Happy Sunday! I’m very excited to announce a new series of guest posts on this blog called “Home At Last” by someone very special to me: Dustin! I felt like it would be neat for him to share his perspective on our cooking, kids and life journey once a month or so. I hope you enjoy!
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I suppose some introductions are in order: My name is Dustin Baier (Lacey’s husband). You might think of me as the “man behind the curtain” to steal a moment from one of Lacey’s favorite childhood movies, The Wizard Of Oz.
When Lacey first decided to become a personal chef, I thought it would be a good idea to create a blog. I thought it would help her show everyone what she could cook and help people get to know her a little better. Little did I know, she would love blogging and, soon, it would grow into the nice community it has. Without her, I wouldn’t have Savannah, Jordan or the amazing food. She is really awesome. Ok, I am done with the sappy intro (except for the photo below of the two of us in college).
Lately, Lacey and I have been discussing what we want to do with our lives (we do this a lot). Something we have recently focused on is lifestyle design. Lifestyle design is just a fancy way of saying “Figure out what makes you happy and then do it (within reason, of course).” We first started implementing this with deciding to have Jordan and then moving to Austin. Now, we are trying to figure our goals over the next several years.
Over time, we have had many things come to mind: a bed and breakfast, a pizza and wine bar, a vineyard and a winery, a farm, etc. I am sure I have forgotten many from along the way (we talk a lot). Something we keep coming back to, though, is the vineyard. It just seems like it fits us. We love to make things from scratch and I grew up growing my own fruit and produce (strictly as a hobby with my dad). Plus, as we see it, a bed and breakfast or pizza and wine bar would go nicely with our vineyard 🙂
We have decided to start pursuing this goal of ours. We have been looking for land in the Austin area that suits our needs and we have been reading up on growing grapes and making wine (Lacey’s family has some experience in wine making). We figure it will be a fun learning experience and we get to create a small farm with a vineyard on it. My dad always liked homes with lots of land and Lacey grew up on a ranch so it kind of feels like home. We are not sure how long it will take to find the right property that fits into our price range, but we are excited to start the process.
Our thought was to chronicle the steps needed to create a vineyard and winery and I am sure Lacey or I will keep you updated along the way.
Dustin
I loved this post and I really do hope you keep us updated. I love the concept of “lifestyle design” and hubby and I need to have some serious chats! Thanks for the inspiration.
You’re so welcome, Denise! Good luck with your own lifestyle design “)
Hi Lacy and Dustin. Your vineyard sounds awesome. There is a web site you should check out.It’s called “Noble Pig”. A family in McMnnville Oregon who pursued the same dream and now make some wonderful and very popular wines.
I found this site a couple of years ago and it’s what eventually led me to Pioneer Woman and Lacy as one of my “friends”
Just thought you might find it interesting. As always I’m loving your web site.
Best of luck on your venture.
Dee Hayes (tequestamom)
Thanks so much for the info, Dee! We really appreciate it 🙂
i am sure you already do read this blog, but i wanted to make sure.
www.noblepig.com
cathy and her family have done just that and are well on their way in oregon…..plus her recipes are great! it is one of my must reads.
Thanks, Jamie. Believe it or not, I actually hadn’t seen this blog before. I just went and checked it out and will be returning soon for sure. Thanks for the heads up!