Full & Simple

2017: The Year of Contentment

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Happy New Year!  There are so many people talking about how rough 2016 was, and when I stop and think about it, 2016 was a rough year on my heart and spirit as well.  Yes, there was "THE election," racism, violence and celebrity deaths.  And yes, all of those things took their toll on me, but more than that, I just felt under attack spiritually.  The more I tried to grab a hold of simple, the further from my reach it seemed to get.  My 2016 was supposed to be "simple," but in 2016....

Simple Got Complicated

I wrote in the middle of the year about how I basically let "simple" get the best of me.  I wanted to do all of the "simple" things...all at one time.  I tried the KonMari method.  We got chickens to increase our own food production and self-reliability.  I not only increased the size of our garden, but I added another garden plot over on our 20 acres for pumpkins, zucchinis and two types of squash.  I canned and preserved more than ever.  And then I started following all of these wonderful "simple living" ladies on Instagram. That's when I started trying to buy all of the reusable/sustainable items they seemed to be using.

All of it got the better of me.  There was just too much "new"at one time.  I felt overwhelmed and completely inadequate.  Listening to the Erin Loechner (author of Chasing Slow) episode of The Happy Hour last week made me feel a bit better when even she admitted that we can get caught chasing slow living just as much as we chase fast living.  That's why....

2017's Word is "Contentment"

Contentment was my goal all along with my word choice of simple.  To me, simple living means living with less stuff, obligations, and busyness in order find joy and contentment in everyday life.  Being content doesn't mean not trying to live better or differently, but it does mean finding joy where you are, with what you have.  Last year, I let too much of my identity be defined by how we were living and what we had.  Clearing clutter and growing my own food were as much status symbols to me as a brand new Gucci bag is to others.  I felt that if I didn't use the same green cleaners or light beeswax candles at dinner that I was doing "simple" wrong.  But what I was doing wrong was letting my outer life, determine my inner, spiritual life.  I have shared this quote from Richard Foster multiple times here on the blog and I'm going to do it again and again until I fully grasp it!  He says, "The Christian discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle."

Plans for Contentment

This year, I don't plan on sharing monthly goals or updates necessarily like last year.  Honestly, doing these posts added pressure to my "simple" year and left me feeling even worse when I didn't get them finished or done the way I had set out to do them.  However, I do plan to share with you some of my inner discoveries and book reviews throughout the year.

Today I started Nancy Ray's Contentment Challenge, where I will try to go three whole months without buying anything that is non-essential.  That means no new home decor, clothes, craft projects, books, etc.  I'm honestly terrified of admitting to doing this challenge publicly, lest I should slip or give up.

It's only the first day and I'm already "itchy" knowing I can't buy anything.  The other day I saw new stuff at the Target Dollar Spot (my kryptonite) and I bought a few things just because I knew I was going to work on this challenge.  The challenge is meant for us to look at our lives and to find meaningful pursuits in place of using shopping to fill any emotional void we have.  If you want to hear about my progress, sign up for my newsletter, where I plan to share most of the thoughts I have about the challenge.  And please pray for me y'all!

Later this week I will also share with you my reading list for this year.  I have about 16 books that I'm going to work through this year that focus on contentment and simple living.  I honestly could have chosen so many more, but I think these are the ones I'm most excited about.

Adding a Memory Verse

And I'm adding a Bible passage to commit to memory this year as well:

" I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13

I didn't do this in 2016, so I hope that by finding scripture to ground me in my word choice will keep me from veering off of the path I want to pursue this year.

Your Turn

I'd love to know what word you've chosen for the year or what goals or resolutions you have.  Do you have any book or Bible study suggestions?  Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: Erika Bault is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Erika

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Hand-Picked Peach: Everlane

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Hand-Picked Peach Post Header Web

Have you heard about Everlane yet?  If you've been following my Turning 30 journey (which by the way, I'm 30 today!), then you know that I've been working on developing my own personal style for this new stage of life and I'm trying to create a capsule wardrobe.

