Hi Friends!
Welcome in! We’re so excited that you dropped by! The Floral Abode is a place where we will be sharing our journeys as homemakers striving to live simple lives in a world were we are encouraged to do the opposite. We know it can be difficult and overwhelming when it feels like the world is against you so we decided to start a community where we can share our own homemaking experiences and encourage you in yours!
Who Are We?
Just two best friends trying to figure out how to navigate life together. We met in high school and lived together the first two years after we graduated, (until McKenzie got married). Now McKenzie lives in her first home with her husband Jayden, and Rachel lives with one of her sisters and two other roommates in a rental house. Though we’re both in very different seasons of life, we love learning how we can both still live out the same calling to be homemakers. We both have a passion for simple living and biblical homemaking, and love sharing the things we learn about with other people.
“About Us”
Rachel
Hi I’m Rachel! Growing up I adored the Little House on the Prairie book series and dreamed of one day living in my own small farmhouse with lots of kids and animals running around. Sadly that is still a dream and not a reality, but I’ve learned to take the life I’ve been given and make it look as close to that dream as I can. I am currently working as a nanny, and pursuing a life long dream of breeding Scotch Collies. I also love baking and own a small baked goods business. In my spare time “when I happen to have it” I love spending time in nature or thrifting at my local antique shops. A fun fact about me is I’m always cold, so half of my life is spent wrapped in blankets with a warm drink in my hand. I am very passionate about making houses feel like homes, and living naturally. Give me essential oils and organic products over chemicals and artificial food any day! Homemaking as a young single girl is such a challenge and an adventure and I am excited to share what I’m learning with you through The Floral Abode.
McKenzie
Hey, I’m McKenzie! I’ve become increasingly passionate about homemaking and living naturally and sustainably over the last decade. You can read more about this in our About Us blog post, but Jesus really had to heal my heart and remind me who He made me to be. As a kid, I shamelessly lived out my passions and could often be found playing games of “house” or “mom” in the forrest or yard.
Right now, I work from home full-time and am learning how to be a homemaker and wife while doing so. I’m married to an amazing man named Jayden and we’re eagerly expecting our first little one. I love to garden and learn to cook new things. Jayden and I can often be found reading a series of books together or talking about interesting podcasts.
A couple of quirky facts about me are that I love lists a lot (you’ll find them in plenty of my posts) and I tend to act like a bit of an old lady. I’m very passionate about making my home a place where I can welcome people into an environment centered on Christ and full of life and color. Don’t get me wrong, I love order and a clean house as much as the next person, but I’ll take sweet kids, friends, and pets running around over unchipped paint and stainless rugs any day!
I can’t wait to continue this adventure with all of you and share all the fun (and sometimes the less fun) stories along the way!
Have you ever felt as though the busyness of the modern world is too much? Or that the hustling, businesswoman culture is confining in ways others don’t understand? That taking care of the home is more satisfying and rewarding than a 9-5 job ever could be? Well, you’re definitely not alone! Modern-day culture tries to tell women that we have to be working outside the home and competing alongside men in the workforce in order to be successful and happy. I don’t know about you, but for us working outside the home is exhausting and painful in ways that go deeper than our feet aching after a long day. We feel the most accomplished and happy when we are in our own homes, creating the atmosphere we would want to come home to. Finding that special decor piece that completes a room, meal prepping, and organizing the house to fit the needs of all household members. Those are the things that make us feel fulfilled and accomplished. We thrive when able to live slowly and create a peaceful home that welcomes family, friends, and strangers alike.
Unfortunately, we grew up feeling like society tells us to suppress our femininity so we can “keep up” with the men. So much so that it’s difficult to define femininity these days. But our world misses out on so much when we force women into a way of life they weren’t designed for. Women are made for so much more than just gaining promotions and competing against men and other women to see who can be the most “successful.” Just to be clear, we have nothing against women who choose to be in the workforce and have worked hard to earn their positions. In fact, we currently have full-time jobs ourselves! We admire anyone who follows the calling God has for them, whatever that may look like. But businesswomen or not, we do believe we were created for more than just our worldly jobs. We were created to live out and create beauty. There is a reason that for centuries since the beginning of time, women have been associated with beauty. We were made to abide in beauty and peace and to share that with those around us.
There is so much in our world that can represent the essence of a woman, but one of our favorites is the flower. For ages, flowers have symbolized femininity, love, peace, and lasting beauty. Flowers come in all different kinds, sizes, and colors. Just like women. Being feminine doesn’t mean you have to fit a certain mold, dress a certain way, or have a certain personality. Instead, every flower is unique and special and displays a different kind of beauty than the flower next to it. But whether it’s a rose, a dandelion, a lily, or a bluebonnet, every flower has its own kind of beauty. Because of this, it lights up the atmosphere around it, making its surroundings more beautiful and peaceful. Women were made to use what God put inside of each of us to make our surroundings more beautiful and peaceful too.
The purpose of The Floral Abode is to create a community of women who want to pursue this calling to abide in beauty and peace in order to create beautiful lives for ourselves and those around us. From homemaking to lifestyle, health, and more, we pray The Floral Abode encourages you to live out your calling
Welcome to The Floral Abode! We hope you decide to stay awhile!
