A Chilled One

Today has been lovely. A chilled day. A day where we did just as much as we wanted and as little as we wanted too. Most weekends there are commitments and yesterday was busy with volunteering at our local beer festival, domestic tasks, seeing family, church and so on but today has been a free day for us. And I've loved every moment of it. Tea and toast with real butter for breakfast. Roast pork for dinner with homemade apple sauce, a dollop of which was added to the gravy - yum. Watching our youngest tuck into extra roasties and bread and gravy when we were completely stuffed. Finding a new place to go for a walk. Squealing as I squelched along a very muddy canal path before hitting the woods in search of a dry path. The sun sinking behind the trees. Beautiful blue sky, birds flitting and tweeting but too flighty to be caught on camera. The stillness of the water disturbed only by the chugging of a barge. Woodsmoke lingering on our clothes.

Feeling free of commitments, new horizons beckoning and signs of spring appearing (I may be getting carried away now). Arriving home to put the kettle on. Looking forward to the evening and week ahead. 

Nothing special - just a simple, chilled and happy day. 

Hope you have had a chance to chill too.

Be happy this week xo 

Winter Warming Cabbage and Bacon Soup

Here is my simplified recipe for savoy cabbage and bacon soup. This soup came about from an urge to abandon our menu plan one teenager-free-teatime in favour of a warming substantial soup (our boys don't quite get the joys of soup). I knew I had half a savoy cabbage loitering about (currently an Aldi's super 6 veg) but did I have any other ingredients that could magic a soup? Checking online I discovered savoy cabbage and bacon soup recipes aplenty but requiring streaky bacon, celery and leeks  - none of which I had. However, I did have ordinary back bacon (everyday value), a few carrot sticks, onions, potatoes plus some forgotten ham stock in the freezer left over from Christmas. 

Some cabbage and bacon soup recipes call for blending the ingredients before adding the cabbage to produce a thin soup - I made mine quicker and  easier by sautéing the cabbage with the other veg at the onset and keeping the consistency chunky. I experimented with cloves and bay leaves which I think added some depth. I also put the outer darker green leaves aside to fry with a few strips of bacon and garlic for an easy but cheffy garnish, but this is entirely optional.

So here's my winter warming soup using the classic combination of cabbage and bacon - simple, tasty and very satisfying. As long as you have onions, cabbage, ordinary bacon and some stock (chicken or veg) this recipe will work. Extra veg (leeks, carrots, potatoes) are optional. Potatoes bulk this soup out and adding more potatoes and stock would stretch this soup even further. After all frugality reigns in January!  

You will need

approx half a savoy cabbage shredded quite finely
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped or crushed
I carrot chopped
2 medium potatoes diced into small cubes
2 slices back bacon chopped
1 or 2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 litre vegetable stock or ham stock (or use a combination of both as I did)

Method

Gently fry the chopped veg (but not the potatoes) in the olive oil until softened. Add the bacon pieces and fry lightly. Add the stock together with the potatoes, cloves and bay leaves. Simmer for  10 -15 minutes until the potatoes are softened. Towards the end of the cooking time, in a separate pan, quickly fry the dark green cabbage with slices of bacon and a tiny amount of bacon until crisp. Ladle the chunky soup into a bowl adding a sprinkle of the dark green cabbage and bacon strips for garnish. 

Minimalist Monday: My Word for 2014

2013 was a monumental year for me as it ended with me leaving my permanent job of twenty-plus years with the determination to seek a more balanced life. Choosing focus as my word/theme for 2013 helped me to realise that my job had become overwhelming and was never going to give me the work life balance that I so desperately crave.

This year I find myself starting the year with increased energy, greater resolve to carve out a life built upon my dreams and values and increased levels of self-acceptance. 2014 has started positively for me but I know it's going to be challenging along the way as I work out my new direction.

After much dilly-dallying I have chosen the word purpose for 2014. I hope it will guide me in the direction of a simpler and more meaningful life.

