Meet a Reader | LeighAnne from the Mid-Atlantic
Today we're meeting a reader who hails from my own neck of the woods! She owned a bakery before her second marriage and oh wow, you will be hungry after looking at the pictures of her breads.
Here's LeighAnne!
1. Tell us a little about yourself
I'm a 43-year-old wife and mother living in the mid-Atlantic. I had my first three children when I was very young, then when the last left for college, I got remarried and had two more!
My husband is a teacher and also an officer in the National Guard. He's currently serving our country overseas.
Before becoming a full-time mom again, I owned and operated a bakery for 13 years. I still make every baked good we eat, but am glad to not have to do it on a large scale anymore!
Like Kristen, my husband and I did not want to be divorced from our first spouses, but good can come out of bad situations and we're so happy to have found each other, and to be parents again.
In our marriage, I realize my husband and I are frugal in different ways. He and I save and splurge in opposite areas: he would like to save by buying frozen vegetables over fresh, but is willing to splurge on occasionally eating out and on streaming services.
I'm not interested in entertainment but cooking is my hobby so I want fresh brussel sprouts, not frozen!
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
I don't remember how I came upon the blog itself, but I think the first post I read was the one where Kristen disclosed her separation.
She wrote about it so well that I started reading older posts, and am now hooked! I love a good blog.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
I've always been more of a saver than a spender. I'm more of an anxious type, so having adequate savings means I don't have to be anxious about how to pay for an unexpected expense.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
My husband and I like to be generous with our church and the charities we support, as well as help our older children out as they enter adulthood.
It is important to us to have me at home to care for our little children, so being careful with money makes living on a teacher's salary possible.
5. What's your best frugal win?
When I had my bakery, we participated in outdoor farmers' markets. We wouldn't carry anything over from one market to the next, so at the end of the day, it was effectively worthless.
I'd ask other vendors what they wanted to get rid of, and we traded with each other: produce, flowers, meat, cheese, and more! Everyone benefited and it was wonderful.
A recent win happened when we stopped at our butcher to order meat. As we stood in line, I kept reading and rereading a sign they had to make sure I was reading it right: they were selling locally raised, whole chickens for $2 a chicken!
We only had freezer space for two dozen chickens, else we would have gotten more!
6. What's an embarrassing money mistake you've made?
When we bought our first house, so many things had to be ripped out and replaced that we ended up with $15,000 in credit card debt!
It was rice and beans for the next year but I got it entirely paid off and have never had credit card debt again.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
One of my oldest passed from cancer as a child, so I'm more aware of the need to be cautious of what we put in/on our bodies now. I buy more organic produce, flour and meat (though I buy half a hog or a beef at a time, so the price isn't *too* bad), and am incorporating more sunscreens/soaps/etc that are safe.
This also feels like a splurge to me, as I grew up with a father who could build or fix anything: we paid people to work on our house!
My husband bought our 1960s brick ranch before I knew him, and everything was still original in the house, down to the drapes. We have replaced everything in our house, only doing a tiny portion of the work ourselves.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Eating out!
I make better food at home and it's less expensive. If we're traveling, I will seek out a good bakery, though.
I also have no interest in manicures/ most beauty products/ expensive accessories.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
I'd give it to our local crisis pregnancy center.
10. What's the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?
For me, the hardest part is contentment.
I love making our home a beautiful and inviting place, and it seems there's always something that could be updated, make overnight guests more comfortable, help the kitchen become more efficient... I try to ask myself whether or not what we have is enough (it often is), and to remind myself that my Christian faith tells me that this life is not all there is.
The easiest part is that I don't have flashy taste, so expensive clothes or jewelry/new cars/etc aren't appealing to me, and my hobbies either aren't expensive (embroidery) or are useful (cooking, baking).
11. What frugal tips have you tried and abandoned?
I'm all about drying our laundry in the dryer! I don't like how time-consuming it is to hang clothes on a line, plus as a long-haired person, I much prefer the dryer to catch any stray hairs than to find them on my clothing later.
(Note from Kristen: ME TOO. I wrote a post about why I stopped line-drying.)
12. What single action or decision has saved you the most money over your life?
Before we got married, I had my house on a 15-year mortgage.
It was not easy on the budget, but the payoff came when we got married and I sold it: I made enough from the sale (by $200!) to pay off the house we're living in now.
