I live in Farmers Branch, a small town that
sits immediately north of Dallas, Texas.
I have lived here since I was eight years old. Three of my five kids live here, and all four of my grandkids live here.
My oldest grandson just started Kindergarten at the same elementary school I attended.
Why I mention this, is our family roots run deep and while I live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas surrounded by international business,
bustling highways, I love anything country/farmhouse related.
When I found out Martingale was publishing a book from Julie Thomas, I knew I had to own it.
I have followed Julie on instagram for quite a while and love everything she does.
Now I get to drool over the pages in print as she shares how they
“created a country life just past the city limits.”
Sounds completely heavenly!
Not only is the book full of gorgeous pictures, but it is also full of how-tos,
such as creating an outdoor eating area.
Many of these ideas are doable regardless of your space.
Gardening? My brown thumb doesn’t work, but I love reading about it,
dreaming about it and eating out of other people’s gardens.
Chickens Like Pumpkins Too.
This saying made me giggle.
My daughter lives in the country and raises chickens, so I do enjoy fresh, colorful eggs.
I will certainly send my pumpkins to the farm as treats for her chickens.
And if this is not the cutest thing ever,
an Olde English “Babydoll” sheep.
Not sure if this is Teddy, Winston or George but I
could stare at him for days.
A great book to add to your Christmas wish list! Available at your favorite book retailer. Stock #B1500
(all above photos used courtesy of Martingale publishing)
The book will be in stores October 1st, but as a special treat, I have an advance copy that I am going
to share with one of my country girl readers.
Leave a comment and let me know if you had an animal growing up.
I had many animals, but one of my favorites was my duck named Frito.
I will pick a winner at random on Wednesday the 18th.
GIVEAWAY CLOSED
Winner
I grew up on a dairy farm so lots of animals around but Tinkerbell was my very own goat!
I only had the usual dogs and fish, but my 5-year-old granddaughter has a baby doll sheep she named Mimo!
We have always only had dogs. Every one of them left a very special memory with me. I am a city girl, but I love all of the farmhouse style! Thank you for this opportunity! ♥️
Only cats and dogs for me as a kid, but I would visit my grandparents farm and they had chickens, pigs, and cattle. I would always pick a favorite cow and name it and then watch it throughout the summer days. Sometimes, that cow was one to be sent to the butcher and that was always heartbreaking but part of farm life.
We had several cats over the years. I think that was because they were such low maintenance pets. On another note I lived in Farmers Branch for just about 2 years when my kids were small. They attended Cabell Elementary, as we lived just across the street from it. I worked as a lunch lady for the Carollton Farmers Brand ISD. Small world!
Wow, what a beautiful book! I grew up on a farm, and my grandparents let us raise orphaned lambs. They knew their granddaughters would enjoy feeding them bottles of milk. So I love that sheep photo! The one I remember most was named Buck.
Lovely book! We had a goat named Buddy he would jump in the truck when my dad started to go somewhere and ride along.
What a pretty book! For the coffee table-yes but also for taking with me when I need a nap-I can look at the pretty pictures and then dream wishfully about having a farm -and goats!
My animals growing up were the normal cats and dogs but growing up on a small farm afforded me contact with other critters. I had a blind chicken, rabbits and an occasional cow that needed to live in lower a altitude because of They could not tolerate high altitudes in
Colorado.
Oh how I wished for more of the farm life!
I didn’t have a name for any of the pigs my cousin and I used to chase, but I sure do remember getting in trouble for the chasing. Still can’t believe I played in the pig pen and thought it was fun. Eww, I can still remember what it smelled like.
I did that once at my uncle’s house. I thought it was tons of fun also, but your right the smell….
I grew up on my grandparents dairy farm. The Sheepdog, named Mo was my best buddy.
In Wisconsin we have lots of farms and I had lots of chances to visit those of relatives. However, I was a “city girl” who had two pet ducks when I was about five. Their names were Pete and Gladys after the characters in a comedy show. Every time I see little ducks I think of Pete and Gladys.
Would love to win this book!
I grew up on a farm and was married to a farmer for 20 years so there were lots of animals. My kids grew up bottle feeding orphan calves and lambs. I loved it.
We usually had cats and/or dogs when I was growing up.
