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Balance. Does it exist?

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I’ve been reading article after article from parents, teachers, business people, and “experts” about the struggle of finding balance in life. About balancing family, work, fun, and all the stuff that life throws at us. Conversation after conversation, tip after tip, criticism after criticism all in the hunt for the elusive beast that is balance.

Stop hunting. Balance doesn’t exist. It can’t.

Whoa!! Gasp. I know it’s the wrong, un-popular thing to say. Let me say it again….

Balance doesn’t exist.

Who thought up this word and this goal? Where did it originate? Certainly not a parent. Or someone simply trying to make a living. How about a college student? Nope, pretty sure they didn’t make up balance. I know, I know…a small business owner! Ha! We can all giggle at that one.

Unless you lead a perfect life (if you think you do, you are delusional) you are devoting more time to a single area of your life than another. Usually out of necessity. True, choice is in there. But, it is a rare person that can choose a life completely void of dedication to a particular area, be it work, school, parenting, a relationship, etc. Balance, in the way it is commonly used, is not a reality we can achieve.

Perhaps you are a single mom and you are struggling to work and take care of your children. Adding the guilt of not “balancing” work and parenting doesn’t help you one bit. You can’t do a damn thing about your need to work and have your children in daycare. Does that make you less of a parent…no. I say it makes you MORE of a parent. Should you try to find time with you kids? Absolutely. Yet, I dare say that your children will grow up with a great respect for you and your hard work. And that is something to be proud of. Your life is not balanced, but it can still be good.

Maybe you are a college student with a part-time job to try to pay bills. What is this “balance” they speak of? For you, it’s simply balancing the need to keep your grades up with your need to pay for college. Forget eating healthy, going home for holidays, staying up to date on the world around you, having a hobby, reading for FUN??…you are lucky if you remember to do those on a GOOD day. Balance is a ridiculous idea, at least in the context in which the world tends to use it.

A working father putting in more than 60 hours a week can’t possibly “balance” his world. Just look at the hours that he has left for family, sleeping, mowing the lawn, friends, voting, and the other five million things that make up a life. He simply doesn’t have the time in the day to have “balance”. Sure, he can cut back on hours (maybe?). But then that throws another part of his life out of “balance”. He now watches the kids more often after school instead of working to save money. Which means he doesn’t have the income to care for the house, car, college, etc.. He can make different choices about priorities, but his life isn’t going to be completely in “balance”.

For me, the better question is how to lead a life that is fulfilling and happy. Balance has little to do with it. Every single day we are focusing on something different, a new goal, relationship, or struggle. It often receives a majority of our attention. There is nothing wrong with that. The question should be whether we end that day feeling fulfilled and happy. Are those we love fulfilled and happy? Yes? Well done. Was it a balanced day? Who cares!

I say we throw out the idea of balance.

Instead, let’s focus on our lives as a whole, our relationships as a whole, and our jobs as a whole. If we are fulfilled and our loved ones are fulfilled, if we are happy and our loved ones are happy, then we are on the right track. There will always be room for improvement and change. But let’s take one more pressure off our shoulders. The pressure of achieving balance.

Do you agree, disagree, partly agree? Have a thought you think we should hear? Leave it in the comments…we love to chat!

Love Nutrition Facts free printable

A free printable for you to celebrate all things love. This printable is perfect for Valentine’s Day. So, I made this love nutrition facts printable for you! It is an 8 by 10 size. Print on regular size paper and throw that baby in a frame (or not…mine’s on my wall with washi tape)! These love nutrition facts are great for everyone as a sweet gift for Valentines Day.

CLICK RIGHT ABOUT HERE to open the picture. Then save to your computer and print. Woo ha! It’s that easy! And might we recommend using cardstock to make this an even fancier thing?

Nate and I don’t go crazy for Valentine’s Day, at all. Often we have a nice dinner around Valentine’s Day (never ON Valentine’s Day…packed restaurants are NOT our thing!), and then we often grab take-out and binge on Netflix or new releases we’ve been saving. After 19 years of marriage, we don’t need the wine and chocolate cake. Besides, my chocolate cake recipe is the best there is. Not even joking…

Other free printables for Valentine’s Day on NellieBellie…
Cupid’s Cocoa printable
“You are the Tea” printable

traditional swedish meatballs recipe

Ole and Lena were eating dinner when Ole yelped and exclaimed…”Lena, vat did ya put in da food, it’s dam spicy!”. Lena said “Dat neighbor down da street gave me something and told me it would make da food da best food we ever had. Cripes, I knew he vas no good.” Ole…” What vas da spice?”. Lena…”Pepper.”