Purpose is defined as:
1. the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. 
2. a person's sense of resolve or determination 
3. one's intention or objective 

In 2014 I am hoping to

- find purpose in new work that I take on
- have more time to offer for voluntary work that I believe has purpose
- downsize my possessions and wardrobe further considering the purpose of all that I own - what do I really need?
- give more of myself to relationships and realise the purpose of my interactions with others
- use my time purposefully so that I can 'be' as well as 'do'
- live purposefully on less and reduce unnecessary spending

Over to you

Can a simpler less materialistic life be purposeful and happy? 

Care to share your word/theme for 2014 ? How's it going so far?

At the Weekend

We...

♥ enjoyed a meet up with fellow arts association volunteers on Friday evening with in-house entertainment
♥ awoke to blue skies on Saturday and a crisp frost on Sunday
♥ walked  through Shugborough estate on the edge of Cannock Chase taking in the canal, stately home, grounds, farm animals and the longest packhorse bridge in England
♥ ate delicious Indian cuisine at my book club Christmas (belated) meal although the restaurant was rather rowdy 
♥ failed to disprove the theory that Christmas leftovers - cheeses, red cabbage, chocolates, Christmas cake and mince pies from the freezer - are decadently moreish
♥ bought thank you cards and stamps but didn't galvanise the boys into action
♥ did just enough ironing to see us through next week
♥ abandoned all thoughts of a run 
♥ are looking forward to the wonderful acting and intrigue in tonight's episode of Sherlock

Not bad for the second weekend in January. Hope you all had a good weekend too xo 

January Nights

Fortunately here in the UK the weather warnings have now eased, although flooding is still a problem in some areas, and temperatures remain mild unlike the Arctic-like conditions of America and Canada. However, it is still very much winter and very dark - very, very dark. 

This first full week of January it's been all about trying to get outside each day for a walk to catch some daylight and exercise, even if it's raining, and then embracing the slump into twilight with candles, soft lighting and pjs. 

Early bedtime is very tempting as is the desire to get lost in a good book. I've been drawn to reading Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier - must be all this stormy weather (it's going to serialised soon by the BBC if you're interested).

How do you cope with shorter daylight hours? Do you find hibernation your natural state at this time of year?

Minimalist Monday: Declutter in 2014

Minimalism has inspired me and taught me so much since I first discovered it three years ago. It has helped me not to just re-evaluate my possessions but also my attitudes to money, time and lifestyle. Now we live a happier, simpler life on a much smaller budget.

Over the last three years I have decluttered years of possessions, gone part-time, downsized our house, reduced my overspending, streamlined my wardrobe, started to waste less food, begun to enjoy more time with family and friends and found more time for interests like reading and walking. I have also, of course, been inspired to start writing this blog.

So what are my minimalist plans for 2014?

I have big minimalist plans for 2014. Living in a much smaller house requires discipline but stuff soon creeps back in. Since moving here in June 2012 we have celebrated several birthdays and two Christmases and the house is beginning to groan a little with the excess weight of surplus possessions. Now is the time for further decluttering. Here's a list of my main minimalist aims for this year.

• Declutter our loft space (this has now become our 'spare room'  a.k.a. our dumping ground). Although it is invaluable for storing items we use only occasionally it still contains items from our last house move that we have still not used. Time to go through everything in there.
• Declutter our bedroom (we have stuff stashed under the bed and few clear surfaces). Remember my Making Room series? Time for a relaunch - this room deserves so much more.
• Declutter our paperwork (my least favourite job).
• Have a serious attempt at decluttering my laptop as it is suffering from a severe lack of memory.
• Continue editing my wardrobe. I  followed Project 333 twice last year (winter and summer) and my wardrobe is emptier but I still have a suitcase of clothes in the loft. It's time to revisit these items and either sell or donate them. It would be so much easier to have all my clothes in one space or at least to know that my out-of-season clothes in the loft are all needed.
• Create a wish list to move my wardrobe nearer to a fully coordinating capsule wardrobe. Project 333 has taught me that a capsule wardrobe does require planning. Apart from a £40 gift voucher (Christmas present) I think I could manage a whole year without buying clothes. I intend to write about any new wardrobe purchases here as means of disciplining myself. If I do buy more clothes they will be to fill the gaps in my wardrobe.
• Redesign our small lawned garden into a low maintenance courtyard  garden. Last year we hoped to remove our small lawn but were unsure exactly how to do it. It would be great to accomplish this makeover in 2014 as it would free up more time and give us so much pleasure. 
• Minimalise time wasted to allow more time for personal and health goals - but that's another post.
• Minimalise money wasted by following a strict grocery budget to allow for a few new experiences and treats (coffee shops, days out and possibly a holiday) throughout the year.  This year I aim to analyse my spending diary, menu plans and shopping receipts much more regularly and thoroughly.

