Favorite Podcast This Week: In Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More

In Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More - Dana Miller of House Tweaking
It’s been a while since I shared my favorite podcast of the week. I certainly have not stopped listening to all my favorites, but it wasn’t until I heard Dana Miller on the Young House Love podcast that I felt compelled to share this most recent podcast episode. This week’s episode recommendation is: “In Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More” on Young House Love Has a Podcast.

In Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More - Young House Love Has a Podcast

To give you a quick background, Young House Love Has a Podcast is a fairly new podcast hosted by John & Sherry, the authors of the massively popular home DIY blog, Young House Love. On their blog, John and Sherry share all of their DIY projects and adventures and they do it well. For some odd reason, I only check their blog once in a while, but I listen to their podcast religiously. They are just super talented at audio and of course since they talk about home improvement and decor, I love the subject matter.

Imagine my delight last Monday morning when John and Sherry shared that their special call-in guest would be Dana Miller, author of one of my favorite blogs, House Tweaking. A few months ago, I highlighted Dana’s home as one of my favorites in THIS post. On this week’s podcast episode, Dana and her husband share why and how they moved their family of five into a house half the size of their previous one.

n Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More - Young House Love Has a Podcast

In Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More

If I told you Dana and her husband lived in a 3200+ square foot house and then moved to a house half the size with 3 kids, you might think that something bad happened.  Someone lost a job, they got into credit card debt, or some other negative life circumstance. But what if I told you they did it out of a bold intentional choice? A choice to live a simpler life with more freedom. A life that allows them to live mortgage free and travel with their family all the time. And leaves them in a home where every room in their home is used every day. To some, that might not sound so appealing. To me, it sounds like heaven.

n Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More - Young House Love Has a Podcast

Even though I am familiar with Dana’s story and how they downsized their life back in 2011, listening to her and her husband share it on the podcast motivated me all over again. I could sense a lot of their values overlapping with ours – freedom, security and adventure.

These are the highlights that really struck a chord:

  • Dana and her family downsized their house by half. They went from a 3200+ sq ft home with a full basement and detached garage to a 1600 sq ft ranch which needed a lot of work. Not only did they survive, they thrived in the smaller space.
  • Going smaller doesn’t mean sacrificing quality or style. In fact, it can mean the complete opposite. Because the house was small, they actually used higher quality materials than they would have with a larger one. They were able to customize it to suit their family’s lifestyle.
  • Having a passion for aesthetics doesn’t have to conflict with your desire to have less. Dana is clearly a talented stylist and photographer. She still updates her home and keeps it looking beautiful. Her desire to live with less makes her a much better at selecting what she will bring into their space. Which results in a beautifully edited home.
  • If your job stops lighting you up, make a change. Dana quit her job as a pharmacist and swapped to one that suited her current needs. Living in a smaller home allowed her the financial breathing room to switch careers. In this case, one that afforded her a lot more freedom – blogging.
  • Once you identify what you enjoy most, start doing it. Don’t wait for someday. Dana and her husband talk about the realization that they love traveling to experience other cities and cultures. So they do. All the time. Plus, Dana has an amazing knack for finding the coolest AirBnB properties. Sometimes they pick a destination based on the property.

n Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More - Young House Love Has a Podcast

n Pursuit of Buying Less & Doing More - Young House Love Has a Podcast

If you get a chance this week, give “In Pursuit of Buying Less and Doing More” a listen. I am curious to hear your thoughts on this family! Even if the idea of going smaller to live bigger doesn’t light you up like it does me, it’s still fascinating.

To see more of recommendations on compelling podcast episodes, CLICK HERE.

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A Few Days in Lima + Pierina’s Eclectic Urban Oasis

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Eclectic Urban Oasis

I cannot believe it has been over a month since we came back from Peru. Even though I dedicated a post to our time in the Peruvian rainforest, I also wanted to share a few details with you about our time in Lima.

If you ever plan on visiting Machu Picchu, most likely you will spend some time in Lima. At close to 9 million people, this is not a small city. And they have insane traffic to prove it. Despite its size, there are 3 main districts where most of your stops will be: 1) Barranco, 2) Miraflores and 3) San Isidro, which are all adjacent to each other.

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Urban Oasis - The Outside and In

One of the things I enjoy about visiting Lima is seeing all of the amazing handiwork and designs for the home. There are a few really cool shops that are hidden among all the chain and department stores (which are not worth visiting). Luckily, my aunt Pierina knows my taste and takes me to these special spots.

