Who loves gift giving?! Giving gifts is my ultimate love language in action! What makes giving to others even more fun and meaningful is when you can gift something unique that can’t just be found anywhere! I have been a fan of UncommonGoods for a long time and am excited to share one of my most favorite places to find the perfect gift. Here is your best unique gift guide. Enjoy!

As an artist myself, I’m so drawn to the style and artistry of the products I’ve purchased from UncommonGoods! Does mission and how products are produced matter to you when you buy something from a company? I took some time to learn more about one of my favorite companies and was floored by what they stood for!

Did you know that it’s UncommonGoods mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers? Being an artist myself, I’m bias, but I love that! Also, when you buy something you are most likely supporting an artisan from the USA! The last thing that just leaves me googly-eyed and in love with UncommonGoods is that for EVERY item you buy a portion goes to a good cause to make our world, planet and people better off! What is more feel good than gifting with a mission and supporting a good cause?!

Have you every received a gift so unique and perfect for you it made you feel BEYOND special? I have and I love giving well thought out gifts. With this list of unique gifts you will be able to find the perfect gift for the quirks and personality of the person you are buying for…even if that someone is YOU!

I better get to the goods as I bet you can’t wait to check them out! Below are some of my most favorite items!

THE BEST UNIQUE GIFT GUIDE

1. For the person that loves all things food and cooking:

2.For that special man in your life:

3. For beautiful, fun and also quirky woman’s gifts:

4. For when you want your gift to be humorous:

There you have it friends, a great unique gift guide that will help you find that perfect gift! I hope you find fun things as you shop. Dovidenia. Xo

Here is one of my UncommonGoods finds I am so excited to use this season as I host “get togethers” with friends and family! You can check out my appetizer tray here.

Check out my behind the scenes stories by following me on Instagram, as I share more of the items I love through this season!

I've been having fun decorating this season! ?What's something you love creating or decorating in your home this season? ❤️

A post shared by Stefanie at Simple Acres (@simpleacresblog) on Nov 27, 2017 at 8:01pm PST

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The holiday season is upon us! I love this season for all it’s goodness. To me it is a time to savor each day with the ones I love, baking delicious foods for other, family traditions, making handmade gifts for others and decorating my home to make it feel cozy. Amidst all the goodness I find myself each year fighting for the special moments. I find it takes intention to claim back the holiday season for what it really should be about instead of the excessive hustle and bustle. There are two things I do to keep Christmas time simple. The first thing I do is start preparing months in advance (I will save that for another post.) and the second thing is keeping gift giving simple.

It is so easy to get caught in the midst of materialism and shopping and find yourself over shopping and spending. This year I am REALLY focusing on simplifying my gift giving with thoughtful gifts that speak the message of valuing the person I am gifting and the importance of quality time. Below is a list of gift ideas for your loved ones:

Simple Christmas Gift Ideas

1. Handmade gifts: Everyone has a gift to create something! What I love about handmade gifts is the intention, time and thought that goes into them to tell the person you are giving a gift to you care. Ideas for handmade gifts can be home decor signs, knit scarves, jewelry and art.

2. Wine: I may have just listed my two favorite gifts ( art and wine)! Wine serves as a nice gift that most appreciate especially this time of year. It’s a great gift to compliment all the yummy food eaten through the holidays, a gift that encourages a relaxing evening when a glass is shared with a loved one and well….WINE…need I say more?! Wine from Wente Vineyards is so good and is one of the simplest gifts you can give. It is great to have a few on hand for a last minute gift you may need as well.

3. Baked Goods: Cookies, treats and more are an absolute winner for everyone around the holidays. This gift is affordable and depending on the recipe can be pretty simple as well. The kids and I love surprising others with holiday treats!

4. Quality time spent together: Give a gift that promises time spent and memories made. This year I am planning to give the kids gift cards to the trampoline park, the movie theater and this awesome pottery making shop in town. I love the ideas of buying gifts that keep giving versus a toy they will just break or lose interest in in a matter of weeks.

