Nov 11, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving Book Review

I have a confession. I’m a bit of a book junkie. I love all sorts of books that help me learn how to do things, inspire me, entertain me and teach me more about myself. One of my go-to books during the canning season is my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s got over 400 recipes to help you use up all sorts of goodies from your garden and orchard. Whether you’re just a beginner... read more

Nov 4, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} November garden happenings

It’s been a couple of weeks since I actually talked about my garden, so I figured it was time to make a few notes about what’s growing, what’s been harvested, what I’ve done out there lately and where it’s all headed next. Since we’ve had a few batches of frost here already, anything like tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are officially done for the year. While debating... read more

Oct 28, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Winemaking 101: The tools

 Long-time NOH readers will find it no surprise that we have begun really enjoying to make wine over the last 3 or 4 years. It’s not something I’ve really talked a lot about because it’s a rather involved process, and we were really still trying to learn what everything is and what it’s for. But I know that a lot of people have expressed an interest, so I thought it would be fun to... read more

Oct 21, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Saving Jalapeno Seeds

The weather seems to be turning cooler every day here. We’ve gotten past the first light frosts without any losses, but I’m starting to consider what I should do with all these green tomatoes we still have on the vine. Some of them (like the yellows) seem to be very slowly ripening still. But we have a LONG way to go on the reds. So if you’ve got some great green tomato tips, fill me... read more

Oct 14, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} First Frost

It’s been one crazy year so far when it comes to our weather…and apparently our last burst of summer last week, which was followed with typical all rain and cool temps, will now be accentuated with our first few nights of frost. And you know what I have to say about that? Booooooo! It’s still supposed to be in 60′s during the day, but I’m just not quite ready to give way to... read more

Oct 11, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

10 Natural Remedies We Use Often

You may not know this because I haven’t talked about it much lately, but I am a big fan of aromatherapy and essential oils. I guess you could say that I have a strong belief in many alternative ways of medicine. I’ve sort of always had an interest in the power of essential oils and after giving birth using only self-induced hypnotherapy, I’ve come to appreciate a lot more of the less... read more

Oct 7, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Let the rain fall down

Whew. What a week! It’s been a bit crazy around here with all the giveaway craziness (have you entered yet??) but I am so glad the weekend is here! After several weeks of temps in the mid-seventies during the day and 50′s at night, our fall finally seems to be setting in. The last 3 days have been grey and much cooler — and so windy that our shutters have been rattling almost nonstop and... read more

Sep 30, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Peaking at OPGs

You’ve seen a whole lot of my garden these last 11 weeks, and you’ve heard a lot of my thoughts and ideas. So I thought it might be a nice change to get some outside input…in the form of Other People’s Gardens (OPG). Since people in Germany (or perhaps just Europe in general) have some slightly different methods of gardening, I think this could be an interesting learning... read more

Sep 28, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

Stylish, warm & eco-friendly fashion

It’s no secret that Etsy is home to thousands and thousands of incredibly talented designers, artists, creatives and really handy folks. Pia Barile is one of those incredible folks, who makes fun and trendy eco-fashion from recycled products. In 2004, Pia began El Topo Jewels where she began creating one-of-a-kind jewelry from ceramic beads. She specializes in taking items that no longer are being... read more

Sep 23, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} What’s growing on

Welcome to the 11th edition of the Garden Life link up on No Ordinary Homestead. I know a lot of people are just focusing on harvesting whatever they can from their gardens now, and we are doing quite a bit of that ourselves. This weekend, I’ve got to can all the jalapenos we have gathered recently. Thankfully that shouldn’t be too big of a deal since I’m just going to preserve them in... read more