My how time flies!

How in the fig is it already July?? How did we already have July 4th? Did you enjoy yours as much as we did? We are super low-key and do things at home with a simple cookout. We hang out in the backyard or driveway and watch the neighbors burn their hard earned cash.

We had hamburgers with fresh baked hamburger buns, homemade coleslaw and potato salad, deviled eggs, a red white and blue salad (strawberries, fresh-picked blueberries, feta, and greens), potato chips, homemade blueberry lavender lemonade, and fresh homemade no-churn strawberry ice cream for dessert. Now, if you’ve known me for any length of time, you know summer isn’t my jam, but I do love it for gardens and cookouts!

Speaking of gardens, I haven’t taken a pic but we finally got ours put in mid-June. Super late, but better than never. Lots of squash (hopefully the evil squash bugs don’t annihilate them), green beans, carrot…literally one carrot is coming up, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkin, green peppers, herbs: mint, lemon balm, chamomile, sage, and whatever else. I had planted them in my wheelbarrow and apparently it was under the gutter during a downpour and it dumped all down in the wheelbarrow, washing things amiss. So it will be interesting to see what grows where. I did have to reseed several things in both places because I think I had some duds. This garden will be super interesting for sure. We also have 4 elderberry shrubs and a blackberry bush growing and doing well. I’m already planning ahead for my fall garden. I did have some luck with our ‘salad bar’ and hope to replant some for the fall. There are some things I will need to start planting in a few weeks! Eek! One of these days I’ll get the hang of it.

And with July starting off a bang, that also means it’s time to start prepping for fall/holiday markets! Specifically, the craft show we have at our church. Not to mention, gifts! It’s also time to start planning fall/holiday bakes for the bakery. Oh man. It’s almost the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Who else is watching Christmas in July on GAC? No? Just me? DOUBTFUL. Tee hee.

Things to note:

I want a blueberry farm. We went to one a few weeks ago and picked blueberries and had the best time. I learned that I never had blueberries until I picked them and ate them fresh off the bush. UNREAL. Add a lavender field, too. It was a whole experience. I want to offer that.

I still very much can’t wait for our future homestead property. I will keep asking the Lord. 😉

I’ve found that this new endeavor with the Wellness Store is so up my alley and I’m super happy to have taken the leap. You can learn more about it on my Insta!

And as of last night, I am an official Ambassador for Ever.American apparel. You can shop and save 10% with that link. I do earn commissions, but I would (and have) share this shop anyway. I just love their tees! Below is my first tee. I wear it pretty much all the time.

¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

Perhaps YOU were made for such a time as this?

THIS SONG is probably my new favorite. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Be a Good Steward

Anyone else looking for other shopping alternatives? No? Just me? 👀

Over the last few years, things have shifted, in a big way, for me.

I’ve been more conscious of what we consume, in every way. I’m having to make my dollars stretch a LOT farther. I’ve had to let go a lot of things. I’m reusing and repurposing anything I can. I’m cooking and baking from scratch, gardening, getting chickens, etc. It’s a whole thing! 🌱🐓💐

Since I’m an America First 🇺🇸 kind of girl, I’ve been really conscious of spending my dollars with like minded shops/stores/people, as well as local.

It’s super important to me. God has bestowed upon me blessing after blessing and I must be a good steward of those blessings.

Thankfully, I’ve found one such place that checks many of my boxes.

• Made in the USA
• Clean & non-toxic
• Affordable
  …just to name a few

I am now working to swap all the gross toxic crap with healthier options. Under my kitchen and bathroom sink, in my medicine cabinet, including supplements! I’m really excited to get everything swapped over and share with you my thoughts on it. It’s all part of our journey in going from cottage to farmhouse!

So You Want to Homestead, eh?

Homesteading. It’s quite the buzzword these days, isn’t it? But what exactly is homesteading?

Never mind what Merriam-Webster says. Of course, that’s a true definition of the word. But let’s look at it in the 21st century’s lens.

Homesteading today is as much a way of life as it is a place. Homesteading is more about becoming self-sustaining and self-reliant. Learning ‘old timey’ skills, going back to our roots and living a more peaceful life.

Here is what homesteading means to this nostalgic old soul:

*Learning skills that seem to have died with our grandmothers: crocheting, knitting, quilting, embroidery, sewing, cooking and baking everything from scratch, re-using and re-purposing everything –yes, maybe even cleaning off the perfectly good piece of tinfoil, because waste not want not, amiright? Growing and raising our own food, and on and on.

