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Spring and Natural Easter Eggs
We are getting glimpses of spring in the mountains…and whenever I sense spring I get very excited to clear clutter and clean! But more on that next week… At the moment, my attention is on Easter. I came across recipes for natural Easter egg dyes in the March/April issue of Natural Home and Garden Magazine. [...]
Inspired by Food
A few weeks ago I shared the new habits and tips I have incorporated into my life to help me simplify making dinner. Spending time in the kitchen has also caused me to eat in a new way. I have been inspired by food! I want to share some of the new beliefs, recipes, and [...]
Tips for Simple Meal Planning
In my new life in the mountains, I find myself spending more time cooking and baking. As a result, two things have happened: first, I am eating in a new way (more on this to come) and second, I feel like I am finally getting into a flow of meal planning, simplifying meal preparation and [...]
Self-Acceptance is the Ultimate Simplicity
I’ve come to realize that when I am in a place of self-acceptance, I am naturally simplified. For years so many of my actions and choices were motivated by a feeling that I need to be more or do more—that somehow I, or my life, was not enough. On the surface this may seem like [...]
Celebrating With Sweets: The Winter Holidays Edition
IEL News… Since we enjoy this time of year so much, this month we’ll be posting a few extra blogs—some new as well as a few of our holiday favorites. Wishing you a happy holiday season! My sister and I grew up with big holiday celebrations. Both our parents really enjoyed making a fuss out [...]
Staying in the Mountains
IEL NEWS: Wishing you and yours a joyful Thanksgiving and happiness as the holiday season begins… Now I know… at least for now… You may recall from my blog Embracing the Unknown, that a few months ago my husband and I had a strong sense that we should sell our home in California. We [...]
Redefining Homemaking
“If we had a feminism that caused us to get out of the house, is there not also room for feminism that would bring us back home, so that our homes would reflect ourselves and would once more have soul?” - Ginette Paris, Social Psychologist Being a “homemaker” seems to have gotten a bad rap. It’s [...]
Simple Home
How a Tear-Down, Temporary, Fixer-Upper Became a Dream Home A year ago my family and I spent a month in the mountains. Prior to this trip, I don’t think my husband had taken more than ten days of vacation at a time. This month was transformative in so many ways. For me, I felt inspired [...]
Back To School: Setting Intentions for the New School Year
When I was a child, I used to think the New Year began with the start of school. In many ways, for parents and children the first day of school is as significant as New Year’s day. As with the new calendar year, the new school year is a great time to reflect on the [...]
Living With Someone Else’s Clutter
If you’re the type of person who likes living in a clutter-free, organized space, it can be really frustrating to live with someone who doesn’t! I know from personal experience. Whenever my husband enters a hardware or athletic store he will always find something to buy, whether we need it or not, and I live [...]
