From Mediterranean Cafes to Texas Tiny Homes: Recreating the Life We Fell in Love With | Week 22 Post-layoff

TL;DR: A 2022 Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona to Italy planted seeds for our 2025 tiny home lifestyle. This week we finalized our tiny home floorplan while reflecting on how we're recreating the relaxed, intentional European pace we fell in love with three years ago.

"Does it bring joy?" I asked myself, holding a decorative item we'd owned for years.

As we continued packing our staged items this Sunday, Marie Kondo's famous question felt especially relevant. But this week, a deeper question emerged: What if the life you're trying to create was inspired by the happiest you've ever felt?

I kept coming back to our 2022 cruise to Mallorca, Marseilles, Rome, Florence, Naples, and the Amalfi coast. Standing in those Spanish cafes and Italian piazzas, watching locals savor their morning coffee without rushing, I felt something I hadn't experienced in years: true relaxation. The pace was slower. People seemed genuinely happy. Life felt intentional.

Three years later, we're not moving to Europe—but we're bringing Europe to us.

This Week's Reality Check:

• ✓ For real--finalized our tiny home floorplan (it's happening!)
• ✓ Continued strategic packing while practicing "essentialism"
• ✓ Reserved cargo van for Thursday's storage unit transfer
• ✓ Survived another surprise buyer visit (measuring, not appraisal)
• ✓ Cut four inches off my hair—physical downsizing too!
• ✓ Moved belongings to storage near our future home
• ✓ Calculated our housing costs will drop to 10% of income

What We're Actually Doing:

The European Revelation

Sunday morning, as we sorted through possessions, I found myself thinking about that 2022 cruise—our delayed 25th anniversary celebration, thanks to the pandemic. When we visited Barcelona and those Italian coastal towns, I was struck by how relaxed, and happy the locals seemed.

Sidewalks in front of cafes were packed with people, no matter the time of day. The pace felt genuinely slower. Historic buildings made us feel like we'd escaped the fast-paced, connected world—but when you needed to translate a menu or look something up, you could with issue. Some stores closed for lunch. Many weren't open seven days a week like we're used to here.

We loved the walkability of each town. The food was incredible—fresh, local, and bursting with flavor. Except for Barcelona, I don't remember seeing America's big box retailers. Most shops were small, regional businesses or mom-and-pop establishments we always seek to support.

The question that we've found ourselves coming back to: How do we return to those same feelings we experienced on that amazing trip? How do we recreate what transported us physically, mentally, and spiritually?

The Work-Life Revelation

Obviously, it started with the acknowledgement, and then conscious decision when I was laid off, to change our work situation. I'm not saying people in Spain and Italy don't work hard—I'm sure they do. But our observations were of communities that valued spending time socializing and moderating work to enjoy more of their lives.

This resonated deeply because our previous work situation—owning and operating a mom and pop bar and grill—was sometimes a 24/7 commitment. My full-time job regularly demanded more than 40 hours per week. People in those European towns seemed less stressed and more genuinely friendly.

Wednesday, I reflected on the fact that I haven't been without a full-time job in more than 14 years. In fact, I can count on one hand how many years I've been without full-time employment in the last 30 years. It's a little scary—but offsetting that fear is the love of some of the flexibility we've been able to enjoy these last few months.

Being able to take a mid-day break to run errands, or a day away to move storage without guilt. Some days, it might even be a nap! This is what we glimpsed in those European cafes—people who weren't slaves to the clock.

The Food and Fitness Connection

What struck me most was how much fitter people appeared and how incredible the food tasted. In Marseilles, we walked less than two miles to Notre Dame de la Garde, not realizing it sat at the highest point of the city—most of the walk was uphill to 466 feet elevation. A mere hill compared to the mountains we drive through!

I had to stop and take several breaks, while locals were using the same route for their morning jog! On the Amalfi coast, people walked up CRAZY steep staircases to their hillside homes daily--some were 80 or more years old! It was easy to pick us out as Americans from a flat part of the country!

