The Cozy Kitchen Podcast | Where efficiency meets joy in the heart of the home. Embracing the love of feeding our families.

Homeschooling with the Whalens

Spoiler Alert! Homeschooling isn't as difficult as the pandemic made it.
Discover the freedom of homeschooling, why we specifically decided to homeschool, what our day to day looks like, curriculum we study and how to cover multiple subjects in one.
There are so many resources out there these days that homeschooling can be as structured or free-flowing as you'd like. Personally I feel its a tremendous gift to walk alongside my children during their education journey and selfishly I love to have them home with me! 
Mentioned:
4 Day A Week Homeschool Schedule
 
1st Grade Homeschool Curriculum 
 
Homeschool Requirements for WA state

Everything Drying and Preserving Herbs

Harvest season is among us! This is the time of year where endless amounts of tomatoes are brought inside to be canned or turned into homemade spaghetti sauce. Peppers, onions and herbs are pulled for salsa and whats not being used immediately must somehow be preserved!
Have you thought to preserve your herbs? I feel herbs are so often only used during the summer months and then let to flower and wither away. However, herbs offer an abundance of flavor and health benefits! Today I'll be covering my specific process on how to dry, store and preserve your herbs.
Mentions:
Instagram:
ErynWhalenOnline.com
Mortar & Pestle: 
Mountain Rose Herb: 

We’re Starting an Airbnb: Here’s What you Need to Know

Thinking of starting your own Airbnb? Here's what we've learned so far!
The first big thing is getting in touch with your local county administrators, they will be the basis of legalizing the whole process and making sure the process is done to code. 
Next you'll need to decide if you're using a building on your property or adding a brand new one. Does the area need to be cleared? How do we get running water there? Electricity? The list goes on...
This is just the beginning steps friends! Keep an eye out for a secondary podcast in the months to come! 
Links:
Instagram: Eryn_Whalen_Online
Website: Erynwhalenonline.com
Book: Short Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth 

The Biggest Differences Between Washington and Tennessee

Join me in this episode where I'll cover some of the questions you've asked me on Instagram regarding what differences we've noticed from Washington to Tennessee!
From topics such as wildlife, am I scared to let me kids play alone outside to what sets Tennessee apart and what I miss about Washington. 
Be sure to follow along on Instagram to keep up on what our day to day looks like and some of the projects we are tackling. Until next week friends!
 

Moving Across the Country: The House is Ours! No It’s Not. Yes it is? Yes... No... Maybe...

Join me in this episode as I give you a quick recap of what our lives have looked like the past three weeks and as I complete our, "Moving Across The Country" series. 
If you're just joining I highly encourage you to go back and listen to how our journey began and why we decided to move from Washington to Tennessee.
As Travis, my husband, and I have bought and sold a couple times we thought we knew what we were up against when it came to purchasing a home. However, from what we have since learned, purchasing an almost 100 year old home while still living across the country makes for more difficult times.
One of the biggest surprises that we encountered was how our appraiser, who is supposed to calculate the value of the home, had enough pull to halt our loan process and make us pay out of pocket for a structural engineer to ensure the safety of our house to be. 
Not only did we now have to pay more than was we had originally expected but all of a sudden our current bank said that we were to high of a risk and we had to look elsewhere for funding. Add a slurry of other unknown complications and the world began to feel like it was toppling down on us. 
There is so much to the story that truly you'll just have to listen!
This process was far from easy friends. And somedays I feel as if I'm drowning in my to do list but I also have faith that we are here for a reason and our journey is just beginning. If you have ever felt this way take a moment and just look at the good around you.
Every night our family takes a turn around the yard and I am in awe of what we have built just in our short five months of being here. The beauty of the area is how I imagined it and our children are happy, healthy and learning just as much as we are in this beautiful experience. 
Fear is a powerful thing but so is courage and I can honestly say that I am so proud of myself and my husband for being courageous and walking into the unknown. Somedays are scary and overwhelming but the small moments that you catch in between the chaos makes it all worth it. 
What are you afraid to do my friend? Maybe now is the time to say no more to fear and take the leap of faith. Leave a comment below and I'd be happy to pray for you and your journey! 
Links to Items Discussed:
Cat carriers:
• https://www.amazon.com/shop/eryn_whalen_online/list/1XIMX0RNQ4U4Y
• https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/go-pet-club-folding-soft-green-dog-crate
Walkie Talkies: 
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013QIFCLE/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_NQKYK18M4G4GETQAD1M7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ml2&tag=erynwhalenoni-20
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eryn_whalen_online/?hl=en
Website: https://www.erynwhalenonline.com/
Catch you next week!
 
