Implementing the Art of Needing Less

This year has brought about so many realizations and enabled the quest to be flexible, to leave my hands in an open posture and realize how out of control we are! I think we have all had to pull our big kid pants up a time or two. No? But when things don't go the way we planned, there is always a reason, redemption, and the best lessons learned!As I reflect on our house renovation time, we prepped to be out of our home for one month which turned into two, which turned into eight. Wowsa! To prepare for the initial predicted time frame, I packed what I suspected I would need for a month. I had a major light bulb moment during this time because one month's worth of basics STILL felt like too much during those eight months. I had never been in a situation like this where I was away from home for an extended period of time, and I could not have been more thankful for what it revealed. I remember moving into our house, and I was overwhelmed at the amount of things we had. I went through droves of boxes and gave away loads of clothes and shoes and bags and all the things. It felt like an entire weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I loved knowing that these things were all going to someone who could use them! Fast forward to the beginning of summer. Jase and I spend a few months in Idaho during this time, and I again packed just the basics, from work out clothes to sweatshirts to swimsuits, and the other everyday necessities. The minimal amount of packing was still way too much, and I again was reminded of how little we need + how refreshing it is to lessen our material load. We arrived back home to LA, and Jase and I both went through our closets once again! These trips away from home have been so inspiring to us - we are on our fourth giveaway round since we moved in, and it is becoming a routine!From this point forward, we are going to purchase with greater intention and necessity, we are going to clean out our closets at minimum once a month and just keep things moving! How do you hope to minimize your life? Have you realized this same thing during this past year and quarantine season?I hope you've enjoyed following along on our home renovation process and all the thoughts and updates that have come along with it! It's been such a special season for us. For more updates, follow along right here on the blog in our Making A Home series or on my Instagram. I would love to hear from you. x

The Sense of Home

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been quite the year. Alongside the craziness, there have been so many important silver linings. I look back to the beginning of quarantine, and I remember thinking over and over again how I didn't want to miss the positive parts and what we were supposed to learn, shift, and observe. I wanted to keep my eyes and heart wide open.As y'all might know after following along with us here on the blog, we purchased our new home in November of 2018. We closed three days after the Woolsey fire, which caused significant smoke damage to our home, burned down the home next door along with two other houses on our street. It was a wild undertaking. We moved out of our previous home in LA in February of 2019 and started renovating our new home. As we were told, renovation takes way longer than expected + adding fire remediation and doing all with a nontoxic approach devised an entirely new level of time, research, and logistics. I think my half glass full mentality from my excitement to start this project didn't want to believe that, but man was it true. It actually took four times longer than we were told. Because of this, we doubled our stay at a hotel, then moved into an apartment with one of our best couple friends – we both needed a 6-month place to stay, so it was a perfect way to save some money in the process. We moved into our home in October 2019 with a lot of moving parts still + we didn't know if any of our previous furniture would work, and it turned out most sizing was not suitable (insert tear emoji here). We began the furnishing process about a month later in December with COVID-related delays on shipping, and I can now say we are almost complete (mid-November is the last delivery-hooray)! What a process, but truly we feel so grateful we had this opportunity, learned so much, and are extra appreciative to be settled.I am extreme homebody, so this year I really had to develop a new sense of home – and while my circumstances were different, I realized that so many are also experiencing this at the current time. I learned that any place can be a cozy home. This past year, we lived in a hotel room, an apartment, a room above a garage, and our home (which was quite an organization nightmare and an endless list of to-dos), and every place felt just as doable and cozy and perfect for the time. I was forced to go against my comfort, and I am so thankful because it always transforms my perspective and increases my appreciation.In my opinion, one of the most amazing parts about the pandemic restrictions has been the time at home. What a learning journey for traveling, working men/women to be at home with the fam more, for marriages to exist side by side 24/7, for kids to be out of school and sports, for jobs to be lost or relocated to the house. Not to mention, it left space to think and process and reflect on what is important, which can be super uncomfortable but ultra-redeeming.It has been so interesting to watch how everyone copes so differently. Jase was FaceTiming his buddies non-stop, using the stay-at-home orders to develop funny social media content while grieving the loss of not getting to use his gift and passion of hosting. I, on the other hand, am an innate introvert, so with the tragedy set aside, being homebound was my version of heaven. I was trying new healthy recipes, discovered a biodynamic organic farm that is 15 minutes from our house, saved emotional energy from having to decide on a social plan, and had more quality time to connect with my family and friends virtually. Oh! And puzzles! And my work has always been at home, so my adjustment was a little less severe.Also, I was grateful for the unifying feeling that every single person was in this together. We were both more alert to reach out to others, to take flowers to the neighbors, to thank the mailman. This whole journey has taught me two things that no other circumstance could have taught me: be grateful for ALL services, provisions, people, and love – and, ANY place can be home. Perspective is everything.To see more of our home renovation follow along with our Making A Home series, right here on the blog.

kitchen essentials + the cutest gifts.

The Kennedy household is full of OCD tendencies quite equivalent to "Monica" characteristics for all of you Friends watchers. For me, that equates into a major love for organizing (especially the kitchen). Even when comfy seating is available in the family room, I have come to realize the kitchen seems to be the communal place, right? Sitting on the counter or on the bar stools seems to make for better conversations.With that in mind, I think the kitchen is the most important place to create a comfy vibe + the organization only makes it easier when you want to whip up some homemade cookies on a whim. See some of my favorite pieces I spotted this week that are already purchased or sitting in my wish list + see the line up of adorable organizational canisters below.[show_shopthepost_widget id="1353732"]the cutest appetizer plates in all the land.I just bought two of these storage bowls this morning.these weck jars are my heros. I have purchased a few from here too.we are addicted to these copper mugs + how darling would these be for a gift? Not to mention, they look adorable on a bar cart. See ours here and in the photo below. when I have extra homemade cookies or leftover donuts from Sidecar, I love storing them on a cake stand or on a domed sweet stand.this is the perfect latte cup.