An Oregon Cottage Podcast: Simple Real Foods, Gardening & DIY

 Jami and Brian talk about planning for their third garden. They discuss what they learned from planting a tiny city garden and then planting a probably-too-big country garden. And now their upcoming farmhouse garden is going to be "just right." (Like the porridge in Goldilocks.) Jami lists off the vegetables and flowers she WILL grow again. And the ones she WON'T grow again. Plus they talk about great garden food and some recent discoveries.

We would have titled this one "How To Get Rid Of JUNK," except that it's easy to rid of useless stuff. It's a lot harder to get rid of stuff that's valuable but still needs to go because it's cluttering your home and your life. Jami & Brian discuss how they've been able to break that emotional attachment, and then what's worked for selling, donating or giving away. Plus big update on the old farmhouse. Recipes for getting rid of leftovers. And some cool discoveries about fiber and free movie tickets.

Jami and Brian discuss their favorite Christmas traditions, from childhood on. Things like food, gifts, events, cutting down your own tree. Jami explains why she never wanted to actively fool the kids into believing in Santa. They talk about all kinds of things that have made the holiday special--things that are so great, they keep doing them year after year. They discuss what would go into the ultimate Christmas goodie bag and why they always have fish and chips on Christmas afternoon. Plus, Brian shares a cool password manager he uses and Jami reveals her source for cheap pillows.

Somehow, Jami has agreed to come back for a SECOND episode, where we go through our favorite things we've made with cast-offs and reclaimed materials. Brian tells the story behind one of our favorite salvage projects - the French style bench we made from old dining chairs. In the food segment, Jami describes why she loves Chef's Salads so much when it's hot out.

We share what we've learned about harvesting and reusing old wood from our 1920s farmhouse. Reclaimed wood has a few drawbacks, but these are more than made up for by how cool it looks, the reduction in waste, and how much money you can save. Jami talks about what she did for the beds outside the garden and Brian shares his inspiration for the Garden Gate Arbor he made for less than $100.