Homemaker Portrait | Hollie Carnahan - The Art of Home: A Podcast for Homemakers

Episode Transcript
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Allison (00:00):
Have you faced unexpected circumstances in your

(00:02):
homemaking journey? In today'sepisode we will hear from a
homemaker who found herselfunexpectedly challenged and
delighted in her practice of theart of home. Hello, homemakers.
Welcome to the art of homepodcast where we are exploring
how homemakers cultivate a placeto belong. I'm your host Allison

(00:23):
Weeks. I'm a wife, a mom of fourgrown kids and I've been a
homemaker for over 29 years. Ifyou are a regular listener,
welcome back. If you've justfound us, we are so glad you're
here. The Art of Home exists toprovide encouragement and
inspiration for women topractice the occupation of
homemaking as an art withconfidence and skill, joy and

(00:43):
creativity. It's our desire toelevate the work of the home in
the eyes of the homemaker and ofthe culture. We believe that
homemaking practiced as an artexchanges drudgery for dignity,
and brings beauty and greatvalue to the ordinary tasks of
life. In today's homemakerportrait, we're talking with my
friend Hollie Carnahan about herhomemaking journey. Hollie has

(01:04):
been keeping a home since shewas married in 1995. She and her
husband have raised twodaughters and now Holly runs a
small business out of her home.
While she had lots of dreams andideas about what homemaking was
going to look like. Hollie'sstory of home brought some
unexpected challenges and someunexpected gifts. She did not
expect to struggle quite so muchwith her first baby. Nor did she

(01:25):
expect the challenges of movingfrom her home state to a very
different environment. And shewas pleasantly surprised with
the unexpected blessing ofhomeschooling. Like every story
of home Hollie's is filled withups and downs with triumphs and
failures. She's been stretchedby the unexpected and has
learned how to embrace the everchanging landscape of homemaking

(01:46):
with joy. So whether you'rechanging the sheets or cleaning
out the hamster cage, we hopeyou enjoy Hollie's story of
home.
I'm with my friend Hollie todayand Hollie, before we go back to
the beginning of your homemakerstory, why don't you tell us a
little bit about who you aretoday.

Hollie (02:05):
Okay,well, I'm a wife and a mom. And I have two
beautiful daughters and a son inlaw. And as far as career I have
been a cosmetologist, a dentalhygienist, a homeschool mom, a
calligrapher and hand letterer,and then also sugar cookie

(02:26):
artist.

Allison (02:27):
So let's go back to the beginning. When did you first
become a homemaker?

Hollie (02:32):
In 1995, when my husband and I got married, that's when I
first became a homemaker.

Allison (02:38):
How about skills? When you moved in with your husband?
You guys are newlyweds. Did youhave a skill set that you
brought with you? Or did youhave to learn on the job?

Hollie (02:49):
I think I kind of learned on the job. I think I
was really interested in in likereading books and trying to
learn how to be you know, moreorganized in the home. So I
definitely, I did have alearning curve. As far as being
a homemaker.

Allison (03:09):
What was your learning curve?

Hollie (03:12):
I would say, balance.
Balanced because in the firstfew years of our marriage, I
worked full time while myhusband was in med school. And
so you know, working full timeand then just keep and it was an
apartment. It was small, but youknow, just working full time
keeping the apartment clean andthe groceries you know, and
dinner and all that. I mean, itwas I did have a learning curve.

(03:34):
I got it down after a while. ButI do remember.

Allison (03:40):
Do you remember it being a challenge? Yeah, yeah
Was this really your first timeyou had your own home space? Or
had you have a space in collegethat was just yours?

Hollie (03:50):
This was my first time I went from my parents home to the
wedding day. With my husband.
Yeah. So I never never lived onmy own. I lived at home when I
went to college. And so yeah, Iwent, I've never lived alone.
That was a big, that was a bigadjustment. .

Allison (04:09):
So who did you learn from? or What did you use as a
resource, while you're in themidst of you know, being a mom,
or being a wife for the firsttime and needing to understand
how to do that? Well, or evenwhen you became a mom, who did
you learn from?

Hollie (04:23):
I definitely remember learning a lot from other women
about being a wife and being ahomemaker. And I think it
definitely helped me and I'm sothankful for those women who
spoke those, you know, thosetruths and those encouraging
words into my life when wheneverI was a young wife, yeah,

Allison (04:44):
yeah, that really makes a big difference. So let's talk
about balance for a little bit.
Did you ever work outside thehome? I know you just said you
were working full time when youwere first married. So did you
continue to work? What was yourexperience in that and what kind
of challenges that that presentto your home making

Hollie (05:00):
Yes, for the first four years of our marriage, I did
work outside the home, I was adental hygienist and I worked
full time when my husband washusband was in med school, and
then the beginning of hisresidency. And then when I had
my first baby, the plan wasalways that I would be able to

(05:26):
stay home with the baby. And soI definitely did that when I had
my first child, I stayed home.
And then there was a time afterthat when she was a little bit
older. And I had a friend whooffered to watch my, my
daughter, because she had a babythe same age. And she was like,

(05:47):
you know, I would love to watchher if you ever want to work,
because as a dental hygienist,you can temp, it's really easy
to do temp jobs for dentist. Andso I started working like one
day a week. I remember for ashort while. And it actually did
bring some challenges, becausemy husband had a very rigorous

(06:11):
schedule, he had to be at thehospital really, really early.
And he was usually there reallylate. And so like taking the
baby dropping the baby offdriving back, you know, to the
dental office, and it was just,I just remember it being a
challenge. And then wheneverMackenzie would be sick, she

(06:32):
would have a cold. And you know,when they're when they're little
like that they get a lot ofcolds. And so there were times
that I had to call in and sayI'm sorry, my child has 102
fever. So I mean it for me,there were challenges trying to
work just part time. I know I'mI hear stories of many women

(06:52):
that do it very, very well. Inour situation, it just wasn't
ideal. And so my husband had avery demanding job. So I didn't
work after my second baby. Andthen I stayed home. And then I
actually started homeschoolingthem. So I homeschooled for 13
years. My youngest justgraduated from high school.

