living simply and embracing imperfection
One of the highlights for me on our recent trip (of which there are many…is there a limit to highlights?) was getting to plan and present an easy craft to a group of ladies in Kosovo. This group, consisting of ladies from the village where we were staying as well as from a sister church [...]
To say we enjoyed the food on our recent trip to Greece is probably a bit of an understatement. And our wonderful hosts really went out of their way to make sure we tried many of the dishes Greece is known for like gyros (pronounced YEE-ros), kabobs, pita (which is a pocketless flatbread in Greece), [...]
Hey there sweet friends – do any of you remember that back in January one of the goals I listed was to pay cash for a trip to Greece and Kosovo? Well, I’m thrilled to be able to tell you that we just returned from a two-and-a-half week trip of a lifetime for us visiting [...]
Whew, it’s been a busy, trying week! So I’m just gonna share some things that are on my mind and heart today. First of all, a couple weeks ago I mentioned two organizing projects I wanted to get done around here, a paper recipe purge-and-file, and dealing with my workroom fabric and craft shelves. The [...]
Those of you who’ve been reading AOC awhile may remember (from looooong ago) that we own a cute little vintage trailer – a Dalton “canned ham” circa 1957 (or ’59 – we’re not sure). We actually haven’t gone camping in more than a year for a variety of reasons – the main being that our [...]
Did you know all the medical benefits of tumeric? The spice that gives curry powder its distinctive hue? Well, I didn’t until just a few months ago when I found out that tumeric has been traditionally known to reduce inflammation and that current medical studies validate this time-honored use of tumeric. And after using it [...]
Happy Labor Day, friends! Even though fall doesn’t officially start for another couple of weeks, this weekend always seems like the end of summer because school starts for us on Tuesday. The weather feels like fall, too. However, I realized I never shared our recent flag story with you. This actually happened over July 4th, [...]
We got to spend a few days over the weekend with my dad, stepmama, and both our kids – it was fantastic spending time together doing fun, summer things: taking a road trip, kayaking, and hiking in the beautiful Paulina Lake area in central Oregon. Having extended time with both our kids is a big [...]
Well…have you guessed from the title what this is about? Yep, I’m about to get real personal here at AOC. And I might as well tell you that I have sat down to write this series of posts on weight many times – only to have it languish in a folder on my desktop. It’s [...]
At the holidays, many of us are thinking about traditions and the things we look forward to doing with our families- both immediate and extended. Our desire is to make memories that will last a lifetime. Which is wonderful – but let’s not forget about family traditions we can create all year long as well. [...]
I could easily fill a post about thankfulness just with the “normal” things I’m grateful for: my husband my kids my extended family friends our church health work lovely house Well, see, that’s almost ten right there- pretty much a no brainer. But what if I go deeper? Try to remember some things from the [...]
This post is going to get a little personal. As in: something I’ve never told anyone. And since no one (including Brian) ever mentioned it, I’m assuming it was only me who was bothered so much about this thing. Huh? OK, here goes. *deep breath* I smelled. Stunk. Couldn’t stand the smell of myself in [...]
A few readers have asked about my daily schedule and how to accomplish making food from scratch, gardening, and homemaking while working part time and blogging. I’ve hesitated to write about this because, honestly, each of us is so different and our lives rarely look the same. Plus, I firmly believe that some people just [...]
I love my family! Remember when I shared last fall how the work day became my new favorite family tradition as we worked together to paint houses and transform yards. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a day when people come together. We decided we’d have a round of spring workdays spread throughout [...]
An Oregon Cottage is pleased to be participating in the Year of the Staycation, hosted by The Happy Housewife, and Springs Bargains. We live and play in Lane County, in the heart of the Willamette Valley which encompasses an area all the way from the town of Florence on the coast to Oakridge in the [...]
Have you ever said “yes” to something you were asked to do that sounded simple and then it morphed into something much bigger? As in, if you knew everything that was involved you would’ve never said “yes?” Well, that’s exactly what happened when Brian asked me to do “a couple of sewing and written projects [...]