*Homeschooling our kids. I’m done having small children, but my young adult son is already on board with homeschooling his children–good Lord willing he should be so blessed.

*Trading and bartering with neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ. You know how to do something they don’t and they know how to do something you don’t, so do what you know how to do well and share the love, mmkay? Yes. Let’s do that.

*Keeping money local. Buy, sell, trade in your own community, amongst like-minded folks. Keeping money in your own community is the best way to ensure stability in your community.

*Teach others how to do what you know how to do. Share the wealth and the love.

*Bring back ‘barn raisings”. The Amish still do it to this day. It’s economical and often faster than hiring out help. It also builds community.

*Bring back Sunday/family dinners. Ideally, you’re already eating together as a family at the table, but if your work schedule doesn’t allow for that, at least make sure you can gather for a family meal at the end of the week.

*Plant a garden and have chickens. Planting a garden is soooo therapeutic and rewarding. Raising chickens for fresh eggs should be on your list, too. Check with your local ordinances to see if that is allowable for you before you run off and build your coop and get your chicks. 😉 Plant some herbs especially for your chickens. It will help them stay healthy and enrich your eggs!

*Learn to bake fresh bread. I promise, it’s not as a hard as it looks and it is so cathartic and therapeutic. Also rewarding. And, bonus feature, it’s a natural room freshener. You’ll thank me later.

Live in an apartment? No sweat. You can do a small container garden on your patio or balcony, or even in a sunny kitchen window. You can grow tomatoes, green beans, herbs, and yes, even a dwarf lemon tree! Pinterest is a gold mine for how to start a container garden.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. As I learn more about how I can homestead where I am, I will share with you on how you can homestead where YOU are. It can be done anywhere! It’s more of a way of living than a physical place.

Stay tuned for more homesteading posts, tips, and ideas!

Meet Me on the Public Square

What would it look like to rebuild the concept of a “Public Square” in our modern times?

I love the idea of coming together and gathering with like-minded fellow entrepreneurs and shoppers! How can we do that? I’ll tell you…

It will start with the gathering of like minds, like hearts, and like ideas. People who want to set things right and get back on track.

It will start with people just like you and me. People who want to support other individuals and businesses who have the same end goal.

What end goal, you ask?

The end goal of preserving liberty and freedom.

Together, we can do that. And I have the perfect outlet for all Liberty loving individuals and businesses!

If you are looking to support liberty minded businesses, you ARE a liberty minded business, and you just want to be among those who love liberty, join me here.

If any of the above fits you….

Click the Image

Focus

That’s an F word that I struggle with. Anyone else? I have a majillion and twelve different things floating around my noggin. Sometimes writing it out helps. Other times, not so much. I can write it down, but then I don’t remember where I wrote it down or put the note or what have you. It’s a vicious cycle.

I’ve been busy. A good busy. I’ve been stressed. Not a good stress. The two don’t make a very good team. Truly, all I want to do is garden, bake, and crochet. And maybe blog.

Let’s start with the garden. It has been sooo much hotter and drier than normal that my garden is NOT at all thriving like it did last year. I know that I’m not alone and that people all over the country are struggling with the same affliction. This does not make me feel better. I’m fortunate that I don’t have a huge crop to manage in this drought. That I just have a small plot and a few pots. Or am I? At least I have access to a garden hose to make sure everything gets watered. But I tell you, the water from a hose does not feed the garden the same way. It just hits different. The heat has been ridiculous. We started June off with our late July-August temps and there is no end in sight. This will also make for a less than stellar fall. We are not amused. But we will count our blessings and look forward to all the blessings our garden will give us and look forward to the cooler weather coming.

Tonight, in fact, a friend and I are going to a lavender class! I’m pretty obsessed with all the lavender things. When we do get our farm, the plan is to have a field of lavender. It will be used for baking and household things such as soaps and what have you.

Here are a couple clippings from my garden. It just makes me so happy.

Fresh cut zinnias and lavender from my own sweet garden.

Next up is baking! I love baking. Have I told you that lately? Maybe I might have mentioned it. Once or twice. I can’t recall if I had officially announced it here on the blog, but I have officially launched my baking biz! Not at all a great time to start a business using some of the most expensive grocery items in the land, but here we are. Asking the Lord for His blessings and provisions over it. The Cottage Baking Co. is officially open for business. It even has its own spot on the Shop page. ^_^ I’m excited to see how it grows. I have high hopes for it. Most of all, it will be a lot of fun. Because if I’m not baking, I’m dying. And because Brady really wanted some cookies, I baked some chocolate chip cookies. I also tested a new cookie recipe to add to the menu.

