November 2017 - Page 2 of 2 - Farm Fresh Style

In Life/ Our Family

Raising the Crazy Cat Lady

My baby turned 8 this week. I’m not quite sure how it happened, I mean, wasn’t she just 3?

Hannah is a happy little bundle of warmth, she wakes up smiling and pretty much continues all day long. If you’ve met her, you know this to be true. So, what do you do when all she wants for her 8th birthday is a new cat? You get her a cat.

We have two cats already. We adopted Buttercat, aka BB, from Harrier Hill and he loves it here. Although I think he’d rather be a studio cat. Hannah loves BB and would do anything for that cat, including still petting him after he got sprayed by a skunk!! That, people, is love.

Our other cat we acquired by, well, his choice. He goes by Cuddles or ‘Grey Fluffy Cat’. When we moved in, we would see this grey, fluffy cat wander through the yard but we could never get close and then weeks or months would pass before we saw him again. And then we saw him around more and more and we could get closer but still not pet him. And then one night he was going crazy trying to get into the house. I called his real owners, our neighbours, and they came to get him. And days passed and we thought nothing of it….until he kept showing up and sticking around more and more. They come to get him and take him home again and then he’d be back. So, come to find out, he hates their new dog. HATES. As in, he’d rather live outside at our house with BB, who he also hates, then be in that nice warm house where he was well cared for and loved { his ‘real mom’ is a vet, for crying out loud! } So we have an arrangement, he lives here with us, we love on him, they drop off cat food and can’t get within feet of him….seems to work alright!

But here’s the thing about Cuddles and BB, they are old. Like, somewhere in the range of 17 to 19ish? Old, right? We decided we wanted a new cat, a young cat. And Hannah begged for the new cat to be hers. How can you say no to that? Lena couldn’t care less for the cats but Hannah is all heart-eyes. So, we decided we would start to keep an ear out for a new cat. And I saw a few in my news feed on FB. But you know when something is right, when you sense it in your bones? Yep, THAT post came up and we met Casey the next day and took her home with us. She was in a loving home but due to allergies, she has to be re-homed. And we knew she was the right cat for us when we found out she’d be 1 in November. If you’ve been around enough, you know that November is birthday month for all of us girls. So, she’s the perfect fit 😉

Anyway, we took her home and settled her into the studio and we love her. So much!! She’s an expert level hider, it took me 10 minutes to find her one morning, she can curl herself up into the smallest little spot, in the darkest, most tucked away corner she can find. But now, she greets us at the door, purring and trying to get as close to us as she can. We’ve let her out in the yard a few times but she’s so shy, it makes me nervous that she’ll run away and we’ll never see her sweet face again.

So, even though Casey has lived with us for a bit before Hannah’s actual birthday, she is still considered one of the gifts. And of course, she set the theme for Hannah’s party. Crazy Cat Lady Party, because if the shoe fits…

I have stopped killing myself over parties for the girls. They don’t care if they are ‘pin-worthy’, all they want to do is play with their friends. Hannah’s only request for her party was that we had a kitty litter cake. Appealing, right? Not.At.All. But, when you’re turning 8, you get what you wish for. Ta-da!!!

Her friends showed up with kitties in tow, ridiculous giant cat masks and gifts for a sleepover. They blew up the air mattresses and crashed on the guest room floor. Well, when I say crashed, I mean at about 11 pm when I hollered at them to shut it down 😉 My friend/the girls’ babysitter, Alena, crocheted a bunch of sweet little kitties for the girls to take home instead of some treat bag filled with candy { who needs more candy the week after Halloween, right? } and dollar store junk. Pretty sure they had a good time… 😉

We jokingly call Hannah our Crazy Cat Lady, she says she isn’t going to get married but she is going to have 9 cats and live in the field across the road. And with owning 3 cats now, I’d say she’s well on her way!

Happiest of Birthdays, Sweet Hannah!

To be continued,

Lori

November 10, 2017 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

13 In Blogging

Blogjam 2017 – Post-Jam Scoop

Well, I think I’ve recovered from an awesome weekend at Blogjam in Halifax. My head is filled with ideas and my heart is filled to overflowing, too.

See, here’s the thing. Blogjam is amazing. Yes, there’s so much information to glean. Like so much information. But!! Guys….it’s the people that make it for me. I’m a people person and I like to connect. So Blogjam is like a big reunion for me with a bunch of my online friends. So many of the people I enjoy interacting with online come to Blogjam. And these are mostly people that I wouldn’t know now if I hadn’t stepped outside of my comfort zone 2 years ago and went to speak at a conference I knew nothing about, where I knew not a soul.

I could write about 30 or so people but I’m going to introduce you to the ones that impacted me the most this past weekend. And I’ll apologize for all the pictures of me and that they are all iPhone pictures!! I did take my camera but came home with blurry pictures of people!

I’m going to start off with Jennifer of Simple Local Life for a few reasons. First off, we roomed together this year at Blogjam and it’s kind of a full circle moment because we were complete strangers 2 years ago! She came up to me at the end of Blogjam 2015 and told me she wanted to start a blog. And well, did she ever! She is rocking it on the South Shore, she has created such a name for herself. Occasionally we’ll meet up in the city for a meal or coffee when it works into our scheduling so to have time to sit and chat with her this past weekend was such a treat. She offers a great perspective on all things life and blogging and for that I’m so thankful. Plus, she tells me when to get back on the elevator when I’ve gotten off on the wrong floor…. #countrycomestotown

Saturday night at the social, I had the chance to sit down and chat with Jenna of There’s a Shoe for That. Her family just recently purchased a house and I can’t wait to follow along as they make it their own. I’m not even sure what all topics we covered but it was so nice to just connect! Her re-cap of Blogjam is awesome, you can read it HERE. It’s perfectly Jenna and I was happy to hand off my Blunnies for her to capture, too.

