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Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -Ralph Waldo Emerson I wanted to write this blog post to the mamas out there who crave a counterculture life, a life unique to mainstream society and vastly different from the norm. A life that embraces slow days for wandering, an unrushed schedule for exploration, and a home curated on the foundation of epic memories, not stuff. After my daughter came into this world, my husband and I dreamed of a life with more freedom of time, more joy and all the space to explore and have fun. All the small changes and pivots we've made since her arrival into the world have been laser-focused on making our *dream life* a reality. I'm grateful to say we are now living our dreams FULLY and no hustle & grind required. 10 Intentional Micro-Steps that have led us to Live FULLY on One Income Get clear on your VALUES. Write them down. Trust and allow your values to lead the way. DOWNSIZE your "overhead" or living situation so there's less financial pressure. Simplify your expenses to UPGRADE your time, not waste it. Less stuff, more memories! Say "NO" to costs and expenses that don't align to your values. Be prepared to do the MIND work. When a big shift happens it can take a toll on your identity and self-worth. Know that all living things are meant to change and evolve. Get CREATIVE with travel. Stay with friends, book an Airbnb that has a kitchen and great walkability if possible (less rental car costs). COOK more nourishing meals at home to invest in your health and wealth. Decide which partner will pursue full-time WORK, so the other partner has space to pursue what lights them up without pressure or expectation. Know that this *working dynamic* can PIVOT whenever you need it too. You're the driver of your life. Have fun EXPERIMENTING to pursue your most intentional as hell life. These steps are far from being a black and white "plan" but have worked uniquely for our family's life situation. I hope they inspire you to take action to create the life path that gets you excited to wake up each and every morning.

It doesn't get any cozier than soup with some spice. INGREDIENTS: 2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 5 small cloves or 4 large cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp. Chipotle Chili Powder (use half this amount to make soup less spicy) 2 tbsp. Smoked Paprika 1 tbsp. Ground Cumin 1 tsp. Salt 2 lbs. boneless Chicken thighs 2 -14 ounce cans diced tomatoes 3 cups Chicken bone broth Optional: 2 cups of Kale, chopped (add in 10 minutes before serving) TOPPINGS: Plain Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream Fresh Chives, chopped Monterey Jack cheese, shredded Avocado, sliced Tortilla chips 1. In a crockpot or slow cooker, combine the olive oil, onion, garlic, and spices. Stir to combine. 2. Next, add the chicken, tomatoes and broth and stir together. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours. 3. Once done, shred the chicken using two forks. 4. Add chopped kale into slow cooker 10 minutes before serving. ​ 5. Serve this soup with all the tasty toppings like Greek yogurt, green onions, avocado and cheese. Dig in & enjoy friend!