[clickToTweet tweet=”IKEA doesn’t have anything on the Swedish meatball recipe from www.nelliebellie.com” quote=”IKEA doesn’t have anything on the Swedish meatball recipe from NellieBellie! ” theme=”style2″]

And that, my dear friends, sums up the whole spice profile of Swedish cooking. Okay, so there IS pepper and salt used in Swedish dishes. But that’s about all the spices good, traditional Swedish dishes have. They tend to be very bland by most other cuisine standards.

How do I know this? Well, I worked in a local cafe for quite sometime as a teenager in a MN town called Mora. Mora is all things Swedish. Mora is the home of a gigantic Dala horse, and a Mora clock commemorating the town’s Swedish roots. Mora’s sister city and namesake is Mora, Sweden. Mora DOES Swedish. And that little local cafe I worked at knew how to cater to its locals! Which meant it knew Swedish dishes inside and out.

At that cafe, I learned how to make many a Swedish dish. Yes, even lutefisk. Gah!! Try getting that smell out of your clothes!

(traditional Swedish Meatballs require grated or minced onion, not chopped. )

AND…AND…Nate is 1/4 Swedish. I remember when we first married and I met his great-uncles Raymond and Russell. They were 100% Swedish, spoke Swedish, cooked Swedish, and one was dressed in overalls every time you saw him. And they were huge, tall men. Nate’s grandpa and these great uncles were children of Swedish immigrants.

Quite a few years back Nate’s great-uncle was becoming too elderly to stay in his home by himself and wanted to clean out some of his belongings. I was utterly thrilled to be able to get one of the trunks that traveled with the family on the boat from Sweden. That, along with an original Swedish hymnal and Bible are treasures in our home. The stories and history those items have must be incredible!

(soak your breadcrumbs in the milk for a few minutes)

Nate’s parents stick to meat and potatoes, salt & pepper as the only spices, and lots of cream in their dishes. Standard Swedish cooking. I am often looking for the salt and pepper shakers when we are at their home for dinner. The Swedish roots are strong with those two :).

Swedish Meatballs have their roots as leftovers. No really, it’s true! The meat came from whatever scraps of meat and fat were leftover from the week, and then ground. Which is why Swedish Meatball recipes feature a blend of multiple meats. Onions were readily available because of the ease of storing them in the winter. Breadcrumbs were the leftover pieces of bread that had become stale or not used. And cream? Well, what is a Swede without good cream?

Truly, Swedish Meatballs are the ultimate in leftover use!

Why did they cook them in a pan, you wonder? Well, I’m thinking that they weren’t terribly concerned about perfect ball shapes for their leftovers. AND…ovens. Yeah, they weren’t quite as available, in that time, as a plain ol’ fire or cooktop.

Traditionally, Swedish meatballs use the scrapings of the pan with a bit of cream and flour added to create the gravy that you pour on them. And, of course…serve with potato puree and lingonberries.

Notes about Swedish Meatballs:

Chilling the meat mixture for about an hour will help the balls hold together while cooking.
Traditional Swedish Meatballs are soft in texture, this is normal.
Balls that are only 1 inch in size is traditional. Probably because of how quick they were to cook.
Traditional Swedish Meatballs aren’t really balls. More like triangles. They are cooked on a side and then turned, resulting in more of a triangle shape. Perfect.
Traditional Swedish Meatballs are rather bland, almost sweet (because of the nutmeg) in flavor. Feel free to adjust the recipe as you prefer.

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School Supply Storage for tiny homes

That little bag right there? It is magic for my tiny house. It holds the necessary supplies for my kids to do their homework. In one little bag that hangs on their closet doorknob.

It isn’t unusual for kids to find their way to where the action is to do their homework. Often right smack on the kitchen table or on the couch. Our kids are no different. What IS different about homework in our home is that we have utterly no space to store various supplies. There isn’t a cabinet available for art supplies and homework supplies like many homes tend to have, even without realizing they do.

So, I employed the use of a tote bag to store each of their essentials for homework. These are ordinary tote bags found at your craft store that I embellished with outgrown dress shirts and a Sharpie. Rather than sewing, I simply used Heat Bond to adhere the pocket and fabric to the tote bag. I am a no-sew kind of gal. Besides, if I can’t find storage for homework supplies where on earth would I put a sewing machine? Right!?!

Each of my children have their own tote bags that are fundamentally the same. They have a pocket on the outside, a strip of button holes attached to the outside for pencils and scissors, and a potholder electronic sleeve on the inside. Then I stock them with their favorite PaperMate mechanical pencils, colored markers, patterned erasers and various papers, scissors, notebooks, file folders, and electronic calculators from Staples.

