My Alcohol Detox Update

Hi there! As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I'm currently on a 30 day alcohol detox which I started last Tuesday 6th April (the day after Easter Monday in the UK.)

After a week off the booze I feel brighter, more upbeat and I have started to have some better nights sleep. For motivation, I've been listening to the alcohol free podcasts, Alcohol-Free Life by Janey Lee Grace and Over the Influence, as well as rereading The 10-day Alcohol Detox Plan by Lewis David. According to David, it can take up to 10 days for alcohol to leave your system depending on your previous drinking. I know, that's quite alarming isn't it? After, my 3 month no alcohol stint in 2019 I know that I can do 30 days. 

Alcohol is a very addictive substance and like any bad habit that we may fall into, the initial period of abstinence can leave us with diminished dopamine. But if we hold tight and stay alcohol free, those levels of dopamine can normalise and other benefits begin to happen. 

I'm going to hold onto that promise as well as my alcohol free drink of choice.  With the wine witch ever watchful (she loves 6pm) I'm following Janey Lee Grace's mantra of, "Keep the ritual, change the ingredients." Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted xo

Short Hair and a List

No it's not new year but I wanted to get going with blogging again and it kind of feels like a new start as we've just had Easter and the clocks went forward just over a week ago.

I definitely have the most energy at this time of year and so I thought I'd make my first post of 2021 a list of what I'm hoping to achieve this year. A few have already been started.

1. Be gentle with myself and others. Expect to not complete everything on this list and accept this as being normal. I would like to work on some self-improvement or self-care though. I love a challenge!

2. Commit to at least 30 days without alcohol. In 2019 I did both dry January and had 3 months without alcohol. I feel ready to give it another go. 

3. Make an inventory of my current clothes and accessories. I've been donating and selling some items over the last year and I'm working on making my wardrobe more versatile, practical and sustainable as well as smaller. 

4. Grow some veg for my community garden plot. The last couple of years I've mainly concentrated on growing flowers for cutting.

5. Clear some space in our tiny garden for a bench. This will involve removing part of a border and putting slate there instead. 

6. Walk every day for at least 20 minutes. I usually walk every day with Tim before lunch and often have a longer walk once a week with a friend. I've also become a litter legend which gives me an excuse for an extra walk most weeks.

7.  Stop going to the hairdressers. The last time I had my hair cut professionally was December 2020 and I cut it short just over a week ago. I cut my Mum's hair before she went into a care home and have cut Tim's for several years now so I think I know what I'm doing. This is the shortest I've ever had my hair and it's so liberating.

8. Read every day for at least 20 minutes. I have plenty of books on my 'to be read' pile.

9. Try some new vegan recipes. We had a subscription to 'Vegan Food & Living' magazine as a surprise Christmas present from my brother-in-law and so I shouldn't be short of inspiration.

10. Update my blog more regularly. There's so much I want to write about and I enjoy both writing and photography so what's holding me back?

I hope you're well and keeping safe wherever you're living. I would love to hear from you. 

Claire xo

Life Changes

So this is where I'm at. I've retired early from teaching. On Friday I left my full-time teaching post after six happy years at a wonderful primary school. I've had various roles there including three years as a full-time class teacher. And, like a lot of other teachers I haven't seen or taught my Year 3 class since March 20th. However, I've been in school every week since then and have seen about a third of my class during lockdown. I've had communication with the rest of my class via email and phone calls but this wasn't how I anticipated ending my teaching career. My decision to leave was made before coronavirus and I handed my notice in during February so I felt under no pressure to change my mind. Teaching nowadays is full-on and exhausting and was not working for me or my family.

It's been a very strange end to my teaching career but a decision I know I won't regret. A simpler life beckons...

The Good Life Experience Launch at Pedlars General Store and Cafe

On Tuesday lunchtime I was invited to celebrate the opening of the new look Pedlars General Store and Cafe in Notting Hill, London. Feet weary (I'd forgotten how much walking is involved in getting about the capital) I was soon revived with an excellent espresso and a pick of the most irresistible sandwiches and pastries. I was warmly welcomed by the Pedlars team and had a fantastic time discovering the delights of the refurbished store and cafe and learning more about Pedlars new baby of a festival, The Good Life Experience. Smokin' music from Paprika brought a flavour of the festival fabulousness to come and bright sunshine and glamourous smiles filtered the store (Cerys Matthews and Bill Granger were there - if I dare to name-drop).

Pedlars General Store and Cafe is a treasure trove of vintage goods, fine stationary, cool creative magazines, fun prints, bags, homewares and more (you can also buy sweets and fresh bread here) all oozing Pedlars signature style of colourful, cheerful and character full products made to last a lifetime. Set against a luminous background of the prettiest pale blue walls offset with splashes of neon pink and orange at every turn, I must confess, this is interior heaven. A huge window and oversized statement lamps flood the space with light.

The new cafe area, towards the back of the store, has an ambient mood with its dreamy aqua colourway, squashy cushions, patinated table tops and wooden stools. 

This is the perfect place to hunker down for good coffee, eats and chat.

The Good Life Experience is a new venture for Charlie and Caroline Gladstone, co-founders of Pedlars, but one that they are more than qualified to deliver. Their three prime passions are culture, food and the great outdoors (in fact they've written a family focused book of the same name) and this one day festival in Flintshire, Wales will encompass all three. Charlie and Caroline are keen to bring an outdoor adventuring vibe to their festival with activities such as bushcraft skills on offer. Cerys Matthews (recently recognised for her services to music with a MBE) is curating the music whilst the Howarden Estate Farm Shop and Glynne Arms are curating the food. The Good Life Experience is set to be an all round feast for the senses.

