Hey!  I have been featuring blogs for a while on Sundays and wanted to collect a bunch of them (as well as other people I follow) into a proper list for you.  I follow blogs on Simple Living, a Minimalist Lifestyle, Travel, and other just great people.

Here it is Simple Living Blogs

Enjoy!

Hi,

Welcome to the featured blog spot this week on Loving Simple Living.  I feature blogs that I love and I think my readers (you) would benefit from. Some are minimalist, some are travel, some are vegan cooking… you get the idea

So I found Art of Backpacking a few weeks ago on the Google Currents App.  One of the great mysteries of life might be why they have less subscribers than me because there site is way cooler   It is a group of some of the coolest people in the world who wander the globe with a backpack.  Simply living with what they love and doing what they love.  I love travel. Travel might not be your thing, but these people are another example of intentional living. (photo credit)

This is what the site is about:

Backpacking is about simplicity. It’s cutting the unnecessary and going for what really counts; experiences. It’s not only a way to travel, it’s a lifestyle. Backpackers are adrenaline junkies always seeking adventure in every part of the world. For many backpackers, they’ve quit their daily routine at home and went to travel the world from months to years or more.

It’s packing your necessities in a backpack and jet-setting the globe. They are budget seekers and tend to go on extended trips for this reason. You’ll find them nearly in every part of the world trying to blend in as a local.

Anyone can be a backpacker. Source

A few quotes I love:

“budget options to experience more, going beyond the tourist route, natural wonders, and our experience with the locals.”

“Our focus is simplicity, minimalism, experiences, and adventure. It’s cutting travel costs, but not cutting the exciting elements of adventure. Our mission is to help you travel in style; to distinctive places and to have fun doing so!”

“Long-term travel is possible and is often sought for by backpackers. Our mission is to make sure you know it’s possible. Two weeks of travel might be okay for some but for us — we want a year or more of complete freedom to travel and live our dream.” Source

I have been lost reading in articles on their site for a while now trying to find some good ones to share with you.  They are all good.  Lots of great discussion the comments sections too.

This article had me laughing so hard I was tearing up.  Gotta get to Asia sometime soon

Here is a good place to start — New to Art of Backpacking page — It has links to some of their most popular posts.

Thanks AOB for letting me feature you today!  And thanks for all the great dreaming.  Maybe someday we can meet up somewhere on the other side of the globe

Do you have a favorite website you would like to see featured?  Shoot me an e-mail. 

Photo by the wonderful, amazing and incredibly attractive Bryon Lippincott

For our featured blog today I am highlighting Enso Journey.  I have been reading this blog for the last few months and love it.   Enso Journey has two authors who both post about simple living, minimalism, intentional living and making your life the one you want to live. They work super hard on their blog and are easy to meet and talk to.

This is how they describe their simple living blog (shared with permission):

The simple answer

To give you everything you need to develop a warrior mentality. To find the best version of yourself. To unearth the true you. To make you a warrior of life, and a champion at it while there is still a single breath of life in you.

The long answer

We are Alex and Kym, and we are here to teach you that you can be a winner at anything you wish to do. This will be a long road. It won’t be easy, but if you are willing to let us help you develop the right mentality and get the right habits, you will be a true champion doing whatever you want to do, be it at sports, business, school, or life itself.

Are we some kind of celebrities? No. In fact, I doubt very much you have heard of us before. We are just 2 friends in 2 different countries with a mission: To develop ourselves to give always our best, to learn from every experience and never regret anything we do.

The day we started our journey is far behind us, but now we are walking towards our dreams. This site represents one of those dreams: To give you everything you need to develop the right mind frame for success.

You can’t win any battle without the right mind frame, and life is the biggest battle you will ever face. We are here to teach you how to win inside your mind before you start any battle. We are walking this path with you, we will make mistakes just as you have done, but we are here to share everything we find along the way to help you. We are here to get you up if you fall down. A true warrior never leaves a friend behind so we are not going to leave you.