(07:16):
Well, a year and a half ago,because she just started her
sophomore year in college. Andso yeah, pretty much been at
home with the kids, for the mostpart.

Allison (07:32):
So you homeschooled your girls all the way through?

Hollie (07:35):
Well, my oldest went to public kindergarten. And then at
our church that we were going tothey had a Christian school. So
for her first grade year, shewent to Christian school at our
church, then we had to move toPhiladelphia for my husband to
do a fellowship. And so she didgo to public school in the

(08:00):
Philadelphia area for her secondgrade year. And I just, it
didn't, it didn't go super well,I remember, we had just, it's
kind of hard to explain it wasit was just a different culture
for us to be there. And Iremember just feeling the call

(08:23):
to do something different. Andso we looked into Christian
Schools. And we also looked intoit for our youngest Taylor
because she would be going intokindergarten. And so we are
number interviewing at someChristian Schools there in the
Philadelphia area. So it wasgoing to be tuition times two,
and we just weren't going to beable to pull it off. And so we

(08:44):
prayed about it for like twoweeks, my husband and I prayed
about it, because we were justthinking, well, maybe we should
go ahead and do public schoolhere again in Philly. And and
then it was, I was doing mydevotional morning reading the
Bible. And it was like the Lordsaid, well, it's not just public
school or private school as youronly options. You can homeschool

(09:08):
them. And I remember that firstmorning just thinking, oh, oh,
my goodness, I could and I hadfriends in the past that had
homeschooled but I was alwaysthe one like, Oh, I could never
do that. I'm just not cut outfor that. That's great for you.
But it's not for me. And butthis morning was different that
that morning was different. AndI just my heart was just full.

(09:30):
And I was like, Yes, Lord. I'lldo it. If that's what you want
me to do. I'll do it. And Iremember walking down the hall
to my husband's office. He wasat home that morning working.
And I was a little bit nervousabout what you know what he
would say. And when I said, Ithink I want to homeschool the
kids and he said I think that'sgreat. And so, um, wow, I had

(09:51):
friends that had done it. So Iwas able to reach out to some
people just to talk about likecurriculum and things like that.
So cool.

Allison (09:59):
Well You began homeschooling, you are not
living in your native land. Yousaid you're in Philly. And I'm
sure that was a huge adjustment.
And I think we're going to talkabout that later. But how did
adding homeschooling to theequation of homemaking create
challenges for you if you canremember?

Hollie (10:16):
As far as challenges at this moment, I cannot remember a
lot of negative challenges withthat I'm sure I will, as I talk,
but I want to talk about thepositives. I just remember, when
we started homeschooling inPhiladelphia, it was like, I got
my kids back. And when I saythat, because Mackenzie would

(10:38):
come home from school every day.
And usually, within 10 minutesof being home, she was crying
about something, she was tired.
She was she had to do homework.
And in second grade, I remembertwo to three hours of homework
each night. I remember trying towork with her on this new math.

(10:58):
Gosh, you know, whenever you'rethe parent, and you're looking
at your kids homework, andthey're in second grade, and
you're thinking, I don't evenknow how to help you like what's
wrong with this, you know, but Imean, we made it through I just
know, it was a difficult, it wasa difficult year. And, you know,
she was gone all day. And I feltlike at the end of the day, I

(11:21):
truly got like her leftovers. Igot tired, irritable, and then
all of the social issues of theplayground of the whole day, and
just all this stuff. And when westarted homeschooling, I just
remember the days that we wouldspend together and the field

(11:41):
trips that we took, we would goto this colonial plantation, the
girls got to see sheep shearing,and dyeing wool and
candlemaking. Because that isthat area is so rich in our you
know, our heritage and ourcountry. And we went and saw the
Liberty Bell, and there was justso much to do is it was a great

(12:03):
first year of homeschooling. Andthey do look back on it and say
that was such a fun year. And wemostly would get all of our
school done by like 12 o'clock,maybe one. And so we would just
get our stuff done in themornings. And then I just
remember also, we got into thisreally good habit tradition of

(12:23):
in the afternoon, we would walkdown the road from our house was
a little it wasn't a gas stationwas a convenience store, but it
was called wall wall. And theymade homemade pretzels, and not
the kind that you see here. Likethe Andes, these were circle
that like eight, they wereshaped like an eight oh my

(12:45):
goodness, and they were the bestchoosiest most wonderful
pretzels, the best salt. And sothese were really popular in the
Philadelphia area. And so wewould walk down, and one of us
would usually get a pretzel ortwo of us. And then I learned
about iced coffee back then atwall wall. And that's when I

(13:06):
started drinking iced coffee inthe afternoon. I remember that.
But um, yeah, it was a cutestore. And they had, you know,
milkshakes and fun things. Sothere were many days during the
afternoon during the week thatwe would just go for a walk down
the road and then come back. Alot of people walked up and down
that area, it was a really nicearea for walking. So I have a

(13:26):
lot of really good memories ofthat first year of
homeschooling, I think maybe oneof the challenges that we faced
was making sure that they hadsocial connections. And so I
reached out. I can't rememberexactly now how I found out
about it. But there was aChristian school that offered

(13:49):
homeschoolers the opportunity tocome to their art classes. So I
signed both of my girls up andthey went every week into an art
classes at this school. And thenI met a couple other moms that
were there to take their kids.
And so they were another mom hadtwo daughters around the same

(14:10):
age. And so we pretty much madeinstant friends that way, so
that's cool. Yeah. All right. So

Allison (14:17):
How about scheduling and balancing all the things
that need to get done? It can bea huge obstacle in homemaking.
And then you add homeschoolinginto the mix of that. So how
about you? How did you how didyou get it all done? Or not?

