Hello sweet friends,
Happy 2026, even though we are already in July! For many months, I’ve wondered if I should keep this blog. Because hello, does anyone read them anymore? With Substack and so much clickbait short-form content, I have thought many times over that it isn’t worth keeping. But when I would go to close down my site, something always gave me pause. I couldn’t quite get myself to hit the button. I think that was God nudging me not to. To keep this space open for me to use and explore my creativity.
For a while, I didn’t understand his nudge. I felt like my creativity was MIA, and I didn’t have anything to share. Until recently, when I decided to create an everything journal and call it Harvest & Home. I needed a creative hobby that wasn’t internet- or digital-based. I need to shut those things off for a while, as it was starting to make me feel low and anxious. The comparison to others’ lives started creeping in and making me feel less than. So I took some time to mull over what I could create with my hands that would fulfill this need. I originally thought of embroidery, as I think the art of that is so beautiful. But ended up feeling it wasn’t practical for me, with a big dog that gets into everything, to have needles and thread around. And one day, when I was tidying and still thinking of what I wanted to work on, I saw one of my most treasured books, and that’s Susan Branch’s Autumn book. I absolutely love her books and her whimsical style of sharing recipes, getting into each season, and her drawings that accompany each.
So it hit me, why don’t I create a journal that holds a little of all the things I love and do it for each season. Channeling inspiration from Susan’s books and others, like vintage Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, etc. Something that feels nostalgic and like it could’ve been done 20+ years ago. Before AI imagery and quick edits that are of our world today. I wanted to bring that feeling back to my life, of something that someone worked hours on and didn’t just offload it to ChatGPT to do for them. So I started with a summer bucket list, like the ones I used to draw as a kid, and let my heart dream up any page I wanted to create in this little Harvest & Home book. It now holds a page all about things to grow in a summer garden, my nonna’s minestrone soup recipe, summer outfit inspiration, and bible verses that I feel God has called me to remember and pray upon.
It has lit a warm glow in my soul to create this book, and it’s a feeling I realized I wanted this space to feel like too. So I decided to change the name of this site as well. Harvest has many meanings: the literal being the harvest of agriculture and crops after a season of growth and tending, it also means abundance and follows the seasons of life. To me it represents all of those things and allows me to gather in one space what I have tended to. That can be literal or figurative. And Home, I always think of the quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder: “Home is the nicest word there is.” It’s where we find comfort, rest, nourish ourselves, and design it in such a way that feels cozy to us. Home is the spirit of it all, and creating a home is so dear to me.
So welcome again to my site, now, Harvest & Home. Where we will slow down, live and buy intentionally, create, cook, and tend to the things that make up our lives. And do so together.
Warmly,
Michaela
Harvest & Home 