I hope these ideas inspire you toward some Simple Christmas Gift Ideas that are thoughtful and reduce the hustle and bustle this season for you and yours. Let us create more memorable moments this holiday! Dovidenia. XO

P.S. If you love wine too just click on the image below and you can see all the delicious options you can order right to your door for gift giving!

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The holiday season is upon us, the weather is becoming more and more chilled and comfort and gift giving are on my mind. I have been buying, making and wrapping gifts since October to simplify my gift giving process. Actually, I have been doing this for several years now and it has really reduced the stress of the holidays making the time together that much more special and savored. Besides getting ahead I am planning to do the rest of my shopping online. With all this said, I want to share with you some gift ideas from a company my family and I genuinely love! Durango boots has the best boots to gift the whole family! I can’t wait to share!

I started really wearing cowgirl boots regularly over 3 years ago when we moved onto Simple Acres. At that time our whole property was acres of dirt thus the love of cowgirl boots began. Before I started wearing Durango boots I started with a different brand. I wore them nearly daily but before I knew it the bones on my heals chronically hurt. It was as though my bone was permanently bruised! When I wore my first Durango boots they were SO beyond comfortable! I was hooked. The rest is history! I have been blessed to work with Durango boots through the years which has allowed our family to wear and live in the best boots out there! My kids love their boots and wear them almost daily. I love wearing my boots for ALL occasions, from going out on a date to being outside on our farm. Below is some of our family’s favorite boot styles. Make this season’s shopping easier by jumping online and placing an order for a few pairs! Your family and friends WILL LOVE them!

Best Boot Gift Guide

Below are the Lil’ Durango Little Kid Tan Lacey Western Boot. My daughter absolutely loves these boots and wears them with EVERYTHING, even her pajamas!

These boots are the Crush by Durango Woman’s Belted Collar Western Boot.These are my favorite thus far! They are really comfortable yet super cute for date night and just dressing up a little.

These boots are my husbands and the leather is beautiful. They are their Rebel by Durango Gator Embossed Western Boot.

To see more boot options for gift giving look at our favorite boots for a night out on the town, how we like to slow down on the farm and savor family life and how something as simple as boots can help exude confidence.

The hubby and I wish you the very best holiday season this year! I hope this Boot Gift Guide helps you find that perfect gift! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! Dovidenia. XO

The post The Best Boots to Gift for the Whole Family with Durango Boots appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

It’s that time of year again! The season is changing beautifully and my little ones are growing with each day. It has been 3 years of documenting our life on the farm raising our herd of kids and cattle. It’s nearly been that long that I fell in love with my favorite boots as well! I decided there was no better way to celebrate all the goodness we have in life right now but by taking our family photos with Durango boots!This year I found a way to make family photos even more of a memorable experience. 

When I think back to the beginning of Simple Acres I remember my youngest not even being one yet. Our land was pure dirt and sagebrush. We had endless dreams for our family and farm and endless days of work ahead of us to get there. At this very same time was the first time that I really started wearing cowgirl boots as a daily norm. It was also the beginning of trying new things and putting myself “out there” creatively to the world. 

When Simple Acres was just coming to be as a home, lifestyle, dream and reality was nearly the same time I slipped on my first pair of Durango boots and grabbed my camera. Three years later I am still loving my boots and growing in my passion with art and photography.  I have been enjoying capturing pictures and moments of our family through the years. Even my husband has enjoyed taking part dabbling in photography from time to time. 

When the leaves are turning beautiful colors I always find myself wanting to picture them as a perfect back drop for family photos. Often when you get family photos you meet with your photographer at a location, get your pictures taken and then you are on your way. Being that I am able to take our own family photos I wanted to make the experience more memorable. 

What was special about our family photo day this year was the quality time spent with each family member and how I went about gathering our pictures. 