My time at Pedlars gave me a taste for the feel good outlook on life: forget mass production insist on buy to last, slow down, have fun, get outside and make time for simple pleasures such as music and cooking from scratch. 

Thank you Pedlars for such a lovely time. The Good Life Experience here we come!

Readers, I'd love to know what you think of Pedlars new look store and ventures. 

Taking Stock

Hello! I've had a lovely few days celebrating my birthday with family and friends. But you knowhow busy birthdays get? Hence my absence over the last few days. Please forgive me.

It has been a good birthday though. Busy but nice. 

This birthday I enjoyed...

♥ Beautiful butterflies on my yummy birthday cake thanks to my budding baker husband.
♥ Trying a new cocktail, a Pink Cadillac, when Mum and Dad came over for Sunday lunch.
♥ Flowers from friends and family. I've not bought any flowers for eons (not even daffodils or an orchid, my usual good value buys) so it's great to have some in the house again.
♥ Surprise gifts. As well as flowers there's been a new cookery book, a fragrance diffuser, a favourite magazine (don't buy these anymore either), a notebook, shoes, a  DVD and popcorn. It's feels good having gifts that are things I wouldn't buy for myself. These are then real treats.
♥ Working in the morning but having lunch out afterwards.
♥ A phone call from my eldest son who's away at uni.
♥ Taking stock. This year I feel empowered by an extra year's life experience and feel more excited about the future than I have for several years. I'm enjoying life on a daily basis and enjoying trying new things.
♥ Oh and on order I have a new phone - white, sleek and with an amazing camera. I've needed a new phone for a while and wanted to join Instagram for sometime too. So, I'm not sure if this phone is a need or a want but I've finally given in. Instagram here I come! 

I know without my February birthday I might be a little less happy these grey winter days. Hope you can find some February cheer somehow this week.

Be happy xo

Fab Friday

Can you believe it's 50 years this month since the release of the Beatles' first single 'Love Me Do'? 

Their cheeky charm, studenty vibe, literary skill, artistic experimentation and ability to write, structure and record songs put them in contention for being the greatest band of all time. As the number one selling band of all time they must be seen as a huge influence on our times and not just a marketing con or fad as some have said.

My older brother is a MASSIVE Beatles fan and so they (along with Bob Dylan) were part of the soundtrack to my youth. 

What do you think? What's your favourite Beatles song? Beatle?

It's nearly the weekend 
I'm looking forward to a glass of wine or two and hoping to get that cafe experience (I missed out last weekend): warming soup, cupcakes, coffee, chat... 

What are you going to make time for this weekend?

Worth a visit:

 What can you achieve in 15 minutes? 
 Great Art
 This review of The John Lennon Letters by Hunter Davies
 The simplicity of this post

Have a fab weekend ♥

Moondance

Meet 'Moondance' our beloved VW campervan: a 1979 Westfalia left hand drive Californian import; colour - California beige.

♥

Sadly she is no longer ours. She was an impulse buy 10 years ago and we had 5 happy years with her. Our boys were 3 and 7 at the time and loved sleeping up top on the double bunk. We slept in the bottom double bed that could be made by putting back the seats. We took her to Glastonbury festival, France and Woolacoombe amongst other places. Doing the weekly shop in her was also great with all the floor space for bags.

She was in good condition when we bought her and the interior was immaculate and unchanged. Gas hob, hook-up, fab tiny wardrobe, even a wine bottle storage box next to the gear stick. 

Yes, she was a financial drain and gave us some scary moments: breaking down on the Avonmouth Bridge, Bristol; failing petrol gauge and indicators in France (we had to do hand signals). Yes, we couldn't afford her really - we took out a loan to buy her and even moved house for her (with a side drive). Yes, it was cramped with the 4 of us in living in her for a week. No, we wouldn't make such an extravagant impulse buy now. But, we don't regret buying her as she gave us some carefree times and wonderful memories.

In the end we found the maintenance of her too difficult and expensive for us. She really needed some serious work done on her to solve rusting wheel arches etc. and so she was snapped up by a dealer. I know she has been well restored.

I still love VW camper vans and my heart skips a beat when I see one on the road. 

You could say that camping and travelling in Moondance was our first taste of the simple life and living in a small space. 

We have talked about hiring a van and that may happen one day but for now I have my memories. 

California Dreamin' ...

Choctober

Do you feel guilty about your cravings for chocolate? STOP. Because it's national Chocolate Week (it is only 6 months 'til Easter). If eaten in moderation and preferably dark, chocolate is good for you. It can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Also, the physical changes caused when we eat chocolate make us feel good - it acts as a stimulant, anti-depressant and mood enhancer. For anyone who eats a little (?) chocolate daily this is good news.

It's nearly the weekend 
Last weekend I over committed myself and whilst at the time I enjoyed it, I have realised that I took on too much. This weekend I am planning a slower pace with time for reading a book, taking a walk to steal some more glimpses of Autumn, entertaining family, peppermint tea and cake at a local cafe and phoning a friend to catch up. Oh, and of course some chocolate!

What are you going to make time for this weekend?


Worth a visit:

♥ This mini-mission from Courtney Carver at Be More With Less.

♥ Yummy recipes here on the Chocolate Week website.

Happy Friday xo