Welcome to Simplicity Relished.
Hello! I’m Daisy, a social entrepreneur, writer, and fellow adventurer. I’m here to help you finally follow your heart, explore the world, and live courageously.
When Simple Living Breaks Your Heart
I sat down this afternoon, determined to write about my trip to Cambodia. But this is the piece that unfurled instead. Because whenever I think for more than a moment about my recent visit to the Khmer kingdom, my proud smile melts into a heart-wrenching longing. You...
On purpose and perseverance
Purpose and perseverance are two weighty words. And we need both. But we often overlook their value until we've lost them. Without purpose, I am predisposed to overachievement. To gratify myself somehow with the hustle to prove my worth. Without something greater to...
Easy Self-Care Practices
When it comes to self-care practices, I'm not an expert. Self-care isn't even a term I love; for some reason, it turns up in the files of my brain along with the same search terms for "me-time." A part of me still bristles when anyone says, "I can't. I need a little...
Next Stop: Cambodia (and my itinerary)
Today I'm on a flight to a childhood dream. Before I imagined myself frolicking in the fields of Tuscany or strolling through the streets of Paris, I wanted to be in Cambodia. Predating my taste for perfect, elegant food was my taste for gritty, old, abandoned centers...
Mexico City Wanderings: A Photo Diary
I've sung the praises of Mexico City and coupled them with detailed travel tips. So this post will be a little different. Last week, we spent 4 nights in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City-- a serene, treelined section with quaint coffeeshops and restaurants...
Impact Guatemala Popup Shop!
I’m writing this with a lot of excitement and a little bit of fear... but you are so supportive and I love this little community, so I’m taking a risk. As you might know, I work part-time as an Independent Ambassador with Noonday Collection (on top of my 8-to-5), a...
Make a big difference with your ordinary life
I used to believe that impact was directly correlated with grandeur. To make a big difference, grand gestures and one-time heroic efforts were required. But lately, I've learned that impact is more often made with the process of chipping away. It's showing up day...
Beyond Minimalism
There comes a point in every minimalist's journey when she has to move beyond simplifying and actually pursue her reason for minimizing. I've been at that point for a long time. I don't spend weekends decluttering. I don't go through intention exercises. I don't keep...
How to simplify your food: a minimalist cooking guide
My husband and I are foodies. We're also enthusiastic home chefs. We own too many cookbooks and more appliances than the average person. Our entire wedding registry is mostly in the form of a kitchen tool. And we use all of it. But here's the thing-- we believe in...
5 Common Ways Businesses Get You To Buy
Ever since I started working in sales and marketing, I've become much more aware of how businesses manage to sell us things. This process is so ingrained into our existence that its nuances nearly become invisible to us. Everyday, we use and consume products. It's...
Focused living is knowing what to listen for
My husband and I spent the weekend in Las Vegas. Through a series of unexpected events, we had found ourselves with a free stay for the 3-day weekend. As much as Vegas is the antithesis of what we love and live for, we also appreciate so much about the city. More on...
Why New Things Will Never Deeply Satisfy
It was Sunday. I walked into one of my favorite department stores to find they were running (yet another) sale. I grabbed everything that looked mildly interesting and made a dash for the changing rooms. With each outfit, I asked myself questions like, does this fit...
4 Simple Steps to Holiday Peace
As we enter into Christmas weekend, I'm noticing a trend. Photographs are shared that harken to that holiday feeling we all love and hold in our hopes. Tales of travel (or pilgrimage, perhaps) unfurl as friends go near and far to spend these days away from work. And...
Finding gifts that don’t lose their value
It's been a while since I went shopping. And I did-- briefly-- while we were in Kyoto. I've been looking for a loose, work-appropriate pair of pants (culottes, a fun style from Paris). I pictured myself waltzing into the department store, finding the perfect pair of...
Cherishing moments over snapshots (& where we’re headed right now)
As I write this, I'm sitting at the Los Angeles Airport awaiting to board our flight to Osaka, Japan. Osaka is no small town, but our final destination is Kyoto. Oh, Kyoto... how we love thee. A gaggle of young Japanese college students gather around us. They're...
The Treasure is in the Challenge
Some believe that life should be easy. In fact, so many proponents of minimalism appear to advocate for simple living so that life can be easy. Or at least, easier. And those writers do have a point: our constant consumption complicates our lives. Our acquisitions...
