The Eccentric American Mama in Cumbria

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who commented and sent me emails regarding my year long shopping ban. I realise it came as a shock for some people and I had some mixed comments. However, I'm prepared to persevere and was happy to have a couple people decide to join me on my journey this year. Please don't worry about my mental health I've never felt as happy as I do right now in my life. Also, if you really know me, and I mean really then you know this decision is in no way out of character for me, in fact as Josh would say, "She's acting perfectly normal." Weekend Reading:  Here are some blogs I have read and loved this week, so grab yourself a cold beer, glass of wine, or coffee and enjoy! How and Why to be a More Patient Parent by The Abundant Mama The Loss of Life Beneath Your Skin and How to Revive it by Hands Free Mama Elevate the Important  by Joshua Becker from his blog Becoming Minimalist Why You Can't Measure

Cyril and I are off jetsetting again next month and because I rarely do anything last minute I've created my first minimalist packing list. We'll be visiting friends and family in America and will be home for nearly 6 weeks. We'll have a trip to NYC to see my older brother, his wife, and Josh's hetero life mate Al, while my mom babysits Cyril, and my mom and I will be taking another flight to visit my younger brother Matthew and his family across the country in Olympia. I'll also be travelling to New Hampshire to visit my best friend and her latest addition to the family. Other than those trips we'll be staying put on the farm in Massachusetts for some much needed R&R. In October I'll come back and report on whether or not I had enough items or if I could pare the list down even further. I decided to go with a table format so I can add a check mark on my computer as I pack the items. Also, when we go on a shorter trip to Portugal in December I can

Join me as I embark upon a 1 year shopping ban, yes you heard me correctly I'm saying no to consumerism for 365 days. Although I haven't bought anything, aside from a pair of sandals for Cyril, since I began my studies into minimalism back in April I'm marking the start of my ban as July 18th. This date is kind of ironic because it's my brother Matthew's birthday. It somehow seems fitting to have the one year anniversary on his birthday since he said no to consumerism way back in 1999. OK so maybe it wasn't that early but he's always asked me if I needed things and I never understood what all the fuss was about until recently when I dove in head first and eliminated nearly everything from our household. My brother has been my inspiration to live more mindfully and it wasn't until recently that circumstances in my life changed so drastically that I began a journey down a path to what can only be described as enlightenment. No I'm not a monk, and I