Slow-Living Is A Better Way: Today’s Homemaking Thoughts
Plus, announcing this month's book club selection...
Announcing This Month’s Book Club Selection!
I’m so excited to share this month’s book club selection! This month we are reading fiction and the book we will be reading is…Christmas Karol! I am friends with the author, Faith Moore, and she will be joining us for our next book club discussion to answer YOUR questions. I can’t wait to discuss it with you all!
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Quote of the Week:
“If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.” — Margaret Thatcher
Classic Style Inspo
Karrie Locher is a wonderful resource for new moms about babies, breastfeeding, and being postpartum. Plus, she has five kids which makes me trust her even more! One thing I enjoy is her unique laidback style which comes through in the way that she styles her baby wrap. Her baby wraps can be an accessory in and of themselves!
Things I’ve Been Loving: Plastic Glasses
Jacob and I recently decided to replace our glass cups with plastic ones to make it safer for Little Man in our home. I wanted to find cups that looked like glass even if they were plastic, and I came across these! I love them and they are so attractive!
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I'm a wife, mama, opera singer, entrepreneur, YouTuber, and your guide to becoming the classic woman you've always wanted to be! Follow me on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter to see how! And together, let's be classic.
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Slow-Living Is A Better Way: Today’s Homemaking Thoughts
Hello friends. As I continue to post my regular content, please know that nothing is normal for Israel and Jews around the world. Please continue to keep the people of Israel in your prayers.
Friends! It’s Monday and I feel so close to labor I can taste it. I am just about 38 weeks along, and I have been contracting on and off since Thursday night, so we are on tenterhooks waiting to see when this little baby will join us. But man, am I exhausted! As a heads up, I will pause your subscriptions for about a month while we get our bearings, so you will not be charged for the month I take off for maternity leave. I’m hoping I can hop back into our book club meetings right around Christmas to discuss our latest book club selection!
We had another lovely weekend here in Florida with our friends and family. Sunday was another birthday-heavy weekend and Little Man had such a great time playing with his friends. I even took some professional photos for one of the parties which was great since I don’t always have the chance to flex my creative photography muscles. We finished the day with my parents and then went to bed early because this mama is TIRED!
Today, I wanted to share more homemaking thoughts! It’s been a bit since we’ve talked about homemaking, and one of my favorite elements of this lifestyle is slow living.
We live in the era of hustle culture. The idea that we would choose to live life more slowly often strikes people as unambitious, which has incredibly negative connotations today. Ambition is talked about my most people as an unmitigated good as long as it’s not done at the cost of others, but I have learned so much about life in the last few years that has completely changed my mind.
Life is worth living right now. Not tomorrow, not for the life you could have if you just pushed harder, reached further, and aimed higher, but today. I used to think that pushing forward was the ultimate path to fulfillment and happiness. It wasn’t until I had my son that I realized that the way I live my life day to day was really the best way to be fulfilled and happy! There is nothing wrong with living a smaller life with less but that’s filled with more time for those you love and the things you enjoy. If I can read a book, learn a new skill, and play with my son on an average Tuesday, that seems like a lovely life - far lovelier than pushing, pushing, pushing till I burn out.
Slow living has all sorts of strings attached to its definition these days, but I will simply define it here as recognizing that if you are comfortable (AKA you aren’t lacking in any major financial area that needs to be resolved), you can remain at that level and enjoy what you already have. If my husband needed to work an extra 20 hours a week, for example, in order for us to reach a higher level of income or if I needed to stop being a stay-at-home mom and start working so that we could go on an extra vacation each year, I don’t think that would fundamentally make us happier people. Our lives would not be more full.
We would simply be more prideful.
We would have earned more or gained a certain level of recognition, sure. But what would our daily lives look like? Would they be more or less pleasant when it came down to it?
We don’t need more things to have more in our lives. We just need time. And that is fleeting. So embracing a slow living mentality where you don’t feel the need to be busy all the time, where knitting and crocheting and gardening and cooking are activities to be enjoyed for their own sake, is a better way.
In conclusion, let me share three small ways you can start incorporating a slow living mentality into your life today.
Pick up a new hobby just for the fun of it. I recently have been learning how to crochet. I’m so excited to pick up this new skill just because it’s entertaining to me! I used to turn every one of my hobbies into a business, but ever since embracing slow living, I’ve realized it’s okay to just enjoy activities for their own sake. Not interested in crocheting? Try knitting, drawing, painting, or gardening! Pick up a new hobby for the sheer joy it will bring you and use your free time getting better at it.
Stop at the library and pick out some new reads. The library is such a good way to ease yourself into a slow living mentality. You can browse for as long as you want without spending one dime and end up leaving with a bunch of books you want to read. Choose a book that’s funny or silly - you don’t always have to read something serious or educational. And then read it on an evening where you have some free time, wrapped in a blanket with some tea.
Do one chore at a leisurely pace. As someone who likes cleaning, the act of rushing around to clean is very stressful to me. Allow yourself the chance to do one chore slowly. Put on a podcast and wash the dishes. Turn on a show and fold your laundry. Listen to music while mopping the floor. Turn a chore that you often rush to get done into something you can do with more patience. It’s a nice feeling, not running around trying to get everything finished.
So those are my thoughts on slow living! What do you think? Share your thoughts below!
What date is book club?
Dear Abby,
I'm leaving a comment because I'm interested in a personal coaching session. Not sure if this is something you'll be doing in the near future due to the arrival of your new baby (so many congratulations!!), but if you are I would love to book one!