Hollie (14:36):
Well, I definitely had schedules written out for the
girls. They would have theirwhole day planned out with their
subjects. I always like for themto do like math in the morning
and you know, little things likethat. So we had our our schedule
written out, especially for theacademics. And then we also had

(14:57):
chores you know, through the dayUm, I will say this, I learned
pretty quickly. I know there'sdifferent styles that moms lean
toward. And I tried somethingcalled Moff. It's like managers
of the home is what it wascalled. And they wanted you to
schedule your day down. I'm notkidding you to like the five

(15:20):
minute intervals. And I triedthat, and I could not stand it.
And so I it caused me moreanxiety. Yeah. Because I was
like, I was failing all thetime. I'm like, girls were
supposed to be, you know, yeah.
And so I learned pretty quicklythat I prefer order of events.
So I'm the way that I would liketo the way I planned our day,

(15:43):
and mostly the way we would wewould roll was, you know, let's
do these things in order. Andthen, you know, we would get
through the day. And becausethings are too tight and too
rigid. It causes me anxiety, Ijust can't like I don't like to
function that way.

Allison (16:02):
And that applied as well to the tasks of the home.
You know, you obviously you saidyou had your girls doing chores.
So you recruited them ashelpers, yes. And trained them.
And then just getting it alldone. Did you have particular
days, some people like toestablish a rhythm where they
have, you know, Mondays we dothis and Tuesdays, we do this as
far as getting the homemakingtasks done? Was that something

(16:24):
you typically did or you werelooser?

Hollie (16:26):
You know, I don't specifically remember certain
days that we did certain things,I seem like Monday's were a day
that, that I was focused on.
asking them to get their laundrytogether and trying to start the
week off, like, clean as cleanas can be. Yeah, I do. Remember,
I started my girls fairly youngwith their own laundry. I was in

(16:51):
a group at that time that Igleaned a lot of wisdom from
other moms, who were homemakers,and homeschoolers. And one of
the moms shared with us that oneof the best things that you can
do as a mom is to work yourselfout of a job. And she would say

(17:11):
you do not want to do everythingfor your child until they turn
18 because you're doing adisservice to them. And so she
even talked about, you know,when they're young, even get it
get a stepping stool to get upon the stepping stool and help
them put their laundry in andthe the soap. And I remember

(17:33):
being a little shocked at firstand all that I was like, you
know that it does make sense. Somy girls were actually fairly
young, whenever they starteddoing their laundry. I mean, I
would say maybe like, they wereprobably like, seven, and nine,
nine or 10. And, and I guess Isay that because I would say if

(17:55):
you want clean clothes, you needto wash them. So as far as like
a certain day, once that wassuccessful, and they knew how to
do it, and they knew that wastheir that was their job. Right?
I was able to do kind of likehands off with that. Yeah, you
know, it wasn't always perfect.
And I'm pretty sure there weretimes that I, I don't have

(18:15):
anything to wear. And I'm like,well, you probably need to do
some laundry.

Allison (18:21):
That's good. Yeah. We often enter homemaking with
certain expectations about whatit's going to look like how it's
all gonna go, how it's gonnafeel. What about you? Did you
have expectations and did yourday to day reality match those
expectations?

Hollie (18:38):
I would say that I did have expectations. And no, they
did not go the way that that Ithought that they would. mainly
for me, I, I always rememberedlooking so forward to having a
family and having my first baby.
And we were definitely planningand the setup was that, you
know, I would work full time.

(19:01):
And then once I had my firstchild that I would stay home.
And so when I had my first baby,that was a very steep learning
curve for me. And I didn'texpect it I didn't is sort of
like surprised me that that itwould just be difficult for me.
I thought everything would justcome naturally. But my first my

(19:23):
first baby. She had troublenursing. She had trouble
latching on, and she wascolicky. So seemed like in the
afternoon all the way tobedtime. She was you know,
irritable and fasting. And so Iwould literally walk around the
living room and nurse her as Ikind of like rocked her up and
down and my husband was aresident at this time. So he had

(19:47):
very long hours. He was gonevery early in the morning came
home late at night. And thenthere were many times that we
actually wouldn't see him for acouple of days because if he was
on call, he'd be at the hospitalor night. So what this led to,
and also my first baby didn'tsleep through the night until

(20:07):
she was like two years old, twoand a half years old. So she was
up multiple times every night.
So the I was tired, I wassleepy, I was sleep deprived.
And I just remember, I justremember being a little
surprised. I was I was thinking,Okay, I thought it was gonna be
a little come a little morenaturally. So that was that was
quite a learning curve for me.

(20:30):
Just it wasn't like I thought itwas going to be so. And then,
you know, I was friends with aseveral other women. We had a
playgroup in our neighborhood.
And that was actually good,because there were several women
and everyone was different. AndI mean, I would see women that
just it was just seemed like, soeasy going, and everything was
just fine. And for a minute, I'dbe like, wait a minute, what's

(20:54):
what's wrong? You know? Yeah,but as I got to know more when
women in the group, and I'mlike, okay, there's other people
that are going through this,too, that are just having this
little bit of more of anadjustment?

Allison (21:05):
Yeah. So probably more often than not the one who just
seems to just be able to do itin their sleep is is the
exception. Yes. rather than therule? I think it was, especially
with that first baby. Yeah. Sowere you tempted towards
comparison at all? in thoseearly years?

Hollie (21:21):
I think so. I think when I would have friends and their
babies slept through the night,oh, yeah. Cuz you know, that's a
season of your life. It's a bigdeal when we get so far removed
when you know when our kids areadults. But when you go back to
those years, when you havebabies, when you hear about your

(21:41):
friend's child that goes tosleep at eight o'clock at night
and sleeps till 7am, the nextmorning, and you think what am I
doing wrong? Surely this issomething I'm doing, you know.
And so, yes, I definitely thinkthat I compared and struggled
and wanted to like, figure out,you know, what was going on? And

(22:04):
what was I doing wrong? I willtell you this. The waking up
multiple times at night, andthen when she was like, two, two
years old, and some months orsomething, um, she was getting
to her, she was crawling out ofher toddler bed. And then when I
would go into her room, she wason the floor crying, you know?

(22:24):
And so we took her to thepediatrician, just to kind of
talk to them and say, Can youhelp us at all, like, she's
still waking up multiple times.
And so I remember thepediatrician telling my husband
and me, he said, it sounds liketo me, she is definitely getting
her fix from you, Mom, becauseyou're going in there, you know,

(22:45):
every night, and she's gettingwhat she's wanting. And so I'm
recommending that y'all switchthis, and let's have dad go in
at night. Let's just see whathappens when that goes in. Yeah.
And so we purposefully plannedfor this, you know that he would
be getting up with her. And ittook about two weeks of daddy

(23:07):
going in there. And and then shestarted sleeping through the
night. Wow. Yeah, took about twoweeks. And then things got so
much better. And then finally, Iwas at the point to where I'd
say, okay, honey, I think I canhave another baby. Because I
always wanted more than one.

