I’m a big believer in hygge, which was something that I thought only I knew about, hah, until it went viral in 2016. Since I am a winter snuggler, hygge is key to helping me get through the dark days that are now upon us, both literally and figuratively. There’s no real translation for hygge – it’s kind of welcoming… Read more »
“Minimalism is not defined by what is not there but by the rightness of what is and the richness with which this is experienced.” John Pawson, architect
If your house, like most houses, has more than one floor, consider making yourself cleaning caddies that have a permanent home on each floor. Our house has a converted attic, so it’s three stories high – one of my huge extravagances is having a vacuum cleaner on each floor: no more lugging this heavy appliance up and down the stairs. I… Read more »
“There is no greater sin than desire, No greater curse than discontent, No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself. Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” – Lao Tzu
Blurgh. Window cleaning is a tough job and not one I much looked forward to until about a year ago, I hit on a solution – clean one at a time. Voilà. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me earlier. I’m used to splitting up other jobs, after all – I don’t vacuum the whole damn house in… Read more »
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso
Briochin is a French household ‘natural’ products brand – they make all manner of cleaning products with a retro, olde-worlde look and feel. The packaging is generally retro, usually navy-blue cardboard with white lettering and most of the products are certified by Ecocert as not harmful to the environment. I value them too for their pleasant, natural smells, often based… Read more »
Few people get everything they want or even all they need.
White Shoulders – a name to get right up the nose of the Civil Rights Movement if ever there was one – was created in 1943 by Evyan. It has head notes of aldehydes, white flowers (gardenia, jasmine, tuberose, lily-of-the-valley, lilac, lily and orris) and a drydown that contains amber, benzoin, musk, civet and oak moss. Just one look at… Read more »
Falun is a pretty esoteric French household product. I first came across it at a garden fête and quickly got addicted. I buy a few tubs of it per year and in between, I make my own from scented sand. So what is it? Falun is a type of absorbent limestone. Sold in the form of rough sand, manufacturers impregnate it… Read more »