Not sure where to start? 
  • Tinkering with the idea of how to simplify your home situation? 
  • What might a downsize really entail?   
  • Ideas for how to live more intimately with the seasons?
With a smaller home and lifestyle, incorporating your passions and being more present in your daily routines becomes possible.

Sometimes it's about freed up financial resources, but often it's more about creating intentional routines and time.   Choosing what is truly important.  ​

10 Ways to Celebrate Spring Equinox

For us here at The Whiskey Porch, the Spring Equinox symbolizes fresh starts and the quiet joy of observing nature awakening around us. It’s the ideal moment to pause, reflect, and thoughtfully welcome the new season into our homes and gardens.

Here are TEN beautifully simple ideas for celebrating the arrival of spring here in Prescott. 
 
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Celebrate national simplicity day

This is a national holiday, every July 12th, that is close to our hearts.

Celebrating doesn't have to mean making wholesale changes in your home or lifestyle (necessarily). 

​I wanted to share 5 Ways to Celebrate, thoughtfully.  And a little back story.

​Check it out and let me know in the comments if you tried any of these ideas.
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Get in the dirt

If you trying to improve your overall health, gardening is one of the best ways to do so - and you can continue garden late into life.

Find out why dirt is good for you!
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That hygge time of year

As the days get colder and darker, it's easy to find yourself whistfully holding on to the summer that's fading.

But in the Nordic tradition, we choose to embrace this change and find great pleasure in celebrating it.  

Have you ever heard the term "hygge" and wondered... what?

Well, find out how to hygge right here.
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celebrating winter solstice

There's so much history and cultural connection between several winter holidays.  I like to enjoy simple and quiet traditions this time of year.

In Sweden we celebrate Santa Lucia on December 13th, which is closely connected to the Winter Solstice and also Christmas.  

Learn more about this beautiful holiday of hope and light and get 3 recipes that you can use to make a simple and traditional celebration.
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image by visitsweden.com

Getting ready for spring

In the depths of winter, the anticipation of spring is palpable. 

This transitional season is the perfect time to tackle a few empowering tasks. 

Here's 10 Ways to Harness the Anticipation of Spring. 

Get our checklist, along with a little inspiration.
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Chanterelle dreaming

I talk a lot about what I grow in my garden and in clients' landscapes, but one of my most wonderful memories are the treasures that we foraged for in the wild, open woods of Sweden. 

Most of that abundance came in July and August. 

​Find out why chanterelles are so dreamy.
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why are porches so alluring?

​​"In practically all of us is a deep, distinctive longing to possess a little corner of that Eden from which our modern and materialistic way of living have made us exiles. " 
Gustav Stickley, early 20th century

The front porch is one of the most ubiquitous features of a craftsman bungalow -- I've always loved and been drawn to them.

I wondered why we are so enamored...

Find out what I figured out:

Living with the seasons:  transitional spaces

Simple Living does NOT mean doing without or being uncomfortable or cramped.  But it does require thoughtful design along with creative solutions to space needs.

​By creating an intentional connection between our home and the surrounding landscape, 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.  Find out how.
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Fika:  The Nordic Coffee Ritual

The Swedish Fika tradition is the soothing coffee ritual you need in your life.  

Fika is such a civilized respite from a busy day.  The goal isn't to just down your coffee from a paper cup while multi-tasking, but to slow down, relax for a few minutes, and share with others.

​Celebrate the simple pleasures in life.  

​Learn how to Fika like a Swede!

Celebrate Fall Equinox

And just like that, it just all settles into this easy, warm glow. 

We are celebrating the Fall Equinox in the northern hemisphere today...

​Far from being just the end of summer, autumn always feels like a new beginning to me.  

Living with the seasons, means embracing the gentle motion of change.

Does it have to be tiny?

Are you dreaming of shrinking your house burden and lifestyle, but totally overwhelmed with the pressure to live in a "tiny house?"  

Tiny is the buzzy cool trend these days for sure.  But you have other meaningful options and we think they are vastly more manageable and comfortable.  

Find out how to evaluate your smaller-house options. 

NORDIC inspiration

Nordic lifestyle & design are integral in how I grew up and  a wonderful inspiration for a smaller, simpler & more beautiful life.
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Serene | Historic | Beautiful | Cozy | Mysig

live with the seasons

Embracing & observing the gift of each season creates a wonderful drumbeat that makes life just so delicious.  Live with the Seasons.
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Nature | Gardens | Exploring | Celebration

SUSTAINABLE living

Choosing a smaller & simpler lifestyle allows you to chase your dreams & pay less for it!
(By the way, smaller does not necessarily mean tiny.)
​#smallnottiny
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Smaller | Simpler | Organic | Local | Viable