Yesterday, I wrote about realizing (again) that less is enough. Today, I'm proclaiming that enough is fantastic!  :)  It is for me anyway.
 
I get to wear my favorites more often.
I can purchase things that I love, because I don't buy many of them.
I get to support some of my favorite makers making good things in good ways out of good materials.
I enjoy caring for + mending my things in order to make them last longer.
The laundry takes less time + doesn't pile up.
I feel like me in my clothes.

In the mix above:

• my two comfy sweatshirts + sweatpants pairings
• my favorite jeans
• a vintage bandana
• a cozy flannel I've had for years

Kinda fantastic!  :)

Love,
​Jane

I'm not a person who likes rigid rules about how many items of clothing I allow myself to have. This can feel freeing, when I find the most perfectly fitting, vintage sweatshirt while on vacation. It can also feel a bit chaotic, when I'm not really sure if I have enough.

This morning, I pulled on a pair of pants that always kinda make me feel like I'm wearing pajama pants. I have two pairs of pajama pants that I like better, so I don't need these in that capacity. I put this pair on today, because my other comfy pants were still on the drying rack (clean + dry).  Do I need to keep this pajama-ish pair?

It still surprises me how little I really need to feel like I have enough. I have two pairs of comfy pants that I like to wear on my days off. Each pair has a matching top. I like to wear these pieces as sets, and I like to mix them with other pieces in my closet. It's enough.

Love,
Jane

A few things I'm appreciating right now:

• daily ritual :: These winter days are cold + dry. I'm very much appreciating Fat and the Moon's Aloe Lotion for its natural, unscented ingredients that moisturize my thirsty skin while leaving my allergies unactivated. I like its recyclable glass jar + metal lid (+ the cute label). 
• familiar things in unfamiliar places :: I had plans for the big blank wall in this room, but when I couldn't find the materials that matched my vision, these Block Shop scarves (that have acted as closet curtains for years) make me smile in their new spot. The $2 for little dowels to hang them on was an easy spend.
• participating with a story already in progress :: Putting stitches into this finished-by-someone-else quilt top is sweet. It came to me with a few stains + holes. It has bunchy seams, and it will never be perfect. Maybe that is part of the charm.
• imperfect solutions :: This olive oil originally came in a plastic squeeze bottle that feels kinda cringy, but allows me to use less oil. These recyclable refill bottles are making me happy.

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.

I finished Real Americans by Rachel Khong this week + my thoughts keep returning to it. Our thoughts are shaped by our circumstances + absolutes are seldom as concrete as they seem...even when the best of intentions are in play.

Simple, beautiful home.
It's not a bookend. It's the whole narrative.
Mortgage-free + garbage-free.
Influenced influencers influencing.
It's both individually worthless + everything you have.

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