It's not my dream house, but it's a good solid house and ours entirely!
We're saving so much by not needing to pay any interest.
13. What is something you wish more people knew?
This might qualify as the most bizarre answer to this question, but it's what's popped into my mind and hopefully, it will be a help to someone.
There are Trappist monks in Dubuque, Iowa who support their monastery by making wooden caskets. Not only are they more beautiful than what is traditionally sold, but relevant to this blog they are much less expensive as well.
They also do not charge for caskets made for children, whether or not a child-size casket is needed (my son was old enough that he needed an adult-size one); they only ask the family to pay for the shipping.
It was hugely comforting to me that we buried my son's precious body in something beautiful that had been made in love and with prayer, rather than something that had been made in a factory by a big corporation.
14. Did you ever receive any financial education in school or from your parents?
I don't think my parents were especially good at frugality, but one thing I did pick up from my dad was that it is less expensive in the long run to repair an older vehicle than it is to buy a new one.
I have never owned a new vehicle, and have usually gotten at least 200,000 miles out of my vehicles with regular maintenance.
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LeighAnne...WHOA. Those baked goods look so, so amazing. They made me hungry!
I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your son, but I also love the story of the monks who make beautiful caskets.
Also, your story of a happy second marriage made my heart so thrilled for you. Yay! As someone earlier on in the process of divorce, I find other people's happy ending stories to be really encouraging.
Questions: how did you come to start a bakery? Had you always known how to bake? Did you start the bakery yourself or did you buy it from someone else?
Hi LeighAnne - Thanks for sharing! As a mom of both older and younger children, is there anything unexpected you learned with your older kids that you will be applying as your two youngest children grow up? On a separate note, when my mom passed away we also got her casket from the monks at New Melleray Abbey and it was well made and very beautiful.
@Kathryn K., They are beautiful caskets! As to your question, One thing that I'm doing very differently with my younger children is worrying less about their behavior (though to be honest, they are just two and a half and almost one so still very little!) and focusing more on connection. My theory is that well-connected children behave better.
My husband's then 12-year-old son came to live with us a few weeks after we got married, and he has been my guinea pig in this new parenting paradigm. I have heard many comments on how happy he is now, he is doing much better in school, he is so good with our little girls and they adore him! At least in this one case, my theory is proving true.
@LeighAnne,
Teen boys are so good with little kids. I know some people won't believe it, but I have always found it so. The little kids offer uncomplicated love and affection, and the big kid offers fun and more energy than mom.
Your baked goods look delightful I love to bake, but nothing comes out pretty or consistently. I could never be a professional.
Enjoy your young ones!
@mbmom11, My boys do a good job with the little kids, too.
It's nice to meet you, LeighAnne. Great read!
I love the pictures of the baking. A kind lady at our church bakes for a local farmer's market, and yesterday she sent home 2 leftover cinnamon rolls---so delicious. I love her leftovers 🙂
What a full and difficult life you've led, but it seems you neither dwell on the negative nor shy away from it. I think that's a difficult and impressive balance-- even if it's just conveyed in a blog post.
And disappointment-- when I saw "LeighAnne from the Mid-Atlantic" hope rose that it might be a childhood friend I lost touch with after high school. Does anybody else get excited about such remote possibilities and actually think such things are possible?
@Jody S., I do! A recent best seller was written by an individual who had the same name as a dear high school friend. I became very excited at this prospect. I bought the book, read her short biography on the book flap, and visited her website. But alas, it was not the same Nancy. This big world can be quite small, so one never knows when this could happen.
@Jody S., a number of years ago I read a comment on Gretchen Rubin's blog by someone with an unusual name from my childhood. IT WAS MY FRIEND!! She still lives in the town where she grew up about 80 miles from me, and we have stayed connected ever since. The weird thing is I didn't usually spend time reading comments, and it is the only time she has ever commented on a blog. (For some reason on that blog at that time, if a person had a "profile" and you clicked on her name in the comments, it would take you to her and a link to her website, if she had one. That's a lot of ifs, but it worked beautifully for us.)
@Central Calif. Artist, How wonderful!
Thank you for sharing - I loved the beautiful photos. How special to start a new family when your first kids are young adults! I imagine parenting feels different the second time around.
