On introversion

It came to my attention that I casually drop the term "introversion" in my writings quite often. I'd like to define what I mean by that word and explain my little introverted self.

What introversion means to me:

• I need time by myself, especially if I've been spending time with other people
• Writing and thinking introspectively are a top to-do
• Sometimes I make a bubble around myself to observe rather than participate
• Loud noise and/or music can be overstimulation and make me power down
• When I get the chance, I like to take myself on "dates" to the library, coffee shop, or farmer's market

Coffee and studying... by myself

What introversion isn't for me:

• Shyness- I may look like I'm timid, but often I'm just listening 
• Fear of people- spending time with good people brings me joy... but I still need to recharge afterwards
• Something to overcome- Though I can push it aside when needed, I've accepted my introverted nature and respect it. It doesn't prevent me from living fully.

Taking myself on a farmer's market date

We all describe ourselves differently. Some who identify as introverted might find all that I have written above to be entirely inaccurate in defining themselves. Some who identify as extroverted might connect with what I have written. The power comes when you define what you need as an individual human and stand by that with all of your might.

Enjoy today,

Addie

P.s. for more reading on introversion read Quiet, visit Susannah Conway's blog, or check out this old post of mine

Simple foods

Veggies. Spices. Smoked salmon. Oatmeal. Whole wheat. Banana. Grapefruit. Whole foods to remind me of the simple joys in the everyday- and the simple joy of making and sharing food with loved ones!

Enjoy today,

Addie

Enough: practicing my word in 2014

Last year my word was brave. How fitting, for a year of change and growing up. For 2014 I chose enough. As in, I am enough (inspiration from Brene Brown). In the past month and a half, I've been practicing the art of enough.

I say I am enough when...

• I've been busy all day... and then I go to bed at 8
• Eating healthy has been a priority... and then I have some chocolate
• I managed to get myself to the gym after a long day... and then I take it easy in my workout 
• All I've done is listen... so I sit in silence 
• I forget to floss my teeth 
• I'd like a nice, introvert-friendly evening of books and pens and tea
• Choosing to take care of myself is more appealing than another commitment 

I am enough

I am enough.

I am enough.

We are all enough.

Enjoy today,

Addie

Valentine to my hometown

I dream of rainy days, grey skies, and biking through mud puddles with precipitation speckled on my glasses.

I long for the smell of liquid sky on concrete. The jingle of a coffee shop door and the whine of my favorite espresso machine. My pen pausing for a sip of the bitter love from a hand-warming mug. 

I've been trained up well. Throw me in a farmer's market and I can find my way around just fine. I can spot a local restaurant just a bike ride away. My wardrobe tests positive for precipitation antibodies in the form of rain jackets and knee-high rubber boots. They're my first line of defense. 

Take me back to the state of local kale, moss, and alternative transportation. 

This dry, snowy place is only temporary. Soon I'll trade snotsickles for damp hair.  Snowflakes for raindrops. My home for my home home. 

Enjoy today,

Addie

p.s. check out the first of my series of monthly contributions to tinyhomes.com here!

Brave: 2013 a year in review

A little more than a year ago I was sitting on a beach in Hawaii, deciding what my word would be for 2013. Inspired by Susannah Conway and her workbook Unraveling the Year Ahead, I wanted to pick a word that I could use to push me forward in my year of change. Nothing seemed more daunting then graduating high school and leaving for college 1400 miles away. Knowing that I would be faced with making new friends, trying new things, and managing mostly on my own I figured I could use some guts. So I picked brave. Let's look back at how this word, thought to myself, pushed me to take so many opportunities in these past 365 earthly rotations.

Tiny House Workshop

In April I took my bike (and my parents) down to Portland for a PAD tiny house workshop weekend. This was the first time I thought to myself, be brave. I didn't know anyone who would be there and on top of that I would be attending the workshop solo. But I did it anyway and met some wonderful people (like Lina). My biggest lesson here was that it's worth it to do what you love- you'll make friends along the way!

