Hmmmm, it’s been so long since I published a post, I’m not even sure how to start! 😄 I’m also not even sure anyone is still out there—do people still read blogs? I hope so, because creating this way feels like chicken soup for the soul now that I’ve gotten back into the habit of writing again. (More about that at the end of this post!)
Anywho, if there does happen to be somebody on the other side of this screen, hello! How have you been, reader-friend? Are you enjoying the first signs of Spring? We’re keeping as busy as ever over here on the farm.
Wait.
Did I tell you we moved to a farm? Well, it’s more of a farmette really, but it’s got almost six, sprawling acres and the (nearly) half-century-old house needs just enough TLC to feel absolutely thrilling!
The Lettered Colonial
It’s Colonial in style and the tree-lined gravel drive, which circles around in front of it, had us swooning from the second our tires crunched onto it. And although we had never cared for so many trees and so much land before, the house instantly felt like home, so we decided to give it a go.
It was designed and built for the Stanton family way back when and, rumor has it, Mrs. Stanton taught children from all over the county how to swim in the pool in the backyard. Which brings me to one of our first, big home pool improvement-related project. About a year after we moved in, the liner kicked the bucket and we replaced it with the Grey Mosaic liner by Latham Pools.
Old liner, new liner. It took 3 days to re-fill it!
It came highly recommended by my friend April, and had everything we were hoping for: no border around the top edge (folks think it’s real tile every time!) and tranquil, muted tones above and below the water line.
Moody blues
The McEwen family bought it from the Stantons in 1990 and lived here until they sold it to us in August of 2021. We were tickled to learn that they had (internationally) adopted one of their children too, and it was their multigenerational family that had started transforming the former two-car garage into an in-law suite.
We’re still in the process of personalizing that area for Jim and Katie (anybody else had a HECK of a time getting carpenters & contractors to show up? 🥴) but fingers crossed, Kevin and I can fumble our way through what’s left to finish. Countertops, a range hood, a few custom cabinets, some custom bookshelves, some open shelving, and the crown & base moulding will round out her cottage-style kitchen.
Katie’s (discontinued) Petite Fleur wallpaper and luxury vinyl parquet flooring
We actually tackled the desk countertop in there this week. We just wrapped some MDF in soapstone-patterned vinyl and we are all so happy with how it turned out! According to the shop I bought it from, the vinyl is waterproof, scratch, tear, and heat resistant, environmentally safe, and can be removed with no sticky residue. It also has a grid on the back to make for an easy application and they included a small tool to get all the bubbles out which worked really great.
Peel and stick soapstone– who knew!?
My Uncle Kevin (a cabinet maker in Minnesota) is actually shipping us one of the base cabinets we need to finish up the sink side of the room this weekend, so I’ll be sure to share a post specifically about their kitchen with more before and after photos in May.
Katie, who recently turned 87-years-young, hasn’t let her unfinished kitchen stop her from partaking in one of her favorite pastimes though. When she isn’t out and about, or relaxing in her chair in the room next door, she can usually be found baking or cooking. Last week, she was inspired to make vegetable soup, and I had to chuckle when I found her standing at her stove boiling meat off the ham she’s had in her freezer since Thanksgiving. (More about exactly why that is so funny at the end of this post! 😉)
I asked her about what else she uses in her soup and she said “Oh! It’s just whatever you want to throw together!” Here’s what Katie had on hand:
1 leftover ham bone
2 cans mixed vegetables
1 bag frozen vegetables
1 chopped onion
2 sliced carrots
5 diced potatoes
1 can of corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
She started by boiling the ham bone in enough water to loosen the leftover ham meat. Once she had cut it all off, she reduced the heat and began to add the vegetables. She let it cook until the potatoes, carrots and frozen mixed vegetables were done and she and Jim have been enjoying it ever since. Here’s a photo of the recipe she used to make her yummy cornbread too:
She doesn’t add the two tablespoons of flour (when I asked her why, she said “I wasn’t raised on cornbread with flour in it, so I’ve never made it that way as adult either“), and she made a note that if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can add one tablespoon of vinegar to plain milk and to create your own. You may have also noticed that the recipe in her little cookbook didn’t have the cook time listed, so she found that info in another cornbread recipe on the same page and added it by hand. 🥰
Another area of the house that we started working on right away was the foyer. We swapped the old, gray carpeting for and I’ve been having fun adding to the floral-themed gallery wall ever since.