@Sarah K, it does feel different! My husband and I comment that we feel like grandparent parents, in the best way.
I bet that is such a fun and interesting experience; to parent again with all the wisdom gained from the first go-round!
A fine interview, LeighAnne. In particular, I'm so sorry for the loss of your son, and thank you for providing a link to the Trappist monks' site and describing the work they do.
@A. Marie, I had a different answer for that question, but as soon as I went to write it, the caskets came to mind. It seemed so odd but I decided to go with it! I'm surprised how many of the comments mention it.
Hi LeighAnne! Thanks for sharing your life with us. I'm so sorry to read about your son and your unwanted divorce. (I know how that feels...)
My mom baked a lot when we were growing up--crazy stuff like croissants, baklava, all kinds of delicious breads--but she stopped making napoleons, my favorites, when my dad came home from work one night and at 3/4 of them at once. Boy, was Mom annoyed, ha! And yes, her food always tasted better than eating out, like yours, not that we often did.
ate three-quarters of the batch, not three-to-four. More like ten or twelve.
@Rose, your mom sounds so impressive! Those are quite difficult things to make!
@LeighAnne, Mom could do anything she set her mind to. Build furniture from scratch, plaster a wall, do stonework, paint and draw, bake anything, cook anything, make divine desserts, sew, embroider, garden... She made a lot of my best loved toys and dolls.
One thing was kind of a dud. She decided to make oversized Christmas ornaments with scenes inside and lights to hang outside our house. She bought three weather balloons, blew them up to be about 3' across, then papier mached them. She then decorated and lit the insides. It was actually pretty cool, but my sister, then still in high school was mortified by them. I was away in college and came home just for a few days. After Christmas, she took them down and my younger brother sharped the arrows on his toy bow and arrow set and shot each balloon, on my sister's orders. womp womp.
@Rose, your mom sounds amazing! One of my sisters is similarly talented, and I would love to have her inborn, figure it out skills!
From personal experience, LeighAnne is absolutely spot on about the caskets from the Trappist monks. My father had that on his list & his death the evening of my mother’s funeral made for a very tight timeline. The casket arrived within the week between funerals and its beautiful simplicity matched my Dad’s personality & lifestyle.
@Theresa, how absolutely traumatic and devastating for you. I am gobsmacked by your experience of losing both your parents that close together.
@Theresa, so sorry you lost them together. when my mom passed when i was in college, i spent most of my life worrying my dad was gonna go. he passed 57 years
after her. i wish i had not worried so much.
@Theresa, that's so sad---losing both your mom and dad so close in time together! Since Scripture is clear that the Lord answers prayer even *retroactively,* I'm gonna stop and pray right now for additional peace and comfort for you and everyone else affected. Additionally, I am happy for all of you that the monks' fabulous casket came so quickly, and was such an appropriate match for your father.
Hi LeighAnne! It might be the most answer to that question of a frugal tip, but it is also my favorite so far. I can see how that would be a comfort during such an incredibly difficult time, and I definitely did not know that. So thank you.
I love that blanket you made for your daughter. Sewing skill is something I greatly admire in others, as I have none myself.
@kristin @ going country, . . . most *bizarre* answer
@kristin @ going country, My sewing skills are still at the level of, I do hope you are nearsighted...
@LeighAnne, Which is still a step up from my level of usually drawing my own blood when I use a needle . . .
Well, we know you have other domestic talents in SPADES. 😉
@kristin @ going country, May I encourage you to try again? I am a sewing teacher and have observed how empowering it is to build skill just a little at a time. Sewing is not an inborn talent, but a skill developed little by little. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and I still sew many simple things that my students love to make too--aprons, laundry bags, pillow slips... useful, beautiful, sturdy, unique.
Two things I never, ever want to happen in my life would be losing my child or losing my spouse (in any capacity including estrangement.) That must be so hard to have had to deal with both in your lifetime. 🙁
I do wonder how you handle parenting differently this time versus your older children. I know my wife and I were expecting (and our due date would've actually been within a couple weeks from now) and even looking at a sizable (though less than ten year) age gap seemed so daunting at the time. I can't imagine having grown children and starting over. Of course biologically that's not really possible for my wife since our first took so long to get here and we didn't meet until our mid to upper twenties.
