.SOMETIMES RAW.

My home is my castle and I am so glad I was at the right time and the right place to purchase this beautiful place. My home is my sanctuary, my place to refuel, relax, be creative, live, love, invite friends, and simply just be. I opted for a smaller place because of the many advantages that work for me and my family. I would like to share my book-filled home (people say it looks like a library inside) with you if you would like to see.

Financial Freedom

Having a home with a smaller footprint means a smaller monthly payment for mortgage, taxes, and insurance. Because I have chosen to live within my means, I don’t feel the financial strain that comes with investing in a bigger or more impressive plot of real estate. Living small means I need less of literally everything (house paint, tools, cleaning products, furniture, organizing products – you name it!). Being able to comfortably pay for my home and maintain it leads to less overall stress and relationship strain, and frees up resources I can use towards BOOKS, eating out, travel, personal development, and philanthropy.

Less to Clean and Maintain

To be perfectly candid, I’m not a fan of cleaning, and there are a million things I would rather do than spend my time on household maintenance and upkeep. A smaller home enables me to spend less time cleaning, decluttering, and organizing, and more time relaxing and enjoying my home and my life. I’m fortunate that this property came with a huge garden because I love to be in nature as much as possible. I even learned to keep houseplants alive.

I Can Invest in Fewer, Better Things

Recently, I decided to redo my bathroom and realized that I could afford to pick out any shower I wanted because this single shared bathroom is the size of a small postage stamp (not even a regular stamp, People. It’s tiny). With less rooms to furnish, paint, and style, I have the luxury of splurging on high-quality products, furniture, and finishes that I absolutely love. I also love to splurge on fresh flowers, fancy candles, and other little luxuries to elevate this home, and having a small home enables me to go big and make it all feel good without breaking the bank.

It’s Better for the Planet

I’m always looking for ways to reduce my environmental footprint. A smaller home uses less energy and resources and produces far less waste than a larger home. Heating and utility bills are smaller because there’s less space to heat and cool. I also added solar panels. Cleaning products can be reduced because there’s less to clean (I use apple cider vinegar, baking soda and wooden-floor cleaner for my entire home!). A smaller home requires less furniture and decor, so small space dwellers can consume less, which also means less packaging and less waste.

Quality of Life

I am the happiest whenever I can spend time at home in peace and quiet but I also love travelling, eating out, going to meet friends, and having city adventures and day trips. Having many people over is great once in a while, too. The good news is a smaller home can be a catalyst to connect with friends and neighbours, be more creative and resourceful, and get better acquainted as well. Balance is important. Like with everything in life.

Does it bother me to live in an approximately 100 square meters house? Sure, sharing one tiny bathroom is no picnic, and occasionally I daydream about adding one more room, but I love my small home. My goal was to find a house that is small but on a big property so I can go crazy and be a garden girl. With this in mind, I don’t feel weighed down by the work or the responsibility that comes with managing and maintaining a large garden. To me, the difference between living in the city and the countryside is huge and moving out here increased our quality of life immensely. Overall, having a small, minimal home has resulted in more time, money, energy, and freedom for my family. File that under win-win.

I’m curious: Where do you stand on the great house size debate? Do you think bigger is better or opt for the less-is-more approach like me?

Below is also a good book I recommend on Tiny Houses.

*I know you have been waiting for this one.

Women are intricate creatures. I get it. But, learning how to read a woman does not have to be rocket science. Let’s break it down, shall we? You want to understand the complex layers of a woman? You want to understand how to read a woman? I am going to tell you, because SURPRISE: I am a woman.

Speaking of a woman, and on behalf of women, I can safely say women are intense. We have a wide spread of emotions, layers, and intricacies that make us who we are. But we aren’t alone in this, men are unique all on their own as well. Men are just as hard to read some days, but that is not why you are here, is it?

The importance of knowing how to read a woman

Well, first of all, there is a fair chance you might end up dating one of them. Maybe you never will, in which case, this is still important because you will deal with women for the rest of your life (aren’t you lucky!) Your mother, your sister, your friends, your boss, your coworker – the list of women in your life is infinite.

Since they are all around you, it is vital that you understand the inner workings of a woman.

