5 Ways I Enjoy A Simple Fall Season

DIY Crafts, ETSY, From Scratch, Holidays, Recipes, Simple Living Comments: 9

Happy First Day of Fall!

For some reason, as soon as Labor Day is over, we think it’s Fall, right? Decorations start going up and, in most places, the weather starts to cool off. Well, today, September 23rd, is the actual official First Day of Fall. Another sign that Fall is coming is the days are starting to get shorter and the nights become longer. Have you noticed it’s getting dark around 8pm now? I’m really not a fan of it getting dark at 5:30pm. We love being outside so it kinda puts a hindrance on our evening activities. Sigh….

I feel like there is so much to do in such a short amount of time. Do you feel like every weekend there’s a festival going on? I vow not to be so busy. I just want to enjoy the season for what it is and not all the commercial hype.

Here are my five simple ways I enjoy this season:

1. First, Fall is my absolute favorite season! I love the changing of the leaves, especially. I’m originally from West Virginia, so I have very fond memories of watching the leaves turn as a child. I now live in Florida and well, not so much. We have a lot of trees with foliage but nothing like what people have in the New England states. My idea of watching the leaves is taking a simple weekend road trip up to the Blue Ridge Mountains. My daughter and I are actually planning a camping trip weekend at the end of October. We hope the leaves will be vibrant by then. But nevertheless, I’m excited to relax and make some memories with my daughter.

2. Another part of Fall I enjoy is the decorating. I’m more of a simple muted tones girl, but I do love pops of color around the holidays. One thing I became hooked on this year, was making fabric pumpkins. Now, these aren’t your traditional pumpkins. Mine are called Prairie Pumpkins. Since my blog and lifestyle is mirrored after simple living and how Little House on the Prairie was portrayed, I designed my pumpkins after the little girls and the big girls of the show.

I carefully chose primitive, prairie, country, homespun material to go with our classic/authentic farmhouse décor. I love placing these throughout the home and adding them either by themselves or in sets. They add just that little pop of color that I love. I have them listed in my Etsy shop HERE if you’d like to check them out! If you’re looking for a good craft, they are also fun to make!

Another element I love to use in Fall decorating is pillows. You can never have enough pillows, right? I mean, come on, they look great on the porch sitting in a rocking chair or on a swing. I also like to set them on our bed and on the couch. It gives just the right added touch to the season.

My friend makes these adorable ticking pillows in Georgia and I’m excited to be carrying these in my online shop and booth at Trader Mae’s soon. They should be arriving any day now and I can’t wait! I love the cute farm animals but I also love the simple Fall ones.

You can Pre-Order them through my website or stay tuned and I’ll let you know when they arrive. Just make sure you are following me on both Facebook and Instagram. These are custom handmade so please allow a little extra time for delivery.

3. With the days getting shorter, we enjoy sitting around in the evenings working on a puzzle together or watching fall themed movies. With the weather starting to cool off, I am going to be so excited to open up all of our windows. This will be our first year in our new home and I am beyond excited!

4. Another favorite of mine is baking. I love having a piece of my homemade right out-of-the-oven Pumpkin Bread with a pat of butter on it. We will have this for breakfast or in the evenings with a cup of herbal tea. Grab my recipe HERE.

5. I couldn’t leave out the most important thing…Pumpkins. I look forward to every first weekend in October when our local outdoor antique market has their “Fall in the Field” event. They have the most beautiful pumpkins from a farmer in Ohio. I plan to get a few for our front porch and I’m hoping they are coming with some of their famous dried Bittersweet. It truly isn’t Fall without pumpkins!

One last thing I wanted to share with you is……I can’t believe I didn’t start with this because I’m “jumping up and down” excited! Little House Simple Living has it’s very own T-shirt. I know, I’m just as excited! I am honored to have partnered with Joys of Thread and this is my FALL shirt. “Country Roads, Take Me Home”. They are handmade to order and are screen printed onto the most amazing soft and flexible shirt from Bella Canvas. I absolutely love this material! I wish I could have all of my shirts in this. See what I mean? You can grab one here – https://joysofthread.com/2598-2/

No matter where you live, all “Country Roads, Lead Us Home”………

So, how do you celebrate the Fall season? Do you go to several pumpkin patches or festivals? What are your traditions? How do you decorate? I’d love to know…..

Have a Wonderful Harvest Season!

