Closet Farm Girl
Speaking of seasons, I am finally coming out of my season of being sick! I could not shake a flu like virus, and that is the reason this post is so late. I apologize and I hope I can move forward and finally start feeling back to my old self. If any of you are sick out there, I am so sorry. Whatever illness is going around is no joke, so take some time for yourself and don’t overdo it! I can speak from experience, relapse is a real thing! Of course I was in bed for a while and just like my Hallmark movie phase, I have been watching a lot of television. What else can you do when you feel terrible? I learned something about myself from hours of watching both cooking shows and lots of home renovations… I am a closet farm girl.
This may seem really funny to a lot of you who know me. Even looking at my picture on this website, you can probably guess that I like to have my hair and makeup done, and that I like to look put together. I come by it honestly. Remember the post about my mom? Yep, we are two peas in a pod. However, there are two shows that I watched while recovering that made me stop and say yep, that could be me.
Fixer to Fabulous: This particular home improvement show starts Jenny Marrs and her husband Dave. They live in Northwest Arkansas, have five children, and live on a farm. Jenny is a delight to watch. She is funny, smart and extremely creative. She doesn’t take things too seriously, (something I’m working on) and I love every home makeover she’s ever done. Dave is an amazing woodworker and craftsman. Watching them pull up to the farm in their truck gives me all the feels. They have dogs, cats, chickens, bunnies, goats, cows, sheep, a llama, an alpaca and a donkey. They also own a berry farm and have a yearly festival for the community, with a mission to help kids around the world. They seem to be teaching their kids about life through the farm- having them doing chores, caring for animals, growing blueberries, and just being kids outside. Remember when we could just go outside and play in the dirt in our backyards? Or run around the neighborhood and come home when it got dark? That’s how I imagine life on a farm- getting dirty, connecting with nature and loving every minute of it, even if it’s hard work.
Girl Meets Farm: Molly Yeh is the star of this cooking show on Food Network. She also has an award winning blog and a couple of cookbooks. Molly is one of those people that I wish I could meet in person. She is a graduate of Julliard, a photographer, writer, cook and baker, mom, wife… what can’t she do? It seems like she tries a lot of things and is good at everything. She is an accidental farm girl- her husband comes from a long line of farmers, and they live on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota. She grows a lot of the food that she cooks with, and seems to have embraced life on the farm. Her recipes are relatively simple and she makes cooking and farm life seem easy and fun. Imagine preparing a meal with herbs you snipped from your expansive garden and eggs your retrieved from your chicken coop. Dreamy!!
Unfortunately we are not moving to a farm any time soon. But I am inspired to make some changes here in my own backyard. This spring I will revamp my garden and grow more vegetables. I’m going to bring back my herb garden and really keep it going this summer. I want to spend more time outside as soon as the weather turns, and I will encourage my family to do the same. And I’m sure there are many farms in the area where I can pick berries, visit with animals and get my farm girl fix. Is a week long trip to a ranch out west in my future? I keep you posted!