They don’t need to pull these out each and every day because most of their homework doesn’t require anything but a computer or pencil. But, these do get pulled out once a week or so because of the need for markers, paper, graph paper, or scissors. And it has been a life-saver to have it all in one easy, accessible, and compact place!

To embellish a tote bag you truly don’t need to sew! Pick up a roll of heat bond adhesive or fabric glue (I love that stuff too!) and use it to adhere your fabric. Once you use these products you will wonder why you waited so long!

Here are the steps I took to achieve the tote bag I have…

Cut strips of the dress shirt fabric to wrap the handles in. I tied the strips at the bottom of the handle and wrapped it around tucking the next strip in as I went. I tied it again at the end.
I used a t-shirt to create a square for the pocket and then used Heat Bond to adhere the pocket to the tote bag.
For the strip of fabric with the button holes I pulled out my needle and thread and ran a couple stitches on each end of the strip. While you can use HeatBond for this, I find that the needle and thread is much stronger for the purpose of hanging pencils and pens.
The strips of fabric on the fabric on the front of the bag I adhered with Heat Bond and made sure they and the pocket aligned perfectly.
I created a striped pattern on the tote bag with a black Sharpie
The electronic sleeve inside is simply a pot holder. Isn’t that clever!

However, you decide to create your compact homework station be sure that it is stocked with the necessary supplies. Head to Staples to grab the best version of the school supplies you can! —The entire week of January 17th, 2016 save 40% off all regular priced PaperMate products. (while supplies last)—

Remember, here at NellieBellie we believe in having LESS so you can have the BEST. Minimalism is simply taking out what you don’t need to make room for living the best you can.

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Newell Rubbermaid , but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #stockup4schools http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

9 things you don’t want to hear about tidying.

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It’s true that I keep a rather tidy home, always have. And while I believe that my upbringing and unique childhood are factors in my desire for an orderly house it is certainly not something I naturally come by.

Let’s be real… who WANTS to tidy instead of watching t.v. or reading a book? And the tips I have to give you aren’t what you want. You want something easy, a quick fix. Ha! Do you truly believe that if that existed we wouldn’t ALL know about it?

Sadly, it’s not that easy. It’s work, it’s habit, it’s personal growth, and it’s relearning what our culture has told us about our homes, organizing, and “stuff”.

