No Cable, How about a Work Out

I don't like working out, much like the rest of the population. But now I have a reason other than that whole healthiness thing. Cappy and I have cut out the cable as well as the tv. It saves us money and the time suck that is tv. We still watch tv shows via hulu.com and we watch movies via netflix.com (I got rid of my netflix and we now share his account.). There are still some shows and general trash tv that I miss. Here is when the gym comes in. My gym has tvs attached to all the cardio machines. I can get sucked into tv shows like No Reservations or America's Next Top Model and forget about the exercise. So it's win-win proposition.

Libraries are refuge for the frugal and minimalist.

Growing up, my dad and I would go to the library on Sundays and sometimes on special days we would drive the hour south to Seattle, to all the cool bookstores. My dad taught how to love the act of just perusing bookstores and then more often seeking them out at the library. Finding the library is on my list of first things to do when I move into a new city. I was sad to hear the central St. Louis library is closed for renovations for the next 3 or 4 years, but there are so many branches around the city. I found the most comfortable chair yesterday with a great view yesterday when I explored the branch nearest me. Libraries are so calm, you can read for hours and not be disturbed. It is also the best place to hang out to not be tempted into buying anything. Libraries are refuge for the frugal and minimalist. Minimalism is, in my opinion, all about clearing away the clutter to leave room for your passion. A few simple tables and some comfy chairs leave the space open to enjoy the passion of reading, the library's passion. I get to read amazing, eye-opening books without having make space on my bookshelf for them and I don't have to pay a dime most of the time. Although I did have to pay a $2 fine yesterday, but I also found a book I thought was lost so got my money back on another charge. Also I have to add I suspending my netflix at the end of August and have been moving my queue over to my library wishlist/ holds and turns out they have like 85% of my queue. Way neat! Off to go make the best cappuccino foam my customers ever had...
The image is of the newer Seattle Public Library which I kind of hate due to no comfy chairs, hard to find books, but neat architecture and design.

New start in the Lou

So this is a renewed start at writing a blog. Let's start with a little about me at this juncture in my life versus when I started this venture a year and a half ago. I have since moved into a house my boyfriend owns with another roommate instead of the studio apartment I rented in Seattle. Oh and yes, I moved to the Midwest, St. Louis to be exact. Life is so different. It is amazing how stark the difference. I brought one of my old canvas reusable bags to the store and the cashier gave me the "what the heck am I supposed to do with this" look and then hesitatingly put my purchases in the bag. In Seattle, I had been charged extra because I forgot to bring a bag. So it has been an uphill battle to live frugally and eco-friendly, but the choice to live more simply is now a conscious one. I hope my presence will make a bigger difference here than Seattle because I will be an example to those that have not known any better and maybe for you my readers. Or at least you guys, can laugh and judge me while I make the many mistakes I am destined to make. It's going to be shenanigans!