Happy Anniversary to Living Large in our Little House

The winner of the book, “Green Interior Design,” is Frugal Kiwi! Congratulations, Frugal. You have until 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 26 to email me your full name and snail mail address. fivecoat@ozarkmountains.com The publisher will ship the book when it is released in mid-October.

In some ways I cannot believe it has been exactly one year since I launched Living Large in Our Little House!

In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. Life is like that, I guess.

I’ve blogged about our lives sharing the remote, a bathroom and the general issues that arise putting 4-5 dogs and two adults in less than 500 square feet. I’ve blogged about our efforts to be more environmentally conscious, some of our favorite recipes and about our love for the wildlife here. I’ve also shared some of our trials of living in the country.

I’ve blogged about our dogs and have tried – as any pet parent or parent of kids – not to bore you to death with how cute, smart and cuddly they are to us.

I’ve loved every minute of it.

Here are some of my favorite posts from the past year:

Slumber Party at Campbell Town

The Dogs of Campbell Town

The Dreaded Hunting Season

Welcoming Good Friends to Campbell Town

Dale back to work

Our trip “home” to Kansas City

Why are Children Bored?

And the saddest of all my posts for me:

Missing My Emma

I’ve had a lot of fun with the giveaways and since some of our community found Living Large through the article on Our Little House in Mother Earth News, It is the center of the prize today!

Make a comment on this post before Thursday, August 26 at 5 p.m. CST telling us what your favorite post of the last year (it doesn’t have to be from this list) is AND what you would like to read more about here on Living Large. You will be entered into a drawing for a one-year subscription to Mother Earth News. Sorry, international readers, you have to be a U.S. based resident to win this one. I will draw the winner and announce the name on Friday, August 27. You will have until Monday, August 30 at 5 p.m. CST to contact me with your full name and snail mail address before I draw another winner.

Good luck! Thank you all for reading about our lives here at Our Little House, I look forward to another year!

28 Responses

  1. Mary says:

    Hi Kerri! I’m a new reader and fellow Arkansan. I live with my little dog Mickey in very rural Montgomery county–a few miles from Albert Pike. Mickey and I very comfortably live in a little cabin of about 600 sq ft–only gets a little crowded when the daughters and grandkids come for a visit. I am fortunate to still have my 80 year old mom and 92 year old stepdad who live next door. I have a long family history in this area and moved here from OK City area in 1992. I hope you have many happy years in your new home! I’m enjoying catching up on your adventures. As hunting season nears I really appreciate your post on hunting. Even though I live near a state hwy I hear so many gunshots near by I’m almost afraid to take Mickey out. I always wear orange or bright colors when I go out–in my own acre of yard! Congratulations on one year–I look forward to many great posts!

    • Kerri says:

      Welcome, Mary, I’m so glad you found our Living Large community! I’ve never been to Albert Pike. There are so many things we need to see in this state!
      While I love fall, I was just thinking the other day that the dreaded hunting season will also be upon us soon. We even put reflective collars on the dogs, although they aren’t out at night if we can avoid it. Looking forward to reading more about you and Mickey!

  2. Kathy says:

    I’ve enjoyed reading your posts and am happy to have found your blog. I really could relate to “Our Trip Home to Kansas City.” We moved 21 years ago from Southern California to Boise, Idaho and would often travel back to visit relatives. We would all gasp at the blanket of smog that greeted us and I would comment I was going to kiss the ground at the Idaho border where the air was clean and the skies so blue.

    • kerri says:

      I’m happy you found the blog too, Kathy! Oh, I bet the differences from Southern Calif. to Idaho are astounding. True culture shock!

  3. Debbie says:

    I’ve only been reading for a short while but sure have enjoyed it! I’m fascinated with small houses and have been for quite a while. I enjoy simple, frugal living so I’ve enjoyed being here. I’ll have to sit down on a rainy day also and catch up! I’m in Oklahoma and we haven’t had many rainy days for a while. 🙂 Happy Anniversary!

    • kerri says:

      I’m glad you found us, Debbie! We haven’t had any rainy days here in Arkansas since August 8. We’re needing some rain now. You’ll have plenty of bad days in the fall/winter to catch up. Happy Hunting the Archives!

  4. Kim says:

    I don’t need a subscription to MEN; just wanted to say congrats on the anniversary!

    I think my favorite post this year was the one where Dale got a position again at his previous employer; I knew you all were in a real tight spot, and I was so thankful to hear that a solution had been provided for you.

  5. Frugal Kiwi says:

    Woo-hoo! I’ve sent you my contact details and look forward to the book when it comes out. Congrats on the anniversary, I’ve enjoyed the journey so far.

  6. V Schoenwald says:

    Congratulations on your blog and more sucess this following year(s) to come.
    I have throughly enjoyed your blog and wonderful literary skills. If I did not get Mother Earth News, I would of never found you.
    Wishing more sucess for your blog.

    Regards,
    Vicki S

  7. Kristi says:

    I am so glad I found your site. Picking a favorite post would be like picking a favorite child. Just wrong.

    Congratulations on your Blogaversary!

    • kerri says:

      Thank you very much, Kristi! I’m glad you found Living Large as well! You’re very diplomatic on the posts. 🙂

  8. Jenny says:

    Congratulations! I haven’t been reading the whole year, but am planning a trip back through the archives on the next rainy afternoon. I love your dog posts the best, being owned by a Labradoodle myself!

  9. Heather says:

    Congratulations on your one year anniversary. I hope this is just the beginning of what you’re going to do with this blog. My favorite post is “The Dogs of Campbell Town” as I have two of my own.

    As an aside: The 33 miners trapped in Chile are residing in the same small space you are – 500 square feet. Imagine what that would be like.

  10. MarthaandMe says:

    I already subscribe to Mother Earth News, so don’t enter me. I just wanted to say happy anniversary. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog. In the beginning it was curiosity about how you could stand to live in such a tiny space, but I learned so much from your posts about being environmentally friendly and I feel like part of your family. Thanks for a great blog!

    • kerri says:

      Thank YOU very much for your blog as well! I’ve learned a lot about cooking. You’ve introduced us to whole new tastes in our diet!

  11. Margo says:

    Congratulations Kerri! I think my favorite post was about your Cookie Sheet Cabinet. It came at a time when I was trying to convince my brother (the remodeler) that the little space at the end of the kitchen cabinets should not be boxed in like useless air space, that it really could serve a purpose. I persisted and got the space! While the kitchen is still “in-process”, I think about writing my own Cookie Sheet Cabinet post for my blog (in the future of course. . .if the kitchen ever gets finished)!

  12. Susan says:

    I hope we will get to enjoy many more anniversaries of Living Large in Our Little House. Keep up the good work. Please enter me for the Mother Earth News.

  13. Alexandra says:

    I cannot believe your blog is only one year old! It seems so much more established than that. I always enjoy reading and so it’s really impossible to give you one post I liked better than the others. Of course I especially like the posts about being green, but find the whole concept of living in a small space fascinating and am always curious to see what you will have to say on benefits and disadvantages of sharing that space with Dale.

    • kerri says:

      Thanks, Alexandra. It does feel like I’ve been doing this forever – and not in a bad way – it’s just that I’ve become so familiar with it and the community here! It’s the readers who make it so worthwhile! Thanks to you and everyone!

  14. Rhonda Mock says:

    My most favorite article of yours was “Our Trip “Home” to Kansas City” It’s true, you CAN go home but it is never the same. I drove past our old house in Nashville once and it was so much smaller than I remembered it.

    As far as anything else……I have enjoyed all of your articles, Kerri. You are an excellent writer.