Simple Eating involves One Word

Part of my journey of Simple Living includes Clean Eating. I know that eating processed foods is not healthy, yet teaching all day and having to come home and cook for my family seemed so much easier to open a can or a box. Now I am making better choices and it really s simple. Clean eating involves eating foods that have only one ingredient. SIMPLE.

Salads. Fruit. Eggs. Yogurt. Almond milk. Salsa. Granola. Oatmeal.

Whether it is wanting to lose weight, ridding your body of toxins, or  avoiding cancer or other diseases, Living a healthier and simpler lifestyle is one step away. The benefits are endless.  Part of my purging and decluttering is cleaning my food pantry of processed foods.

Our grandmothers had the right idea with home cooked meals, not fast paced easy to reach options. These are the values I want to pass on to my own girls.

Tonight's dinner was salad and eggs. Now it is off to read Notes from a Blue Bike

Less is More

"By letting go it all gets done." ~Lao Tzu

Two weeks purging "stuff" and sometimes with that comes letting go of the emotional ties and baggage. Many bags and several trips later, they do not even notice these things are gone. "For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world." 1Timothy 6:7.  Each day I take a small step towards living a simpler life. Making my family rich in all the things that are important to us, spending more quality time together and less time worrying about material things.

What have you done today to slow down and live a simpler life? Many dream of a bigger home with more things, I dream f a smaller home with fewer things.

Less IS more.

A Fresh Start

It has been a long time since I last blogged. Recently I have found a renewed purpose to living a frugal life. The dictionary states "careful about spending money or using things when you don't need to" and "simple and plain". This is EXACTLY what I intended for this blog to be about when I started it. Over the last few weeks I have made a commitment to living a simpler life.

The first step is to DECLUTTER. It can be overwhelming, but it feels amazing. I have brought almost 25 bags to donate and to my local consignment shop and I still have only begun.

1. MY CLOSET: Since I teach I need to have a variety of shirts. I mostly wear black pants so bottoms are easy. I started by pulling everything out of my drawers and closet. I was not too strict, but I wanted to make sure nothing was left in a pile on the chair in my room. If it didn't fit back in, I pared down and tossed it. (I will go back again in a few weeks and pair down.) I buy all of my clothes from consignment and second hand stores.

2. TOYS: If my girls have not used the toy since last Christmas, I packed it up and donated it. Simple enough,

3. BOOKS, DVDS and CDS: I went through my own and my girls and pared down the obvious choices. ( I did not go through any of my husbands items)

4. Fridge: I cleaned out my fridge and freezer. Wiped it down and wiped all containers before going back in the fridge. I love how everything is neatly stacked.

5. Bathroom: I have not done the bathroom closet yet.

My goal for this year is simple living. Many dream of a bigger home and more stuff.  My dream is of a smaller home and less stuff.

I want more time to spend with my family, doing things I enjoy like reading and cooking healthy foods for my family.

I hope you will join me this year on my journey.

Why I do what I do

Today officially starts summer vacation for me! Another school year teaching Spanish has come and gone! I wish I were Super mom and could do it all: work full time, raise two girls AND maintain a blog!

But for now, I am going to enjoy my summer with my girls, and keeping up with reading and blogging. I read so many of your blogs, and I know so much about many of you awesome ladies, yet I feel it is one-sided because I don't have time to maintain my blog and this really bothers me.

The last few months at school have been particularly difficult. I teach in a Christian (a.k.a private) school where the number of students is vital to keeping the school alive. A number of students have left, many for financial reasons, but it makes all of us wonder why we do what we do.

I know that Christ has always been a part of my life, ever since I can remember. My life has always had Him at the center of it, whether it was at school, Vacation Bible school or making so many decisions in my life.  He has always been there.

Since turning 40 last November, I feel like I have to evaluate the direction my life is taking. And one very important part that is different from before is how HE fits into my girls' lives. I wonder, do other moms think about this? Especially my students' moms. I certainly hope so.

I will leave you with a quote that I am planning to make into a wall hanging for both of my girls' rooms: YOU ARE LOVED.

xo, Kerri

Classy Crafts Club and Shop til You Drop

Tomorrow night, Thursday December 6th, is the grand opening of Just Imagine That Place with a Shop til You Drop to get all of your holiday shopping done! It is located in Cohassett, MA and it is from 5-9 p.m. There will be several vendors selling bath salts, dishcloths, scarves, jewelry and plenty of gifts for stocking stuffers, teachers and that special someone on your list!

And then Friday, December 7th is the first meeting of the Classy Crafts Club which is being held at Just Imagine That Place. The club will meet once a month for ladies who like ot socialize and get their craft on! If you ar interested in joining us, we will be meeting from 7-9 p.m. and you can email me for more info or find us on Facebook! The cost is $25 and it includes all supplies. This month we are making coffee cozies, fingerless gloves and leg warmers from recycled wool sweaters.

Hope to see you there!

edie's cheese tortellini soup and a craft group

I have been sick for at least three weeks now. so what is a {sick} girl to do? make edie's homemade cheese tortellini soup! you can find the recipe over at edie's blog lifeingrace. it is seriously delicious!

do you ever have  million ideas swimming around in your head and you just wish you could organize them so they do not rattle around? well, for years I have been following so many wonderful and creative blogs and have even tried some of the awesome DIY craft projects. but I am always wanting more. sometimes you just need that face to face interaction that you can't get if you are like me and live so far away from other bloggers.

well, that is about to change. the art teacher at my school and I are going to start a ladies craft night that will meet once a month. we will be offering classes at a new studio that is opening soon! we are very excited! if you live in Massachusetts, let me know. we would love for you to join us!

Holiday Hospitality

I have been closely following edie's 31 days to Hospitality over at life in grace.  I have always loved entertaining, however I have noticed that life with two preschoolers can be very hectic and hospitality does not top the priority list.

Yet I have a preschooler who always wants to have playdates. of course this is not always poissible since I am a teacher.

so I have decided I am going to host a holiday party for her and her friends from preschool. I have been searching pinterest for ideas, so I apologize posting pictures of Christmas before Halloween but as we all know, the holidays are here before we know it!

if you have not already done so, please stop by my sweet friend Paige Knudsen's blog and check out her blog and her giveaway!