You Can't Take It with You

 Yes, that's me swooning in the apron on the left. Somehow I went from managing auditions to getting a part in my high school's spring show. It might have had something to do with my grabbing a script and hopping up on stage with the other auditioners. My previous acting consisted of a single monologue in Drama 1 as a freshman, so I was fairly unprepared. And did I mention I had to attempt a Russian accent? Stepping out from behind the stage manager's script was a true test of my bravery and an experience I'm glad I had (though I'm highly unlikely to repeat).

Graduation

I marched across that stage and gladly accepted my diploma, knowing this meant change was to come!

Summer
I spent this summer traveling to the Oregon coast, the California redwoods, and volunteering at farm camp thorough the lovely Common Threads Farm. This was my first time working with kids and leading cooking activities. Surprisingly, that took some bravery. Teaching kids about healthy eating and cooking is my plan for the future, and I didn't want to start off poorly. I got the hang of it, though, which leads me to....

Undergraduate Research
Ask, and you shall receive. Be brave. I kept these two things in mind as I met with a professor at CSU who currently runs a research program in the prevention of childhood obesity. Simply by asking I was able to work with graduate students teaching cooking and tasting lessons in 4th grade classrooms across two school districts. This project (and my participation in it) will continue through my four undergraduate years at CSU. Truly a dream come true.

College
I made friends, accepted my introverted self, and fell in love with blues dancing. All by being brave enough to say yes to new adventures.

Being back home has made me realize how much having brave as my word guided me to live fully in the past year. I accepted so many opportunities that I might have said no to before, and I see the positive way my life has changed as a result. Through 2014 I will have a new word and though it won't be brave, bravery will continue to be a part of my life.

As I wrote on the cover of my planner, "You get in life what you have the courage to ask for" -Oprah Winfrey. In the coming year I ask for life, love, gratitude, and grace.

Enjoy today,
Addie

Those redwoods

A few weeks ago I finally got to fulfill one of my dreams. Ever since seeing the Planet Earth episode where they show you the biggest, most beautiful redwood trees I haven't been able to get them out of my mind. So, when the idea of taking a senior trip with my significant mister came about, I was quick to suggest we journey down the road to California. The reservations were made and a few months later we zoomed down the road in my mini.

Our first hike was the Boy Scout Tree Trail. This trail led through amazing old growth redwoods and I had to be careful driving down the dirt road to the trailhead because I kept getting distracted. Strange, I thought, how I could easily ignore my phone while driving but when faced with big trees I suddenly became a "typical" teen driver. Boy Scout Tree was enormous and possibly the largest tree I saw on the whole trip.

A note from my journal: "Each tree seemed so powerful to me. I wanted to pause and touch each one so maybe they could share the history they hold. At the end of the trail was an especially big tree with many knots. It felt as though he was the guardian of the forest, an old man. I put my hands on the trunk of the tree, looked up towards the branches, and thanked him for letting us visit his forest." When I looked up, this is what I saw:

We also went on the Damnation Creek Trail which led us to a beautiful beach where we ate lunch.

Our campground was the Del Norte Coast State Park Campground (Mill Creek). There are three state parks reasonably close to each other in the north, and we picked the one in the middle. It was quiet, never felt overcrowded, and had some amazing campsites (fire ring inside a hollow redwood- I was jealous). It had been logged, so the trees were not as large but small enough to allow us to get some sun. Crescent City was 7 miles north of us. The beach there was very foggy and chilly but the surrounding hills kept the fog away from our campground and the trails. I was glad for my cozy hiking boots when we journeyed down to the beach.

We got to visit so many great places on this trip and read lots of books. I enjoyed living out of a backpack and packing light on camping gear (we could only take what fit in the mini). I sure appreciated the things I had, like my warm hiking boots, my trusty bamboo utensil set, and the pillowcase I stuffed with clothes so I could sleep comfortably. The one thing I wish we would have done was to swim in the Smith River. The owner of an antique shop told me it's one of the cleanest rivers in the country!

I miss those big trees and hope to see them again someday. I really felt at home in those forests. What a beautiful experience.

Enjoy today,
Addie

5 things I learned from my bicycle

1. Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses. 
This week I started biking out to the farm in Fairhaven, about a five mile ride each way. On day three, as luck would have it, I rolled over a big piece of glass about 3/4 of the way there. I got to push my bike up a huge hill and realized that it might have actually been better than riding up it. I snapped a few photos of the cool neighborhood around the farm on my way there. I noticed plants, houses, and animals I never would have seen while zipping by on my bike (let alone in a car).