In no particular order…

Don’t fret the mess.
Often the mess is simply temporary and based on your current project, activity, or function. When those things end the mess will end, as well. So in the meantime, don’t fret. If there is nothing to be done or if you are simply going to be constantly fretting about the mess, leave it alone. Do NOT nag. Messes happen and there isn’t a single thing that needs to be done about it. Just breathe.
If it can’t be put away easily, get rid of stuff.
Rather than looking for more storage or a bigger house look to your stuff first. This is absolutely contrary to everything we have been taught, especially Americans, but should be the main lesson in keeping a tidy house. Rather than fussing about how you don’t have room to put your stuff away… get rid of stuff. Really. It IS the solution.
Pick-up daily.
Don’t leave until tomorrow something that should be picked up today. Or something like that. Get in the habit of putting your shoes away, hanging your coat up, taking care of ALL the dishes you use that day, and cleaning up from your daily life EVERY. DAY. This will also help you realize that your daily activities should be contained to only what you can handle. If you don’t have time to pick up after yourself each day figure out why. And fix it. Maybe you are just too busy and need to slow down. Okay, you are probably too busy. Yep, aren’t we all? This is a personal habit that you need to develop. As simple and as hard as that. There isn’t an easy fix, sadly.
Eliminate your drop pile FIRST.
If you have a drop pile that should be the first thing you tackle each day. That drop pile will mess with your mind creating clutter and a feeling of chaos that isn’t necessary. Clear the drop pile and you will feel infinitely better! And stop dropping it in the first place. Give your items clear homes and discipline yourself to put them in the homes.
Enlist help, always.
The help you enlist is a personal decision. Some can afford a housekeeper, lawn boy, pool boy, and more. Others need to take care of their family needs within house (that’s me!). Do NOT whine and complain if you can’t afford help. Simply reduce what you need to care for so you can handle it yourself. Sure, it’s not what our culture tells us the solution should be. But it IS the solution.On the same token, make sure EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. in your home is contributing. Regardless of if you have a housekeeper or not… every person living in the space should be aware of what it takes to manage a home. You do your kids absolutely no favors not giving them responsibilities. Even if you can afford to have all the chores taken care of… don’t. As adults, your children will need to understand the in’s and out’s, the finances, and the nitty-gritty of caring for homes and lives. In order to use the help that is given graciously, you need to stop micro-managing. Let those who help you handle the tasks that you have asked of them as independently as possible. Refrain from stepping in, hovering, or going back over what they have already done. Again, often this isn’t a them problem rather a you problem.
Get rid of stuff.
Did I already touch on this? Yes, I did. And I’ll do it again because it’s that important to keeping a tidy home. Keep your things well-edited. Stuff just gets in your way, keeps your thoughts distracted, and makes it difficult for you to feel peaceful in your space. When I say get rid of stuff it isn’t in the gentle, half-hearted bring a few bags to Goodwill kind of way. That’s rubbish. Most of our homes can easily get rid of a few bags on a weekly basis. You know when you have too much stuff… it doesn’t fit into the reasonable amount of space you own. The space you have is reasonable. Don’t tell me it isn’t. It’s the stuff that isn’t reasonable. Sorry, that’s simply the way it is. You have too much stuff.One way I have done this in my own life is through my use of a capsule/purposeful wardrobe. You can read more about that in my purposeful/capsule wardrobe series.
Upgrade your materials.
Rethink your furniture, materials, and spaces. Some of the pieces you have may be difficult to keep clean regardless of how hard you try. And it isn’t your fault… it’s the piece. Perhaps the top is a chippy paint that holds dirt and grime? Or the dresser doesn’t close easily. Or gosh those cabinets have NO helpers and are one big giant dark hole. Many of these problems can make it difficult to tidy and organize your home easily and efficiently. Resolve these problems, as you can. And be mindful in the future to choose materials for your home that make tidying easier and last longer. Pretty is only pretty if it stays that way long-term. If your lifestyle will degrade your things over time, something needs to change so you can take care of the items in you life in a responsible manner.
Rethink your space.
Similar to upgrading your materials is rethinking your space. Why do we spend so much time thinking about more room, about how things look, about organizing and little to no time about how the space functions for us. Understanding how you use a space and organizing your space to best utilize it for that purpose will be hugely helpful in tidying.
examples:
Baking supplies all in the same area of the kitchen.
A small drawer and wall for paying bills and organizing calendars.
A small tote by the couch to hold remotes, crossword puzzles, and other “couch” related stuff.
ALL the bedding for the whole home in one spot to eliminate the time it takes to search.
ALL the books for the home housed in the same shelf. Preferably near a reading chair. Or, if you have a child that loves to read then give them a great reading area with all their things in one spot.Set up your home to function the way YOU function, not in the way you think is prettiest, or the way magazines tell you. Not thinking about function at all is also a terrible error. Take the time to think through your families lifestyle and how your home can best help maintain and add to it. Give your home the best set up you can, the best furniture you can, and the best layout you can to grant a good use of space for you.
Downsize.
Lastly, and the largest change you can make is to completely downsize and change your lifestyle. Sure, this speaks more to just having a tidy home but if you find yourself constantly frustrating with your inability keep a tidy home regardless at how much you think you’ve tried the above options it may be time for a major change. In our case, we moved from a 2400 square foot house on 20 acres to a 900 square foot home on a small city lot. Huge change! And I would do it again in a heartbeat. Downsizing ultimately was the answer I needed to remove my home as a major energy drainer from my life. Perhaps it is something for you to think about too.

Cheers, my lovelies, to a tidy home, a happy home, and a joyful home!

Living with less, but more.

This article published quite a long time ago, is a well loved and popular piece. I believe that there is a strong movement towards smaller, quieter, more purposeful lives and I couldn’t be more excited. There have been changes in our home and lives since this post but we are still on a journey to stop and think about what we bring into our home and time. Feel free to email me | janel at nelliebellie.com | if you would like to chat about our journey, or leave a comment telling me about YOUR personal journey. No two people or families want the same things, dream about the same things, or will travel through life the same way. And I’m so thankful for that! For now, here’s a bit about our story…

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I have been so surprised at the interest you all have shown at our decision to move from a big house in the country with 25 acres to a 900 square foot house in the city-ish. I’ve talked about how we have been paring down our household goods and you all are so interested. I’ve talked about the little I survive with in my kitchen and still crank out crazy great recipes and you all are interested. I’ve talked about our decision to cut out events, activities, and more in our lives and you all are interested. And then I mentioned my transition to a capsule wardrobe and you all were crazy interested.

I realized it may be time to talk more in depth about our journey to a more sensible lifestyle.

Not that we are there yet. No, we aren’t. As I write this our big house in the country is still on the market and not sold. So, technically, we own a giant house in the country while we rent our little cottage.

As I write this we are still gathering all our belongings and getting them ready for a sale. The sale hasn’t happened yet, so we still have all of those belongings.