I can tell you those breads look great. I've taken a step back from baking myself but I'm curious as to what your favorite go-to recipes are for the daily stuff.
@Battra92, Those days when the babies were supposed to be born aren't the easiest for me. My friend and I had the same due date for one of my miscarried pregnancies, and I have a tender spot in my heart for her daughter and look forward to the pictures she posts on FB of her (she's since moved halfway across the country).
@Battra92, My brother's death destroyed my family (of origin). We were so happy before that, but my mother, in particular, was never ever the same again. Then my husband left us, you know the drill, we were so happy before that, etc. My brother couldn't help being hit by a car (well, he could have but didn't) but my ex seemed to believe that this would be a little blip and we'd all be one big happy family with his new wife afterwards. My daughter and I hate him and my son has very little contact. I hope his new wife's scuzzball offspring are enough for him.
@Rose, I really do understand. Sometimes in life we are dumbfounded by someone who we were certain loved us deeply, only to find their definition of love was barely skin deep.
I wondered this too...what are your usual things you bake at home?
@Kristen, when I had my bakery, I never felt like I had enough time to to do what I loved best, which was experiment with making new breads. I had some very elaborate breads I had come up with over the years. Once I sold my bakery, I thought for sure I would spend a lot of time trying out new ideas. But it turns out, that was mostly for my customers! It turns out that my favorite breads to eat are just very simple breads, so I hand mix a sourdough on repeat. Right now I am on a yogurt making kick, so I'm using leftover whey to substitute for water. I use the same dough for loaves and for flatbreads. I might get more fancy when I have more time when my husband comes home, but I think I'll still end up making this particular dough a lot.
I also have enjoyed having the time now to bake things I wasn't able to before: cookies, crackers, cake, and biscuits! And on a related note, I still have plenty of postpartum weight to lose...
@Rose, I lost my adult son to a heroin overdose, so I know how angry that kind of loss makes you feel. I was furious with him, with fentanyl, with his wife for not realizing he was dying, at the world in general, even though he was in his forties and had been having problems for years, so it wasn't a surprise. In the end, I calmed down in my anger (and my grief), realizing that the only person the anger was really hurting was me. I will never have true peace, I will always feel sorrow, but getting over the anger was a huge step in learning to accept what had happened. I'm hoping that you might fund some of that peace.
@Jean, Oh, I am so sorry, that is just terrible. Much love to you.
@LeighAnne, I love baking bread, but I never look at a recipe anymore either because of "too busy." I sort of throw whatever I have in the mixer and let it do its thing. But always salt. 🙂 But I also have the baby weight (from almost 8 years ago!). Homemade bread or losing baby weight---can't have it all. Sigh.
Leighanne, thank you for sharing your life with us. Losing a son & a marriage are life events that can crush the spirit. My brothers & I are 10 years apart so essentially my parents raised 3 families. Your baking is amazing, love the breads. So happy you can stay home with your younger 2 girls, the first 3-4 years are very important in a child's life. Tell your husband thank you for his service.
It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am truly sorry to hear that you lost a child. As a mother, that touched my heart. Thank you too for sharing the information regarding the casket. There is something very beautiful about these being handmade with love and faith.
BTW, congratulations on mortgage-free living!
LeighAnne,
It was a delight to read your "interview". I too live in the Mid-Atlantic region, the Baltimore suburbs. I grew up in Iowa, and had an aunt, uncle, and cousins that lived in Dubuque, but I did not know about the casket making monks. I'm glad you were able to use one of their caskets, though of course I wish there had been no need for it.
Your baked goods look delicious. I love how you bartered your framers market leftovers with other vendors. It sounds like a great win-win.
LeighAnne,
First, I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your son. But thank you for the tip on caskets. My husband and I are being cremated, but we know other family members who are not planning to be cremated, so I will pass this on.
The quilt is amazing. What a treasure that will be! The bread is gorgeous, and since I can't have gluten, makes me sigh.
My husband's sisters were 18, 15 and 9 when he was born and they all married young, so he was basically an only child from the age of 9. I always thought that must have been hard to start over with him - and here you went a step further! You are a brave woman, kudos! 🙂
Thanks for posting - I love the variety of readers we have here.
@JD, the monks also make urns for cremains. They are lovely.