Mocha Crinkle Cookies. Coming soon to the TCBC menu!

Good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies.

And crochet. I just want to crochet ALL THE THINGS (and bake all the things, but I digress). Now accepting donations of Hobby Lobby gift cards and yarn. So many patterns, so little time, so little yarn. Well, one wouldn’t say that last part if they say my armoire. But it’s not the RIGHT KIND of yarn. What?

Feed me tacos and call me pretty. Now available at Max & Penny Crochet Co!

It’s time for us makers to be getting busy for our fall/winter craft fairs and shows. We have one in November that I am preparing for. I want to make all the things, but need to be realistic about my time, supplies, and market. It’s such a catch 22. You want to make ahead enough things, but when you do, you don’t know if it will sell, and if it doesn’t, then you have all this stock. The struggle. The trick is to make just enough to sell out. 😉 If you know the secret sauce, lemme know. Kthx.

We are less than 3 weeks out to the August primaries here in Missouri. Christian brothers and sisters, we need to be out and voting in record numbers. We have a country to save! God did not call us to sit on the couch behind our keyboards complaining and praying. He called us to MOVE and pray. Pray and move. Get on your computers and research candidates and bills. Get OUT in your community and get behind constitutional conservative candidates and support them and help them in their campaigns. Get out in your community with other like minded people. There is strength in numbers. Literally. All it takes is 3% to stand up and say we aren’t taking it anymore! We do not comply! Check out the Patriot Academy and find a local class and get familiar with your country’s constitution. Get familiar with your state’s constitution. If you have any questions about any of it, feel free to send me an email and I will be happy to direct you to where you need to go or answer any questions. I am so passionate about constitution education that I became a constitution coach. I don’t get any thing for just telling you about it. Zero. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Just the peace knowing that someone else is learning the truth.

Time has gotten away from me and this post has gotten long. Until next time, friends! Stay cool, stay hydrated! Eat cake!

Happy 246th Birthday, America!

Happy Independence Day, friends! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Even today, with all the nonsense going on in our great nation, we are a FREE people. We are free to worship. We are free to choose. We are free to love. We are free to serve one another with grateful hearts. We are free to gather. We are free to speak our minds. We are free to disagree. We are free to protect our families and property (All God given rights, by the way). All because ‘some old guys’ stood up and said NO MORE to government control. We are free to do the same. Our founding documents make it so.

So while you’re hanging with friends and family, grilling up some brats and pounding back a few brewskis, and blowing stuff up, remember that. Remember that countless thousands died to protect your right to do so. Remember that these Founding Fathers of our GREAT nation did this for US. So that we would be free.

Remember that YOU are We the People!

Home Alone

Home alone today. Brady’s off fishing with friends from church. I don’t even know what to do with myself! I have a list, though. But also, how often do I get a quiet house to myself for a day?

Answer? Not very often at all. Part of me wants to sit around watching MY shows and eat Bon Bons (do they even still make those?). Alas, I am on a weight loss journey so none of that will be happening. And as I said, I have a list. Also, I have a business to run.

It’s going to be like mid-summer this week. We are not amused. If you’re new here, I don’t do hot well. Warm, ok. Hot? Ner.

I have a ton of gardening to do, but I’m on hold until my refund gets here to get all my supplies. I also don’t do patient well. I want it right meow! I feel so far behind, but as I recall, last year we didn’t plant for another week, so I’m doing ok. And most of it I started from seed. I just have to breathe!

Our little berg had a city wide yard sale this past weekend. I scored some goodies. But the one I’m most excited about is my old wheelbarrow. I have been wanting one for a while now to use as a planter. Specifically, at least this year, for a little herb garden. I found it for $5! FIVE. FIVE DOLLHAIRS. Part of me just wants to leave it as is. The other part maybe wants to repaint it a fun red or a brighter yellow. For now, I’m just going to drill some holes in this puppy and throw some dirt in it. My other tough decision is whether to put it in the front yard or the back yard…. Too bad I’m indecisive. But how cool is it?! I’m so excited.

Now to find some more half barrels and such. Without spending an arm and a leg. I’m all about being frugal.