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Homemade Chicken Amish Noodle Soup in the Instant-Pot

Cooking, From Scratch, Recipes, Southern Cooking Comments: 9

I know it’s summer and soups are mainly for eating in the fall and winter, but….

We were so busy the other night and I didn’t have time to think about dinner. I guess my poor family doesn’t need to eat LOL.

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DIY Dresser Sink Vanity

DIY, New Home Construction, The Farmhouse Comments: 8

When you are building a new home and are self-contracting, you hardly have time for anything else. Hence my absence from blogging LOL. I’m trying my best to get it together and post more often. After all, I’m just over here wingin’ it half the time ha ha!

In the beginning stages it’s not that bad, but boy, once drywall goes up, it gets busy. We’ve been taking our time so it’s not going as fast as the normal house build, but there’s still a lot going on.

DIY Dresser Sink Vanity, Old Dresser Vanity, Vintage Dresser Sink
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Picking the Perfect Lighting for Your New Home

New Home Construction, The Farmhouse Comments: 4

Our new home building is coming to an end soon. We are probably about 6-8 weeks out and our lighting is being installed right now. What a journey it has been! If you’ve been following along for a while, I hope you have enjoyed my documentation. I will be doing a virtual tour once we are finished and sharing more details of our home.

*Source :http://gpschafer.com/

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Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Cooking, From Scratch, Recipes, Southern Cooking 1 Comment

How do you like your potatoes? Pan fried, mashed or baked? My favorite side dish hands down has to be mashed potatoes.

There are several kinds of potatoes so which ones do you use to make mashed potatoes?

POTATO TYPES:

  1. Idaho Russet – baked potato soup, potato salad, baked potatoes
  2. Red – potato salad, roasted
  3. White – mashed, scalloped, roasted, potato salad
  4. Yellow – mashed, roasted, potato salad
  5. Purple – roasted
  6. Sweet – roasted, baked, casserole
  7. Fingerling – baked or roasted

Wow! There’s a lot of different kinds of potatoes! My favorite type for mashed potatoes is Yellow Yukon Gold. I’ve tried making mashed potatoes with red or russet and I just don’t get the texture and creaminess that I do with the yellow.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:
3 lbs. of Yellow Yukon Gold Potatoes
Organic Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream
Himalayan Pink Salt
Ground Pepper
Regular Sour Cream
Kerry Gold Unsalted Butter
Potato Masher or Hand Mixer

Directions:

  1. Peel the potatoes and place in a pot of boiling water.
  2. Boil until fork tender and drain.
  3. Add potatoes back to the pot and add a little bit of the milk or heavy cream. This is an eyeball thing. Start slowly and you can always add a little more if needed. Don’t over pour or your potatoes will be runny.
  4. Add in the salt and pepper. Mash or mix everything together.
  5. Once mashed, gently fold in a few heaping tablespoons of sour cream.
  6. Top your potatoes with several pats of butter.

Note: If you have an Instant Pot, place your potatoes on a rack and fill the pot with at least 1 cup of water. Press the “steam” setting and set it for 5 minutes. Use the Natural Release method for pressurizing.

With Easter Sunday coming tomorrow, do you have mashed potatoes on your menu? I love them with a good spiral ham, salad, deviled eggs and some homemade bread. Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter!

Jesus is Risen! (Matthew 28:6)

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How to Harvest Potatoes

Gardening, Homesteading, Non-Gmo, Simple Living Leave a comment

I’ve never met a potato I’ve never liked LOL. Seriously, I love potatoes and they are actually healthy.

They are loaded with potassium, phosphorus and vitamin C. They are made up of carbohydrates, so I do eat them in moderation. Pulling them fresh from the garden assures that they are even better for you as they haven’t lost any of their vitamin and minerals.

*This post may contain affiliate links. There is no extra charge to you and
I only share what I personally use or believe in.
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How to Make Water Kefir and Why You Should Be Drinking It

Cultured Foods, Homesteading, Natural Foods, Non-Gmo Comments: 7

You may have heard about “Juice Kefir” or “Water Kefir”? If not, grab a cup of hot herbal tea and let me share with you an amazing drink for your body.

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This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend products I personally use or I believe in. There is no extra cost to you.