Enso Journey is just a bonfire in the middle of the darkness. A place for you to come and share your stories or hear the ones we have to tell, we are here to make every one of our readers a warrior of life.  (source)

Thanks so much Alex and Kym for sharing your talents of writing and your passion for living.  (and your great cat pictures)

My favorite post from last week was the interview with fitness guru Vic Magary

Every week I feature a different simple living blog that I think you will like.  This week is no exception.  I just found this minimalist travel guy last week on twitter and have been pouring through is stuff and dreaming, so I thought you might like it too

His name is Sean Ogle and he is running an online business and traveling the world.  This is my dream, so it has been fun to learn what I can from him.

Photo source (I needed this picture… being in Nebraska…. at the end of January)

Here is what he says about himself:

Who is Sean Ogle?

In order to understand who I am and what I do you need to understand where I came from.

I graduated from Oregon State University in 2007 with a degree in finance.  I had a fantastic time at my 4 years in school, but I can’t help but feel it didn’t prepare me with the real life, tangible skills that I needed to be successful after graduation.

This led me to a job as a financial analyst that I quickly found wasn’t for me.  Working 50 hours a week, wearing a suit and tie, and not having any of the flexibility to do the things that excited me grew oldreally quickly.

Sound familiar?

I started Location 180 in May 2009 to hold myself accountable for doing all of the cool stuff in life I’ve always talked about. I published my bucket list, and have been working through it ever since.  So far I’m doing pretty good, I’ve lived on a tropical island, built a business, ran a marathon, and climbed a mountain, among other things. Source

He’s got great stuff on how to quit your job and live your dream.  One fun thing on his site is he has several movies which are fun.

I like his start here page.  Lots of good posts!

Maybe I will be able to blog from tropical locations soon  

Thanks so much for coming by and reading.  Know of a good blog that fits with our theme at Loving Simple Living?  I would love to hear about it.

Found this fabulous minimalist lady last week and she gave me permission to feature her this week.  She authors the site Be More With Less where she has great minimalist and simple living advice.

She has lots of great articles but I wanted to share How to Make Decluttering Fun — favorite quote from the article “ Turn on some music, do a little dance and box that crap up.” (made me smile)

Here is what she writes on her about page:

Be more with less is a blog about simplifying your life and really living. Here, you can learn how to create a life with more savings and less no debt, more health and less stress, more time and less stuff, and more joy with less obligation

You will find tips and ideas to simplify your life and learn to live with less to enjoy more and be more. You can read this for more details about the topics I’ll write about and visit this page to see interviews with me, guest posts and other media coverage.

You might be wondering why I am the right person to cover this subject. The #1 reason is that I have made all the mistakes. I have made a bunch of money and spent even more. I have been too busy, too tired, too full, too stressed and too overworked for too long and I am changing my ways.

My name is Courtney Carver and I am a 41 year old, aspiring minimalist. I am (so happily) married, and mom to a teenage daughter, and I am making big (and small) changes to live my life on purpose. I am a writer and photographer. I love yoga, creating simple meals and hiking and skiing in the Mountainwest. I also love to travel and have my sights on a future in Mexico, living simply, on the beach.

In 2006 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. While this disease does not define me, it has had a huge impact on my life. I created a website to help fund MS research and other good causes. One Million for Goodsupports the causes you care about through the sales of limited edition fine art photography.

If you think simplifying improves your life, imagine what it can do for your business. Let me know how I can help you do business on purpose.

Here is a link to her book ‘Simple Ways to be More with Less’ and ‘Living in the Land of Enough’

Hope you enjoy her writings as much as I do!  Have a great week!

Welcome to Loving Simple Livings featured blog Sunday! I wanted to take a Sunday and feature Zen Habits.   From everything I can tell, this is the best Minimalist website anywhere.  This guy is brilliant, and his writing is amazing.  Stepping onto his site or into his writings is like a breath of fresh air, your shoulders drop, and life looks brighter.  Just give it a try

Here is what he has shared on his about page:

My name is Leo Babauta, and I’m the creator and writer here. I’m married with six kids, I live in San Francisco (just moved here from Guam), I’m a writer and a runner and a vegan. Read more: My Story. Source

He just posted recently on conscious practice, it is a great article on practicing intentional living.  It isn’t about past failures, it isn’t about future goals of greatness, it is about day-to-day, minute-by-minute, choosing to create the habits for the life you want to own in the present.

Got any favorite websites you would like to share?  I am looking for more to feature on Sundays.

Hi!