We’re doing a lot out here on our little ‘urban’ homestead. Much of which I’ve forgotten to photograph. I suck at the part. I’ll try to do better. We have one project happening that I will be sure to remember pics for. I’ll save that for another post.

In the coming weeks, we will also be adding a chicken coop! That will be another post in and of itself. Pretty freaking stoked about that! The biggest task on that will be to get the run built. It will need some repairs and some paint. And a few add ons, I’m sure. It was free, so I don’t feel like doing the work would be such a bad deal. Remember, I like frugal. Free is even better.

I think I’ll hang out a little bit longer and enjoy the quiet. Maybe read a bit. Then get to work on the list. I have a lot to read and brush up on for the upcoming elections and such. You know, like the U.S. Constitution and the Missouri Constitution.

Do you know the 28 Principles of Liberty? Look for a post on that coming soon, too!

Today’s verse of the day:

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It All Comes to a Head…

The last two days have had me feeling some type of way. Granted, I fully feel like my hormones are to blame, but it doesn’t make it any less a thing. Also, driving ‘into town’ on a rainy day doesn’t help matters, either.

You see, I’m a pretty strong chick. But even strong chicks have their days. I am quickly realizing that I am not praying for the right things. Personal needs. I mean, I am, mostly. But there are things that I need to pray more boldly and specifically for that I didn’t realize I needed to be praying for. This world is a crazy place right now. I’m sure you’ve probably noticed. If you haven’t, you must be in Elijah’s cave or something.

It’s a lot. Mentally and emotionally taxing. And when you get into the trenches to help fight for our liberties and freedoms, you see soooo much more than just your normal, every day citizen. I think the last two days, with hormones and such, it’s just starting to come to a head. This morning I was feeling heavy. And not just my weight. That’s a blog for another day. It’s just that the hits keep coming. And I feel like I need to take it all on. And realistically, I know that I can’t. But they are all important matters. Especially where our children are concerned. They are our future and we need to protect them at all costs. We need to protect their innocence, especially. But this is going off topic. Another blog for yet another time.

So while in one of our leader chats, I mentioned how I was tired. Of course, we all are. But I was reminded that now is when we have to be at our strongest. I lamented over the fact that I am the only one in my household fighting, and that actually, I feel like I’m fighting for three households. And one doesn’t even know it. That’s when I put my phone down and got into the Word. That was when the Lord reminded me that no weapon formed against me will prosper. {Isaiah 54:17} That God. His timing is so perfect. He always shows me what I need to see and hear at just the right time. I need only be still and listen. And trust and obey.

“When you are in Christ, weapons may form but they will not conquer you. Choose to trust Christ and let His Word fight on your behalf. When the enemy rises up against you, choose to hold your peace — let God fight your battle. Every tongue that rises up against you shall backfire.” No Weapon by Vance K. Jackson (a 3-day devotional on the YouVersion Bible app).

I’m not entirely sure why the Lord has brought me to this political sphere. Clearly he sees something in me that I don’t. Maybe he intends to use my lack of filter for good. Or the fact that I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Perhaps he thought that I was made for such a time as this. {Esther 4:14}

Take a Stand, Make a Change

This Jesus Girl isn’t checking her Christianity at the door, friends.

On Friday, I registered to be the central committee woman for my precinct. 😳
If you know me, you know this is waaaay outside of my comfort zone. But that comfort zone is serving no one.

If we don’t like the way things are going, we need to step up to the plate and get involved. This is no time to be silent, dear ones. We weren’t called to sit back and not speak up. We were called to stand up and speak up for what is right, good, and just!

Think Peter and Paul were mild and mellow? Heck no!

Friends, even Jesus flipped tables when he saw something wrong.

Now, I’m not saying to go around flipping tables or slicing the ears off of guards or anything. I’m just sayin the time has come to be active and involved.

It starts with your city/town, the council, the school board, the county, your state. Show up to council and board meetings. Get involved with local committees and groups. Get out and meet your reps and councilpeople. Find out where you can help. Everyone has been blessed with gifts. It’s time we use them!

If you have any questions or need help finding a place to serve, I can help you find out who to talk to.

Will you stand up and step outside of your comfort zone? If not for you, maybe for your kids or grandkids? They’re the ones that pay for the choices we make, as a society, today.
Just some food for thought!

Pray for me as I enter this new world! Pray the Lord grants me wisdom, discernment, compassion, grace, mercy, and a gentle tongue. 😬🥴 Bless it.

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