Before
In-Progress
We also just finished redecorating Kevin’s home studio and, boy, has it been fun to see him come alive in that space! Here’s a photo of the room before we moved in:
Before
After
Here are links to some of the things we used in case you’re curious or on the hunt for something similiar:
I haven’t quite finished the gallery wall above his desk, but here’s a link to the one we went with:
He loves that it has hooks on one end for his cables and headphones and a storage pocket on the other end for paperwork, mail, etc. Such a great find for under a hundred bucks! We’re going to add a piece of this fabric across the back so that the cables don’t show too.
He’s developed a fervent passion for writing and wakes up early every day to continue crafting his weekly newsletter, which he sends out (for free) every Tuesday morning. It’s called Onward and in it, he shares insights, ideas, and illustrations on happiness, creativity, purpose, and the psychology of well-being. Here’s a photo of some he recently published:
Click the link below if you’d like to hear from him every Tuesday. I promise it will always be one of the highlights of your week!
And speaking of writing, after two long years of thinking, researching, typing, planning, photographing, editing, re-editing, and editing LOTS more, I’m beyond happy to announce that my real-deal, bonafide beacon of a book is finally done! It’s called Coming Home and it’ll be released wherever books are sold on November 21, 2023.
Photo by the incomparable Kyle Campbell @SuddenJourneys
And by excited, of course, I also mean terrified. 😅
I keep thinking of something one of my favorite writers said. Apparently, a mysterious illness, complete with 2-week fever, landed him in the hospital ten times before the release of his first book (when, all of a sudden, he instantly felt better) and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about how sharing vulnerably, without a delete button, might take a toll on my health this Fall too. 😬
That said, I am super proud of what I’ve tucked inside Coming Home and I really do wish I had had a book like this before my garden-variety anxiety spiraled into disordered panic back in 2018. It’s not only filled with soul-suffusing stories, curative quotes, and restorative family recipes, but also with helpful research, practical advice, hope-full poems, inspiring imagery and hand-drawn artwork. I had a blast creating all the doodles and snapping many of the photos. (Kevin contributed a handful of essays and snapped some of the photos too!) And you wouldn’t believe how much fun I had tracking down certain pictures taken by folks I’ve never met. One adventure took me all the way to a tiny village in England and I can hardly wait to share about how I found the person who captured the photo that inspired one particular chapter. It was quite extraordinary and, it turns out, he is too. We chatted for nearly an hour on Facebook Audio the other day and I kept pinching myself during our call to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. 😊
All that to say, Coming Home is not your average memoir, self-help, personal growth, coffee table book, cook book, or gift book. It’s a combination of ALL of those genres and I will be forever grateful to my imaginative literary agent, enthusiastic acquisitions editor, and uber-patient publisher & designers for allowing me to create such a unique and big-hearted book about feeling lost sometimes, and how to keep coming home.
Anywho, Coming Home is available for pre-order on Amazon NOW, and your pre-order today will ensure that it ships to you at the lowest price between now and release day in November. (They’ll refund you for the difference.) And here’s something interesting: because other booksellers use Amazon’s pre-sale numbers to determine how many copies they want to order, pre-orders also play a huge part in how excited they’ll be to come alongside an author when the book is actually released. In other words, THANK YOU SO MUCH if you join me in pre-ordering a copy. Your early support and enthusiasm will make such a difference in the long run, and because it was such a labor or love, I am so, so grateful! 😀
Oh, and if you do happen to order a copy, you’ll find a story about Katie tucked inside too. The chapter is called “An Invitation” and, in it, I say something like “I bet she could stretch a Thanksgiving ham all the way to Easter”- LOL! She certainly made that sentence spring to life this month! 😂
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So, there ya have it. And by “ya”, I mean, if there really is someone sitting on the other side of this screen. (I hope you’ll leave me a comment below if you are!) Either way, it’s good to be back, sharing in a way that feels like a little more old-fashioned than “insta”. Feels like fresh air. Feels like coming home.