An overgrown garden path

Beautiful front door(s)

A house that used to be something else. Maybe a church?

2. Be thankful
I was oh so thankful for our beautiful waterfront trail that allowed me to walk my bike two miles from the farm to the community bike shop. It was nice to not have to walk on the hot sidewalk next to speedy cars. Silly me for not having a patch kit!

The South Bay Trail, connecting downtown B'ham and Fairhaven. It has beautiful greenery and lovely views of the bay.

3. People are nice
Just like the friendly bike shop guy that taught me how to patch a tire. Again, it was silly of me not to have a patch kit, even though I did have a bike pump attached to my frame. I couldn't use it without a patch! I was also thankful that the hole was small (though the glass chunk was big) and I didn't have to buy a new tube.

4. Hills are hard
All I have to say is after riding 10 miles a day, uphill for about half of it, my legs are tired and sore. I got some good use out of our hot tub this week. It made me rethink not wanting a tub in my tiny house if I'm going to get around mostly by bike.

5. When the going gets tough, imagine your supporters
When I woke up on Thursday with tired legs, windy weather, and a few hours less sleep than I would have liked, I sure didn't want to ride my bike. It's so easy to hop in the car, protected by the wind and propelled down the road by the slight push of a pedal. But if my goal is to go car-free in college I have to stick to it. So I imagined my bike cheerleaders. First, there's my friend Jessie who bikes insane numbers of miles in a day, just to train for a bike race twice that distance. Then there's Lina, a tiny house enthusiast like me who gets around mostly by bike and some bus. And finally, Tammy Strobel and her husband, Logan, who live car free (in a tiny house, of course). I just picture them cheering me on as I take off from my driveway and pedal my way towards the farm. By the end of the day, I'm happy to fall into bed tired, knowing I earned my shower and most certainly my dinner. But I sure can't wait until biking becomes habit and I don't have to force myself to roll out of bed early for my 30 minute commute (instead of 15 by car).

If you're considering commuting by bike- do it! I started with biking to school (even in the rainy winter) and progressed to grocery shopping, volunteering, restaurant eating, and picnic going- all by bike! While living car free may not be possible for everybody, think about making small trips (1-2 miles) by bike. You'd be surprised at how easily a bicycle can turn a boring errand into an adventure.

Enjoy today,
Addie

What I'm up to

I am so grateful to have so many great opportunities this summer. There's nothing like kicking of my newly-graduated adult life with a few months of excitement.

I started off the summer with a 4 night trip to the Oregon Coast with my friends. We filled up three cars and journeyed the 8.5 hours to Sunset Bay in Coos Bay, Oregon. It was great to spend some quality time with my buddies. I finally learned how to use a camp stove, the importance of a sleeping mat, and why long underwear is still a must-have for camping in June (especially in the PNW). We took along this stuffed giraffe (he was actually a stowaway) and he became our mascot.

This week I started a few exciting projects. First, I had my first few days at Bobbibrook Farm volunteering for Common Threads Farm. This is the organization that I was volunteering in the elementary school garden with this spring. They do great stuff, providing garden educators to public schools during the school year and hosting great programs for kids during the summer. This week was supposed to be my first week with kiddos, but it was cancelled due to low enrollment. Instead, I got to spend three hours weed whacking one day (sore arms), ditch filling another (dusty shoes), and organizing the shed on the final day (yay!). I can't wait to start programming with kids next week. If you know any elementary aged people that would love some farm time, send them our way!

I also started on a super exciting project with a dietitian. Later this summer I'll be helping with a nutrition class to kick of a 12-week healthy eating program. I've begun collecting sweetened beverage containers (apple juice, vitamin water, soda) to show the participants just how much sugar is really in those things. I'm most excited to plan the cooking demonstration. Needless to say I can't wait to really dig into this project.

