One of my greatest frustrations as a blogger has been the inability to welcome you into my home. I enjoy sitting belly-to-belly with other individuals and hearing their stories over a cup of hot coffee. I enjoy talking about projects, paint colors, celebrations, and new recipes – and most importantly, sharing that in a community.
Much as I'd like to have each of you over for such shenanigans, it's not quite possible. In many ways, the internet brings us closer together and simultaneously can make us feel so far apart! My best friend is an internet friend that lives in Wisconsin. Go figure.
Part of the way that we're able to open our home to you is through the intimate ramblings that litter this blog and the photographs we share within. But, if you're anything like me, you can find it tedious to sit down and stare at a screen yet again to feel inspired. I'd much rather see something. Taste it. Smell it. Touch it. Just me? Didn't think so.
A grand labor of love over this past year has been cultivating a book that will be just that. Seasons At The Farm was written and photographed from within our home to make you feel as much of the party as ever. It's 275+ pages are bursting with farmhouse interior designs, recipes, DIY projects, seasonal celebrations, farm happenings, color palettes, and garden inspiration to cultivate a desire in you.
Life doesn't happen when you conquer a mountain. It happens in every day, day to day magic. Seasons At The Farm was written to help you cultivate beauty in this moments.
If I had one secret about creating a wonderful life for my family. ,it's this: Learn how to cultivate everyday magic during not just the holidays but every seasons of the year. Life, for most people, is not a series of red-carpet events or nights out on the town. It's tucking children under handmade quilts or reading by the fire on cold winter nights. It's enjoying a frothy cup of espresso with a sugar-dusted apple cake on an autumn afternoon. It's planting a pot of primroses for the springtime table. And it's chasing fireflies and celebrating with friends under the glow of the summer moon.
Sound idyllic? It's not. It's just normal life for those who cultivate it in such a way. I'm going to show you how to do just that within these pages.
We're going to garden.
We're going to decorate.
We're going to cook.
And we're certainly going to entertain.
I should mention, too, the book is a hardback.
It's meant to sit on your coffee table, to be picked up by weary hands at the end of a long day, where a spirit can find a bit of rest and refreshment. It's meant to be read and savored and then re-read each season, calling you to celebrate and enjoy all that is offered within a quiet, content life.
As Stuart so beautifully put it in the forward “You will not encounter any radical calls to upend your lives and change everything you are doing. What I hope you will find instead is an ordinary joy and humble effort to weave ourselves into the natural beauty of permanence and change in the seasons of life. I hope you will be inspired to do the same.”
And Amen.
(PS: The book is officially released September 1st! You can preorder from both Amazon and Barnes and Noble right now.)
(PPS: When you receive your copy, please leave a comment letting me know what you think of it!)
(PPPS: I love you all. Thank you for the support on this project.)
I can’t wait to read this book!
Can you just send me one now? I won’t tell anyone! My birthday is next week! Pleaaaaaase?
You had me at “to be picked up by weary hands at the end of a long day, where a spirit can find a bit of rest and refreshment.” So looking forward to your book. ~ from a kindred spirit.
I bought your book Welcome to the Farm and have found it to be beautiful in it’s presentation and so raw and informative. Love it! I’ve requested Seasons on the Farm for my birthday and am looking so forward to it.
Keep up the good work Shaye! You bring life and beauty to the mundane.
I CAN’T WAIT!!!! My spirit sure could use a bit of rest, refreshment, and homey inspiration right about now!
I got mine over the weekend and absolutely love it! It does make me feel like I’m right inside of your home and I’m welcomed.
I just finished reading this book tonight. I have been working my way through it over the past week. It was a beautiful experience. A beautiful book! Written beautifully! I have felt myself enjoying the mundane chores of everyday life more. You have given me a new perspective. Thank you. You are a blessing.
I just received my book today. It’s beautiful and really interesting. I’ll be referring to this book often! It’s exactly what I hoped it would be. Thank you Shaye! Your family is beautiful.
I’ve been reading this book for the past two months and can’t get over how much I love it! The small pieces of knowledge, the snippets of homestead advice, the reminders to mulch my garden beds… it probably helps that I’m a fellow farmer in Washington (hello from the coast!) but this book should be in every household.
I have not read your book yet but, I love your video’s. I was raised the way you are raising your children’s. Watching your video’s bring back such fun memories regarding my childhood. Keep the videos coming. And may the grace of God always be with you and your family.
I just came across the new book at the Library, and quickly scooped it up! It is so lovely and so inspiring. I enjoy reading just small bits at a time so I can savor the book longer!
I work at a library and after checking out this book 109752309 times decided I needed to just purchase one to keep at my home. We live in a 1910 farmhouse that had a ghastly renovation in the late 60s and then hadn’t been touched since. I’ve struggled with decisions about what to do with our home, wanting everything to be pretty and perfect. This book (and blog) has made me realize that what I really love about our house is the beauty in the imperfections – what makes our home truly unique. The scuffed painted floors, the huge fireplaces in every room, the tall beadboard ceilings all lend toward it’s beauty and character. My home may not be featured in a magazine, and may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is what my husband and I have always planned.