If you are thinking of starting a homestead, there are several must have tools you should have. Homesteads can be very costly when you are getting started. Land is not cheap and neither is the infrastructure to house livestock, gardens, etc. We have been slowly building up our homestead over the last 8 months. We invest in things in small bites so that we can do it within our budget. Over the last 8 months we have finished a number of big homestead projects: we have redone the horse barn, put up a second pasture, built a new chicken coop,…
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Continue ReadingBalancing a thriving homestead with full time jobs can be tough. Worth it certainly, but tough. I would love to spend all my days bustling around the homestead, riding my horses and baking bread but there are bills to pay and we have fulfilling careers to work on. My husband and I both work full time outside the home and also have a thriving 5 acre homestead with horses, chickens, (soon) pigs, dogs, cats, garden and all the work that accompanies that. Not to mention, I have an etsy business and this blog. We are busy busy busy!
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Continue ReadingAre you struggling to easily declutter your home? Do you ever just look around your house and feel overwhelmed by all of the stuff? I do regularly. Clutter stresses me out. The problem is, I love shopping and finding new things and I also don’t like to get rid of things. I know- a recipe for a cluttered home. As I have gotten older and grown more confident in my homemaking skills, I have figured out ways to organize my house in a way that feels less cluttered without getting rid of all of my treasures. I have also learned…
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Continue ReadingThese cold winter days have me craving ALL the comfort foods. One of my favorite easy comfort meals is Slow Cooker Beef Stew that I make from scratch. It is an easy meal, full of hearty veggies and tender beef. It takes just a few minutes to throw together and then cooks away in the slow cooker while you accomplish other things. Then, you get to enjoy a hearty winter meal without hours over the stove. Looking for a new slow cooker? I LOVE mine. My favorite way to serve this stew is with a thick slice of crusty sourdough…
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Continue ReadingAre you thinking of getting chicks this spring? If so, you are going to need a chicken brooder. This is the box where you keep the little chicks for the first few weeks until they are big enough to go outside into the coop. There are a million ways to make a brooder or repurpose something else for this purpose. Basically, you just need a decent sized space with a floor that can be filled with sawdust, walls to keep the chicks enclosed and a heating source.
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Continue ReadingOne of the biggest problem points of any homestead adventure (and any marriage) is determining how you will share the workload in a way that feels proportional and balanced to everyone on the homestead. I know many balk at the idea of taking on a homestead because the amount of work is scary. Homesteads are a ton of work and finding time to get everything done can be a challenge. Often, one family member is concerned that too much of the work will fall on them. I know my husband and I have had conversations in this space many times.…
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Continue ReadingHOW WE TOOK OUR KITCHEN FROM DRAB TO FARMHOUSE FAB ON A SMALL BUDGET! Yes you read that right- I completed a total DIY kitchen renovation for UNDER $250 in just a weeks time! The before and after is amazing. When we moved into our farmhouse, there was really nothing “wrong” with the kitchen… it was a nice size, the cabinets were in decent shape, the countertops were acceptable, there was a backsplash and it had stainless appliances. The problem was, absolutely none of it was even close to my preferred style. I enjoy a light, bright, modern farmhouse style.…
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Continue ReadingSomething I have felt really motivated to do this past year is to improve the quality of the food I am eating. That does not mean I just buy organically labeled food and call it a day. Instead, I am seeking out food that has been produced well at every step in the process. I am seeking out meat that has been humanely and ethically raised on farms as local to me as possible. I am seeking out produce that has been locally produced by smaller scale farmers who put the highest level of care into their crop. I am…
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Continue ReadingIsn’t it ironic that I was raised on an 80 acre farm in the heart of Amish and Mennonite country and yet, I never owned a chicken nor lived on the same property as chickens? My mother is deathly afraid of birds and that fear was passed on to both my sister and I. I don’t even remember a “why” but I have always thoroughly hated and been equally terrified of all feathered things. The chicken barn at the county fair? Wouldn’t get within 20 feet of it. I wanted NOTHING to do with birds. Nothing. Meanwhile, my dear husband…
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Continue ReadingHello! Welcome to The Stylish Homestead. Some of you might know me from my blog, The Legal Duchess, and I appreciate you following along. If you are totally new, welcome! I started blogging back when I started law school as a creative outlet and a way to fill a void in the online market as there were very few law school specific bloggers out there. It was so fun to document as I went through that experience and I created so many amazing connections through that blogging experience. After graduating law school and passing the bar exam, I just felt…