So I'm setting myself quite a few challenges: major decluttering, a garden makeover and sticking to a tight budget. I need a lot of motivation so as well as reading my favourite minimalist blogs I will be gleaming tips from my frugal blogging friends as much as I can.

Do you have any major decluttering projects for 2014? Would you like to simplify your life more this year? I'd love to hear from you.

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Firsts

♥ The first day without the Christmas tree and lights so candles are a must.

♥ First page of my new diary. So far I've had 3 out of 5 no spend days. This is the year I will track my spending and keep grocery shopping to an all-time low.

♥ First peep of my Epiphany pressie for Hubs. This tradition started by accident - one year I discovered a wrapped present I'd forgotten about (in the days of my overspending) and so I gave it on Epiphany. Now we share a small gift each Epiphany.

♥ First read of the new year. This book is the follow-up to Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project and I'm already finding it great motivation.

I hope you've all had a good weekend and are eeeaassing your way into the new year nice and gently.

Be happy xo

2013 - Out-takes and a Selfie

Hello! So here we are in 2014 - I hope it's treating you well. I've left my photo review of 2013 a little late but I thought I'd share of few of my out-takes with you from the last twelve months. Time for some New Year cheer.

Here are twelve, until now unpublished, photos of 2013. Some may be similar to ones you've seen before or perhaps just didn't quite make the grade, others just didn't fit in with what I was writing about at the time and a few just made me smile. Each one has an individual story but together they capture the spirit that was 2013. 

2013 was the year of my first DSLR and the year I fell in love with photography. Taking photos is about practice, patience, learning to take risks and a lot of luck too. There's a fair amount of pressure in blogging to produce perfectly styled and technically correct photos and I have to remind myself that I'm only an amateur and not to take it all too seriously.

So here are my out-takes if you're up for it.

January. This snap was taken on an old mobile phone and is very grainy - however it has memories of a very happy afternoon. As we walked through the park full of activity we chatted to some friendly folk who wanted a photo taken with their snowman. We obliged and asked if we could have our photo taken too. Just as well as he was gone the next day... just like the film.

February. Another less than perfect shot this time showing new additions to my minimalist wardrobe. Outfit posts are always popular on the blog but not easy to photograph.

March. By late March we were fed up with an abnormally cold and late spring. I took lots of snaps of these meerkats and daffodils in my parents-in-law's garden - they still make me smile.

April. I took hundreds of photos this month as we were on holiday in beautiful Cornwall. I think Hubs was trying to grab my attention (note to self - I do spend a lot of time behind the lens).

May. Finally we welcomed warmer weather - perfect for walks and lots of nature shots. I found this photo in my archives which I'd previously overlooked. Now I love the way it captures the rhododendron flower opening.

June. We spent much of June learning to make cocktails in preparation for a Gatsby evening where we worked as volunteers. I was in blogging heaven as everything about the evening was a dream to photograph. Here's one of my out-takes. One of my 2013 highlights.

July. We were lucky enough to holiday in France with my parents- in-law and their beautiful cat. This photo shows how at home she was in her holiday home garden (lizard hunting methinks).

August. The hot weather continued and I took my Mum and Dad to visit my brother and family in St. Albans. My niece fell in love with my camera (she now has the same model) and I fell in love with their adorable but shy rabbits.

September. The month of new glasses. Time to embrace the selfie.

October. Autumn settled in and the beginning of the month remained mild and sunny.

November. More autumn treasures.  

December. Another month of photo opportunities...

So there we are - my out-takes and a selfie from 2013. May 2014 have many more less than perfect photos but more importantly many, many memories.

Thank you for all your good wishes and welcome to my new readers and followers too xo