Today is summer solstice.  "Midsommar" in Sweden.  I wanted to celebrate by sharing a lovely poem by an American Pulitzer prize winning artist and author who's parents were Swedish.  He lived in North Carolina and his home is now a National museum.
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However you celebrate, be sure it's outdoors and slow down to really observe and find the beauty all around you.  Let me know in the comments below what you think about this sweet poem and what you did to celebrate!

~Miriam

If you're looking for more inspiration, check out the other blog posts about Living with the Seasons here.

One of the key themes I come back to at The Whiskey Porch is "seasonal living".  It's an aspect of a Simple Lifestyle that adds texture, and color, and variety, and a natural flow to things.

When we talk about living with the seasons, what does that really mean?

To me, it's simply shifting your lifestyle with the seasons.  Doing different things in different spaces, as the seasons progress through the year.

Focusing on the connection to the landscape and the outdoors is just as important as the creature comforts and floorplan that you incorporate into your home design.  So, the interior isn't entirely separate from the outdoors and the landscape that your home sits on. 

By creating this connection intentionally, we craft a direct link between our daily activities and the cycle of the earth. 

And.  We can greatly expand the amount of living space available to us.

Let me explain.

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It's Hygge time.

​As the seasons shift to colder and darker days, rather than yearn for the return of summer, Nordic lifestyle embraces this time with a concept known as "hygge". 

You've heard the word I'm pretty sure.   

What is hygge, though?
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One of the fabulous things about gardening in the high country of Arizona (Prescott) is that, for the most part, it's a 9-month season.  The shoulder seasons are most definitely a bit unpredictable.  But it's really a gardener's paradise.

This week our first frost is coming.  Bit early - but if we can get our gardens through the odd frost here and there we will often be enjoying the fruits of our labor well into November.  

This year, because I invested so much in getting the new kitchen garden raised beds built and seeds started, I just couldn't let this cold snap claim the end of my growing season.  So, I spent some time getting prepared ahead of time and have actually enjoyed the process (rather than feeling like it was the end of a glorious summer, it was thoroughly enjoyable).  

I wanted to share a few tidbits from the process here.

Happy fall equinox to you,
​~Miriam

Love the idea of living with the seasons?  Looking for more inspiration?

You might enjoy 14 Ways to Embrace the Shorter Days of Autumn, an in-depth look at some inspired ways to jump into the season with all your heart.

​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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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. 
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• 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.

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• 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: