woman holding flower seed bouquet

Hello & Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kara, wife to Ryan and mountain mama to our 7 wild ones. We live on some land nestled in the woods where we’ve been building a homestead from the ground up for the past 14 years. It is a work in progress, and everything takes longer than we expect.

The modern world moves at such a hurried pace, so we strive to take a step back and live in a more natural rhythm with the world God made.

My interests are many and varied, but they all center around Home.

I’m passionate about being a keeper at home, growing healthy food, home education, learning old-fashioned skills, cooking from scratch, and building family culture.

There is so much beauty in the simple things of life. In the little miracles and daily blessings that the Lord showers upon us. It is my hope that we can share some of those things, and encourage you in finding the extraordinary in your everyday ordinary.

children picking grapes in a vineyard
father and children working in the garden

I believe healthy doesn’t have to be boring. I’m here to share simple, flavorful recipes that make healthy eating something you’ll love.

Explore The Recipes New? Start here!

Kara’s Favorite Recipes

More Favorites

Get to Know Me

you can always find me

in the kitchen

favorite thing to buy

books

best time of day

early morning

I’d rather be

home

Favorite season

autumn

dream house

a hobbit hole

couldn’t live without

hat & sunglasses

future ambition

write a book

Our Crew

A few fun facts:

  • Ryan and I have been married for 24 years
  • Neither of us are very musical, however our children all play one or more instruments
  • There are less than 10 years between our oldest and youngest
  • Ryan has been a professional firefighter/EMT for 22 years
  • If there is a snow/ice storm we might be stranded on our mountain for a couple of weeks

FAQ

Ryan and I made our first raised bed garden over 20 years ago, and have been on this homesteading journey ever since.

For the things we don’t produce ourselves, I like to buy in bulk from Azure Standard or buy locally from farming friends. I do shop at regular grocery stores, and am on a mission to do that as little as possible.

When we moved to our current property in 2011, we didn’t have electricity and lived off grid for 3 years! We learned A LOT during that time.

We live out in the country, and try to always have a good stock of supplies on hand. I lean toward hoarding tendencies, lol, and like to be prepared for whatever we might need.

We have 7 children ranging in ages from 19 down to 9 years old.

Throughout the years we have had chickens, goats, sheep, a horse, pigs, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Currently, we don’t have any large livestock, but are working toward better fencing and pasture to support them.

We have homeschooled our children since the very beginning. Ryan was homeschooled, and we always knew that’s what we wanted for our children.

We live seasonally on our homestead, and that includes a lot of foraging. We also hunt wild game, and grow perennials such as asparagus, berries, grapes, and fruit trees.

Shop My Favorites

Shop my curated collection of tools, pantry staples, gadgets, and decor that I use and love in my own kitchen.

Visit the Shop

All the photos you see here were taken by someone in our family — from the garden to the kitchen table. They’re part of our story and protected by copyright, so please don’t use or share them. Thanks for respecting our work and the little moments we’ve captured around the homestead.