It's been three years since we bought our hundred year old farmhouse fixer in rural Oregon. It seems like it needed everything repaired except the location. In this episode we quickly review our progress over the first two years and then bring you up to date on what we've just completed in year three.  ..read more

In this special episode of Simple Homemade Life, we're bringing you a full farmhouse tour - the first we've done since the before tours! See what we've done, where we're at in the remodel, and even some spaces we haven't shown before. We're finally in the stages of finishing rooms instead of foundation, electrical, insulation, and such - in other words, the fun stuff ..read more

By mid-fall (some prefer to say "autumn") most of your produce is harvested and your plants are starting to decline. Jami talks about how this is a great time to do some final tasks to get ready for winter and a healthy growing season next year. Plus we have a few things to show you as we renovate the farmhouse ..read more

At the end of the garden harvest season you have a lot of vegetables coming in and you need to preserve as much as you can. No wonder posts about preserving are getting the most traffic on AnOregonCottage.com Jami shares her top five tips for easy preserving, things that will save you lots of time and ensure you can enjoy your produce year-round. Plus an update on saving thousands on bathroom tiling ..read more

Meal planning not only saved us money and helped us to eat much more healthy food, but it saved Jami's sanity. When you know what you're going to have for dinner in advance you don't get that sinking feeling at 5 PM each day wondering what you'll come up with. Plus, your shopping will be streamlined and your family will quit bugging you with questions about what's for dinner. Jami shares her best menu planning tips and lots of free resources to get you started.  Then we both talk about the one supply every home remodeler needs: audiobooks ..read more

If you can't tell, we love raised beds for gardening. They're especially good if you want to raise lots of vegetables while pulling hardly any weeds. Raised beds make it easier to create healthy soil. They save on watering. They save on space. They allow you to get higher yields and more variety in a small area. And they make it easy to add season-extending attachments like row covers. Jami discusses 7 materials you can use to create raised beds (we've personally used 6 of them). And then Brian talks about the one material you should never use ..read more

Broken concrete is a great building material for garden stepping stones, raised beds, retaining walls, and patios. Gardeners who want to encourage concrete recycling have given it the name "urbanite." We discuss all the ways we've used broken concrete in our gardens, the pros and cons of using urbanite, and how to get it for free. Plus, Jami talks about the canning and preserving she's started for the year ..read more

Moving to the country is a dream for a lot of people. We've done it and we can say that there are a lot of positives. But there are some negatives too. It's not for everybody. Find out the 7 pros and 7 cons (in our opinion) of moving rurally ..read more

We talk about the big problems you can run into when you start doing major remodeling work. At the time they can be very discouraging and seem like they're going to shut down your project. But we've found ways to solve all of them. Plus, Jami talks about getting new lighting fixtures that look like they're old ..read more

Learn why soaker hoses in your garden not only save water but also promote healthier growth. It's because they drip or finely spray water at the base of your garden plants, allowing it to soak down to the roots. But what do you do if you have three 6 foot beds and a 50 foot soaker? You cut it up and put it back together again. Jami and Brian also share about their faux marble countertop and metal table top projects ..read more