Handling down times

☕ ☕ ☕ Coffee out and about
(actually I had peppermint tea but it doesn't have the same ring to it 😊)

 
Hello chic friends!

 

I haven't had a lot of mental bandwidth for much lately. It's just how I get at times and I try not to feel bad about it.

I think by now I've gotten to know myself, and it's not that there is anything wrong, I just feel like pulling back. It's like this internal handbrake being on and everything takes 100x times more effort to do.

At times like this I want to read books, be at home, write a little, and be offline. I know I'm so lucky to be able to do so. When I worked full-time in an office I’d just keep life really simple too.

If you can relate, please say. I admire people who are 'linear' and can just do whatever they need to get done. I think it might be part of the creative mind that works differently for those of us who aren't like that.

I've seen a funny picture and it shows A to B and a straight line from... A to B. That is one type of person. And then there is A to B with a giant squiggly unravelly ball of wool leading from A to B. That is so me sometimes!

When I get to be the straight-line A to B person everything is sooooo easy. That’s when I write book after book and post regularly on social media. But at the moment I'm the squiggly ball of wool and have a dozen books started that I’m keen on none of 🤣

Amazingly enough my work looks way better to me when I’m in a more helpful state of mind. When I’m the unravelly ball of wool all my writing looks terrible 🤣

But I am writing each day and working on a book that feels good, so hooray for that.

And I’m up to recording my 21st audiobook, almost there! I think there are about 25 or 26 in total. At least those I can narrate without overthinking things. I just turn up and do some recording. (Find them at my Linktree)

I hope you’re doing good, and if you’re not, I’m right there with you 😊 Let’s all be kind to our squiggly balls of wool that we call our heads, if we’re not feeling it right now.

~~

 

 

🍂🍂🍂
Autumn colours and bright blue skies

This has to be my favourite season and I'm really enjoying my outdoor walks each morning before breakfast. I know there are many other fans of autumn too.

For us in the southern hemisphere, it's perfectly normal to have March/April be the start of autumn.

It's completely foreign for us to have it be the start of the festive Christmas season!

Although I actually do enjoy getting into 'fall vibes' later in the year too, joining in on all the northern hemisphere fun 😊

Whether you are in spring or autumn, I hope it's treating you well 🧡💛

~~

 

 I bought these cute popcorn cups from the dollar store for a movie afternoon with friends at home. How cute are they? Afterwards I handwash them and put them away until next time 😊

 

 

I love little details like this that make life fun!

 

 

 

Wishing you a fab week :)

 

Love Fiona

A harvest day, and what I'm reading

 

 

Last weekend Paul and I attended a harvest day at one of our local wineries called Alpha Domus. We spent the morning picking grapes, and then enjoyed a beautiful lunch with wine. The weather was lovely and it was a very pleasant way to spend a day overall.

 

 

Doesn't this just look like a painting? That sky :)

 

 

I don't think I was as fast as a professional picker, but I did my best and managed not to nick myself this time. This is the third or fourth time we've attended this harvest day, and I admit, I did manage to cut myself the first time. The snips are very sharp! The secret is to have your hand under the bunch of grapes and let the bunch fall into your hand, rather than grip the bunch. The gripping leads to the snipping, lol.

 

 

 

We picked Chardonnay grapes for their top-tier Chardonnay. When you taste the grapes they are so sweet. I always thought that wine grapes weren't as sweet as table grapes but I was wrong. They are lovely!

 

 

 

 

And after our busy morning picking 2.5 tonnes of grapes (I know! It's a lot!) we got to see our grapes being squeezed and tasted the first of the juice (it tastes just like apple juice), and also tasted the wine from the same grapes we picked this time last year.

 

 

 

 

Lunch tables and umbrellas were set out, and it was so nice to sit down. I really felt like we'd done a full day's work (actually a half day's work but that doesn't roll off the tongue so well, haha).

 

 

 

 

Lunch was so delicious. I had lamb paella and the freshest salad with Parmesan and homemade dressing over top. It filled the spot perfectly, paired with a glass of red wine of course!