But still, we have made significant changes in our lifestyle, our habits, and our hopes and dreams that have us on a fast track to a more sensible lifestyle (some would use the word minimal to try to describe it, it’s not the same thing we don’t think). I know for many of you this post is not what you need, or never will need. That’s cool. We all have different hopes, dreams, and definitions of a beautiful life. But for those of you that feel overwhelmed with where your life has taken you. If you feel your life controls you and YOU don’t control your life, I hope that these series of posts can inspire you to take control back. Maybe not in the big way Nate and I have done, but in small ways.

Let’s start a bit back at the beginning.

2 summers ago Nate got his hand in a wood splitter. His right hand (dominant one). The doctors initially thought he wouldn’t gain movement or use in it again. Being our business was solely based on his ability to do manual work, this was a huge blow. To be fair, we had known for several years that something “had to give”. We were stressed, working all the time, had far too much to manage, and simply weren’t leading the life we wanted. But, that moment a couple summers ago was what put a wrench in our wheel and threw us off the cycle we had been on.

We started preparing for a complete and drastic difference in our revenue stream, making decisions as to who was going to be the sole bread-winner, and lifestyle changes to accommodate the financial changes that were sure to come.

Since I was now going to be bringing in a majority of the income with NellieBellie (and, at the time I was doing blog design full-time), we could live anywhere and I could still work. It seemed that things were set in motion for us that would start us down the road towards some necessary lifestyle changes. And, although we welcomed those changes, we weren’t terribly fond of feeling like control wasn’t in our hands. Feeling that we didn’t have control of decisions and changes was, by far, the hardest part of the last years of transition.

One of the first decisions we thought about was where we would live. We agreed that moving from our 25 acre 2400 square foot home was necessary. We simply didn’t want to take the time and energy needed to care for it.

So, stay in the area or move to a new town was the first question.

We chose to move to a new area for a couple of reasons.

1. We wanted the kids to have easy access to a great school (the bus ride to the small local public school was over 45 minutes) with opportunities beyond athletics.

2. I personally wanted to get closer to the Twin Cities where a multitude of work events often took place. Moving closer meant I could get to more of them without such a huge time commitment the usual 1.5 hour commute took.

3. We wanted to get into a smaller, simpler lifestyle in an area with great outdoor living and healthy shopping options. We looked forward to the ability to bike, walk, and hike every evening without traveling to do so.

For all these reasons and more, we chose to move to Stillwater, MN. Stillwater is a small town along the river border of MN and WI and, for all intents and purposes, a suburb of the Twin Cities. It has a wonderful public school system, a beautiful historic history, great shopping choices (love the local Co-op here!), and loads of biking, running, kayaking, hiking, and more.

We originally moved from the country to an apartment in the historic district of Stillwater (you can see a quick tour of that apartment HERE). The apartment was the second and third floor of a historic mansion and about 1200 square feet. There was no yard to care for, no pets allowed, we were within walking distance of the library and shopping, and the historic trolley tours went by out our door. It was a wonderful place to start our transition to a simpler lifestyle.

The hardest part, for me, about that first year and a half was adjusting to sharing a building with other tenants. We shared the washer & dryer, garbage, mail boxes, yard, and more with 3 other tenants. Also, because we were on the upper floors we were always mindful of how much noise we were making. All things that renters are probably used to. But because we had owned our own home for all of our 18 years together, the lack of privacy and ownership was difficult to get used to.

So, we knew that a small house would be the goal. And when I say small, I mean small. We wanted something under 1000 square feed with a little yard, garage, and great neighborhood. In Stillwater, that is near impossible. This town is large home central. All the houses are like the Tardis, you think it’s little and then BAM — an addition is there making it twice or three times the original size. It’s crazy!

But then, a tiny little cottage came up for rent. 900 square feet on a corner lot with an itty bitty yard, patio, covered porch, garage, and allows an animal. I know! Can’t get better.

It really can’t.

So, now we are in our second year here in Stillwater and learning to transition to a 900 square foot home. We love the privacy and more feeling of ownership that comes with a traditional house. And we love how tiny it is. The amount of stuff we have is next in this place to nothing. But, we are learning all sorts of new things about ourselves, our lifestyle, the materialism that we didn’t think we were participating in but when it came time to start sorting through our belongings we realized how MUCH STUFF we had, what we truly enjoy, what we do when we are bored, how to make healthy choices, and what it feels like to not thrive on stress. Because we had been addicted to stress.

