Simple Farmhouse Life

I love chatting with fellow work-at-home moms who share in the joys and struggles of managing motherhood, homemaking, homeschooling, business, homesteading, rest, community, and more. Today’s conversation with published author Melissa Ferguson takes us behind the scenes of a fiction writer’s life. We talk through carefully choosing your “yeses” in each season, embracing rest, prioritizing family, and learning things the hard way in business. Whether you have a dream of writing or some other endeavor, this practical look at how Melissa gets it all done will inspire you along the way!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT MELISSA

Melissa Ferguson is the bestselling author of titles including Meet Me in the Margins, How to Plot a Payback, On the Way to Christmas, and upcoming release, The Perfect Rom-Com.

She lives in Tennessee with her husband and children in their growing farmhouse lifestyle and writes heartwarming romantic comedies that have been featured in such places as The Hollywood Reporter, Travel + Leisure, Woman’s World, and BuzzFeed. Join along her journey with over 800,000 other followers at @ourfriendlyfarmhouse.

RESOURCES

Pre-order Melissa’s newest fiction title The Perfect Rom-Com

Check out Melissa’s romantic comedy books here

Sign up for Melissa’s newsletter at MelissaFerguson.com

Looking to earn an income from your YouTube channel? Join my YouTube Success Masterclass today!

Explore all of my course offerings including sourdough, sewing, blogging, and YouTube

CONNECT

Melissa Ferguson of The Friendly Farmhouse | Website | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | BookBub | Pinterest

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

This week's round of questions took us through a wide range of motherhood and homemaking topics: how I keep my home in order with a large family, getting my babies/toddlers to sleep through the night, and quite a few things in my motherhood journey that I just don't worry about anymore. I'd love for you to join me for this coffee chat!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Grab my free list of staples to stock your from-scratch pantry

Join my Simple Sewing course and my Simple Sourdough course today!

Explore all of my course offerings including sourdough, sewing, blogging, and YouTube

CONNECT

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

If you know anything about homesteading, you know who Joel Salatin is. Joel has been farming and teaching about farming for decades, and he brings his wealth of experience to this conversation for the new homesteader. What is the bigger picture of homesteading? How can you make money on a homestead? What should you avoid when purchasing land? If you are hoping to start a homestead or have already started your homesteading journey, this episode is full of the encouragement and practical knowledge you need!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT JOEL

Joel Salatin calls himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Others who like him call him the most famous farmer in the world, the high priest of the pasture, and the most eclectic thinker from Virginia since Thomas Jefferson. Those who don’t like him call him a bio-terrorist, Typhoid Mary, charlatan, and starvation advocate.

With 12 published books and a thriving multi-generational family farm, he draws on a lifetime of food, farming, and fantasy to entertain and inspire audiences around the world. He’s as comfortable moving cows in a pasture as addressing CEOs at a Wall Street business conference.

He co-owns, with his family, Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. Featured in the New York Times bestseller Omnivore’s Dilemma and award-winning documentary Food Inc., the farm services more than 5,000 families, 50 restaurants, 10 retail outlets, and a farmers’ market with salad bar beef, pigaerator pork, pastured poultry, and forestry products. When he’s not on the road speaking, he’s at home on the farm, keeping the callouses on his hands and dirt under his fingernails, mentoring young people, inspiring visitors, and promoting local, regenerative food and farming systems.

Salatin is the editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer, granddaddy catalyst for the grass farming movement. He writes the Pitchfork Pulpit column for Mother Earth News, as well as numerous guest articles for ACRES USA and other publications. A frequent guest on radio programs and podcasts targeting preppers, homesteaders, and foodies, Salatin’s practical, can-do solutions tied to passionate soliloquies for sustainability offer everyone food for thought and plans for action.

RESOURCES

The Lean Farm books by Ben Hartman

Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith

The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer by Joel Salatin

Polyface Micro by Joel Salatin

Looking to earn an income from your YouTube channel? Join my YouTube Success Masterclass today!

Explore all of my course offerings including sourdough, sewing, blogging, and YouTube

CONNECT

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms | Website | Instagram | Facebook

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

When you put significant effort into sourcing and growing high quality food for your family, you quickly learn that you need a reliable way to preserve it for future use. Many homemakers are familiar with the tried and true methods of canning, fermenting, and dehydrating, but there is a newer method on the scene that is revolutionizing the way we preserve food. Carolyn started out very skeptical of freeze drying but has since become an expert. She’s joining me to share how freeze drying has transformed her homestead kitchen and how it can improve the way you preserve food!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT CAROLYN

Carolyn Thomas and her husband, Josh, live on a 40 acre homestead in Idaho surrounded by gardens, livestock and children. She spends her days rocking babies, homeschooling her children and preserving food for the coming winter. As part of her passion she also teaches homesteading skills to encourage other families to live simply and focus on the things that really matter... faith, family and really good food!

RESOURCES

Take my class on fermenting vegetables through School of Traditional Skills

Check out Carolyn’s new book: Freeze-Drying the Harvest

Listen to my recent conversation all about sourdough myths with Carolyn on her podcast 

Join my Simple Sewing course and my Simple Sourdough course today!

