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Ibis-the-yellow-lab is helping me stay sane and focus on the positive and smile-worthy moments every day. I've got some new content to share with you for this Midsummer Newsletter. You'll find original articles and inspiration related to cottages and bungalows, seasonal living, art, and simpler lifestyles.
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: Okay, well that's all for now. Enjoy the 4th of July. Stay safe. Wear a mask!
Contentment & Possibility, ~Miriam
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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:
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 | Here at The Whiskey Porch, we believe that a smaller and simpler lifestyle should be:
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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:
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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:
- Do it yourself - as in, create something
- Explore and support the arts in your community
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 | Autumn is by far my favorite season. It's something that I treasure every year although at the same time it's signaling the end of all the glory of the long, easy summer days. |
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...
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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:
| Local event highlights for Prescott (hint: fall color and snow!) Bungalow Resources
Porches of Prescott: October Featured Porch And... a peak at what's coming soon |
Don't miss the next one
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.
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.
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.
Is it a palace or a large, single family American home? Is this the American Dream?
Now-a-days, it's not surprising that the new trend is all about the teeniest tiniest home possible. The pendulum tends to swing, doesn't it? Like most things in life, we tend to learn from experience and then often run the other way. Now, the smaller, more minimal and more mobile a home, the better.
 Tiny homes are now all the rage. | Does it have to be 'tiny' to be smaller, simpler and more eco-friendly? |
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.
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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.
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.
Craftsman bungalow front porch
And now, owning and living in a 1924 craftsman bungalow in northern Arizona, I find myself excited beyond words to be opening up the front porch which had been enclosed somewhere in the 70's. It's still a construction disaster but already it feels glorious to be in that space without the constraint of the walls and windows. Friends and neighbors come into the space and just marvel at how delicious it is. We try to imagine why anyone would have chosen to enclose this fabulous space.
I find myself wondering - what is that makes front porches so alluring?
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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!!
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!!
 Picnic baskets are fun, but not a requirement | Here at The Whiskey Porch we treasure a smaller & simpler lifestyle which allows us to spend more time doing what's more important to us than working to pay the mortgage or cleaning the big house. And dogs and picnics are just about the most splendid way to spend a little downtime. |
So in the spirit of having your sumptuous picnic with your pup somewhere in the pines of Prescott, I wanted to share a list of lovely local spots for you to checkout and explore. Be sure to check first if the location you have in mind allows dogs, or requires them to be on leash.
Lets get to it!
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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.
Let's get started:
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:
publications for inspiration
 | American Bungalow Magazine www.americanbungalow.com This is an extremely high quality periodical with a subscription offering (4 publications/year) and the opportunity to purchase back issues individually. It's a great source for learning about the ins and outs of this architectural style and it's history. The articles are all very well written, and in-depth. The photography is spectacular |
and the featured properties are truly inspiring.
It is definitely oriented around the purest concept of the original bungalows, but sometimes features newer builds or remodels with a more modern aesthetic twist.
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It is definitely oriented around the purest concept of the original bungalows, but sometimes features newer builds or remodels with a more modern aesthetic twist.
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Author
Hey there. I'm Miriam ~ and I've been doing this my whole life. It's my passion.
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