Happy first of May,
I could go on to saying how is it already May, April just flew by, but i’m not going to.
Instead i want to mention all the beauty of Spring. And no, i am not going to shut up about it.
The weather hasn’t been great, the days that were sunny though were enjoyed even more because of the many grey days (that’s one hell of a metaphor right there!)
And while the weather doesn’t always feel like spring is actually here, nature is giving loud and clear signs. As i look out of my window, most trees are covered in the lightest blanket of green, the conker tree is flowering, the sweet smelling lilac blooms are about to burst open and lilly of the valley’s are covering the woodland floor.
I don’t know about you, but it just fills me with so much joy and wonder.
With that out of my system: welcome back to my newsletter!
Just in case you are new here: welcome, i am very happy that you are here. This is my monthly newsletter, filled with things that have inspired me this past month, things that i loved and some of my favourites.
Food
At this point i could almost turn this blog into a food blog. I have so many food related things i want to share with you!
My latest obsession are fried vegetables with a base of either noodles, couscous or rice. We have a bunch of frozen veggies in the freezer, ready to use whenever needed and i love just frying them, adding lots of spices and adding a base nd if i’m feeling a little extra i’ll make a sauce as well. Super simple, nothing new but good! Adding cashew nuts gives the whole thing another layer, highly reccomend.
I made this coconut rice, tofu and broccoli recipe twice, it was so tasty!
For my dads birthday i really wanted to make a vegan cake, he is a little sceptic about all things vegan so i wanted to prove a point. With this chocolate rasberry cake i proved my point. The best thing was it lasted a whole week. There were several occasions where i had cake for breakfast. No regrets there.
Books
I didn’t read loads of books. But i did read the German fantasy series Izara by Julia Dippel. This is quite a hyped book series and my sister finally managed to pursuade me to give them a shot. Man, i’m glad she did. *a new fan has entered the fandom*.
I also finished The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber. It was good. So good. The ending put me off a little but the rest of the book more than makes up for it! Now i only have to wait until October to read the next book :(
Do you have any book recommendations? and what did you read last month?
Music and Podcasts
I rediscovered my love for Florence and the Machine’s Dance Fever album. There was many a day where it was blasting from the speakers and my voice was blasting along to the music. I hope that no one was close enough to hear though….
I have also listened to Aurora by Daisy Jones &The Six on repeat. I haven’t seen the show, dont have amazon prime, but i love the book so i just had to listen to the album, and surprise surprise, i love it.
As for podcasts my favourite this month was From the Heart with Rachel Brathen (some probably know her as YogaGirl). I have listened to a few episodes but my favourite was this one all about generational trauma and healing it.
I also listened to an episode of the Feminist Wellness podcast all about healthy anger (listen here ). I am someone, along with many other people i believe, who struggles to express my anger. I just bottle it all up, or just don’t let myself feel it in the first place. So this episode was really interesting!
Creative
I’ve really been working on my creativity this month with the help of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. With that i have been doing a lot of writing and am learning so much about myself. I was going to say i recommend you read this if you consider yourself a creative but i would actually recommend it to everyone!
I’m still busy knitting my jumper, sleeve number one is done, only number two left to do!
I also joined a Domestika online course by the illustrator Zoe Barker, all about colouring pencils and drawing buildings, humans and from life with them. I haven’t finished the course yet but am really enjoying it. It also gave me that wave of inspiration i was hoping for. I have been practicing my humans, faces and bodies and enjoy using colouring pencils so much! Heres a little glimpse of some of my coloured pencil drawings. There aren’t perfect but that isn’t what art is about, or so i am trying to teach myself:)
Grateful For
Ive decided to try out a new section here on the newsletter. I have called it Grateful For. My plan is to list a few things i was grateful for in the past month.
This month it was all the spring blossom, ranging from magnolia to cherry, to apple, pear, blackthorn and ornamantal trees. I mean, just look at it!
I have had lots of cat cuddles. One of our cats is very nervous but once she overcomes her initial fear she is the cuddliest cat ever. She will come lie on me if i am lying down and we will just cuddle for hours (slight exaggeration there but you know what i mean..). I feel so lucky when she puts so much love and trust into me.
A dear friend gave me a bunch of the most gorgoues tulips, such a thoughtful thing to do.
With that i will end this months letter.
I hope to see you next month.
If you enjoyed this letter why not share it. With a friend, family member or your (online) community? It would mean a lot to me.
Take care and see you next month,
Pippa xxx