This photo series of ‘genetic portraits’ (merged photos of two family members) is amazing.
This made me LOL, because I definitely had this discussion with people before. Do or don’t: two duvets on one bed (note: in Germany, we have two).
Top 10 science-based health benefits of running. There you have it.
“Moderation” is a useless concept. When I first read the title of this piece, I wanted to vehemently protest, because I kinda live by the motto “everything in moderation”, but the author does raise some interesting points, namely that there is no universal definition what ‘moderation’ actually means. It’s a relative term after all.
What real people think about when they run. What do you think about when you run? I definitely use the time to either think about my to-do list, plan out blog posts, think about something that I am looking forward to.
Health benefits of Coconut Oil: inside and outside of your body. Are you using it? I am definitely using it for my homemade granola and cooking, but I am intrigued to use it in my beauty regiment as well.
That sounds delicious!! Mushroom arugula toast
I LOVE this photo map idea.
I have mixed feelings about this article “Why those “no-spending” challenges are a waste of time”, because I agree with some of the points the author raises but also feel that such a challenge can be helpful to people and expose habits that need to be reevaluated. I am curious what you think, especially if you’ve done a no-spending challenge before.
I think I want to try my hand at homemade sunscreen with only three simple ingredients. Have you tried this before?
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
June 16, 2016 at 9:29 amWhen I run, I seem to always have music or a podcast in so I really zone out and do not do much thinking! I should be better about not always listening to things when working out as it can be a good time to think through things!
I don’t really agree with the author’s stance about the “no spending” challenges. I can see where she is coming from but I think they are a good tool to help you understand where your money is going/how much less you can spend in a month when you really try and it also helps you flex your disciplinary muscle as you have to say no to yourself often. I haven’t done one yet but I think it would be an interesting challenge. Although the people I know that have done it have framed it as no spending on non-essential things, so they still pay bills and buy groceries, pay for gas, etc.
san
June 16, 2016 at 9:46 amI could write a whole blog post about this one topic…. I haven’t attempted a no-spending challenge yet, but totally agree with you: it could be a great experiment to be more disciplined and truly evaluate your spending habits.
Of course, it makes no sense if you “stock up on things” and make “frivolous” purchases before you start the challenge and then fool yourself that you did really well not spending any money for a month. You need to be honest with yourself and really evaluate your “spending on a regular basis”. I could see where the author was coming from, but definitely disagreed with some of her points as well.
Stephanie
June 17, 2016 at 2:38 amLove the „Two duvets on one bed“ article! As an Austrian expat currently living in the US, I’d go crazy if I had to share my duvet. I had the same discussion with people a couple of times and it’s always so funny because most of them have never heard about that before. When I moved to California last year I had a pretty hard time finding „European style“ comforters and duvet covers at first, but I finally found some at Ikea :)
san
June 17, 2016 at 3:11 pmI adjusted to the “one big duvet”, but I can totally see how this is a topic for discussion… :)
P.S. Thanks for stopping by!
Gretchen
June 17, 2016 at 10:26 amI’ll definitely be checking out that no-spend article! I just completed a 6 month challenge and it definitely changed how I think about spending. I used to think I “needed” a new shirt or pants every time I saw something that I liked. Now I feel a lot more picky about what I buy and realize that I really don’t NEED anything in my life. It also made me re-evaluate how I spend money in other areas of my life. I would love to see more of your thoughts on this subject :)
san
June 17, 2016 at 3:12 pmThanks for your comment :)
I am glad to hear you agree with me that the spending challenge can be a good tool to evaluate one’s own spending habits! :) I’ll definitely elaborate on that sometime.
Stephany
June 18, 2016 at 5:23 amI read that “no spending” post and very much disagreed with the points the author made. My reasoning behind doing a no spending challenge was to reevaluate what I was spending money on and to force myself to live with less. And I haven’t gone back to spending like crazy like I did before the challenge – it really helped me reframe the way I spend money. The author brings up some good points, but ultimately misses the mark.
San
June 20, 2016 at 8:47 amI totally agree with you. I think it’s really about the attitude with which one attempts such challenge… and I can see how it can be useful to a) simply live frugally and save some extra money in a month and b) evaluate one’s spending habits.
Cait
June 18, 2016 at 6:18 pmI have strong feelings about the no-spending challenge. The author of that article seems to miss the point that it’s not about the self-congratulation/”look what I can do” feeling. She implies that everyone does it for a month just to brag about it, then goes right back to their indulgent spending habits. The point for most people, including myself, is that we know we spend a little bit outside of our means and want to fix that. Like, I could be saving a lot more if I wasn’t getting Starbucks every day and impulse-shopping at Target, but I have enough money at the end of the month to pay all of my credit card bills so I don’t ever examine where I could save. I actually find the spending freeze very helpful in breaking my casual shopping habits – it’s like an addiction, once I start doing it I KEEP doing it, but if I stop for long enough, I don’t feel compelled to shop.
San
June 20, 2016 at 8:48 am“The point for most people, including myself, is that we know we spend a little bit outside of our means and want to fix that. ” – THAT’s exactly it. Of course, a no-spending challenge is pointless, if you’re living on a bare minimum already, but for most of us, it’s simply an exercise in discipline and a way to assess excess-spending.
Silke
July 5, 2016 at 10:14 pmHaha… Ich wäre nie auf die Idee gekommen, dass es irgendwo NICHT normal ist, 2 Decken zu benutzen. :-)
Ich Creme mich seit ein paar Wochen mit kokosöl ein – geht super!!