Head Over Heels

Well I'm in love.  I've been searching for an outfit to wear for an upcoming event. I wanted something unique, earthy, farmgirlish, fancy, yet simple: ME.

Well Etsy never disappoints.  I mean does this description get any better?  "Rust. Sweat. Stormy nights. Sweet Tea on the front porch. Whisky out back. House proud. Cypress moss swinging from branches. Old leather. Family secrets. Muddy back roads. Torn linen. Tent revivals. "  Each piece is in my Favorites section.  And her goods were SOLD OUT at Anthropologie in New Orleans!!!

Yes that's love speaking.  When I have something in my mind I know what I want and I usually do not waver.  For example....I knew I wanted a vintage looking lacy number for my wedding day - no poofy ball gown for me.  I walked in told them what I wanted 30 minutes and $300 later I had it! 

So I've had in my mind what I want for this event and a few others I've been planning for when I came across Bayou Salvage on Etsy.  What's not to love about someone who describes her pinafores as "Country Fried?"  My kinda gal!

So I've made some major decisions ladies.  I must have it all.  Or at least a few pieces of this charming collection.  Please visit this talented artist and support her.  I cannot rave about her enough!

What Makes Up Your Make Up?

I am a make up girl.  I feel naked without lipstick.  I love Aqua Net.  I love to smell good and I used to match my nail polish with my outift....daily.  Now that I'm a semi hippie I'm actually reading labels and finding out for myself what's in the products I use.

(meaning of hippie according to Webster's Dictionary is: 

: a usually young person who rejects the mores of established society (as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living) and advocates a nonviolent ethic; broadly : a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person

 

ummmm....crazy definition!)  and yes I do have long hair and am rejecting what I believe most of us as a society have been led to believe; that if it's on the shelf (food or in this case MAKE UP) it's a safe product. 

 

I have this cousin that I love (yes I have to because we're family but she's totally cool and I genuinely love her) and she MAKES make up.  Good make up that covers my flaws and in cute little packages and reasonably priced.  And made up of all natural non chemical products.  You can find out her contact info here on Facebook.  You will love it too!  She was inspired to start her company because of all that she read in labels on make up.

 

Did you know that cosmetics aren't tested by the FDA before they go on the market?  According to Mother Earth News (great informative magainzine by the way) 80 % of the products used in most cosmetics have been linked to cancer and other health concerns.  Mineral make up is better for you but still might contain aluminum!  It is also is used in a lot of anti persperants!  Some mascara even has mercury!  You can read a distrubing list of toxic chemicals used in common beauty products on this site.  My new rule is if I can't pronounce it and know what it is then I probably don't want it in my food or on my body.

Back to my beloved Aqua Net, if I should be warned not to stand close to a fire when wearing it or holding it, then maybe I shouldn't be wearing it????  Here's how it rates on the Environmental Working Group website.

I love this blog by Sarah Kovac who shares all about her experiences of giving up shampoo and making her own face wash.  I know you'll enjoy it as much as I do and I just might give up shampoo too!!!

I was thrilled a few months ago to read of a local Northwest Missouri Mom who started her own business by creating Non Toxic Nail Polish called Piggy Paint.  She has now sold to and met famous celebrities like Tori Spelling and it all started out by her finding out what ingredients are in the products she was using. 

Women amaze me!  We have such potential!  We are so persuasive!  And creative!  Imagine the influence we could have in our homes, our stores, our finances.....Start Reading Labels, Imagining the World A Better Place and then TAKE ACTION!!!!

 

Around the Farm

They're here!!!!  My French Copper Maran Eggs have arrived!  Can't wait for 21 days until they hatch! 

                                               Don't you just love the dark chocolate color?

The Homestead Shopper - Part 2 Natural vs. Organic & Coupons!!!!

Oh boy.  I hope I can type as fast as I can think.  This is a passionate subject for me and I am just overflowing with all I want to share yet keep it cute and fun and brief.  My mouth wants to flap open just like in the photo above.


