I can’t wait to introduce to this week’s guest! She’s one of the cutest, most inspiring and fun people on the internet who always leaves you with a smile. KariAnne Wood is the creator of Thistlewood Farms blog where she gives lots of fun, practical and economical tips about home decor and she also shares parts of her story. KariAnne and her husband took their four kids and jumped from everything they knew and loved in the Dallas, TX, area over a decade ago, to a place where they didn’t even have one stoplight in the whole county! They wanted to raise their kids away from materialism and in the country. This led to her creating the blog and she shares the hilarious story of her first blog post that will help you understand why she’s so loved. She shares in this episode that she believes Jesus takes our brokenness and He writes the chapters of our stories better than we could ever imagine or even think and shows just how God keeps doing that in her life. She also teaches us some of her favorite tips on finding the best thrift decor and tops it all off with the best advice she was ever given (it was from her dad). There’s so much good stuff and we laugh a lot in this episode. I know you’ll have a brighter day after listening!
Quotes From KariAnne
“We took our four kids and jumped from everything that we knew and loved to a place where they didn’t even have astoplight in the entire county!”
“Don’t worry about making mistakes. I’ll go first. I’ll make all the mistakes and then I’ll straighten it all out and then I’ll show y’all how to do it!”
“I think [Jesus] takes our brokenness and He makes something and writes chapters of our stories better than we could ever imagine or even think.”
“There is always going to be somebody ahead of you on the journey and there is always going to be somebody behind you on the journey. The people ahead of you have challenges, the people behind you have challenges. Your role and your job in life is to embrace right where you are on your journey and be present in that moment and be grateful in that moment that you have that moment. That you find satisfaction in where you are and let that serve as contentment for you… Always remember, this is your journey. These are your steps and be there for every step of the way and find contentment right where you’re at.” – the best advice KariAnne ever received, and it was from her dad
Resources and Links
You can find KariAnne and all of her amazing ideas at ThistlewoodFarms.com. And if you’d like to order her book, So Close to Amazing: Stories of a DIY Life Gone Wrong and Learning to Find the Beauty in Every Imperfection (which we talked about in the episode) you can order it here.
I also mentioned the wonderful book, The Power of Place by Daniel Grothe, in this episode and the fantastic Palmer’s Skin Therapy Oil I found on KariAnne’s What I Bought Wednesday on her Thistlewood Farm Facebook Page
And if you’d like to check out our sponsor, Confidence Coffee Supply, you can click on this link. If you’re interested in supporting them, you can also go to this site and click on the Partner With Us tab.
KariAnne’s Top Five Tips on Finding the Best Thrift Finds
- Be consistent. She went every single Saturday to yard sales and then to thrift shops.
- Don’t look at just the color. A lot of times things can be painted. Look at the lines, size, depth and quality of the piece.
- Look for sales. A lot of thrift stores will have sales on certain days. Restore is a great place to find deals.
- Make friends with the salespeople and let them know what you’re looking for. Sometimes they’ll have things in the back you won’t know about.
- Don’t get so fixated on one thing you’re looking for that you miss other bargains. Go into yard sales and thrift stores with an open mind and you’ll better see the possibilities that are there.
Listen to Her Family’s Amazing Jump Story with KariAnne Wood https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24280575