A few cool shops

Dedalo Arte y Artesania – My absolute favorite. Located in Barranco, Dedalo is part art gallery, part store and cafe. Talented contemporary artists and artisans display their wares in this deceivingly large home turned store. You will find everything from jewelry, dinnerware, fashion, and home accessories in here.

Petit Thouars Market – This massive market in Miraflores is filled with more traditional handicrafts. If you want to pick up something that says, “I just came back from Peru”, this is where you want to go. The vendors sell beautiful alpaca shawls, ceramics and silver pieces. Some with more quality than other. You can also bargain a bit here – not something I enjoy doing.

Indigo Gallery – This store is very similar to Dedalo in that it is filled with contemporary artist pieces. Formerly a house, walking through it is like walking through a museum where you can (kind of) afford to buy the pieces. There was also another beautiful shop right across the street from Indigo owned by the same person, but I cannot remember the name. You’ll see it if you go to Indigo though.

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Eclectic Urban Oasis - The Outside and In

The back patio at Dedalo

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Eclectic Urban Oasis - The Outside and In

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Urban Oasis - The Outside and In

Shopping with my parents and the boys at Petit Thouars Market

Most likely, if you are heading to Peru, it’s to visit Machu Picchu, and not Lima. However, there is one BIG reason why you will want to schedule at least 2 or 3 nights in Lima on your way to or from Cusco. The unparalleled food scene. You could spend a month eating your way through this city and not hit all the incredible restaurants and cafes. Regardless if you go casual or upscale, I guarantee you will have some memorable meals when you go. Below are some of the highlights from our last visit.

Where we ate:

Gelateria Blu – Amazingly delicious gelato shop in the Barranco district featuring creative and super fresh flavors. Even if my cousin didn’t co-own this place I would have been all over it. They pride themselves on sourcing the freshest and most local ingredients possible for their gelato. If you are in Lima, you have to stop here.

Hotel B Restaurant – My aunt took me to this restaurant because the hotel is just really cool. Situated in the heart of the Bohemian Barranco district, Hotel B was formerly a residence which has now been transformed into a luxury hotel. You don’t have to stay here to soak in the decor and contemporary art. Just come enjoy a meal here. The food was delicious, but the atmosphere was even better.

Cafe de Lima – Loved this casual bistro with indoor and outdoor seating. The food was not pretentious but it was so good. I ordered a salad and a fresh squeezed juice, but then I saw the table next to us get some really good looking open faced toasts, so I added them to my order. Glad I did because they were super yum.

Mo Cafe & Bistro – With a focus on sustainable, nutritious and innovative food, Mo Cafe was such a surprise. If you didn’t know where you were, you would assume you were in San Francisco with a menu like this. I would totally come back here in a heartbeat.

Puku Puku Cafe – This cafe has two locations I believe. We went to the one in Miraflores – two or three times! The coffee is made from small batch Peruvian beans. You can really tell the difference. Plus the boys liked their sandwiches.

La Sanahoria – Okay, this is not actually a restaurant. But I could totally make a meal out of all the goodies at La Sanahoria. It’s a health food store with the vibe of a hip boutique. We went to the one in Barranco. I could have browsed forever, but my dad was rushing me to be quick. I picked up some yummy roasted Brazil nuts for my flight, plus a bag of aji amarillo which I am still using in my soups. They also had a tempting array of organic dark chocolates and an espresso bar. I will be coming back here for sure.

El Pez Amigo – You cannot leave Lima without experiencing their unparalleled ceviche. I am not going to tell you this is the only place to get amazing ceviche in Lima because it’s not. Amazing ceviche is available all over the place. But if you want to experience the the variety of incredible seafood Lima has to offer, you will want to hit up El Pez Amigo in Miraflores.

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Urban Oasis - The Outside and In

Sampler plate at El Pez Amigo

Pierina’s Apartment

During our time in Lima, we stayed with my aunt Pierina. She lives in an apartment in the Miraflores district. Her place is in walking distance of everything – her gym, coffee shops, and excellent restaurants. I snapped a few pictures of the living area and patio of her apartment right before I left so I could show you her place and eclectic decor.

Pierina inherited a lot of my late grandfather’s antique furniture, which she loves. But she is also a big fan and avid supporter of contemporary art as well as primitive art. I think she mixes all three seamlessly in her space.

