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The autumn cleanse | Growing Spaces

I’m calling it – the autumn cleanse beats the spring clean hands down for me. In spring, all I want to do is get outside, but in autumn I go into full home declutter mode. For some reason this always takes me by surprise, but having looked back in my blog archive it seems I get this urge every September. It’s my seasonal reset button, with its promise of a new start (remember the joy of all that new stationary for the brand new school year?), and the reintroduction of routine and structure after the summer break. So I’ve gone into… View Post

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Working from home | Growing Spaces

Maybe it’s the need to be as close to the kettle as possible or just because it’s at the heart of our home, but even though I’ve got a dedicated home office that I love I can often be found working at the kitchen table instead. I guess that’s one of the best things about working from home – you’re not restricted to one workspace, you can pick your spot for the day, whether it’s at your desk, on the sofa, or even holed up in bed (this ranks pretty highly for me on cold, winter days or if I’m… View Post

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Treating myself with National Gallery | Growing Spaces

I’ve been treating myself recently. Nothing huge – no luxury spa day, designer handbag or posh dinner out – but I’ve been looking after myself in smaller ways. For example, for weeks I’ve struggled to find any socks in my sock drawer that didn’t have holes in. And I finally did something about it. Buying new socks (and some new pants while I was there) seems like nothing much, but actually it’s those little things that remind me that sometimes I need to prioritise myself and my needs. I bought myself some new Saltwater sandals. For the last three summers… View Post

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Sitting and knitting | Growing Spaces

This weekend I plan to be indulging in my latest obsession: knitting. I’ve just finished a manically busy few weeks of work. The adrenaline that’s been getting me through each day has suddently stopped flowing, and intense exhaustion – mental and physical – has hit. I’m not great at sitting still and taking things easy, but my body really isn’t giving me much of a choice. Which is where knitting comes in. I can crochet (ish), but I haven’t given knitting a proper go since I was about ten years old. Then, last month, my mother-in-law gave a birthday gift… View Post

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#TheEverydaySpruce - beat the stress this summer with mindful colouring | Growing Spaces

#TheEverydaySpruce – a collaborative project by lapinblu & growing spaces – | SIMPLIFY | CLARIFY | BEAUTIFY | The other day, everyone’s tempers were a bit frayed in our house – a combination of me being stressed out with work shoots and deadlines, and the kids suffering from that end-of-term exhaustion – and I couldn’t think how to dig us out of the dark hole of grumpiness. And then it struck me. I’ve recently written a feature for a magazine about mindfulness, and as part of my research I got hold of a few mindful colouring books. I dug out… View Post