While I've been working on this, I've also been learning about slow and ethical fashion, which is where Everlane comes in.  They are a great source for  ethically produced wardrobe basics!  I'm actually working on a larger post about my journey to an ethical capsule wardrobe, but I couldn't wait to share about this company.  I just got my first order from them this week and I'm so impressed.

everlane-cotton-crew-black

First, a little about the company...

Everlane is online only so they can pass along savings to customers because they have less overhead that brick and mortar stores have.  Everlane searches the world for the best factories, visits them often and develops close relationships with the factory owners.  This allows the company to assure customers of the factory's integrity.  You can see pictures of every factory that produces clothing for Everlane on their site.

Earlier I mentioned the savings they pass along because of their business model.  They also show a cost breakdown for EVERY item they sell!  You can see how much it costs to make the item and the markup.  As a former business teacher, I find this aspect of their business fascinating.

everlane-pima-stretch-tank

I bought the Pima stretch tank which will be great under sweaters or blazers this fall and winter.  I also bought the cotton crew tee in black and white.  These will also be great layering pieces this fall with cardigans and blazers.  All three items are so soft!  I'm sure they will become favorites VERY quickly!

If you're in the market for some ethical wardrobe basics make sure you take a look at Everlane.  They are very affordable and I'm happy with the shirts I bought.

everlane-cotton-crew-white

Disclaimer: The post above does contain my referral link.  I earn credit with Everlane at no additional cost to you if you choose to purchase items from them.

Erika

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Indiana Blogs Fall Tour: Full & Simple

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Full & Simple Home Tour 2016 (12)

Hey there!  I'm so excited to be one of five Hoosier women bringing you tips this week on how to do fall right.  As part of the Indiana Blogs Fall Tour, we will be sharing recipes, decor and even fall style!  Make sure to come back everyday this week to see the featured blog of the day.

I get the privilege of starting the week off by sharing some of my fall decor tips.  Two things influenced my decor this year.  The first being that I painted our TV cabinet green this past winter, and I thought that a lot of orange would clash with my cabinet and other green touches I've been adding to the home.  For this reason I stuck with a pretty neutral palette.  The second thing that influenced my decor was my desire to simplify.  I didn't want to go out and buy a lot of new fall decor just to have to store it.  I've come a long way this year with trying to declutter, and I didn't want to backslide.  I hope that you enjoy the tour!

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour (16)

You can find the pedestal tray here.

Full & Simple Home Tour 2016 (18)

As I said, I didn't want to end up with a lot of decor that I needed to store.  To combat this, I relied heavily on natural elements like mini pumpkins from a local farm stand, sunflowers from the farmers market and even pears from the grocery store.  These seasonal items remind me of the changing weather and can easily be added to the compost pile (or eaten in the case of the pears) to help our garden grow next year.  Win-win!

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (13)

Another way I added a sense of fall to our home without adding a lot new decor, was through smells.  I bought this delicious Pumpkin Nut Bread candle at Target.  Besides smelling amazing, I loved that this candle was white and went with my decor!  Plus, the jar nods to farmhouse style.

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (17)

I've been using the Grove Collaborative to purchase many of my household supplies and cleaners for several months now.  I love their mission of only carrying natural, earth-friendly products.  Normally, I buy my Mrs. Meyer cleaners in the lavender scent, but this past month the fall scents arrived!  I ordered the apple cider scent in the dish soap, hand soap, and surface cleaners.  Every time Lakota washes her hands, she says, "They smell like apple pie!"  You have to clean, so why not make the process help you enjoy the season?

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (15)

You can find my chairs here.

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (11)

For the items that I did purchase new this year, I tried to buy things that could be used for another purpose or season.  A white linen tablecloth from Target can be used for just about any season or occasion, but I liked the idea of a tablecloth for fall because it adds another layer of cozy.  Layering throws, pillows, and linens in any color scheme will give a nod to the coming fall season and cooler weather.  I bought the harvest basket at Target as well in the Dollar Spot.  The pumpkins were from a local farm stand.  I love white pumpkins!

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (14)

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (7)

The magnolia garland is from Hobby Lobby.  I loved the green, but I felt that the brown allowed for the garland to be used in my fall decor.  Plus, now that Fixer Upper and Jojo are such huge hits, you can't really say that you have farmhouse style without owning something with magnolia leaves or cotton stems.  But because this garland is not season-specific, I can really move it around the house or use it for other seasons as well.

