This is the story of a packet of grass seeds and a pitcher of water. What started out as the smallest, most unexpected parts of our ordinary lives have become the very best bits we couldn’t imagine life without.
Welcome to Out of the Ordinary! We’re delighted you’re joining our conversation. As always it was recorded on the third floor of Christie’s old farmhouse, Maplehurst, and today we sat down to unpack the idea that everything big starts small.
Looking to start your own podcast? I recommend The Podcast Launch Coach!
Out of the Ordinary
The podcast for anyone who’s ever felt the nagging frustration of wondering if her life is too small, too boring or too ordinary to make a difference. Lisa-Jo Baker and Christie Purifoy, longtime friends and bestselling authors, explore the surprising ways that cultivating ordinary life leads to extraordinary stories.
Visit our official podcast page!
Christie Purifoy
Co-Host
A writer and gardener, her favorite ordinary things include strawberry jam, homegrown flowers, and old books with someone else’s notes in them.
Find Christie’s books here.
Lisa-Jo Baker
Co-Host
A reader and writer, her favorite ordinary things include hot tea with milk and sugar, a good movie, her mom’s hand-me-down books and Sunday afternoon naps.
Find Lisa-Jo’s books here.
RECENTLY FROM THE BLOG
Radical Lives and White Picket Fences
I penned this blog post six years ago. Recently, a friend wrote to say she had long kept a printed copy of it but wondered if it still lived somewhere permanently online? I discovered that it did not. So, I've rectified that. For my friend. And for you, dear...
My Favorite Roses
To name my favorite rose varieties is a bit like being asked to name my favorite children. All of them! I want to say. But when you have one spot for a rose and thousands to choose among, a "Favorites" post is a very helpful thing. Of course, it is only a...
A New Point of View on Native Plants
For too many years, I resisted learning about native plants because I associated that topic with grumpy, finger-wagging experts and uninteresting science. I longed for colorful, ornamental plants, and I didn't want anyone to tell me I couldn't have them. It...
#outoftheordinarypodcast is on Instagram!
💚💐Surprise! 💐💜 I created a flower garden planner and journal to help us grow—not only more flowers—but more beauty and joy. It’s a planner, it’s a journal, it’s a spark for your creativity. I’ve never found a garden journal that also works for non-planning artist types like me—so I made one!
.
My saved stories for an inside glimpse. Coming this October, it’s available for pre-order now!
.
#wearegardenmakers #myflowergardenlife #ahomeinbloom #seedtimeandharvest
View
Jul 19
Open
England in June is extra special primarily because of the roses. They were everywhere we went and seemed to grow effortlessly. A heaven on earth.
.
I feel so grateful that I’ll be back in the Cotswolds next June retreating with 12 of you. I know it can be hard to take that leap of faith, to step into “yes,” and to do something for ourselves. But if this retreat idea is tugging at your soul, I hope you’ll follow the link in my profile to join our email list. Very soon we’ll be sharing all the details for next summer’s retreat with those who’ve signed up to that list. 💐
.
#retreatintorestinthecotswolds
View
Jul 13
Open
The riskiest thing about our retreat in the Cotswolds was how few plans we made for filling the time. We organized a few (beautiful, inspiring) outings. We planned the food and prioritized time around the table. But otherwise, all we did was invite a group of women to step out of their everyday lives and slow down enough to hear the deepest things and so to be renewed. Which looks as ordinary as napping. Walking. Reading. Sitting. Being. 💗
.
@kimberlyacoyle offered a prayerful meditation each morning @suddenjourneys poured herself into food prep, creating meals that were art and I read poems and talked about William Morris just as often as someone was there to listen ☺️
.
Have you ever experienced this kind of transformative rest?
.
#retreatintorestinthecotswolds
View
Jul 3
Open
What’s it like to retreat into rest in the beautiful English countryside? Here’s a glimpse of our time in the Cotswolds. @kimberlyacoyle @suddenjourneys and I saw our dream come true: we wanted only to create the space for twelve women to encounter themselves again. To step away from our daily lives and known worlds through travel feels like a kind of emptying. But then we can be filled to overflowing by beauty, by quiet, by good food, and by deep conversation around tables. We’ll be sharing an invitation to next summer’s retreat very soon. 💐
.
#retreatintorestinthecotswolds #weareplacemakers
View
Jul 1
Open
Why seek rest through the risky means of travel? That’s a question I thought a lot about even before my two day adventure returning from England. To seek rest by leaving home is necessarily to put yourself in a position where you will need to be cared for. At home, for the most part, we can care for ourselves through routines, and control, and by living within our boundaries and margins. But when we leave home, anything can happen. When we aren’t in control, when we are outside of our comfort zone, will our needs still be met? Will we be seen and known and cared for in that place?