PS- Kindreds spirits: if you’re on the hunt for a beautiful journal or super fun series of books, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying these: Woodland Journal and Ladybug Farm Series.
So happy you will be in this space again! What a wonderful post with so much inspiration. I look forward to seeing you here more often! I love blogs so much more than IG 🙂
This was so lovely to read through. So much beauty, fun, and love!
So glad you’re doing this blog again!!!
Happy you are back. Love your ideas. i am going to preorder. the book.
Welcome back Layla! I’ve always enjoyed your creativity and sincerity!
I have missed you so so so much.
Yours was one of the first blogs I followed way back when – two houses and many years ago! It’s been wonderful to follow you on IG, but I’ve missed your blog – welcome home!
I love all your creativity and your journey! It’s so inspiring! I’ve already pre-ordered your book and can’t wait to get it later this year!! Thank you for being open to sharing with us and letting us follow along ❤️
So glad you’re blogging again!
I’m so happy that you are back Layla! I have missed your blog posts tremendously! I don’t like IG so I’m really happy that you have decided to still blog. I hope to see more posts and pics of your new home and the renovations going on. Also to hear more about your family life!
Carol from Mesa, AZ
Another long-tim follower here, since I found your blog (probably on Pinterest?) in 2010/2011! Love following on IG too. You have always been a foavorite! @lthrbth and @thedirtonmydigs
Found you back in the blog days and have missed this kind of communication. I’m glad you’re back!!!
Have missed the old pre panic Layla and so, I am thrilled you’re better able to be out and about like the old days… for our sakes and for yours of course. 🤩😍💝
I forgot to say that I have pre-ordered your book! Can’t wait!
Layla
What a wonderful sweet day is it to read your blog!☺️☺️
You are such an inspiration , I immediately fell in love with your style and personality when I found you four years ago on IG. I look forward to seeing your posts and even felt your pain , when you began having the panic attacks . I feel like I know your family as you have shared so many adventures of life with us. I have my preorder in for your new book and can’t wait to experience you as an author .
Blessings to You …. Until Next Week ….
I’m glad to see you writing your blog again. I’ve been following your IG but I still really enjoy this format. I’ve been following since 3 houses ago and it’s fun to see your progress.
Incidentally, I have been trying to find your info on the indoor/outdoor swivel rattan chairs you had online. Could you direct me to that info. Thanks so much and best wishes on your writing.
I was just thinking about you and your blog the other day! I’ve missed your creativeness and inspiration.
I’m going to preorder your book now. Going to sign up for Kevin’s weekly newsletter too.
Welcome back!! xo
I have followed your blog for years, so how am I just finding out Kevin was the lead singer for Trust Company?! Every time I hear “Downfall” it takes me back to my college days at Ball State. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. So glad to see an update from you 🙂
You’re back! Yay! Congratulations on the book!
Reading your welcomed message was like catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile! Wow has your life changed! I look forward to reading more news!
The farmettte looks charming!
Sincerely karlene
Yours was one of my favorite blogs back in the day! So happy to see you writing here again! I’ve pre-ordered Coming Home and can’t wait to read it!
I’m new to your blog, but I can tell that will be a must-read. Thanks so much for sharing your heart.
Good to read your blog again!!
Aw. So nice to have you back and missed your blog. Lovely to see the updates.
I forgot! Blogs are fun. It has probably been close to 10 years since I read them regularly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 🧡
I’m so glad you are back! I’ve always enjoyed your instagram too. Love getting Kevin’s weekly emails, very insightful!
I’ve had a tough week full of sickness (pneumonia, ugh) and work stress, and reading this late on a Friday afternoon gives me all the feels! I follow you on insta, so I know a lot of what you’ve shared already. But reading it here in one collective spot feels like magic. You are magic, Layla! Your journey has inspired me in so many ways. Looking forward to reading Coming Home and more blog posts. Take care.