The food was a revelation—fresh and local. Why did pizza, bread, tomatoes, and seafood taste so much better there? Fresh food just tastes better, something we believed deeply when we ran our sandwich shop. (we even made a sign that said this same thing!)

Bringing Europe Home

These experiences started shaping our reinvention, though I didn't realize it until we began our tiny house journey. Even though we're not moving out of the country, why couldn't we incorporate what we loved into everyday life here?

We've been talking about tiny house living and simplifying since 2020, and now we've taken action. With a slower work pace, we want to take better care of our health and fitness. We don't have Italian stairways, but we're working toward being more mindful about exercise after past attempts resulted in injuries from overdoing it.

We already eat healthier than most—we're pescatarian and limit sugar—but we're working on eliminating unhealthy oils and packaged foods. Our goal, make even more of the fresh food we love at home from scratch.

I've researched farmers markets within 45 minutes of our tiny home, planning to become regular shoppers and learn seasonal timing—a version of homesteading from a tiny home. We're excited to create our own seasonal recipes using these freshest of fresh ingredients straight from the sources.

The Final Downsize

Monday brought exciting news: we received, modified, and approved our final, final tiny home floorplan from the factory after correcting a version that had a 24" opening for our washer and dryer, when we were told to shop for one that is 27" wide! We also received estimates for our storage building and carport. Choosing gravel instead of concrete saves $6,000.

This week I realized we've been downsizing multiple times over the years—move to Chicago, move back to Texas, and several more since. We've also heard that, even when you've downsized to move into your tiny home, you'll continue "shedding" items afterward that you realize you don't need. It's not a "once and done" process. I'll never forget walking into our Texas apartment after moving back from Chicago and running straight into towers of moving boxes—so many you couldn't walk through without turning sideways.

Friday brought an unexpected form of downsizing: I had four inches cut off my hair! It was freeing and feels much cooler. Is this another aspect of our downsizing?

Now we're embracing the idea of essentialism—keeping only things that matter or serve a real purpose. Instead of tons of mediocre items, we're investing in a few quality pieces that last. Marie Kondo asks: "Does it bring joy?" We also ask: "When did we last use it?"

Living Our European Moment

Thursday's storage unit transfer felt like another step toward our European-inspired lifestyle. We discovered a mom-and-pop sandwich shop, Healthy Banh Mi, between our current house and our future home. The lemongrass tofu banh mi was excellent, with the "shard-y" bread we love, reminding us of the banh mi shop we used to walk to when we lived in Chicago. Fresh ingredients made by someone who took great pride in their product.

What amazed me most about Thursday's move: almost everything we own and are taking with us fits in one cargo van load and a 10x10 storage unit. It's remarkable how much freedom comes from needing so little.

Something I read this week that really struck me: The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows housing comprises 32.9% of total expenditures for average Americans. Many spend 40% or more. When we compared this to our tiny home numbers, we'll be spending around 10% of our income on housing.

That's the math of the freedom we're creating—freedom to recreate that European feeling right here at home.

The Life We're Creating

We're not moving to Barcelona or the Amalfi coast, but we're creating a life that captures what we loved most about those places: slower pace, intentional choices, local connections, fresh food, and time to actually enjoy it all.

From 25% housing costs to 10%. From rush-hour commutes to farmers market walks. From corporate schedules to afternoon naps when we need them.

We're bringing that European feeling home.

Let's Talk:

• Have you ever traveled somewhere that made you want to completely change how you live?
• What would your life look like if you prioritized the feelings you want over the things you think you need?
• If you could reduce your housing costs from 30%+ to 10%, what would you do with that freedom?

Here's to creating the life that brings us joy,

-Kathy & Bryan

Note: This post is part of our weekly "Reinventing Midlifehood" series, chronicling our journey of working toward intentional living and rediscovering what matters after a midlife career transition. If this post was shared with you, we hope you'll join us as we explore the freedom that comes from choosing your own path rather than following conventional paths.