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Business with Purpose Podcast EP 128: Natasha Nicholes, Blogger at Houseful of Nicholes & Founder of We Sow, We Grow

Business with Purpose Podcast EP 128: Natasha Nicholes, Blogger at Houseful of Nicholes & Founder of We Sow, We Grow

I do not have a green thumb. The past few years, I’ve tried to start a garden in my backyard and it almost always ends up overrun with weeds, or one year all of my cucumbers ended up just eating everything else in my garden. I had no less than 50 cucumbers that year, and then the next year I wasn’t able to grow anything, then the next year I tried to grow things with plants, and maybe had a couple of jalapeños. But for the most part, every year, my garden has turned into a big flop. I really wish I could garden, I really want to learn how to garden. So, this year we’re going to try again, we’re going to do some raised beds, planted some fruit trees, got some blueberry bushes that maybe will give us some blueberries. We’ve got a blackberry bush, we’re trying. My guest today, took the idea of a garden in her backyard, and decided she no longer wanted to just feed her family, she wanted to feed her entire community on the south side of Chicago. What was once a small idea that she had, is now a full fledged dream that she is pursuing.

FOLLOWING OPEN DOORS

After the death of Natasha’s sister, she learned not to take life for granted. She started to explore areas where she could use her passions to serve other people and boy did her idea explode. Molly and Natasha discuss the miracles that happen when you follow open doors. Her community garden has not only opened doors in her own life, but opened the doors of people in the community, allowing them to come together, get to know one another, and support each other in times of need and celebration.

STARTING A COMMUNITY GARDEN

From starting a small community garden, to collaborating with other non-profits in Chicago to buy a plot of land that has sustained much of the community, Natasha’s vision has grown beyond what she imagined. Their unique design allows for the community to come together and request certain foods, sparking an interest that they’re hoping will lead to classes, teaching others how to grow and sustain their own food.

About Natasha Nicholes, Founder of House of Nicholes:

Natasha C. Nicholes is a serious maker.

To be a serious maker, you need the ability to see things not as they are but as what they can be. Not only that, you need the skills to make that vision into reality.

That is Natasha’s super power.

Where others saw an abandoned lot on the Southside of Chicago, Natasha saw a community garden overflowing with greens, fresh food for her neighbors, and chickens. Because of Natasha’s community leadership and hard work, the We Sow We Grow Community Garden allied with local stores, won features on the Harry show and in the Chicago Tribune, and was a 2017 Iris Award Nominee for the Best Philanthropic Work of the Year.

Not only does Natasha grow food, she grows humans.

She made four bold and brilliant children with her husband – and even made two of them at the same time. She even homeschools. But when she was researching online to find families like hers, she didn’t find any voices of African Americans represented. So of course, she created her own space at www.housefulofnicholes.com.

Through her blog, Natasha forged partnerships with companies and organizations such as Kia,Samsung, General Mills, Dream Kids, and Habitat for Humanity. She spoke at conferences such as Blogalicious,BlogHer, National Box Tops University, and various Illinois Farm Bureau summits. She is the Travel Editor at Mom 2.0 Summit and was a cast member for the Chicago 2017 Listen to Your Mother Show.

And if that isn’t enough, there’s more. Sewing. Knitting. Canning. Preserving. Building. Growing. Sowing. Natasha can do all these things.

She is a serious maker.

CONNECT WITH NATASHA

  • Website:  www.housefulofnicholes.com
  • Facebook: House of Nicholes
  • Instagram: @houseofnicholes

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Help me pick a new headshot! After almost 6 years I finally got updated headshots and one gets to go on the back of my book! I’m very indecisive so help me pick, if you are so inclined.

Shoutout to the amazing @stellaandbirdiephotography for the new pics and to @kns.ellis for her makeup magic. #authorphotos #headshots

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Help me pick a new headshot! After almost 6 years I finally got updated headshots and one gets to go on the back of my book! I’m very indecisive so help me pick, if you are so inclined. 

Shoutout to the amazing @stellaandbirdiephotography for the new pics and to @kns.ellis for her makeup magic. #authorphotos #headshots

Here are a few things I know to be true:
👉🏼 we can be having the time of our lives while also experiencing great disappointments
👉🏼 we can laugh so hard our stomachs hurt while in the depths of grief
👉🏼 we can feel confident in the work (or art) we’ve created while also fighting the battle of imposter syndrome
👉🏼 we can feel grateful for the life we are living while also lamenting that which we’ve lost
👉🏼 we can lament the life we are living while being grateful for where we’ve come from
👉🏼 we can document a really fantastic hair day and then also document the horrors of how we feel when we have the stomach bug (swipe for a real life example) 🤣

The beauty and brutality of life is in the both / and, not the either / or. And if we are blessed to live long enough, we will experience all those things and so much more.

What both / and are you sitting in today?