The reality that I only about six weeks until I leave has started to sink in... Even as I write this I'm taking a big *gulp* as it sinks in even more. What am I doing leaving this wonderful place?? Fingers crossed I'll settle in and find my place in Colorado. Stay tuned, I'll most likely be hopping on the plane home for Thanksgiving and asking the pilot to fly extra fast towards Washington. I'm hoping to find some sort of tiny house community up in Fort Collins though my preliminary research googling "Fort Collins tiny house" drummed up some pretty measly results. I'll continue my research but if any of you readers know of anything, let me know please. Pretty please. With a cherry on top. 

I hope all is well with my fellow tiny housers and simplifiers. Enjoy the sunshine (I know I am).

Enjoy today,

Addie

On being an introvert

I am happy to admit that I am most certainly an introvert. Put me anywhere with "chatting" is the main activity and my soul shrivels a little on the inside. Even if I don't have to talk to anyone, sitting in a crowd of people I don't know is enough to exhaust me. These past few days have challenged me more than I ever thought they could. You see, college orientation was not built for introverts.

First, they stick you in a theater with 200 of your new classmates and best friends. Then, the overly peppy orientation leaders welcome you and lead cheers- "I'll give you one more chance... how are you really doing today??!?!?!?!!!" (insert cheering... half hearted from me).

Though I actually made a few friends from my small orientation group and from girls I forced myself to ask to sit by at breakfast in the dining hall, I still spent most of orientation feeling alone. I was surrounded by a sea of people who were (or pretended to be) extroverts. They sat at tables with people they just met, laughing away as if they had always been BFFs. They danced at the dance. They volunteered to participate in the improv show. I sat quietly with my new shy friend as we discussed the lights in the theater (she is a fellow stage manager and lover of all things tech theater).

I felt out of place. Things like this are always led by the most spirited and extroverted students and they feel the best way to make everyone feel welcome and included is to stick them in the extrovert's paradise... and the introvert's living hell. By the end of day one I felt exhausted. After going to a club fair where I was surrounded by people I didn't know, I cried. Sometimes it feels as though the world was not built for shy people, that I do not fit.

I am so happy to be home. Though actually being at college, going to classes, and making friends doesn't scare me, the four day orientation after move in day sure does. But after that, I can stop having to be who the orientation leaders and advisers insist every college student wants to be. I don't have to go to football or basketball games. I don't have to be proud to associate myself with my college mascot, I can just be proud to be a college student, a privilege few in this world get.

If only they would take everyone into consideration, make it a little more introvert-friendly, maybe I wouldn't feel so left out. I can't wait to go back and see the friends I made during preview orientation and make even more new buddies. But, I also plan on trying to leave the orientation festivities and just wander around on my own, just how I like it. Because I like being an introvert, it's how I am.

Enjoy today,
Addie

P.S. One of my favorite bloggers, Susannah Conway, is a self proclaimed introvert. She has been part of my inspiration to be happy with my hermit self. Read her take on introversion here.

The minimalist goes to prom

Nobody loves getting dressed up more than I do but with prom season always comes the itch to buy new shoes, a dress, jewelry, fancy dinner, and spend hours obsessing over every stray hair. My goal for my senior prom was to stay as simple as I could so I wouldn't have to worry about anything but having fun.

The Dress:

I was super lucky to find this dress at a bridal outlet store in town. I loved the bones of the dress and had a few ideas how to make it perfect. With some tailoring it turned out just as I had imagined (see the photo on the right). I was going for classy yet original and I think I nailed it. This is one of those dresses that I would wear every day if I wouldn't get strange looks but the likelihood of my going to another formal occasion is slim to none. Since I love this dress more than any of my other semi-formal attire I already have, I'm planning on having it all shortened to semi-formal length and then purging my other shorter dresses. Win win!

The Accessories:

It's customary to have a corsage or boutonniere for a formal dance but that seemed like an added expense and throw-away token that my significant mister and I weren't really interested in. Since he wants to be a librarian I had made him a book boutonniere for homecoming in the fall and we decided to keep up the trend and have him wear it for prom as well. I wanted some sort of flower to match, so I made another one and hot glued it to a hair comb. These flowers held a lot of significance to us (more than store-bought ones would) and saved us a pretty penny to put towards our road trip this summer.

