It's the perfect time of year to focus on kindness.  Holidays can be a very difficult time, so although it's important year-round, it's definitely appreciated right now.  Study's show that doing something for others, without any expectations, makes us happy.  It's also a great, natural, stress reliever.  The old saying "it is better to give then to receive" is so true!  So why don't we practice this more?  Well, in a world of high-stress lives and over-scheduled days, it's surprisingly something that I think falls off of our radar.  Although we are kind to people throughout the day, it's more of an unconscious gesture.  I don't think we take time to consciously be as kind as we could be.  Or as kind as we would like to be. This topic is something that was really important to me.  It's not because I find being kind difficult, rather, I sometimes find staying kind difficult and I want it to become easier.  Let me explain. Think o...

My husband and I live on a patch of land that is under an acre on the outskirts of town.  We have a neighbor we can see behind us and one fairly close to one side of us.  It can be frustrating.  Although the neighbors are fine, we still prefer to not be so close, and we dream of a larger plot of land where we can do more with it (more animals, larger garden, etc.). I spent a couple of years longing so much for a larger and different property that I lost any ability to see the positive aspects of where we are now.  I told myself that I would be happy once we were able to move. If you’re just joining in, the “ Change Your Life In 2018 ” series is my quest to make some small changes this year.  Rather than setting easily forgotten resolutions I wanted to focus on 12 changes that would help me learn and grow as a person.  I’ve chosen to focus on one change per month so that it could not only become a more manageable goal, but I have a better chance at making these new habits as wel...

This post may contain affiliate links which come at no extra cost to you. These links allow me to share the products I authentically recommend (and use) and support Cobble Hill Farm by receiving a small commission. Fall has officially arrived!  Woo hoo!!!  It went back to humid for 2 days last week and I just couldn't wait for summer to finally move on.  I know that's awful, to want to hurry into the next season, but it has just been so hot and humid this summer that I couldn't wait for it to be over. And so it finally is. The garden has just about retired for the year.  We've received our first frost which gave me the push I needed to harvest most of what was left and call it a season.  I still have kale, cabbage, and a few herbs, but the remainder of what was grown is now in the fridge, freezer, or eaten. I was not able to take the time to update last month's pantry challenge because of the unexpected health issues with our pups.  We ...

This post may contain affiliate links which come at no extra cost to you. These links allow me to share the products I authentically recommend (and use) and support Cobble Hill Farm by receiving a small commission. I'm bringing our "weekend" posts back!  I tried the once-a-month update but you know me, I like to talk which means I also like to write, which means, well.....it could make for a very long post if I wrote everything I wanted to write.  Anyway, we're back to weekly(ish) updates.  😊 Emerson (left), Oliver (right) Oliver knows Emerson isn't feeling himself and has become his personal body guard.  He doesn't leave his side. First things first, an update on our sick pup, Emerson.  If you're saying to yourself "what in the heck is wrong with Emerson?", check out the post here . Thank you very much to those of you who have sent us your well wishes.  It really means a lot to us. We were SO grateful to have received a ca...

This post may contain affiliate links which come at no extra cost to you. These links allow me to share the products I authentically recommend (and use) and support Cobble Hill Farm by receiving a small commission. If you’re just joining in, the “ Change Your Life In 2018 ” series is my quest to make some small changes this year.  Rather than setting easily forgotten resolutions I wanted to focus on 12 changes that would help me learn and grow as a person.  I’ve chosen to focus on one change per month so that it could not only become a more manageable goal, but I have a better chance at making these new habits as well.  I hope you’ll join me in  the challenge ! It is very easy to go through life somewhat passively - accepting what comes your way and not taking the bull by the horns to try and steer it in another direction.  I'm guilty of this, for sure.  I've always had dreams, goals and wants, but I haven't always taken the responsibility and, I guess, ambition, to...