(23:27):
Yeah, but I was thinking you'reoverwhelmed. Oh, yeah, I'm not
sleeping. Exactly. And, yeah,it's difficult.

Allison (23:34):
Well, that's good.
That's a really good testimonyto seeking out just, you know,
get a different opinion on thesituation and ask and be
educated and try somethingdifferent. And it's good that we
continually remind ourselvesthat everybody's experience is
going to be different.
Everybody's child is going to bedifferent. Yes, home situation

(23:54):
is different. There's so manyvariations, or so many, there's
so many variables thatcontribute to your unique
situation that you have toconsider so and then I know, we
were going to talk about specialchallenges. I know for you, you
had some challenges also withthe birth of your first child
with postpartum

Hollie (24:12):
Yes,I did. Another thing that I didn't expect was, you
know, after I had my firstchild, I certainly didn't expect
to, well to not sleep for manymonths in a row, and then also
to go through postpartumdepression. So that was a big

(24:34):
struggle for me and to have to,you know, reach out and my
husband said, You know, I wantyou to see someone and I did
and, and so, when my oldest wasnine months old, I was diagnosed
with postpartum depression. Andso I I got treated for that and
it helped me so much and and Iam thankful for that because

(24:57):
this was still in those twoyears of not sleeping through
the night. And so it's tough.
And so I would encourage anyyoung mom that is feeling the
depression that you feel. Talkto someone, talk to your doctor
about it, because there is helpfor it. It's a real thing. Yeah.

(25:18):
And, and there's help.

Allison (25:22):
Yeah. Good. That's a good word.Thank you for sharing
that. Let's talk a little bitabout hospitality. We want to
cultivate a place where peoplefeel like they belong. They're
welcome. They're at home, inour, in our home. We show
hospitality to, obviously toother people that don't live

(25:42):
here, but even to one anotherwithin our, within our family,
how did you create a sense ofwelcome and belonging for your
family members?

Hollie (25:52):
Well, I think about this, and I think hospitality in
creating a sense of welcome andbelonging to both my family and
others has gone throughdifferent seasons over the
years. From like, Friday night,family nights, like on Friday
nights, we had this traditionwith our girls, that we would

(26:15):
order pizza and watch a movietogether. And so thought went
into that, like, what, what arewe going to watch this Friday
night, and, and so that wassomething that the girls were
very accustomed to. And whenthey were young, they enjoyed
it. And then always have an opendoor to our girls, friends, like

(26:37):
neighbor friends, and justsaying they can Yes, they can
come over. Yes, absolutely. Andso we always invited, you know,
their friends to come over. Idon't think there was ever The
only time that if someone cameif the girls hadn't finished
their schoolwork or something,like when they're done with
their schoolwork or somethinglike that, you know, right. And
then as they got older, likewith boyfriends, and things like

(26:59):
that, we we always wanted themto bring their boyfriends over.
Yeah, come on over. And. Andthen also with like, our church
community, we for years, we'vebeen involved in different home
groups and life groups. And sowe've hosted many, many groups

(27:21):
in our home for life group, andthings like that, just opening
our home for gatherings likethat. So different seasons,
different examples, and, andthen they change over time how
how we do that. And also,something I like to do,
especially, I think, over thelast year and a half, but

(27:42):
really, I think I've been doingit for years, but I love to drop
things off on my neighbor'sporches. So I'll just surprise
people and put a little bag ofcookies on porches on my
neighbor's. And I just thinkit's thoughtful. And I just like
to do that. So I think that'sanother example of hospitality,

(28:02):
even though they're not in yourhome. You're bringing
hospitality to them.

Allison (28:06):
Yes, I would love for you to drop a bag of cookies off
of my door because they arebeautiful cookies. And we will
have links to all your businessinformation in the show notes so
people can take a look at that.
And maybe order some cookiesfrom you. Yeah, they taste just
as good as they look. I willtell you that I've had them.

(28:28):
We will get back to Hollie'sstory in just a few minutes. Now
it's time for historicalhomemaker hints. Yep, that's the
part of the podcast where wehighlight some of the helpful
and not so helpful hints doledout to homemakers throughout
history. Today's hints come fromthe American frugal housewife in
1833 homemakers guide by Mrs.
Child. While I'm a huge fan ofhoney and beeswax I do not keep

(28:51):
bees. However, if I ever chanceto get my hands on some large
pieces of honey comb, I mighthave to try this hint. The
neatest way to separate wax fromhoneycomb is to tie the comb up
in a linen or woolen bag, placeit in a kettle of cold water and
hang it over the fire. As thewater heats, the wax melts and
rises to the surface. While allthe impurities remain in the

(29:13):
bag. It is well to put a fewpebbles in the bag to keep it
from floating. Honey may beseparated from the comb by
placing it in the hot sun orbefore the fire with two or
three colanders or seives, eachfiner than the other under it.
On second thought maybe I'lljust leave it to the
professionals and buy somereally great local honey and
beeswax candles. Mrs. child hasideas on saving money at the

(29:38):
pharmacy. Just let your pantrybe your medicine cabinet. A
poultice of wheat bran or ryeBran and vinegar very soon takes
down the inflammation occasionedby a sprain. brown paper wet is
healing to a bruise dipped inmolasses It is said to take down
inflammation. Okay, I'm not sureabout The wheat bran and

(29:59):
molasses which I think would bea really sticky first aid. I do
know that vinegar particularlyapple cider vinegar has long
been used for medicinalpurposes. When I was a child and
we got our annual beech sunburn,my grandmother would make us
take a vinegar bath to ease thepain. So to my childish nose, I
imagined the entire bathtub wasfull of vinegar. Now I know it
was probably a cup or twodiluted in the bath water, but

(30:22):
it stunk it was just atrocioussmelling. It did help with the
pain however, and you reallydon't go around smelling like
vinegar for very long afterwardbecause it evaporates off your
skin. I don't know what it is inthe vinegar that helps the burn
but it really did help. Andfinally, do you have an
abundance of garden tomatoes?