As for jewelry, I wore my usual rings (a gift from my grandma) and then decided to wear costume jewelry (earrings and a necklace) from my grammy to represent both sides of my family. I wore what I had and didn't need to buy a singe thing! My purse was also something of my grandma's that my mom lent to me since I don't have any formal bags. 

I've been really lucky to find three pairs of comfortable formal shoes in black, silver, and bronze. These three pairs have gotten me through almost all of my high school formal dances. They match everything and I never have to worry about finding a pair of shoes at the last minute. I'm keeping them until they fall apart (and since they're higher quality brands that is likely to be a while). 

The Hair & Makeup:

I spent a total of about 20 minutes on my hair and 4 minutes on my makeup. That's it. Simple as could be. On any given day, I usually wear no makeup. For prom I went all out with mascara, eyeliner, sheer eye shadow, and blush (all used in very small amounts). I even curled my hair before putting it up. I'm so glad I chose to stay simple because at the end of the night I looked about the same as at the beginning: mascara in place, dress not smudged with foundation, hair not a hairspray helmet. I felt comfortable staying natural and was more confident because I wasn't trying to be a made-up version of myself. 

The Totals:

What I bought:

• A dress
• A hair comb for my flower

What I re-used:

• Boutonniere from homecoming
• Shoes
• Earring & necklace
• Rings
• Purse

What I'm getting rid of:

• Multiple semi-formal dresses once I shorten this prom dress

How I felt

• Grateful
• Beautiful
• Loved
• Confident

I'm so glad I kept it simple. What a wonderful night :)

Enjoy today,

Addie

Thoughts on graduation...

My graduation is impending (t-minus two weeks) and I have mixed feelings. I am so excited to be done with high school. It seems that each time I approach the end of an era (elementary school, middle school, and now high school) I look back at the underclassmen and don't know how I can be in the same school with them. We go through so much change, especially within the short four years of high school, and I feel so distant from the 15 year old freshman that I once was. I'm ready to move on.

But, college poses its own set of challenges. I don't really want to be a freshman again and I don't want to have my life sucked away by hours of studying. Though I'm glad that I'll be in the honors program at Colorado State, I do worry that the smaller and more challenging classes will be too much. Or maybe my participation in the honors undergraduate research program will take too much time. It will be a lot of work to keep my life in balance. I keep reminding myself not to not worry about it for now, that if it's too much then I'll "cross that bridge when I come to it" as my mom likes to say. For now, I'm trying to stay in the moment and focus on enjoying the end of high school and my summer before I worry about college.

Like almost every teenager leaving home I'm already suffering from home sickness. Okay, maybe that's not so normal. I love hanging out with my parents (I think they're pretty cool) and unlike many of my friends I love where I live, rain and all. This makes it way harder to leave. If only CSU could move to Washington! I'm darn happy here with my parents, my cat, my city, my friends, and my significant mister that I can't believe I made the choice to leave. The whole thing about simplicity is living in a way where you are choosing to be happy and I'm choosing to leave the things that make me happy. I'm keeping in mind the family I'm so excited to visit in CO and all the great opportunities and friends that await me. I know I'll find my place and that my happiness will step off the airplane with me in August, I would never leave it behind.

But I've also been peeking around at my options should I decide that my place is back here. It's nice to know I have options, even if I never utilize them.

At the end of 2012 I picked my word for this year: brave. It's time for me to live away from home, even if just for a little while, and prove to myself that I am brave and I can take on this challenge.

Enjoy today,
Addie

Feeling the love

As you know, a few weekends ago I visited Portland for a weekend of tiny house dreaming, scheming, and learning. There, I met lots of wonderful people who shared my passion for living tiny. One of those people is Lina, a graduate student in Portland who lived in the same tiny house that I visited and now lives in a yurt as she prepares to start her build.

I think Lina is super cool and she'll for sure be invited to the grand reveal of my tiny home in the future. She even has a blog (like me!) where she writes about living tiny. Visit it at This Is The Little Life for some great writing and inspiration!

While in Portland, Lina admired my etched mason jar that I use as a to-go drink container. I sent her one as a thank-you for the wonderful weekend and she wrote this glowing review of her new jar (and me too)! I'm definitely feeling the tiny house community love. She also wrote this post about the Portland workshop (I'm hiding in the back of the group picture!).

