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Something big has happened on the homestead 🐑✨

We finally brought home our first Icelandic sheep — and it feels like the start of something beautiful.

🎥 Full vlog on YouTube!
Me before sheep: normal hobbies, normal conversati Me before sheep: normal hobbies, normal conversations.
Me after sheep: would you like to see 437 photos of my sheep? ☕🐑
Our little homestead is growing 🐑✨ Meet Perse Our little homestead is growing 🐑✨ Meet Persephone (Penny) and Maple. Watching them graze feels like the sweetest start to this new chapter. 🏡🌿 #homesteadinthemaking
✨ Cozy reminder ✨ Your coffee doesn’t need a ✨ Cozy reminder ✨
Your coffee doesn’t need a perfectly curated mug to be special. That sip is still warm, still comforting, still a little moment of peace in your day. ☕💛

We don’t always need the “next new thing.” Sometimes the old crazed mug, the worn in sweater, the quiet morning—that’s where the sweetest contentment lives. 🌿

💬 Tell me — what’s your “crazed mug” in life? The simple, imperfect thing that still makes you smile?
When molting season hits and you’re just trying When molting season hits and you’re just trying to keep it together… 😅

My rude rooster is looking a whole lot less intimidating these days!
I didn’t want to go today.
I had so much to do—work waiting at home, house chores piling up, lessons we needed to get through for homeschool… the to-do list was loud and endless.

But we all needed a pause.
So I closed the laptop, left the laundry, packed the snacks, and we went.

And I’m so glad we did.

Sometimes the most important “work” we do isn’t what’s on our list—it’s the memories, the fresh air, the laughter, the reset our souls are craving.

Here’s your reminder, mama: you don’t have to earn rest, joy, or play. 
🌿 Sometimes saying yes to the pause is exactly what everyone needs.
We started Ambleside Online the day after Labor Da We started Ambleside Online the day after Labor Day, and now that we have two weeks under our belt, I'm sharing on my YouTube channel how that's going for us so far. 
Please check out the video! You can find my channel in my bio. 
Thanks so much!
#AmblesideOnline #amblesideonlineyear1 #HomeschoolingLife #curriculumreview #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolingjourney
I'm trying to learn to really love homemaking, and I'm trying to learn to really love homemaking, and sometimes a quick little DIY helps you to enjoy being in your space a little more, so I hit the light switch plate that's been in the junk drawer for 2 years with a little rub-n-buff magic. What small project can you do today to help you enjoy your home a little more?

Also, this is a snippet pulled from my newest (and first in some time!) YouTube video, so please feel free to check me out over there, too!

#homemakingmama #diyhomedecorideas
Proof that beauty still shows up when you’re tir Proof that beauty still shows up when you’re tired, barefoot, and just doing your best.

There was a beautiful rainbow over the homestead yesterday and I had to take a moment to stand in the rain to capture this beauty. Worth it.

I hope you remember to slow down today. Please follow for more slow & sleepy homebody moments.

#cozylifestyle #cozyhomemaking #cozyliving #homesteadinthemaking #findbeautyineveryday

The Sleepy Hollow Homestead

Homesteading, Homemaking, Homemade: The pursuit of good simple living.

How to Savor Summer: Embracing Beauty Even When It’s Uncomfortable

July 1, 2025

Let’s be honest. Summer isn’t always sunshine and smiles. It’s hot. It’s humid. The bugs are relentless, the kids are loud, and your shirt has been stuck to your back since 10 a.m. And yet… somehow, it’s still magical. There’s something deeply beautiful about this messy, lively, sensory-overloaded season. In this post, we’re talking about how to savor summer—even when it’s kind of gross—and how to find joy in the contrast.


Summer is Sensory—and That’s Not Always Comfortable

Living seasonally means leaning into the realities of each season, not just the romanticized parts. Summer brings sun-warmed tomatoes, barefoot kids, and late evening lightning bugs while you drink tea on the porch—but it also brings sweat-soaked hair, mosquitoes, and relentless heat waves. Instead of resisting the discomfort, what if we let it amplify the good?


