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The Minimal-ish Mama

A Portrait of an Imaginary Life in Cannon Beach, Oregon

in Family on 04/25/13

Everywhere I travel, I try to picture myself living. Some places are a stretch, like Illinois, where the summer heat combined with humidity are a recipe for my misery. Others, like Cannon Beach, where I visited my sister last week, feel like a dream come true.
Haystack Rock

I can imagine myself getting the part time job advertised in the window of the Organic Boutique, and stocking up on their little pots of all-natural paints. When I’m not working there, I’ll find a comfortable seat on a driftwood log on the beach with my sketchpad, capturing the Haystack Rock or the children flying kites. Maybe I’ll search for inspiration on a hike through the mossy evergreens, discovering hidden waterfalls and caves, channeling Sacajawea minus Lewis and Clarke.

Seaside
Campers by the caves

On rainy days (so, frequently) I’ll spend a few hours in various cafes writing deep, introspective thoughts, fueled by Aztec Mochas or Lavender Vanilla Lattes (both completely amazing). In all weather, I’ll visit the beach, allowing myself to be hypnotized by the rhythmic music of the waves and wind.

Aztec Mocha from Insomniac Cafe
A corner in Sesame and Lillies
North Beach

My TOMS and Wellington boots will co-exist happily by the front door, awaiting an excursion to Sesame and Lillies for a new home decor piece, or North Beach, for a sandy walk along the shore to collect new shells. My sand dollar collection will be artfully framed and displayed over my river stone fireplace.

My morning spot on the back porch

I’ll meet friends at Bill’s Tavern for fish and chips with a Blackberry Beauty Beer, or I’ll savor the best root beer known to man. It’s my kind of town, with yarn shops and glass works and fried seafood existing so close together, a car is cumbersome. And yet, you’ll never fail to discover another hidden gem on a street you walked a dozen times.

Best Root Beer Ever

From the chatty baristas at Insomniac Cafe to the fellow southwest and midwest transplants at the Conference Center and Ecola Bible School, the people I met are genuine, accepting, and kind. I feel like we would be friends, especially the girls my sister and I watched musicals On The Town and The Phantom of the Opera with while doing henna tattoos. Not only do we share similar interests; artistic, literary, fair trade, we’re also in similar places in life. We’ve found a place to minister, and maybe something else that pays the bills. We’re really just trying to find our place in life, trying to find what we’re meant to do.

Henna Birds

And when in Oregon, do as the Oregonians do, and put a bird on it! 

Have you ever fallen in love with a place you’ve visited? Tell me about it in the comments!

« Why Fair Trade Matters to Me, By Mercy Ink
Giveaway from Scribbles Shoppe and Mercy Ink Designs »

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We Should Hang Out On Instagram

I was quoted as an expert in an @apartmentguide ar I was quoted as an expert in an @apartmentguide article, a subsidiary of Redfin. Check out the featured article "What is a nesting party? And how can you host one at home?" at the link in my bio!

(I'm in the "Laundry" section!)
I almost didn't post the video of our main floor b I almost didn't post the video of our main floor bathroom, because it isn't "done." But how silly is that? Is any house project ever really "done" anyway? 😂

It's come a long way, thanks to the magic of paint and peel & stick wallpaper. I would love your ideas for improving it more! 

I think a brass shower curtain rod is a must, but what about painting the ceiling blue? Peel and stick tile?

Watch the transformation on my Youtube channel.
Less = More! In “Why Parents are Drowning in T Less = More! 

In “Why Parents are Drowning in Toys,” an article from Box, “US toy sales jumped from $22.3 billion in 2019 to $26 billion in 2020, and then to $30.1 billion in 2021 …”

BILLIONS. 

And in a study from the early 2000s, average middle class homes had 139 toys visible, with countless more hidden away. 😳

If your kids struggle to pick up, it could be that there are just too many toys. It could also be that there isn’t a clear home for the toys. Or a combination of both!

My free guide on toy decluttering walks you through the process of decluttering toys and breaks down the overwhelming project into small steps.

Grab the guide at the link in my profile! 

#springcleaning #minimalisthome #minimalismwithkids #declutteryourlife
Have your 🥧 and eat it too! Minimalism isn’t Have your 🥧 and eat it too! Minimalism isn’t just about having less.

It’s about CHOOSING less, to have MORE.

