Michele Augur from Frugal Granola shares her life of simple living. Michele shares recipes for healthy meals, and how to lead a sustainable and frugal life full of faith.
I write about simple, frugal, natural living, sharing how our family seeks to live passionately in our creativity and faith on a daily basis.
I began blogging at Frugal Granola in February of 2008.
I first started out just jotting down notes during a very tight budget season (my husband was still in college, and I was a new SAHM). I began meal planning, raising our first baby, and growing in my faith. I was soon surprised to find that people were actually reading it! Over the years, the blog has chronicled our family’s journey of discovery, as we learn more about creatively parenting and living naturally.
Everywhere! Going for a walk in the woods, playing with my little ones, browsing crafting/sewing blogs, experimenting in the kitchen with creative flavors, gardening, chatting with my husband and friends, reading books of various genres (sewing/craft books, classic literature, or inspirational books, usually), doodling or sorting through my stacks of fabric scraps, all inspire my writing.
I love to write, and blogging has been the perfect avenue for me to explore my thoughts and journal our experiences. I enjoy the community of blogging, as other readers and writers inspire each other in our daily living.
Probably the most challenging aspects of blogging would be the technology and financial aspects. There is always something new to learn, and it takes time to juggle all the intricacies of advertising, website features, etc.
It has been incredibly rewarding to hear from readers that have benefited from what I’ve written- in their faith, health, parenting, or homemaking skills! I love it when a mama writes to me, letting me know how well a natural remedy worked, for example. I’ve also been so blessed by building friendships over the years.
I’d recommend sitting down and making a “mission statement” or list of goals for your blogging; to really identify why you want to blog, and how much of your life will be invested in it. Blogging can quickly become a full-time job, or a very engrossing hobby that distracts you from family. My husband and I plan out our work schedules together each week, and set aside time for my blogging, to make sure the work gets done, while still allowing time for our other priorities.
I have a huge list of blogs in my reader, but I never read through all of them at one time. When I have some time for reading, I usually skim through the list, and choose a few that catch my eye to read. I love a variety of topics, whether it’s faith, cooking, sewing, parenting, decorating, simple & natural living, etc.
Some of my favorites are: SouleMama, A Holy Experience, I Take Joy, MADE, and Naturally Knocked Up.
Our family recently moved into a historic 1906 home in the Pacific Northwest where we operate a Bed & Breakfast, so I’ll be sharing some of our redecorating projects, our creative recipes & hospitality ideas, more natural cosmetics/remedies, more of our simple homeschooling activities (we have some “rainy day activity” posts coming soon!), some crafty projects for gifts, and other posts from my fabulous contributing writers.
I’m now on WordPress. I started out on Blogger, and moved to WordPress last year.
This may seem really basic, since there are so many wonderful tools out there, but I’m thankful for RSS Graffiti. It automatically posts my blog posts onto social media. I’ve found that social media (such as Facebook) is an important part of blog networking, but it’s not really something I enjoy spending much time on. (I’d rather be doing “real life!”) :) This keeps me connected with readers, notifying them of updates, and I don’t have to take time everyday just to re-post on different sites.
I have written a couple eBooks, for more simple living inspiration. My book “Herbal Nurturing” is a simple guide for families to learn some herbal remedies, along with some fun homeschooling activities. “A Natural Noel” is designed to walk through the Twelve Days of Christmas, but the projects in it can be done any day of the year! It includes my homemade Orange Flower Hand Lotion recipe, and fun projects for children to develop creativity, experience nature, and build relationships in their world and community.
Simple Gifts
How to Sew the Mommy Bag
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/frugalgranola
Facebook: facebook.com/FrugalGranola
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