Lessons From the Edge of Burnout
At the beginning of the summer, right before I took some planned time off, I found myself starting to feel burned out. Despite what I know about the importance of rest and everything I’ve learned from living with a chronic illness, I’d been doing a crummy job of...
What’s Next? – Career Development When You’re Self-Employed
I've been a freelance copywriter for more than a decade. I love what I do, and I love the freedom that comes with being self-employed. But there is one thing I really miss about traditional employment. Career Development Plans. Let me explain... Have I Ever Told You...
My summer has mainly been spent…
Wrapping up some big projects while Jesse spent a couple of weeks with Carl's parents in Derby. Teetering dangerously close to burnout before taking some much needed time off. Packing Jesse off to Cornwall with a friend. They stayed with my aunt and uncle near...
How to Make a Travel Scrapbook
Day trips, mini breaks and holidays are my favourite things to document. Capturing travel memories is how I was first introduced to scrapbooking as a child and it remains a huge passion of mine. When the children were little, I used to help them create travel...
Going {a Little Bit} Viral
Something very unexpected happened in March. An Instagram reel I shared went {a little bit} viral. Here are the stats almost four weeks after it was originally posted.. At the time of writing, the number of views has jumped up again, surpassing 250K. I'm well aware...
What I’m Learning About Prioritising Creative Play
Oof. I don't know about you, but I'm glad to see the back of winter. I always find it difficult to navigate, but this year the season knocked me for six. The weather may not have got the memo yet, but I'm very ready for spring. One thing that's kept me going since the...
Rediscovering Childhood Hobbies and Passions
What did you enjoy doing as a child? This was one of the questions I asked myself a few years ago when I decided I needed a new hobby. I’ve been thinking about it again as I focus on prioritising creative play in 2024. Playing with Paper When it comes to my childhood...
My Reading Rhythm
I respond well to rhythms and routines, so I lean on them a lot in daily life. As well as developing rhythms to help me stay on top of work and household chores, I use them to create space for things I love and want to do more of – things like reading. The Usual...
Hello 2024
I’ve been writing a version of this post since 2010. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, I’ve always been able to reflect and find something positive to share despite the chaos. This January, it should be an easy task. 2023 was a great year for us as a family. Of...
Navigating the Ebbs and Flows
At the beginning of the September, I hadn’t booked any new work since April. I’d finished my last big project in early August, and I had nothing in my diary {excluding my retainer clients} for the rest of the year. Fast forward to the end of the month. I’d booked...
Notes From a Summer Sabbatical {Part 3}
I remember exactly how I felt when I wrote Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. In those first few weeks after my return from Australia, I used words like ‘ease’ and ‘spaciousness’ to describe my experience of taking six weeks off. What I called my ‘summer of radical...
The Summer I Turned 40
I always planned to write about turning 40. I even scribbled down some notes at the beginning of the year, thinking I’d eventually turn them into some kind of long-read. I had visions of it going live on my birthday, capturing exactly how I was feeling as I reached...
When am I Going to Write a Book?
When are you going to write a book, Franky?’ my father-in-law asked, raising his voice above the noise of the theatre bar. I took a sip of my gin and tonic. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Paul, soon,’ I replied, playfully batting the idea away with my free hand. ‘I’m serious. You...
Our Summer Bucket List 2023
As I write, it’s day two of the summer holidays. Izzy is in Cornwall with a friend, staying at my aunt and uncle’s house near Falmouth. So far, they’ve been paddle boarding and survived an exhausting surf lesson. Jesse is at a holiday club hosted by a cookery school....
I’ve Been Thinking About Quitting…
I've been thinking about quitting. Mainly because Lisa Congdon has too. This post stopped me mid-scroll and stayed with me for days. 'I’ve been on a systematic mission to examine and quit everything in my life/work that feels finished or draining or one-sided or...
My Sunday Reset Routine
One of my favourite niche genres of content right now is Sunday reset routine reels on Instagram. I've always enjoyed learning about other people's routines and rhythms and these {often heavily romanticised} mini-vlogs are addictive viewing. I don't have the patience...
Permission Slip
I recently stumbled across Maggie Smith's Substack, For Dear Life. Her latest piece, A Pep Talk, delivered the following quote: 'As I prepare to launch this book in April, I’m thinking a lot about all of the other books that made it possible for this memoir to exist....
And the Oscar Goes To…
It's award season! I'm endlessly inspired by both fashion and film, so the period between November and March when most significant film award events take place, is something I always look forward to. I love the red carpet coverage and I'm probably the Glambot's...
Hello 2023
This time last year, I was waking up at home after a long night spent in A&E. A cyst on my left ovary had ruptured and I’d nearly passed out from the pain, the like of which I’d never experienced. A few weeks later, still recovering, still feeling fragile, I wrote the...
Q4 2022 in Review
I doubt anybody noticed, but Q3 in Review never made it on to the blog. A few days into October, when I should have been working on the first draft, I finally succumbed to Covid. I'd had a good run, managing to avoid the virus for two years, even when the rest of my...