Why men find it so difficult to read a woman

Well, I will be the first to admit it- women are difficult. Just in general. We never know what we want to eat for dinner, where we want to go, or what movie we want to watch. We are incredibly indecisive as a gender, and I don’t think that is ever going to change. We say one thing, and we really mean another thing, and as women – we get it. Sometimes we fail to remember that perhaps our male counterparts don’t understand our secret lingo or mixed messages. Sorry, guys.

The secret is out: How to read a woman

Since I am speaking on behalf of all women out there (Oh, my goodness who gave me this much power, and why?!), I am going to do the world a favour, and explain our method. As my fourth-grade math teacher used to say, “There is a method to my madness.”

Okay, so sometimes there really is no method, and we are just going in blind. But oftentimes, we know what we are doing, okay? At least we think we know what we are doing. The following is a list of things we say and do, and what they actually mean.

1. Silence isn’t always golden. If we are being quiet, there is a reason for it. We like to chat, even though we may say otherwise. Perhaps we ignore you because you did something offensive or just ignorant. Think about your actions in the past few days, even if it seems small, I can guarantee there is a deeper meaning for us.
2. “I don’t want to talk about it” is false. Like I just said, we like to chat. We almost always want to talk about it, even if we say otherwise. It might be incredibly painful to talk about, but deep down we really do want to talk about it and get it out in the open. But be careful here: Don’t pry. Just sit with us and wait. Be patient, because it might take a while to build the courage to actually express how we are feeling. Reassuring us that you are there to listen, whenever we are ready to talk, really goes a long way.
3. Sometimes yes means no and no means yes. Good luck with that one. We don’t know the answer either.
4. Eyes on the prize. If we are staring into your eyes during conversation, take the hint. It means we are interested in you, at least on some level. If we are just starting to get to know each other and have intimate conversations, pay attention to where her eyes land. If we are staring at everything but your eyes, then we might be interested in something else. But if we stare at your body *up and down, and side to side*, and seem uninterested in the topic at hand, we might be interested in your body and not your intellect. Decide where you want this relationship to go from here.
5. Not everything is actually funny. I’m not entirely sure why we do this, but it’s 100% fact. If you want to know how to read a woman, you need to remember that we’ve been programmed to laugh at people that we are attracted to, even if they really aren’t funny. If we laugh at everything you say, then we are into you, dude.
6. A gentle graze might mean something more. If you are walking together or working on something together and we make efforts to casually touch you, we might be testing the waters to see if there is a spark. You might not even notice that this is happening, but pay close attention from now on, because a lot of times it means something more than what it appears on the surface.
7. Compliment, compliment, compliment. This is what women do, even if we are just trying to make friends with somebody, we will find something to compliment them. When dealing with other women that we meet for the first time, we try to compliment them on their clothing or hair/makeup. It’s an easy in, and it works for romantic partners too. We might say “You have such nice curls” or “You’re really passionate about what you do, I admire that.” Pay close attention to the way we say these things as well.
8. Sugar and spice. To clarify my last point, women often try to come off as sweet and gentle when trying to attract a mate *wow, that sounded like something you would hear on National Geographics with Sir David Attenborough*. Our tone of voice around you may become lighter and more kind because as women we want to appear nurturing and sweet. I’m not sure why, but it seems to work. Every time.
9. Asking questions. Does she ask intimate questions about your childhood or personal life? If she seems genuinely interested in you, she probably is. Don’t second guess it.
10. Domestic as fuck. Again, it’s just in our nature to be domestic. So, if we bake you cookies or do something “housewifey” take the dang hint. We want you to know that we are wife material, and are worth pursuing. Give us a shot.
11. “How do I look” is a loaded question. No matter what, if we ask you “how do I look” respond with “like a supermodel” or something to that effect. No woman ever wants to hear that she looks bad, okay? Throw sugar on that pile of gorgeous woman you have, no matter what. “Do these pants make me look big?” is a tricky one. “No honey”, is a good start.
12. Emojies mean everything. Listen, real talk about how to read a woman that you can never ignore: If a woman sends you emojis, that means something. If she takes the time to send them, it means she actually cares about your conversation and wants to be cute by sending emojis. Emojis are everything. What the different colour emoji hearts mean will be explained in my next blog post. And yes, they do mean something. Honestly, you cannot tell me you don’t know this?
13. The weather. “Damn Daniela, I cannot control the weather!” WRONG sentence. When it is cold, don’t pull a Rocky or Rambo. If a woman says she is cold, it means she wants your jacket, or she wants to be held. C’mon guys, this one is a dead giveaway.

