our christmas 2015

before we pull down the christmas tree & beginning setting new intentions for the new year, i just want to soak up the richness of the christmas season. 

we made memories & shared the wealth of the season with our nearest & dearest... rudolph the musical & hot cocoa with my sweet nephew, intentional gift giving by the tree with my love, advent-ure games with my in-laws (sure to be a new family tradition!), fresh linens & warm soup at the candlelit table, down-home barbecue feasts with my grandparents, monogrammed aprons & time in the kitchen with my momma, new pajamas & copious amounts of chocolate. 

wishing you all a cozy handful of days before the new year, making memories & slowing down just a bit to reflect on the richness of this season we are in. 

looking forward to sharing my new 2016 word with you on friday! xo.

love,

natalie

a winter solstice gathering on the farm

yesterday we gathered greenery & foliage from around the home along with twinkle lights, candles, baskets & more for a festive winter solstice gathering with family & friends! 

i love gathering at our farm. with such unusually mild temperatures, we took advantage of the evening & built a fire outside in honor of the winter solstice! we strung twinkle lights onto the barn & set up a hot cocoa station outside. luke made hand-tossed pizzas & i pulled together a cheese & meat spread. our friends brought sides & dessert. luke made homemade eggnog & we served wine. candles were lit & we celebrated well into the evening with our nearest & dearest.

i think this might just be a new tradition on the farm. simple & cozy. 

love,

natalie

festive girlfriend gatherings

friends, let me speak truth into your life.

i know this season is busy. i know you've got an endless list of to-dos & something tells me you're running on very little sleep. you're probably short on patience & in need of a beach & a cocktail asap.

dear one, i cannot grant you sand between your toes, but i can offer you up the best tradition of my people.

once a year, my besties & i gather together for a holiday girls' night in. we eat lots of carbs, drink too much wine, make girly cocktails, indulge in the finest chocolate & play a thrilling game of dirty santa!

it's worth your  time to invest in your ladies. 

your party doesn't have to be themed or even cute, but if you're into that sort of thing (meaning you're a party planning freak like me), you can head over here for all the details to plan your next holiday shindig with your gal pals!

 i've even got a recipe for toffee chocolate chip bars & the word on the street is they're gooooood.

tell me about your holiday traditions with your besties. please share!

love,

natalie

our 2015 christmas card

one of my very favorite christmas traditions is sending christmas cards to our loved ones. i love that our list grows with each new year!

to see our christmas cards from years past, click here. 

this year's card might be my new favorite! we chose a photo from our winter shoot with jessica (see photos here) & paired it with a fun red gingham back! 

i shopped locally & ordered them at shindig paperie from kramer drive etc. i added a kraft envelope with red washi tape for a hint of holiday cheer! simple & cozy.

here's to the good that found you & the great that awaits!

love,

the freemans

sacred winter walks

at the end of the week last week, i found myself with about thirty minutes of daylight & a freshly checked off to-do list. i headed outside with my big camera to capture that early winter glory.

i've missed these walks down our dirt road. as a small business owner, i find my days filled to the brim with inside work & nonstop hustle. it's such a gift to carve out a bit of sacred time for self-care & quiet. 

i've been thinking through what i want the new year to look like in our little corner of the world. perhaps more walks on this dirt road & space for quiet are just what we need. 

what does quiet self-care look like for you?

encouraging you this week to carve out thirty minutes just for you. xo.

love,

natalie

a round-up of my top three favorite cookbooks

 we eat homemade, from scratch most days of the week - with the exception of our date night & weekly meal at my in-law's - so we appreciate a thoughtful meal made at home. it's always more enjoyable to have a handful of resources that inspire you to cook up something great in the kitchen!

a friend on instagram recently asked me to share my favorite cookbooks with you. i've shared my favorite resources a handful of times, but we've recently added a few new titles to our rotation! here are a few of our favorite cookbooks that include affordable, easy & delicious meal ideas!

1. simply in season: this is our cooking bible. we love that this cookbook is divided by season (spring, summer, etc.), which makes cooking with garden-grown produce so much easier! there are only a handful of ingredients per recipe so it isn't complicated or overwhelming. when i am in need of a hearty, simple, affordable & delicious meal, i pick up this cookbook!

2. feeding the whole family: i love that this cookbook offers tons of healthy recipes that the entire family will enjoy. lots of the recipes include bulk bin ingredients, which keep costs low. also, there are tips for cooking with the little ones! this is such a great cookbook for families. 

3. clean eats: this cookbook was gifted to me & i love it. since starting weight watchers, i have been searching for "clean" meals to serve at dinnertime & this one is perfect for just that. some of the recipes are involved & expensive, but i have found lots of meal ideas perfect for those busy week nights! 

i've recently been collecting my favorite online recipes & writing them down in my recipe box (from here). i know that one day our little ones will want to cook something their mama made & the idea of searching my pinterest board just isn't quite as cozy, ha! 

what are some of your favorite cookbooks? please share!

love,

natalie

a look at our family resources: time & money

i'm currently reading (for the second time) & really loving free by mark scandrette. this book questions our preconceived notions of how we spend our money & time & allows us to ask ourselves just how those resources could be spent in areas that matter the most.

along with our church body, we are challenging ourselves to dig deep & define who we are as individuals, what we care about as a family unit, how best to spend our money (even when the temptation to spend is truly endless!) & how to rearrange our schedules so that we're able to create margin for rest & service.

this book is, once again, fueling great conversation among our family & providing a clearer image of what we hope for our future. i firmly believe that we cannot shape the future that we hope for unless we have these big conversations as a family. 

without these conversations & reminders about how we spend our time & money, luke & i would find ourselves trying to simply "keep up." during the holiday season, when the promise of having that thing will change you or make you more likable, it's especially important. 

here are some takeaways from our family conversations on money & time:

- we appreciate extra income for travel & home projects & are content to work more in order to fuel those interests.

- we enjoy working alongside one another & hope to make some future career shifts that facilitate this.

- we don't so much care about new cars or a fancy home. we feel best in our fixer upper home & farm with no car payments. 

- we want to have children, but our hope is that we can free up one parent to just work part-time to tend to the needs of future babies.

- we enjoy community & the activities it brings, but we would like to set aside & protect one afternoon for self-care/family-care & rest.

i hope these thoughts inspire you to set aside a day & talk about your goals! grab free from amazon & use it as your guide if you'd like. it's proven to be the perfect resource to really engage as a family in these key life areas. 

do you have conversations about money & time as a family? please share!

love,

natalie