A Few Days in Lima + Pierina's Eclectic Urban Oasis - The Outside and In

Isn’t Pierina’s urban home so personal and inviting? We certainly love staying here. Thank you for being such a generous hostess, Pierina! Next time we will continue to work on some styling projects together 😉

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Looking Ahead: 2017 Plans & Goals

Looking Ahead: Plans & Goals for 2017 - The Outside & In

I don’t know about you, but I am never ready to make plans for the new year on January 1st. December is usually the absolute craziest time with so much going on. How does anyone find time to reflect on the past year and decide what they would like to change during all the hooplah? It takes a few weeks into January for some productive thoughts to come out of this jumbled mind. Finally, I am ready to start reflecting on the past year and making a few plans for 2017.

Looking Ahead: Plans & Goals for 2017 - The Outside & In

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Looking Back at 2016

Before looking ahead and deciding what I want 2017 to look like, it was important to me to look back at 2016. What were the pivotal events and decisions that worked and didn’t work? Here are things that came to mind:

Unemployed myself. After 14 years of working for the same non-profit organization, I finally left in May. It was time. As you can imagine, it was hard to leave security, benefits and easy work. That’s why it took me two years to build up the courage to do it. So I did. And guess what? It was still scary, but I was eerily calm about the choice. When you listen to your intuition, you can feel peace despite the anxiety of the unknown. It’s weird. Depending on how you are wired, a decision like this may seem like not a big deal. As an over thinker, I will be forever proud of myself for having the courage to take the leap. If I could go back, the only thing I would change is that I would have done it sooner.

Did nothing for a while. Once I stopped working, it took me a few months to get adjusted to the idea of not having a job. Or an income. One thing I knew for sure was that I needed time to figure out what was next. Summer came and I kept busy keeping the boys busy. As school started back up, I started thinking very hard about what I wanted to commit to and not commit to moving forward. Thankfully, I recognized that jumping into a bunch of new projects would be a perfect way to procrastinate figuring out what my new chapter would look like. Instead, I focused on paring down commitments to a bare minimum.

Dipped my toe into some freelance and contract work. Once I adjusted to the fact that I no longer had a job, it was time to start figuring out what I did want to do. I’m envious of people that have that one singular thing they love. That would make deciding so much easier! But I have so many passions and interests, it was a little intimidating to think I had to choose the one thing I was going to do next. I came to the conclusion that I could explore and maybe try a few different things. How would I know what I would like unless I try? So I gave myself permission to go down more than one path.

I started doing freelance interiors and architectural photography. I make that sound so easy. It took me about 4 months to actually announce it publicly. I also reached out to a creative design agency who was doing work I admired and have recently started doing special project work for them. I am really loving the challenge plus the flexibility to work from home on these projects. In 2017 I want to explore a few new paths and see where they lead!

Idenitified some non-negotiables. One of the other productive outcomes of last year was experimentation. Experimenting with different freelance lines of work, different schedules and different approaches to tackling the day have helped me to identify some habits I need to drop and keep in 2017. For me, those non-negotiable are: my health (which includes sleep, exercise and nutrition), time with my family, and time to create.

I guess the best way to describe 2016 for me was transitional. The year was filled with so much change. I would say the approach I took was one of careful observation and not that much action. Part of me wishes I could be more impulsive with my decisions so I can move faster. But that’s just not me.

Now that 2017 is upon us, my hope is that I can build upon the experiences I had in 2016. Here’s what I hope to accomplish in the coming year.

Plans for 2017

Continue experimenting. I know myself well enough that I will continue to experiment and change. Learning and growing is my jam! I will continue to expose myself to new thoughts and ideas. Try them on for size. Keep what fits and discard the rest.

Continue to be me. I will continue to find ways to share my gifts in service of others. I will not be keeping up with the Joneses. I will relish in the simple things that make me happy – mainly reading, exploring new ideas, creating and being with my family.

Push my boundaries a little more. With that being said, there are a few areas that I have been studying and preparing for a while that I should be able to jump into in 2017. It may require a lot of inner pep talks, but my intention is to continue making courageous choices. Not taking the safe road every time. In my career, this might look like expanding my freelance services beyond interiors photography. In my personal life, that might be agreeing to getting a dog (we’ll see). I want to take some online classes that will push me in new areas of growth.

