Minimalism

I am not a minimalist. I never have been. I aspire to be and I think about it often. I also happen to live with someone who is a pure minimalist...a basic man who loves the SIMPLE things and a life without stuff.

I have been on the road a lot this week promoting my beloved camp Sail Caribbean.  With multiple fuzzy radio channels and no aux cable hookup to be found, I've had a lot of time to think. Dangerous, I know.

Minimalism has been on my mind. Needs vs. wants. Things. Simplicity. Accumulating. Consumerism.

                  Happiness.

8 months ago, Andrew and I did not own silverware. Hell, we didn't own half of the things that have become a permanent fixture in our home. I don't even really know how it all got there. And the scary thing is, I have been wanting more.

When I lived in the islands, I had 2 duffle bags full of clothes and a few special keepsakes. I co-owned a car that had more character and years on her than me, for the small price of $750 (and a few of my 9 lives while driving her).  I didn't care about things. First of all, there wasn't really any place to buy things. And although I wouldn't change my life today, I miss that simplicity. There was no pressure to have this or that. There were no commercials in your face pushing the latest and greatest (mostly because I did not own a tv). And people talked to one another and not to their cell phones. I worked because I loved it and I wanted to. It was always clear what was important.  My happiness was never based on things.

I heard on NPR the other day that we should be encouraged to partake in some retail therapy when life has us down. That shopping is a great way to change our mood and boost our happiness.  I could not disagree more.  I am hardly a saint...I love a good retail therapy session like most other women, but I always find myself empty in the end.  After loading up on things I think I need and HAVE to own, I am back to the root of what was making me unhappy and unfulfilled in the first place + now I have an even emptier pocket.  It all stems from this consumeristic America in which we live.  That somehow things will magically make you happy. That the more you have, the better off you will be.

In the midst of this New England polar vortex we've been living in for months, Andrew and I have passed lots of nights huddled on the couch under plush blankets with glasses of "2 Buck Chuck" and reruns of the hit tv series Nashville.  Hibernating at its finest.  A few weeks ago in the depths of winter depression and wanting more, an episode helped me gain perspective. A Life That's Good has become my obsession. My reminder after a hard day of what makes me happy...what makes me feel whole...what is truly important. This song is simple, because the simple things are really all we need. Luckily, I also have Andrew to remind me that its all just stuff.  Stuff won't love you at the end of the day.

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

And so I will continue striving for a life of minimalism. perspective in my needs and wants. seeking simplicity. and working to get to the root of my happiness, one less thing at a time.

Write More. Type Less.

Do you ever pick up a notecard and ballpoint pen and just write a note? To a friend, loved one, spouse? Anyone?

Most people can say they do, only to realize 90% of those hand written notes are thank you notes (if you were raised a Southerner) or a quick birthday card.  I know I have been a culprit of this over the years. In fact mostly because I think cards are expensive. If you know the frugality my father has engrained in my head, you'd understand. But now there is no excuse. For $1 at Trader Joes I can pick up a simple, sweet card for any person or occasion.

Call me old fashioned, but I can't think of any better expression of love and human interaction than the hand written letter. In the age of emails, face-less responses and letters on a keypad, a hand written letter is such a breath of fresh air. And a lost art.

Lately I find myself anxiously awaiting the mailman. I am hopeful that amidst the unending bills, junk mail and catalogs of things I don't need, there will be a handwritten envelope that holds real words with ink.  My grandmother's best friend Betty has sent me 2 letters in the last month since our engagement. She is 89. She understands the written word. She writes me in pencil on simple white lined paper and I love receiving those letters. They don't say much. They don't have to. They are simply refreshing.

Ever since Andrew and I started dating I have left him handwritten cards at least once a month.  Lots of times its when I leave for work, when he leaves for work, or when I am feeling extra sentimental. He has a stack of them on his desk. Some of them are meaningful and some of them simply say I love you.  I don't know exactly what made me start this, but I'm glad I did.  I hope our children and grandchildren look through these cards one day and know our story a bit better and gain appreciation and value of the written letter. I can only imagine by that point that in time the written letter might be extinct. I cannot imagine my children writing emails to their loved ones and sorting through an electronic label to look back on them. There is something to be said for snail mail.

Like Andrew's stack of letters, I too keep written letters in multiple manilla envelopes. I keep birthday cards, graduation letters, love notes and reflections I've written in stacks of journals. Andrew calls me a hoarder. I call it sentimental. He gets nervous when I reread them. I find perspective, a boast in self confidence and a whole lot of love from those notes, cards and letters. It is refreshing to read off plain paper and not a computer screen. Lines, ink, and flowing words.

So, I challenge you to Write More, Type Less. 

Out with the OLD...

In with the NEW…

I don't consider myself a New Years Resolution kind of person.  I like to make changes in my life throughout the year, not one time a year. I think the pressure to come up with how you want to change yourself just because its a new year is kind of a waste of time and unfair to your life goals. I could hope for a ton of changes in my life - don't nag Andrew as much, volunteer in my community, exercise 5 times a week, see family and friends more, budget better, etc etc etc. Lets face it, the reality is that most people make these resolutions and they slowly fade away in 2-3 weeks, two months max.  Fitness facilitates have certainly learned how to capitalize on this one.

I am in favor of a new year and a fresh start. The prospects of a new year are exciting, especially when you realize you are getting married! So in lieu of fresh starts and a new year, I decided to have a few "Out with the old, In with the new" moments.

First thing, a new blog theme! Can I get some oohs and ahhhs?!? Thanks to my good old creative friend Etsy and 17th Avenue Designs I have a new stylish look for my blog. I even installed the theme myself and found out exactly how to put in the social media icons - hey, I'll give my not-so-tech-savy self a pat on the back for that one.

Secondly, has anyone seen the new season of Downton Abbey?!  I can't wait for my juicy gossip "stories" on Monday night, when I can finally sit down and watch it on the Apple tv.

There have been quite a few "out with the old, in with the new" in our house in the past 3 weeks! It's back…the massive, overwhelming white board.  Goliath meets David. Out with the old house goals and in with the new ones.  Ambitious?! Certainly, but this house isn't going to fix itself…



Oh, did I mention the new leak we found in our roof? Might be old, might be new, regardless I wish it wasn't there…

January 2 (yes, just 2 days after our engagement, so romantic) we started pulling old horse hair plaster from our bedroom.  We quickly filled a 20 yard dumpster via a chute in our bathroom in less than a week.  As with all house projects, what was supposed to be a one room project became two plus the hall. The original goal was to demo our bedroom and create an inviting bedroom with ample closet space.  It morphed into complete demolition of the master bedroom, office and part of the hallway.  And what a MESS it was!! Holy smokes! Horse hair plaster and old cotton, blown in insulation is absolutely disgusting.  Take my word for it. I felt like Pig-Pen from Peanuts the entire week of demo - like there was a cloud of dust following me even when I went to sleep.  Gross.

So in 3 weeks we have brought both rooms down to studs; removed both closet structures; re-insulated; removed the old window in our bedroom and replaced it with a new, Anderson 400 window; framed our new closet; added a hall linen closet layout; installed 9 can lights, 3 light switches, and 12 outlets; rewired the ENTIRE upstairs with 6 new home runs with proper conduit;  put in 2 coax boxes; and created a massive mess in our house.

Tomorrow is sheetrock, a trip to the dump, and the final touches on the framing for the closets. Somehow these Saturday plans get me excited (non-sarcastic), mostly because we can then turn on the heat upstairs...