What is it about holiday parties? Everybody goes into major stress trying to pull together the perfect holiday dinner or party. Me, too. But I vowed this year to simplify my holiday gatherings so that I could enjoy them as much as my guests do. No doubt but you’re like me – over the years, we’ve hosted our fair share of dinner parties, cocktail soirees, and potlucks – both with family and friends. So this year, I asked myself what is it about holiday parties that causes way more stress then the usual party? I think it’s all about expectations from decorations to special-occasion, traditional food dishes. Not only that, but everyone has emotional expectations that somehow holiday gatherings are supposed to be perfect. So this year I decided my holiday gatherings are going to be fun. In fact, I hosted a holiday party over the weekend, and tried some […]
Struggling for Simplicity in Family Relationships
Relationships can be tough, and familial relationships can be even tougher. Maybe it’s the whole ‘blood is thicker than water’ idea, or maybe it’s just the fact that we can’t really escape them – but family is here to stay even though sometimes, I’d really like a break. I don’t mean this with any kind of anger, but sometimes my family really gets in the way of the stress-less, simpler life that I crave. You may remember from my first Simple Living post that I have a big family. To clarify, that means two brothers, two sisters, my parents and a step-parent, my parents-in-law, and four brothers-in-law. All of them live within 35 minutes of my husband and me. I chat weekly with one grandmother, who was recently moved to Florida, and I am occasionally in touch with my other grandparents and several other aunts, uncles and cousins. I love them all. But I could do […]
How you can simplify your life, step by step
I have an online class filled with all the basic essentials to get you started on living a more simple life.