When In Doubt, Bake Cookies!

When another Winter Storm Warning cancels the evening activities,

what does this City Gone Country Girl decide to do ? 

Bake cookies of course!!

Country Cookies!

Cookie baking tends to be my go to activity when I have a moment to myself. Looking back on my childhood, cookie baking was something that was "mine".

Mom was a bit protective about her kitchen, she would not tolerate us kids in her domain most of the time. Special permission to intrude came only when I wanted to bake cookies.

As the oldest child of 5 kids, I learned quickly to create recipes into triple and quadruple batches. If I only made one "normal" cookie batch, the cookies would never make it off the cooling rack into a storage container! It remember how fast my siblings would munch them down before they were cooled enough to be palatable...

If there is a favorite cookie I like to make would be in the "drop cookie" category. Quick and easy, drop cookies make for a instant cookie fix with chips, raisins, and nuts.  Tongues wag at the flavored dough bases of chocolate, peanut butter, or flavored extracts like lemon or mint! 

Presently, I have two cookie monsters of my own. I always ask my two girls if they want to help me make cookies, but I think their favorite part is taste testing. Oh, and fighting over the cookie dough bowl of course!

We are adding cookies for sale as another product available by The Allen Family Homestead.
Baked with our own fresh eggs, home baked cookies will be a great addition to our growing product line! Don't forget the glass of milk~

Jenn ~ City Gone Country Girl

I Wish I Took Juggling In College...

Rejuvenate and give yourself grace!

I wish I took juggling in college.

It was an actual course! As a class option to fulfill a gym class requirement, I chose weight lifting instead. That may have prepared me to lift the 50lb bags of chicken feed which the chickens appreciate but...Maybe taking that juggling class would have prepared me better for my adult life.

Maybe it could have taught me how to juggle all the responsibilities that this City Gone Country Girl has on her plate.Husband, kids, family schedules, animals, farm chores, home chores, home cooking, gardening, friend time, church, blogging, etc...


Some days I just don't know how to do it all!



Taking on our mini farm added additional chores, responsibilities, and has stretched us financially in a way we may have not been ready for. There are days I feel pushed to the edge of my energy.

I make lists, and love to check them off with a BIG RED PEN.

There is something cathartic about scratching off the items that accumulate on the "to-do" list. Yet, that "to-do" list never seems to have an end... and I swear I hear it laughing at me! There will always be that ever growing "to-do" list on the Allen Family Homestead. Whether it is farm chores, home chores, or family responsibilities,  I have begun to make peace with it. I refuse to let it taunt me!

I have found my secret weapon. In order to tackle the day I must allow for rest and grace in order to be that supermom that I expect myself to be. Resting is not easy for me because I am easily haunted by that never ending "to-do" list. But by giving myself grace, I can rest and refresh. Instead of beating myself up for what I haven't finished, I reassure myself that I worked hard and accomplished what I could with what God gave me for the day. We can be our own worst enemy. We are only human. There are only so many hours in a day. It's okay to give yourself grace!

I realize that even professional jugglers cannot juggle items in the air indefinitely. Without rest their arms would get tired, and the items would crash to the floor shattering anything that was precious. I realize that my high expectations can cause me to feel that I am dropping the balls in the juggle of life. But by giving myself rest and grace, maybe I'm doing okay juggling my daily life after all!

Take time out for a cup of coffee.

Rejuvenate by giving yourself grace as you juggle your everyday!

City Gone Country Girl ~ Jenn Allen

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (NIV)