A Quiet Simple Life with Sallie Borrink

Cozy and Simple Living, Homeschooling, Faith, Homemaking, & Books

Home ▹ Archives for Cozy & Simple Living

Cozy & Simple Living

A Day in Our Cozy Life #3

10 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

Caroline and I are both longing for the cooler, rainy days of fall. I've looked wistfully at the fireplace many times the past week, knowing that we won't be able to use it for probably many weeks yet. We've been doing our best to combat the relentless sun, heat, and humidity with little things like closing the blinds and turning on twinkle lights, playing my favorite thunderstorm track on YouTube, and visiting the autumn aisles at Hobby Lobby. I've never been a fan of summer and wilt fairly easily, but Caroline really dislikes the endless sun. … [Read more...] about A Day in Our Cozy Life #3

Our Life in July

8 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

Shortly before Memorial Day, I compiled a plan of publishing content here 100 days in a row over the summer. So that obviously didn't pan out for a whole host of reasons. But we've had an enjoyable summer filled with important events and that's better than blogging every day, don't you think?So in random order, here's some of what's happened the past seven weeks or so. Teacher Friends A few weeks ago, two of my teaching colleagues from my student teaching days came to visit. Dorothy was my mentor teacher for two years. Jan was in the … [Read more...] about Our Life in July

A Day in Our Cozy Life #2

6 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

It's going to be a very hot and humid July week. We're planning on enjoying lots of at-home activities to beat the heat. Here is a peak around our cozy home!Caroline and I haven't done much poetry in our homeschool so that's something we're doing this summer. I bought Anna Growing Up on the Farm years ago (well before Caroline). I brought it out because I thought she would love the fun poems and the gorgeous oil paintings in a large, over-sized format. I was right. We've enjoyed reading this as part of our learning time. We're working … [Read more...] about A Day in Our Cozy Life #2

A Day in Our Cozy Life #1

6 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

As I've been looking through old posts, I realized that I've actually shared very little from our family life. I've written more about issues, things I'm learning, helping people solve problems, and encouraging others. But I haven't shared much about our day to day activities of pursuing a cozy life and bringing peace, understanding, and joy to our home. I'm far enough along this parenting and homeschooling journey that I want to be more deliberate about sharing some of the fruits and joys of our experience.Today is the first in what I hope … [Read more...] about A Day in Our Cozy Life #1

AQSL 002: Creating a Quiet Simple Life

2 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

Are you ready to create a quiet simple life? If you are looking for encouragement and ideas, you are in the right place. In this episode we are looking at both quiet and simple. We'll examine what they mean and what they can look like in our home.Please feel free to leave a comment about the content or ask a question. I'd also love to hear what you found particularly helpful or encouraging. Listen to the Podcast My podcast is available to play right … [Read more...] about AQSL 002: Creating a Quiet Simple Life

The Explosion of Unnecessary Commonplace Luxuries

18 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

This was originally published in October 2008 but I'm bumping it up for today. There is an interesting discussion in the comments. It's fascinating to look at this article and the linked article eleven years later. I've been doing some extensive reading and research in anticipation of going on a writing spree for my retirement website. I actually think the bottom half of the middle class is much worse off eleven years later.I know that I run the risk of scaring some of you off if I write too often about the economic situation in the world. … [Read more...] about The Explosion of Unnecessary Commonplace Luxuries

A Year After Deleting Facebook, I Continue the Social Media Purge

15 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

I passed my one year anniversary of leaving Facebook a few weeks ago after having thought about it for quite some time. I proved to myself that I don't need it. I've had a few moments when I've wondered if I should go back, especially after I had been off it for so long. I do miss interacting with some online friends and extended family that I never interact with now. I sometimes wonder if I've done the right thing for my website and work.One thing that surprised me is how often I did not use David's account to look things up. Before I … [Read more...] about A Year After Deleting Facebook, I Continue the Social Media Purge

The Month of April – Total Blur

2 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

I would describe our life the past five weeks as a total blur. April is always David's busiest month of the year professionally for a couple of reasons, but this April (starting in mid-March, actually) was a complete and total blur. So here are some random highlights from the past five weeks. First Comes the Water Five weeks ago I looked at the calendar and breathed a bit of a sigh of relief. We had gotten past a whole bunch of things and we had a week of "normal" life ahead of us. I was looking forward to being home, homeschooling, and … [Read more...] about The Month of April – Total Blur

2019 Reader Survey Results

7 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

I've done a few reader surveys over the years, but I realized that I've never shared the results. As I was watching the survey answers accumulate over the weekend and on Monday, I thought at least some of you would be interested in the outcome. Some of the results were genuinely interesting.So if you've ever wondered about the other women who read, subscribe, and comment, here is a snapshot of the main takeaways. How old are you? In my 40s was most popular followed by in my 50s, 30s, and 60s. I like seeing a good mix of ages so this made … [Read more...] about 2019 Reader Survey Results

My Themes and Goals This Year: Health and Home

4 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

As I was thinking about this year, one theme kept coming back to me - my health. I have to finally make my health a top priority in our home. For the past many years I've either had to or chose to prioritize other things over self care - Caroline's needs, pressing business needs, house needs, financial needs, etc. The last thing on the list was usually tackling my health issues.That's not to say I never took care of myself. I did. But this is a significant area of my life where I have repeatedly kicked the can down the road and I can't do … [Read more...] about My Themes and Goals This Year: Health and Home

Enjoying the Blessings in My Life

2 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

I haven't blogged much lately and partly that is because I've simply been focused on enjoying my life and practicing what I preach here about living a life of peace, understanding, joy, and beauty. I've been spending more time with David and Caroline. I've been doing organizing projects around the house.Lots of little things that make me happy. A New Desk for Me! Last week I bought a new desk and it was delivered on Monday. I AM IN HEAVEN.It's a larger L-shaped desk and I have so much surface area it's absolutely amazing. I can push … [Read more...] about Enjoying the Blessings in My Life

A Cozy Moment Jar Printables

Leave a Comment

Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

A Cozy Moment Jar Printables is one of my favorite parts of the free Creating Your Cozy Life Planner. Why? Because it brings it all together. If creating a cozy life is about bringing greater peace, understanding, joy, and beauty to your life and the life of those you love, then keeping a cozy moment jar is where you can remember and celebrate it all.A Cozy Moment is anything that happens in your life or home that is about peace, understanding, joy, or beauty. You simply jot the date and a few words on the note and drop it into a jar (or … [Read more...] about A Cozy Moment Jar Printables

Scroll Up