First of all how blessed are we to live in a day in age where we can find info at our fingertips and connect with others passionate in the same topics?  AmAzInG!!!  So blessed! 


Last night during the Grammys this thought provoking commerical was played and sponsored by Chipotle.  I loved it!  It actually almost brought me to tears that's how passionate I am about getting back to our roots.  Take a peek.  How awesome that when someone like me, who feels that my little voice and lifestyle can't make a difference, sees something this powerful aired by a large company to a huge viewer spot I begin to think maybe there is hope.


I don't know if I mentioned it or not but my family's New Years Resolution has been to eat mainly organic, Non GMO food as much as we possibly can.  Yes I still love soda (Lord help me) and let the boys eat candy bars now and then because I'm a believer in not letting it be taboo or that's all we will want (think diets and budgeting too).  I know it's bad but....I've gotta wean myself!  Our grocery bill has skyrocketed.  I used to shop exclusively at Aldi's because they have a lot of great products like milk without hormones and it's cheap.  But right after our resolution they began to build a new Aldi's and did not hire local workers and since I'm all about local.  Well.  It's been a timely decision to move our business to the organic section at HyVee.  A couple of weeks ago I thought this is crazy I have to make this a little more adorable so I decided to incorporate some 100% All Natural items into our diet.  When I got home and took the time to read the labels I did not like what I saw.  The new jello I was so excited to finally give to my poor deprived children in their lunch box had corn syrup in it!!!!  Never mind the no artificial colors label, the corn syrup was just as bad!  So here are a few links to the Natural vs. Organic debate.  This week I will once again be buying all organic items.  (I actually think they taste better).  And Hyvee has their own off brand of organic items so that really helps to buy those.  If you can only do All Natural at least it's a step in the right direction.


Here is what Organic It's Worth it has to say.


And Stonyfield says this.


One last link are these organic facts.


So if you've decided to buy organic why not use coupons to help save money?  I'm all about coupons. 


Organic Valley is one of my favorite company's.  I just love their coffee creamer!!!  Way better tasting than the new All Natural one I found at Hyvee.  You can print coupons right off of their website.  It was already the same price and with the coupon:  cheaper!


I love the Frugal Girls site.  It lists all of the upcoming sales and combines them with coupons.  Here is the organic version. 


And a few more can be found here.


If any of you readers out there have additional links or suggestions I would love to hear your comments below. 


My dream would be for each of you to be able to grow your own food or even a fraction of it.  And if you can't, please support your local farmers who do at your nearest farmers market.


I know this hasn't been full of cute pictures but I hope you found this post just as inspiring.

The Homestead Shopper - Part One

I love this photo I found on Pintrest..  Add sunglasses to the look and that's me (I wish!) flying down the aisles....If you have seen me over the course of the last year at any number of retail stores with the large sunglasses on and my hood up (but now I see the scarf is way cooler), rushing past you, don't think a thing about it.  Apparently I shop like a criminal.  Since I have been on the quest to make a lot of the products I use - I have been buying very unusual products that I normally would not buy.  Glycerin, lye, ammonia, huge amounts of vodka.  Yep. 

Over the summer I was buying ammonia on a regular basis at the dollar store for a cheap flower booster recipe I found online.  Until the manager would get called up every time I came in.  Apparently you can make drugs with ammonia.  I found an alternative Garden Fertilizer Recipe.

Lye is used to make soap and must be purchased at chemical companies.  To use it I wait until the kids are in bed and put on gloves and goggles because if the stuff touches your flesh it will eat it and a trip to the ER is necessary.  So that's what I'm doing if you drive by my house late at night and see my silhouette in the window stirring with the science garb on.  NOT cooking up criminal concoctions.  Would it be easier to buy already made wonderful goat's milk soap?  Why yes it would.  Two of my very good friends sell theirs and you can find them Here and Here.

Oh the vodka.  It's for the Vanilla Extract.  I promise!!!!