Lina's new jar!

I strongly recommend that you check out Lina's blog here, as it has become an instant favorite of mine. Also, if you would like to check out my jars (and maybe help fund my tiny house dreams!) visit my Etsy site here.

My jar at fancy hotel for my good friend's birthday. Making tea with the in-room coffee pot and using my jar cozy is one of my favorite things to do when away from home!

Lina also inspired me with her 200 things challenge to continue to tackle my stuff. I decided to start with my closet and discovered that I have 200 things just in my wardrobe (socks and underwear count as one each). Uh oh. Read more about my journey to pare down my wardrobe... coming soon! *Update: read about my great closet overhaul here

Enjoy today,
Addie

My morning view

Join in on instagram: #mymorningview

Read about Tammy Strobel's project here

Enjoy today,

Addie

Why tiny?

There are people who love tiny houses, people who actually live in tiny houses, and people who just don't get it. Why live in such a tiny space? Something only 120 square feet plus a loft is about the size of my old bedroom, but that size seems just right to me. In this post I'll give my story; why I want to live tiny.

I'm not sure what got me obsessed, but I do know that I first found out about tiny homes from my parents. My dad had found Jay Shafer's tiny house online, and we couldn't stop talking about how cute it was.

From then on, tiny houses stayed in the back of my mind. It wasn't until a few years ago that my driven interest really began. After staying in Brittany Yunker's Bayside Bungalow for the weekend with my dad, tiny living seemed like it could become a reality.

From then on, I began to look at my things in a different way. Instead of shopping I began to get rid of things and be more mindful of what I brought into our home. Away went the junky souvenirs that gathered dust, the "stylish" clothes that really weren't my style and never would be, and the shelves of books from my childhood (don't worry, I kept my most favorites). I began to realize that the less things I had, the more I appreciated and valued my possessions. My room takes much less time to tidy and I'm rarely hunting for things to wear as my wardrobe is made up of just my favorites.

But tiny living isn't just about living with less things. To me, it promises a life of more freedom. Instead of becoming tied to a mortgage and having to commit to a full time job, I'll be able to work a job that I love even if it pays less. And, without debt hanging over my head, if I hate my job I might just be able to quit. This free time and monetary flexibility will hopefully allow me to create a life where I can volunteer, spend time with others, and devote time to my hobbies instead of setting them aside for retirement as many Americans do.

I must mention sustainability because it really is a great reason to build a tiny house. It uses less materials, energy, heating, water, and natural habitat than a normal home meaning it is certainly quite green. It will be a weight lifted off of my conscience. For me this is truly just an added bonus.

Tiny living is a lifestyle that I want to have and somewhat already do. You don't have to have a tiny house to live tiny. Take a minute to think about your water usage, your stuff, and your life to see where you can pare down. How can you simplify?

Find one way to live tiny and be sure to let me know how it goes. I hope that it brings you the same joy that it brings me. (I really do want to know. Comment on this post or send me an email because tiny living is all about community!)

Enjoy today,
Addie

Tiny house workshop weekend

I just had the best weekend. My parents (they're the best) signed me up for a tiny house workshop in Portland this weekend. We drove down Friday after work and I spent the weekend learning while my parents explored Portland. I can't cover everything in one post, but for now I'll focus on how I tried to make this weekend as eco-friendly as possible!

We really wanted to take the train to Portland. It's a five hour drive from Bellingham and it gets less exciting every time. Plus, that's a lot of gas. Unfortunately, the train schedule was horrible (one train a day) and we would have had to leave Friday morning. None of us could miss school or work, so we ended up driving.

Parking the bike in the room since our car was parked outside where it wouldn't be secure

When I picked the hotel, I wanted somewhere that was close to the workshop. I used google maps to find a close hotel and used the bike directions tool to make sure I could easily get there. It ended up being perfect! The hotel was on the edge of town (not within walking distance of much) but it was a few blocks away from a MAX line (tram). My lovely parents took the challenge and learned Portland's public transport to find their way downtown! Our car parked at the hotel when we got there and stayed until we were ready to leave (with a stop for a tiny house tour on the way).

A tight squeeze in the hotel elevator (and quite a few funny looks from strangers!)

