Joyfully Simplified

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

― Leonardo da Vinci

Recent Posts

Jan 11
14 min

Feeling Like Your Own Weakest Link?

Have you ever felt like you, yourself, are the weakest link in your very own life? You know, those days when you wake up in the morning...

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Apr 11, 2023
5 min

The Deep End of the Pool

Remember being a kid at the swimming pool? Or watching your own children as they learned to swim? A little scared at first. Sitting on...

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Nov 7, 2022
2 min

Spread Too Thin

When I was a young mom I took a series of cake decorating classes. I wanted to know how to make cute, unique cakes for my kids'...

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Oct 1, 2022
5 min

The Simplicity of Doing Nothing

Hustle and bustle is the hallmark of modern society it seems. Technology has made it possible to be working and interacting 24/7. We are...

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Sep 25, 2022
3 min

Free Up Space

Love it or hate it - for most of us our phones have become fairly central to our ability to function, in both our personal and work...

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Hi, I'm Laura

I downsized and moved my family to the beach to pursue a more Joyfully Simplified life. I've discovered while on this journey that less really can be more.

Less of what? Stuff, stress, time wasting and misaligned activites and relationships.

More of what? Authenticity, free time and space for creativity, real love, peace and joy.

My Story

Coaching

Life feeling a little chaotic, out of focus or uninspired? Are you longing to feel less fearful and disorganized, and more grounded, authentic and playful again?

Individual one-on-one coaching (group coaching coming soon) by telephone or zoom.

- Midlife Discovery

-Simplicity

-Living Yoga (coming soon)

Learn More

“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”

― Ram Dass

I’ve been consciously simplifying my life and slowing down for awhile. Haven’t been posting as much. What am I doing instead?

Writing…on actual paper in a notebook.

Focusing on studying the yoga sutras and chakra systems - my orange bracelet is to keep me focused on the sacral chakra this week.

Leaning into getting to know the sweet residents better at the assisted living community I work at and hearing their stories.

Having morning tea on my back porch watching the birds at my bird feeder.

Fixing up my house. Decluttering. Creating peaceful welcoming gathering spaces.

Sharing meals with my kids.

Just…life. Nothing extraordinary…except I’m discovering that actually it is. These are the moments that make up a beautiful life. The quiet, simple joys.

Happy Tuesday my friends. ❤️

Can we normalize being a regular person?

This is me - no makeup, hair still wet from my shower, a few pounds I’m still trying to lose but probably never will. Chilling at home on a stormy day in my yoga pants. This is how I look most of the time. It is what it is.

But it’s true isn’t it? Most of us don’t have perfect skin, magazine worthy homes, or fancy cars. We don’t have perfect careers, perfect relationships or perfect lives. We’re not supermodels, super wealthy or celebrities. We may have extraordinary experiences, but in between we’re generally pretty ordinary.

Can we as a society just be ok with that now? Can we stop curating, and filtering and chasing after perfection? And celebrate the beauty in being just good, honest, hardworking people that love others and do our best every day to live decent lives?

Just my thoughts on this rainy, cozy day in Florida. Here’s to all the regular people!! In my eyes you are amazing!

❤️❤️❤️

Before and after - swipe to see the almost finished project!

Omg you guys. I started this pantry months ago…meaning my food has been in boxes on the floor for that long. Not fun. This project fought me every step of the way but it’s finally almost done!! All that’s left is hanging a couple of wood and wire baskets and hooks for my step ladder and aprons. But I’m happy with how it’s turning out.

Everything that could go wrong - did! From scraping the ceiling, to hanging the paper to getting the shelves level and solid…it just was one mishap after another…one “we are missing one bracket or screw” …just on and on…delay after delay. I was beginning to despair we would never have a functional pantry again, and would forever have a kitchen that looked like an episode of hoarders. 😂

A few finishing touches and we can finally put the food away!! By the end of this week I will have a pantry!

Life lesson learned…even when things are hard, stay with it. The end result is worth the effort. And when it feels like the end or resolution will never come…stay with it. Then all of a sudden one day…it’s done.

Stay with it! Keep the faith don’t beat yourself up. Everything worth having is worth putting in the effort and having the patience for. Thank you to my son Kevin and my neighbor Kent for their help along the way.

Next project…my new office. Stay tuned.

#pantryrenovation #pantryorganization #pantrydesign #pantrymakeover #diyprojects

I’ve been binging this show with my kids and highly recommend it for anyone who has dogs or loves dogs. Cesar is so knowledgeable about canine psychology, and really trains the humans as much, or more, than the dogs.

