Little House on the Mountain/Philia Ministries

[AnnaSofia]

{I searched and didn't see any previous topics on this couple, my apologies if they've come up before.}

 

So I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole this morning...

I was watching some sustainability/tiny home/minimalism type vids on YouTube, and I ended up with a recommendation for a channel called  Little House on the Mountain. It actually didn't stand out all that much amongst the other Cottage Core/Mountain Life/Slow Living themed stuff, other than the clothing being more extreme, until I noticed the scripture quotes. I checked out their blog and Instagram, and was immediately greeted with a quote from our old friend, Lady Lydia

The couple who run the "Little House" channel are James and Lea DiNonno, and they also founded something called Philia Ministries which also has a separate YouTube channel. Apparently it's Christian with "Hebrew Roots". They're big on head covering, fear mongering about the end times, preaching wifely submission, etc. Both channels have their own Patreon links

Also found a blog for the woman who moderates their Facebook, and I have to post it for the FJ-throwback awesomeness of the URL: Godly Wife Modest Life.

Lea's maiden name is Rannells, and she was a model on the show Project Runway but doesn't seem to have done much else, per IMDB. She also tried her hand selling real estate. She claims to have dabbled in New-Age beliefs before ultimately being born again.

James DiNonno was also a model/actor/stunt man, and seems more successful than his wife, it looks like he's still getting steady work as stunt double on various TV series.

So what are some of my fellow FJ-ers takes on this??? Are they just grifting? Do they actually believe any of this shit? Is it elaborate performance art?

[Howl]

30 minutes ago, AnnaSofia said:

Do they actually believe any of this shit? Is it elaborate performance art?

The key metric is the number of kids and pregnancy spacing. 

Tell me more about Cottage Core! I didn't know that was a thing! 

[AnnaSofia]

Hmm, not sure what I did, but I somehow screwed up a few hyperlinks in the middle of the post.

Philia Ministries

Philia Ministries YouTube

Godly Wife Modest Life blog

[AnnaSofia]

1 minute ago, Howl said:

The key metric is the number of kids and pregnancy spacing.

They don't have any kids, but I think the explanation is that she has infertility?

 

Quote

Tell me more about Cottage Core! I didn't know that was a thing! 

It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like

Lot of "cottage in the countryside" aesthetic, sort of like Victoria magazine back in the day. Some of it sort of merges with minimalism, tiny house, back to nature/sustainable living stuff, while some of it is more "china tea sets and pretending we're in a Lucy Maude Montgomery novel".

The Cottage Fairy (Paola Merrill)

Instagram

YouTube

Apronful of Stones (British Vlogger)

Instagram

YouTube

Elise Buch (From Denmark, also sells vintage clothes)

Instagram

YouTube

Isabel Paige (Tiny Home w/ some cottage core aspects, but more hippie/yoga)

Instagram

YouTube

[llucie]

21 minutes ago, AnnaSofia said:

 

Lot of "cottage in the countryside" aesthetic, sort of like Victoria magazine back in the day. Some of it sort of merges with minimalism, tiny house, back to nature/sustainable living stuff, while some of it is more "china tea sets and pretending we're in a Lucy Maude Montgomery novel".

 

LOL i noticed the trend growing in youtube a lot in the last couple of years. I would also note:

 Her 86m2 

Talasbuan

The Elliott Homestead

 

[hoipolloi]

Fake Jews roughing it in the wilderness. Whatever.

Actually, they remind me of Mia of the long gone blog Aspiring Homemaker. Mia was/is a young Black woman who (apparently) lived with her family in a rural setting in the South somewhere. They were/are fundie Christian & dressed in pseudo-19th century garb. They participated in Civil War reenactments. The blog had gorgeous photography & everything was posed very artfully, with same kinds of inside & outdoor views of their "traditional" home.

Surely, there is nothing new under the sun!

[AnnaSofia]

I thought of Mia well!

Yeah, what actually got me about the whole thing was how many early 2000s fundie boxes it checked, the faux-Jewish stuff, the meditations on modest dress, homemaking, Biblical womanhood and wifely virtue, etc..

It's a bit like someone read FJ cira 2008, threw everything in a blender (minus the large family), and filmed the results for YouTube. Throw in the fact that both of them have professional backgrounds in television and it's just really weird.