I've had to surrender to a cold + the need for rest over the past week. As I emerge, I'm noticing the immense joy that tiny moments like tasting an orange or interacting with people I love brings. Colors + flavors + connection are just hitting different after a few dulled days. I'm actually startled by the jolts of joy I'm feeling, and I'm trying to take note. 

Spending time with Make Time for Creativity is prompting me to think about my approach to creativity...well creatively! Today I'm thinking about how boundaries of time + energy might enhance my connection to projects I'm currently working on.

Simple, beautiful home.
Deep transformations.
It's not a bookend. It's the whole narrative.
Mortgage-free + garbage-free.

Hope your spirit feels renewed with the introduction of a new year. 

Love,
​Jane

Based out of Los Angeles + Paris, Human Assembly offers clothing alongside vintage rugs + textiles. The curation favors timeless pieces made from natural fibers, many of which originate in Japan + France.

The shapes favored allow me to see the beauty + function already in my own wardrobe. The styling prompts appreciation for the adventures I have while wearing a piece for a long time. These long-worn pieces become imbued with story + this only enhances my relationship to them. It adds to their value + my desire to keep wearing them. This is the essence of zero-waste, so thank you Human Assembly for the beauty + inspiration. I'd totally wear those stripes for a long, long time.
 
All lovely photos via Human Assembly.

Who doesn't love soft, comfy clothing that allows for all the movement of a gym workout + feels appropriate for all day wear? Sokoi offers interesting shapes that are comfortable + functional...without being made from plastic! I'm into the hemp/linen pants that I could get onto my mat wearing + then move through my day without changing. Yes!

Sokoi's founder started her brand out of a love for yoga, but not for tight, yoga clothing. Sokoi is made from natural fibers, designed + made in California in small batches (to avoid waste), and shipped with plastic-free packaging.

All lovely photos via Sokoi. Thank you Omoriala for this one! It's so good!

I'm going through my closet as the seasons finally change in a more dependable way. I've pulled everything out of my closet + after putting most of it back, I'm left with a few extra things. I have a leather belt that I haven't worn since transitioning to high waisted pants. There is a tiny box of earrings. (I've kept the same hoops in my ears for years.) I realize I have a few coats again. I stand there...kinda stuck. I don't want to allocate space to these things.

I wonder if I need to keep these items, but I don't think I want to part with them yet. I've spent years wanting to own less. I'd really like to live with very little, and yet there are things that I want to hold on to.

As I moved everything down + up the stairs recently, I felt the weight of photo albums + craft supplies + a tiny collection of Christmas things. I realize that I need to allocate space for the few things I want to keep. That's all really. I suppose that when we've minimized as much as we want to, we have to reckon with the space that is necessary to hold our things. Even van-lifers, if you watch them long enough, end up revealing some mostly unmentioned corner of a relative's basement where they have storage bins waiting for them. 

I think a few helpful ways of thinking about my stored items are to:

• decide how much space I can + want to give to them. The allotted, single cabinet or closet or set of shelves creates a boundary by which to abide.
• use them. I've always wanted our family photo albums to be accessible, so that we could look at them. We don't do that often, however, so maybe a more intentional way of living with them would be to set one or two out on designated holidays like Valentine's Day or Thanksgiving. Grandma's quilt or dishes could be used on her birthday every year. This way, these things are not just stored, they are appreciated + become instruments of celebration.
• revisit them periodically. Enough time may have passed in a year or two for me to be ready to let that belt or some more craft supplies go. (That time might also be tomorrow.)  :)
• allow them to be useful again. It's fun to see Jo + Julia wearing my rings + to know that they love them as much as I do.

Love,
​Jane

When we were in Denver in September, we drove by a shop with an intriguing name. It was closed the first time we drove by, but it happened to be close to our favorite restaurant there (+ half a mile from where we used to live years ago!). So we decided to stop by the next day for a look around. 

Nude Foods is zero-waste shopping like I've never experienced it before! The shelves are stocked with glass jars containing everything you'd be looking for in a regular grocery store...even ready made snacks, frozen fruit + veg, meat, frozen meals, pet food + detergent.

A lot of what ends up in our garbage bins comes from food. There is so much we can do to avoid it. We can skip fast food + shop farmer's markets, bulk bins + loose produce. We can bring our own cloth bags + choose items packaged in recyclable glass + paper. 

It would also be nice to have more zero-waste options. 

A LOT of thoughts flew through my mind after our visit to Nude Foods. This isn't a perfect solution to our food system, but it is pretty incredible. This is Nude Foods second location, so I hope it continues to be embraced + gains notice. What I appreciate most (since I can't shop there) is proof of concept + community formation. Hope is alive for better.

Love,
Jane

By Christmas morning, I was feeling at peace with the efforts I'd made to prep for a simple holiday with my people. There was enough calm to savor a slow moment collecting a little fragrant sage from the garden. Stepping outside, I wondered if sage was meant to have fresh green leaves so late in December. Squirrels were chasing each other's tails around tree trunks + house finches were gathered with mourning doves at the feeder. The air was subtly opaque with white fog instead of white flakes. 

