April 07, 2016

The More of Less

April 07, 2016/ Whitney Conard

The past few weeks, I've realized our family is "sorta minimalist." And I've also seen ways where our non-minimalist ways are holding us back from what we want our life to be like.

A little background: a few years ago we wrote a family purpose statement that talks about the importance of people over possessions and memories over materialism. Those ideals have shaped the decisions we've made, especially in moving back to the United States. Sometimes we've made the wrong choices that didn't line up with our values. But having a guiding philosophy has helped us stay focused on what really matters to us.

I've never used the word "minimalist" to describe ourselves. But I recently read a new book by Josh Becker of BecomingMinimalist.com - The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. And the words on the page kept resonating with my own values.

March 31, 2016

A Moderate Success (Stitch Fix Review #1)

March 31, 2016/ Whitney Conard

Earlier this week, I talked about a major closet purge and why I'm trying Stitch Fix. Believe me, I see the irony: Look at all the clothes I gave away so I have space to buy more! My only defense is that I ordered my Fix about 3 weeks ago, and it actually inspired me to clean out my closets of items I don't love or find useful in my everyday life.

If you haven't heard of Stitch Fix before, here's the quick and dirty details:

March 28, 2016

What I Learned From A Closet Purge

March 28, 2016/ Whitney Conard

It was late on a Saturday evening. I was scheduled to sing in our church's morning service and decided to pick out my outfit the night before. As I pushed hangers aside and looked at what was hanging in my closet, I had the familiar overwhelming feeling - "Why do I have so many clothes I don't like???"

I have always had a complicated relationship with clothes. Growing up, my family had several rules about what I could and couldn't wear: no sleeveless tops, nothing above the knee, nothing too tight, and - for a spell in elementary school - dresses on Fridays. Worst rule ever for a tomboy.

When you're a young teenager, it's hard enough trying to fit in. But I was tall and skinny and had no curves - all angles - and I had a hard time figuring out how to dress myself. Maybe that's a pretty common theme for teenagers. But I didn't feel great about my body, and I decided to act like I didn't care about clothes at all.

March 16, 2016

How Community-Supported Agriculture Changed Our Lives

March 16, 2016/ Whitney Conard

The past few weeks, color has started springing up all over the city - white apple blossoms looking like snow-covered treetops, bright yellow daffodils nodding to me as I pass our front flowerbed, and grass finally recovering its green hue after long months of brown and yellow. And when I see all the new blossoms, I can't help getting excited about the start of CSA season.

CSA stands for "community supported agriculture", and last year it transformed our eating habits. If you've never heard of a CSA before, but love farmer's markets and fresh produce, then keep reading - you might just discover your next favorite thing.

November 18, 2015

Four Fall Favorites and Obsessions

November 18, 2015/ Whitney Conard

I guess I'm in a "seasonal" mood this week, with my posts on winter, autumn reads, and now, my favorite fall things. So here are a few things that are brightening up my days, even as early evenings and grey skies are moving in...