Here’s how I made family photos more memorable:

1. Slow down the process. Often the process of family pictures can be hurried due to schedules in life. I chose to devote our day to pictures with the kids. No, I did not take pictures for 8 hours but it allowed me to savor the moment in a low stress way. Being able to take the time to soak in the surroundings and let the kids play while I took pictures made for a much more enjoyable experience.  
2. Make picture time quality time. For me, I get to be the photographer so it makes it simple to spend quality one on one time with my loved ones. I chose to take one child at a time to a park to play and take pictures. If you were hiring a photographer you could do the same with each of your family members. 
3. Let personality shine. With the one on one attention I gave while taking our family photos, it really allowed the kids to just be them! With multiple kids, pestering and fighting for our attention generally is a norm in our house. I often notice when I take the time alone with each child they are more able to be their silly happy selves. Capturing individual personality makes for photos that remind you where your loved ones were in that moment in time.  
4. Wear things you love to create character. What we wear in our pictures is like creating a time capsule for our memories. I love to capture candid pictures of my kids playing in the leaves and just being kids. I want them wearing their favorite dress, even if it has a rip or stain, or rocking their new boots they already scuffed up because they love wearing them constantly. When I look at the pictures I take I want to be reminded of the time not only by the image but by the details worn in the picture. 

I love the colors of the leaves as the season changes, we love our Durango boots, our home town and familiarity and we love each other. This year was a success as I shot family photos in our Durango boots, making memories along the way!

P.S. As you can see Durango boots are a perfect touch to family pictures. We also wear our boots on the farm as well as out on the town.

10 Simple Date Ideas that Bring the Fun Back

This product is one I have LOVED for years thus the reason I enjoy sharing about them. The quality and comfort is amazing. I get compliments on my boots nearly every day I wear them. My kids love being able to just pull on their boots and go! To get your family some awesome boots shop here. 

Follow us along on on our simple living journey here as well!

I have really been getting to enjoy this little one this year. She is spicy, feisty, sweet and sassy with a side of attitude. We got new cowgirl boots for my little mama from @durangoboots and they are the only shoes that keep up with her spunk! I love my girl and boots that last!? #ad #itsanattitude For more on the boots check out the link in my profile or DM me.

A post shared by Stefanie at Simple Acres (@simpleacresblog) on Oct 10, 2017 at 11:57pm PDT

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First, I have to say as I write this story of loss I have very few answers.

Today as I drove in the car with tears streaming down my face, I realized I don’t have to have answers to this type of loss to help others. I have noticed that infant loss seems to be a taboo or rather a hushed conversation. To me this is sad for those of us that have experienced it. It makes it feel like because our sweet beloved child was small possibly the loss is lesser. I believe in actuality it’s likely hushed because it is such an overwhelming sad scenario that many cannot fathom.

I told my sweet baby daughter, only small in my womb, that she would live on with me always as I shared our story.

To start writing this down is hard but my hope is that maybe one mother might read and follow along with me on my journey of hope and healing and feel a little less alone.

For now I will say that my peace and hope ebb as I grieve. It is definitely much more difficult as her due date comes sooner and sooner. I catch myself humoring where I would be with her now just a few months until delivery. Today as I sobbed, I imagined the beautiful pregnant tummy I wish I had and the baby stuff I know I would be organizing and preparing right now. It is Fall and I would likely be getting maternity pictures with the beautiful warm colors of the season in the background. I imagined today I would be cueing my oldest daughter to prepare for her little sister she was so thrilled to have. She would tell me throughout my pregnancy how much her little sis would be a princess and she would love her “FOR-EBER”.

I can’t. This is where I stop for today. I am in a place in my life where normalcy and what was expected to happen from years of hopes and prayers will never come to pass with the daughter I lost. It’s a place I accept although, I feel very uncomfortable in this place in my life that feels foreign at times.

When I write again I will start from the beginning with the day I expected a perfectly healthy little girl and instead something very bad was missing when I saw her in ultrasound. Maintaining hope through infant loss IS POSSIBLE, let’s do this together! Dovidenia.

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I am in pure bliss! I am running through fallen leaves, going to Fall festivals with my kids, eating caramel apples and baking something pumpkin inspired almost weekly! Fall is my heaven, my obsession and my favorite time of year. The crisp morning and evening air, the cozy cuisine and the layering of warm and comfortable fall clothes is some of what makes this season my favorite. Today I am excited to share some of my favorite fall hoodies, jackets and cardigans thanks to NYFifth Apparel .

