Welcome to Living, Simply Matters!

 Hello and Welcome to Living, Simply Matters!

What is living simply? Living simply is about returning to what matters most in your life. What matters most in my life may or may not matter one bit to another. It's all a journey though isn't it? Finding what matters most to us? Finding that one thing that grounds us, that makes us feel connected-- the thing that makes us rise each morning. I feel like I spent nearly half my life trying to figure out the one thing-- to find that there are actually many things that I truly enjoy doing. It is the end result-- it is how they make me feel that makes doing them worthwhile.

At Living Simply, Matters, you will be in good company if you love all things food-- growing it, cooking, baking and even preserving it. That's where it all started for me. My love of food and my desire to use my creativity led me to the doors of The Culinary Institute of America, where I earned a baccalaureate degree, before going on to earn my Masters in Business. Though I no longer cook as my sole profession, I still love to be in the garden and the kitchen. 

The notion of Living Simply, Matters began about five years ago when my husband and I purchased a small house with 2 acres. We were immediately inspired by the majestic chestnut tree with its large canopy over the front yard, the mulberry tree near the perimeter of the property, and the overgrown vegetable garden beds that offered promise with a lot of work. The raspberry bush brambles were thick. Asparagus ferns had grown to nearly eight feet, and there were countless weeds among the twelve  dilapidated beds. We got busy-- really busy, trimming, pruning, and pulling weeds, and rebuilding garden beds. It was late August and hot. That winter, we made plans for the spring, we read about how to care for raspberry bushes, rhubarb and asparagus. 

When spring came, we headed out to the garden again. Everything was new and we were enthusiastic as we worked in our garden. We celebrated the firsts-- first lettuce leaf, first raspberry cane, first stalk of rhubarb. We were exhausted but downright giddy gardeners! By autumn, we had welcomed 6 chickens to our small stead. We now have 19!

That was back in 2015. Since that time, my husband and I dug deep into gardening and processing foods. Our shelves are stocked with jellies, jams, pickles, pickled vegetables, salsas, and giardiniera. Dried herbs, homemade vanilla extract and granola are just a few of the things in our pantry.

I hope that my blog inspires you to garden, to cook, to bake, to try a new recipe or to simply explore those things that interest you. Please feel free to e-mail me  anytime with any questions or comments you might have or even if you just want to share your story with me. I love to hear from my readers. 

Welcome to my blog and I hope that you will join me on this journey where Living, Simply Matters.