Embrace the Contrast: Why Hard Makes Sweet Sweeter

There’s a reason that ice-cold lemonade tastes better after you’ve been pulling weeds in the sun. The contrast is part of the joy. The burn of the sun makes the shade feel like heaven. The sticky heat makes an evening dip in the pool feel euphoric. This season makes you feel—and that’s not something to rush past.

Embrace the “sweat and satisfaction” of summer

Let the discomfort create gratitude

Even the gross parts have a role in forming memories

“Savoring summer” means noticing the contrast, and letting it deepen your joy.


Find the Small, Sacred Moments

Savoring the season doesn’t require a grand vacation or picture-perfect picnic. It’s in the way the light hits your living room floor at 7:45 p.m. Or how your garden overflows with color and life, even when your back aches from tending it.

Look for:

  • Watermelon juice running down your toddler’s chin
  • The satisfaction of a harvest basket after battling squash bugs
  • The joy of air conditioning after a long morning outside
  • That first jump into the lake or pool

These little glimmers are summer.


Let Summer Teach You Something

Each season carries its own lessons. Summer teaches endurance, presence, and the balance of work and rest. The sweat and the stillness. The weeds and the blooms.

Ask yourself:

  • What’s growing in me this summer?
  • What do I want to savor, even if it’s uncomfortable?
  • What does this season invite me to feel?

You might find that summer’s messiness mirrors your own life a bit—and that it’s still worth celebrating.


How to Savor Summer Practically (Even When It’s Gross)

  • Keep a summer gratitude journal: Focus on 3 sensory joys a day.
  • Build in contrast: Work outside, then cool down intentionally.
  • Take things slow: Choose one small, seasonal ritual daily (morning walk, iced coffee on the porch, barefoot gardening).
  • Keep a pitcher of something refreshing always in the fridge.
  • Let go of perfection—messiness is part of the magic.

Savoring summer doesn’t mean ignoring the hard—it means seeing the beauty anyway.


Conclusion: Beauty in the Sweat & Stillness

Savoring summer isn’t about pretending it’s not hard. It’s about noticing the ways the discomfort gives way to deeper joy. It’s sticky and sweet. Wild and wonderful. And when you embrace both, you live more fully—right in the season you’re in.


What’s one way you’re choosing to savor summer this week—even when it’s uncomfortable? Leave a comment below or share your favorite summer joy on Instagram and tag me [@thesleepyhollowhomestead] so I can cheer you on!

Are you stuck without AC this summer? Check out how we’re surviving and thriving without it in this blog post!

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Welcome to The Sleepy Hollow Homestead : a home centered lifestyle blog

Welcome to The Sleepy Hollow Homestead : a home centered lifestyle blog

I'm Heather - a wife and stay at home mama of 3. I'm on a journey to thrive at home & cultivate a home-centered life. Join our young homesteading family of four as we start a Zone 6 garden in Indiana, turn our aging 80 acre farm into a sustainable homestead using permaculture and regenerative agricultural practices, and DIY our 1865 Colonial revival Farmhouse into the home of our dreams. Along the way we're going to DIY, garden, cook from scratch, learn to be frugal, homeschool, thrift, eat healthier, and learn to really enjoy this thing called life.
I'm thriving after a rectovaginal fistula and am passionate about physiological childbirth.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and get cozy: I'm so glad you're here! Thanks for visiting!

Recent Posts

  • Making Space in Homemaking: How to Thrive at Home
  • How to Get Your House Under Control When You’re Overwhelmed by the Mess
  • Slow Decorating: How I’m Creating a Cozy, Beautiful Home Over Time
  • How to Savor Summer: Embracing Beauty Even When It’s Uncomfortable
  • How We’re Living Without AC in the Midwest | No-AC Summer Survival Tips

Recent Comments

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