LeighAnne,
I started to cry when I read about the Trappist monks. Their website is beautiful! I bookmarked it and sent it to my mom immediately too. When my newborn son died, I wasn't thinking clearly enough to search for anything special for his burial, but oh, how I would have loved to bury him in one of those simple caskets. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. <3
Christie
@christie, I am so sorry for the loss of your newborn son! Each loss has its own particular grief: I lost a person I knew intimately for 12 years; you lost someone you never got to know.
LeighAnne, your ciabatta bread is a thing of beauty! I'm drooling all over my keyboard. Thanks so much for sharing your story.
I am so sorry about the loss of your son but thankful that you found a beautiful way to honor him with a beautiful casket.
Would you mind sharing about the type of cancer your son had that caused you to be aware of what foods you would by and personal care products you purchase as well? And has this influenced other family members as well?
@Leigh, My son had the most common type of leukemia-- and what is considered the most treatable. He did exceedingly well with treatment until he didn't.
There is a link between leukemia and nitrates/ nitrites, which are commonly found in processed meat such as bacon, deli meat, hot dogs, etc. We didn't eat much in the way of processed meat, but I am careful to buy nitrate/ nitrite free varieties now. I have always thought that my son's cancer came through my side of the family, as both my father and one of my uncles has or has had lymphoma, which is also a type of blood cancer. I have no way of proving it, but it has made me more cautious with what I put into my little girls' bodies.
I am not sure that it has changed what's my family members purchase or use, but I do know that everyone is far more likely now to offer whatever support they can to a family going through a childhood cancer crisis than before.
LeighAnne, your interview is my favorite so far. I am convinced we would be hanging out together if we lived close. Your courage, resilience, creativity, practicality, acceptance of reality, strength, and conviction are all highly impressive. Thank you for letting us peek into your wonderful life.
Like Kristen, I would love to hear more about your bakery—if you started it or bought existing, how you learned to bake at a commercial level (quantity and quality). Also would enjoy learning how/where you met your current husband.
Blessings to you as you navigate your current situation of (temporary) single parenting, and to your husband as he serves our country.
Now I am off to look at caskets. . . curious if they ship to California.
@Central Calif. Artist, I started my bakery with $500 back in 2006, using part of a small inheritance I had received. I put a lot a LOT of sweat equity into it. I started with a very small farmers market, and gradually got my bearings in terms of timing with baking. I also lived and breathed bread: when I wasn't working, I was studying bread books and the little that was on YouTube back then. Little by little, my ability to make more grew, as well as the quality of what I was producing. There is nothing like asking people to give you their hard-earned money to make you want to improve your product!
Because I wanted to marry someone who shared my faith, and because the pool of potential spouses in my area was quite small, I looked online. That's where I found my husband. I was at a point in life where I could move, whereas he wasn't, so I moved 3 hours north to live with him after we got to live with him after we got married to live with him after we got married.
@LeighAnne, thank you for your thorough and thoughtful answers. $500 to start a bakery?? I bet that wouldn't work in over-regulated California—a person would have to rebuild an entire kitchen to bake food to sell around here.
I too make bread using the whey from the yogurt I make. (See? I know we'd hang out together!)
A close friend has spent the last 1-1/2 years seeking a husband as if it were her job, using multiple on-line sites. It has provided her with some new friends, both of us with a ton of laughs, but so far, no husband, only a few inappropriate and surprising proposals from people who were dishonest about their faith or their willingness to move. I think God really blessed you with a new man and three new children!
@Central Calif. Artist, to be fair, this was back in 2006, but I lived in VA at the time where cottage industries are easy to start! I hope your friend finds herself a good man!
Those baked goods! Yum!
Keeping this brief as I am a passenger on a road trip and writing is awkward, but I enjoyed hearing about your life. Thank you for your vulnerability in telling us about the loss of your child.
Thanks for sharing! Do you have any tips or tricks for cooking at home?
@Yolanda, there are so many ways I could answer your question, but what works for me is to have a well stocked pantry (including a variety of dairy products), and have meals that can use up leftovers easily, such as fried rice, frittatas, stratas, etc.
LeighAnne, it's a pleasure to meet you! It was a joy to read about your wins and what you have learned. I also really appreciate you sharing about your son and the beautiful caskets. Funerals for children are never easy and it's touching to read about a group offering something so loving in the midst of such pain.