Every Sunday I feature a blog that I think will offer additional (more or better) stuff to my readers (you ) about some of the topics that we chat about here.  This Sunday I wanted to feature Blogging With Amy.com.  Amy’s site is a bit different.  She isn’t blogging about minimalism or simple intentional living, her blog is built to help you (and me) blog about these things. … you don’t have to blog, it is just fun

I don’t check all that many blogs regularly, but I do check hers all the time.  She has all kinds of helpful stuff on her site that I go back and read for helps.

So, if you are interested in starting a blog, or are wanting to work on the one you have, this is the site you need!  Really, I wasn’t computer(y) at all before I started this site, and really don’t know all that much now.  I have learned that setting up a blog is pretty easy and lots of fun.

Here is a note from Amy’s about page: (shared with permission)

 Hi there. This site will help you start your own blog or website or improve the one you’ve got. I share tips, tools, tutorials and other resources that make the process quite simple.

I don’t have a degree in anything remotely related to computers. I googled my way through creating my first website in 2004. This is the site I wish was available back then. source

Check out her site!

Do you have a favorite site you would like to share?  I am always looking for good blogs and sites!

I have wanted to feature this amazing minimalist lady for a while now.  I figured sharing her and her site today to start the new year off would be super nice.  Kick start, restart Simple Living

This is a pic she had up on a wavy hair post this past week.  I love the background, the cute kid, and the hair.  

Small Notebook.org

From her about page:

Hi, I’m Rachel.

I live in Texas with my husband Doug and our two small kids.

We’ve learned that when we buy less, our lives are easier.  We want a home that is welcoming and peaceful, without clutter.  Fewer distractions, so we can focus on what’s really important.

In our small home, I want to:

• keep our lives simple and focused
• nurture our relationships
• learn practical skills such as gardening and cooking
• make smart decisions for our money
• enjoy peace during a hectic day

My hope is that you find inspiration, encouragement, and practical tips as you read this blog. I don’t have it all together. I don’t expect for you to have it all together, either. Source

Here is a link to an interview she had with US News.

Here is a link to her favorite post.  It is a beautiful one about what memories or sentimental items we should keep or throw.  Simple and brilliant.

Great lady and a site that adds lots of value.  I have been reading her blog for the last few months since I found it, and love her perspective.  Check out her website.

Interested in more Featured Blogs?

Do you have a favorite website that you would like to share?

One week till Christmas!

I wanted to feature another minimalist blog today.  I love minimalist blogs.  They are so fun!   There is a relaxing freedom and peace that seems to radiate from them.  The more I read the more I get rid of.  So, today I wanted to feature —

Becoming Minimalist: The best things in life aren’t things

Here is a bit of his bio:

My name is Joshua Becker. We are a family of four living in Peoria, AZ.  My wife and I are in our early-thirties.  My son is 9 and my daughter is 5.  We are just your typical middle-class family… minus the dog and physical possessions.

After a conversation with my neighbor on Memorial Day 2008, we decided to become minimalist. This blog is about our journey towards a rational approach to minimalism. (You can read more about the start of our journey here.) It is about the joys and the struggles. It is about the lessons we have learned. It is written to inspire you to intentionally live with less. And find more life because of it.  (source)

Like us, he is doing the minimalism thing with kids.  I think it is much harder with kids and a family to really embrace minimalism, but I think it can be even more beneficial.  Family is so important and, in society today, everything from entertainment to stuff fights against these relationships.

Here is a link to a Christmas giving post of his that was posted a few weeks ago.  Enjoy!

Do you have a blog that you would like to share?  We talk about a few things around here minimalism, family, spirituality, home schooling, vegan cooking and such.  I am always looking for new websites to share. 

So, I wanted to feature this blog because this guy is cool.  It has nothing to do with anything else on this blog…. it is just simply cool

Stuck In Customs by Trey Ratcliff

Trey describes himself as “I’m a warm-hearted, old-school gentleman explorer with really cool toys.”

This is my husbands favorite photographer, and the only photographer I follow on Google Plus.  His stuff is just awesome!

This is one of my favorites of his  (Photo credit link):

Wow, doesn’t even cut it.  It puts a whole new definition photography.

Check out his site, there is tones of amazing pictures!  He also posts a bunch on google plus where I see a bunch of his stuff.