Once a beloved phrase turned into a dream and then a reality. 

 

Welcome to our little corner dedicated to the quirky phrase "toats magoats"! Many of us first heard it from the 2009 movie "I Love You, Man," where Paul Rudd's character hilariously uses it as a goofy follow-up of the word "totally." ​​​It gained even more popularity in a memorable Sprint commercial featuring legendary James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell. If you haven't seen them, look them both up, they are hysterical.

 

Over time, this phrase became our favorite, using it when ever the appropriate moment would arise. Our favorite was using "toats magoats" for our name for food orders, where we couldn't help but laugh at the idea of hearing it called out when our order was ready. It quickly transformed into a quirky nickname that Derek began using across his social media platforms. What started out as a lighthearted moment turned into a signature identity we all embraced. 

 

In 2020, amid global uncertainty, we made a pivotal decision to purchase land in North-East New Mexico (near where we were living at the time), offering us a peaceful escape. We bought this amazing 5 acre lot in Pine Meadow Ranch full of juniper and pinon pine trees, rolling hills and amazing views of mountains and the New Mexico landscape. This amazing property inspired dreams of building a homestead with various animals and gardens. We discussed a name we thought would be good for our place and it wasn't hard to fall on the very name we had loved for years "Toats Magoats Ranch".   

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Now the typical spelling of the phrase is "totes magoats". But we really liked the visual symmetry of the "oats" in "toats" along side the "oats" in "magoats". And although we may not fit the traditional definition of a ranch, "farm" or "homestead", which is more accurate, did not resonate. "Toats Magoats Ranch" just flowed.

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In 2021, everything changed when our daughter and her family moved sunny Florida. After a few visits, we fell in love with the enchanting landscapes of Northern Florida. We fell in love with the long country roads, never ending rows of pines trees and the beautiful massive drooping live oak trees ornamented with Spanish moss that seem to hover everywhere over roads and pathways. Not mention the colors and flowers and ocean and the feel of a slower pace of life that tends to ooze out of North Florida. This  lead us to make another pivotal decision to relocate.

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In 2022 we sold our house and embarked on a journey with our dogs and a car full of cherished plants to head south. By the summer, we discovered a lovely 1.5-acre property in Keystone Heights, Florida. The house needed work, but the land was ideal for realizing our dream. We began transforming it into our own.

 

In late summer 2022, we converted an old lean-to into a chicken coop and welcomed our first flock. By spring 2023, we started building a vegetable garden and clearing paths for our art garden. ​​​​​​​​​Our art garden is comprised of two areas: one "Bob's Art Garden" dedicated to Jen's late uncle Bob who was an amazing welder and found metal artist. The garden has several cleared paths among the Long Leaf Pine and Live Oak trees that contains several metal art pieces including many made from Bob himself. Jen has been working on several sectioned gardens including bromeliads, cactus and succulents and American Beauty's. (Gardens page coming soon!). The second area is a small glass art garden that shows many other delightful glass findings and plants. In Spring of 2025 we were able to build an amazing greenhouse using old windows and doors we where able to find in the area.

 

In January of 2026, we started the construction of our apiary. In April 2026, we picked up our first two colonies! And in July 2026, we harvested our first batch of wildflower honey! Little by little we are building our bee community.  So stay tuned, visit often, as we continue to add to our ranch!

  

Cheers! 

 

Derek & Jenifer Andrews