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (8)

Full & Simple Home Tour 2016 (9)

The pumpkins on my hearth are a combination of collected pumpkins.  The only new one is the burlap pumpkin in the basket.  It is from the Target Dollar Spot.  The other pumpkins in the basket are Dollar Spot finds from years past.  Last year, I bought the white plastic pumpkin and B decal from Hobby Lobby, both of which were still available at my Hobby Lobby this year.

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (10)

I made the burlap banner on the mantel a few years ago when we first moved in.  I was so excited to be debt free and finally be able to decorate for the seasons.  It is really quite easy to do.  Buy the pre-cut bunting from Hobby Lobby, black paint and whatever stencil you want to paint on it.  I make my own stencils by printing letters or pictures on card stock and using an utility knife to cut the image out.  Once you are happy, string the bunting on a cute ribbon and hang it using clear Command Hooks.

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (3)

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (4)

Again, outside I used natural elements, dual-purpose items and things I already owned to create a welcoming front porch scene.  My mums are grown by the local nursery, and I simply put them in galvanized containers I bought from Hobby Lobby.  I can use these containers again next summer for different plants and one of the containers is going to become a trash can.  See? Dual-purpose!

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (5)

 

The antique folding chair is something we already owned and use for family gatherings.  My wire baskets stay on the porch as long as the garden produces so I can easily get to them for picking veggies.  The purplish-maroon plaid blanket scarf could not have been a luckier find!  I was worried about how to tie my fall wreath in with my newly painted door color, but this scarf did the trick perfectly!  Plus, I can actually wear it for a scarf at any point!

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (6)

The wreath is perhaps on of my favorite pieces of my fall decor.  I made it a few years ago as well, with a pre-made wreath from Hobby Lobby (which is still available at my store), a wooden letter that I painted, brown ribbon and a hot glue gun.

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (2)

But more than decorating, one of my favorite things to do in Indiana during the fall season is to attend the various festivals and markets.  Living in a small town means that our hometown festival, the Apple Festival, is even more special.  School closes for the Friday of the festival so carnival rides can be put up on the grounds and most everyone (my family included) goes each day.  When I was in high school, I was crowned The Apple Festival Queen and last year I won the apple pie baking contest for my age group.  I'm already looking forward to a taco in a bag (or a walking taco to some) and homemade apple dumplings!

And that's it!  I hope that you've enjoyed the tour and that I've inspired to you to enjoy the season a little more simply.  But I also hope that I've shown you that just because you are living a simple life, doesn't mean you can't decorate for the seasons.

Day 2: Ali Wren

Day 3: Woven and Threaded

Day 4: Her Tailored Life

Day 5: The Blog Bloom

Full & Simple Fall Home Tour 2016 (1)

Disclaimer: The above post does contain affiliate links.  By choosing to use these links when you make a purchase, you help Full & Simple to be able to continue to bring you great content.  Thanks for supporting the blog!

Erika

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Getting Simple with Food

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Recently my husband and I watched Cowspiracy on Netflix.  Cowspiracy is a documentary exploring the effects of animal agriculture on our environment.  Last week, The Blog Bloom announced a challenge that they have created for themselves (and others) to eat only locally grown food for the month of August.  And lastly, our garden is FINALLY starting to produce a good amount of veggies for us.  All of these things made me decide to try to spend August focusing on getting simple with food.

Okay, so Cowspiracy...I liked it and here's why:  While it did talk about the negative aspects of animal agriculture on the environment, it did not villianize farmers.  It actually focused on how poor of a job environmentalists are doing about recognizing animal agriculture as a problem for the environment even though the United Nations did a study and basically said that animal farming is worse for the environment than all of us driving cars!  The documentary came to the conclusion that if anyone truly wants to call themselves an environmentalist then they must adopt a vegan lifestyle on top of their low-flow showerheads.

Now, I do not plan to become vegan or even vegetarian because...BACON.  But I've watched enough other documentaries and read enough articles to know that a mostly veggie diet is better for your health and, now it turns out, the environment.  That's why I've started to try more vegetarian dinners, made with vegetables grown by us or bought at the local farmers market.