(30:42):
Mrs child has a ketchup recipefor you. The best sort of
ketchup is made from tomatoes.
Well what else would it be madefrom? The vegetables should be
squeezed up in the hand salt putto them and set by for 24 hours
after being passed throughreceive cloves all spice pepper
mace garlic and whole mustardseed should be added. It should
be boiled down 1/3 and bottledafter it is cool. No liquid is

(31:06):
necessary as the tomatoes arevery juicy. a good deal of salt
and spices necessary to keep theketchup well. It is delicious
with roast meat and a cup fulladds much to the richness of
soup and chowder. The garlicshould be taken out before it is
bottled. I've never made my ownketchup. But I have made tomato
jam and it was delightful. It'ssimilar to catch up and that it

(31:28):
has those same warm spices butthe texture is more like a
chutney. I'll link the recipe inthe show notes below. Whichever
you decide to make with yourtomatoes. Please remember to
follow safe canning practices ifyou plan to store them long
term. Ball canning is anexcellent resource with tested
safe recipes. It is possible tosafely canned food at home and

(31:49):
not boys in your family. Keepeverything squeaky clean and
follow that recipe. Well that'sit for today's historical
homemaker hints. As always,please remember, this segment is
for entertainment purposes only.
And I leave it up to you thelistener to determine the safety
and soundness of this advice.
Now back to Hollie's story.

(32:10):
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe seasons of homemaking. How
has your role as a homemakerchanged over time?

Hollie (32:19):
I would say the most evident change for me is I don't
cook as much. Sure so you know,the girls are gone. And when
they were younger, you know, Ijust feel like I I cooked all
the time. And I I do enjoycooking. And then it becomes

(32:41):
there's times where you know,it's just a necessity, it's a
chore, you know, you have to getit done. But it's it's evident
that I do not cook as much nowthat the girls are gone. My
husband Actually, he he doesdifferent eating styles,
sometimes he actually sometimesdoes intermittent fasting. And
so it's just, it's not as muchof a necessity for me to cook.

(33:07):
Right. And so we've actuallytaken advantage of some of the
kits, the meal kits that youorder. Sure, they'll bring in
the fresh, you know, produce andthe fresh poultry and all that
and so I've tried differentthings and, and I really like
those because it just kind oftakes the the planning out of
it. And so my husband I bothwork from home now and I'm

(33:31):
really busy with work on a dailybasis, like all throughout the
day. And when the girls wereyounger, it was like, you know,
I my job was to make sure theywere doing what they were
supposed to be doing. And thenalso While they're doing that I
could be cooking and preppingand all that sure. But my my job
or my my role right now. It'svery different. I'm working

(33:55):
during the day. So in my husbandis glad that I'm able to do that
that I do something I enjoy. Andso he supports me Yeah, in the
decision or the lack of cookingas much he's okay with it. So
yeah, and I and I, I do thingsdifferently with shopping. I
have taken full advantage of hcbdelivery service.It is just

(34:21):
wonderful. And I really like tohit the delivery before dinner
for rotisserie chicken that'sgreat. So yeah, I just don't
cook as much and I am fine withthat.

Allison (34:33):
I I just wish they'd had even just the curbside. I
mean they don't actually deliverout where I live because they
think I live at the lake but Idon't but anyway, just to have
the order ahead and pick up whenI had had little kids when I had
four kids, seven and I didn'ttake taken all these kids at the
grocery store. I can well I canremember when cash what was pea

(34:56):
pod or some of the really earlygrocery delivery services. That
we're an online kind of thingthat was it was only in, you
know, major metropolitan areaslike New York City and maybe
Philadelphia and or LA or placeslike that. And I just would
constantly be searching. Is itanywhere near me? Right? Is it
coming? You know, please. Sothat's been such a blessing even

(35:17):
in the last years. I still alsotake advantage of Yes. It would
have been nice to have, though.
When I was young. Yeah.
What was your most difficulttransition from one season to
another? We kind of we talkedabout that baby, that first
baby, Would you say that's themost difficult?

Hollie (35:35):
Yes, I,part of me thinks about the empty nest the
beginning of that it wasbittersweet. And when my last
daughter left, Oh, I missed herso much. And so there was tears,
and I would go sit on her bedand, and but I'll say it after a

(35:55):
few weeks of getting used to herbeing gone. And then my husband
I like it was almost like datenight every night. And so we
made it through that transitionpretty well. So in comparison, I
still have to go back and say,my, my most difficult season or
transition was having my firstbaby.

Allison (36:17):
And that moved to Philadelphia?

Hollie (36:20):
That was difficult.
Whenever we had to move toPhilly, for my husband to do his
fellowship. Of course, Isupported him and I knew it
would be good for his career.
And, but when we left Texas, Ileft my church, I left my
parents, I left all of myfriends, everything I knew. I

(36:41):
had never left Texas before. Soand it's a different
environment. Oh, yeah. EastCoast, in the Philly area. And
we were just a really tight knitfamily there. It was like the
four of us. Yeah, we did end upfinding a good church. And I was
so thankful for that. But yeah,that was it was very difficult

(37:08):
for me. And I didn't expect totake it so hard. Like I was
trying to treat it as it's anadventure. Right, you know,
we'll go but evidently, mymakeup, my body, my brain has a
difficult time with transitions.
And so I went through a darktime whenever we moved to

(37:29):
Philly. But fortunately, we gotto come back to Texas Two years
later. So I am thankful thatthat we came back.

Allison (37:41):
Are you still challenging yourself to grow and
maybe in some new areas ofhomemaking that you hadn't
before had time to do before oranything like that?

