Carving out New Beginnings

I find this time of year exciting, so full of potential. Usually I’d be saying grab the opportunity and start something new, this year feels very different.

New beginnings is a recurring theme throughout the year. I’m not afraid of starting a new project or the inevitable adjusting to move along, the knowledge that achieving a goal is a meandering path rather than a straight line softens the pain.

Personally the start of the school year could well be my favourite time for initiating change, it carries the feeling of starting a new book or a clean page. My life has been governed by the rhythm of the school year, first off with my education and later with that of my children. And since they’ve long ago flown the nest the bliss of choice is not lost on me, travels are invariably planned during the quiet periods outside school holidays. Typically this is when I seek out workshops to develop new skills, often with the added bonus of visiting an undiscovered corner with new landscapes, architecture and museums.

A couple of years ago I sparked massive ongoing change, by selling the family home and grabbing the opportunity to live somewhere new. Of course that wasn’t the start, there was the job of getting the old house ready for market, along with all the tidying and clearing it out. Finding a property took time with all the usual glitches. Early this year, when at last, the renovations of the new house drew to a close I was ready to welcome more change along with all it brings. With a worldwide pandemic raging, life turned out how none of us had imagined, and there’s been continuous universal fast pace change to the fabric of all our lives.

This autumn I feel it’s time to take a moment and luxuriate in this shift to the new normal that’s been carved out around me. Not necessarily planned, I revel in the joy of the changes, goodness, its been a hideous journey for so many, but what an adrenalin packed adventure we’ve had. I’m taking stock, auditing life, with an eye on living with purpose and self-growth.

So what have the major shifts been in my life? When I decided to move I started to examine my life and to make sustainable changes to carry forward. These remain in place and now’s the time to roll them in with the new normal. My aim was to achieve a more sustainable and thoughtful way of life, by making small adjustments, resulting in less impact on the environment.

During the long months of shielding, the situation threw up new changes that I will keep as I move forward. The main one is online shopping reflected in my shop Soulfood Studio which was buzzing. Essential online shopping has streamlined my life. Grocery stores can have the repetition of supplying and delivering everyday products, with the frustration of searching out stray products left to the pickers. Squeaky fresh vegetables, gathered early, are left on my doorstep, as is loo roll and the laundry product is posted through the letter box. Though in the past I looked forward to grocery shopping I marvel at the liberation, the energy and time saved by delegating the chore. Now I look forward to topping up seasonal produce while enjoying a trip to the local farmers market with the chance of meeting friends. Currently travel abroad for many remains off the agenda, so there are planned staycations, along with an ongoing project of cycling and finding what’s on my new doorstep.

I’ve learnt in these recent months joy is about what’s in my head. Life doesn’t have to be perfect, just as good as I can make it.

If you like this post check out my posts on Plastic Free Kitchen , La Rentre: The Start of My Plastic Free Journey and Ditching The Plastic One Step At A Time: Herbal Tea Bags.

Ditching The Plastic One Step At A Time: Herbal Tea Bags

I’m always looking for simple ways of editing plastic out of my life. I was distressed and felt mislead when I discovered tea bags have plastic in them, like many I had assumed they are made of paper. With my days punctuated by continuous cups of mint tea, all too often I stretch for the convenience of the bag variety. With fresh herbs growing by my back door it’s the next natural step to cut out the middle man and find sustainable solution to using bagged herb tea. Are you with me, lets break out those tea pots and get back to making our favourite proper cuppa.

Aaah yes, we must be practically unanimous in agreeing there’s nothing more reviving than a fresh brew. To prepare a very simple tisane, pinch off a few chosen herb leaves, place in a cup, pour over boiling water and leave to infuse for a couple of minutes. Follow the same principle using a tea pot, warm by swilling with boiling water, place fresh leaves in the warmed pot then pour over hot water and leave to brew before pouring into cups. For all herbal brews taste before sweetening, if needed swirl in a blob of honey.

It’s always exciting spotting the first sprigs of mint and lemon balm in the garden, from spring, through summer and autumn there is a continuous and reliable crop of sweet smelling leaves to harvest. As well as mint and lemon balm try spikes of lavender flowers. With its intense and magical aroma strongly scented lemon verbena is a winner, it isn’t frost hardy so grow this scented bushy plant in a pot making it easy to relocate for protection in colder months. I’d like to try fresh lime blossom as well as camomile, in the summer I’m looking forward to putting that right. Later in the year after the garden has closed down try dried herbs or a delicious steeped infusion of chopped fresh with a slice of lemon.

Before you start using fresh herbs source them from a reliable nursery or be sure to check them out using a plant identification book, or better still ask an expert for help.