 

With thanks to our gracious hosts at Alpha Domus, it was a wonderful day :)

 

 

 

 ~~

 

And in reading news, I just finished this book. omg, so so stressful 😂 but so good! It is suspense genre and I've been into these types of books lately. Would recommend if you want to increase your heart rate 🤣

 

 

Two women who want to disappear from their lives cross paths at the airport and end up swapping tickets, passports, phones, luggages... lives.

It's not gory like The Housemaid book but it is definitely 'thrilling' and a good read. It makes you wonder what is behind closed doors in other peoples lives. Not that most people are 'that' different. Most of us are just very normal, living normal lives. Thank goodness!

 

The Flight book is here on my Amazon affiliate link, or I'm sure you can find it at the library like I did!

 

 ~~

 

 

Our hallway just inside the front door,
in my ‘Inspired by Ralph Lauren’ style

 

A little peek into our home...

 

I love a mix of traditional and modern, just like Ralph does. He goes chrome in his modern furniture though, whereas I prefer gold.

Note the table tennis balls for Nina cat corralled under the glass-topped hall table 💛😉🐈‍⬛

She loves to play with them and sometimes gets one out, and other times likes to bat them around within the confines of the table base.

It’s funny to hear her playing with them ☺️

Who is your main style influence if you have one? And what kinds of opposites do you like to mix together?

Wishing you a great week, whatever you are doing. I have writing planned, of course I do! I am working on multiple new books. It's just the way things work out. Eventually one pulls ahead and that's the one I finish next. And of course, keeping up with my audiobook recording. I am up to my twentieth audiobook, phew! It's actually really nice recording them, revisiting the books I've already written :)

My audiobooks are available anywhere you get your audiobooks from, including the library (you can ask for them to order them in), and they are also available in my eStore as an MP3 download.

 

xx Fiona

 

 

 

 

Our 17th Wedding Anniversary

 

Hello chic friends :)

Last Thursday was our 17th wedding anniversary, and I thought it would be fun to share some photos of Paul and I in 2008!

 

When we met almost 22 years ago, I asked the Universe for someone who was ‘like me, but the guy version’. I wanted a calm, steady, happy, easy-going relationship, and the Universe delivered. Right down to us having the same birthday! How’s that for ‘the same’. We met at the pub on a night out, an age-old classic way of meeting someone 😊

 

 

Our wedding was tiny, less than 40 people including us. We had it at an Italian restaurant in their private function venue below ground, and it was dreamy. Candelabras dripping with wax, a giant tiramisu instead of a wedding cake, red velvet drapes, and low lighting.

 

We used to go back to that restaurant – Toto in Auckland city, so lush – for our anniversary each year but it closed down at some stage, and now we don’t even live in Auckland anymore.

 

We both always forget the actual date of our anniversary because it’s such a funny number to remember: 6 March 2008. Is it 06 03 08 or 08 03 06? We always get there though 😊 And I even thought that we were married on a Friday but everyone (my mum and Paul) insisted it was a Thursday. I looked it up and it was a Thursday.

I’m not one to be stuck on remembering dates or days though (thank goodness), just that I’m happy and content. I get to make my own fun and if others want to join in that’s great. Over the years I’ve cultivated the ability to not make feeling good reliant on others.

After all, when you please yourself it seems that others want to please you too. Something that recovering people-pleasers like myself would do well to remember!

~~

 

The grapevines on our road 🍇

 
The past few weeks we've had harvesting machines picking the white wine grapes. It's fun to see the changing seasons of the vineyard as I go for my daily walks, and then the big bins filled with light green or dark red grapes at harvest time.

My husband Paul works for a winery now as a cellar door host, and he sees firsthand the trucks full of grapes pulling up and emptying them into the first tank where they are squeezed gently.

The whole process gives me so much appreciation for winemakers. With fruit such as apples, you 'only' have to grow the fruit.

But if you have a vineyard, growing the fruit is only half the job, then you have to make the wine, then you have to market it amongst the many thousands of wine labels on the store shelves.

Here's cheers to to all the hard working people behind the scenes when we sit down with a glass of wine on a Saturday night! 🍷

Wishing you a fab week :)

xx Fiona

Wine tasting in Hawke's Bay

 

Hello chic friends :)

 

Yesterday was such a beautiful day for wine tasting. It’s the first time we’ve been this summer and it’s almost autumn - oops!