It may be challenging to learn how to read a woman, but once you begin to open your mind and think like a woman, it all becomes a little bit easier. Get creative. You will master the art of WOMAN in no time. Otherwise, again, good luck.

*from a woman’s (my) perspective.

Forgive me, but being a guy is so easy. Purchase some Kiehl’s products, a little Bumble and Bumble in the hair, a nice coat, sunglasses, Chuck Taylors, and you are hot. Here is my incredible resumptuous guide to being an awesome guy, inside and out. Mostly out, for who am I to instruct you on inner improvement? Let me say here that if you are some kind of iconoclastic (a person who attacks settled beliefs) dude who goes by the beat of your own drum, you will find this insufferable. I totally understand this. But why are you reading this at all? Shouldn’t you be hiking the Appalachian Trail right now or something?

1. Buy a well-fitting coat from J. Crew. Or wait until Christmas sales are raging and buy a designer one. Black looks good on everyone (Obvious Law Enforcement) and matches everything, but charcoal grey is good, too. You can always look like a put-together Obama speechwriter with a classy coat. Oh, and get it cleaned once a year. Sounds prissy, but a good cleaning can return a coat to its true awesomeness, and make you look as snappy as you did on the first day you wore it.
2. Have a signature drink like James Bond. It is silly, but I am always so impressed if a guy has a cool to-to drink. Obviusols, if it has a ton of fancy ingredients, like puréed berries or whatever, you can look a little bit like a high-maintenance weirdo, so don’t do that. If you like Scotch, have a favourite brand. It makes you look all self-actualised and grown-up. (You don’t have to say your drink order with the theatrical panache of James Bond. That’s for close-ups.)
3. Own several pairs of dark-wash straight jeans. Don’t get bootcut, don’t ever get skinny (Leslie!) – just a nice pair of Levi’s, without any embellishments on the pockets. No embellishments anywhere. At all. Nothing. Oh my God.
4. Wait until all the women have gotten on or off an elevator before you get on or off. Look I am not some chivalry nut or anything, but this small act of politeness is very visual and memorable.
5. When you think a woman looks pretty, say it. But don’t reference the thing that might reveal you are aware of the backstage process: e.g., say, “You look gorgeous tonight,” not “I like how you did your makeup tonight.” Also, a compliment means less if you compliment the thing and not the way the woman is carrying it off. So say, “You look so sexy in those boots,” rather than “Those boots are really cool.” I didn’t make the boots! I don’t care if you like the boots’ design! We are magic to you: you have no idea how we got to look as good as we do.
6. Avoid asking if someone needs help in the kitchen or at a party, just start helping. Same goes with dishes. (Actually, if you don’t want to help, you should ask them if they need help. No self-respecting host or hostess will say yes to that question.)
7. Have one great cologne that is not from the drugstore. Just one. Wear very little of it (Leslie!), all the time. I cannot tell you how sexy it is to be enveloped in hug by a man whose smell you remember. Then, anytime I smell that cologne, I think of you. Way to invade my psyche, guy! Shivers down spine central! One more thing to mention here: Don’t stink. Shower, brush your teeth, use deodorant, smell nice.
8. Kiehl’s for your skin, Bumble and Bumble for your hair. Maybe a comb and a haircut. That is all you need. And when girls look in your medicine cabinet (which they will obviously do within the first five minutes of coming to your place), you will look all classily self-restrained because you will have only two beauty products. You are basically a cowboy which means hot.
9. I really think guys only need two pairs of shoes. (Sneakers to work out not counted). A nice pair of black shoes and a pair of Chuck Taylors. The key, of course, is that you need to replace your Chuck Taylors every single year. You cannot be lax about this. Those shoes start to stink like hell. They cost forty euros. You can afford a new pair every year. And if you cannot, why can’t you? Yo have much bigger problems. Stop reading this and go deal with them.
10. Bring wine or chocolate to everything. People love when guys do that. Not just because of the gift, but because it is endearing to imagine you standing in line at a delicatessen store before the party.
11. Get a little jealous now and again, even if you are not strictly a jealous guy. Too much, and it is frightening, but a possessive hand on her back at a party when your girlfriend looks super hot is awesome.

This should do it. I will show myself out.