Of course, I was thrilled when Colleen walked in. Colleen has been so good to me, letting me bounce ideas and So.Many.Questions. off her with the patience of Job. I love Colleen’s sense of humour, her writing style and I can relate to her on so many levels. Plus, she wears red Blundstones, too, so what’s not to love. You can find her tales over at Curtains Are Open, I highly recommend grabbing a cup of tea or coffee and settling in for a bit, she’s awesome.

Now, this next blogger is kind of a big deal. She’s the first non-local blogger I’ve met and she is Julie, aka Sober Julie and her blog is Life Straight Up! I have to admit I was a little star struck but she was so down to earth and welcoming. Besides, she’s great friends with Colleen, so I knew she had to be awesome. All weekend long she was handing out these tiny little bottles of essential oil samples from DoTERRA and I haven’t gotten into using oils before but I did follow her advice and put some of the orange one in my water on Sunday. I had a few chances to sit and chat with her so that was a real treat!

My other major online encourager is none other than Peady! You may know her as Laureen from Tempered with Kindness. She is a ray of sunshine and so positive, with a side of funny. Go follow her wherever you can find her, especially HERE, though. Tell her I sent you. She makes my heart happy. I’ll bet she does the same for you.

I mentioned before that I was doing my presentation with Heather of Heather’s Handmade Life, you can read my mention it HERE. You need to read her Blogjam post HERE, guys, I wasn’t sure if I was going to end up alone on stage! She did manage to make it on Sunday and we talked about Creativity and used lots of potty humour….because poop is funny even in your 40’s. Honestly, I think we offered up lots of great tips on keeping that creativity flowing, even when you aren’t feeling it. Heather loves to do power point which is great for someone like me who doesn’t enjoy the techy stuff, plus she has great hair and an even better sense of humour so I would highly recommend doing a presentation with her! Plus, our planning session at the new Truro Library made us feel like kinda a big deal with our own private conference room.

The crew that dreamed { dreamt? } up Blogjam deserves an award. They started out as strangers and now are a pretty tight bunch. And they are all so lovely, like seriously, they are the best. Kerra, Renee and Krista make the day so wonderful and are so welcoming themselves, you couldn’t ask for better. And Michelle Doucette could be found all day snapping pictures of the presenters and guests { plus she presented in a special food photography workshop on Saturday night which was AMAZING! } They make a great team and gathered together some fabulous speakers and sponsors for the event. The location was incredible, too, I really enjoyed the Prince George with all the lush finishes and rich textures, my only issue was the elevators and that was completely on me….

I need to be clear here, up until to this point, I could’ve gone home and been thrilled with how the weekend went. I saw lots of my friends, learned some new things and really enjoyed myself. But…..there’s more. Are you sitting down? One of the generous sponsors, Sunwing, had donated a week all-inclusive for two to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Guys, I won. When Kerra announced my name, I couldn’t believe it. And you know me, I cried. Here’s a picture of Candace of Life In Pleasantville and I after I pulled myself together…

Yes, she’s tiny and I’m looming over her… I have a whole post brewing about this trip and all the information I need to know about going south!

All in all, another fabulous weekend at Blogjam. If you are a blogger or thinking about blogging or starting a YouTube channel or anything along those lines, I highly recommend attending Blogjam!

To be continued,

Lori

November 8, 2017 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Blogging

Pre-Blogjam Jitters

Well, Blogjam is happening again and I have all the feels about it! Excited, nervous, stressed…

This isn’t my first Blogjam – I went the last two years, which you can read about HERE and HERE. The first year I knew no one and I was speaking during one of the sessions. Because I knew no one, I had to get outside my comfort zone and introduce myself to complete strangers! Eeeeekkk!! Stressful for even the most outgoing of us, I think! But the next year I had made some connections and brought a friend along so it wasn’t nearly as stressful, thankfully! Besides, I got to sit back and just enjoy without the stress of presenting.

Now, this year is different yet again! I’m heading down extra early to take in a workshop, hang out with my friend, Jennifer, and then….gasp….do another presentation on Sunday! This year’s presentation is going to be fun – it’s not just that I’m doing a presentation, Heather and I have decided to partner and do the presentation together! And guys, we think we’re really funny!! I’ll let you know if anyone else thinks we’re funny.

Prepping during the lunch break back in 2015

Over the course of the last year, I’ve connected with so many other bloggers and it’s going to be one giant weekend long hangout while learning about blogging, social media and the such. I haven’t quite decided which sessions I’m going to, I probably won’t decide until the last minute. I’ve also volunteered to help with whatever over the course of the day, too. One of the main organizers, Kerra, has a new baby so I’m happy to lend a hand, especially if it means baby snuggles….although I suspect there will be line up for Brooklyn snuggles!

I can’t wait to meet more of the friends I’ve made online finally and get to know some others even better. I feel like the internet has changed friendships and the way they evolve and develop. There is something to be said for finding your tribe. I’m amazed at who has crossed my path that I’ve connected with that I probably would never have known otherwise. It’s fun!!! These women inspire me to work harder at blogging and they show me the potential that’s out there. They support each other and celebrate victories and come around each other during the hard stuff, too.

Anyway, I have a million things to do between now and when I hit the road! I best finish this cup of coffee and maybe pack a bag and clear up breakfast. Wish me luck tomorrow!!

To be continued,

Lori

November 4, 2017 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

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