Confession: This week I finally, finally got Dan a 30^th birthday gift. He’s turning 31 in exactly a month . . . which means it took 11 months to get him a gift. I promised him a high-quality pair of pajama/lounge pants (which he lives in during the winter), and I really did try. I looked for pants every time I was at a clothing store, and I brought home many pairs that weren’t quite right and had to be returned.

Well, we finally found a pair at lululemon, which I can safely say he will wear forever because it will take exactly that long to get our money’s worth. Except that we had a gift card to cover the bulk of the expense; otherwise, I highly doubt we would have bought these. But still, that store. I have running clothes from lululemon that have lasted 5 years and multiple half-marathons and marathons, so they’re doing something right, but gosh, I get sticker shock every time I’m in there.

In minimalism, I struggle against two competing desires: on one hand, to make sure that anything I add to my home, wardrobe, schedule, etc. is high quality, even if it comes at a higher cost; and on the other, to spend as little money as I can and find amazing deals. This is one of those times when I kind of did both, and I’m learning to be okay with that.

All in all, it was a sweet week. Here’s why.

Cultivating Gratitude

My amazing mom and the chance to celebrate her birthday with my siblings. It feels like home whenever we’re all together.

Gelato, in all its rich, creamy, decadent goodness.

A fresh haircut and the extra bounce it brings to my locks and my step, even when it’s just a little trim.

My beautiful friends, some of whom struggle with deeply rooted body image issues even though they’re actually the most gorgeous bunch of people you’ve ever seen. Expect a post on this soon, because we women need to figure this thing out and start being kind to ourselves.

The doors God has opened for me in the last year, doors I never even imagined walking through. I changed careers hoping to find a 9–5 copyediting job, which God provided, but I had no idea that He would ask me to step out and write publicly as well. It’s a heavy weight, sharing my thoughts for everyone to read and opening myself up to criticism, but it’s also a joy to live out this specific calling.

Sharing Love

Emily’s sweet post about the love her friends show her made me tear up and think about how blessed I am to have a village of similar friends—even if that village is spread out over five states and thousands of miles.

I used to think there was no such thing as too many shoes, but minimalism has shown me a different way. That said, a woman’s shoe needs are vast, and you can meet those needs by cultivating a quality collection using these categories. (I finally invested in a high-quality pair of sandals, and I’m excited to have my life changed and my lower back revitalized.)

I still haven’t read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up, but Kayla provided an excellent recap of the best wisdom from the book.

And once again, Daisy’s writing speaks for itself here: “We often talk about courage on a grand scale: the courage to chase our dreams; the courage to live simply; the courage to challenge the unsolvable problems of our day. But how do we muster up that courage, when we live within the confines of our obligations daily? Why not learn to intentionally choose courage every day?”