We can't stop the waves, but we can learn how to swim, surf and sail. "It is your mind, rather than circumstances themselves, that determines the quality of your life." - Sam Harris, Waking Up Mindfulness is something I truly didn't learn how to do until I became a mama. Interestingly enough, mindfulness is not a passive action. It is a deliberate and intentional practice to bring ease back into your mind, body and life. I've found that my Mindfulness Toolkit has evolved over the years and pivots seasonally as my needs and wants change. I define a Mindfulness Toolkit as all the unique tools and practices needed to bring peace, presence and more love into my mind, body and soul. As I sit here at our kitchen island, attempting to focus on writing this blog post, my daughter climbs on the stool next to me asking me ALL the questions. She opens my journal sitting next to my laptop and pages through asking what all my writing and doodles mean. This is one tiny example of why a mindfulness toolkit is so needed in my days, because... plans don't always go as predicted, chaos arrives when least expected, and life circumstances can change at any given moment. Here is a list of what's included in My Mindfulness Toolkit in this season of life. A guided planner: A place to brain dump my values, dreams, goals, daily wins and to have an aerial view of my life amongst the chaos. See more about my favorite planner and my current writing rhythm here. A blank journal: I need white space to pour all my wild thoughts, artsy doodles and life reflections into. This space provides me a safe canvas to help make sense of what's going on in my mind. A positive and uplifting book: I always need access to a few good books in my home to grab and read whenever I feel my mind is slipping into a fearful and negative headspace. A few favorites for me is The Power of Now, The Gratitude Diaries, and A Year of Positive Thinking. Walking outside: The simple act of going for a walk has been such a healing practice for me and it seems to work instantaneously. Taking time even to step outside and look at the trees or birds does so much good for my patience bandwidth. Music: Blasting some jams or playing them mildly in the background helps put my soul in such a lovin' and free-spirited groove. My favorite current Pandora stations are Chill Music, Glass Animals and Capital Cities. Sipping a beverage in a cozy or sexy cup: I know this practice may seem a little strange, but for me aesthetics matter when it comes to creating the mood I want. If I'm drinking something warm (like frothed organic coffee or bone broth) I use one of my favorite ceramic mugs. If I'm feeling something cold to sip (like kombucha, sparkling water with lemon or a cocktail) then I use one of my coupe cocktail glasses, because they are sexy as shiz :). All in all, I 100% think the vessel (cup) matters just as much as the beverage you want to savor. My bold & bad-ass mama voice: You know that inner voice that's shouting deep inside our core of what we really need and want? Whether that's time to ourselves, stillness to rest, some solo space to just do whatever we freakin' want or maybe even not do. This is the time to practice my bold & bad-ass mama voicing, to speak up without guilt and communicate to my husband on what I truly need. This brave practice creates that sacred space that helps me refill my *cup* back up with grace, peace, and a whole lot of lovin'. I would love to hear what's in your Mindfulness Toolkit these days? Share your nourishment favs below or DM me on Instagram friend :)

Your home should compliment your life, not distract you from it. I know when most people talk about tiny living they think an RV or a tiny home. For us, we are living our version of tiny because of our recent downsize in square footage, stuff and all the things that were distracting us from living our values. I don't consider us tiny living, more like tiny-er living :). We started in a 3,000 sq. ft. house with all the decorations, furniture and yard space one can imagine. If you want a more detailed version of our previous living situation, check out the longer version here. After many years experiencing larger living we knew that this was not the lifestyle for us. So after much reflection, deep conversations, decluttering, selling, and donation of our stuff we decided to downsize. We left our larger living lifestyle to invest in a tiny-er living lifestyle. We relocated our lil' tripod family to a different state in order to invest in a single level 1400 sq. ft. house with a 'just right' yard. The funny thing about tiny-er living is that the only thing tiny about it is the physical house itself. Everything else in our life grew so much larger, such as our time, energy, travel and fun experiences together as a family. Anyways, enough rambling from me...here are my top 10 reflections after living tiny-er for a year. 10 Reflections After Living Tiny-er for a Year 1. Less time, energy and money spent on cleaning and home maintenance stuff. 2. Less money spent on furniture and decorations, more money for experiences! 3. You get way more creative with less! 4. I feel happier, calmer and more at ease with owning less. 5. I now have space to rediscover who I am, my needs, wants and desires. 6. Less financial burden and pressure to work a job that doesn't feel right. 7. More freedom to experiment with whatever I want to try out. 8. My days feel unrushed and purposefully slower to be more present. 9. Easier to say "no" to bringing more stuff into our home. 10. My life feels more "balanced" with all the things that are meaningful to me. Were these helpful at all? Let me know in the comments below, or reach out on Instagram where I love connecting to other rad humans!

"Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough." - Charles Warner Summer is here and I've been purposefully trying to integrate more ease & simplicity into my days. I'm a huge fan of finding ways to simplify the different seasons in life so I'm flowing more with ease versus struggling against what the universe brings my way. One way that always seems to simplify the varying seasons is leaving space in our calendar. Less busy schedules and places to be at a specific time provides more space for grace, exploration, boredom, spontaneity, rest and random micro adventures that light us up. There are also 3 physical things that have been helping me simplify my life during these fun, summer months. Thing #1 - Ink & Volt Planner This phenomenal planner simplifies the mass amounts of chaos that arrives in my life by keeping me grounded, grateful, dreaming and accountable. I wake up every morning and create space (boundaries are vital) to write in my favorite planner. Writing in my planner starts my day off with purpose and gratitude, which helps me feel supported and stable for when chaos arrives. It keeps me dreaming of what I want out of life, to pursue what feels right unapologetically and to follow my version of fun. Most importantly, it keeps me consistently accountable for truly living for what I value most. There are tons of planners out there, but this is my favorite planner I've been using for the past 3 years if you need a helping page on where to start. Thing #2 - Vivobarefoot Shoes I'm the queen of 'keep it simple' so I like a shoe I can wear with anything and for any occasion. I've owned my Vivobarefoot Primus Lite shoes for about 3 years now and they are still going strong! I wear them for basically every activity in life you can think of...hiking, walking, park adventures, grocery shopping, to the beach, to the pool and even on date nights with my boo. Get 25% off your shoe investment here if you're an adventurer like me :) Thing #3 - Walker Family Goods Fanny Purse I'm all about the hands-free life, especially with having a wild four-year-old daughter living and learning alongside me. This Louie Sling bag has been simplifying my days as a mama-on-the-move fo sho! It has just the right amount of space for the necessities, including credit card, keys, phone, tissues, band-aids, chapstick and a little room for a small toy or two. I wear this sexy lady bag on hikes, to the park, on lady dates and all the neighborhood walks. This bag is basically my "third arm" which is so needed when you want hands available for holding a hand as you cross the street, giving a loving hug when needed, carrying a tiny human when she gets tired, and swinging on the monkey bars. The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. - Hans Hofmann Do you have any things in your life that are simplifying your summer days? I would LOVE to hear about it! uplifting you through the messy, Jillian

Learning is better caught than taught. The beauty in unschooling is allowing growth and development to flow naturally. Allowing space and grace for the learner to truly soak in the full experience as he/she explores the world. From twelve years of teaching public elementary education I have witnessed time and time again that the most meaningful lessons don't come from a lesson plan, they come from the natural ebb and flow of real life. I recently attended a homeschooling convention and found a sweet, sweet gem in a giant sea of used curriculum and homeschooling things. I found and bought a gently used game of Candy Land for $1.06. As some parents were walking away with rolling carts of books, curriculums, math tools and science gadgets...I'm proudly holding a single game of Candy Land and walking blissfully to the checkout line. Want to know what my daughter learned playing Candy Land ? how to take turns how to follow instructions how to focus practice one-to-one correspondence practice counting and math skills how to lose and be a "good sport" how to celebrate others how to persevere how to get along with others exposure to board game layouts and designs the joy in playing games with loved ones ...and so much more. I've found that the best learning experiences don't look anything like "school"- they look like having fun and living life. Want to hear more about this topic? Check out our podcast episode 162 all about education!

"It's less about what they know and all about loving who they are." Unschooling is the direction we've chosen to educate our daughter because it aligns to our values. This type of education gives us more freedom, more choices, more space and most importantly, more quality time to be with our daughter. Unschooling is a dance of ups and downs, much like life. There's something pretty magical about choosing an education that directly correlates to the natural rhythm of life. We choose NOT to have our daughter be force-fed a curriculum, a restricted schedule, endless amounts of assessments, limited exploration time outdoors and have her "caged" in a particular setting that restricts her body and mind to move wildly. We DO choose to embrace her innate curiosity and help foster her growth with the natural flow of life, rather than against it. We choose to be her teacher, her co-learner and friendly guide as she takes ownership in her education. We believe... the foundation of any education should be a relationship built on unconditional love. there should be a huge space in education to learn about ourselves, to cultivate self-awareness and self-realization. Ongoing practice on how to listen to our inner voice and how to trust our instincts, needs, wants, feelings, vibration, energy, boundaries, fears, dreams, etc. it's vital to learn the practice of kind and open dialogue with ourselves and each other. we should be curious always, and foster the unknown path that unfolds as we follow that curiosity. being in nature is a non-negotiable. Make time to observe, explore and discover the beauty in the miracles all around us. mistakes are golden- it's proof we're growing and evolving. The process should be celebrated more than the outcome. weird is great! Embracing our weird and unique differences is our true gift to release boldly into the world. there's one world, not separate worlds. There's not a kid's world and a parent world, but our world to explore together. If you want to hear more about our unschooling journey, definitely check out my monthly letter! More "formal" reflections about unschooling to come on the blog as we evolve and experiment together :).