.
The answer is yes. But we can’t know that answer in advance or only in our heads. We have to live it. On the other side of our fears, on the other side of our anxieties, and in the places that are not home, we can know a kind of rest and a kind of peace that is only available when we are being held by something other than our own selves. Our worlds can fall apart, we can even fall apart, and still “all shall be well.”
.
#retreatintorest #retreatintorestinthecotswolds
View
Jun 28
Open
It’s my birthday eve. Tomorrow, I turn 47. The son born on my birthday will turn 18. I have always loved my June birthday and loved sharing it. For fifteen years—until her untimely death—I shared my birthday with my dear Aunt Sissie. Since 29, I’ve shared it with my son. This week I shared my birthday with someone on this retreat (this cake had 3 candles—two of us have birthdays tomorrow, and one celebrated earlier this week). I guess I wanted to write this all out to say that every June I am overwhelmed by a joy and a gratitude that begs to be shared.
View
Jun 22
Open
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: There are no business accounts connected.
💚💐Surprise! 💐💜 I created a flower garden planner and journal to help us grow—not only more flowers—but more beauty and joy. It’s a planner, it’s a journal, it’s a spark for your creativity. I’ve never found a garden journal that also works for non-planning artist types like me—so I made one!
.
My saved stories for an inside glimpse. Coming this October, it’s available for pre-order now!
.
#wearegardenmakers #myflowergardenlife #ahomeinbloom #seedtimeandharvest
Jul 19
England in June is extra special primarily because of the roses. They were everywhere we went and seemed to grow effortlessly. A heaven on earth.
.
I feel so grateful that I’ll be back in the Cotswolds next June retreating with 12 of you. I know it can be hard to take that leap of faith, to step into “yes,” and to do something for ourselves. But if this retreat idea is tugging at your soul, I hope you’ll follow the link in my profile to join our email list. Very soon we’ll be sharing all the details for next summer’s retreat with those who’ve signed up to that list. 💐
.
#retreatintorestinthecotswolds
Jul 13
The riskiest thing about our retreat in the Cotswolds was how few plans we made for filling the time. We organized a few (beautiful, inspiring) outings. We planned the food and prioritized time around the table. But otherwise, all we did was invite a group of women to step out of their everyday lives and slow down enough to hear the deepest things and so to be renewed. Which looks as ordinary as napping. Walking. Reading. Sitting. Being. 💗
.
@kimberlyacoyle offered a prayerful meditation each morning @suddenjourneys poured herself into food prep, creating meals that were art and I read poems and talked about William Morris just as often as someone was there to listen ☺️
.
Have you ever experienced this kind of transformative rest?
.
#retreatintorestinthecotswolds
Jul 3
What’s it like to retreat into rest in the beautiful English countryside? Here’s a glimpse of our time in the Cotswolds. @kimberlyacoyle @suddenjourneys and I saw our dream come true: we wanted only to create the space for twelve women to encounter themselves again. To step away from our daily lives and known worlds through travel feels like a kind of emptying. But then we can be filled to overflowing by beauty, by quiet, by good food, and by deep conversation around tables. We’ll be sharing an invitation to next summer’s retreat very soon. 💐
.
#retreatintorestinthecotswolds #weareplacemakers
Jul 1
Why seek rest through the risky means of travel? That’s a question I thought a lot about even before my two day adventure returning from England. To seek rest by leaving home is necessarily to put yourself in a position where you will need to be cared for. At home, for the most part, we can care for ourselves through routines, and control, and by living within our boundaries and margins. But when we leave home, anything can happen. When we aren’t in control, when we are outside of our comfort zone, will our needs still be met? Will we be seen and known and cared for in that place?
.
The answer is yes. But we can’t know that answer in advance or only in our heads. We have to live it. On the other side of our fears, on the other side of our anxieties, and in the places that are not home, we can know a kind of rest and a kind of peace that is only available when we are being held by something other than our own selves. Our worlds can fall apart, we can even fall apart, and still “all shall be well.”
.
#retreatintorest #retreatintorestinthecotswolds
Jun 28
It’s my birthday eve. Tomorrow, I turn 47. The son born on my birthday will turn 18. I have always loved my June birthday and loved sharing it. For fifteen years—until her untimely death—I shared my birthday with my dear Aunt Sissie. Since 29, I’ve shared it with my son. This week I shared my birthday with someone on this retreat (this cake had 3 candles—two of us have birthdays tomorrow, and one celebrated earlier this week). I guess I wanted to write this all out to say that every June I am overwhelmed by a joy and a gratitude that begs to be shared.
Jun 22
It was wonderful to listen to you two share; such great conversation.