About

Thank you for your interest in working with Simple by Stephanie!  Please contact me at simplebystephanie@gmail.com.

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Welcome, I’m Stephanie, the writer behind this blog. I live in Chicago with my husband, John, who is a Chicago firefighter as well as a pipe insulator with the Local 17 union. I say husband because we've been together a very long time but we still need to get around to that pesky task of actually signing the papers. We have one adorable fur child, a Pomeranian mix named Hawkeye, after the mascot of my college, the University of Iowa. John and I were both born and raised in the area we bought our house in back in 2016, so we live close to both of our families.

I've been a minimalist for at least 10 years. It was inevitable that slow living would be the next logical step. Slow living simply means a slow approach to everyday life. It's about simplifying, yes, and getting out of the rat race mentality, but it's also about consuming less, connecting to people, and being mindful and in the present. The concept began with the slow food movement - sustainable, local, organic, whole - as a response to the problems present in materialistic and industrial lifestyles. It has since grown to include every area of life.

This is how I choose to live, also known as blue zone living. The longest living and healthiest populations in the world share the common factors associated with slow living, including simplifying needs and wants in life and deliberately choosing and enjoying a relaxed pace of life that is not slave to the clock. It's freeing to live this way. Even though I'm still working at it, still working to shift my mind off constant productivity, it's already been a weight lifted off my shoulders.

If you also think that simple living could be the key to a healthy and happy life, then you're in the right place for guidance and encouragement on your journey.