 
 

Moving Across the Country: A Special Announcement and my First Guest!

Join me in this episode as my husband, Travis, makes a guest appearance! 
Travis and I will be making an announcement about our next big project on our 120 acres. Hint: It’ll make it easier for friends, family and tourists to come visit our quaint town! 
Travis will also be sharing some of this thoughts and feelings throughout our moving process!
We’ll cover how we had originally written our current house off to due to its starting list price, what moving company we used, how we would’ve packed differently and how we then almost LOST our Tennessee house due to an appraisers opinion.
References:
U-Pack: https://www.upack.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/eryn_whalen_online/?hl=en
Website: https://www.erynwhalenonline.com/

Moving Across the Country: Real and Raw

Somedays are harder than others friends and today is one of those days. One of the days where I miss what we had in Washington and all our family and friends. 
I wasn’t going to record today but I feel its only fair to be honest with you about the emotions involved in moving across the country. 
Taking a break from our series, Moving Across the Country, today I will be answering questions that some of you had asked me on Instagram! 
Tune back next week where we’ll continue our journey from Washington to Tennessee. 

Moving Across the Country: Home Inspection Reveals.... Issues

Join me in this episode where we cover flying from Washington to Tennessee for the home inspection on our new house to be.
Keep in mind, our house back in Washington has been listed and is currently pending. If all goes well with the contract on our Washington home but doesn't go well in Tennessee we're still contractually obligated to move out of our current home. Therefore, we really need to love this house in Tennessee and we need it to be livable.
That being the case, there were a lot of questions this trip needed to answer for us. One, did we actually love Tennessee and the surroundings enough to live here? Two, was the commute for my husband bearable on a daily basis? Three, did apple maps and all my research lie to me with how close things were and the area's aesthetic or was it what I had been dreaming of? Lastly, four, did this house feel like home?
Check back next week for the story to get even more complicated!
FOLLOW ME ON:
INSTAGRAM 
ERYN WHALEN ONLINE
MY LTK STORE
MY AMAZON STOREFRONT 
Dive into the Homestead Journey! Get exclusive only available to you content from my Substack! JOIN HERE
 

Moving Across the Country: How to Make Sure You’re Moving into a Good Neighborhood

In this episode we're covering how to ensure you're not moving into a bad neighborhood. 
Once we announced that we were moving and people found out that we have never been there everyone wanted to know how we felt so comfortable making that decision. In reality, I had done a TON of research. From dropping pins on my apple phone to then googling how far the closest pizza place was, library, car shop and convenient store.
We also decided that we wanted to be a part of a smaller town, around 3000 in population but also not be farther than an hour or so from a larger city with more amenities.
From there we waited for a house to go live that we fell in love with. Once we found a farmhouse that had a lot of potential, we put in an offer. In all honesty, I didn't think our first offer would be accepted. Boy was I wrong!
Then began the wild journey of listing our home, scheduling a flight to be at the inspection of our home in TN, all while a million other things were going on in the background.
FOLLOW ME ON:
INSTAGRAM 
ERYN WHALEN ONLINE
MY LTK STORE
MY AMAZON STOREFRONT 
Dive into the Homestead Journey! Get exclusive only available to you content from my Substack! JOIN HERE
 

Moving Across the Country: Pro Zillow Tips and Tricks that Helped us Move!

On episode four of Homestead Journey I am covering where things got real for Travis and I in deciding to move. The first year we knew a big change was coming and so we started doing soooooooome research but come the second year in our journey things really started to move.
From Travis fighting me and wanting to move but also being hesitant, to having a huge change of heart and being willing to jump in headfirst with me, to us then putting in an offer on a house, site unseen, except for videos, to our offer getting excepted, to us having to list our current house in five days, to us booking plane tickets to be there for the inspection of our new home, all awhile trying to stay sane.
Someone hear that a second time and tell me how I kept it together! Keep in mind that's only what's covered in this episode. Life get's crazier my friends. Tune back in next Tuesday for what happens next
FOLLOW ME ON:
INSTAGRAM 
ERYN WHALEN ONLINE
MY LTK STORE
MY AMAZON STOREFRONT 
Dive into the Homestead Journey! Get exclusive only available to you content from my Substack! JOIN HERE