Yes you've seen me looking at Pink Camo Guns online but only because my son is obsessed with hunting and I'm forced to watch it all day on TV and those girls look pretty cool shooting grizzlies. 

And I am a follower of Junk Mafia because it's AwEsOmE!!!!  I love their daytrips!  It's about shopping people!
I hope you'll decide that being a homesteader is worth the suspicious looks in the checkout line.  What crazy things have you purchased to skip the middle man and create your own products?

Be The Change

My favorite meal of the day is breakfast.  Mainly because it's my husband's specialty.  But also because it's just so darn good.  My sister and I were leafing through Country Living Magazine yesterday and she was drooling over the breakfast served in this article.  It features sausage, pancakes, and Maple Pecan Butter.  Want to know what excites me most about this menu?  I can raise everything I need for the entire meal here on the farm.  When I look at a recipe I think, "Do I have everything I need to make it already at home?"  That's the beauty of self sufficiency and one of my main goals for our farm. 

Last year we planted a small nut grove and this spring we plan on adding Sugar Maples to the farm and Heritage Hogs.  We have milk for the butter and we have planted wheat to make the pancakes.  Yes, it will take a long time for the trees to grow large enough to produce nuts and sweet syrup but we have to start sometime. 

We want to leave our children with the resources and the knowledge on how to provide for themselves in the future and not just financially.  Times have changed and it's vital to know where your food comes from and how to obtain it.  I joke that I don't want to be Amish (they are fabulous people but I love my technology too!) yet I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and find knowledge there not just entertainment (my kids also love to watch it).  I believe it's important for young men to know how to hunt for food, start a fire and of course do dishes & laundry.  (That's right we will arrange a marriage for a price.  Joking!!!  I'm a believer in TRUE LOVE).

My boys got the cutest book from a ChickFilA meal a few months ago and I just love it. In the book it's the farmer's birthday and all of the animals are excited about what they can give the farmer:  cow-milk, sheep-wool, pig-sausage, hen-egg, horse-pulling wagon, dog-friendship.  I believe that's what God intended; for us to give the animals a happy life and that they in turn want to give back to us.

What's your favorite recipe and how can you start becoming self sufficient by producing all that's in that recipe?  Salsa is a great place to start or salad because all you need is a small spot on your balcony or backyard to grow all you need for just a few dollars worth of seeds or plants.  I hope your winter days are spent dreaming of small differences you can make in your life that will affect the next generation.  It doesn't even have to be food related.  It could be trying to live more green, starting the habit of an hour a day just talking to your child without the distraction of handheld electronics, calling a good friend once a week.....These practices will all affect your future and your childs.  I'll close with one of the most common sayings you'll hear but it's so true:

Be The Change You Want To See In The World.

Inside Scoop: What's in the farmgirls make up bag?

As the granddaughter of beauticians I've been wearing lipstick and painting my nails (to coordinate my outift) since I was a toddler.  I've toned down over the years (Hallelujah!) but still don't like to leave the house without lipstick & mascara on.  As a farm girl I've got a few other suprises in my make up bag.  This is my current favorite lipstick from Loreal.  Take this fun quiz to see what your lipstick shape says about you.

I have another favorite lipstick that is suited especially for my skin color.  A couple of years ago I read Color Me Beautiful to determine what colors look best with my skin coloring.  You can buy the product colors to suit you here.

I had to buy this lip balm when I saw it at the feed store.  I really love this product!  All natural, pretty local to me (Wichita, KS) and invented by a woman!!!!  I'm seriously considering getting the bumper sticker.  Check out I Love Chicken Poop.

Pretty pill box, lip gloss, black eyeliner, mascara, favorite earrings and broken bracelet I can't seem to part with.  What's that on the far right you say???

My handy dandy pocket knife!!  Yes I use this for opening toys, haybales, you name it.  Well, I don't clean my fingernails with it like a real redneck......

Enjoy your weekend future farmgirls of America.