I smiled at your 24 chickens! I purchase 5-6 turkeys every Thanksgiving for my freezer and it's been such a blessing to use those spaced out throughout the year to feed our family. But I think having the smaller birds would be very convenient, too!
Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Hi LeighAnne, I appreciate the sacrifice your family is making so your husband can serve our country overseas. My son is active duty and I see the extraordinary work that requires of his wife and children. Thank you and him!
@Elaine N, thank you from my husband and me! It's definitely a sacrifice. Thank your son as well!
LeighAnne, I literally squealed when I saw your icon of the Trinity, along with your other religious art in your gorgeous dining room! As a Catholic, I get sooo excited when I see things like that, so thank you for making my day!! ☺ (I do not know if you are Episcopalian or Catholic, but your artwork and Faith is beautiful all the same).
Your story is a beautiful one, and thank you for your lovely outlook on life, and for sharing your magnificent skills as a baker.
@st, you guessed right with Catholic! My husband and I are both Catholic and it is the center of our marriage.
@LeighAnne,
OH! How special. Thank you.
@st, @LeighAnne,
My heart jumped for joy at the same.
This was a lovely read. I’m sorry about the death of your son. You’ve done incredible work in the way you’ve come through so much and rebuilt in such a beautiful and fulfilling way. I agree with what you said in the comments about being more concerned with connection with your little ones than with their behaviour. I had my children very young and now it’s my grandchildren that get the benefit of that hard-earned wisdom: I put connection and being present for them above the other things that used to seem of earth-shattering importance. I’m all too aware of what lasts after those years sweep past. Thank you for sharing this glimpse into your world. I really enjoyed it.
I have driven by that monastery so many times on my way to school events. I never knew they made caskets! Of course when I was a teen, I was pretty self involved! Thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you for sharing a little bit of your life with us. I am sorry to hear of the loss of your son, a life-shattering loss. And how beautiful a faith centered life is. As beautiful as your gorgeous bread!
I think it is an important challenge for people of faith to focus on the spirit and not on the material life, especially in our consumerist culture. Teaching and service, and care for others, are much more rewarding, even though I am also familiar with the occasional sting of what we can't afford. My husband is a teacher, and I am retired from teaching, a service that keeps giving back. One of the unexpected joys that is probably in your future is to meet former students who remember their learning and go out of their way to thank us. It is an illumination few of my retired friends know.
I would also like to know how you learned to bake in quantity. I am a volunteer with a soup kitchen and quantity baking is hard to figure out even though it might save us some money, and offer better quality dinners?
The photo of your husband with your infant is really lovely. And the pictures of your baked goods!! Thanks for sharing.
I agree! That one touched my heart.
Loved this Meet the Reader, LeighAnne! While I didn't completely start over having children after mine left the house, I do feel a little similarly. I had three children from my first marriage, where I had no choice but to leave. I remarried a few years later and my husband and I just had our first child together two years ago. So my children range from 2 to 16. There is a nearly 10 yr gap between my 3rd and 4th. I do find myself doing things very differently but I love it so much. It's just much more about enjoying her, letting her enjoy childhood, and all the fun simple things that come with it - I think it's really brought everyone in the family so much joy. Thank you for sharing a little snip-it of your life with us, and thank you and your husband for your service!
LeighAnne, so much here to comment on. First, I'm very sorry that your precious son died of childhood cancer. I, too, splurge on what I put in and on my body as an extra health precaution. It certainly can't hurt. I also appreciate your husband's service on behalf of our country and the sacrifices that entails. It was delightful to read about your baking and that you and the other farmers' market vendors bartered goods at the end of the day. Thank you for sharing parts of your life with us.
To answer Kristen's questions, I started my bakery for two reasons. One was that we really needed the money, and my youngest two (twins) were heading to kindergarten so I was ready to have a job of some type. Secondly, my then husband had approached me a few months prior telling me he was going to leave me at some point, so I needed to be ready. I had only one year of college under my belt, but I felt like I was an experienced baker (ho ho ha ha) so I decided to start a bakery. I came to find out that I really knew little about baking but, as I said in another comment, there was nothing like asking people to pay you for you to want to improve in your skills!