I am not the ultimate “fashionista” but I do LOVE cute and comfortable clothes! I am a sweatshirt and jeans kinda girl with really comfy boots. I am pretty low maintenance, with simple taste although sometimes I like to wear something more unique and quirky!

I am impressed by NYFifth’s affordable prices and unique styles and designs PLUS you can do custom screen printing and embroidery on your purchases too! ( I will be remembering that for something I have coming your way in the future.)

Here are the favorites I found that quench my simplistic, country quirky, wife of a hunter, mom to 3 wild kids, blogger on a farm taste:

For jackets I found this longer jacket that makes me think of drinking steamy hot cocoa on a brisk day while I WATCH my man cut wood. Ha! I am looking stunning as ever of course.

Cozy cardigans is an item of clothing I love to wear. To me it is like wearing your coziest blanket as a top AND you get to look amazing in it! Again, comfort will win my heart every time. I am going to wear this one with a plaid collared shirt or a white cream shear and flowy top with cute cowgirl boots!

A few weeks out of the year I am a “hunters widow”. This hoodie is quirky, a conversation piece and I see no rule or age limit for wearing antlers! I love deer and elk ENOUGH SAID! While the hubby is away hunting the wife will play! Shhhh.

For a simple sweatshirt to wear that is comfy and affordable I found this one with a cute embroidered elk. I loved the details on the hood strings.

If you want to be the designer and add custom screen printing or embroidery they have simple plain varieties that are perfect for creating your own style.

Once I started shopping on NYFifth site I slightly became obsessed with many of their deer options so I had to include these sweaters just in case I had any other country lovers, deer hunters, deer hunter widows in the crowd! This deer sweatshirt is kind of retro in style which I dig.

Lastly, this deer sweater with it’s lower cut in the back is another item I HAVE NO CHOICE but to put in my cart. It’s a need folks (wink).

There you have it friends, a roundup of my favorite Fall hoodies, cardigans and jackets. May your cider be warm, your pumpkin spice EVERYTHING be fabulous and your cozy attire make you snug as a bug in Fall! Dovidenia. XO

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The season has come for new life and land. The new calves are running in the field in the evenings racing around and playing as though it’s a game of tag. The trees are blooming with the aroma of sweet blossoms and the grass is becoming green. With this season on our farm comes an opportunity to teach the value of nature and hard work. The farm, raising cattle and planting a garden serves as wonderful teachers for my children. Whether you live on a farm or live in a city, gardening is a great activity that teaches the value of self-sufficient living. Have you ever considered a more self-sufficient lifestyle? I can attest that although it takes work it can be rewarding and enjoyable.

Currently we our tilling the land and growing grass on our acreage as a way to fuel our growing herd of cattle. We are getting the soil ready in the garden and planting our first seeds of corn and peas. From the growing of the grass to the garden, all these efforts are being put out ultimately to promote self-sufficient living here at Simple Acres. All the while our children get to watch and interact in these actions of hard work and love.

The value of a simple self-sufficient lifestyle. 

• Hard work is the first value that comes to mind. This is something I still am coming to appreciate when it comes to getting down and dirty on our farm. I will say hard work whether it be the farming we do or even the simple goal of growing a small garden and having chickens teaches appreciation.
• Appreciation for the positive end result when effort is spent toward self sufficiency.
• Resourcefulness teaches children to be creative, value nature and not be wasteful.
• Frugal thinking, encourages more responsibility in the goods and monetary blessings our children will experience in their life.

Not always can our children play an active role in the many duties farming or simple living calls for. This inspired me to share how gardening with my children has helped them value our self-sufficient lifestyle and also feel a part of all the fun.

We chose to partner with Miracle-Gro Gro-ables as a wonderful NEW product that is a fun activity for kids and families that get kids outside and interacting with nature and food! While my “Sweet Cheeks”  is planting 5 acres of grass to feed the cows that ultimately feed US, the kids and I are replicating the same self-sufficient action by planting herbs and vegetables we too will eat and enjoy as a family.

