The Simple Show

It seems a given that "simple living" is a little easier out in the country, perhaps on a farm, or maybe in a small town. Not so much a big city. Tsh has a friend that argues otherwise. Kristen Kill is a Pacific Northwest transplant to Manhattan, and in this Simple Show episode, we chat about the benefits to big city living, and how in many ways, it's simpler than living just about anywhere else. Links from this episode: Kristen's blog Kristen on Instagram and Twitter Zipcar Seamless Instacart New York Historical Society homeschool program From The Atlantic: Homeschooling in NYC Kristen’s favorite thing: Workday Pop playlist on Spotify Tsh’s favorite thing: Travel Yoga Skort on Betabrand Tsh's packing list for women Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Don't forget to sign up for the weekend email!

Tsh's guest for this episode is Katherine Willis Pershey, a pastor who's also a mom to two little kids, so she personally knows the challenge of incorporating daily spiritual practices into life. She’s a smart cookie who is very much a normal person who gets real life. They talk about things like Lectio Divina, Examen, praying with color (yep, that’s a thing), meeting with spiritual directors, why the simple act of reading is a spiritual practice, and why we need to celebrate truth and beauty equally. Our chat isn’t heady at all—we do our best to cut through the Christianese and talk about what spiritual practices look like for us normal people. Even those of you who don't consider yourself Christians can glean some wisdom from this one! Links from this episode: Katherine’s Blog Katherine's forthcoming book: Very Married Katherine on Twitter Lectio Divina on AoS Found by Micha Boyett Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas Praying in Color by Sybil MacBeth Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson Pray as You Go app The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and Women's Work by Kathleen Norris Sabbath in the Suburbs by MaryAnn McKibben-Dana Daily Examen on AoS Modest Coffee Katherine’s favorite thing: A finished bathroom! Tsh’s favorite thing: Bodum French Press tumbler Tsh’s blog, The Art of Simple Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Got an idea for a Simple Show episode? Head here!

Lots of listeners have asked Tsh the simple but broad (and sometimes loaded) question, “How and when should I introduce my kids to Harry Potter?” In this episode Tsh asked one of her great friends (and AoS contributing writer), Robin Dance, to join this chat. Tsh's three kids are between ages 5 and 11, yet Robin's three kids are all in their late teens/early twenties and out of the house. They talk about all things raising kids around Harry Potter: Is there a magic age for the series? How about the naysayers in their life? What powerful life lessons can be drawn from the series, and how does that affect and steer their parenting? Links from this episode: Robin's Blog Robin on Instagram and Twitter Vault episode of The Simple Show: Episode 3 with Megan Tietz is all about HP The Harry Potter complete set, of course Tsh’s blog, The Art of Simple Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Robin's favorite thing: The Gift of Friendship by Dawn Camp Tsh's favorite thing: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is coming out! Bonus—Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Try out Audible with a free audiobook (it can be Harry Potter—or not). Sign up for a 30-day trial here. Don't forget to leave a quick review in iTunes—it's an easy way to support the show! Head here.

Have you ever been so moved by something that you sold just about everything and moved your entire family to the other side of the world? After learning about the atrocities of the sex trade industry in Cambodia, Marla Taviano and her husband moved there to play a small part in helping eradicate that disease. In this podcast episode, Marla and Tsh talk about the craziness of language learning, cross-cultural adjustment, eating questionable food, unschooling, and of course, traveling with kids. Links from this episode: Marla's blog Marla on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook Gabe's photography Tsh's first book, Organized Simplicity Duck fetus as a delicacy! Their language-learning resource, Gateway to Khmer The Hard Places Community International Justice Mission Katie Davis Khan Academy The Cambodian genocide Marla's e-book on anxiety, The Storm Marla's e-book on unschooling, An Unschooling Manifesto Tsh’s blog, The Art of Simple Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Marla's favorite thing: Chatbooks (use code WMP972HC and your first Chatbook is free!) Tsh's favorite thing: The Wingfeather Saga series by Andrew Peterson Check out Plan to Eat—it helps you organize recipes, plan menus, and compile shopping lists with an intuitive drag-and-drop system. If you’d like to stay up to date on new Simple Show episodes and Art of Simple blog posts, sign up for the free weekly email.

This is the first in a series of conversations on the topic of WORK. Anne Bogel has an online business of blogging and podcasting about books while handling a million other things. She and Tsh both often get asked "how they do it all," so they dispel that myth. They also share their daily routines, what motivates them, and why they make time for our work (hint: it's because they love it).Links from this episode: Anne's blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy Anne's podcast, What Should I Read Next? Anne's Daily Kindle Deals Anne on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Tsh's blog, The Art of Simple Tsh's post on Bullet Journaling Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook If you're starting a website or blog, sign up for Bluehost as your host and domain name registrar and get unlimited service for $5.95! Don't forget to subscribe and/or leave a review for The Simple Show on iTunes!