I took several months off from the bakery when my son's cancer relapsed, but all in all I had it for 13 years. It's still in operation now with a new owner.
wonderful post. fabulous pictures. great advice. so sorry you lost your son. am glad you have a young family. in my opinion children are the greatest gift. i am so grateful to be a mom. you have such useful skills. i have always hated meal planning and cooking but i am getting a little better at it with all the advice from this blog. my 12 year old son inspires me. in kindeergarten he had a field trip to a classmate's dad's pizzaria restaurant and he has been in our kitchen for fun ever since. he is a fabulous baker. i live in nyc where there were cheap eats until the pandemic. it is unbelievable how expensive restaurants are nowadays. thank you so much for posting.
Whew, what a series of reads today and all so connected... My brother died of a chemical inhalation in 1978 at age 28 and though he was married with a 1 1/2 yr old, he was my Mom's favorite and it was very hard on her. My parents died end of March 2001-10 days apart. The grief just all runs together and is not really separated. Our family does have a sense of humor and I asked the funeral director if we could get a two-for-one special. When my sister died three years ago, she had already made arrangements with a lovely funeral planning service close by that allowed her to design her own round-topped casket of simple wood painted white and the padding inside was the comforter she used on her bed. This funeral service is up to speed on legalities and cost efficient burials that won't break the bank, yet provide lovely attention. I am glad to know about the wooden caskets from Iowa as I am not far from there.
Thank you for sharing the realities of life with such a hopeful attitude, Kristen, LeighAnn, and the multitude of contributors.
@Chrissy, that she was able to design her casket and use her own comforter in it is amazing.
Hi LeighAnne!
Your baked goods look AMAZING as does your quilt!
Oh my goodness, hi! I put some details together and realized that I have met you, LeighAnne, and also got to enjoy some of the many mouthwatering breads you sold. I was a volunteer with the farmers market where you started. (You all, the baked goods are as amazing as they look. And LeighAnne's creativity, texture and flavor creations, and quality of bread were/are locally famous.)
I love learning about Kristen's readers all over the world, but it's especially exciting to have a frugal girl connection in one's own region. Sometimes it can feel a little lonely going against the grain with our money and life choices, but here we are, doing it!
I was happy to see that you're a more recent discoverer of this blog and were willing to contribute. This is the only blog I follow and love now, and I can't get enough. I admire your discipline and grit to pay off that mortgage so now you have no house payment and a good space for your family. You have developed and refined your talents in so many ways (baking, sewing, even mothering!) and it's really encouraging.
Thank your husband for his service and you at home too, because I know it's hard having Dad away from home. I wonder what he thinks is harder, post-COVID teaching or the military (I am a teacher too). Kind of j/k, but sometimes at the end of a hard day, I wonder...
Thank you so much for sharing!
@Heather Mar, I guess I'm not crazy, after all!
Loved hearing the mention of the Trappist monks! Really appreciated this post!
Oh my goodness, hi! I put some details together and realized that I have met you, LeighAnne, and also got to enjoy some of the many mouthwatering breads you sold. (I was a volunteer with the farmers market where you started. You all, the baked goods are as amazing as they look. And LeighAnne's creativity, texture and flavor creations, and quality of bread were/are locally famous.)
I love learning about Kristen's readers all over the world, but it's especially exciting to have a frugal girl connection in one's own region. Sometimes it can feel a little lonely going against the grain with our money and life choices, but here we are, doing it!
I was happy to see that you're a more recent discoverer of this blog and were willing to contribute. This is the only blog I follow and love now, and I can't get enough. I admire your discipline and grit to pay off that mortgage so now you have no house payment and a good space for your family. You have developed and refined your talents in so many ways (baking, sewing, even mothering!) and it's really encouraging.
Thank your husband for his service and you at home too, because I know it's hard having Dad away from home. I wonder what he thinks is harder, post-COVID teaching or the military (I am a teacher too). Kind of j/k, but sometimes at the end of a hard day, I wonder...
Thank you so much for sharing!
@Heather Mar, I think I might know who you are! You might have guessed, I did not use my first name for this post (LeighAnne is my middle name). I was trying to think of what my husband would say is harder, and truthfully, I think he would tell you there are good and bad to both jobs ha!
Thank you so much, LeighAnne, for telling all of us about the monks' lovingly- and prayerfully-crafted caskets. I will be keeping that in mind, and telling others, as well!