ABOUT the CALIFORNIA COUNTRY GAL
April 13, 2026Hi there, I'm Annabelle!
I grew up in Southern California, a scruffy, mostly barefoot little tomboy and the youngest of four children. As you can see by the photo below, the fashion bug bit me at about age 14, however, at 18 I married a small town trouble maker with lots of hair and started poppin' out kids. We spent a few years in Los Angeles and many more in New York City, where I was posing as a glamorous model (which never quite suited the 'tomboy' in me). After son #4 was born, and several stops later, we landed ourselves in the country, which suits us a bit better than city life! Still, I wouldn't trade those fun, sweaty days on the subway or the harrowing cab rides through the city for anything!
I grew up in Southern California, a scruffy, mostly barefoot little tomboy and the youngest of four children. As you can see by the photo below, the fashion bug bit me at about age 14, however, at 18 I married a small town trouble maker with lots of hair and started poppin' out kids. We spent a few years in Los Angeles and many more in New York City, where I was posing as a glamorous model (which never quite suited the 'tomboy' in me). After son #4 was born, and several stops later, we landed ourselves in the country, which suits us a bit better than city life! Still, I wouldn't trade those fun, sweaty days on the subway or the harrowing cab rides through the city for anything!
A little over ten years ago, we moved our family of four young men from city to suburbia and finally to the southern California countryside to work our fingers to the bone, stretch our budget well beyond comfort (I'm talkin' beans 'n wieners and nearly a squirrel or two!), keep our children isolated from their friends and, in general, piss each other off (and some of our far and wide neighbors) to the best of our ability! It has been one fuuuuun decade!!
I know we look semi-normal here (the one with the 80's-style furry lip is Dad),
but wait til you see what ten years of hard labor'll do to ya!
but wait til you see what ten years of hard labor'll do to ya!
Okay, well along the way we also learned a few things, like how to build our home and lots of out buildings using our own (this is supposed to be funny, so don't get weird about it) child labor! We learned about homeschooling and independent studies. We put up a five acre fence line, acquired an entire pack of dogs, and learned about raising chickens, goats and a piggy and NO, we will never eat him! We learned about planting and caring for fruit trees and vegetable gardens and irrigation. We've learned (well, my husband much more so than me here) about water wells, septic systems (the place where the poop goes!) and solar energy. We've learned how to drive a tractor, shoot a rifle and skin a rattlesnake (won't be doin' that again!). So, I admit, it's also been an iiiiiinteresting decade!
And now, after ten years of country life that cute little family in the photo above now looks more like prison escapees! This is what too much hard work'll do to ya! So, all you country-folk-wanna-be's, don't say I didn't warn you! Mind you, it's no mistake that I'm nowhere to be seen in this picture...haha!
America's Most Wanted? No, it's just my family!
Now, With that crazy decade over with I'm fast forwarding to my latest passion, which is my love of feeding my family delicious Comfort Foods with my Healthy California Twist on the recipes! This includes a desire to share my discoveries with whoever will pay attention! So, this website was born! And I could REALLY use your help by 'Liking' me on my Facebook page and telling your friends about me! You won't believe how Easy and Delicious Baking MY WAY with REAL WHOLE FOODS is!
Grain, Gluten and Guilt-free! With SECRET INGREDIENTS that Promote Health and Weight Loss! My recipes aren't just easy but they taste like regular ol' delicious baked goods yet don't contain a bunch of typical gluten-free baking starches and other junk so they're also great for your waistline! AND your kids will loooove the goodies and never suspect they're good for 'em!
I hope you'll stick around and even come back often and explore more of my site...even more than just Good ol' Comfort Food!
In CRAZY COUNTRY LIFE I will be blogging (once I learn how) about our escapades of living, trying to make a living, and surviving out here in the California countryside. There's useful information we can share on such things as hoping to survive the 'big one' or installing a pink vintage toilet in the 'Sugar Shack'. Not working for 'the Man' is big around here too. Not working at all is even better! Sometimes we do fun things, like host wedding or a frog race... or in case we get run out of town or somethin', this is where we'll let you know!
NO-DIET LIFESTYLE in this section I share information about balancing lifestyles in a relaxed, common sense way and never 'dieting' again! It's simply meant to give an overview of basic information that I have found to be very helpful in maintaining my weight and health as well as healing from an illness. This information is NOT meant to replace the advice given to you by your own physician. However, we believe each person and body is unique and the better we know our own body the more involved we can become in its care. Rather than leaving its care solely in the hands of an 'educated' stranger we can be knowledgeable enough to work with our chosen Healthcare Provider to help assure our bodies' unique needs are met! AND, if you happen to care about your health and well being like you should, you'll learn how we are completely addicted to sugar, starch, and processed 'food-stuff' and are 'duped' by Big Business again and again, while they sacrifice our health for their profits!