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Here are a few things I know to be true:
👉🏼 we can be having the time of our lives while also experiencing great disappointments
👉🏼 we can laugh so hard our stomachs hurt while in the depths of grief
👉🏼 we can feel confident in the work (or art) we’ve created while also fighting the battle of imposter syndrome
👉🏼 we can feel grateful for the life we are living while also lamenting that which we’ve lost
👉🏼 we can lament the life we are living while being grateful for where we’ve come from
👉🏼 we can document a really fantastic hair day and then also document the horrors of how we feel when we have the stomach bug (swipe for a real life example) 🤣

The beauty and brutality of life is in the both / and, not the either / or. And if we are blessed to live long enough, we will experience all those things and so much more. 

What both / and are you sitting in today?

Selah Farm Thanksgiving 2023 ✅
Carrying on the tradition my parents started so many decades ago. Love breaking bread with family, friends, strangers, international students, and more. Missing some family today, but feeling thankful. 🧡

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Selah Farm Thanksgiving 2023 ✅ 
Carrying on the tradition my parents started so many decades ago. Love breaking bread with family, friends, strangers, international students, and more. Missing some family today, but feeling thankful. 🧡

I thank God every single day that social media didn’t exist in 2003. #highschoolthenandnow

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I thank God every single day that social media didn’t exist in 2003. #highschoolthenandnow

She’s been gone 21 years, but it feels like I blinked.

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She’s been gone 21 years, but it feels like I blinked.

God is in the details.

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God is in the details.

Happy 30th Anniversary to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial! What an incredible day with incredible veteran friends. I pray that I was able to honor my mom 🇺🇸 She should have been here. ❤️

Happy Veteran’s Day to all who have so selflessly served. ❤️

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Happy 30th Anniversary to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial! What an incredible day with incredible veteran friends. I pray that I was able to honor my mom 🇺🇸 She should have been here. ❤️

Happy Veteran’s Day to all who have so selflessly served. ❤️

Today was so special. I had the privilege of representing my mom as she was posthumously honored (among six other incredible women veterans) at the Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery @womensmemorial. I was able to reconnect with and hug so many dear sister and brother Vietnam veterans that I hadn’t seen in a few decades. We hugged, laughed, and cried as we shared stories.

We ended the night with a candlelight ceremony at the Vietnam Veteran’s Women’s Memorial. And to answer your question, no.. I can’t get through listening to taps while I watch as a bunch of retired Veterans salute. 😭

This weekend, instead of taking advantage of mattress sales, thank a veteran for his or her service. 🇺🇸 #veteransday🇺🇸

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Today was so special. I had the privilege of representing my mom as she was posthumously honored (among six other incredible women veterans) at the Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery @womensmemorial. I was able to reconnect with and hug so many dear sister and brother Vietnam veterans that I hadn’t seen in a few decades. We hugged, laughed, and cried as we shared stories.

We ended the night with a candlelight ceremony at the Vietnam Veteran’s Women’s Memorial. And to answer your question, no.. I can’t get through listening to taps while I watch as a bunch of retired Veterans salute. 😭

This weekend, instead of taking advantage of mattress sales, thank a veteran for his or her service. 🇺🇸 #veteransday🇺🇸

My once in a decade “visiting where I grew up” photo dump 👉🏼

1️⃣ where I carved my name in the cement of the sidewalks I lobbied the town council for when I was 8
2️⃣ in front of my childhood home
3️⃣ on my sidewalks. Yes. They are mine. I put them there.
4️⃣ crying in front of the abandoned Tortilla Factory. May it rest in peace.
5️⃣ peering in the windows of the Tortilla Factory - the back room where the Tuesday night Folk Club met every week. Literally hasn’t changed in the 12 years it’s been closed.
6️⃣ downtown Herndon
7️⃣ at the Veteran’s memorial in downtown Herndon that my mom helped to dedicate when it was established.
8️⃣ visiting grandma
9️⃣ with my mama

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My once in a decade “visiting where I grew up” photo dump 👉🏼

1️⃣ where I carved my name in the cement of the sidewalks I lobbied the town council for when I was 8
2️⃣ in front of my childhood home
3️⃣ on my sidewalks. Yes. They are mine. I put them there. 
4️⃣ crying in front of the abandoned Tortilla Factory. May it rest in peace. 
5️⃣ peering in the windows of the Tortilla Factory - the back room where the Tuesday night Folk Club met every week. Literally hasn’t changed in the 12 years it’s been closed. 
6️⃣ downtown Herndon
7️⃣ at the Veteran’s memorial in downtown Herndon that my mom helped to dedicate when it was established. 
8️⃣ visiting grandma
9️⃣ with my mama

👇🏼SHARE IN THE COMMENTS: what or who are you grateful for? Tag them and tell them why! 🩵 #countyourblessings #countingmyblessings

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👇🏼SHARE IN THE COMMENTS: what or who are you grateful for? Tag them and tell them why! 🩵 #countyourblessings #countingmyblessings
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