This Year’s Garden Experiments hit a few road blocks, which I will tell you all about in the very near future. We’re back on track now [I think], and little green things are emerging in our garden! So exciting.
May25
May23
All Things Bright and Beautiful: Easy Way to Add More Nature-Appreciation to Your Kids’ Lives
Want to add more nature-appreciation to your kids’ lives? Not sure where to start? Try this!
It’s a poem! It’s a hymn! It’s a book! It’s a great way to teach kids about our Creator God.
When a friend and I started a (sort of) formalized nature study emphasis with our four kids, we began with this well-known poem, which is also a hymn (and several artists have illustrated it in book form–see picture above and list below). We learned and sang the hymn together, and I love, love, love how it emphasizes God’s attributes as Elohim, our Strong Creator.
May22
Gluten-Free at Panera Bread: the Hidden Menu
While we strive to eat at home as much as possible, and to pack our own healthy food when we’re on-the-go, sometimes this just isn’t possible. Sometimes even a Real Foodie has to make some compromises. Like eating “fast food.” {Gasp!}
It’s true. Sometimes we eat at Chick-fil-A.
And sometimes, when I’m all alone and I need a meal, I stop at Panera Bread.
Did you know Panera Bread has a Hidden Menu? Read the rest of this entry
May21
5 Books I’m Reading This Month
Having finished up most of the 11 books I was reading several months ago, a few new ones have been added to my list. So far I’m loving all five of them, each for a different reason. Here’s my new list, with a few thoughts on each title.
May20
Another Great Folk Album for Families
We love folk music here at the Yankee Homestead, and have amassed quite a collection of Family-Friendly Folk Favorites. Here’s another album we’ve recently added to our list:
May17
Sunday Evening Nature Walk: Morven Park in Leesburg (and favorite nature resources for kids)
Our most recent Sunday Evening Nature Walk found us exploring the beautiful grounds of Morven Park in Leesburg.
I can’t believe it took us almost four years to discover this local treasure! The boys and I participated in a recent field trip to the Carriage Museum on the grounds at Morven Park, located just outside of historic downtown Leesburg, adjacent to Ida Lee Park. The entrance is on Old Waterford Road, just past the entrance to Rust Library.
It was raining on the day of our field trip, but we decided to bring Daddy back for explorations of the grounds. Last Sunday (Mother’s Day) was a tad chilly, but we bundled up and set out to hunt for walking trails at Morven Park…
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Resting on a log during our hike on the Orienteering Course at Morven Park. (Blurry photo courtesy of my iphone.)
We’re no experts on Morven Park (yet), but here’s what we love so far: Read the rest of this entry
May16
Laundry Room Makeover, Part 1: Barn Pendant with Jute-Wrapped Cord
My {Frugal} Laundry Room Makeover, Part One
As I mentioned in This Old House, we live in an old house. Currently, although the home has quite a few quirks, we’ve decided to make do without any major structural changes while we ponder the pros and cons of spending money on renovations or building a new “old” home. Or living in this house forever, the way it is…
Therefore, my task is to beautify and organize this home with purely aesthetic adjustments. Ergo, this {Frugal} Laundry Room Makeover.
Today, we’ll consider the light fixture. Read the rest of this entry
May15
Make Your Own “Crispy” Trail Mix
Trail Mix with coconut and chocolate chips = dessert!
We often snack on crispy nuts at our house. One day, after loading up the boys’ reusable snack bags with several kinds of crispy nuts, it occurred to me that I could save a bit of time by storing the nuts–and a few other ingredients–premixed and ready to go into the snack bags at a moment’s notice. Instead of doing the nuts assembly line thing. (Nuts assembly line–I sense a good joke in there somewhere…)
You may have heard of this concept. It’s called TRAIL MIX. 
May14
Do You Like My {Super-Cute, Super-Thrifty, Easy DIY} Hat?
After receiving several compliments on my new hat, I thought I’d share its humble origins here at Yankee Homestead…
It’s a plain, black, military hat from JoAnn Fabric.
I bought it for $3.97 + tax and added a (free) gray rosette to jazz it up. [I think the regular price is closer to $7 or $8, but for some reason the black hats were marked down that day. There are other colors available, too...]
For a while, I’ve been on the lookout for an inexpensive hat or two for those greasy hair days when errands and/or contact with human-beings-who-are-not-my-family cannot be avoided.
Trouble is, I have a big head. {Ahem} Hats I’ve tried before just never worked out. For some reason, this one is a winner. I think it’s the adjustable velcro band. (See below). And the rosette. It’s a winning combination!
May13
Get the Most from your Essential Oils: My Top 10 Tools
It’s been fun to introduce more and more friends and family members to the exciting world of essential oils!
My own Yankee Homestead family has conducted a major makeover of our medicine cabinet and personal care items, replacing many dangerous or questionable products using doTerra essential oils.
(See the end of this post for an ever-growing list of our favorite ways to use doTerra oils.)
If you are new to essential oils, I have a great resource for you:
AromaTools
AromaTools is the sister company of doTerra, selling every conceivable tool for putting essential oils to use. Below is a list of my ten favorite tools for getting the most from your essential oils.