We visited Bostock Wines and tried a selection of local varietals. Our cellar door host Victoria was so knowledgeable and lovely.

 

 

It really felt like we’d been on a little holiday even though we’d been gone only a few hours.

Especially since we had taken a picnic lunch with us and got to eat it in the beautiful surrounds of the winery.

Cellar doors mostly don’t do food, and if they do it might be non-celiac friendly pizzas and platters. And the few that have restaurants you have to book ahead.

This is the second time we’ve brought a picnic lunch out for a local jaunt and it’s so nice. The first time we went to the beach a few months back.

Yesterday we had a chicken and avocado salad, and fresh blueberries with greek yoghurt.

The doggies greeted us like we had been away from home for years, not a couple of hours 😁

It’s nice to be missed! 😍

 

Wishing you a fabulous new week :)

 

xx Fiona 

Summer gardening, and decluttering

 

 

Hello chic friends,

 

I've been enjoying my simple gardening this summer, and just look at this crop of cherry tomatoes!

The thing I love best about growing vegetables such as cos lettuce and cherry tomatoes at home is that you can just pick a few leaves or tomatoes each day for your salad.

It's the ultimate in freshness, and everything is spray-free too.

My mesclun mix used to be eaten by white butterflies and their caterpillars before I could get to it but I found that cos lettuce, maybe being a sturdier leaf, seems to be left alone. Yay!

And of course our perpetual spinach plants keep our breakfast smoothies going, such a bargain for weeks if not months of spinach.

I am a total vegetable garden convert! You don't need a big area at all, and a little investment in time and money really pays off.

This is just my public service announcement for today 🤣

 

 

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I have noticed that my decluttering book is more popular at the moment, and of course, we are into a new year. I get it, because I am feeling it too!

I've been cleaning up niggly areas and hotspots, and I've also come to a 'big' (for me) revelation. And that is, it's okay to want my stuff. I don't have to declutter down to nothing, even though I love the idea of a minimalist home.

I get to do it in my way and have exactly what I want around me. It really was quite a freeing thought!

What I do get to do though, is go through all the many areas in my home and refine them. And if there is anything to donate or throw out in that process, great. If not, also great.

Using things up is one of my favourite ways to declutter. I get to enjoy what I have, and also make use of the money already spent. Reading and donating books, using my lovely body products and fragrances, lighting a candle!

It's great the have the new year’s energy to reinvigorate my desire for a clean, tidy, ‘cozy minimalist’, stylish, elegant home 😊 I keep this vision in mind and it makes even housework seem more pleasant!

xx Fiona

PS. You can find this book on Amazon here or check out my Linktree for other reading options and all my other books.

[My Amazon links are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission but at no extra cost to you. I appreciate it if you choose to use my links!]

Living a simple life

 

Hello chic friends!

Sometimes I feel like I don’t have much to tell you, because I live *such* a simple and quiet life.

But then I remember how much I enjoyed following blogs way back when they started which were exactly that: home-based, feminine, simple living, and quiet. So maybe I can be that person for someone else who wants to read about ‘nothing’ 😊

I really do love being at home, and living a peaceful and creative life. It’s not always easy to get out of my head though, and that’s what I think trips me up sometimes. I can overthink things, be too hard on myself, and procrastinate terribly.

I think the reason why I want to live in a simple and quiet way is because my mind can feel too busy.

Maybe you feel the same? That everything in life moves so fast and you just want to pause a minute and take a breath?

And it’s not even that my life is fast-paced, it’s just how my mind can get sometimes. To help with this, I have intentionally simplified and stripped away busy-ness over the years. We moved from the city to the country.

And I dream of open spaces, an open schedule, and having just the right amount of possessions to make me feel comfortable and cozy but not overwhelmed with clutter. I love reading about minimalism and trying out tips for myself.

One size doesn’t fit all, phew! We all get to choose the most ideal scenario for ourselves and work towards that.

~~

Micky dog and I have been taking early morning walks, just the two of us, about 6.30am or 7am.

It's so nice out with our mild summer weather, and I've read it's good for you to get some early morning light into your brain through your eyes so we're definitely doing that.

To the end of our road and back is about 40 minutes which I think is the perfect amount of time.

