High Five Friday: Live simply.

 

Last weekend, as I fell in love with the scenery...

I may have fallen in love too.

 I came back with this takeaway:

Oh yes, Southern California, especially where I live, has its share of materialism. Growing up here, I was subject to it. We wasted so much money on trinkets we didn't need.

When I moved to North Carolina, I still had those values. It wasn't until I was out of college, on my own, and back in California did I realize how silly it all was.

Except I still spent money on fitness and food. CrossFit was $179/month and I wanted to buy and try all the "healthy" food products: kombucha (a treat still), vegan meats, containers of Greek yogurt.

Boys are less complicated in their living. Some of them are and that's just silly (to the boys who need 10 expensive watches), but my friend is a perfect role model.

My friend works hard, eats food (and sometimes treats himself to In N Out burgers and carne asada fries but usually it's basic sandwiches and Kashi cereal?), drinks delicious beer, and reads. He doesn't play video games, he's on the internet a lot less most, and doesn't watch many movies or TV shows. Yet he can still hold a conversation with anyone and he laughs a lot.

Side note: I concluded I can't fall in love because I've already become friends with anyone worthy of falling in love with.

I've always admired his laid-back vibe. This weekend I took a closer look at how he lives, and that's how I want to live. Simply. Rather than going to a crowded place, he preferred the calmer pace of life.

What does this mean for me?

• Less nit-picking about food. Eat the same food everyday.
  
• Don't spend money on fitness. YouTube and the internet has great resources.
• Wake up early. We both woke up at 7 A.M. and I loved seeing the sunrise over the mountains/hills. Again, I fell in love with the idea and him.
• Read. I started reading Wild. I have it on Kindle but would prefer the actual book.
• Spend less time on the computer. Go outside for walks. This is going to be tough.
• Stop buying. I'm actually quite good at this. No fancy purses here. I have purchased more clothes, but I'm cheap about it and I really need clothes.
• Save my money. This will come with the items mentioned above. 
• Travel. I'm not a big traveler, but I want to visit friends around this country at least. I also want the experiences in Spain, Australia, and Ireland that my lovely friends have had, but again, I don't have the travel bug like them. I won't try to do it either.

 I came home to a bag of deliciousness (thanks mom!) and "I Love Lucy." Heck yea.

I made this "chili" with what I had in the cupboards.

How do you live simply?
What's something that you do splurge on?