Mackenzie Carose

A Kid’s Minimalist Birthday

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My oldest daughter celebrated another trip around the sun and now I officially have a 12-year-old! We are as a rule, pretty low-key when it comes to celebrations and birthdays are no exception. However, turning 12 along with graduating from elementary school, called for a bit of pizazz but in an understated way.

Enter donuts! 🙂

Seriously, decorating with food is a no-brainer because there is not much to clean up or put away or even throw away, because it all gets eaten. My daughter loves donuts, and I thought a donut-themed birthday would be the perfect way to celebrate her and she gets to enjoy one of her favorite foods.

Instead of a big birthday cake, I made individual strawberry cupcakes and decorated them with frosting and sprinkles. I then placed a mini chocolate donut on top of each cupcake. I also had a separate plate of chocolate donuts as well. I made little donut flags and little “12” flags and placed those into each cupcake.

I only purchase tan colored wrapping paper for presents whether it is for birthdays or for Christmas and I then dress it up with bows and/or stickers. Themed wrapping paper usually gets wasted because it never fails, the next time you have to wrap a present for someone, all you have is Mickey Mouse wrapping paper and your recipient is not a 7-year-old but a grown adult. Much easier to keep neutral wrapping paper on hand and be prepared for any occasion.

I wrapped all of my daughter’s presents with the neutral wrapping paper and then decorated them with donut stickers. I then wrapped them in pink yarn. So cute and festive!

I put up “Happy Birthday” balloons and decorated the window behind it with pink and white crepe paper and that is pretty much it. And my daughter absolutely loved it!! She had the biggest smile and loved all the touches I had added, even though they were small in nature. She enjoyed the presents and cupcakes and donuts and said she thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the day of her birth.

I have never been an over-the-top birthday celebrator, nor have I ever gone into debt just to put on a showy celebration. In the end, they aren’t going to remember all the toys they received or gadgets or trinkets, but they will remember that you were there and that you made them feel special. That you love them unconditionally and are so thankful that they get to enjoy a day just for them.

Being intentional and minimal when it comes to birthdays while also being thoughtful can be a difficult line to walk if you let it but thinking outside the box and really getting creative about what you are trying to accomplish, comes with its own perks as well. If you are looking to tone down your children’s birthday celebrations going forward, cheers to that and also, look online for ideas and see how you can tailor them to fit your budget and your time. The internet is full of suggestions so take some time to find ones that could work for you and your wallet.

Don’t underestimate the power of homemade cupcakes and donuts and a few balloons. There is joy to be found in simplicity 🙂

A Place For Everything

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I am a minimalist who lives with people who are not quite as spartan of living as I am and that is totally fine. It keeps things interesting, right? 😉 Children especially have toys and other items that seem to multiply during the night, so that a day of reckoning comes, and you think, “I have got to get all of this under control!”

We’ve all been there at some point. And even if you do not have children, I am sure there are times where your own stuff and/or clutter has got the best of you. It happens. We are human.

But the best thing I discovered in my years as a mom to corral all. the. things. are baskets. Wonderful, beautiful things, baskets. I have used them to house Legos, blocks, dolls, a choo-choo train and all its parts, books, etc… They have honestly been a lifesaver for me because stuff, when it is all over the place, gives me anxiety. Me and clutter do not kick it. We aren’t even frenemies. We just don’t get along.

But children like to play with toys and color and do all those fun things which they should do, but when play time is over for the day, these items need somewhere to go. I recently was looking for a different system to house the toys, still using my beloved baskets, but just not maybe within my view sight all the time, so I scoured Pinterest for toy storage solutions and found one for ottoman coffee table storage.

*cue angels singing*

I have a coffee table ottoman and the bottom part was just empty and not being utilized and I thought, what luck to come across a system like this where I can place the baskets and not trip over them when they are being dumped out used.

I love when I come across an idea that I can use that is feasible and doesn’t cost anything out of pocket. Sometimes a solution is just staring at us in the face, but we need someone else to point it out. If you are in need of storage solutions for your own home, definitely check out Pinterest and do a bit of a search. An idea will most definitely present itself!

Any clever storage solutions that you have come across that have helped you recently? Let me know! 🙂

Health and Outcomes

By Mackenzie 2 Comments

I have mentioned before in various posts about my focus on being a healthier person. Contrary to what the media tells us, I am not eating better and exercising so I can fit into a certain size dress or hit a goal weight so my life will be complete, whatever that means.

After my many decades on this earth, I know what makes me feel like rubbish and what makes me feel good. And I enjoy the feeling good part, you know?

Beside feeling good for myself both mentally and physically, I am on this health and wellness path for my children. I want to do what I can and what is in the realm of my own control, to be here as long as possible with my children. I want to see them grow up, become adults, start to raise their own families. I want to be there for their weddings and births of their own children. I want to spend time with my future grandchildren and be the best grandma I can, like my own grandmother.

My goal: To. Be. Here.

There is an article that comes to mind that was written by the duo known as The Minimalists. Their blog post, What Is My Outcome? brought to mind my health journey and what I want my outcomes to be. It is a series of four questions to ask when there is something you want to accomplish:

  1. What is my outcome?
  2. Why do I want this outcome?
  3. What actions must I take?
  4. Is this working?

For me and this path of health and wellness that I am on, these are my answers:

  1. I want to be the healthiest version of myself that I can possibly be.
  2. I want this outcome so I can be active and involved in my children’s lives from childhood through adulthood and beyond.
  3. My action list is simple: exercise most days of the week and eat as nutritiously as possible. Drink more water. Eat more vegetables. More whole foods and less processed ingredients. Make sure I stay up to date on all doctor appointments like mammograms, etc… Find ways to limit my stress and/or anxiety and to find ways to deal with these things in a more mindful way.
  4. Yes, it is working although there is always room for improvement. For example, last week I did not eat as many vegetables as I had in previous weeks, and I noticed how I felt physically. So this week, I am trying to incorporate more veg into my lunches and dinners.

I truly started getting on this journey last year in 2021 after the dumpster fire that was 2020. I was tired of feeling tired and my usual coping mechanisms were just not working. To be fair some of them were super unhealthy so in one sense, that is a good thing. Also, I know how important it is for children to see healthy behaviors. Especially with daughters, they really need to see their moms love who they are and love the body they are in and take care of it. Food is not our enemy. Neither is the number on the scale. My daughters need to see a healthy role model and I am doing just that.

My girls are the most important people in my life and everything I do is for them. I want to enjoy every moment possible with them and I am truly thankful for the internal wake-up call that I had last year to make my health a priority. The proverbial adage “Life is short” gets bandied about constantly but it is true. Time is finite and every day is a day to make a better decision than yesterday.

Life is a gift and I intend to make the most of it.