"I will not feel guilty for choosing myself first. Guilt is not welcomed here." For those of you that may be curious about this nourishment newsletter I deliver to my community's inbox once a month, this is for you friend. 3 questions I will answer for you: Why do I write a monthly letter to this amazing community? What do I include in this letter? How might this letter encourage me to reflect, uplift me through the mess & help to find realistic nourishment in my days? I write this monthly newsletter to.. + grow and better myself + share my unique journey that's not black and white (and definitely messy) + inspire other mamas out there that living a life intentionally blissful is so f*cking possible In this letter I include... + A little blurb on seasonal life things happening in my world (raw + honest always) + My monthly theme to ease my days + Nourishment for my soul, mind and body + One meal I'm savoring + My work • life • play "balance" + How my family and I have been simplifying & growing + Quote of the month that's soothing my soul I encourage you to reflect alongside me by gently reminding you to take inventory of your current nourishment situation. Are you getting enough nourishment? Do you need more support in a specific area? Are you feeling fulfilled and blissful? What is one thing you can take off your plate in order to uplift your whole self or a small part of yourself? I encourage you to find upliftment through the mess by sharing my unique journey on doing the messy work alongside you. I hope by sharing my shifts in mindset, small and realistic actions to nourish myself, experimentation with life, creating simple mantras, and seeking uplifting quotes that align with how I'm really feeling help you to do the "dirty" and unromantic work of seeking all the goods that you need to feel nourished, inside and out. Bottom line, I hope this letter gives you an inner nudge to take action to find realistic nourishment that meets your unique and weird as hell needs, because how we nourish ourselves directly relates to how our lives flourish. We gotta get real intentional to up our vibrancy game. Truth! Does any of this good shiz speak to you? Join the community here and be nourished by a fellow weirdo who isn't afraid to let her hair down and find nourishment when things get messy...because that's the beauty in real life. uplifting you through the messy, Jillian

I know with less choices I am a much happier and calmer human. This is why I needed to find a solution to my closet and clothing chaos. I HAD TOO MANY CHOICES IN MY WARDBOBE! AHHH! Does this wadrobe struggle speak to you too? The great news is that I found a solution to this mental, emotional and physical chaos. I decided the best way for me to streamline my clothing and stress would be to create a rule. A rule that was a well thought-out and intentional plan to make me feel hella happier. A rule that allowed me to be a better wife, mama, and overall human being. I created a wardrobe rule that is super simple. The one RULE I follow is... ONLY KEEP AND WEAR CLOTHES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL 100% COMFORTABLE & CONFIDENT. Yup, that's it! I realized that after all of the clothing challenges I had done in the past, such as The 10 x 10 Challenge, The Reverse Hanger Method and The Last 14 Experiment, that all of these challenges had something in common. All of the clothes I had worn during these challenges were only the clothes that made me feel 100% both CONFIDENT & COMFORTABLE. Not 60% or 80%, but 100 freakin' percent! Bottom line...I was rewearing the same v-neck cotton shirts, the same high-waisted pants, the same denim shorts, and the same dresses over and over again because I felt like a freakin' badass in them. I felt sexy and comfortable at the same time which enabled me to be the best version of me all the time. Well, most of the time. The clothes I had that were untouched and weren't being worn were because I didn't feel 100% confident and comfortable wearing them. It was really that simple. Think about a piece of clothing you own that you haven't touched or worn in a LOOONNNNG time. Why haven't you worn it? Most likely the answer is because either it only serves one purpose, meaning you can only wear it for one occasion, OR because there is something about it that doesn't make you feel 100% sexy and comfy as hell. BAM! "Don't settle for less. Find wardrobe items that align to your beautifully chaotic life and allow you to show up sexy and comfy as hell, no matter what season." Let's start livin' happier and spread these good vibes to others so that we are all feeling lighter and less stressed during our days and sexier than ever in our clothes. Dressing my body by following this ONE RULE has made my mind, body and soul feel so much lighter and happier, seriously. If you are tired of the struggle and stress of a cluttered and chaotic closet, then take action and try following this one rule. What do you have to lose? My husband and I chat in way more detail about Simplifying Our Wardrobe on our podcast episode 157 if you want to join the conversation! Please share how your days have been simplified using this one wardrobe rule (you can use the hashtag #1rulewardrobe on Instagram). I would love to see how you're applying it to your unique life :) hugs friend.