When you feel like your life just isn't jiving with your passions, what do you do? How do you know when it's time to make a big risky change? That's what this episode is about as Tsh talks with Haley Stewart, who just moved across the country with her family. They left what they knew but was a less-than-ideal job and moved to live on a farm, where her husband is an intern. They're learning to farm! Links from this episode: Haley's blog, Carrots for Michaelmas Haley on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter Notes From a Blue Bike Fixer-Upper Waco, Texas Last Child in the Woods Haley's happy thing: Librivox (especially books read by Elizabeth Klett and Karen Savage) Tsh's happy thing: Yoga with Adriene Head here for more on this episode, and follow Tsh on Twitter and Instagram. Also, if you enjoy the show, would you kindly leave a short-n-sweet review on iTunes? It really helps new people find the show, and is also sprinkles magic fairy Apple dust on our hard work, if you get our drift. Thanks. (Details here on how to leave a review.)

Sarah Harmeyer recently started something called Neighbor's Table, which really is a simple concept... it's a handcrafted table big enough to seat lots of people, brought to your home for the purpose of sharing meals with others. This was spurred on by her realizing how she didn't know her own neighbors, so she took what felt like a risk and invited them all over for dinner. I love what happened after that. Neighbor's Table has taken off to ten states now, and she has the audacious goal to be in all 50 in just a few years. Links from this episode: Neighbor's Table Neighbor's Table on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter Sarah's happy thing: Voxer Tsh's happy thing: I'll Have What Phil's Having ...And don't forget to try out Plan to Eat, my favorite tool for brainless meal planning! Find Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Head here to see pics and the post for this episode.

Why does it seem easier for some people to make new habits than others? Maybe it's not so much that it's easier... they're just forming a new habit in a way that works best for them. Gretchen Rubin loves studying this sort of stuff, so she and Tsh talk all about habits. Her research led her to this idea that we can each fall in to one of four tendencies?upholders, questioners, obligers, and rebels?and knowing which one you are is monumentally helpful in habit forming. She's well-known for her bestselling book The Happiness Project, and her newest book, Better Than Before is now available in paperback. For links to everything in this episode, head to http://theartofsimple.net/20.

What would it be like to take world from someone posthumously and share it with the world? That's what Tsh talks about with Mary Carver, whose book, Choose Joy, shares the life and wisdom of Sara Frankl, a blogger who passed away a few years ago at age 38. They talk about what real strength looks like, what it means to CHOOSE joy, and the power of something called partial solutions. And like every chat, they talk about what's making them happy (hint: Tsh likes a rather ridiculous podcast). For show notes of the episode, head to http://theartofsimple.net/19.

What if you're a creative at heart and have an entrepreneurial drive, but you also have small kids at home and are up to your eyeballs in parenthood? That's what I talk about with Maggie Whitley, who's been rethinking her personal direction and her vocational calling so that work better fits her life and current stage. Maggie is a great model of a young person who wants to create and do work that allows her to be fully with her kids, so if this is you and you feel a little stuck, this episode is for you. Head here for the show notes: http://theartofsimple.net/18.

Listener Jackie asks, “How do you deal with grandparents and relatives who give WAY too many gifts to your kids for Christmas, especially gifts you don’t really like anyway? I just don’t know what to do.” In this short episode, I share three things to keep in mind when it comes to your relationships with the gift-givers in your life, along with a call to action - please share your bits of wisdom! Head to http://theartofsimple.net/17 to add your thoughts, and to get links mentioned in this episode.

What do you do when you have two passions, and there are two of you with unique skills and callings? You merge it all together. Brady and Amber Black both work with refugee children at a home in Beirut, Lebanon, AND they run an online art shop called Serious Creatures. Brady is a gifted artist; Amber is skilled as an entrepreneur, and together, they share whimsical art with the world that, in turn, helps support their daily work in Lebanon. It's a win-win for all of us. // For Show Notes with links to things talked about in this episode, head to http://theartofsimple.net/16.

In this next session of #AskTsh, Tsh answers a listener's question about how they chose to send their sends to school this year, as opposed to homeschooling them (what they've done for several years prior). She shares their particular criteria for knowing what's best a year at a time, kid at a time when it comes to education?and also what she thinks is more important than *where* her kids "do school." Tsh also answers a listener question about the theme song of the podcast! All this, plus every resource she mentions, is in the Show Notes of this episode: head to http://theartofsimplenet.15 to find them.

Ever wanted to get a peek in to the children's book publishing world? You're in luck, because this episode is for you. Tsh talks to Caroline Starr Rose, a children's book author who wrote three whole novels before her fourth was picked up by a publisher. She's still doing the work and making it happen, one book at a time, and she's got a great perspective on those ubiquitous rejection letters. For show notes, head to http://theartofsimple.net/14.

Social media can be great, but it can also suck away our limited, precious time and add SO much noise to our days. How do I handle that? I'm not perfect, and it is hard, but here's what I do to make it less time-consuming and quieter. Find show notes for this episode here: http://theartofsimple.net/13. / / Ask Tsh is a series where you can ask Tsh anything related to simple living! To ask her a question, head to http://thesimpleshow.com.