I struggle daily with the knowing + the holding of so much heaviness while also having the desire for light + love to reign in my mind. This morning, however, Christmas morning...I felt free to embrace the beauty in front of me completely. I felt free to let the heaviness of climate change recede as I stepped out into the foggy air, free to appreciate the soft, fragrant leaves, free to smile at the clatter of squirrels on the fence, free to feel the anticipation of time spent with my girls + my partner. Surely Christmas is a day to be present with the beauty in front of me...with a prayer for peace + love + beauty for all others too.

Wishing you light + love + beauty in your moments at this time of year + always,
Jane

We're in that vacuum-three-times-a-day, sneeze-five-times-in-a-row, to-do-list-never-ends time of a live-in-it-while-the-work-gets-done project. And yet...as I walked past + saw that pile of brown paper against the subfloor, I saw a kind of beauty in the texture + shadow.

As I walked back to grab my phone, I saw more + more beauty. The photos were collected quickly. Nothing was moved + not much photo editing was done...but the beauty is there...is here...right here in the in-between.

Love,
​Jane

We're in the midst of having our floors redone, which means that we are moving everything from our living spaces (upstairs) into the downstairs room. I'm thinking about this opportunity to move only the necessary upstairs again at the end of this project with a glint of excitement (+ aching hands + knees). 

I'm not sure that there will be a whole lot to let go of in the end (because I keep a pretty tight inventory of things), but I'm always curious to experience less. 

The less things there are in a space, the more value each thing takes on. A lamp becomes a prized piece of sculpture with varied form (lit + unlit). Color, texture + style become visible when a wardrobe is intentionally curated to contain only favorite pieces. The function of the bedroom (rest) becomes visual when desks, workout equipment + clutter are removed.

Even (+ maybe especially) good things can accumulate to an unhelpful level. A collection of plants can be spectacular, and it can be spectacular to have one or two plants that attract attention as individual elements of form + function. A collection of jeans can be cool, and it can be cool to own just a few favorites that feel exquisitely personal + fully "enough".

What I see in the photos above + in the type of home I want to live in is a feeling of spaciousness, room to breathe + stretch + move. I want there to be room for imagination to bloom + for love to unfurl. This feeling does not require square footage, but it does (for me) require blank space (an unadorned wall or empty shelf), uncovered windows that allow light to pour in + less stuff in view. 

I'm listing the essentials for each room + dreaming of what the space can look + feel like stripped of all the extra bits that accumulate. When each of these essentials has been chosen with intention toward function + beauty, less additional items are needed to communicate style. 

Bedroom (for rest, relaxation, connection + clothing):

• bed
• bedside tables
• lamps
• laundry baskets
• closet shelving

Livingroom (for connection, relaxation + creativity):

• sectional
• ottoman
• light

Kitchen area (for nourishment, connection + food):

• table
• couch
• footstool
• side table

Movement space (for peace, movement + gratitude):

• yoga mats
• lamp

I will savor sprinkling my little curated collection of ceramics, books + bits back in...in time. 

A fresh opportunity for "less" offers itself every day. This particular opportunity will not be missed.

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
​Jane

I frequent instagram less + less, but this morning I visited for a few minutes + read some encouraging words, found out about a health crisis + was able to give a bit toward mounting costs (this country's healthcare system is ridiculous), and came across something else that tickles my brain (twice). Recognizing the tickle, I was able to disengage with the app + move into my thoughts. Sweet spot.

One of the posts showed a circle created with tape on the ground in a public square. A guitarist played next to a piece of poster board labeling the space, "dance circle". People stopped + danced, while others continued to walk past.

Another post showed a tea ceremony peacefully taking place on a tatami mat inside a frame of wood slats forming a cube. This cube was set in various spots such as a snowy wilderness or a busy city sidewalk. 

The idea of a space created within a space with very little visual barrier + that created space facilitating behavior that would not have happened otherwise is fascinating. 

What behavior could I invite + catalyze by creating intentional spaces within my own spaces? 

• a space that draws me toward practicing movement, stretching, meditation, gratitude 
• a space that motivates me to choose whole foods
• a space that invites + enhances connection
• a space that promotes restful sleep
• a space that inspires moving through that day with softness + love

Imagine.

Love,
Jane

Photos of Pierre Sernet's inspiring work, One via his website.

Here in the United States, it's Thanksgiving. We have so many things to be thankful for: a big birthday celebrated, a pup who communicates love in palpable ways, a full rainbow, forest walking, laughter + conversation, cozy socks, cozier hugs, recovery from achy colds, new glasses, fish tacos, pumpkin pie, scarlet + golden leaves...I could go on + on.

Currently reading + noticing + writing + loving:
Make Time for Creativity by Brandon Stosuy
Everything Beautiful by Ella Frances Sanders
Pieces of You journal

Quietly among the most influential voices in the history of North American garment manufacturing.
Nico Nico is saying goodbye.
If you care about fighting cancer, there's a win here. If you care about environmental justice, there's a win here. If you care about oceans, rivers, all the rest- there's a win. If you care about climate change, there's a win.

Over the years, I have been so grateful to experience a community of sorts here.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness, your imagination, your compassion, your willing spirits, your encouragement, your presence in this world. We don't get to see each other face to face, but knowing that there are likeminded (in any way) friends in the world has fed my soul mightily. I am truly grateful for you.

Love,
Jane