The tiny house! More details on tiny homes to come :)

I'm really happy that I decided to take my bike. It got me moving twice a day which was nice since I was sitting in the workshop the rest of the time. I also had a good adventure trying to navigate around using the GPS on my phone and saw bits of Portland that I would never have noticed otherwise. I'm glad my parents tried out public transport and we were able to offset a tiny bit of the 10 hours of driving we did to get there and back.

If you are interested in tiny houses (even just curious!), here is the link to the company that I took the workshop with: http://padtinyhouses.com/

I'm excited to tell you more about my exciting weekend and all the inspiration I received!

Enjoy today,
Addie

Reset

Every once and a while I find myself grumpy, anxious, and just not feeling good. Generally I'm able to snap myself out of a bad mood, but these times I wake up in the morning with lingering negativity.

Days like today, when I feel blah and yuck, generally lead to thought. I think, why do I feel this way?! And it's always the same answer. Have I been exercising? No. Have I been eating healthy? Not as much as I'd like. Am I keeping up with my projects? Not so much.

Just like in the Aaron Carter songs of my youth, in my mind I hear that 90's errrrruh of the DJ stopping the record. And I reset. I go back to what I know makes me feel good. I'm not perfect so I forget what I need to do, but I'm never too far gone to get back on track.

So after school today I made myself a tasty snack, indulged in some Pinterest, and then kickboxed for 30 minutes. As I write this, slightly sweaty, I think about how grateful I am for good moods and how thankful I am to be able to create them.

As of now, a rare Bellingham thunderstorm is rolling in, and I'm in the mood to enjoy it. I think I might make some tea.

Enjoy today,
Addie

Pea plant

My newest acquisition is a little pea plant that a lovely lady gave to me at a co-op community shopping day. I love watering it every morning and watching it grow in the window sunlight. It slows down time for just a moment when I stop to see how it has changed.

What little things bring you joy?

Enjoy today,
Addie

Slowing down for details

I have a car and I love my car, but I frequently choose not to drive it. When I walk or ride my bike, I find lots of small yet beautiful things that I never seem to notice from behind the windshield of a car.

I always feel accomplished after biking somewhere, especially if I braved the Washington rain along the way. I'm lucky to live only a mile from school and downtown, so I can get most places I need to go with just ten minutes of biking or less. I love the excuse to get outside and I love the hidden exercise. Since I don't think of it as "formal" exercise, I often get an extra fifteen minutes or so of activity per day just by biking to school. That way I know that even if I don't have time to work out later, I'm still maintaining an active lifestyle that keeps me happy.

I've included some photos from my walk to school a few weeks ago. These are all things that I would never have noticed from my car, and even some smaller things I would never have noticed from my bike. It's nice to sometimes slow down and see what beautiful things we pass by every day.

Enjoy today,
Addie

Reorganization! (one of my favorite things)

I wanted a way to simplify this blog. All of the posts were jumbled together and each one had numerous different labels. After thinking about it for a while, I had a brain blast. Now, I am excited to introduce to you the new style of this blog.

Everything that I want this blog to be about can be summed up in four genres: healthy living, joyful living, creative living and simple living. Sometimes, posts may overlap multiple themes, but everything I write can be organized into at least one of these categories. 

At the top of this blog, you'll find tabs that take you to a page for each section. Each page contains all of the posts for this theme. 

These four categories represent the four focuses in my life. I can't wait to continue to share with you.

Enjoy today,

Addie

My beautiful new header

Oh goodness. I cannot start to explain how excited I am about my new header. After seeing the adorable ones featured on blogs (see one here) I dreamed of having one of my own.

My wonderful friend Beth said she would draw me one for the holidays/my 18th birthday. She drew up some ideas, and we collaborated (okay, I gave a little input and she did the rest) to make this beautiful masterpiece. I could not have imagined anything more perfect! She even made the drawing look like me!

Needless to say, I have a new Facebook profile picture and a beautiful feature on my blog. Slice, Serve, Savor feels like a fancy "official" blog to me now that I have a hand drawn, custom made, looks-like-me header. All my thanks to my darling friend Beth for making my blog a better place!

Enjoy today,
Addie