this year valentine’s day was the best I’ve ever had.  our dream to own a farm came true.  2/14/17 we signed papers, and make it official.  since then we’ve changed all the locks, slept in a tent in the master bedroom, taken the first dip in the pool, and started demo.

there wasn’t a lot to do to improve the house, but once we started making the list for little updates here and there, it became long really quick.  this is where my professional project management skills have been a huge benefit.

prioritizing our list, adjusting the budget, and adjusting the priorities over, and over, and over seems to be our initiation into home ownership.  M & I have both owned homes before, but for some reason this house feels completely different.  maybe it’s maturity, plus the fact that financially we are at different places in our lives than we were when we owned our first homes.  these two things have made our ability to make adjustments to this house a possibility – with limits!

outside of the remodeling priorities we have also been compiling the list of tools we need to maintain 10 acres, and the companies/resources that will help us take of our home. so far so good – we’ve got a great team in place, and a good list of “farm toys” that we will be acquiring over the next year. animals will come…in time

flowers!  that is the next thing on the list.  to get my hands in the dirt, and cultivate grown things.  I’ve done a bit of that at the rental house with some raised planting tables I bought right away (not knowing we’d be moving so soon).  I planted anemone bulbs and they’ve begun blooming.  It’s been a dream to have my own cutting garden, and a cutting garden I can eventually sell from.  I quickly realized that having an acre of cut flowers growing all summer and into the fall, I should also have some sort of flower arranging skill. so I signed up for a local workshop that will allow me to learn floral design basics 4 times this year (once each season).  Here’s the crazy part: the flower farm is 10 minutes from our farm – almost in direct line of us, just west!  so I’ve set up some time with the owner to do a “day on the farm” and hopefully she will serve as a mentor for me as I begin my flower farm journey.

Here’s a quick snap of the “before”…..once things start to take shape, I’ll be back with progress pictures.

xoxo, n.