Not only is this cheaper on our family's grocery budget but it is better for us, and could help save the environment.  A quote that The Blog Bloom shared when announcing their challenge to eat local this month that I found extremely profound was:

“Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles….If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”

Wow!  Food that is not locally grown and raised contributes to the need for more fuel usage.  Plus, the extra time spent in processing, transportation, and sitting in the grocery store leads to the vegetables loosing nutrients.

I realize that us having a large garden makes it much easier for us to eat locally grown produce, but as far as meat goes, we do buy off of a local butcher shop, but that meat is not necessarily locally raised.  That's another reason I'm trying to focus more on vegetarian dinners, health benefits being the first.

Eating locally also means less processed food, which I'm not sure we've done very well with.   We still buy Teddy Grahams and apple sauce pouches because they're easy snacks to through in the diaper bag.  And I still buy white pasta, frozen chicken strips and Drumstick ice cream cones and I still drink my Mountain Dew even though I don't buy it to keep at the house.  We do however, avoid frozen meals, canned soups and things like Hamburger Helper most of the time.  We could still improve in this area.

So the goals this month are to continue to eat the majority of our meals straight from the garden, put up as much produce as we can for this winter, and to not drink pop for the rest of the month (which will probably be the hardest for me).

How about you?  Do you have a favorite vegetarian dish or something that you cook with only local ingredients?  Share it in the comments!

Disclaimer: This post does contain affiliate links.

 

Erika

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Turning 30 Goal Check-In: Month 9

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Full & Simple Turning 30 Featured

How is July over already?!  This summer is going by WAY too fast.  I am so thankful that I'm not headed back to school next week, even though I do miss my colleagues and students.

This month we kicked it into gear with several projects, which also meant less time on some of my Turning 30 goals, but with these other projects finishing up, I'll have room to slow down and start doing the daily intentional living I'm craving.

As I shared in my post about how I let my simple goals get complicated, the first lesson is simple living that I've really learned this year is to not take on too much at one time...even if in the long run it leads to the life you want.

This year I joined the farmers market board, we bought chickens, built a chicken coop, took on a few other house projects, sold all of our dining furniture, decided to try to build a barn wood table, expanded the garden and added a pumpkin and squash garden on our 20 acres on top of just our regular lives in the summer.  All of these things will eventually lead to the full and simple life we're working towards, but taking on so much at one time wasn't a very good plan.

Alright, let's dive in to how things went this month!

Goal #1: Read More

Progress:  Since I wrote last, I read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  It was beautiful.  I loved it.  I convinced my book club to read it since I've wanted to read this book now that we keep bees.  From what we know, so far, about beekeeping and bees, Kidd did a great job on portraying beekeeping accurately.  I'm not usually one to buy fiction books.  I like to buy non-fiction because I underline and write in the book, but with fiction I rarely re-read so I don't much see the point.  However, this book is one that I may have to buy.  I will probably re-read it.  I would love to read it with L one day when she's old enough to handle the content.  Now I'm just trying to find a way to watch the movie since my library doesn't have it and I guess our library system doesn't do inter-library loans on movies.

The Secret Life of Bees

And that's all I finished in July, other than Simply Calligraphy which I don't really classify as reading.  Most days I was so worn out from working outside in the garden or on the chicken coop that I didn't have the mental energy for reading.

I'm still working on Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria and my Seamless study.  J-man has started only taking one nap a day instead of two, so I'm having to rework my schedule as to when I get the blog, Bible study and housework done.

Goal #2: Continue Going to Yoga

Progress:  I made it a few times this month, but our instructor has taken some time off for vacation and spending time with her family before school starts, which I think is great.  Well, not great for me, but I love that she's putting family and self-care first.  Classes start again later this month.  I'm ready to get back to class on a regular basis now that we aren't going to be trying to spend every non-rainy moment on the coop.

Goal #3: Lose the Baby Weight

Progress:  No gain or loss this month.  However, a tropical vacation may be in my future in September, so I need to kick the weightloss into gear!