Hollie (37:51):
Well, we are empty nesters. And we both work from
home. And so this is a differenttime for for me than it ever has
been before to be to be workingfull time from my home and
having my own business. But Ithink there's kind of two
aspects to this whole makingthis question. It just makes me

(38:12):
feel like there's like anemotional side and a physical
side to all of this. And itseems like now at this point in
my life. The emotional side ofhomemaking, for example, being
there for my girls, when theycall me Yeah, I'm listening to
them, you know, when they wantto talk. Because, you know,

(38:36):
that's, that's really up to themwhen they want to talk. So like,
if I call and I want to talk,they may be busy or they're not
in the mood, but I I'm justtrying to make it a goal and to
to carve out time because theyare still a priority for me. And
so I'm being being a phone callaway from them and listening to

(39:00):
them. And my prayer life forthem looks different. I think
now that they're gone, thenwhenever I've always prayed for
my children, but I have becomevery purposeful in praying for
my adult kids. Because they bothhave gone through a lot of

(39:23):
struggles. Yeah. And as a parentit's like you hurt with them. My
heart gets so heavy for themwhen they're when they're
struggling or you know, they'regoing through something
difficult. And I'm just gonna goahead and put a plug in here for
Susan Macias. I have a couple ofher books. Yes, Unceasing is

(39:46):
amazing. That book has been sowonderful. For me. I'm just
trying to not worry about yourkids and just put that energy
into praying for them and Shegives such good practical advice
scriptures to pray over them.
And and then I have another onethat she has. It's praying for

(40:08):
your daughters. Yes. So I havethat one too. And that one was
so valuable to me last year whenmy youngest went to her first
year of college. And I rememberafter she left, I read that
every single day, I prayed andprayed for that child. And it
wasn't until later, later in thesemester, maybe in the beginning

(40:30):
of the second semester, that mydaughter shared with me, like,
just how much she was strugglingduring that first month of being
away from home. And, and Iremember just praying over her
specific prayers. And she reallygot, she finally got plugged

(40:50):
into a good church. She, she isgrowing. And I mean, like, she
grew a lot that semester. And,but I look back at that, and I
didn't even realize just howpowerful prayer is. Sometimes
you really have to just bepatient, and keep praying. And

(41:10):
then it's such a beautifulblessing. Whenever we do see
fruits of that it's, it's allglory to God. He's so good to
us. And that and then that helets us in on that is pretty
amazing to me. But yes, as faras like homemaking, now, I guess

(41:32):
with my my girls, it's moreemotional, it's more being
supportive in that way.

Allison (41:44):
They're in that state, or they're learning what they're
creating their own homes. Theirunderstanding what it means to
go out into the world and startcultivating a place of belonging
for for their family for theirfuture family. But yet, they
still, they are still lookingback at us, as an example as a

(42:04):
place to be still tethered to.
And while they're establishingtheir own homes out in the
world, and so I think Iabsolutely agree with you that
emotional side of things rampsup really from about middle
school to high school throughcollege, might your children
need you a lot? It's a lot lessphysically demanding. But it's a
way more mentally and emotionaldemanding. Yes, the older that

(42:27):
they get. And so there's stillwork to be done. Yeah, it just
looks different. That's right.
Yeah, it does. How are youintentionally passing on your
knowledge to younger women thatare coming behind you?

Hollie (42:41):
I would say, the way right now in my life that I'm
intentionally passing knowledgeon, is probably through ladies
Bible study at church, just youknow, being able to be around
other women in our, like, smallgroup time, there's, there's

(43:02):
quite a range of ages in there.
And it's a blessing when I,whenever I see young moms that
are there, and then I can almostsee myself, you know, 20 years
ago, in them. And, but sometimesthey'll be struggling with their
value, as if they've especiallyif they chosen to stay home and

(43:23):
be a stay at home mom and ahomemaker. And when I'm given
the opportunity, and I, I feellike it's an opportunity to
share, I enjoy sharing with themand encouraging them. That, you
know, being a stay at home mombeing a homemaker is extremely

(43:44):
valuable. And I would say it'sprobably the highest calling,
it's one of the most rewardingjobs that that you can have here
on Earth, in my opinion. And Ithink it helps shape our society
and our world and the peoplethat we live with and around.

(44:06):
And so I just want to alwaysencourage young moms, especially
when they have moments of doubt.
Because the world's going totell them one thing, and then
God will tell them a differentthing. And I want to encourage
them to, to feel competent inwhat they're doing because it is

(44:29):
valuable. Yeah. And so thatwould probably be a way that I'm
trying to pass that on.

Allison (44:35):
Good. All right, we're gonna go into a time of rapid
fire quick answer on the topicof homemaking tasks, you're
ready, one you love.

Hollie (44:46):
I love decorating our home with God's word. I love to
put scripture like all over ourhouse. So that's where kind of
like the hand lettering andcalligraphy and wooden signs
comes along because I just likefor his word to be everywhere.

Allison (45:00):
And it's so beautiful.
And we'll have some examples ofthat on the blog for your
episode. It's really fabulousstuff.

Hollie (45:06):
Thank you.

Allison (45:07):
Okay, what about one that you hate or dislike?

Hollie (45:11):
Yeah, well,I do not like grocery shopping. Like I just I
don't like to go into the storeand spend two hours and so
that's why I love you know,delivery. But I also hate
cleaning baseboards.

Allison (45:22):
Oh gosh, who, who likes cleaning baseboards? I've never
met anybody that likes doingthat. I guess it can be kind of
rewarding. When you know you seethat clean baseboard? Yes, I
don't like getting down on myhands and knees to do it. One
you grew to love.

Hollie (45:37):
I think something I I used to not be interested in or
you know, like at all but isupcycling. I love to take
furniture like that we had fromour previous home that just was
not going to look good in ourcurrent home. And just
completely changed it. Paint it.
And so I kind of really grew toto love upcycling, if it's got

(46:02):
good bones, and it's in it'sstill a beautiful piece. I love
to make it, you know, fit intoour home now. And so that really
took over and so I pretty muchpainted everything.

Allison (46:15):
I yeah, I would say you definitely love to do that.
Yeah, and I'm looking around I'mlooking at your china hutch,
which is it does have fabulousbones. But you said it was
really dark and heavy. And youprobably had a lot of visual
like it took up a lot of visualspace being so dark.

