Chickens and a Coop

We’ve wanted chickens for the longest time, and with Grey being such a big animal lover, it only made matters more urgent. And no, living in the city won’t stop us. 

We would have loved to raise chicks, but this Spring has been far too busy, and besides, we didn’t have patience for it. Maybe some other time though when Grey is a tad older and won’t pet them too hard. 

With all that said, let me introduce to you Henrietta, Gertrude, Clarice (pronounced Clair-eese), and Loretta. Clarice and Loretta are named after my parents. Call it an inside family joke, but I love it 😊 

These hens are Cochin Bantams. We wanted hens that were super friendly and outgoing since they are taking over Grey’s fort, aka the coop. We also needed the noise level to be down since we do have neighbors. 2 of the hens are 9 months old and laying, and Clarice and Loretta are 6 months old. One of them is laying now. 

They are spoiled already. When we have animals we just can’t help it. Cody has the heater going in the coop for these cold night. Instead of going inside, they lay huddled in front of the heater.

   

   
       

  
 Next on our list are some miniature donkeys…. We’ll have to see what the neighbors think of that 😉

Have a nice day!

Love, Rach

Bucketlist: National Parks

Before we know it, Summer is going to be here, and Summers are meant for adventures! I love nature and being outdoors. It’s my happy place.

Below are some National Parks that are on my “To Go” list. We aren’t going to make it to all of these places in just one Summer. Lets be real here, most of us have jobs and/or kids. In our case, it’s both so not sure how many road trips the toddler will permit 🙂

Yellowstone National Park, WY

Yosemite National Park, CA

Redwoods National Park, CA

Banff National Park, Canada

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Sunrise at thor’s hammer, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Moab, USA, 16.05.2013 Reserviert bis 31.12.2015 f¸r Kalender-Titel

 

Crater Lake National Park, OR

Arches National Park, UT

Happy Thursday!!

Love, Rach

Winter Decor

I finally got around to putting up all of the winter decorations around the house. I’m the kind of person who likes to add seasonal items here and there, but not one to go all out. It’s fun to make the house festive!

I collected branches from one of our bushes out back- bringing the outdoors in!

I brought home pine branches from our trip to McCall. Smells so good!

I’m not a fan of Bath & Body Works scents, but I do love their festive candles.

Hanging some wood snowflakes where we hang the flower baskets. Somethings got to go on the hooks 🙂

Happy Wednesday!!

Love, Rach

Weekending

The guys worked all day and night Thursday so Friday afternoon we headed to the cabin for some well needed r&r. Not so sure we got the r&r down, but it was still a blast! Paddle boarding, wake boarding, ski boarding for the kids, fishing, early morning coffee, sleeping on the deck, a hike to Elephant Rock, 4-wheeler rides, boat rides, reading Hollywood Gossip, and watermelon dripping down our arms summed up our weekend.

I hope everyone had a nice, sunshiny weekend!

Love, Rach

 

Spring Decor: Inside & Out

Spring Pillows

Fillable Glass Lamp

Fireplace Mantle and Wreath

@FreedomFarmstead Rustic & Industrial Bottle Vase

Console Table Flowers

Centerpiece Plants & Succulent Terrarium

Front Entryway Flowers- Large basket~courtesy of the husband

Front Door Magnolia Wreath

Front Entryway Hanging Basket~courtesy of the MIL

Front Entryway Hanging Basket~Courtesy of the husband

Garage Flower Pots

I had to include this pretty thing that sits out front. Any idea what this plant is called?

I hope everyone is having a lovely Spring, and thanks for stopping by!

Love, Rach

Friday Favorites

Another trending obsession of mine are terrariums, and so I had to buy my own little terrarium.  It’s empty right now, but I’ve been researching how to plant and grow one so I think I’m ready to get started. Wish me luck!

Below is a great guide to building your very own terrarium.

My favorites that are currently inspiring me…

… and you know, Cody loves when I incorporate him into the house!

Next week I’ll be sharing with you the Spring decor we have up at our house.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Love, Rach

Thursday’s Thoughts

* I’m trying to keep these pesky cats out of my garden beds until we get the fence installed.  My solution in the meantime is citrus spray.  I peeled some oranges and lemons and boiled the peels in water.  I scattered the peels in the garden and put the remaining citrus water in a spray bottle.  They say cats hate the citrus odor so we’ll find out tomorrow morning.