For anxious or angry pups he talks a lot about helping them reach a state of calm surrender. It’s mentioned often in every episode, so that phrase “calm surrender” has been very much on my mind as I go through my days recently. I’ve been pondering on how important learning to achieve this mindset is for humans too.

We can’t avoid anxiety completely. We all encounter situations throughout our lives that are upsetting, or frightening or painful. And our nervous systems by design will trigger and place us into fight or flight mode in these moments. This is important to our survival, so that we will be equipped to respond to danger. It’s a good thing short term and when facing a real and imminent threat. The trouble is, though, that in society today we are often running on a ramped up nervous system on a chronic, long term basis. Stressed about small things, or past or future fears, or the ten thousand possible outcomes, etc etc etc. to where it becomes habitual to feel like you’re running from a Tiger, even when not much is going on. The hustle culture and uncertain political and financial times we live in fuel this further.

The effects of long term stress are literally killing us, so learning to achieve a calm surrender state, both physically and mentally, is more important now than ever. With dogs Cesar essentially quiets the environment and gets them to simply be still, while holding space for them in calm confidence. You can literally watch as the tense animal relaxes. It’s a beautiful transformation to witness as the peace washes over them.

It works for people too, in much the same way. Stillness in the body and mind first. Quieting the noise. Calm surrender. Peace.

It can be done. Like anything it takes practice. But this self soothing technique may be the greatest gift you give to yourself and may actually extend your life and improve the quality of your relationships.

Go watch Cesar work his magic. So much fun.
🐾🐾🐾

11 month silver hair update…just had several inches of hair cut off plus layers, some fringy bangs and a toner to tame the orange ends…and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel at last. One or two more haircuts and I should be finally fully transitioned to my natural grey. What a relief that will be. Then I’ll probably grow it out a little longer again ? But who knows? I can do fun things with colors or low lights underneath, or whatever for fun and variety, then if I feel like it without ever having to deal with the dreaded demarcation line again!! Or without coloring the crown where my scalp got so sensitive.

The toner darkened the natural brown I have on top a tad too but she swore to me on all that was holy that it would wash out in 6 to 8 weeks with no trace. It still looks quite white in outdoor light. Crazy how different it is in this lower light.

I’m almost there ya’ll!!! This has been interesting haha

#silverhair #silversisterscommunity #greyhairtransition

We all have that thing…you know the thing…the dream, the purchase, the reach out, the goal, the trip…even the lingerie you bought but have never worn or the fancy cheese you’ve always wanted to try…whatever…

That thing we’re waiting for. I’m not talking about something we CAN’T do. Just something we haven’t done, because the timing hasn’t felt perfect. Or we decide to save the money instead of spend it even though we could. Or because we’re just not in the habit of saying yes to our “want to’s” or someone else told us we were wrong to even want it.

You know what I mean and very likely you had something come immediately to mind as you read this.

Go do it. Give yourself that gift. Buy the dress, ask the girl/guy out, try that new restaurant, take the trip, try the class … open that bottle of wine you’ve been saving. Saving for what? A special occasion. But why? Why can’t today be special?

Walk on the beach, smell the roses, stop in the middle of the day just to breathe. What are you really waiting for after all?

When I bought my house last October the carpets were filthy - I thought it would be one of the first things I did before even moving in was clean them. But other projects took priority, then the furniture was in, then extra budget money always seemed to need to go elsewhere. Then I started working and time was at a premium too, so now 101/2 months later my carpets were still gross. Funny how when you live with something for long enough you even kind of stop noticing ??

But today is the day! I finally bought a home carpet cleaner (quotes to have someone else do it were outrageous) and I am half appalled and half giddy delighted as I’m digging into this project.

It’s going to take a couple of long days honestly. Because I didn’t do it up front I’m having to move furniture, and this is such old, stubborn dirt it’s taking around 7 or 8 passes in each section to get it up, but they are at last coming clean!! And we can actually see what color this carpet really is. A light beige, not a dingy grey! Ew. You can see in the photo how different it is!!! Disgusting that we’ve been living with it this way so long.

Life lessons relearned (I never seem to fully learn this the first second or even tenth time??):

-do the thing you know you need to do as soon as possible. Waiting so often makes it harder
-you deserve a clean fresh home and so do your loved ones. It can truly change your emotional state if things are dirty Vs. Clean. This is an important tenant of both yoga and Feng Shui because environment and mental/spiritual well being are so connected.
-even though it’s hard work, take the time to do things right.
-a little music makes chores more fun.

