Q1 2022 in Review
The first quarter of 2022 was bookended by trips to A&E and filled with multiple periods of ill health. I started the year with a ruptured ovarian cyst, my CFS flared a lot and I managed to hurt my back badly at some point in the middle of March. Then Jesse caught a...
How I Rekindled My Love of Letter Writing
Since the end of last year, I’ve gained five pen pals and started writing multiple letters a month. In an overwhelming, fast-paced digital world, putting pen to paper has become one of my favourite ways to slow down. Here’s how I rekindled my love of letter writing…...
Hello 2022
I usually have my first blog post of the year written and published by January 3rd. After the chaos of Christmas, I love shutting myself away to reflect on the previous 12 months and document my plans for the year ahead. The words flow readily. I always enjoy...
3 Creative Lessons From a Christmas Wreath Workshop
At the beginning of December, my mum and I drove to nearby Nailsea to attend a Christmas wreath workshop hosted by Sarah from The Petal Emporium. With fairy lights strung from the rafters, and tea and mince pies waiting for us upon arrival, the Tithe Barn provided a...
Why I’m Picking Up a New Hobby This Winter
If you read my last post, or watched the saga unfold via Instagram, you'll know I spent a large chunk of the summer playing nurse. Jesse tested positive for COVID in July and Carl and Izzy quickly followed suit. It was an intense, exhausting time and definitely not...
My summer has mainly been spent…
Nursing 75% of my family through COVID. Feeling grateful for science, vaccines and the NHS. Grieving cancelled plans and postponed adventures. Somehow...
Our Summer Bucket List 2021
The weather forecast may be sending mixed messages, but summer is finally upon us here in the UK. Jesse is due to break up from school in a couple of weeks and the calendar is the busiest it’s been in over a year. Despite being fully vaccinated, we’re feeling fairly...
Curiouser and Curiouser – Some Thoughts on Inquisitive Thinking
A little while ago, this Instagram post by The Playful Den stopped me mid-scroll. Emma's description of 'curiosity peaks' piqued my curiosity and I've been thinking about inquisitive thinking ever since. Here's a brief extract from the caption: 'Throughout the early...
12 Things I’ve Learned from 12 Years Writing Online
At the end of this month, it’ll be 12 years since I published my first blog post. At the time, I was simply picking up a new hobby. Writing for fun after three years of academic writing for my undergraduate degree. I was also eight months pregnant with my second...
How to Write When You Feel Like You Can’t
Don't take this personally, but I really didn't want to write this blog post. I've been putting it off for ages. First, I ignored the task on last week's to-do list and let it spill over into this week's. Now it's a few days before it's due to be pubilshed and I'm...
Home Comforts – What’s Done {For Now} and What’s Left to Do
For obvious reasons, I've spent a lot of time at home over the last 12 months. Like many others, staring at the same four walls day in and day out has left me craving change. It's also highlighted every single outstanding DIY task we've been putting off for the last 8...
The Meals I Cook the Most {Vegan Recipes, Tips and More}
It’s a long time since I’ve written a blog post about food. Four years, to be precise {I checked}. Without going off on too much of a tangent, I often struggle to figure out whether I’m ‘allowed’ to post things like this anymore. Sharing the kind of content I enjoy...
Hello 2021
I’ve been writing a version of this post every January since 2010. There have been highs and lows, years filled with countless happy memories and some peppered with pain and heartache. But none of them have been anything like 2020. In many ways, there's not much to...
My Tips for a Stress-Free, Magical Christmas
After years of sharing snippets of advice on Instragram, I've finally compiled my top tips for a stress-free, magical Christmas. Although this is a much requested post, I'm having a bit of a wobble about publishing it. I think it's hard to write about being organised...
Create It, Sell It, Do It – How I Approached My Latest Launch
'What I really want to do is run at least one online workshop for my own audience... Do you think we can make this happen around Thursday 6th August? Is this a ridiculous idea given my current workload/soon-to-be absent husband?!' These are the questions I asked my...
My weekend has mainly been spent…
Slowly waking up. I really needed that lie-in. Listening to the sound of rain lashing outside our bedroom window. Wondering why we'd waited until the weekend to enjoy a BBQ. Good old British weather! Heading downstairs for a cup of tea. Curling up on the sofa in front...
My weekend has mainly been spent…
Sleeping in and waking up very slowly. Heading downstairs for a cup of tea. Writing Carl a short shopping list before he raced off to Asda. Watching Alice in Wonderland with Izzy. Warming chocolate croissants in the oven. Eating a toasted bagel topped with Marmite for...
My weekend has mainly been spent…
Sleeping in. I've been struggling with this lately as our room gets so light in the mornings, so Carl suggested I try a sleep mask. It worked a treat and I felt a little bit like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Win, win! Snuggling under the duvet for a while...
My weekend has mainly been spent…
Sleeping late. Giving Jesse a cuddle when he climbed into bed with me. Early morning snuggles are a rare occurrence these days. Heading downstairs to find Carl. Sipping tea and making pancakes for breakfast. Waving Carl and the kids off as they went on their daily...
My weekend has mainly been spent…
Sleeping in. Drinking numerous cups of tea in quick succession. Toasting bagels for breakfast. Pulling on my scruffy painting clothes and cracking on with some DIY. Sanding, cleaning and priming the old kitchen cabinet doors from the laundry room. Listening to Stanley...