Goal #4: Learn Italian

Progress: Duolingo says I'm still 9% fluent.....

Goal #5: Take a Cooking Class

Progress:  The fall schedule isn't posted yet, but I'm planning on writing to see when they expect to have it on their website.  I'm really hoping for something with wine...

Goal #6:  Make Time for Play

Progress:   We had some of the ladies from my book club and their families over for a cookout this month.  It was fun to see our kids play together.

I took the kids to the Children's Museum this past weekend all by myself.  I'm totally fine if you want to start calling me Supermom now. LOL!  Okay, it probably wasn't that big of a deal, but I was worried going into it.

And date night got cancelled this month due to my husband's job.  Some things came up and that jacked with his schedule.  Boo work!

Goal #7: Develop a Signature Style

Progress: I'm starting to gather resources about creating a capsule wardrobe.  I've found blog posts, books and worksheets.  I'm also going to be looking over some of my Pinterest Boards on style and taking note of pieces that I see repeated in the looks I love.  Obviously those are pieces that I probably need to incorporate into my own closet.

Goal #8:  Master the Top Knot

Progress:  DONE.

Goal #9: Continue Making our House Our Home

Progress: Last month I told you that we sold all of our dining room furniture so that my stepdad and I could make a table out of barn wood.  Well, the barn wood is pulled and I've bought my chairs.  I love these white chairs.  First of all, I love white in decor but worry about using it with small kids.  However, these white chairs will be easy to clean off after sticky fingers have touched them.

Full & Simple White Metal Farmhouse Chair

We also found an amazing church pew to replace the bench we used to use to sit on while putting on our shoes.  I'm so in love with it.  The blanket and "Live Simply" pillow is from Parris Chic Boutique.  The buffalo check pillow is from Amazon.

Full & Simple Antique Church Pew

I also painted our front door a new color, started to turn a storage room into a craft room and office for myself and we finished the chicken coop!

Here's a preview of the coop. Full tour post coming soon!

Here's a preview of the coop. Full tour post coming soon!

 

Goal #10: Make Devotions & Bible Study Part of My Daily Life

Progress:  Like I said earlier,  my little man has changed nap schedules on me, but I think I'm finding a time that works again.  I know that I miss not spending time in the Word on days I don't fit it in.

Progress over Perfection

 

I could easily get discouraged about the lack of progress in some areas, but that won't change the past.  All I can do is to take a deep breath, realize that at least some progress was made in almost goal on my list, and just keep trying.  I will never be able to simply check most of these goals off the list as "done."  They are goals about how I want to live, and hopefully, my life is far from done.

Disclaimer: The above post does contain referral and affiliate links which means if you use the link and decide to purchase an item, I receive a little money at no extra cost to you to help keep the blog going.  Thanks

Erika

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Simple Got Complicated

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Full & Simple- Simple Got Complicated (1)

When I chose "simple" as my word for 2016, I thought I had given myself a pretty easy task.  How hard could it be to simplify things?  I chose simple because I have felt the desire to enjoy my life more, to be present more and to be more intentional.  I feel like many days I'm waiting for the next project to complete, wishing for bedtimes, or hoping that tomorrow will be less hectic.  As I take this month to take stock of how the previous six months of the year have gone, I've realized that simple got complicated.

First, let me start with social media.  I love Instagram, and when I decided to embark on this journey of simple, I started to unfollow some accounts and follow others that were trying to live more intentionally and more simply.  As I followed these people, I started to want to implement the simple things they were doing in their lives into our lives.  The problem?  Not everyone was doing everything....but I was...or at least I was trying to.  I have been trying to implement a ton of new things into our lives this year in the hopes that it will "simplify" things in the long run.  And, in the long run, these things might work.  In the short-term?  I'm anxious and stressed out because I have a bazillion uncompleted projects and I can't fit everything into my day.

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The garden is the second source of discontent and stress this year.  A good harvest seemed so much more important this year for a few reasons.  First, I started my own seeds in February and I planted the whole garden by myself for the first time ever.  Second, this is the second year of me staying home.  Our garden last year, really helped us stay within budget on our groceries.  And lastly, I need to lose another ten pounds to get back to pre-baby weight.   Because of our limited grocery budget, I don't buy a ton of fresh produce at the store (Walmart).  Plus, the produce at the grocery is shipped in from all over and I'm not a fan of that.  I really have been putting my faith in having my own fresh produce from the garden supplemented with the farmers market to jumpstart us on a path to healthier eating.