If you think that isn’t a thing, you are wrong. We were absolutely used to drama, family problems, stressful situations, more work than we could manage, someone needing us ALWAYS, and ending our day with I wishes. We were so accustomed to stress and drama that in all truthfulness, learning to lead calmer & simpler lives is extremely difficult! We find ourselves wanting to ADD a project or say YES to helping someone else’s problem or NO to spending time with friends. Simply because we have not yet learned this new simper lifestyle and it’s many more hours of enjoyment, freedom, and simplicity. We feel guilty when we find ourselves sitting and watching a movie in the evening. I take bubble baths often. Whoa. I never thought I would say that!

The second decision we made, and are still working on, is to sell our home in the country (the pic above is just one of many gardens).

Financially we have the means to keep it and use it as a “cabin” for weekends and vacation. It is tempting, let me tell you! Here in Stillwater many folks keep cabins in the very same area of Wisconsin we have chosen to move from. They go there for fun and leisure. Ironic, isn’t it. It seems foolish to sell a property that many would love to have.

We went around and around about this decision. It finally came down to the same reason we decided to move… we don’t want to spend the time and energy to care for it. Regardless of how often we are there, it is still a 2400 square foot house on 25 acres. With taxes, utilities, and upkeep that go along with that. Time and energy we have chosen to put elsewhere. And, ultimately, finances we have chosen not so spend on a “once in a while” cabin.

Instead, we will rent a camper or hotel room when we vacation. Yes, it’s more expensive. But simplicity, in our opinion, will ultimately save us money and precious energy.

As I write this we are still working on getting the house up for sale. It is a huge undertaking. And, that right there is more than enough confirmation that we are making the right choice for us. The amount of time and effort it is taking just to get this place on the market is INSANE. No wonder we were always overwhelmed with the care and keeping of it.

The third decision we have made is to lease/rent as many major purchases as we can.

We have chosen to rent our home and lease our car. We are willing to buy, if necessary, to get the tiny little house we need. But, we prefer to rent and luckily, have found a tiny house we CAN rent. It can’t get much more perfect. Our car is a practical Subaru that gets us where we need to, has all-wheel drive for MN winters, and does all we need it to with a couple extra’s like heated seats and rear-view cam.

For us, renting and leasing eliminates the stress and energy that comes with owning your own home and car. We don’t have to worry about the upkeep and maintenance, we simply call the landlord when there is a problem. I don’t have as much paperwork associated with taxes, etc.., what projects we can take on are dramatically limited (no major renovations anymore!), and even the number of utilities we are responsible for are less.

We also like that stress has been taken off of us financially. Renting CAN be more expensive, in some cases. But, we feel more comfortable knowing that as we continue to make changes in our lifestyle we are not “stuck” in a long-term commitment to a geographic location. True, we absolutely love where we live and have no intention of moving but the ability to move and adjust to financial needs feels good and freeing.

For the sake of honesty I want you to know that we do have a goal of buying the home we are renting, if possible. We recognize that it often makes financial sense to pay for a mortgage than rent. But it will be an awfully small house and an awfully small mortgage for us to think about it. But, it’s not out of the question completely.

The fourth decision we have made, are making, and seem to keep making is about our source of income.

Lucky enough, Nate’s hand did not suffer permanent damage and he was, in fact, able to return to his business after a few months. This was a blessing and a hindrance, both. A blessing because our main source of income didn’t dry up, at all. He has been able to continue working as if nothing happened. A hindrance because the stress and difficulty of owning our own business is still tagging along. Financially, it’s hard to turn our nose up at the income it brings in. But yet, the business was/is draining and stressful. We are trying to balance what we need with what we don’t need. Can we get by with less, save less, do less, but work less? Or do we work more, save more, and stress less about money? We still haven’t gotten this quite figured out and are still working on it.

I still bring in an income with NellieBellie but without the design side of NellieBellie (why I stopped design work is another story for another day) it isn’t quite enough to support us on just my income. Almost. Close. Soon. And when it does it will be wonderful to have that choice. But, for right now Nate needs to keep a part-time or full-time job in some capacity. He always will, I’m sure. The choice right now is if we should stick with the business in some form. The business is a guaranteed source of income. Good income. But, it’s also a guaranteed source of stress and energy-drain as all small-businesses are. Alternately Nate could get a regular 9 to 5 job at a local business. Not as much income. At all. Not the security of what the business brings. Nor is there the stress of owning a business.

Ahhh, choices. Good and bad. I love having choices, for sure. But sometimes having choices is just paralyzing, in a way. Especially when there isn’t a clear way. You kind of find yourself standing and looking at the choices and wondering. Of course, the problem with standing and wondering is that often the choice becomes made for us in the waiting period. I’m not in favor of my indecisiveness making my decisions. That is the worst feeling.

