Finally, coming up for air and getting the train back on the tracks!  Our spring newsletter is here with an update for you on what we've been up to this winter.  Let us know what you think in the comments below.

If you'd like to be in the know, may we suggest that you join our mailing list for up to the minute news and inspiration:

Stay well and may you find contentment at home,
​~Miriam

Just published - our November news, inspiration and local goodness:
​

• Renovation Planning:  7 Key Steps
• Finding a Contractor in the Wild West
• 14 Ways to Embrace the Shorter Days of Autumn
• Explore the Arts Locally
• Size Matters:  Does it Have to be Tiny?
• Event Roundup:   Holiday Goings On in Prescott
• November Prescott Porch Feature
• What's Up Next at The Whiskey Porch?

​

​If you don't want to miss these roundups, or other announcements, please join our mailing list.  

​You can trust that we won't spam you.  In fact you'll only hear from us maybe a couple times a month.  And you can always unsubscribe.
​

Cheers and contentment,
​~Miriam

This week, we are thinking about some ways to incorporate artfulness in our lives.

I think it's vital to carve out time in your schedule, whether it be weekly or just monthly, to open yourself up to creativity.  It may seem frivolous if you aren't an artist, but the truth is that doing something creative is beneficial in countless physical and emotional ways.  It's good for you!

And it brings you together with other people in a positive and open way.  Nothing bad about that.

There are two general ways to incorporate more creativity and artfulness into your life:

1. Do it yourself - as in, create something 
2. Explore and support the arts in your community

~ post continues below ~

​How do you celebrate autumn?

I mean truly embrace it?  Not the "holidays" but the season.

We know that it's obvious to talk about pumpkins, and pumpkin spice, and then before you know it holiday decorations... BUT there is so much more you can do to truly connect with this cooler season with it's soft, low light and briskly shorter days. 

It's a time to celebrate beyond the standard holiday themes and hype.  In fact, I would honestly say that my deepest desire is to escape much of the commercial and cultural pressure and demands that are almost impossible to escape once Labor Day hits.  ​

We've compiled a list of wonderful ideas on how do just that...

~ post continues below ~

Every month or so we like to round up a whole bunch of the most recent news and inspiration we've written, curated, and published to make it easy for you to follow along.  For October you'll find tons of good stuff, it's pretty jam packed actually:
​

If you don't want to miss these roundups, or other announcements, please join our mailing list. 

​You can trust that we won't spam you.  In fact you'll only hear from us maybe a couple times a month.  And you can always unsubscribe.

​Cheers and contentment!  We'll #seeyouontheporch...
​~Miriam

The American Dream has virtually always been:  more + bigger = better.

The fad and trend that's predominated the last many decades has been to stretch yourself to the limit in order to acquire the most impressive home possible.  This home would prove that you were successful, and obviously make you comfortable and happy.

Over many decades, that's turned into crazy-big homes which required large incomes to buy and maintain, along with massive consumption of resources to build and live in.

​Tiny is fine if that's what you really need or want, but it's pretty extreme and unsustainable by most standards. 

​A more manageable and still meaningful downsize might mean reclaiming older, smaller homes and shifting to a less consumerism mentality, while still participating in a mainstream community and lifestyle.
​

I've always been enamoured with the craftsman bungalow - but didn't even realize it at first. 

I remember spending time in the Pasadena California area house hunting for a possible job move decades ago and just being hypnotically drawn to the older bungalows that abound there.  I didn't know then, but it was a truly American architectural style that was also common all over San Francisco where I'd lived most of my life. 

​Looking back, the feature that always caught my eye first and drew me in, was the front porch.

This week we are thinking about and celebrating local places, local-ness, dogs, and picnics.  Let me explain!

Today is Dog Appreciation Day, which is just tremendous for so many reasons.  Dogs are all about living in the moment, and being entirely content exactly where they are in body, mind, and spirit. 

And since Saturday is National Eat Outside Day, I think we should all spend the day outside  with our pooches enjoying a picnic.  There's nothing that sounds bad about that, right?  Consider that aside from some well-earned downtime, there are health benefits too!!  

One of our goals here at The Whiskey Porch is to provide well curated, high-quality resources to help you on your journey to creating a smaller & simpler life in your Nordic bungalow.

This is my first collection in which I'm going to share some of my all-time favorites, and my focus will be books and publications here. 
​

• None of these resources represent exactly my take on a small bungalow lifestyle or design, but they reflect the basics and core inspiration to get us there.

​

• In fact, some of these listings feature some particularly spectacular, huge, over-the-top homes.  Not what I would call a smaller & simpler lifestyle, but never-the-less it's a wonderful idea generator.

Let's get started:

Today we shared our August News & Updates with our mailing list and I wanted to make it available here too for those of you who aren't yet members.  Here's a preview of what's included:

• Today is National Joke Day
• Local Event Highlights
• So What is a "Nordic Bungalow"?
• Celebrating Local Breweries (and such)
• Juniper Hill Cottage - We Accidentally Bought a Bungalow, and more
• Bungalow Inspiration
• Featured Prescott Front Porch
• Contractor Drama - Finding a general contractor in the wild west
• Resources - New & Noteworthy books, blogs, and publications

Check out the August Newsletter for all the deets!  

​Cheers & contentment,
~Miriam