Explore all of my course offerings including sourdough, sewing, blogging, and YouTube

CONNECT

Carolyn Thomas of Homesteading Family | Website | Podcast | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

We are back with another Q&A episode! You all asked how I get my babies to sleep through the night, if I’m still following a pro-metabolic lifestyle, and how I avoid the chaos of a messy home. If you’d like to submit a question for a future episode, visit bit.ly/SFLquestions. I’m so glad you are joining me for this coffee chat!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

MENTIONS

Episode on minimalism with Dawn of the Minimal Mom

Episode on decluttering with Robyn of Minimalist Home

Episode about the pro-metabolic approach to health with Kori Meloy & Fallon Lee

LEARN MORE FROM ME

Simple Sewing Series Course

Simple Sourdough Course

YouTube Success Academy

Create Your Blog Dream Course

Daily Sourdough Cookbook

CONNECT

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

We all know that it is important to declutter our homes to maximize our decorating efforts, but decluttering is work we often avoid. After all, decorating is the fun part. In this episode, Shannon shares her process of transforming your home into a place you love to be by taking the right steps in the right order. We chat about where to start when you are overwhelmed by clutter, how to maintain order in a home full of people, finding your decorating style, and more. If the change of seasons has you itching to bring some order and beauty to your home, don’t miss this conversation!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT SHANNON

Shannon Acheson is an author, entrepreneur, content creator, home organizing and interior decorating expert, and the creative force behind HomeMadeLovely.com - a celebrated blog helping moms declutter, organize and add style to their homes since 2010.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Check out Shannon’s previous interview on my podcast!

More Style, Less Mess Course by Shannon

Check out both of Shannon’s books on decluttering and decorating

Shannon’s list of 50 things you should throw away today

DIY frame TV tutorial by Sarah from She Holds Dearly

CONNECT

Shannon Acheson of Home Made Lovely | Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

If you are overwhelmed by your home, your schedule, your many responsibilities as a mother, wife, homemaker, business owner, and more, this episode is for you! No matter the source of your stress, Chelsi Jo has a system for you. Don’t miss this conversation full of practical steps you can take to get back to peaceful and purposeful days.

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT CHELSI JO

Chelsi Jo is a wife, mom, CEO, top ranked podcaster, and system obsessed professional here to help every mom create the consistent income she wants and needs, without sacrificing her home or herself in the process. 

After 17 years in corporate and 5 years of running an event based business she realized it was time to share the systems she had created to stay organized and keep up with the demands of being a busy mom so other women could have the same success without the overwhelm. 

She specializes in teaching other work from home moms the strategic systems they need to manage their home in as little time as possible, plus create major impact and income in the hours they set aside to work. 

From time blocking and fundamental needs, to workflows and team management she is confident that her strategic systems are the key to every modern working mom's success.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Take The Quiz To Find Out Which System You Need To Go From Overwhelmed To Organized

Listen to Chelsi Jo’s podcast

CONNECT

Chelsi Jo Moore of Systemize Your Life | Website | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

Do you want to know my real thoughts on sourdough discard recipes! In this episode, I’m answering more of your questions about all things sourdough! How do you know when your dough is done rising? What is the best time of day to start sourdough? How can I turn any recipe into a sourdough recipe? Join me for this conversation about one of my favorite topics!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Listen to part one of this Sourdough Q&A series or watch on YouTube

How to Convert Any Recipe to Sourdough

Check out my Christmas sourdough episode with Ash of Turner Farm or watch on YouTube

Listen to my episode with Kristin all about baking with freshly-milled flour or watch on YouTube

How To Cut Sourdough Bread For The Perfect Slice

Join my Simple Sourdough course

Pre-order my new cookbook Daily Sourdough

Check out all my sourdough recipes on the blog

Explore all of my course offerings including sourdough, sewing, blogging, YouTube

CONNECT

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

The world of online business is exploding with opportunities.  There seems to be something for everyone.  In this conversation, Katie and I chat about our favorite stream of revenue in online business: blogging.  The blogging landscape has changed drastically over the years, and it is ripe with opportunity for those willing to learn the strategy and devote the time.  If you love chatting business strategy as much as I do, join us for this peek behind the curtain in the lives of two career bloggers!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT KATIE

Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Create Your Blog Dream

Create Your Blog Dream Free Trial

YouTube Success Academy

CONNECT

Katie of Heart’s Content Farmhouse | Website | YouTube | Pinterest | Instagram

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast?  A guest you’d like me to interview?  Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

Herbal teas and fermented beverages are a great way to improve your health while enjoying a tasty drink. In this episode, we dive into a few of the more enjoyable ways to include impactful nutrients in your diet with CeAnne of Farmhouse Teas. On a quest to heal her own chronic illness, CeAnne discovered the power of herbal medicine and began creating salves, teas, and ferments for her own family. Whether you are on your own journey of healing from illness or are simply looking to level up your health, join in for this educational conversation!

In this episode, we cover:

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible!

ABOUT CEANNE

CeAnne is wife to The Farmer and Mama to four adopted kiddos. She helps farm lov'n families turn common herbs into powerful medicines in order to create health and wellness for their families, without the fuss. In 2014 they left their small city lot for a two acre farm outside of town. With dreams of growing the bulk of their own food they also started hand crafting their own herbal medicines and teas. It all started with a single packet of seeds and the lovely calendula flower.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Use code FARMHOUSE20 at FarmhouseTeas.com

Coffee Drinker’s Guide to Loose Leaf Tea

CONNECT

CeAnne Kosel of Farmhouse Teas | Website | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.