MY HONEYPIES will disclose too much information on the 'life and times' of our four strange, but wonderful sons and their talent for taking entrepreneurship to new heights with activities such as couch-potato testing and 'home brewing'. Okay, they're also musicians, photographers, carpenters and hard workers too. And...we're also joined by a few renters here who make us seem more normal! Lol!
RECYCLE STYLE shows how we love to take yard sale and flea market treasures and find them a second home after some sprucing up. Thrift store shopping and mix-match California Country Style Clothing, Vintage Aprons and Kitchen Towels are all close to my heart!
Here's what you'll find inside CaliforniaCountryGaL.com...
In REAL FOOD DIARIES I'll be posting lots of delicious Country Recipes with my Healthy, Balanced, California-style twist, always using good ol' Real Whole Foods! No 'lowfat' or 'tofu' in sight (becuz neither are good for you)! There'll be lots of Gluten/Grain-free and Semi-Raw dishes! Most are low carb, low glycemic and paleo friendly as well as for other strict dieting choices. Because I don't subscribe to any one 'diet cult' I also offer a few recipes made with Spelt (wheat's cousin) flour.In CRAZY COUNTRY LIFE I will be blogging (once I learn how) about our escapades of living, trying to make a living, and surviving out here in the California countryside. There's useful information we can share on such things as hoping to survive the 'big one' or installing a pink vintage toilet in the 'Sugar Shack'. Not working for 'the Man' is big around here too. Not working at all is even better! Sometimes we do fun things, like host wedding or a frog race... or in case we get run out of town or somethin', this is where we'll let you know!
NO-DIET LIFESTYLE in this section I share information about balancing lifestyles in a relaxed, common sense way and never 'dieting' again! It's simply meant to give an overview of basic information that I have found to be very helpful in maintaining my weight and health as well as healing from an illness. This information is NOT meant to replace the advice given to you by your own physician. However, we believe each person and body is unique and the better we know our own body the more involved we can become in its care. Rather than leaving its care solely in the hands of an 'educated' stranger we can be knowledgeable enough to work with our chosen Healthcare Provider to help assure our bodies' unique needs are met! AND, if you happen to care about your health and well being like you should, you'll learn how we are completely addicted to sugar, starch, and processed 'food-stuff' and are 'duped' by Big Business again and again, while they sacrifice our health for their profits!
MY HONEYPIES will disclose too much information on the 'life and times' of our four strange, but wonderful sons and their talent for taking entrepreneurship to new heights with activities such as couch-potato testing and 'home brewing'. Okay, they're also musicians, photographers, carpenters and hard workers too. And...we're also joined by a few renters here who make us seem more normal! Lol!
RECYCLE STYLE shows how we love to take yard sale and flea market treasures and find them a second home after some sprucing up. Thrift store shopping and mix-match California Country Style Clothing, Vintage Aprons and Kitchen Towels are all close to my heart!
RAE of HOPE is our goal to provide a mentorship program as well as information and links to help those needing or wanting education on the process of recovering from addiction and/or the prevention of addiction to prescription painkillers and other opiates, a growing epidemic in this country.
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by here!
With lots of Love, a little Confusion and Hope for a Better World,
Annabelle (aka a Real California Country GaL)
AS IF I HAVEN'T ALREADY SAID ENOUGH....
PS...Okay, I have a confession to make...When I decided to start this bIog I gained some inspiration from the most well-known Blogger I could think of: The Pioneer Woman. Ree lovingly refers to her husband as Marlboro Man. Well, I guess I'll need to disclose that my husband has acquired a nickname as well, though the image you might conjur up to his name, 'Animal' may be slightly different than that of the rugged, smoking cowboy in the Marlboro ads! The name 'Animal' came from kids pointing and screaming 'Big Foot!' usually as they were running away! Once our youngest entered it into my cell phone (yes, I own a cell phone) it just stayed there! He may have been a trouble maker back then, but these days he tolerates alota abuse around here!
Annabelle and Animal
This photo's from one of our silly Halloween parties, I swear!
This photo's from one of our silly Halloween parties, I swear!
Contact us at: calcountrygal@yahoo.com
Posted by Annabelle.
I'm Annabelle, a quirky homemaker just tryin' to carve out my little piece o' sunshine in the California countryside. Botox, tofu and wheat are scarce in these parts...and Mom always said "Eat your Fat 'cause it's GOOD for ya!"