If you think that it is these big decisions that are impacting our lives the most, you would be wrong. Very wrong. It is in the smaller changes in our lifestyle that I find the most effective and, ultimately, contributing to the large decisions. These smaller adjustments and changes have resulted in even having the ability to change major aspects of our lifestyle. The smaller changes are what I will continue to work on, strive towards, and talk about here on NellieBellie. Sure, I’ll update you often on the progress of selling our home or camper. Yet, learning to reduce our waste, live within a smaller footprint, and consume less material goods are what I’m most excited for. These are the small things that I know without a doubt change my daily life. And yours, too.

What are the small changes we have made, you ask? I’m so glad you want to know. Where to start?

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Organizer from recycled jeans

This jean organizer has been making it’s rounds again as a popular pin on Pinterest and a featured craft on many websites. So, I wanted to be sure to share it with readers that may not be familiar with it. It’s an old post, as you will see from the photo’s, but is a fun organizing idea featuring recycled materials!

So, here’s what you need:

Old pair of utility jeans (cause they have GIANT pockets)
Hot glue.
Tacks.
Board, shelf, etc (to attach the jeans to)

What do you say about jeans? Yep, them are jeans…alright!

Cut out your butt pockets, your little side pocket thing, and your waist band.

You’ll need a board or piece of wood the length and height you are wanting your organizer to be. I used an old shelf I had. I covered it with the jean material I had leftover from cutting apart the jeans.

Trim around your pockets and waistband so it’s nice and neat. And then use hotglue to glue everything down to your board that you covered in jean material.

This is the general idea you want to end up with. Your pockets hold outgoing and incoming mail. Your little utility pocket holds pens and etc. And your waistband is perfect for rings and hooks.

I used upholstery tacks to tack everything down, this guarantees that it will be secure and hold. And…it looks cool!

Then, you can take out some sharpies and doodle all over your jeans!! It’s okay…I said so!

I think this a great way to recycle your old jeans…wouldn’t you say? Well, of course you would!

Easy Thai Curry Recipe

After a long, hard day I want to be able to come home and make my family a tasty, nutritious dinner without a whole lot of fuss and muss. Fast, easy, AND relatively nutritious is what I’m asking for. Repeatedly I turn to this simple and fast Thai curry recipe to get supper on the table.

I’m a midwestern girl and not in any way an expert in curry. At all. But, I DO like to eat it and have tried many, many curries in my 37 years. So I know this one is tasty. The way my family and friends consume this stuff in gallons is further confirmation :).

Start with a bit of hot oil in your large sauce pan and add some chopped onion. Cook that for a couple minutes until transparent.

Add all of your additional ingredients, bring to a low boil, and boil gently for about 7 minutes or until your broccoli is tender.

My secret ingredient?

brown sugar.

It adds sweetness and counters the bite from the spices. If you aren’t a Swedish Midwest girl you may want to leave it out completely. But if you shy away from spicy foods adding the brown sugar might be that secret something you needed to know!

I want to lick off the screen! I could eat this Thai curry recipe for every single meal for every single day. Gosh, I love the sweet and spicy of this stuff. The coconut milk is rich and still gentle for the lactose-intolerant. Mushrooms bring heartiness, broccoli adds perfect green texture and bamboo shoots are a great crunch.

Tip:

Try microwaving a potato or sweet potato, cutting it into quarters, and adding it at the end of the cooking time.

Fresh basil torn and added with your other ingredients is utterly amazing in curry. Use a couple of leaves to give your curry a delightful fresh flavor!

If you need to stretch your curry and don’t have any more coconut milk, use chicken stock. It will add the needed liquid without sacrificing flavor.

The perfect curry broth! I could slop this stuff up all day.

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Wonton Shrimp Tacos

There is one thing I HATE about writing recipe posts. Only one thing that I HATE about these Wonton Shrimp Tacos…

You can’t taste it for yourself!

I can try to tell you how fresh and light these are. How the shrimp is perfectly spiced and the coconut coleslaw is sweet and smooth under the avacodo corn salsa that has the PERFECT amount of lime to counter those spicy shrimp. I can try to tell you how fast these make up (about 30 minutes for 24)… you really can’t believe it!

There just is no way to explain. None.

You have to try these.

These are a fast, easy, and beautiful appetizer that would be utterly fantastic for Game Day! The little cups are fashioned from pressing won ton wrappers into a greased cupcake pan, spraying them with cooking spray, and baking them for about 10 minutes. Cute, crunchy, and mini…perfect!