Hollie (46:30):
Yeah. And it was cherry wood. Because you know, this was
back in Well, I guess the latelate 90s. And then, so when we
moved into this, this home, theThe floor is a dark hardwood
kind of a Java dark and thecherry wood though again. And
and our first thought was, well,we just need to buy all new
furniture and but I told myhusband I was like, let me have

(46:53):
a go with this. Let me just seewhat we can do. Because I'm
definitely thrifty. I'm quite apenny pincher. And so if I can
do something on my own, if I cando it, if I can figure it out,
I'm gonna do it. So yeah, I grewto love that.

Allison (47:12):
Cool. Well, great result. How about your worst
homemaking fail?

Hollie (47:18):
Well, that's easy to name. It's gardening. I wish
that I were better. I reallywish that I could grow a garden.
But that is just not somethingthat I'm good at. And you know,
I'm okay with that. Because ittakes time. Yeah. And we all
have a specific certain amountof time in our lives. And we

(47:39):
really should do what you know,I don't know sets our soul on
fire. You know, what, what do wereally love to do? And so
although I would love for thatgarden, there, there's a great
place for one in my backyard. Ireally enjoy doing other things
with my time. But I have tried.
There have been several timesthat I've tried to have a garden
and they failed every time.

Allison (48:04):
What about a memorable homemaking achievement?

Hollie (48:08):
Well, I'm going to circle back around to upcycling
because for us that was quite anachievement. It saved us a lot
of money. And so that was apretty good accomplishment.

Allison (48:19):
I agree. Very good. How about your top three homemaking
tips.

Hollie (48:25):
Okay, so my first one would be my favorite granite
cleaner. So if you have granitein your home, which a lot of us
do, you have to be careful whatyou use on that granite because
they can damage it over time. SoI found this recipe and I have
been using it for years now andI love it and here's what it is.

(48:46):
Okay, it is a quarter cup ofrubbing alcohol, two cups of
water, about two drops of dawn.
I really think it needs to bedone dish soap, okay, and then a
few drops of essential oilpreferably thieves because it's
like a natural antibacterialoil. So I just mix that up in a
spray bottle and it's just sosimple. All you really need to

(49:10):
have on hand is the rubbingalcohol, you know and then your
thieves and I actually use oneon Amazon. It's just I don't
even know what health shield ithink is the brand it's like $8
a bottle. Okay, so that's myfirst cleaning tip very good.
And another one is add a littlecornstarch to your chocolate

(49:31):
chip cookie recipe. So if youadd about two teaspoons of
cornstarch to a standard sizerecipe for chocolate chip
cookies, they're going to stayfresher longer. And they're
going to be they're going togive you a little bit more
thickness and not flattened outso much like some chocolate chip

(49:51):
recipes do. So just throw in acouple of teaspoons of
cornstarch and just see how youlike it because

Allison (50:00):
Wow, really? Okay, so that's for like a standard drop
cookie recipe chocolate chipcookie recipe, like maybe the
one you would look on the downthe back of the bag. Yeah. Okay,
that is a great tip.

Hollie (50:11):
Yeah, add some cornstarch. And you know,
chocolate chip cookies are justso divine first day you make
them. And the second day, yeah,maybe the third. But you know,
when you get to that third orfourth day, they just kind of
become like dry, just not as youknow, decadent. But if you add
that cornstarch, it's going tokeep them fresher, longer. And

(50:34):
then my third little tip issorry, it's another baking tip.

Allison (50:40):
Well, you do have a cookie business.

Hollie (50:43):
So when when you bake a cake, and you've got like a
layered cake, like three roundlayers, as soon as you bring
that cake out of the oven, andit's hot, take put it lay a
paper towel down, you could usea linen, like a linen cloth or a
kitchen towel. But I just putlike a Viva paper towel down and

(51:05):
smooth over the top of your cakeand press it down. I know it
sounds strange. But if you youcan use your hand or a fondant
fondant smoother. And if yousmooth over the top of that
cake, it's going to level yourtear. It's going to give you a
nice clean flat layer for yourcake. And it also helps lock in

(51:27):
moisture, really cake. So it'sgoing to make your cake when you
eat it more moist. And then ifyou are one that likes a nice
straight round cake, and youhave to shave off the tops,
because that's what you do.
Yeah, okay, you have to kind oflike shave off the top. But if
you do this, there's going to bemuch less shaving, you may not
have to shave it at all. And youjust like rub your hand over the

(51:49):
top while it's hot out of theoven still in the pan still in
the round pan because you got towait 10 minutes for you pop that
right? But if you do itimmediately, okay, then it's
really going to flatten it out.
And it'll be really it's areally good thing.

Allison (52:03):
Thank you. Sure.
Wonderful tip. Okay. All right,we're going to end our time
today reflecting a little bit onthe art of home. How do you
believe that homemaking is anart?

Hollie (52:17):
Well, the way I look at this is true art to me can't
really be duplicated,identically. True art is going
to be different, a little bitdifferent, even if the same
artist makes two differentpaintings. Unless they're having

(52:38):
it copied or something, ifthey're doing it with their
hand, there's going to be alittle difference. And so for me
as far as homemaking goes, andit being an art, we need not
compare ourselves to otherpeople, I think every home is
going to be unique, and it'sgoing to be different. And
because it is an art. And so Ithink it takes pressure off of

(53:02):
each other of us to look at itthat way. Because it's just the
way God made us we're alldifferent. And art true art is a
little different. And so that'skind of how I see it as an art
form.

Allison (53:16):
Yeah. And I mean, you know that as an artist, that
even if you're doing the same ifyou're writing out the same
verse, if it's a Bible verse orsomething, you're doing maybe
multiple copies of the samething, it's going to look a
little different.

Hollie (53:29):
Right slight variations.
And yeah, you know, in thedescending of a why, or, you
know, the A sending of a D, Imean, there's just going to be
small, little differences. Evenif I write the same verse on
five different times on fivedifferent pieces of paper. Yeah,
it's going to be some variation.

Allison (53:47):
And that's what makes each piece unique and beautiful.
That's right, exactly. We knowthat there can be a lot of
drudgery and homemaking, becausethe tasks that we have to do
have to be done over and overand over and over again. How do
you find beauty in the midst ofwork that can be monotonous and
mundane?

