A Few Good Things

Including swimming at our river land, a daddy-daughter date, and a dreamy upstate New York farmhouse

Hello from Ocoee Farm! And happy Saturday. How was your week?

I hate to start off our newsletters with an apology, but I want to say I’m sorry for not sending A Few Good Things out last weekend. We had family visiting from out of town and staying out at the farm, and we spent the whole week with them, which left no time for writing and posting! They’re gone now and we’re back to our regularly scheduled programing, which is why I’m back in your inbox again this week :).

One of our favorite actives in the evenings has been walking the farm with a couple of glasses of rosé and dreaming about the future

This week was a busy one, with something pressing happening at the farm every single day. PJ’s having fence work done out here, along with construction going on at our new build house and the flip house, and a few other little things that keep life running smoothly but that leave us feeling depleted and exhausted by the end of the week. We’re planning on heading to the beach here soon and we can’t WAIT to unwind with family and leave the chaos of Tennessee behind for a few weeks. Counting down the days!

Hope you have a delightful weekend, and here are a few good things from the week.

1. The River Land

Did you know we have about 20 acres of land on the river? No? I almost forget about it, too, half the time. We bought it way back in 2017 and it was going to be the original Ocoee Farm until we found our current property. We have other people manage it for hay, so it’s truly out of sight out of mind, but the last week, we’ve been going out and swimming in it to cool off and omg why haven’t we been doing it more the last 9 years?! PJ brought some weed killer and some clippers and cleared all the overgrown brush that blocked the pathway to the water, reversing the last couple of years of damage. The kids are obsessed with the river, and the freezing cold water actually feels great in the almost 100 degree weather we’ve been having. I can’t wait to spend more days wading in the water with the fam this summer.

2. A Daddy-Daughter Date

We always pass a consignment store on the way home from the farm, and after a week of our daughter asking to go in, we finally carved out an afternoon for just the two of us. We browsed racks of clothes, ran into one of her favorite teachers, found a new outfit for her and a new shirt for me, then celebrated with Starbucks, where she grinned and said, “We never do stuff like this!” As rain poured outside, we spent the rest of the day ducking in and out of stores, laughing through the spontaneity of it all. By the time we headed home, she couldn't wait to tell her brothers about our adventure, and I couldn't wait to watch her tell the story with the biggest grin on her face the entire time.

3. Voicemails for Isabelle

Have you seen Voicemails for Isabelle on Netflix? It’s so cute and heartfelt. It stars a completely charming Zoey Deutsch (think Kate Hudson in Hot to Lose a Guy in 10 Days level charming) as Jill, an aspiring chef who sadly loses her sister and begins leaving her voicemails updating her on her life as a way to cope. The catch is, her number has been reassigned to someone else, a delicious Nick Robinson, who plays Wes, who gets her voicemails and begins to fall for Jill from afar. It’s a completely far-fetched premise in a this-could-only-happen-in-a-movie kind of way, but that’s what makes this film so fun: it takes you to another place and you feel for these characters. We laughed, we cried, we cheered. It’s the perfect movie to watch with a big bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine on the couch. Watch it this weekend and let me know what you think on Monday!

4. Upstate New York Farmhouse

The words upstate New York + farmhouse are part of my love language, and this one in Pine Plains, NY is absolutely breathtaking. It’s everything you want in a historic house but has all the updates you would need in a modern one, all on almost 2 acres. We’ve been studying this house over the last week and are trying to come up with the floor plan since we’re planning on building out on our farm in the next year, and this home is serving up major inspiration for that. It’s so stunning! Go look at all the photos. The barn! The grounds! The bathrooms! All of it is so perfect.

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1. Foot mask / 2. Mirror / 3. Neck fan / 4. Neck pillow

1. Foot mask

2. Mirror

3. Neck Fan

4. Neck Pillow

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Tuesday’s Letter

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• Says Barbara on What Are You Secretly (Or Not So Secretly) Good At?

  “I love summer!! As a kid, going to the beach and the pool. As a mom, my kids being out of school! 😍 And vacations to my besties house for more pool, beach and lake time! Now I have moved from California/Oregon a few years ago to Michigan. We are about 35 minutes from Lake Michigan and I love the lake. Like LOVE it! I like being near the water and in the sand. Reading. And being with my people! I also love fall! Then winter. Spring is my least favorite. I don’t love the rain. I try to live by the Nordic (?) philosophy of “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” I am really good at sitting with people when they’re losing a loved one. I am there, in hospice or the hospital, when people are dying. I’m also good at holding space for people after someone close to them has died and following up beyond the days after. 🩷”

• Says Justin on What Are You Secretly (Or Not So Secretly) Good At?

  “I teach history and in my own research I specialize in British history. With that said, I can name every monarch of the UK in order starting with William I “the conqueror” in 1066. I can also name each monarch’s consort(s) and how they relate to their successors.”

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What about you? What have you been up to recently?
PS: last week’s good things

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