I mentioned yesterday that last weekend was our family’s annual “Apple Day.” My extended family all gather to collect and pick apples from where ever we can find them. There’s only one rule: they have to be free. You can see I came by frugality naturally. Though to be honest, what we need the apples [...]
We got married. I felt so mature then but when I look at these photos now we just seem so…young. We were in our mid-twenties, though, a perfectly respectable age to be married. We were just finishing college- Brian had graduated the spring before and I was waiting to do my student teaching and finish [...]
We’ve been enjoying a few days in Breckenridge, Colorado, thanks to the Savvy Bloggy Summit and rewards points that provided Brian’s free ticket (and mine, too) so he could tag along. And before I hear from Dear Ramsey fans about credit cards and why those tickets weren’t free, I’ll just say we use it for [...]
When I posted the recipe for homemade chocolate sauce more than a year ago, I mentioned that my husband, Brian, has drizzled it on the cappuccinos he has made almost every morning since our daughter was born. Fourteen years ago. I kid you not. Here’s the short story: we had received one of those new [...]
I’ve shared some of the beautiful pictures my daughter has taken before, so I was looking forward to seeing what she captured yesterday when we had a lovely 70 degree and sunny day. These are cherry blossoms. I think they look spectacular against the blue sky. This picture might make you think we have a [...]
She’s my baby and she’s fourteen. How does this happen? Oh, I know how it happens, but, ugggh…how does it happen? My heart bursts with love and pride at the same time it’s crying. This is a weird, weird thing that just has no sane explanation. Although I’m comforted by all the generations that have [...]
Happy New Year everyone! The year 2010 always seemed so far away (and sort of science fiction-y) and now it’s here… And my “little” boy graduates from high school…aaaaack! Time marches on, people, even if it bowls right over you. I’ve been thinking (along with everyone else, it seems) about some personal and blogging goals [...]
Two significant things happened in the month of November: I was able to stay under (if only by a few dollars!) our $375 food/household budget and start stocking up on Christmas baking supplies. This is significant because I like to make cookie plates to give to family and friends and in the past, this has [...]
I’ve written before how children get more expensive as they get older. Instead of needing some gifts for them to take to children’s birthday parties ($5-$10 dollars), they need money to go to camps or retreats ($80-$100 and no coupons!). And braces. And sports fees. And sports clothing items. And regular adult-sized clothes. Gone are [...]
Carving your pumpkin all by yourself. Our beautiful and creative thirteen year old daughter had to take matters into her own hands after seeing that it was Halloween Day and the pumpkins had not been carved. Gone are the days of pumpkin carving parties (hard when you have a mom who gets nauseous at the [...]
We came through the town of Joseph on our way to Wallowa Lake. It’s known for the cute the main street and all the bronze statues and artist studios found there. I was more taken with this view. The town sits at the foot of the Swiss-Alps-like Wallowa Mountains. Do you think after living there [...]
I did not know before we started researching our trip that Hell’s Canyon was the deepest river-carved gorge in the United States. I just assumed it was the Grand Canyon. This is a well-kept secret. There are no crowds to fight to see this, as it’s a little harder to reach than the Grand Canyon [...]
We found this vintage trailer about five years ago, just as we were moving out of our old neighborhood in the city. We love vintage things- the quality and inherent style speak to us. Trailers especially. I would check out books on vintage trailers and we would dream about them. Then we saw this [...]
I’m so excited to share how our food and household budget fared in March! For the first time in…well, I can’t remember, our monthly food bill was…are you ready?…$367.00!!! We now have $130.00 to put towards our garage debt or towards a used truck that we did not expect to have. This is really encouraging [...]
I’ve mentioned in previous weekly shopping posts that one of our goals this year is to reduce our monthly groceries/household budget area. My goal originally was to be at $400.00 or less EVERY month, but am now realizing that it’s very possible to aim lower as I build my stockpile, optimize the use of my [...]
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
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