Ah, this is so nice! You were the very first diy woman I followed years ago when my kids were little. I stayed home with my kids and was always so excited to read your blog and follow the renovations from the first house! Can’t wait to read your book!❤️
You are a ray of sunshine!
I have missed your posts. I first started following you on Instagram, but left the platform at the end of 2020. So, not seeing your smiling face on Instagram regularly had me wondering how you were doing. Reading your post was like reconnecting with an old friend. Looking forward to your book. Thank you for sharing a little piece of yourself.
Welcome back! I’m so happy you are blogging again!
Thank you and your sweet sweet family, just for being yourselves. I’ve been enjoying your journey for quite some time. Ya’ll obviously love each other so much, you just make me smile! Please continue to allow us a glimpse of your life, the good, the bad and the ugly!
What a journey! Welcome back and thank you for sharing your journey with us.
I’m so so happy your back to Blogging.. I truly have missed you. I started on Instagram less than a year ago and was happy to find you there! I don’t do face but love IG .. that being said, I still love following the Bloggers that are still around.
I’ve pre-ordered your book and look forward to Fall for that reason ALONG. because Spring is my Favorite month and Fall my 2nd favorite
Long time follower
Cristie
When I saw your email in my inbox, I thought “hmmm, I remember the Lettered Cottage, but where has she been? I very much enjoy reading select bloggers, and you are one whose style of writing I enjoy. I have pre-ordered your book and look forward to it arriving this fall.
It is wonderful and I’m so happy you are doing so well! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us as it helps all of us! You are sunshine and bring joy!
Just Yay! I’m glad this format is back!
Look forward to reading through your book too!
I am more of a Instagram gal due to time constraints. I did enjoy reading this and I know your blog will come back to it’s former glory. You are so talented. However, I will see you on Instagram. Please don’t leave that platform.♥️
I’m so glad to hear from you on your blog. I’ve followed you on Instagram for a long while! This seems more intimate, and I love to hear about the life you and Kevin are making on the farmette. I also love to hear about Katie, and see what Kevin’s father is drawing. He is SO talented! I will be pre-ordering your book, and I cannot wait to read it! Have a wonder-filled week!
I’m so happy to see you back in this format. I’ve followed you for many years and made the leap to Instagram with you, but this format just feels more like you- a little warmer and cozier, just like your sweet personality.
Glad to see you back, can’t wait to see all the reno’s on the farmette.
What a surprise to see you in my inbox. I have followed your blog for a very long time and have missed you!!
Can’t wait to see and read your weekly post again 🙏
I am new to following you and have so enjoyed it. I love the idea of reading your blog. It is so lovely. 💜💜
Thank you Layla for resuming your blog. I have missed it. I too prefer an email blog – I dumped Facebook in 2020, was NEVER on Instagram or any of the others (except still on Pinterest) and sometimes I watch stuff on YouTube with my husband. We are both 68 years old and I have read your blog ever since your first house do-over. Thanks again!
So excited to see that you’re posting again Layla! I have always enjoyed following you and watching you transform your homes. I have always loved your style!
Welcome back Layla! I’m so glad you’ve returned to the blog, as I’ve enjoyed this space for years.
Welcome back. I say long live blogs!
I’ve missed you, glad you’re back!
Welcome back, Layla! Your blog is how I found you many years ago. So happy for you and your family.❤️
Yay! Welcome Back, I was happy to see your name in my email today! So I have some reading to do in your updated blogs. I am also going to check out your book and pre-order!
I missed your upbeat and genuine blog…………..so welcome back! And see………..look at all of us at the other end!!
Many Blessings!
Joanie
I was just thinking about your blog last week, and wondered if I had unwittingly unsubscribed to it!
Such a nice surprise to see your email!
Although I haven’t read every post of yours, any I do read, leaves my spirit smiling.
Your book sounds wonderful!
Thank you for being a breath of fresh air. 🤗
Love
Oh how I’ve missed your sweet blog. You are just adorable and so very talented. I just ordered your book and know I will enjoy every page. What a treat it will be in November to receive it in the mail. So so glad you ‘stopped by’!