happiness in a box

Seven boxes, actually.  Our shipment from the states was delivered this morning!  There was much excitement in our home.

(This is an Oliver +S Sailboat shirt, made from kiyohara putidepome, purchased from PurlSoho.)

Somehow, we whittled our 3-bedroom house down to these seven boxes.  There were many things that I was incredibly happy to see.  Particularly the items in this box:

Hello, All-Clad!  How I missed you!  And that rolling pin, I plan to put it to use this weekend.  There were many things I was delighted to see again, after a several month absence.  And there were some that I found perplexing.  Such as socks.  Did I really think that I wouldn't be able to buy socks in China?  I'd love to swap that pile of socks for some chocolate chips.  And I'd trade a pile of clothes for some vanilla.  And more books.  And spices.

I'm amazed that we were able to condense our belongings into these boxes.  And at the same time, now that we have much less (in terms of "things"), it feels better.  We need less, now that we have less.  It's a forced simplification, I suppose.  Something I've wanted to do for some time -- live a simpler life -- but was so difficult to do in suburban America (although, of course, many people do it without moving halfway around the world).  Sure, sometimes I think about the things we left behind and wish I packed this or that, but for the most part, I don't miss it.  What happened to all those other things?  A combination of storage, a garage sale and donation. 

Dagim was happy to be reunited with his old friends:

His room looks like it belongs to him now -- with books and games and toys.  We're all going to bed happy tonight, surrounded by a few of our favorite things.  Our apartment looks and feels even more like home now.  I'll share some of those favorite things in the coming days, as we settle into our nest.