How To: {Simple Gift Wrap}

As we all know, presentation is important.

Even the smallest gift deserves to be dressed up.

I try to keep a few items on hand, so a small package can be wrapped at a moment's notice...

a hostess gift...

a last minute birthday treat...

a shower gift when you didn't receive much notice...

Which is exactly what happened to me recently.

Luckily, I had three key items on hand.

Monday Musings: {The Bridal Registry}

I read somewhere that the newly engaged can't register too soon.  The article said that a future bride should register as soon as she feels like it, because people will send gifts earlier than imagined.

We haven't registered.

 I don't even know where to begin.
{perhaps with a wedding date...?}

Much to my surprise, we have already received a thoughtful, fantastic gift.

Homemade Honey Hair Treatment

I received several messages in response to earlier posts discussing  the use of raw honey as part of a skin care regimen.

One reader shared with me that she uses honey as a hair treatment.

It was my turn to be intrigued.

Friday at the Farm: {The First Wedding Gift}

Our first wedding gift arrived in yesterday's post.

Unexpected.

And, so exciting.

For those of you who are new here, I became engaged a little over two weeks ago.

{The official blog announcement can be found here, if you missed it.}

Monday Musings: {The Seed Catalog & A Challenge}

"Growing food was the first activity that gave us enough propsperity to stay in one place, form complex social groups, tell our stories, and build our cities."

                                                                                           -Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

It's cold out this time of year.

Windy. Icy. Snowy. Grey.

It's easy to grow weary of the short days and early darkness.

The earliest spring bulbs are starting to poke through.

Spring is so close you can almost smell it.

Then, it arrives...the beacon of hope that every gardener anticipates.

The seed catalog.

Sunday Snapshot: {Love}

"Why do farmers farm, given their economic diversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming?

And always the answer is: 'Love.  They must do it for love.'  Farmers farm for the love of farming.  They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants.  They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors.  They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable.  They love to live where they work and to work where they live.  If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children."  


                                  -Wendell Berry, Bringing it to the Table: Writings on Farming and Food

DIY: {Sweets & Paper}

Sweets

For Valentine's Day, I made homemade chocolate truffles.

Sounds impressive.

They were simple. 

(much like this cheese danish recipe I shared earlier this week.)  

The Farmhouse Kitchen: {Easy Cheese Danishes}

Have you ever prepared a dish where the end result looks like it must have taken much longer to make, or required much more skill, than it actually did?

Add these danishes to that list.  

They are quick, easy, and yummy.  

And even if you aren't much for cooking, you can make these danishes.  

Friday at the Farm: An Announcement

Earlier this week, The Weather Man™  proposed.

I accepted.

Monday Musings: Raw Honey Skincare Regimen, Part II

My lips stay dry and chapped this time of year.

I have found a perfect solution. 

A natural solution.  

I exfoliate them twice a week, using the following recipe.

Sunday Snapshot

"Good farmers, who take seriously their duties as stewards of Creation and of their land's inheritors, contribute to the welfare of society in more ways than society usually acknowledges, or even knows.  These farms produce valuable goods, of course; but they also conserve soil, they conserve water, they conserve wildlife, they conserve open space, they conserve scenery."  

                                         - Wendell Berry

Friday at the Farm: Garden Prep

When it comes to vegetable gardens, my mantra is go big or go home.

If I'm going to take the time to tend to one tomato plant, I'm just as happy to tend to a dozen.

Or two dozen.

In preparation for Spring, the garden plot has been plowed.