The hot topic of conversation these days is definitely higher prices. You can’t go anywhere without hearing people complain about some item they just bought costing half again as much as it was last month. Gasoline and food prices top the list.

Because of skyrocketing prices, many of us are trying to figure out how to cut back and simplify our lives, so we aren’t under constant pressure trying to cover our monthly bills.

Meet Dan Lewis and Jill Brandsborg, a Guemes Island couple who are living out their dream of a simplified, stress-free life. After struggling with their fast-paced lifestyle and consumption, Dan and Jill left their jobs in Denver in 1996 in search of a simpler, less expensive and less stressful way of life. After traveling for a couple of years, they settled in La Conner, and in 2000 bought 13 acres of land in the middle of Guemes Island where they built their dream existence.