Less impulse spending, MORE saving for vacation. 

Less stuff to manage, MORE free time.

For us, homeschooling this year has meant less of a lot of things - like alone time, work, going to the store by myself, to name a few - but it’s also meant more conversations, more unstructured play, more baking 🤣

This is why minimalism won’t look the same for anyone. You have to choose the things that enrich your life, and say no to the rest.

What’s something you’re choosing less of in this season of life?

#minimalisthome #minimalismwithkids #homeschoollife #homeschooling
It’s snowing and icy outside right now, so it’ It’s snowing and icy outside right now, so it’s perfect timing to watch my YouTube video, “My First Year of Gardening”! It gave me so much hope editing this video and remembering that spring WILL come again!

The video is a recap of my gardening experiment, starting in January and ending in October. Bennett is my gardening buddy, and his commentary throughout is just precious 🤣

Watch the video at the link in my bio for my YouTube channel 🌷
It doesn’t have to cost a lot to get organized!# It doesn’t have to cost a lot to get organized!#springcleaning 

The only thing I bought to make our back door entryway more functional was a larger rug. I re-purposed shoe racks and hangers I already had. 

What made all the difference was taking a few minutes to pull everything out and discover just how much was cluttering up the closet, and get rid of it! 

Now we each have three pairs of shoes down here (snow boots/sandals, tennis shoes, rain boots for the boys, slippers, boots and sneakers for me, sneakers, work boots, and slippers for Brian).

🏠 What’s one small space in your home that you just need to spend a little time on making more functional? 

#springcleaning #cleanwithme #springcleaningchecklist #getorganized
Six months 🎀 Six months 🎀
Edison complained ALL DAY about our plan to see th Edison complained ALL DAY about our plan to see the Glimmer Lights at @fenimorefarmcv after Christmas - he didn’t want to go outside, he didn’t want to ride in the car for that long, etc.etc.etc. 

But after we parked and started unloading the stroller, he came around the side of the car and announced: “I’ve decided that since I’m here, I’m going to enjoy it.” 

And he proceeded to have a wonderful time 😂

That statement sums up how I feel about winter. 🥶 

Instead of dreading it and being miserable for four, five? months, since I’m here, I might as well enjoy it!

In case you’re a fellow SAD sufferer (Seasonal Affective Disorder) here’s a few things that are helping:

1. Going outside, even for a few minutes. I never want to, but we have had so much fun having nighttime snowball fights, skating on the frozen swamp, or just sitting and watching birds. It’s hard, but worth it!

2. Drinking copious amounts of hot tea and hot chocolate. Bonus points for thrifting a cool mug for the occasion! 

3. Wearing comfy clothes. I know everyone has been doing it since 2020 but I bought myself a matching sweatshirt and sweatpants for Christmas and now I’m ruined because I never want to wear real clothes again 🤣

4. Shamelessly hurkle durkling. The Scottish word means something like “to lie in bed after you should have gotten up.” I’m nap trapped, okay?!

5. Get the gear. I bought winter gloves that actually keep my hands warm (life changing). Last year I bought snow pants, and now I’m on the lookout for a good winter coat (my zipper broke) and snow boots that don’t cost an arm and a leg! 

It’s amazing how much more enjoyable winter is when you dress for it 🤣

Any tips for getting through the cold and gray days?
Happy Betwixmas! I just learned that that’s what Happy Betwixmas! I just learned that that’s what they call this liminal period between Christmas and New Year’s in England, and I think we need to make it a thing.

After a quiet and slow Christmas at home, I’m now staying up until 1am, sleeping until noon, reading, and playing too much Zelda.

In past years, I spent this time journaling, making vision boards, charts, and goal setting to prepare for the new year. But I just don’t have that kind of energy anymore 🤣 

You’re probably already getting bombarded with “New Year, New You!” messages, and while a small part of me feels like I “should” be posting decluttering tips and before and after transformations, I also feel “betwixt.” 

Betwixt the past version of myself, and the new chapter  slowly unfolding. After each of my babies, I birthed a new version of myself, marked by paradigm shifts in my career, my home - and less visible changes in my dreams, perspective, and beliefs. After the confusion of matresence, I find a new purpose and direction.

I trust that this will happen again, in time. The page of the next chapter will turn. I’ll find a new direction or rediscover joy in an old one. And in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the in-between, the small moments of everyday beauty.
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