* I traded my birch logs in the crock for a rubber plant.  I think it’s called a rubber plant because the leaves are so thick and rubbery feeling.  I figured Greyson would have to gain some muscles to yank those leaves off.  So far, he’s left the plant alone.  (knock on wood!)

* My Freedom Farmstead Etsy partner (brother in-law) pulled out because it’s getting way too busy.  Completely understandable!  However, I’m on a mission to keep the shop going.  I’ve picked up a new partner also known as the husband.  Yes, I’m 7 orders behind, and yes, my new part time job will be staining boards of all sorts.  My goal at the end of it all is to buy a Pottery Barn bed.  I have one picked out and sitting in the online shopping cart just waiting for the credit card information.  Nothing like some PB to get me motivated! 🙂

* I get a kick out of watching the kids shuffle off the bus at 3:45ish.  I remember the feeling like it was yesterday.  It was either adrenaline and excitement (and not just for a bowl of frozen custard) because I didn’t have homework.  Otherwise, there was a pit in my stomach because I was bogged down with assignments.  I also carried a saxophone case around.  Those were the days!

* There’s been talk in the family about meeting over the 4th of July in Wisconsin.  Wisconsin will forever be my home away from home.  It’s always so nice to be together…. especially for all the kids!  There’s getting to be a lot of them! 🙂  ….. which leads me to my next announcement…….

*  As of Tuesday, I have a new niece!! Congrats Dave and Roxy!! The precious bundle’s name is Emma Rose; named after her mama, Roxanne Rose.  Mama’s healthy, baby’s healthy and all is good! ……Well, except that I’m not there 😦  Now I’m really looking forward to the 4th!

Happy Thursday!!  See you all back here again tomorrow!

Love, Rach

Friday Favorites

First of all, I want to give a shout out to my follower in Russia!  How crazy and coincidental is it that yesterday I had a dream I was at the beach in Russia?!  Are there even beaches there? I never would have imagined someone from Russia would be following a girl from ho-dunk Idaho’s blog.  Hello to whoever you are, and thank you for following along!

Here are some of my favorite views…

*Idaho’s countryside- I will never get tired of this view, and I am glad to call this place my home.

* Lake Owhyee- I am so glad my Waldo family has a cabin on Lake Owhyee.  It is always so quiet and serene  there.  You can only get to the cabin by boat and there is no running water or electricity so that just adds to the simpleness.

* When I was living back home, one of my jobs was a personal assistant for the former vice president of Rockwell Automation and his wife.  They lived near Lake Michigan so on my way home from work, I would pull over on a country road and sit up on the bluff overlooking the lake.  Looking at the lake always made me feel like I was somewhere exotic…. not 20 minutes from home.  I miss this view.

Have a great weekend!!

Love, Rach

Friday Favorites

While Spring is in the air, I’ve been contemplating what to put as a table centerpiece.  I adore the look of glass cloches, plants and succulents.  Here are some of my favorites!

Which one do you like best??  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Love, Rach

Friday Favorites

Happy First Day of Spring!!  It’s only appropriate to post my favorite flowers today.  I love flowers.  I’m girly like that.  I grew up with parents who always had the prettiest garden on the block.  I remember people would drive by, turn around and ask for a tour of the gardens.  One of my favorite childhood memories is coming home from school on the bus and seeing my mom weeding and dad watering his one hundred and something rose bushes.  I don’t quite have the green thumb like the parentals, but let’s just say that I try 🙂

• Tulips:  Tulips are one of the first Spring flowers to bloom.  I love their simplicity.  Click here to learn how to grow tulips in a glass jar year round.  I will definitely be trying it!

• Peonies:  Banana Republic used to make a perfume called Peonies.  It was the absolute best!  They don’t make it anymore which is heartbreaking because I haven’t found a peonies perfume I like since then.  I came across this perfume from Jo Malone that I am anxious to try though.  I love the sophisticated look of peonies.  What I’m trying to say is, what is there not to love about peonies?!

• Lilly of the Valley:  How can such a delicate, tiny, bell-shaped flower smell so amazing?! One of my mom’s corner gardens was all lilly of the valley.  It smelt absolutely divine!  Beware: these little flowers spread like crazy, but what a beautiful shade flower they make.

It’s supposed to be in the 70’s today so I intend on spending as much time outdoors as possible.  Have a lovely day!

Love, Rach