What a lovely book! Thank you for sharing about it. Yes, I had an animal growing up – my Siamese cat named Mai Ling. She always snuggled me, especially if I was sick. Loved her a lot.
What a wonderful book!! I didn’t grow up with any farm animals, but we did have two bassett hounds and what fun they were!!
I grew up next to my grandparents who raised chickens and sheep. There were also collies that I absolutely loved as well as loads of cats.
We got a dog when I was twelve, a miniature poodle named Jingle. As an adult, I’ve had 3 dogs.
We had lots of pets, my friends called my home the Werner Zoo. We had dogs, cats, lizards, birds…
I grew up in town but a true farming community. We had dogs always but my grandparents, aunts and uncles all had farm animals. One of my memories is being terrified of “slopping the hogs”! Oh, and collecting eggs was, as a small child, TERRIFYING!!! So blessed to grow up surrounded by my entire family . This book looks absolutely amazing and I would be there
I’ll Ed to have a copy.
Branch living is like Country living- you just have to make your home your haven!
hello my friend!! You are so right. That’s why so many of never leave!!
When I was a small child we lived on a farm with cows. I have loved country life since those great years. This new book looks fabulous.
We had pigs and a dog on our farm growing up. I married a dairy farmer so we had many animals then. We’ve had dogs, cats, and a horse added to the mix. We now crop farm and have a family dog. That suits us just fine. We love living in the country!
Julie,
You are the winner of Little Farmstead Living. Send me your mailing address.
I grew up with a bunch of chickens and a rooster named Jethro
got to love that name, Jethro!!
I grew up on a farm in central Illinois. Best life ever. We raised sheep and occasionally a mommy would die giving birth to twins. We (3 sisters) job was to bottle feed the lambs. There were also barn cats, 2 dogs, pony and hogs.
Yes. We always had a dog and a cat.
Not really…we owned a dog for a week, but I was soooo scared of it I always ran and jumped on my bed to get away from it. My parents got rid of it realizing it wasn’t the right fit for our family.
We always had a dog, some cats and cattle on the farm. We usually had bottle calves during the summer to feed. If they were heifers, we could keep them sometimes. My husband and I bought our first farm when we were 18! Lots of sleepless nights for me, worrying about paying back such a huge loan. Now we have Lots of cattle and raise turkeys. Farming is in the blood. The book looks very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
We made sure our “city kid” son had plenty of pets: a dog, several cats, a Guinea pig, a fire belly newt that ate only freeze-dried shrimp, and many fish and snails. When I was a little girl, I had a very special kitten that was killed in a car accident. I always say it a prairie girl but I didn’t grow up on a farm.
I have such fond memories of life growing up on a small dairy/wheat farm. Yes, we had animals.: horses, cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, cats and dogs. The photos in this book relay those warm memories. Thank you for sharing bits of inside of this books.
Looks like a lovely book. I grew up on a small farm, so we had many animals, some were pets and others fed our family. My favorites were my collie, Nikki and my horse, Mollie.
My brother & I had a collie dog named Laddie. He was the sweetest dog.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but moved at 19 to a less populated area. I now have chickens, bees a barn and 19 acres! We love it! This book looks lovely! If I don’t win I will defiantly place on my reading list!
I love the clean look of Farmhouse. It just makes me feel happy. Cute sheep, weathered wood, and metal! Love it!!
Chris, I agree completely!
I did not grow up in the country, so no exotic pets for us 🙂 We had a cat whom I adored and she could do tricks and would also go on walks with me to the neighbors and wait in front of the house until I came out and would walk with me back home.
When I was very young we lived on a dairy farm and I loved the cows. I have had dogs all my life. For a while my husband and I lived in the country with our two children and we had a goat. Every time the house door would open the goat would run in and get in our sons bed. She would lay real still thinking if I’m quiet they won’t notice.
Oh My!!! That s a tough one. I LOVE Moda All Stars, but I adore lisa Bongean s skill and imagination. But the Little Farmhouse Living looks like it would be fun to peruse when I do not want to be stitching. So I guess my answer would be any one of those three would delight me .and since I ve bought dozens of books from you and I m the first comment, I think I should win! Oh my goodness I want them all! If I had to choose just one, Edyta s Patches of Stars book would be at the top, but seriously, they are all on my must-have list!