Even though this carpet is still pretty dated I’m amazed how well it’s cleaning up. It’s going to look, feel (and probably smell 😂) like a whole new house!!

I got rear ended on the way to take my son to school this morning. The damage was fairly minor, only some small scuffs and dents, and no one was injured thankfully. But it’s been a reminder to me how quickly things can happen. A serious accident would have happened just as fast and unexpectedly as this little one. Or a life altering diagnosis, relationship change you didn’t see coming, financial reversal…stuff happens and often when we left the house that morning we had no idea what was coming.

Good things can also work this way…a random trip to the mall and you can meet the love of your life out of the blue, or a business opportunity presents suddenly that you’d never heard of before. You get the idea.

The point is that we never fully know what’s around the bend. Life can hit you when you least expect it for better to for worse. So it’s important to learn to be flexible and not overly attached to current circumstances. So we can roll through the ups and downs. It’s a skill that takes intention and practice like anything else. But it’s an important aspect of resilience.

Today was a small inconvenience. I’m grateful for that. And for the life reminder that accompanied it.

🧡

Less- stuff, stress, rush, worry.

=

More- peace, love, creativity, joyfully simplified life.

My new website/coaching is based on these ideas. I don’t have much content on there yet. Just a few posts I moved over from my old site for the moment. But this is my direction going forward. And it makes me smile. ❤️

Www.joyfullysimplified.com

Took this guy out to a restaurant patio for the first time. He did great!! So proud of him.

He wants so much to please us. Dogs don’t judge based on superficial things. They live in the moment, and love so completely.

Be like dogs.

❤️🐾❤️🐾

I haven’t been on social media much the past few days, because I’ve been busy dropping off my son at George Mason University (sob 🥲) and catching up with my VA bestie of over 30 years. We met when I lived here and both of us had housefuls of little children. We share a love of travel, learning and just think about life in similar ways. Bonnie was always my rock. We traded babysitting, helped each other when we were sick or exhausted and spent countless hours talking each other through the ups and downs of life. I have missed her so very much, so to spend a few days with her and her family was priceless for me.

Even after all these years she was there as my son drove away and I melted into tearful puddles. It’s hard dropping a kid at college when he’s only 17 ya’ll. Even though I know he’ll be ok. And he will.

Thanks Bonnie for everything. Then and now! And to my other NoVa and Atlanta friends that I didn’t get to see on this trip - I’ll be back!!

❤️❤️❤️

On my road trip to Virginia with my son we made an overnight stop in Atlanta to see my youngest sister Angie and a few of my nieces and nephews that were home. We laughed until we cried until 2:30 in the morning. Seriously.

I don’t get to see this beautiful lady often enough, but every time I do it’s so so so much fun.

Family is everything ya’ll. Love you Ang and fam. You guys are the best!

Now…back on the road again. 🎶

❤️❤️❤️

I’ve had 5 of my 9 kids with me at home all summer. One son left this morning to go back to college. I leave with another one tomorrow to get him set up in his Freshman dorm. The day I get back my older son is moving out to his own apartment. Nearby, but his own place. Within a week’s time my household will be down to only 3 of us (at least until the holidays) but it’s going to feel pretty quiet. I haven’t had only three people at home for 33 years. I’m not sure I know how to cook for only 3. 😂

So many mixed emotions in my mama heart. I am so happy for them to be taking these steps toward building their own independent lives. Proud of them for all they are achieving. I know I’ll still see them and talk to them, so I’m not worried about being lonely or losing the relationships. I know everything will be ok, and this is the natural progression of life. And I still have 2 of my kids at home with me for now.

What I’m feeling isn’t sadness…more of a misty awareness that things are changing. The day is coming soon just around the corner of life, that my children will all be grown and flown from the nest. As a mother of 9, raising them has been my primary concern, occupation and and joy for more than half of my lifetime. I’m rapidly approaching the end of that season - moving toward a different phase of parenting. In a little over a year my youngest turns 18. They are all amazing humans. Shifting into adulthood, some with their own young families now. I guess I’m going to need to shift too. And I know there will be joy in that stage as well.

But not yet. I’ve been working to prepare THEM for change, but me? I’m not ready. Yet time marches ever onward. New adventures ahead. For a couple more years my nest is not empty, though, and I’m going to enjoy these blessings as much as I can.

To the three flying this coming week - @austin_faulkner26 @jacobfaulkner04 @wonderedbliss ….mom loves you. Never forget it. Carry on being the amazing young men that you are. I’m here whenever you need me.

