Nettlesome Life Blog

How to Celebrate the Summer Solstice with Herbs and Ritual
How to Celebrate the Summer Solstice with Herbs and Ritual
How to Celebrate the Summer Solstice with Herbs & Ritual Celebrating the summer solstice may sound a little “woo woo,” but really it’s a celebration of life — of the... Read more...
oatmeal soap on a cutting board with text overlay
How to Transition Your Skincare from Winter to Spring
Winter lingers on the skin longer than we expect Even as the days grow brighter, our skin often carries the effects of winter a little longer. Dry air, indoor heat,... Read more...
Orange & Cardamom Dark Chocolate Bark Recipe
Orange Cardamom Dark Chocolate Bark Recipe
Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is one of the worlds most loved spices! Where would Christmas breads and pastries and Indian and south east asian food be with out this delicious carminative... Read more...
Easy Ways to Celebrate Winter Solstice
Easy Ways to Celebrate Winter Solstice
Here in Northern Utah the days are getting so short! The sun goes down by 5pm and it is dark not long after that. These short days mean one especially... Read more...
Herbal Chocolate Bark Recipes
Herbal Chocolate Bark Recipes
4 Herbal Chocolate Bark Recipes If you want to bring a dessert to your holiday gatherings that will have everyone “ooing and ahhing” bring one or all four of these... Read more...
cup on hot chocolate with a spoon in it on a wooden table with
Herbal Raw Cacao Hot Chocolate Mixes
As I write this it’s snowing outside, the first snow of the season. Cold weather, playing in the snow and spending a good hour or more as an adult shoveling... Read more...
full plates of food on a holiday table
How to prep your digestive system for eating large meals
American Thanksgiving is right around the corner, along with Solstice, Christmas, New Years, and all the other winter traditions. I love cooking for these big feast days. But I don't... Read more...
Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
Did you know that the spices in pumpkin spice are actually really great for your digestion? That’s right, pumpkins spice is good for you, if it’s made from the real... Read more...
“How do I grow my own food and be self-sufficient?”
“How do I grow my own food and be self-sufficient?”
“How do I grow my own food and be self-sufficient?” This was a recent question posed to me by a newsletter reader. To be honest, those are two enormous tasks.... Read more...
Summer Sun Tea: Rose, Apple, Hibiscus
Summer Sun Tea: Rose, Apple, Hibiscus
Note: I am not a medical professional, all the information below is for educational purposes only. Please do further research if you have questions. One of my most popular recipes... Read more...
What does sustainable living mean?
What does sustainable living mean?
What does sustainable mean? Sustainable: able to continue at the same level for a period of time. ~ Cambridge dictionary Sustainable: To create and maintain conditions, under which humans and... Read more...
snow on oak trees
Tips for Enjoying Winter Adventures
I have this completely un-scientific theory that the season you were born in tends to influence the season you like to get out and explore the world in the most.... Read more...
hazelnuts juniper berries on melted chocolate on baking paper
Juniper & Hazelnut Chocolate Bark
Happy New Year! I know it’s already the middle of January, but time flies when you have soap to make. The new year is a great time to explore new... Read more...
Nectarine Bitters Recipe
Nectarine Bitters Recipe
Bitter, the last thing that most humans want to hear, especially children. We are hardwired to avoid foods that taste bitter as a survival mechanism. Last thing you want to... Read more...
strawberries in a colander
Two Ways to Preserve a Strawberry Harvest
Strawberry season is in full swing here! There are a hundred ways to preserve strawberries, some of my favorites are freezing, drying, and turning them into fruit leather. Strawberries are... Read more...
10 Important Traditional Skills
10 Important Traditional Skills
10 Important Traditional Skills for Modern Living Updated 2026 The year I graduated from college I realized I had very few real life skills and a whole lot of time... Read more...
feet in sneaker surrounded by fall colored leaves
Five Easy Ways to Celebrate the Fall Equinox
Whether you call it Fall or Autumn, this season of the year is spectacular. The days are still warm-ish while the nights and mornings are cool. Kitchens across the northern... Read more...
half gallon glass jar with herbs and water inside sitting on a table in a garden
Rose and Hibiscus Summer Sun Tea
We are entering the dog days of summer. The temperature has been hovering around 98-100 degrees, with those kinds of temperatures I let the sun do some of the tea... Read more...
Blackberry & Thyme Muffin Recipe
Blackberry & Thyme Muffin Recipe
Muffins are my go to, easy, homemade breakfast food. There are a gazillion different ways you can make a muffin. Whole wheat, vegan, naturally sweetened, more of a cupcake than... Read more...
Rose and Damiana Chocolate Bark
Rose and Damiana Chocolate Bark
I was experimenting recently with different flavor combinations for an herbal tea for my daughter when I came upon my stash of damiana powder. Daminana (Turnera diffusa) a not so... Read more...
Why Winter Hiking Season in Northern Utah is the Best
With winter comes time for outdoor play. In the summer I am so busy gardening and harvesting and processing food that much of my time outdoor is spent working rather than in leisure. But winter is here and so is the snow and my snow shoes are by the door along with my Traks walking over ice ground. Every chance I get, I bundle up and get outside. Sometimes it will be a gorgeous sunny day and other times it will be snowy and dark. Some of my favorites times... Read more...
Making a Woad Dye
Making a Woad Dye
Late spring, early summer is woad season. Isatis tinctoria is considered a noxious, invasive weed in Utah and so I figured this year I would use it to try and... Read more...
My thoughts about the coming of winter
What is Autumn? I was walking with a friend in the woods the other day and he casually said, “Autumn is such a sad season, everything is coming to an end.” I thought about this for a moment. Is it really sad? What exactly is ending? After a moment or two of thinking and walking in silence I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t sad at all. It was a time to slow down after the rush and chaos of summer harvest and food preservation. I enjoy the the... Read more...
The Simple Life Is a Myth — Why the Nettlesome Path Is Better
“The Simple Life” Is a phrase that often gets tossed around in the homesteading/DIY/back-to-the-land crowd. I certainly used the term back in the day when I was just starting my journey down this road, towards something that could be called a crafty-resilient-connected-life. The lifestyle that many of us aspire to is anything but simple. The standard consumerist lifestyle is much simpler, you can get everything your heart desires at the click of a button. Mindless consumption to me is a shallow way to live, I prefer a not so simple,... Read more...

Seasonal Living

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