Savory, nourishing and delicious as hell. Do yourself a favor and find your local farmer. Buy their meat. Savor their meat. I promise you won't want to go back to mainstream meat every again. Seriously. Egg, Sausage, Cheese & Mint Scramble Ingredients beef tallow, bacon fat or butter pasture-raised eggs jack or cheddar cheese local sausage, cut into cubes salt & pepper fresh mint, sliced thinly Directions Melt preferred fat in pan. Add chopped sausage. Cook and brown until liking. Add whisked eggs in pan and cook together. Add shredded cheese, salt & pepper and top with fresh mint. It's even better with a side of avocado and your favorite fruit. :)

Fun is the most meaningful work we will ever do. “I'm having fun. I'm being myself. I'm doing what I love. That's all that matters." ~ James Charles The act of having fun is simple, but the art and meaning of fun is beautifully complex. As we grow older, many of us were told and shown the narrative that life is serious, full of responsibility and is measured by your financial success or status. What wasn’t emphasized or encouraged as we grew older was to KEEP FINDING FUN. The simple act of inserting fun, or interacting with those things that light you up, is what drives us to find purpose, joy and the love to live out our lives with vibrancy! Fun is directly connected to our values and what makes our lives feel more meaningful. I define fun as this cosmic entity of what excites you, intrigues you, what gives you goosebumps or just that feeling of HELL YEAH that sounds rad. One of the greatest things about having fun is that you're rarely worried about the outcome (your overall expectations are low), because having fun is like one big exciting experiment. Realizing that this is the norm about fun has given us permission to keep searching for the fun. If you feel that you need some type of permission from the universe to insert more fun in your life, then please consider this your invitation to start finding your fun and to start investing in it as much as you can. 5 SIMPLE WAYS TO FOLLOW YOUR FUN 1. If you say you want to try something fun, then follow through with the idea. Literally stop what you're doing and PLAN for the fun! ​ 2. Write down one fun thing you want to do each day and make it happen. 3. Say “no” to the things that don’t sound fun, without guilt or fear of what others may think. Harder than it sounds, but this step is golden! 4. Reflect after you have fun to consciously notice all the good that came from that experience. Did you meet new people? Did you develop a new skill? Did you realize you were braver and bolder than you thought? 5. Communicate your version of fun with others you care about so they understand what you value and what direction you're headed towards. The wild thing about once you start to find the fun and make it a habit, the fun starts to find you. Check out more about our real life experience on our podcast, Simplified Khaos, Episode: 133 Following the Fun! living out my fun, Jillian

stop.pause.and take it all in mama. savor my dear Savor my dear, Relish in each now, as it is deliberate work that our souls were born to do. Savoring the moment is ABSOLUTELY an act of nourishment. It's the most "productive" and natural work we are here to do. But we have to be willing to savor, as it is action we've been programmed to forget. I think it's time we remember what we were born to do, don't you? HOW I'M CHOOSING TO SAVOR THIS SEASON... fully commit to a slower pace create space for stillness and rest release thoughts of "productivity" and external expectations take notice of my environment and what comes up surrender and let the moment envelope me willingly find joy and purpose right as I am ​ and to BE ALL THERE for as long as I need to be. ​Curious, how are you savoring this season? ​uplifting you through the messy, Jillian