❤️❤️❤️

I work part time at an assisted living center and it’s giving me a new perspective on aging. You never really know how your own life will go, but for so many by their later years much of the “stuff” they worked for is gone. Homes, cars, careers…often bodily strength and short term memory are fading. But what do they still usually have? The loving relationships they have built and nurtured (to the extent that they did) and their longer term memories, more often than not, remain vibrant and clear.

I am continually reminded to be conscious of how I live my life today, because it will impact my mind and heart later on. And I ask myself the questions…am I putting more of my attention on the things that will be temporary? Or the things that will remain in my twilight years as well? Am I building the relationships and memories now that I will want to have then? As I buy things and choose activities I evaluate now if I’ll care at all about them 20 years in the future. And if the answer is no, I adjust the amount of my current life I’m willing to “pay” for them.

Make memories. Love people. You’ll thank me later.

I love the residents here. They teach me so very much.

❤️❤️❤️

I am officially “a new refrigerator feels very exciting” years old. 😂

I should have taken a photo of the old one for comparison. It was older than the hills and I found out after moving in that it was actually my neighbor’s old rusty garage fridge that had been painted. It also we discovered was full of mold that you didn’t see until you took the water dispenser pieces off. 😳 So it had lived a long and good life. Was time for new.

Ended up going with white. Plan to paint the cabinets white at some point and I think it’ll make this tiny kitchen feel bigger. When I was 20 I would never have guessed how much a new appliance would make my day.

I’ve been pondering this morning on personas. We all have them. We have our business resumes, online dating profiles, social media bios etc. - all proclaiming to the world who we are and what we have done. There are the hats we wear at work, at home, at church and at the PTA meeting, each highlighting different sides of our personalities and abilities.

Although there are many fake profiles to be found, for most of us our personas aren’t insincere. They are, however, by their very nature incomplete. And run the risk, due to the fact that they are created rather than innate, of becoming representative of a character we WANT to be or think we SHOULD be for others to like us. Or even who we USED to be, but haven’t been updated to embody our current state. We can find ourselves putting the persona on a pedestal and trying to fit into IT, instead of it flowing out of who we truly are. Personas can take on a life of their own, with a lot of subconscious baggage attached. It’s an oddity of this media packed world we are in.

But what if we woke up one morning and for that day decided to simply be a person instead of a persona? How would that feel? Would our activities change if we had no intention of posting about them? Just living in the moment. Would relationships and even productivity levels take on different meaning?

Just some thoughts running around my head this morning. Happy Friday everybody. ❤️

I realize it’s highly unlikely that anyone would even notice…but just in case…for anyone that I’ve mutually followed on Goodreads, TwitterX and/or Tik Tok, if you notice I’m not following you anymore it’s not personal. I’ve deleted my accounts from those three platforms.

They all were fun at different times. But I’m in the midst of a shift in life and looking to eliminate some of the distractions and toxicity where I can. and these three were no longer “sparking joy” as Marie Kondo would say 😂 Just didn’t want anyone thinking I had blocked them or anything.

This photo has nothing at all to do with this post haha. I just thought it was pretty. Love you all. ❤️

This is one of TWO ads I saw today in Food and Wine magazine where the model was transitioning to silver hair. To see the models not even fully silver even, but right in mid transition, shown in a fancy magazine was very validating. Not that it means everyone should do it….just that those of us who do are becoming more normalized. 🎉

This is a hard process some days. But this made me smile.

#silverhairtransition #silverhairdontcare

My coaching is back online and I’m accepting new clients once again. I’m not limited to this alone, but my coaching focus will primarily be helping others navigate through the midlife discovery season. There’s lots of changes happening to us body, mind and spirit and that can bring up many emotions and evaluations of life as we currently know it, and life as we would most like it to be. A coach can help you pave a path to arrive at your desired destination.

For more info and to book a free, no obligation, 30 minute introductory call to determine if coaching is right for you, you can email me at info@joyfulicity.com or visit my website www.Joyfulicity.com (link in bio) and go to the coaching tab. On that page there is a link to schedule your call.

From my heart I’m sending you love and light to brighten your path and help you find your way.
❤️❤️❤️

#lifecoaching #midlifecoach #midlifecoachingwomen #coachtalk #lifecoaches #midlifediscovery

I’ve been pretty sick this week. Sicker than I’ve been in a long time. So I’ve been hanging out mostly in my room to avoid infecting everyone. Have missed a lot of work. Worst headache I’ve ever had. I could find many things to complain about in this situation.

