Hey there, my name is Sasha and I’m just your typical gal that decided to bite off more than she could chew by working full-time, trying to run a food and lifestyle blog, raise chickens, and renovate a fixer upper farmhouse as a first time home buyer.
Phew.. that’s a mouthful right? But it’s the honest truth and what I have been known for here with my blog.
Fair Robin Revival is a space to share my favorite home-cooked meals using fresh, seasonal ingredients, DIY home renovations, and learning how to start a small farm here in Iowa. My goal is to inspire others to find a love for home-cooking, getting their hands dirty, and going after their passions.
A little back story..
I grew up a city kid with farm girl dreams. I was obsessed with horses, went to horse camp, and literally saved all my allowance money in a shoebox under the bed so I could one day have my own. Once I “grew up” I lost sight of those dreams, found myself living in Portland, OR feeling completely lost, and hitting a major low point in my life after a crushing divorce. I knew it was time to move back to Iowa and hit the reset button on my life, but the only vision I had in my mind of what I wanted was a little old farmhouse with a piano in it. All those Little House on the Prairie dreams started coming back to me and I finally turned them into a reality in 2019 with the purchase of my first home.. a little mid-century fixer upper farmhouse.
Country living isn’t always the quaint peaceful picture it’s painted to be. Sometimes it involves learning how to herd the neighbor’s cattle back over the fence, having the dog bring you half rotted animal skulls and reeking like something dead herself, getting chicken poop on you at least once a day, and home renovation surprises like an improperly capped water line suddenly bursting and spraying all over the basement.
But we love it all.. because in between these crazy moments we get to enjoy the beauty of this land, talk about our plans and our life here in the future, and appreciate just how grateful we are that life has it’s way of falling into place as it should.
The story of the farm..
The home was built in 1949, but the land has been in the same family since 1876. I’m still trying to figure out more of the story on our actual home and who lived here, but have learned a ton about the family that once owned this land thanks to the folks at the Winterset Historical Society. We even found the application submitted in 1976 to for Fair Robin Farm to become a Century Farm and the plaque is still on our garage to this day.
Too often these beautiful historic homes get completely gutted and renovated to match what’s trending currently. It must be the old soul in me, but I believe in breathing new life into the past versus extinguishing it. It’s important to me to keep the story and style of this home alive and that’s how I arrived on Fair Robin Revival. I want to REVIVE the land, this home, and make this a real farm again.
Follow along for farm fresh recipes, renovations, and life in the Wild Midwest!
