Happy November!

Autumn in the UK is something pretty darn special. Golden carpets of leaves, bright and chilly, damp and foggy, fierce gusting wind, rainbows and the first frosts, and all against the backdrop of the beautifully changing trees. It’s my spiritual season and i am loving it. November has also been fraught with sickness in our home and we have been canceling things left right and centre to try to make time for us to get well. I have decided to name November a month for nourishment: #NourishinNovember (join in if you wanna!) I am also increasingly aware of the ways I need to look after my mental health more too. A month for movement, nourishment and rest is needed!

I love celebrating November as it has some of my favourite celebrations. Sometimes November is reduced to “nearly December” but let’s not wish this magical month away, hey?! Autumn leaves, first frosts, Bonfires, fireworks, and still being a part of the EU 😜 .

The Sunday Supplement is back after it's unintentional holiday in August, aaand it’s a week late too, which is fairly indicative of our summer! I spent a lot of it offline and it was wonderful, and has taught me a lot about the importance of boundaries when it comes to work and social media. The summer holidays were party lovely time spent with the kids and partly stressful as we were both juggling work with limited childcare! It was a home-based, bimbling around sort of a summer with lots of friends and family visits, and a wonderful spontaneous week camping too. No big trips or excursions, but just perfect for where we are right now.

September in the UK is usually quite warm but the temperature has dropped quite suddenly in the last few days and Autumn is feeling very present. It’s in the chill in the morning, in the darker evenings, in my desire for duvets and proper socks. (Seriously, i’d forgotten how good it feels to sleep under a duvet instead of a sheet! ) Autumn is both my birthday and my favourite season so I’m excited to welcome it.

September is a doorway month bridging the gap between the hot bright days of summer and the cooler days of Autumn. We’re leaving behind the slower paced, languid days of summer, and revving up for a new term and new season. A social and active summer season spent outside is slowly being replaced by a season in which our desire starts to turn inward.

My styling work stays mostly on my portfolio page, however I occasionally share projects here on the blog that I think you would enjoy, and this is one of them. Who doesn’t love a good before & after story?!

This project is a bakery and cafe space in Whitstable called Grain & Hearth. Carmen and Adam got in touch with me last year to ask me to help them realise their long held plans for the bakery. I worked with them to develop concepts, moodboards and sourcing lists. I helped them style the space and worked with other suppliers, and at the end, Dave and I came and did a photo shoot for them too (me styling, Dave shooting)

The space was a rather dilapidated garage in Whitstable.

Welcome, July, and welcome also to the beginning of the second half of the year. Whoa! The solstice has passed and we in the northern hemisphere are in the peak of Summer. It is a time of warmth, energy, abundance, growth and fruitfulness. I mean this literally but it can also be figurative too if you can take some time to reflect on it, and soak up all of the suns energy.

The weather is warm and dry, the school summer holidays start in just a few weeks, spending time in the garden or beach is becoming far more appealing than working, berries, fruit and flowers are in the market and by the roadside. The garden is full of bees, my battered sandals are on, and it’s just been bloody lovely. Nothing exceptional or extraordinary has happened in the recent weeks, apart from this sweet kiss of summer, but it just elevates every day life so much.

I finished my own mid year review and plan last week. In the middle of it I was struck by a powerful and vertiginous wave of gratitude for everything we have. Things are NOT plain sailing and far from perfect, but the simple act of just taking a breather made me notice and appreciate all the good in my life. It was a sweet moment that kept me afloat for days- testament to the power of gratitude I guess.

July marks the start of the second half of the year!

We are somehow, astonishingly, half way through the year of 2019! The Summer Solstice has passed and we are deep into Summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway!).

The mid point of the year is the perfect time to review the goals we set at the start of the year and see how we are doing, assess whether any of our goals need to change, harvest the lessons learned and figure out some practicable action steps for the second half of the year.

Whether you have been checking in on your goals regularly, or you can’t really even remember what they were, this process is useful.