However…I’ve also…

-lost 5 pounds without any effort.
-made up a LOT of overdue sleep that was much needed.
-had quiet time to reflect on some life decisions.
-been free to help my boys with some things they needed done for college.

I mean … let’s be real. I wouldn’t choose to be sick. It’s been rather miserable truly. But the thing is …even in challenges there can be silver linings and positives that come from them. It’s for us to seek for eyes that are able to see them.

This is a small example. I’ll be better in a few days and carry on. Many of life’s challenges are much more serious and long term. But the principle remains the same. Even though you might not choose the adversities that come your way, often they bring you insights and opportunities that turn out to be just what you needed. It comes down to faith and gratitude from an open heart to make it matter.

#openhearted #overcomingadversity #blessingsfromadversity #faithoverfear

This castle!! This location!! These pictures don’t do them justice. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Feels like stepping back in time. Truly magical.

Disney used this castle as a model for sleeping beauty’s castle. Then we went on to eat Black Forest cake IN the Black Forest. Yes…yes we did 😀

#castles #germanytravel #germancastle #mothersontrip #germanytour

Rothenburg, Germany is like stepping into a fairytale. The house Disney used as a model for Pinnochio’s house is actually here. (Can you guess which one it is in the video?)

If I were to ever move to Germany I would want it to be to here. So amazing- and the Christmas store is like nothing I’ve ever seen! Next level !!

#germanytravel #rothenburg #mothersontrip #germanytrip

A few highlights from Dresden and Neuremburg, Gemany. All I can say is that I’m utterly in love and could get used to walking around castle grounds like a princess. 👑👸🏻

#germany🇩🇪 #neuremberg #dresden #germanytravels

This morning was difficult emotionally as we visited some historical sights kept as reminders of Germany’s darker history. As somber as it was, I think it’s important to keep telling the stories so we don’t forget and become complacent, thinking atrocities like these could never happen again. It’s up to us to be sure they do not. We must remember.

Photos in order:
- Remnant of the Berlin Wall from the Western side
- From the Eastern side with an original guard gate. I’ll never forget the day this wall came down.
-peeking through the Eastern wall at what was once no man’s land and one of the most dangerous places in the world.
-Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe.
-the spot where Hitler’s bunker once was and where he died. Now intentionally an unmarked place.
-checkpoint Charlie
-famous mural on a section of the wall that’s now become a stunning gallery for graffiti art.
-a peaceful place now but utterly chilling to stand in the rooms where “the final solution” was decided upon that sent millions of Jews to their deaths. Unimaginable evil.

#germanyhistory #germanytour #mothersontrip

I had to use a song for this from one of my favorite bands in high school…Berlin. In honor of my visit today to Berlin, Germany of course. 😀

What an amazing city. Beautiful, historic, sobering, thought provoking. A reminder of both humanity’s potential for evil…and of it’s resilience and strength rising from adversity.

We’ll spend another day here tomorrow. Having fun with Jake (even though I can’t get him to smile for a photo 😂)

#berlingermany #berlintravel #berlin🇩🇪 #berlinhistory #mothersontrip

Day 2 of our German Adventure:

Cruising on the Rhine. Lunch in a medieval castle on a hill. Then on to Cologne to see the cathedral and indulge in some ice cream. Ice cream shops are everywhere in Germany. Very popular.

#germanytravel #mothersontrip #colognegermany #colognecathedralgermany

In case you had any doubt as to the level of my dorkiness…

I did indeed buy eau de Cologne in Cologne, Germany. And a frankfurter in Frankfurt. So when in Hamburg tomorrow what do think I’ll be getting? 😂😂😂

And side note…did you know that originally cologne was made to fight off smallpox. That didn’t end up working very well…but hey it smelled good so… repurposed!!

😀

#imadork #colognegermany #travelgermany🇩🇪 #mothersontrip #europetravel #germanytourism

Day 1 of our German adventure! Frankfurt!!

Food. Charm. History.

Of course we had to have beer and a frankfurter to have the full experience. The wall is a memorial wall surrounding a Jewish graveyard. Each plaque has the name of someome and the place they were killed. Very sobering reminder.

Jet lag is hitting hard. Time to sleep!!

#frankfurt #germanbeer #germanytravel #mothersontraveltrip

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Recent Posts

Hi, I'm Laura

Coaching

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Recent Posts

Hi, I'm Laura

Coaching

​

Join me on Instagram

Join my Email List