picture of them. 

Tuesday it got a little chilly again. I wore a fancy looking bright lilac, long johns material ,top. The lace stuck out from under the pink sweatshirt material top. Jeans and my snow boots kept me toasty warm. 

 Wednesday I wore my jeans again. (I actually have 2 pair, but the picture shows the same pair) with a lilac linen shirt and my favorite sweater. It has every color imaginable in it. It's like my technicolor sweater. I wore my hiking boots since the snow wasn't very high.

 Thursday I wanted to wear some more of my new things. I had washed them all and this one was looking dapper today. It's a navy and pink cotton shirt. I paired it with my thinner pink sweater and jeans, yes again!

 Friday, realizing that winter time in Minnesota means jeans a lot. What else is going to keep me warm? Or am I just being lazy? We stayed inside most of the day and we went to the gym so I wore sweatpants and a tee shirt with my wool sweater overtop. (No picture as it doesn't count for my project 333 since I only went to the gym today.)




Saturday I was sore from our new routine at the gym and we lounged on the couch. Then realized that we had a lot of things to do inside. I wore another pair of sweats and a tee shirt. (again, no picture)

Sunday it was warmer and I wanted to dress it up a little bit after wearing sweats for 2 days. 

So I chose my raspberry dress with my new floral shirt and tan tights. Snuggly boots and a bright yellow sweater to finish me off. These boots were given to me by a friend and they are really warm. I love the toggles on the sides too. 

Notice that these black boots are the only black that I wore at all. I have finally decided that I just don't like to wear black. It makes me feel down and who wants that? These boots somehow don't make me feel that way, so they can stay. (even though they need some repair on the inside, I still wear them.)

I know I talked about how I fell off the bandwagon with Project 333 for Jan-March. But I did really good until I added new things. I had to test them out and most of them got to stay. The pink and Navy plaid did not stay. I ended up hating that ruffle on the front. If it wasn't there, I would love it. And if I took it off it would look weird. Otherwise I love the color. I'm hoping that the next season will be easier for me. Winter is just hard to do for me since it's my first one. I did OK when the weather was balmy, but when it got cold I brought in more clothing. Bad me! Oh, well. I have to stay warm. I'll try again with the next season, which is April-June. Don't give up on me. Also, if you are struggling know that you are not the only one. I too, dear reader, still have a lusting eye for new clothing. 

13 going in 30

I've been struggling with my wardrobe for awhile now. I purged a lot of the things that were not working for me, but I am still struggling. I realized that I had no theme to my closet and that nothing seemed to match anything else. I had a closet full of beautiful things that didn't match each other. Something had to give. So, I purged and tried to match things. I still got stuck. I like color so when I would read about minimalist wardrobes it seems they all talk about black or a neutral wardrobe with a hint or pop of color. Black makes me look really pale and unhealthy. I wear it occasionally, but not too often and especially not every day. I've been trying project 333 but I haven't figured out which pieces match and work for me. I wore the same 5 outfits over and over again. It was too hard for me and I gave up. I really want it to work for me, but this does not come easily for me. Then I found the lucky dozen, some people call it 13 going on 30.  13 going on 30 is an idea run by lucky magazine a few years ago. It was done for an office wardrobe. I love the idea of it, but I wouldn't ever wear the original pieces, since I don't work in an office anymore. I've been struggling with my wardrobe because I have a going out wardrobe and a stay in and work wardrobe. I think being able to make 30 combinations would be plenty and keep my closet from expanding too much. (Which it has been, I'm ashamed to say.)  I'm not suggesting that I  buy anything but rather that I can make this small wardrobe right now and test my ideas.  I would love to feel like this is all I need in my closet. I think that since project 333 hasn't been working for me I'm going to back up and test out a very small section of my closet. Maybe I can live with this for a month and go over it for the next month or go back to project 333.

Lucky magazine did this first and then shopruche.com did a great version a few years later. I love their version and would love to be able to see it in more detail but I'll have to settle for the pictures they did of each outfit and the ideas i can scrounge by looking at it, since it is an old webpage.

It looks like to me a plain colored neutral top, they use white. 2 pairs of pants (one jeans one dressier), 2 skirts(1 pencil, 1 flared or a line), 1 sweater, 2 shirts to layer, one scarf, one printed dress, a jacket/blazer and 2 pairs of shoes to match it all (neutrals in pumps and boots.) Now having the vision to put it all together is the hard part. This is where I would normally get stuck.

In the lucky magazine version all the clothing was from banana republic. It is a neat idea and helped promote their clothing line too I'll bet. But I'm going to shop my closet first. I've been misunderstanding my basics and I struggle with that still. Seeing this wardrobe and the pieces helps me understand a little bit better.

The plan is for me to get my pieces in order and then wear the same outfit as is styled in each day. I might not go in order, but I will get to all of them. I am hoping that I will be inspired with the creativity and learn how to style these pieces better and really know that they work for me. I hope that I do not have to exchange anything mid way, but I have been struggling over my choices a little bit. Be patient with me, as I try something different.

The Ruche pieces

1. The white lace shirt 
2. The olive long sleeve shirt 
3. Flannel long sleeve shirt
4. Peach solid colored sweater
5. pair of jeans
6. pair of smoke dressy pants
7. navy pencil skirt 
8. Black and white patterned dress
9. Grey A-line skirt
10. Grey light jacket
11. green scarf
12. Beige low pumps
13. Brown lace up booties

My pieces

1. Pink and white striped shirt
2. chambray shirt
3. pink and green plaid shirt
4. Dark Mint sweater
5. my favorite pair of jeans
6. Khaki pants
7. Mint linen skirt
8. Pink Sheath dress
9. Navy A-line, linen skirt
10. Olive Corduroy jacket  
11. black and white scarf
12. white keds (Ideally, I would love white or natural low Chucks)
13. Black Fluevog  Malibrans

Why giving and tithing can bring you closer to God.

Tithing. To some people this is a touchy subject. Yet, God tells us to give back 10% (at least) to Him.
A lot of people will say, "But, any god that needs my money isn't a god I want to serve." Yes, I would agree with that. But, God, that is the Great I am, Jehovah Jirah, the Lord who provides, Jesus Christ, The Great Sheperd, does not-I repeat does NOT NEED your money. He asks it of us. He even tells us to test Him. In nothing else does he say to test Him. It does not say, test me if you are Jewish, or even test me if you believe in Me. Just, test and see. It is proof that God wants what's best for us. That He is there for us. And it is a material way for us to see beyond our own self important noses.


"'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this', says the Lord Almightly,' and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it'." Malachi 3:10


Not only does it teach us to give to someone other than ourselves, but we get back blessings. That's something you can't buy in any store. He doesn't say what the blessing will be, but that you will receive one. I do not tithe because I want to receive a blessing. Yet, I say try it and see what happens. The Lord may bless you with a raise or with good health. Maybe your blessing will be the good that you are doing in your own life so that someone else may eat tonight.

Doesn't that make you feel good? To know that you are giving to someone else. You can give to your church or to a charity. Either way, it will be put to good use. Be educated about where the money is going also. God doesn't ask us to give to people who are going to buy drugs or alcohol or anything we don't agree with morally. He will use it for His good. And that brings us closer to God.

Are you tithing? I would encourage you to do so. And as always if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them for you, assuming I know the answer. If I don't I will happily find someone who does know. And if it is not something known we can pray about it to the one who knows all.

God bless.