Kathleen | Roots & Boots, Author at Roots & Boots

Almond Coconut Cookies (Awesome Shortcake Substitute) {gluten, dairy & egg-free}

Hang around the Real Food World long enough, and sooner or later you’ll hear about the Weston A. Price Foundation and its president, Sally Fallon. You may recall that my relationship with this famous Real Foodie (Sally Fallon) is a complicated one. 🙂 Nourishing Traditions is of course the Sally Fallon Bible of Cooking, and…

Square Foot Gardening: How to Construct Sturdy, Economical Trellises for Climbing Crops

As you may know by now, we’ve undertaken two key experiments in our organic vegetable garden this year. Our first experiment revolves around a concept called Square Foot Gardening. (See book recommendation at the end of this post.) After installing the raised boxes and special soil mix, we needed trellises for climbing crops like zucchini and…

My Favorite Toothpaste (updated)

Have you made this toothsoap yet? We love it here at the Yankee Homestead! So easy to make, and I don’t have to worry about any of the ingredients. No sulfates, flourides or other sketchy stuff. Just Dr. Bronner’s soap, coconut oil, hot water, stevia and essential oils.

All Things Bright and Beautiful: Easy Way to Add More Nature-Appreciation to Your Kids’ Lives

Want to add more nature-appreciation to your kids’ lives? Not sure where to start? Try this! It’s a poem! It’s a hymn! It’s a book! It’s a great way to teach kids about our Creator God. When a friend and I started a (sort of) formalized nature study emphasis with our four kids, we began with…

5 Books I’m Reading This Month

Having finished up most of the 11 books I was reading several months ago, a few new ones have been added to my list. So far I’m loving all five of them, each for a different reason. Here’s my new list, with a few thoughts on each title.

Another Great Folk Album for Families

We love folk music here at the Yankee Homestead, and have amassed quite a collection of Family-Friendly Folk Favorites. Here’s another album we’ve recently added to our list:

Laundry Room Makeover, Part 1: Barn Pendant with Jute-Wrapped Cord

My {Frugal} Laundry Room Makeover, Part One As I mentioned in This Old House, we live in an old house. Currently, although the home has quite a few quirks, we’ve decided to make do without any major structural changes while we ponder the pros and cons of spending money on renovations or building a new…

Make Your Own “Crispy” Trail Mix

We often snack on crispy nuts at our house. One day, after loading up the boys’ reusable snack bags with several kinds of crispy nuts, it occurred to me that I could save a bit of time by storing the nuts–and a few other ingredients–premixed and ready to go into the snack bags at a…

This Old House: Should We Renovate, Build or Be Content?

Here’s the deal: We live in an old house. We love our old house; in fact, we bought it on purpose. The good news: It’s in really great shape considering it was built in 1955. The bad news: It has a few quirks. Like no bathtub. And faux marble kitchen counters (think: laminate). And a chopped-up layout.…