Fine tune my daily schedule. There are several things I want to do every day before my kids are finished with school. With 6-7 hours from the time they leave to the time they return, I should be able to get everything in without rushing. The only way to do this is to set my schedule up so that I can. I am acutely aware that uncompleted tasks take away from my joy when the boys come home. From 3pm on, I want to be 100% there for them. In 2017, I hope to be able to get this down better.

Dive back into more home decor projects. Last year I kicked off the year with a resolution I had around home projects. This post explains the details, but basically it involved focusing my attention to one room per month and doing what I could for that month before moving on. Home design is a creative outlet for me that I truly enjoy. The plan worked really well. Up until April. As soon as I had no job, it just was not in the budget to work on projects like these. Plus, my attention was just not there any more. This year, I want to get back on the horse and try again. There are so many rooms I am itching to work on. I will post the new game plan on the blog soon.

Bump up the blogging a notch. In 2016, I celebrated 2 years of blogging. Similar to the job change thing, it took me about 2 years of saying I wanted to start a blog to actually do it. Once I started, it took me over a year to make it public and start sharing posts. Are you starting to spot a pattern? Blogging is something that fills my cup and I want to keep doing it. It’s time to step it up a notch. I want to go from posting once a week to twice a week. Consistently. That is totally doable as long as I figure out that daily schedule thing I talked about.

Explore some tools to help me be a better parent. My kids are not babies anymore. They are not little kids either. As they are turning the corner into “tweenhood”, I feel like I need some guidance about how to be a good parent to this age. I can already see how much more challenging the years ahead are going to get. Instead of dragging my feet and hoping they stop growing (which is what I have been doing), I think a better bet will be to more equipped. I recently enrolled in THIS course to help open my mind to some new approaches. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

Protect the white space. I know I just made it sound like I want to conquer the world this year. But not at the expense of time with my kids and white space. White space is a graphic design reference to the amount of space left around a graphic or image. The more white space something has, the more impact that the design element has. Because nothing is competing. And that is what I want for myself. I value white space so much. When I don’t have it, I get real cranky. I need time to read. Time to do nothing. Time to be spontaneous. The thing about being scheduled, is that you can schedule white space into it. In 2017, I want to continue making white space a priority.

Looking Ahead: Plans & Goals for 2017 - The Outside & In

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So those are the thoughts I’ve had about the new year. Who knows what curveballs or opportunities 2017 may have up its sleeve? I certainly don’t, but I will pivot as needed when those times come. In the meantime, off I go!

I wish you all the best in the coming year. What are you making happen this year?

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My 2017 Reading List

Last year was my first year creating a reading list. Looking back on my list from 2016, I read 5 of the 11 books on theret. I’m pretty happy with that. The reading list helped me identify the books that were piquing my interest most at the beginning of the year. I used it as a loose framework. But when I got an excited about another book, I felt totally okay to deviate. With that in mind, here are the books that I am most excited about jumping into in 2017. I have a good feeling I will make it through at least half since I’ve already purchased 4 of them 🙂

My 2017 Reading List - 11 Books I Am Excited About

My 2017 Reading List

Just Kids by Patti Smith – If I saw this book at the bookstore I would probably not even notice based on the cover. I’m a big judge-a-book-by-its-cover person – sorry! However, this title has been recommended by so many people recently, that I’m going to give it a try.

In the Company of Women by Grace Bonney – I am certain I will be reading this one soon because I already bought it (along with a few others on this list). As a big fan of Grace Bonney, her design blog, her first book and her podcast about creatives in business, I was anxious to read her latest book about the same topic. Grace has set it up as a series of profiles, which I really enjoy because you can see how many infinite possibilities there are to pursuing your passion.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth – With as much as I enjoy books that broaden my perspective on raising children, I know this one will really reinforce the importance of cultivating resilience. This is something I wholeheartedly agree with but struggle in execution as it involves letting your kids struggle. That just doesn’t come natural to me.

Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull – Ed Catmull is one of the co-founders of Pixar, Inc. Besides being recommended by several guests on different podcasts, this book has totally caught my attention for other reasons. One of them is the book, Smarter, Faster, Better has a chapter that profiled Pixar’s road to creating the blockbuster Frozen. That ended up being my favorite chapter and left me wanting to learn more about how Pixar runs. Secondly, I have a curious fascination with how large companies doing cutting edge work are run.

Open by Andre Agassi – From what I read, this autobiography has little to do with tennis and is much more about the turmoil Agassi went through despite all the success on the court. The reviews and comments are extremely positive.

Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss – Reading “Tools of Titans” right now and I absolutely looove it. I’m going out on a limb to say it will probably rank in my top 3 of 2017. Tim Ferriss has compiled notes from his 200+ interviews on his podcast to whittle out the gems in each one. If you like his podcast, you will LOVE this book. 

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown – “Gifts of Imperfection” is the first in a trilogy that was followed by “Daring Greatly” and “Rising Strong.” As much as those two books spoke to me, I cannot believe I still have not read “Gifts”. 2017 will be the year I change that 🙂

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight – Another memoir on the list. Nike founder Phil Knight writes about how he created this company from scratch. Can you even imagine creating something of that magnitude? I cannot – so I want to know how that even happens. Rated 5 stars by thousands of reviewers on Amazon, everyone seems to agree this book is pretty amazing.

22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout – What snoozefest title and cover, right? Tim Ferriss talks about this book all the time as one of the quintessential books on marketing. Which happens to be one of my favorite subjects. The fact that “22 Immutable Laws” is 20+ years old and still going strong makes me think there is so good stiff there.

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon – Spoiler alert…I already started this one too! “Steal Like an Artist” shines the light on the fact that there are no original ideas. All creativity is inspired in some part by something that is already out in the world. Austin Kleon’s book would be helpful to any creative that struggles with coming up with original ideas or imposter syndrome. The chapters are super short and are chockfull of visuals to illustrate his points.

Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk by Danielle Krysa – Is this not the best title and cover for a book you’ve ever seen? I heard Danielle Krysa talking about this book on the “Being Boss” podcast. My inner critic is a big jerk too, so I want to hear about what Krysa’s says to her.

Do you keep a reading list? Which books have you been eyeing for 2017?

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The Best 3 Books I Read in 2016

Best 3 Books I Read in 2016

Looking back at this post from last year with the best 3 books from 2015 makes me so happy. Those 3 books still influence my life on a daily basis.

I feel like I read a little less than usual in 2016. Or it might just be that I didn’t review as many books on the blog. Some of the books I read and liked but didn’t get to review on here were “Rising Strong”, “Why Not Me?”, “Present Over Perfect”, and “Start with Why”. All big-hitters and best-sellers in their own categories. Definitely books I will recommend in the future. Yet still, the three books listed below lingered with me the longest.

These were the standouts from my 2016 reads:

Best 3 Books I Read in 2016

Mindset by carol dweck

“Mindset” by Carol Dweck

This book was such an eye-opener for me. I still talk about it on a regular basis. Dweck brings to light the differences between having a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset believes that we are born with finite or pre-determined abilities. A growth mindset believes that our abilities can be developed through time and practice. Through many examples and experiments, she shows how impactful having either of these mindsets can be. This is a book that would help any parent, teacher, coach or child who wants to free themselves from comparison & low self-esteem. The picture about mindset painted by Dweck is a very motivating because mindsets can change. When I think back on the year and which books have stuck with me the most, Mindset by Carol Dweck is definitely #1 on my list. See my full review HERE.

The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey

“The Gift of Failure” by Jessica Lahey

Intuitively, I understand letting your kids stumble and struggle is good for their growth and independence. In practice, this is much harder. I really enjoyed Jessica Lahey’s voice and her credibility as a mother to a middle schooler and a middle school teacher. Gift of Failure also provides many examples of the negative impact dependence can have on a child. She outlines many ways that the reader can begin to shift the responsibility from parent to child. I especially loved her chapters on how to proactively approach teachers and your child’s school, letting them know you support and respect them from the very first day. Much like Mindset, once I read this book, I wanted everyone I know to read it so we could discuss. In fact, we did gather a small group for a study on this one because the content is so relevant. See my full review HERE.

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday - Best 3 Books I Read in 2016

“The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday

This little book was so much fun to read. Made up of short chapters, “Obstacle” paints a new perspective for the reader. Weaving in stories of real historical figures and aligning them with Stoic principles, Holiday then brings it back to current day and the takeaways for us. One of the viewpoints of Stoic philosophy is to look at your hardships in a different light. Instead of taking a “why me?” approach, how could you use that negative to your advantage? How might that suffering eventually lead to wisdom and invaluable experience? It certainly seems like a more productive way of channeling your energy in times of stress. Kudos to Ryan Holiday for making Stoicism hip and relevant in 2016. See my full review HERE.

Have you read any of these? What were your favorite books from 2016?

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