Eliza at Happy Simple Living 🌻
Welcome! Happy Simple Living's Easy Times newsletter helps busy people simplify with easy recipes and tips for creating a comfy home, organic gardening, saving money, living a simpler life, enjoying holidays, and having more fun!
The "Never Sorry I Did It" List and Other Tales of August
Happy August! Maybe it's that vague, residual feeling of preparing to go back to school as a kid, but August always makes me feel like change is in the air. I'm not ready to let go of the easier pace of summer yet, but I notice I'm starting to think about getting back to daily routines. Are you a list maker like I am? I recently created a short "Never Sorry I Did It" List. It's a handful of simple things that are always satisfying... to have done. For instance: Going to the gym. Writing....
I'm Starting Over This July
🇺🇸 Happy July, and happy 250th birthday to the United States! These long summer days feel so precious, don't they? I'm trying to soak in every moment, eat all the summer foods, and do all the Summer Things like picnics and hikes and farmer's markets and nights on the patio. At the same time, can you believe we're already halfway through 2026? It doesn't seem so long ago that we were making a few New Year's Resolutions, and now it's July. This mid-year marker feels like an opportunity to check...
My Friend's Unexpected Advice, and Other Tales of June
🌱 Happy June! Do you ever reach the end of a month and wonder where the time went? On a recent airline flight, I re-watched the classic movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If you've seen it, you probably remember Ferris's famous quote: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” It's a memorable line, and one that came back to me during a conversation with my friend Doug. Doug owns a very successful construction and remodeling company, and has...
A Comment I Can't Forget, and Other Tales of May
🌱 Happy May! It’s funny how inspiration can show up in the most unexpected places.Recently I was scrolling a health-related post in an online group, and a random comment caught my eye: “I take meticulous care of my body.” Say what, now? The statement was so confident, and so unusual it stuck with me for days. I’d never heard anyone say anything like that. Later I wondered: Had there ever been a time in my life when I could confidently say I took meticulous care of my body? Perhaps I came...
Why I Cried Bitter Tears, and Other Tales of April
🌱 Happy April!After the warmest, driest winter on record here in Colorado, everything is budding and blooming early. However, April is typically Colorado's second-snowiest month and we all know that anything can happen!Springtime in our state always seems to bring unexpected turns, something I witness daily because of a minor mishap last summer. Right after we moved into this house, I tried to manage all the little fixes we needed to be comfortable. For example, the windows required blinds so...
The One Box I Couldn't Open, and Other Tales of March
🌱 Happy March! It’s not quite spring, and not quite winter, but March always feels like a season of fresh starts. March makes me want to throw open the windows and let all the fresh air and sunshine in.While I've never been prone to spring cleaning, I'm currently taking the 3-month Uncluttered course taught by Joshua at Becoming Minimalist. Each week we tackle decluttering a different area of the house, and last week I worked on the boxes in our garage. A Conundrum: Family Heirlooms In a...
February is for Shining Light in the Darkness
Hello friend, These past few weeks have felt heavy for a lot of us. Between the constant stream of difficult news and cold, icy weather across much of the country, it's easy to feel worn down. When the world feels dark, I find myself returning to the small, simple things that bring light into everyday life. The quiet, steady rhythms of nature: The birds gathered at the backyard feeder, the familiar sound of geese flying overhead, and the changing light throughout the day remind me that the...
💰 I'm going on a money diet (Care to join me?)
⛄️ Hello, friends! Happy January, and I hope you had a nice holiday season. We enjoyed relaxing times at home, several gatherings with friends, and two family celebrations. Now that it's the start of a new year, I'm regrouping and setting some fresh goals for 2026. Nothing drastic. Just reasonable, intentional changes, like paying off my credit card balance and saving more money in the year ahead. Which brings me to something many of you have asked about over the years… The January Money Diet...
Help, I Can't Get It All Done!
🎄✨ Hello! We have two precious weeks until Christmas Eve. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I just got the Halloween decorations put away! All week long I’ve talked to people who feel the same way I do: trying to figure out how to fit a month’s worth of holiday tasks into the tiny pocket of time between now and Christmas. I want to do All the Holiday Things, while still holding space for peace and joy. So I thought I'd say hello and share a few practical ideas, in case you're feeling...
Why I Put Black Xs on My Calendar, and Other Tales of December
Dear friends, Hello, and happy December! If you're in the U.S., I hope your Thanksgiving was very happy. Now the holiday season is officially upon us! I remember well a Christmas years ago when we squeezed three complete family celebrations into a single day. (I bet some of you have done this, too!) I prepared food for our own Christmas morning, the mid-day meal with my extended family, and the evening dinner with my husband’s extended family. Coolers, presents, and stocking stuffers were...
Welcome! Happy Simple Living's Easy Times newsletter helps busy people simplify with easy recipes and tips for creating a comfy home, organic gardening, saving money, living a simpler life, enjoying holidays, and having more fun!