The shrimp is tossed with salt, lime, and hot sauce and placed into the oven along with the won ton wrappers. They only need about 5 minutes in the oven to cook up perfectly.

Note:

Sure, you can use already cooked shrimp. Simply toss them up in the same seasoning and set aside. I prefer to cook mine because I find the flavor is intensified and stronger. Don’t stress about it though, these are so good that using already cooked shrimp is JUST FINE.

Next up is the coconut coleslaw. And I know you are dreading this and worried about ingredient lists and time. STOP! It’s SO crazy simple you’ll be making it all the time for all the reasons you can think of!

Using coconut milk in place of traditional milk or cream makes this coleslaw MUCH kinder to many diets. Never mind the fresh and smooth flavor the coconut milk adds. Yeah, never mind that J.

Again with the worry. This avocado corn salsa is EASY!!! I don’t even use fresh tomatoes unless I really, really want to. A can of diced tomatoes works just fine.

Tip:

Because we are using frozen corn and diced tomatoes instead of fresh be sure to pick up the best version of both that you can. I like to grab the white and gold frozen corn and organic petite diced tomatoes.

Yes, you do have to dice a few avocados’, cilantro, and an onion. But that takes all of 10 minutes. This salsa is worth it!

With all of your ingredients put together it is simply a matter of combining them into the wonton cups. A pile of creamy coconut coleslaw on the bottom, top with fresh avocado corn salsa, and then press a spicy shrimp on the top. Delicious!!!

Tip:

If you like, go even further and drizzle a bit of sour cream, buffalo mayo, or another of your favorite taco sauces on top of the shrimp.

TIP:

These will stay fresh for many hours if kept cool. However, I recommend making the pieces separately and putting the cups together closer to the necessary time as possible. That will help keep the wonton cups crisp.

I personally think these would be a fantastic appetizer served alongside a Bloody Mary cocktail. Can you just imagine how gorgeous?

For the Game Day Party you are throwing for the guys…go ahead and sub out the fresh salsa with prepared salsa. Those guys won’t care. Serve them a wonton shrimp taco at the beer tasting table and you’ll be a hero!

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Coconut Date Cheesecake Bars

We are talking all about sweet and decadent desserts this month in preparation for Valentine’s day coming up in not too long. I’m a firm believer in having one piece of AMAZING dessert once in a while instead of little bites more often. Our minimal lifestyle is all about having less so that we can have BETTER. Even in desserts.

This coconut date cheesecake recipe is heavenly! Although it’s a decadent and sweet dessert it is still packed with nutrients and vitamins. Hey, if you can use ingredients that are full of good stuff why on earth would you settle for packaged crap? Yeah, I thought it was a good question.

My crust is made up of ground nuts and dates instead of the traditional graham cracker butter concoction. This makes for a sweet, earthy, and rich crust that is packed full of flavor and the perfect place to add additional nutrients and vitamins.

I stick with the traditional mix of coconut and condensed milk for the coconut filling. It’s classic for a reason. Because… delicious!

I use this no-bake cream cheese filling for many, many recipes. It tops my no-bake cheesecakes, cinnamon rolls, carrot cakes, and even spice bars. It’s sweet, creamy, tart, rich, and the perfect silky texture for a multitude of purposes.

For this purpose, I cool the coconut/date layers before topping with the light and fresh cheesecake topping.

Invite a few friends over, bake up these bars, make some boozy coffee, and enjoy your life! A little dessert is good for the soul.

Coconut Date Cheesecake Bars

Date crust:

1 cup nuts (I recommend 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup almonds)

1/2 cup dates

Coconut Layer:

1 (14 oz) package sweetened coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk

No-Bake Cheesecake Layer:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 8 oz packages cream cheese

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Finely chop the nuts and dates. (tip: this step is faster and easier using a food processor) Press the mixture into a greased 8 by 8 square pan.

Mix the coconut and sweetened condensed milk together. Pour 3/4 of the coconut mixture over the top of the date crust (reserve 1/4 of it) and gently press down.

Bake the coconut layer and date crust in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Cool (setting it in the freezer while working on the cheesecake filling is often more than enough time to cool).

Pour the remaining coconut mixture onto a parchment paper lined (a greased pan will also work) cookie sheet and press to about 1/4 inch thick. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.
Cool, crumble, and save for the top of your bars.

Meanwhile, for the no-bake cheesecake filling beat the powdered sugar and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.

Add the honey, vanilla, and whipping cream.

Beat on high for 2 minutes.

Pour the cheesecake filling over the cooled coconut and date layers and spread gently. Top with the crumbled coconut bits.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours prior to serving.

Makes 9 man-size bars or 12 women-size bars.