How To Start a Simple Garden with Miracle-Gro Gro-ables

1. The seed pods come completely ready in biodegradable cups that include the plant food to guarantee growth.

2.    Push the seed pod into loosened soil until the top is level with the soil’s surface and water daily.

3. In 1-2 weeks your seed will sprout. Several months after planting, flowers will appear which means produce is close at hand.

I can attest that my kids loved this activity! “Daddy” was literally out on the tractor as they were also doing their own planting and contributing to the family. Gardening these seeds caused an excitement they have talked about daily since and a sense of pride in their hard work. With all honesty friends, EVERY SINGLE one of our seeds planted is sprouting! We labeled our plants with up-cycled and stamped vintage spoons. The tutorial can be found here.

I stand confidently with the Gro-ables Project belief.

There’s a lot to learn from even the smallest plants and the smallest gardening project! (Heck we planted in pots on our porch for start up.) The Gro-ables Project is a movement to share the joy of growing herbs and veggies while giving kids truly hands-on learning experiences.

My kids walked away with hands dirty from hard work and hearts uplifted and encouraged by the excitement of taking part in our self-sufficient lifestyle! I can not wait until we are enjoying our fresh herbs and salad at dinner time and can thank the precious hands of our children for their efforts. The appreciation and reward of their gardening will be priceless. What do your children learn from gardening? I would love to hear. Dovidenia. XO

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This Spring Wreath DIY takes minimal time to create. I also have delicious Chocolate Nest desserts, Cherry Cheesecake, Asparagus with Balsamic Tomato Sauce and Berry Spring Salad recipes that will compliment your seasonal preparation. I also have other Spring wreath inspirations as well as an up-cycled DIY that allows you to bring Springs flowers indoors.

Materials:

• Grapevine wreath
• Twine
• Bunny booty kit from Hobby Lobby
• Artificial eggs
• Pussy willow sprig
• Moss
• Ribbon of your liking
• Hot glue and gun
• Scissors

The post Spring Wreath DIY appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

I have gathered some fun ideas from some of the best mom bloggers across the internet. I hope these ideas inspire you to enjoy quality time indoors with your kids.

1. Printable Dress Up Dolls and Imagination: This is such a timeless activity enjoyed by kids that really allows them to use their creativity. For the dress up doll printable visit Moms and Crafters.

2. Make Snow Ice Cream: I remember making “snow slushies” with juice as a kid. This recipe is much more delicious and can be found at a wonderful site called Playground Parkbench.

3. Make classic paper snowflakes: There are so many varieties to make and ways to decorate with paper snowflakes with your kids. Find out how to create these beautiful paper snowflakes at Craftulate.

4. Make play dough snowmen: When the weather is too chilly to go outside this is the perfect activity to entertain kids while encouraging hands on creativity. You can find more on this activity at Crafty Kids at Home.

5. Create an indoor obstacle course: What better to offer entertainment and physical activity than an obstacle course! Get inspired with all the ideas to create your own at Playground Parkbench.

6. Have an indoor snowball fight: Learn how to make yarn snowballs as well as 8 other great winter indoor activities right here at Simple Acres.

There are also many great places to take your children on days when the weather is cold too!

Lots of love to you this season. Dovidenia. xo

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Are you tired of your same old meal plans from last year? Are you ready to introduce new healthier options in 2017? Do you and your family want to incorporate more vegetables into your meals but are not quite sure where to begin? Now is the time to make some New Year’s “Vegolutions” for your busy lifestyle! MorningStar Farms® products are a great way to incorporate vegetables into your weekly meal planning. These items are not just for vegetarians, but are great for everybody!!

With MorningStar Farms® products, it is easy to substitute meat for veggies and use them for breakfast, lunch & dinner!

Don’t miss this great Ibotta offer! When you buy any 3 MorningStar Farms® products at Walmart, you will earn $3.00! *Offer available through 2/15/17 or while supplies last.

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