Blog

How to Feed Your Family on Half the Income (What Growing Our Own Food Taught Us)

In 2019, the math on daycare and my commute stopped adding up, and we had to figure out how to feed our family on half the income. Here’s what that year taught me — about our finances, our grocery bill, and the garden that ended up solving more than I expected.

How to Meal Plan (and Prep Ahead) for Busy Seasons

Meal planning doesn’t have to take over your week, and prepping ahead doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s my simple 30-minute weekly planning method, plus how I stock the freezer months ahead of our busiest season so dinner is never the thing I have to think about.

How to Make Taco Seasoning at Home (Without the Fillers)

Ever read the back of a taco seasoning packet? Mine was full of fillers, maltodextrin, and MSG — barely any actual spice. Here’s the simple homemade version I switched to instead, using spices you probably already have in your cabinet.

Bring Food Security Home: How Growing Your Own Food Protects Your Family

Food security isn’t just a headline — it’s something you can build in your own backyard, balcony, or apartment. Here’s how growing, storing, and cooking your own food adds up to real, reliable food security for your family, plus my go-to easy dinner that uses it all.

Getting Ready for Your Spring Garden: A Fall Planning Checklist

It’s not too early to think about your spring garden — in fact, fall is the smartest time to do it. Here’s the full checklist to plan through now so you’re ready instead of scrambling once the ground thaws.

What Is a Polyculture? How Growing (and Raising) Things Together Builds a Self-Sustaining Homestead

What is a polyculture, and is it worth the hype in homesteading circles? Here’s how we’re using nitrogen-fixing plants, free-ranging poultry, and a whole lot of patience to build an orchard that (eventually) takes care of itself.

The Biggest Mistake in Homesteading (And How to Avoid It)
The Biggest Mistake in Homesteading (And How to Avoid It)

The biggest mistake beginners make in homesteading isn’t starting too small — it’s starting too fast. I know the pull. The vision is clear, the excitement is real, and you want all of it right now. But here’s what I’ve learned the hard way: when you pile everything on at once, you don’t do any of it well. And then the burnout hits. In this post, I’m breaking down how to build a homestead that actually lasts — one well-stewarded step at a time.

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You Don’t Need 80 Acres: The Homesteading Mindset That Changes Everything
You Don’t Need 80 Acres: The Homesteading Mindset That Changes Everything

I didn’t set out to be a homesteader. I had a hobby garden. Then our income got cut in half, and that little garden became our grocery store. What I discovered that year — and in the hard seasons that followed — is that the habits our great-grandmothers lived by aren’t just charming. They’re a form of resilience that’s available to anyone, anywhere, no matter the acreage.

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A Full Summer Day on Our Farmstead — Morning, Afternoon & Evening
A Full Summer Day on Our Farmstead — Morning, Afternoon & Evening

Four years ago I wrote about our summer farmstead days from the middle of surviving them — postpartum, sick, and running on empty. I’m still on the same 3.4 Nebraska acres. But the rhythm looks completely different now. Here’s what a real summer day actually looks like when you’ve finally built a foundation under it.

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Let Food Be Thy Medicine: One Farm Wife’s 8-Year Journey to Healing Her Gut and Getting Her Life Back
Let Food Be Thy Medicine: One Farm Wife’s 8-Year Journey to Healing Her Gut and Getting Her Life Back

Hippocrates said it first, but I had to learn it the hard way. I grew up a typical 90s kid — cereal, pizza rolls, boxed mac and cheese — even living on a farm. It took my babies showing me what my own body couldn’t tell me, a winter when everything fell apart, and years of peeling back one layer at a time to understand what healing actually requires. This is the story of eight years, a long list of foods I couldn’t eat, and how most of them slowly found their way back to my table.

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As I’ve grown as an entrepreneur, mom, gardener, and livestock owner, I struggled to find a planner that met my needs and kept me organized. So, I MADE MY OWN. You can look at it on the link below and buy it on Amazon.
Don’t want the whole calendar part? I got you! I pulled the gardening and animal care pages out and put them in a book all their own. 
 
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Thriving Through Farm Life: Wife’s Support Network! In our community, we embrace the challenges of farm life and provide a supportive space for wives facing the complexities of managing a family farm. Whether you’re navigating financial pressures, day-to-day operations, or seeking ways to create a thriving home, we’re here for you. Explore garden and preservation tips for cultivating your oasis, share insights on animal care, and discover practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let’s grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance! 
                                                                                                                    
Starting a garden doesn’t have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I’ve learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life. 

Grab the Gardening Basics Course

                
Everyone wants a healthier home with less illness. But how and where do you start? Jump into my free membership, where I share the tips I’ve learned since my journey started in 2016. Tips range from nutrition, herbs, detoxing, natural cleaning, and using essential oils with kids.  
                
I’ve had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal Western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma

3 + 9 =

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Shickley, NE

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