My love for country living, old homes, and decorating started at a very young age. One of my earliest memories of this was shopping in my mom’s catalogs for my imaginary home. Around the age of 10, my grandma, Pauline, really sparked my interest in decorating as we sat out on the porch on summer nights, sipping coffee and browsing through huge stacks of Country Living Magazines. She also got me hooked on amaretto flavored coffee creamer and Ironstone that summer! As a kid, I never liked antique shops (I think it was that “old book” aroma that hits you in the face at the door) but I was living in a town that was well-known for great antique shopping, so my mom and grandma used to drag us through those shops on their hunt for Ironstone pitchers. Little did I know, I would be doing the exact same thing as an adult in those exact same shops. I’m still not in love with that familiar old smell.

After going to school at the University of Wisconsin - Stout for graphic design, I became a young stay-at-home mom in 2008 & really embraced my role as a homemaker. I wanted to learn it all; cooking, baking, canning, how to crochet a doily, how to fold a fitted sheet, how to frost a cake, quilting, wreath-making, the trick to perfectly streak-free glass, and anything else you’d find in the index of Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. My love for decorating flourished as I learned how to create a look using the little I had to work with along with a toolbox full of shiny new skills: I began creating homes out of each of the houses we lived in. As my style has evolved over the years, it has never veered far from that classic farmhouse look that I have always loved.

the making of hayseed home      harvest

I started a blog in 2011 called “Hayseed Homemakin’,” with no real plan, just a love for decorating, crafting, baking, & cooking.

I didn’t expect much to come from it, but it took off faster than I could have imagined. I vividly remember the morning I woke up to 7,000+ new visitors on my site, I was only a few months into my blog and had just posted a quick project I made out of string lights & tulle. I was sure it was a mistake, but looked into it & found the source. I had just gotten a new camera to teach myself photography and figured out how to get a couple of pretty shots of my “Firefly Lights.” Somehow, Lauren Conrad saw that post & shared it to her decorating site. From there, the daily visitor numbers just kept growing along with my blog. It was simply luck & the power of a pretty picture.

the future of hayseed home      harvest

Life really changed over the years & I drifted from my blog, but never my passion for “creating” & decorating. I met my husband, Nick, and everything has fallen naturally into place since that day. We ended up buying a little 1800’s schoolhouse and turned it into a country home & gift shop called “The Bluebell Mercantile & Co.” Owning a shop has always been a dream of mine, and with this store I get to exercise all of my creative passions in one space. The same month we bought that building, we also purchased our first home together and it was A FARMHOUSE! A double dream come true!

The old barns & beautiful views sold us our farm in 2016. The 1880’s farmhouse we now call our home was in rough shape, but the rich history of the place was so intriguing to us & we knew that tattered, forgotten skeleton of a house needed another chance. The potential wasn’t always easy to see, but now that we’re a couple of years deep into the renovation, the light is shining bright at the end of the tunnel & it is BEAUTIFUL!  

We’re so happy to be where we’re at, raising our kids in the country & giving them the same opportunities we had growing up. Right now we have a coop full of chickens, 5 pretty barn cats, and a pug named “Toad.” (I have a feeling that list will grow with time.)  

Our farmhouse is also growing! We’re about to add on to what we have already remodeled. We weren’t sure if this was going to be a long-term home when we purchased it, but now that we’ve made the decision to stay, we’re expanding for a little extra space, storage, & comfort as our kids get older. We’re also adding a trophy room to accommodate the taxidermy that comes along with Nick’s career as a hunter.

Now that I’m feeling settled back into this sweet life with my family, I’m so excited to share again! So with a breath of fresh, country air, welcome to my new blog: Hayseed Home & Harvest.