An Oregon Cottage Podcast: Simple Real Foods, Gardening & DIY

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.