Hollie (54:07):
I think for that is, I think, remembering kind of like
a higher goal in that becausewith the mundane things, if I
think of this as like if I'mcooking a meal for my husband or
cleaning up or whatever, I thinkof it as you know, serving I

(54:28):
think of it as a higher purposeto it beyond just what that
little task is right there. Andthen another way to you know,
just kind of like break themonotony is listen to some music
while you're doing it, change itup a little bit or listen to
your favorite podcast. So, um,but yeah, just try to do things

(54:50):
that can bring a little bit of,of joy. You know, I know
scrubbing a toilet is not fun,but if we think of, you know,
the higher purpose, whether it'sfor me that It'd be me thinking
about next time my kids comehome for the weekend and want to
have, you know, a clean home anda place for them to enjoy being.
And

Allison (55:10):
Yeah, yeah, I have to tell you though, I hate
scrubbing toilets. And my sisterin law has introduced us a while
back. She actually I think gavethis as a kind of a gag wedding
gift to my son and daughter inlaw when they got married. She
gave them something else too.
But this was hilarious. Have youseen those toilet wands? I think
Clorox makes them and theydisposable yet you just you have

(55:30):
the the wand is not disposable.
It's plastic, and you keep thatnext to the toilet. But then it
just clicks on to this littlepad. that's saturated with the
cleaning solution. And then youjust swirl that around in the
toilet, you clean the toilet,and then you and then you take
that over top of your garbagecan and you click the little
button and it just drops thatnasty, dirty pad into the

(55:53):
garbage. It is the best.

Hollie (55:55):
So you don't have the disgusting brush sitting in your
bathroom all the time.

Allison (56:00):
That turns like orange on the bottom, you know?

Hollie (56:03):
Because we have a lot of minerals in our water. And then
what else is in that?

Allison (56:07):
I don't even want to think about it.

Hollie (56:09):
Yes, I don't either.
Thank you for sharing that. I'mgonna have to get those.

Allison (56:13):
They're fabulous.
What word of advice would yougive to a young homemaker who's
listening?

Hollie (56:22):
You are valuable. What you're doing is so valuable. I
think sometimes. As as young,homemakers young stay at home
moms. We might listen to theworld and and think that what
we're doing is just it's notvaluable. It doesn't bring in

(56:44):
money, which actually you couldgo on and talk about how how
monetarily valuable it is tostay home, but just to I would
want to encourage them in andsay, you know, it is valuable,
it means so much. It's sorewarding. And you may not see
it now, you may not see it for awhile. But there will be a day

(57:05):
that you will look back and andsee that it was valuable. And it
makes an impact. It makes a bigimpact on your small little
world. And I believe on thelarger scale in the world.

Allison (57:19):
Yeah, yeah. Well, how can people find you out? on the
interwebs?

Hollie (57:25):
Okay, well, I am on Instagram and Facebook. And my
business is called JordanTaylor's Designs. And I named it
after my two daughters. And soit is Jordan Taylor's with an S
and then designs with an S. SoI'm on Instagram, and I'm on
Facebook. So if anyone wanted toorder cookies on my Instagram,

(57:49):
if you click in the bio, I havea link tree and that will lead
you to the custom cookie orderform.

Allison (57:56):
You can fill that out.
What do you ship your cookiesall over? Or do you only do
local orders?

Hollie (58:02):
In Texas as a cottage food baker, we cannot ship our
cookies. So I just do locallocal pickup. Yeah. Alright.

Allison (58:11):
So if you're local to the greater San Antonio area,
then you can check itout.

Hollie (58:16):
That's right. I do ship my ornaments. I also make
Christmas ornaments every year.
So I'm kicking off that season.
They're like wood sliceornaments. So custom, you know
with names or dates are firstyear to be married or you know,
yeah,

Allison (58:33):
They're really beautiful. And those they can
find those through your linktree on your Instagram?

Hollie (58:37):
Yes. And then you can also message me on instagram if
you want. And then I'll get backto you about custom. Okay,
custom ornaments.

Allison (58:46):
Well, that's fabulous.
Thank you so much for being withus on the show today.

Hollie (58:51):
Thanks for having me.

Allison (58:52):
I really enjoyed hearing your story.

Hollie (58:53):
Thank you.

Allison (58:55):
Thank you so much for joining us today for this
homemaker, portrait of HollieCarnahan, we hope you're leaving
here encouraged and inspired toallow room for the unexpected in
your story of home to prepareyour heart now for the
challenges and the changes thatwill inevitably come as you move
through the seasons ofhomemaking, seeing them as
opportunities for growth ratherthan obstacles to be avoided. If

(59:20):
this episode was helpful, wouldyou pass it on to a homemaker
you know, who could use someencouragement. And if you're
able plan a time to meet face toface with her and encourage one
another in your home makingjourneys, we have a new way for
you to leave a review of the artof home and you'll find a link
in the show notes below. Thefolks over at love the
podcast.com have created a greatway for listeners on any kind of

(59:43):
device to leave a review. It'svery simple, and it only takes a
minute. Your review helps otherlisteners decide if this show is
a good fit for them. So it'ssuper helpful. And we're up to
22 countries now. So thank youfor helping us get these stories
out to more people. All aroundthe world. You can connect with

(01:00:03):
us on Instagram, Twitter,Facebook, all those links are
below in the show notes undersocial and you can email us
contact attheartofhomepodcast.com if you
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of home community. Click thesubscribe link in the show
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We'll just send you a listenlink every time a new episode

(01:00:25):
comes out. And we'll also emailyou to inform you of any new
resources that would beavailable to you on the website.
Resources mentioned in today'sepisode, Holly's top three tips
as well as how to get in touchwith Hollie for a cookie order
or maybe a custom Christmasornament are all listed below in
the show notes and on ourwebsite. And don't forget you

(01:00:46):
can get a peek into Hollie'shome and see her fabulous
thrifty furniture makeovers overon the website as well. Just
head over to the art of homepodcast.com forward slash blog
and click on the link to thisepisode. This is season three,
Episode Two, a homemakerportrait of Hollie Carnahan.
Until next time, keep practicingyour art of making a home.

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Homemaker Portrait | Hollie Carnahan

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Homemaker Portrait | Hollie Carnahan