About Us
Meet Carrie & Brett
Our journey started, as many couples’ do, with visions about the future. Back in our mid-20s and in the early stages of our careers, those conversations centered around our lack of excitement for many traditional cornerstones of American culture. Big fancy wedding. New house in the suburbs. Bigger house to make room for a family. It just didn’t feel like us.
But one thing that did strike our fancy was the prospect of living in the country. In 2015, after a few years of dating, we had the opportunity to buy Brett’s parents’ home on seven acres of land just outside of a Wisconsin lake town. It was a beautiful setting with so much potential to make our own.
Snowball effect, homesteading style
And just like that, our dream started to take shape. Weekends changed from late nights at the bar to early mornings at Menards. In-between our full-time jobs we found ourselves planting trees, removing wallpaper and carpet, tiling the floor, and adding more and more to the list.
Living in dorms and apartments for most of the previous decade, I (Carrie) was infatuated with the idea of growing a big garden. Quite a tall order for someone whose only experience was semi-successful herbs in a patio planter. I found myself scouring the internet for beginner gardening resources. After much trial and error, we finally built a fence to keep our white-tailed neighbors from feasting on the efforts.
Naturally in gardening research I came across the concept of homesteading. I’d get lost in YouTube videos of modern day pioneers — growing, foraging, and preserving food, building what they need, and ignoring most of what society deems as necessary and normal. While I knew we weren’t going off-grid, it did fuel a passion to learn new skills to incrementally become more self-sufficient. Enter canning, fermenting, grinding flour, and chickens!
Over the years we’ve also planted fruit trees and pine tree seedlings, added a 3/4 acre pond, converted an old ice shack into a chicken coop, and welcomed guests to our house as a vacation rental. Oh, and we were married in the backyard in 2017.
But... the world is calling
In 2021, we started a new chapter that involved a move, temporarily living in the camper, tearing apart a dilapidated mobile home, and building a new home in its place. It’s been a wild ride and isn’t over yet!
Guiding Values
Experiences Over Things
Truth be told, we have things. A fair share of them. But the decision to acquire something new (or used) is always weighed against the kind of experience it will bring. We're pretty ok being unfashionable, late-adopters.
Progress Over Perfection
Did we forget to grout the tile in the closet? Did it take three years (and some tears) to successfully protect the garden from deer? We call that character-building, and it comes with the territory of learning something new.
Life is Fragile
The older we get the more we are reminded of how quickly life can change. It's easy to get caught up planning and anticipating the future. This helps us stay grounded and remember to enjoy the here and now.
Come along for the ride
This website was created as a way to document our progress, connect with others, and share stories of people and places we find inspiring — from our neck of the woods and beyond. I hope you enjoy a glimpse into our life and, more importantly, find value in the content shared.
Please keep in mind all information is from our own experiences and should not be viewed as professional advice.
Ready to dig in?
If this sounds like something you can relate to, I hope you’ll stick around. Head over to the blog and always feel free to get in touch with questions, ideas, or just to say hello.