How To Dress Up Your Favorite Old Sweater
Most of my favorite clothes are old. I've had them for at least a couple of years, and they've become significant elements in some of my favorite memories. I love the memories that old clothes invoke. Sweaters are no exception. Old sweaters are the best-- and despite...
6 Practical Ways to be Creative Every Single Day
Is creativity only for vocational "creatives"? I used to think so. I used to love the word creative, while also regarding it as a lifestyle for people far different from me. Be creative? I hardly have time to work out and sleep enough, much less finish that long to-do...
How to Avoid Overwhelm this Holiday Season
It's already happening. The holiday season with its celebrations, expectations, and impositions looms overhead as we progress into the second half of October. And if you're like me in this season, you're feeling tired. Perhaps you're also stressed and swamped, and the...
5 Signs You Need To Slow Down
Counting today, there are only 11 Mondays left until Christmas. In other words, most of our schedules will only get busier from here. So why talk about slowing down now? How is that helpful? The truth is, most of us will pack our schedules to the brink this year. We...
4 Elements of a Calming Evening Routine
Developing a calming evening routine is one of the best at-home accomplishments I can name for this year. That's how much I believe in it. If I can help it-- and usually I can-- I now try to be asleep before 10PM. Call me a granny, but this schedule has worked wonders...
How to Stop Worrying: 4 Essential Practices
"I can't stop worrying about this." "I'm worried that it's not enough." "I did everything I could, but I'm still worried." These words are familiar to us because we've probably said them at one point or another. Worry is a default mental state that occurs whenever we...
6 Surprising Ways Minimalism Can Change The World
At church this past weekend, our pastor made a point about how we misunderstand the purpose of our faith, or of spirituality in general. The stories we read and tell about God are often used to put us to rest; they provide the relief we seek in the midst of lives...
One Dress 3 Ways: Capsuling with Symbology
This fall, I'm focusing on getting the absolute greatest mileage out of all of my clothing. This means figuring out how to contextualize, accessorize, and maximize each piece so that I can wear them over and over. Beyond living simply, one of my biggest passions for...
One Question To Ask When You Think You’re Stuck
This weekend, we gathered with multiple friends who felt stuck. Something's gotta change, they said. This isn't how it's supposed to be. Without divulging their particular issues, I'll tell you what I realized as we had these difficult conversations with them. This...
The Snare of False Simplicity
I woke up one morning last week in a panic. There was something I hadn't finished. I couldn't remember what it was-- perhaps it was a work responsibility, or a blog responsibility, or a familial responsibility, or a relational responsibility. Or perhaps I had...
How to Ask for Help (without wanting to die)
I'll be honest. I hate asking for help-- no matter how noble the cause, how reasonable my request, or how potentially beneficial it would be to my "helper." So for most of my life, I've tried to avoid asking for help. As much as possible. Yet much (at times) to my...
The Ultimate Guide To Mexico City in 2020: itinerary & map
[Updated in 2020!] This has to be written. Ever since we visited Mexico City in 2016, we've returned every single year. For our first trip, Aaron and I scoured the internet, print magazines, published books, and videos for tips. We found very little akin to what...
Choosing Peace: Rediscovering Quietness in Chaos
I'm not great at resting. In fact, I'm more inclined to hustle, rush, and accomplish than to relax, rest, and reflect. But the past several weeks have reminded me that it's not always necessary to talk. Sometimes we just need to sit. There is a time and place for...
7 Ways to Spend More Time Outdoors
Last week, I spent a few days down in San Diego and Temecula participating in a close friend's wedding. It was an absolutely marvelous event, and I could not be more excited for the happy couple. But as you know, the past several months have already been quite the...
Create More Margin: 6 Steps to Taking Back Your Schedule
If you're like me, this is what happens at the beginning of every new month: you flip the calendar page (if you remember), marvel at the fact that it's already whatever-month, and decide to create more margin or be more intentional with your time. And, if...
Discovering Unselfish Reasons to Simplify Your Life
The simple living movement often appears to be very much about the self. Simplifying one's life is often motivated by the desire to achieve goals, enjoy experiences, and generally feel happier. There's nothing wrong with this-- in fact, it is vital for us to...
4 Ways Minimalism Redefines Beauty
Minimalism has helped me better understand beauty. But it took me a long time to get here. When I was a little girl, my idol was Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I wanted to clever, kind, sophisticated and beautiful. I wanted to be a princess-heroine who could...