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But so far, the rabbits have eaten pretty much all of my kale, some of my purple carrot tops and a lot of my corn starts, and there is another critter eating my green and red peppers before they ripen.  A lot of plants, like our tomatoes, were put out late because of our focus on the chickens and trying to make the chicken coop livable for them.  The coop is still not complete, but we'll get to that in a minute.  To top it all off, Mother Nature doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me at all.  I've either had seeds and plants drowning in too much rain or seeds that never germinated because of the heat.  This gardening season just doesn't seem to be working in our favor at all.

And the third thing that is causing stress is the chicken coop.  My husband as built a beautiful chicken coop for me.  It's pretty and functional.  The man is using trigonometry to determine angles of the roof, etc.!  Women, if your sons ever wonder if they'll use math in the future, tell them that if they plan on having wives, then yes, they will, especially if that wife has access to Pinterest.  The problem is that between the rain and our busy schedule, the coop is taking much, much longer than either of us had anticipated.  And it is taking much, much more money than either of us had anticipated.  I'm not a person with much patience.  I want things done and beautiful quickly, so it has been killing me that we have a construction zone on the property.  But with the weather forecast of mostly rain for the next week, this doesn't look like it will get done anytime soon.

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Why am I telling you all of this?  Is it just to vent and whine?  Well, yes and no.  I have fallen into a bit of a "poor me" spiral, but I really do want to get out of it.  No, I'm writing about all of this because I realize that we all have seasons where nothing seems to be going right for us, where things aren't turning out how we planned and hoped.  Recently I was listening to an episode of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey and she and her guest (I think it was Ashley Noelle...) were talking about how we, as women, need to speak truth into each other's lives.  We need to stop hiding the imperfect and the sins.  Perfectionism is my go-to defense mechanism because I rarely feel good enough.  Trying to be perfect allows me to hide the authentic and real me.

I have wanted to portray the "perfect" simple this year.  I wanted people to see my successes and not the failures.  But as I look back on the previous six months and at what is going on inside myself, I'm realizing that my "failure" to embrace a truly simple 2016 isn't about all of the projects.  It's about the state of my heart.  I've been consumed with the the physical and outward appearance of simple.  On my wall, I created a print with a quote that Rachel Nordgren shared during one of her Influence Network classes.  It says, "The Christian discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle," (Richard Foster).  THAT! That is the simple 2016 I want to try to pursue the second half of this year.  I will still try to simplify our stuff and I want to simplify my eating habits, but I will never be able to embrace simple without changing my heart.

If you would like a copy of the print I've made of this quote, sign up for my newsletter before Friday, July 8, 2016!  I'm going to be sending it to subscribers in this weekend's newsletter.  Plus, when you sign-up you'll also get my Food Lovers Devotional!

 

Erika

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Hand-Picked Peach: Week 44

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Hand-Picked Peach Post Header Web

I definitely may have a girl crush on Jess Connolly.  I'm sure you haven't noticed how much I talk about her here on the blog. LOL!  To me, she's right up there with Joanna Gaines as far as women I look up to.  Jess has her own blog, is a speaker, co-founder of The Influence Network and recently released her first book, Wild and Free.

Well, she's done something else amazing as well.  She created a Summer to Thrive guide.  It is a series of pages to help guide you to setting meaningful goals this summer and then chilling out about all the things that do not help meet these few goals.

Earlier this week I wrote about how I'm planning to rest more this June.  I need to take a step back from commitments, let go of the word "should," and give myself a little more grace and mercy.  This guide is in complete agreement with those goals, so I thought it would be a perfect share for you this week.

To get your Summer to Thrive guide, simply click here and then sign up to receive Jess's newsletter.  Easy as that!

