What is Pleasant Living?

Pleasant Living is a newsletter about farm life and rural living. I’m a writer and baker, living in the foothills of North Carolina with my farmer husband, Jamie Swofford. Once upon a time, he worked in restaurant kitchens.

In November 2019, we moved back to Jamie’s homeplace in rural Cleveland County. We live in the outer reaches of Shelby, North Carolina, a small Southern town dubbed the “City of Pleasant Living.” We are food people building a farm together.

This is a record of our life. Expect truthful essays about farm/kitchen/baking life, rural living, and what it’s like to build a farm in real time plus profiles of some pretty neat people we’re lucky to know.

Why Subscribe?

It’s the best way to stay apprised of the latest on the farm. Free subscribers receive new essays delivered straight to their inbox on Tuesdays. Paid subscribers have access to the Tuesday essay plus our recipe archive and larger profile pieces.

When you join the Pleasant Living community as a paid subscriber, you support the labor it takes to produce the content on this site and the livelihoods of two farm people.

Subscribe to get access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.