Reader Survey! (with a gift card giveaway)
Hey friend, I can hardly believe that in the nearly 2 years that I've been blogging here, I haven't offered a reader survey. Your feedback has been absolutely essential to my work here at Simplicity Relished, and I am excited to have formalized the process today! In...
Yosemite National Park: A Quick Guide
Yosemite National Park is iconic. It's nature's majesty on display, creation at its best, and emblematic in the world of all outdoor pursuits. Its international fame has reached the ends of the earth. Each year, more than 3 million people visit the park, and the...
How To Fall In Love With Mornings (and become a morning person)
I've never met an adult who couldn't use an extra 5 minutes of sleep. But I've also met people who love to wake up early and seize the day. In fact, I never thought that I'd become a morning person, but I have. You see, I used to believe that mornings and evenings...
The 6 Types Of People You Need At Your Table
Say yes, say no. We are constantly told to draw boundaries, especially in relationships. It's hardly enough to "be intentional" when choosing friends. It's impossible to choose relatives. And try as we might, we find ourselves connected to, enmeshed with, and...
5 Ways to Relax When Your Mind Won’t Turn Off
My husband and I have enjoyed sharing meals since our very first date. We both love food, and have come to love it together-- refining each other's tastes and preferences as we explore culinary possibilities at home. But my favorite thing about eating together is the...
Goals for May 2016
For as long as I can remember, the month of May has meant several things: my mom's birthday, piano recitals, and the promise of summer break. May is such a glorious month when it comes to weather, and I've always been fond of it. That said, I can hardly believe how...
5 Common Stressors To Let Go Of Today
Have you ever felt that in every situation, the same feeling of stress shows up to overwhelm? Perhaps the actual circumstances are different-- and whatever is at stake varies-- but you find yourself in the same hamster wheel time after time. If this is you, you're not...
Our Next Travel Destinations (and a little life update)
It's all too easy to plod along in the nebulous season of our twenties, forgetting that life is rapidly unfolding as the years go by. I recently started a new full-time position marketing for a small non-profit here in Pasadena. The past several weeks of transition...
Simple not Stressful: a daily guide to making your home a place of rest
There's nothing more overwhelming than coming home from a long day of work and finding a mess. Whether there are dishes and games leftover from weekend entertaining, or outerwear that is strewn all over the couch, I've often found myself on the brink of just...
7 Fashion Myths to Stop Believing
Friends, we've been fooled. We've been fooled to believe that there is such a thing as a fashion rule. We've been told over and over again that there are certain indispensable "essentials" that must be a part of every wardrobe. We've been told that we're not capable...
10 Reasons To Visit Morocco Now
I often do a "10 best snapshots" post after we travel (see Japan and Ecuador), because our passion as travelers is to find frames that capture everything we loved about our trip. But Morocco is different. I've had countless people ask me whether going to Morocco was...
Why You Should Talk About Money (and how to do it effectively)
Never discuss politics or religion, many of us have been told. But what about money? To some, money shapes their politics, and it can easily become religion if we allow it to. Most people I know refrain from discussing money in crude, numerical terms. In American...
5 Simple Reminders for the Weary Soul
As we draw near to Easter, I have been thinking about what good news might sound like right now. Would it sound like peace and reconciliation between vengeful populations? Would it be the sound of the "right" presidential candidate winning the election? Would it sound...
A Quick Guide To Marrakech, Morocco
Marrakech is a party, and everyone is invited. It's not as old as Fes, but it certainly tells its own stories of art, celebration, tradition and finesse. Marrakech was our last stop in Morocco, so we were already familiar with some of the local scenes. Still, it was a...
Capsule Accessory Series: 5 Powers of a Statement Necklace
Welcome back to the Capsule Accessory Series, where I share my capsule wardrobe secrets and how I use accessories to spice up my wardrobe. All the pieces featured here are from Noonday Collection, my favorite jewelry and accessory company. Noonday collaborates with...
How To Actually Save Money For Travel
This is a topic covered by many other bloggers. So why am I chiming in? First, I am a strong believer in intentional, thoughtful, socially-conscious spending. And I happen to believe that responsible travel is a wonderful pleasure upon which to spend our money....
Are You Ready For Minimalism? 5 Ways To Tell.
I don't openly tell people (outside this blog community) that I'm a minimalist. I think there's a certain image that comes to mind: whether aesthetic minimalism, extreme minimalism, or philosophical minimalism-- and I don't want to be immediately associated with those...