Source: JessConnolly.com

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Erika

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Simple June

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Full & Simple-Simple June-Taking Time to Rest

May felt like a bit of a disaster.  I made a lot of commitments and goals that ended up wiping me out.  And because of that, I don't feel like I really lived up to my Simple May goals of being more intentional with my relationships.  That is why for the month of June, I'm focusing on rest.  Specifically, I'm going to try to rest in three areas of my life.

I will give you rest

  1. Commitments

We have already set some commitments for June, like helping with vacation Bible school, but I'm going to try to avoid taking on any more projects or committees this month.  I'm an introvert and most of the time, I like just being at home, so making commitments outside of the house wears me down.  Does this mean I'm saying no to dinner with family and friends?  No.  Does this mean that I don't plan on completing any projects?  No.  What I really mean is that I'm not going to put the pressure on myself of making any public declarations of projects and I probably won't schedule dinner weeks in advance.  I'm going to try to just do my best each day.

2. "Should"

Last month when I went to see Hayley Morgan and Jess Connolly talk about their book, Wild and Free, one of the things that they had us do was stand up and declare what "should" we were letting go of.  Should holds us back from being free.  Should is comparison.  Should makes us feel guilty.  Should makes us commit to more than we can handle.  Should is fear and insecurity; fear of not being accepted or feeling like we aren't good enough or that we are too much to handle.  And as Hayley wrote, "A free woman [...] doesn't feel so insecure that others are judging her.  She rests, breathes, lives and loves in His promises and truth."

 3. Grace and Mercy

My pastor once summarized grace and mercy like this, "Grace is getting more than you deserve.  Mercy is not getting what you deserve."  This month I'm going to work on showing grace and mercy to myself and in turn to my family and friends.  I have been blessed beyond what I deserve already, but there are days that I won't think that I "deserve" that glass of wine and time to read a good book after the kids go to bed.  But you know what?  I'm going to try to give myself more than that anyway.  There will be times that I don't think that I should forgive myself for losing it with the kids, but I'm going to try to forgive myself anyway.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Because what we really deserve, everyday, is to die and go to hell for our sins, but because of Christ we don't have to.  We can ask for forgiveness and do our best tomorrow to be more like Him.

I urge you to take time to rest this month and not just physically rest.  Take time to rest your soul.  If you struggle with Instagram envy, like I do sometimes, then stay off of it for a day or two.  If you're an introvert, take time to be alone.  Take a walk and pray.  And let go of "should."  The only thing we really should do is try to be more like Christ, but when we don't measure up, we need to show ourselves grace and mercy and then move on.

Living in Freedom

 

Erika

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Simple May

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Full & Simple- Simple May- Focusing on Relationships

May is a busy month for us.  There's Mother's Day, our anniversary, our church's spring carnival, and a few other family functions thrown in there.  But with this month being our anniversary (nine years!!!), I thought that this would be the perfect month to really try to focus on relationships and our marriage as my Simple 2016 goal for the month.

I used to think that marriage books and counseling and all of that was for people with marriages in trouble or on the brink of divorce.  It wasn't until I starting to follow women in The Influence Network that I saw that a lot of Christian women used counseling and books on marriage as more of a tune-up and maintenance.  And especially after reading last month's book for book club, and talking with the ladies in our group that I really bought into doing readings and things as a couple to build a stronger marriage and not waiting until it was to repair a marriage.  

Up to this point, most of my Simple 2016 month goals have been about the physical aspect of simplicity, but behind wanting to live simply is also a desire to live intentionally.  And I believe an intentional life is about focusing on relationships even more than it is about focusing on our physical surroundings.  So I've bought a few books and have a few plans to make this month about relationships.

I bought the 31 Prayers Bundle from the Unveiled Wife.  It is a husband-wife set with a book for each that include prayers to pray for each other.  We started the prayers yesterday.  I'm trying to replace "my husband" in the prayers with my husband's name.  I think it will make the prayers even more personal.

I also ordered The 5 Love Languages after having a fellow book club member suggest it last month as a book to read with your spouse.  She said that since we usually give love the way the we want to receive love that sometimes our spouses don't pick up on our gestures if we are presenting them in a way that they don't really perceive as love.  For example, if you feel loved by receiving gifts then you may give gifts as a sign of love.  But if your husband really feels loved when you speak affirmation into his life, and you don't do that very often, he may not feel loved despite you trying to show it via gifts.  

