Recommended with "Happiness"

One fun thing before I start with recommendations, one of my blog posts was featured on Pro Flowers' blog this week!   I'm always honored when someone notices my work and shares it with others.  I'm so glad the folks at Pro Flowers enjoyed reading about my Japanese dinner party!

This time, for your listening pleasure, I want to share "Happiness" by Jónsi and Alex.  This is one of those painfully beautiful songs, to me.  The kind that wraps and grips something deep within you so tightly, and you don't even really know where it's coming from, but it brings you to tears.  Ugh, this music.

And for the rest of our links...

One Fundamental Rule for a Minimalist Wardrobe

Back when I was teaching my Korean students about how to take care of the planet and about The Three R's, we often went of the best way to stop the trash cycle: REDUCE.  Basically, if you use less to begin with, then you're wasting less, throwing away less, spending less, and worrying about less.  All of this translates perfectly to what I understand of the minimal lifestyle and minimal wardrobe, as well.

Photo by Chelsea Francis, via Unsplash

Responding to the Refugee Crisis

On my way to work a couple weeks ago, I heard the breaking news of the truck found on the side of the road in Austria with  bodies of refugees inside.  I had caught bits and pieces of the refugee crisis before, but with this new wave of realization, hearing of these people who had been seeking safety left dead and disgraced, it brought on the compassion human suffering should arise in all of us.  The next week, the photos of the drowned refugee boy went viral.  A week after that, I talked with my husband about the crisis and how there's hardly anything we can do to help.  

A Syrian refugee girl in a temporary Hungarian camp
Photo by Michael Cassel via Vice News

Happy September!

Another new month and another new start!  What do you have planned for the next 30 days?  Here's what I'm most excited for.

My two favorites when we went hiking in Chattanooga this summer

#1 September 19th is when Doctor Who comes back in season 9!!  Woohoo!

#2 Okay, okay, I'm actually more excited to be going camping this weekend with my husband and our dog.  This will be our first time camping as a couple, and while I'm a little nervous about how Mako will handle everything, I've been trying to find advice on the best way to travel with him.  Let me know is you have any tips!
#3 My sister is getting her (very late) birthday present this month!  I'm taking to a tattoo shop for her first tattoo, a fern shadow on her foot.  Stay tuned for pics and stories!
#4 My dear friend Monika is getting married!  I love weddings, I love this girl, and I love that this great guy and girl are getting together!
#5 Also, our own anniversary will come up on the 14th.  We don't have any big plans, but we'll probably head to a nice restaurant for some delicious food (one of our favorite pastimes).