I am in the middle of doing my mid year/second quarter review. Just like in previous quarters I am celebrating the positive change and steps taken (even if small!), adjusting or pivoting goals that haven’t gone to plan (with joy and grace) and cancelling others that now feel wrong.

A personal review:

Yesterday, I talked about why I love planning, my unpredictable and sometimes messy life, and some of the principles that underpin HOW I plan. Click here to read that post which covers why kindness and flexibility are essential (and kinda radical), a note on toxic productivity and why planning needs to encompass both appointments AND wider life goals. I also mentioned that I’ve launched the planning and productivity part of my e-course as a separate resource too (whoop!)

Today i’m going to go into how I manage my everyday planning. Because my system is connected to my wider goals, I can’t start talking about everyday planning without first talking about yearly goals, so i’ll start there! I know that’s quite the leap, but bear with me, it make sense, I promise!

I can’t remember a time when I haven’t written down my thoughts, hopes and dreams. I write in my journal regularly, I love writing and I make lists and plan in every area of my life. I use planning for the daily minutiae of family and freelance life, but I also use it for inching towards my big dreams and goals too. I’ve had a lot of questions over the last few years about how I do so within the reality of a pretty unpredictable, slightly messy life (anxiety + dyslexia + young kids + 2 freelance parents) so I have written it out here. I’d also love to know if you also plan in this way too! The post got really long so part two is coming tomorrow.

Planning is a critical part of The Life Book, the planning and review process my husband Dave and I came up with 10 years ago. The system has been tried and tested first by us, then by friends, then by others who caught wind and have since joined hundreds of Life Book alumni. The process begins with wide open dreaming, and finishes in really practical planning. The Spring chapter of the e-course just finished and I’m not currently planning on opening the course again until the new year. But I have received so many questions about the more practical aspects of planning and goal setting that I wanted to write a blog post about it.

Last weekend it was The Nature Sessions, a 3 day retreat held at my favourite place, Elmley nature Reserve on the island of Sheppey in Kent (yes, there is an island in Kent!) . I helped to found the retreat last year, and this year ran two sessions; a styling with nature session, a beginners guide to journalling session and styled the meals. It was full on from a work perspective but utterly wonderful too. We were blessed with glorious sunshine the whole weekend so everything felt like it was bathed in gold.

The basis of The nature Sessions is getting back to nature, and the focus, unlike lots of other retreats, is not about deprivation. Yes some guests sleep in tents; but they’re 5 meter bell tents with proper double beds and mattresses complete with fluffy towels and bathrobes. Food is served regularly, mostly healthy but definitely decadent too and wine is plentiful at meal times. There was yoga, wild swimming, beach bonfires, picnics, creative sessions, and lots of free time to explore the reserve and be alone. We created our ideal retreat, basically! Below are some photo’s.

Hello! Here is my monthly list of wonderful things to make, do and celebrate in the wonderful month of June, albeit a week later than usual. Last week I was busy working at The Nature Sessions retreat (more on that below) so this months Sunday Supplement finds you a little late but I hope it finds you in good spirits, nevertheless!

June marks the midpoint of the year (wwwhhhaaaatttttt!) There are more hours of light than dark, and the sun is as close as it's going to get. In nature it's a time of intensity, flourishing, light and fire, and all of this affects us humans too.

Last week, I visited Peckham Craft Show. I first discovered the show the previous year and eagerly followed along, and found a lot of the makers on Instagram. I had arranged to visit one of my best friends, and realised the dates worked, so we went along last Saturday. It represents many of my favourite techniques, crafts and makers, and it was a veritable feast of ceramics, textiles and paper. I was in heaven! I harbour my own secret itch to make tactile work with my hands, and this show really ignited that wish! The space itself is beautiful and light, and I loved the way the exhibits had been curated. There was an emphasis on still life, with satisfyingly styled tableaux’s and collections. There was also a heavy natural influence in the curation too- inspiration from Peckham’s history as an orchard. Here are some of my favourites in the show.