And because Amazon always gets me with the "You might also like..." I also bought The 5 Love Languages of Children.  I truly believe that children that feel loved (but also have boundaries) behave better and will be more successful and have more perseverance in struggles, so I think that learning how they want to be shown love is also important.

As far as activities to focus on family more, yesterday we had a family day and went to the Children's Museum.  I had a great time and it was a fantastic day for the visit.  It was the least crowded day we've ever been, so there was so much less stress and L and J got to play a lot more.  I'm planning on a date night for our anniversary as well this month.  I know that I don't make time for my husband like I should.  I allow myself to deplete during the day with the kids and then, as an introvert, need time alone to recoup to do it all over again the next day.  I read a great post by Joshua Becker about how we allow too many activities get in the way of our marriages and I completely agreed, so maybe a monthly date night will start to become part of our routine.

Besides the books I've listed above, here are a few other resources mentioned by women this past month in my book club to help you spend time with and focus on relationships with your kids and husband.  I haven't read or done all of these yet, but I'm definitely adding them to my GoodReads list!

How are do you make time for a spouse?  Do you have any great couple's books or books on parenting that you can share?  I would LOVE to hear from you!  Leave me a note in the comments below.

 

Erika

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How to Organize Papers

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Full & Simple How to Organize Papers

My goals in March for Simple 2016 were to not drink any pop, start seeds for the garden and to finish up the paper section of the KonMari method.  I got several seeds started and I have kale, eggplant and cauliflower already sprouting up.  I didn't drink pop at all until the 31st when I had these party slushes with ginger ale at book club.  AND I finished the paper section of the KonMari Method.  It took a little over a week of working on it whenever I could spare a minute, but I'm so relieved to have gotten it finished.

The first thing I did was go through EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE OF PAPER.  I pulled out all of the files that we currently had and looked at every single thing.  This took the longest.  I had bank statements from 2006!!!!  When I finished my shred pile was about seven inches high and my trash pile was about three inches high.

 

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My shred pile after sorting through all of my files

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My shred pile is toward the bottom and my trash pile is toward the top

After I cleared out all of the junk, I started to decide what files needed to be separated (We originally kept all of our tax information in a singe file, but now each year has its own file. and what files could be merged.  And I came up with this color system:

Black Folders

  • Bills
  • Banking
  • Income

Purple Folders

  • Taxes
  • Retirement Information

Red Folders

  • Medical
  • Health Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance

Yellow Folders

  • Home information
  • Home insurance
  • Auto information
  • Auto Insurance

Blue Folders

  • Memberships
  • Licenses
  • Miscellaneous

Now everything is easy to locate and we don't have to sift through irrelevant papers to get the item we need.  I kept way more than Kondo suggests in her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but I was leery of keeping less.  It is my plan to go through the files every January to keep them tidy.  I did, however, take Kondo's advice and put all manuals in plastic sleeves in a binder instead of just having them lying around or in a file.

The next thing I did was decide on a system to organize papers that don't get filed or that I don't have time right away to get to.

I bought these magazine holders from Target.com and I love the vintage vibe they give to the office.  As you will notice from my pictures, the office has not been painted since we've moved in and our office furniture is secondhand, but it is my vision to turn this room into a vintage manly(ish) study/library.  I think these magazine holders will fit in nicely even after I make the changes I want to make.

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I also bought this wall-mounted magazine holder for magazines and any mail that I haven't had time to sort through.

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It is my goal to try to sort the mail everyday and get it in the right place to be dealt with, but I have designated Tuesdays as "Paper Day."  This way, one day a week, I take time to deal with all of the unsorted mail, take care of any actionable items and file away anything that needs to be filed.  I thought this was an appropriate day since I already do a lot of other paper related tasks on Tuesdays like meal plan, coupon, and write out the grocery list.

Here are a few links that I found especially useful in setting up my paper organization system:

I hope that this helps you set up your own paper organization system!  I think that having a way to take care of our important documents takes away a lot of stress which is one of the key components to living a simple life.

 

 

Erika

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