I'm Jami, the creator of An Oregon Cottage and I'm so happy you've found our little corner of the internet! If this is your first time here, this page will help you see what resources you can find on AOC - I hope you'll grab a cup of coffee or tea and stay awhile!
ABOUT AN OREGON COTTAGE
I started AOC in 2009 with the goal to help encourage and inspire women (and the occasional man) to live a simple homemade life through healthy whole food recipes, do-able DIY projects, and easy-care gardening - all without getting hung up on perfection. I didn't grow up doing any of this ("you mean you can make a cake without a box?"), so my wonder at all we can do ourselves continues to amaze me.
These 3 areas, cooking simple real foods, growing food and flowers, and tackling easy home improvement and decor projects, remain the heart of AOC, but you'll also occasionally find other resources that I'm passionate about and you may find helpful, too, including no-diet weight loss, reading and goal-making, family, and organizing.
In fact, my interest in goals, organizing, and finding the time to have the simple homemade life I love spurred me to create a product I use daily, The Flexible Planner. It's a combo of bullet journalling and traditional planner that I hope you'll check out here - it's literally one of my favorite things!
For more information on how An Oregon Cottage began, visit our About page.
RECIPE INDEX
You can browse through all of AOC's recipes by visiting the Recipe Index. There you'll find typical categories like Main Dishes, Breads, Desserts, and Salads. But you'll also find a category for Preserving the Harvest, including classic AOC recipes like How to Roast & Freeze Beets and Addictive Tomato Chutney, as well as a full tutorial for water-bath canning (you really can do it!).
One of my most favorite recipe categories is Pantry Basics, because sharing these recipes that I grew up thinking could only be bought at the store is what fueled the desire to start An Oregon Cottage. Browse this category to find recipes to make your own ketchup, chocolate sauce, mayonnaise, and crackers.
Interested in what recipes AOC's readers love most? Here are the all-time top 5:
- The Easy Way to Freeze Green Beans without Blanching
- Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Onion Dijon Sauce
- Soft, 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Pantry Basics Homemade Vinaigrette 4 Ways
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread
PROJECT GALLERY
Every project you find in the Project Gallery is do-able - that's my promise. My husband Brian and I work together on most of our home improvement and decor projects and neither of us are design or construction professionals in any way - we figure it out as we go along and show you how too. Why? Because it saves money (duh!) and we can get a specific, unique look that we wouldn't be able to otherwise.
We've made a floor from paper, created a budget farmhouse kitchen, instilled cottage character into a 1980's ranch house, and turned a rotting backyard deck into four beautiful and useful outdoor rooms.
If you're just interested in some simple decoration and easy crafts, you can find them in the gallery, too.
AOC's readers have loved these top 5 projects the most:
- How to Make The Best Flaxseed Pillow Warmers
- DIY Tufted French Mattress Cushion
- How to Make a French-Style Bench from 2 Chairs
- How to Make a Dresser into a Vanity
- Brown Paper Floor Technique FAQ
ORGANIC GARDENING
I discovered through trial and error that you CAN grow your own food and flowers without having to pull weeds all the time and I'm happy to share this and more under the Organic Gardening tab. Using raised beds to grow food, covering flower borders with newspaper, and not tilling vegetable beds are just some of the techniques I use and share with you on AOC to make gardening easier.
You'll also find a lot of tips and inspiration to grow your own flowers and food, like the Ultimate Vegetable & Fruit Guides with tips on growing, harvesting, cooking, AND preserving.
Here are AOC's top 5 gardening articles of all-time:
- Homemade Garlic-Mint Insect Spray (that works!)
- Ultimate Rhubarb Guide
- 5 Reasons to Grow Cucumbers on a Trellis (and Taking Up Less Room Isn't One of Them)
- 5 Easy Steps to Organic Weed Control
- Planting a Garden Bed the No-Till Way
MORE RESOURCES
- Find my real food weight loss story here and check out the accompanying recipe eBooks on this page.
- Curious about what our home looks like? Take our Ranch-turned-Cottage tour.
- You can also take a tour of our yard and gardens.
- You may find the kitchen and cooking tips on this page helpful.
- This page all about meal planning gives you the whys, hows, and tips - it changed my dinner-making life, so I'm pretty passionate about it!
- Watch all our videos in one place on our YouTube channel.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Like the idea of simple, real foods, do-able DIY, and easy-care gardening? Then make sure to subscribe by email to get the most recent updates delivered right to your inbox (you can choose a weekly option or whenever a new post goes out).
Are you on social media? Let's talk! Follow An Oregon Cottage on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.