The past year I’ve thought a lot about living a beautiful life. That sounds so incredibly vague…what does that even mean?? I’ve read posts here and there that reference a beautiful life, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about what that means. 

I’m starting to realize that what a beautiful life means for me is surrounding myself with things that I love, things that inspire me and make me happy. This sounds so simple, but it’s actually a lot more challenging than it seems. I am a very thrifty person. I don’t like spending lots of money of frivolous things and most of the time will only make purchases if something is on sale. (I do make exceptions for things that I absolutely love.) I’m known for being great at making things work or making the most of what I have. In turn, I tend to use things that I already have rather than buying new versions that I may like better. After all, if it works just fine, why would you replace it?? 

When I envision living a beautiful life, I think about having a few specific non-important items that I think are beautiful. As a matter of fact, I think of simple things like a pretty ironing board cover, fun towels, beautiful coffee mugs, and the softest and prettiest throw blankets. 

Reality is that I’ve kept the same, not-so-pretty and definitely not my style ironing board cover because nothing was wrong with it. However, I swoon over the pretty ones every time I walk by them at Target. I often find patterned towels that I love, but I registered for solid khaki ones when we got married because they would match almost anything if I changed the bathroom decor. I haven’t purchased any of the beautiful coffee mugs that I’ve ran across, because the promotional ones (you know, the ones with logos that your insurance agent gave you) I have in the cabinet work just fine. I also never buy those furry and fabulously soft throw blankets that match my decor because I have 10 blankets that will still keep me warm…I just have to keep them tucked away when someone comes over. 

When I sit and think about it, it’s crazy to think that not buying new versions of these things are what’s standing between me and what I’d consider a beautiful life. Reality is that I could replace all of these things for $50-75 and my mental image of a beautiful life would have manifested itself. Sometimes you have to really stop and think about things like this. You may be stuck on something that would only cost you $5 or $10 to fix. Sometimes, a $20 purchase can really make a huge difference in your life. After spending months of thinking about it, I finally realized that a new ironing board cover and coffee mugs were what I needed to feel like I was surrounding myself with beautiful things. That’s so simple! Of course, I’m not saying that I have a terrible life because I drink my hot chocolate from a North Monroe Baptist Church mug. However, as I’ve spent so much time thinking about what a beautiful life means to me, I’ve decided that beauty is found the little things for me. It means surrounding myself with only things that I love…not just things that I already have. It means buying a $5 coffee mug because I love it, rather than continue to use one that I don’t love. It means making cloth napkins like these and using them for daily life instead of a paper towel just because I can throw them away. (Her post talks about making average things feel more extravagant which really echoes what I’m saying here.)

Since coming to this conclusion, I’ve decided to make it my mission to replace the bland items in my life with things that I love. Since we don’t have a “for fabulous things” budget, this will be something I do over time. (By the way, since I’ve made this decision, I haven’t found a single coffee cup that I like. Go figure.) This mission doesn’t have to be something that costs a ton of money. You can buy little things here and there that are only a few dollars each. In turn, you end up surrounding yourself with things you love. To me, that’s what a beautiful life is all about. 

What does a beautiful life mean to you? It can certainly be different than mine, so please share anyway! I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about this, so I’d love to hear your thoughts.