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Grow Beautiful Sunflowers and Save their Seeds

Gardening, Homesteading, Simple Living Comments: 11

What do you think about when you see sunflowers? They are bright, cheery and just bring joy to the garden, right? I love looking out my window and seeing these beauties growing! Sunflowers say “Summer” and you can even harvest the seeds for a nutritious snack.

sunflowers, how to grow sunflowers, saving seeds

Here’s some simple tips on growing them and harvesting the seeds:

Growing Sunflowers

  1. Make sure you have a nice rich soil free of any weeds.
  2. Pull back about an inch of soil or use your finger to poke a hole. Make a hole every 6 inches and place one seed in each hole.
  3. Cover the soil over the seeds and water.
  4. Water daily (until germination begins) and you should start to see seedlings sprouting in about 6-10 days.
  5. The best time to plant Sunflowers is between March and May. If you live in Northern states, please wait until after your last frost.  I use the Farmer’s Almanac or Grier’s Almanac to determine when to plant mine.
  6. Next, sprinkle an organic fertilizer over the top of the soil. I love using Dr. Earth fertilizers. You can find them at most big box garden stores. They are Non-GMO Project verified and you will not need to fertilize again during their growing season.
  7. Your Sunflowers will be in full bloom in around 60-70 days from when you planted them.
  8. Spread some wood chips at the base of the sunflower so they can retain moisture. Make sure you water them weekly.
sunflowers, how to grow sunflowers, save seeds, back to eden garden

Harvesting the Sunflowers

  1. When you start to see the sunflowers open fully, then they are ready to cut. Using pruning shears, cut the stem to however long you want them. Five to six inches is usually a good amount.
  2. Make a bouquet and put them in a mason jar filled with water.
  3. They will be pretty for about a week.

  • sunflowers, how to grow sunflowers, save seeds, back to eden garden

Harvesting the Seeds

  1. Once you start seeing the petals fall off or the sunflowers start drooping, it’s probably time to cut the heads off. You can hang them to dry in a dark cool place for about a week.
  2. Next, put a towel or parchment paper down on a flat surface.
  3. Shake the heads gently and the seeds should just fall out.
  4. Store them in a jar for a year in the refrigerator so you can plant more next season.

Varieties

I like planting the Mammoth (5-6 feet tall ones) Sunflowers that I put along my back fence. These will need support as they are so tall. Just use some bamboo, rebar, a stick or whatever you can find laying around that you think will support your big ‘ole sunflowers.

I also like planting the Firecracker Sunflowers. These are about 4-5 inches in diameter and about 2-3 feet tall. They have a beautiful showing of yellow and orange and resemble a “ring of fire”. These are my favorite ones that look so pretty in a mason jar! They get planted in the garden in different areas. They are great for the bees, which will pollinate all of our veggies growing.

There are several more other varieties. Just explore which ones you want to plant in your yard. The only real requirement is they need a lot of sunshine! So, make sure you plant them in a sunny open area.

That’s it! Super easy to grow. I’d love to hear how you are doing with your Sunflowers!

Receive a a “FREE” actual copy of the Grier’s Almanac just for following me. Just email me (info@littlehousesimpleliving.com) your address and I’ll pop one in the mail to you!

Confession: I went out of town last May for about a week. No one watered mine and they did just fine. I was amazed at how beautiful they were when I came back home!

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sunflowers, how to grow sunflowers, save seeds, back to eden garden

How to Make a Distressed Wood Beam

DIY, New Home Construction, The Farmhouse Comments: 13

My husband and I have been taking our time building our house. Like, it will be three years once we’re completed LOL. I’ve definitely learned patience through this whole process, that’s for sure. We are paying as we go as we don’t want a mortgage with this home. I’ll share with you more details on how we are doing that soon. Meanwhile…..

    *Source: www.heritagebarns.com                                          

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Selecting Bathroom Fixtures in your New Home

New Home Construction, Some of My Favorites, The Farmhouse Comments: 6

You have your plans drawn and you are ready to go to permitting with your local county. Maybe you have a builder or you are building your home yourself.  The little details in your new home should make an impact and showcase your style.

Most of the time when you walk into someone’s home, you notice how tall the ceilings are or the gorgeous wood floors. The lighting is a great focal point when you walk into a room as well. Making sure everything coordinates is super important.

bathroom fixtures, moen, delta, randolph morris, kingstonbrass, claw foot tub, vintage faucets, farmhouse bathroom

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