If you like this post check out my posts on Plastic Free Kitchen , La Rentre: The Start of My Plastic Free Journey and take a look at the tea cups and tea pots in my shop: Pair of Vintage Studio Style Cups with Botanical Illustrations, Laneside Botanical Illustration Mugs, Elegant Tea Pot, Small, Elegant Tea Pot, Medium

Plastic Free Kitchen

With the beginning of the year I’m thinking about the months ahead and the changes I want to put in place. I’ve talked about sustainability, which for me is a whole lot about choosing products carefully and most importantly ditching the plastic. I’ve been making the changes incrementally, taking small steps, one change at a time.

I was nervous about embracing changes in the kitchen, would the plastic free solutions I turned to be as effective as the tried and tested? I’ve been happily surprised by the results. I’ve ditched plastic scrubbing brushes, pan scrubbers and synthetic cloths in favour of a natural alternative. I have no problem giving cotton kitchen cloths a boil wish, and for less than the price of a plastic pan brush I can buy a replacement head for my wooden dish brush. No more plastic pan brushes and synthetic cloths going to sit in landfill for hundreds of years is a huge win for me.

When I buy washing up liquid I go to a shop that will refill my old container, to me, that’s potentially far fewer plastic bottle floating about in the sea. I’m currently trying alternative cleaning products, I’ll keep you up to date on what I find and how the products work.

And how’s it going, I hear you ask? So far, yes, I am please the changes I have made have been ones I can stick to. I am having a little celebration, though I recognise there’s still lots to do, keep watching me. Have you made changes, how have you found switching to plastic fee?

Here is another blog on plastic free, go take a look: La Rentre: The Start of My Plastic Free Journey

La Rentre: The Start of My Plastic Free Journey

Returning from the summer break, to school and work brings the wonderful feeling of new beginnings, there’s nothing like it to restore the resolve and tackle projects with vigor and confidence. Though this event repeats through our lives strangely we don’t have a name for it, in France it’s called, La Rentre.

With the enforced a break, foot off the accelerator, leaves clear space to reflect on the direction life is taking. Since seeing images of the polluted sea with the drifting islands of plastic debris harming both the environment and wildlife, I’ve been mulling over how to make the changes and embrace a plastic free life. There’s the itch to throw myself into a passion of dramatic change, discarding old ways in favor of new, but I know from experience that’s a risky strategy, set the bar too high and there’s the risk of abandoning the short lived changes. I’m in favour of making easy to adopt, incremental changes that can be absorbed into life to seamlessly create a new version of normal.

Following the route into a plastic free life I’m thinking, small changes for easy wins. The exciting part is that in the not too distant future the adjustments will feel normal, having been effortlessly absorbed into life. Giving up plastic carrier bags for reusable cloth tote bags was an easy win as was swapping disposable rollerball pens for newly resurrected fountain pens which was a joy. This is the beginning, there more changes in the pipeline, watch this space!

Please can you tell me about any changes you have to get closer to plastic free.

If you like this post check out my post on Going Backwards to go Forwards: Rediscovering the Joy of Writing with a Fountain Pen

Going Backwards to go Forwards: Rediscovering the Joy of Writing with a Fountain Pen

With their generous flow of ink and near instant drying, my addiction to gel pens stretches back over many years. But, I miss using a fountain pen, the right nib brings the feeling it’s possible to write for miles. On a few occasions I have seriously tried to get back into using them, however I felt replacing empty gel pens for cartridges in landfill was neither sustainable nor tackling the root of the problem.

As an interior stylist, the constant flow of ‘bits’ through my life swiftly leads to an ugly build up and an urgent need to declutter. While tacking my accumulations of clutter in the studio, I inevitably uncovered my stash of old fountain pens. The question of what to do with them skated across my mind, closing the box and running away seemed attractive. A jumble of different makes, brings the inconvenient headache of both sourcing and storing a broad selection of refill cartridges, making fountain pens a complicated option to adopt.

Lining up my cache of pens reminded me of the joy I have using them. Rather than ditching them I felt tackling the problem of keeping them charged with ink was worth one more shot. A recently invaluable discovery is Cult Pens, who stock a wide range of writing supplies and deliver speedily. I had a buzz of excitement as I ordered ink and reservoirs for the pens, a small change was about to become a reality on my journey towards a more sustainable life.

Making the swap back to using a fountain pen feels like a big win. There’s the aesthetic pleasure of holding a pen coupled with the delight of welcoming back an old friend, Waterman’s turquoise ink, in its design icon, quirky shaped bottle, that’s tip able for easy fill. A moment of peaceful reflection is brought to Sunday evening as I round up my pens, ready to fill for the week ahead. And incase of emergencies there’s always a few cartridges in a tin ready waiting in my bag.

If you like this post check out my post on Plastic Free Kitchen