I've gone in and out of various exercise routines over the years, but the one thing I always come back to and that rarely feels like a chore is outdoor walking.

It just feels so good! And you don't need any special equipment other than a comfortable pair of shoes. I wear leggings and a tee-shirt but if I've walked later in the day I'll just wear what I’m wearing – usually jeans and a top.

The thing that makes it more fun for me is to have an audiobook on. I love listening to a good story, or an inspiring non-fiction book.

And Micky loves a good long walk (‘long’ for his little legs). Our other two dogs Daphne and Chloe are NOT fans of the long walk. They said short walks a few times a day are their preference.

[How do I know this? Could it be the constant turning back and looking longingly in the direction of our house every 20-25 steps from Daphne? (I counted). Or Chloe putting the brakes on regularly all the way down the road? She holds down well for a dog who weighs less than 5kg/ 11 lbs. Of course, once we turn back at the end of the road, they are both as speedy as racehorses heading home!]

Wouldn’t you think all dogs love a walk? It seems that 'some' (not looking at anydoggy in particular) would rather go for a walk in the car (they all love the car so much 😊).

If you have doggies, are they keen walkers? Tell me a funny story about yours, please! 😍

 

~~

 

 

✨ Starting the day with beauty and inspiration 🌸

 

☕️ There’s nothing like fresh flowers, a cozy cup of coffee, and the joy of seeing my book, Loving Your Epic Small Life, reminding me to embrace elegance in every moment. 💕

If you’re looking for ways to create a life you adore—full of elegance, simplicity, and meaning—this book is here to inspire you. It’s available on Kindle, paperback, and audiobook here on Amazon.

I’ve also written 20+ other books designed to inspire, encourage, and bring hope - check them all out here on Amazon, or in my eStore for an Amazon alternative.🌷

 

Wishing you a fab start to your bright and shiny new week 😊

xx Fiona

[As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate it if you choose to use my links!]

My favourite success tips

 

Hello chic friends!

The beginning of the year is such an inspiring time, so I thought a fun idea would be to share my favourite success tips on living a good life. To me, success isn’t just money, it’s happiness, feeling good in my mind, being fit and healthy, and having a good balance of fun and productivity.

 

💫 My favourite success tips 💫

💌 Know how to inspire yourself. I’ve been doing lots of delicious journalling each morning with my cup of tea: goals, visualisations, how ‘she’ would be’, idea, things that are ringing my bell right now, so much goodness 😊 I also read glossy picture books, magazines, novels, and listen to audiobooks, writing down quotes when they speak to me.

💌 Please yourself. Many of us are so used to considering others and what they might want that we never think to ask ourselves ‘What do I want?’ Even when by myself! So my practice now is to think of what would be most ideal in that moment, and go and do it. Sometimes it’s a comfort thing, sometimes a doing thing. And if I really don’t feel like doing something, I don’t (maybe I’ll skip a walk that day because I feel like cleaning and organising my environment instead).

💌 Love your life. Instead of being envious of other, glossier people either online or in real life, I choose to love the life that I have right in front of me. I can make it feel sparklier all with the way I am being. I appreciate my home, the way I have set up my daily life, and how I spend my time. It’s like 3D gratitude. I’m not just writing down in my journal all that I’m grateful for, I’m living it every day.

These are just three of many, but they are the three that came to mind today 😊 Please tell me your favourite success tips if you have any, and if you don’t, what might one be that you’d like to cultivate for yourself?

 

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I just started book three in the Housemaid series, yay! It goes well with a glass of Prosecco and fresh raspberries 😍

 

I don't think stylish people put fruit in their bubbly but I don't care. I love the festive look of it, and even better to eat at the end. Delicious!

Sweet Daphne dog is always near me.

My cousin's little boy (aged 5) loves dogs, and always gives our dogs lots of hugs when he visits. He calls Daphne 'Daphanee' with an extra syllable. Soooo adorable!

(Freida's Housemaid books are on Amazon here. If you love a good and creepy psychological thriller I would recommend!)

Wishing you a wonderful rest of your weekend 😊

xx Fiona

PS. Check out my book ‘100 Ways to be a Chic Success and Create Your Dream Life’, available on Kindle, in paperback, and as an audiobook on Amazon here or in my eStore (eBooks and eAudiobooks).