It's been a long time since I last posted in the journal. I decided at the end of last year that I wanted to embrace what I so strongly advocate and slow down. After a year spent at full speed turning my passion into reality and launching Green and the Great, along with planning a wedding and working full-time in my day job, I decided in December that I needed some time to appreciate things again, so made the difficult decision to step back from everything that had been keeping me so busy and take five whole months to enjoy life's simple pleasures.

I read books - lots of them. I cooked, slept, went on long walks to think, spent time with my new husband and saw friends more often. I did not let myself feel guilty that I hadn't written a blog post or sourced new products. I allowed myself guilt-free time to get back to nature and slow living.

I'm sure many of you will relate to this feeling of guilt that appears when you allow yourself to do nothing - it's that little voice in the back of your head saying "how dare you do nothing - you should be researching, writing, painting, creating, getting through that list of tasks, tut tut!' and it can be hard to ignore. The way I got around this was that I prioritised 'me time' and put this on the task list instead. I wrote a big line in my diary from December right through to April and saw the time off as an event. This was so when I started to feel guilty, I could look in my diary and know it was okay. I also made plans for April onwards so that I knew this wasn't forever but was something I deserved. I had worked for it.

And it worked wonders! I am back now and raring to go. My mind is spilling over with ideas, drive and creativity again. I am getting up at 7am to work out for an hour before hitting the office. I am very lucky that I am still working from home, but have reduced my hours, which has in turn allowed me time to focus on Green and the Great again. And I have big plans. Not only for the business but also for my slow living life. I feel excited and ready.

Many of you may find yourself in a similar situation now that we have to stay at home. It can be daunting having endless hours in the day to fill, not to mention the worry about finances, work and family that go alongside this strange time we find ourselves in. As we all know, worry doesn’t help, it only makes things worse. When you find yourself in a spiral of anxiety, take some time to just stop and reflect. How often do we find time such as this to indulge in slow living and simplicity? Our lives run on a constant treadmill with little time to jump off and reflect. Now is the time to evaluate the things you have enjoyed about the last month. What has it made you appreciate more?

I have a much deeper appreciation for home. For family. For close friends. For the countryside and nature. For being lucky enough to have a garden. For the food on my table. After this I will be making changes to my lifestyle. I won’t be hopping on a plane everytime I need an escape, instead I will be exploring the beautiful places we have right here in the UK. I’ll be spending more time with loved ones (I am really starting to miss them now). I also have an increased love for my home and I intend to make this a place that I am most happy spending my time in.

I want to share my next journey with you all. I have refreshed the website and will be introducing many more ethical products to the shop, so that you can create your own natural living style at home. I am also excited to be redecorating my own home, an 1800s country cottage, and sharing the process with you.

In the next few weeks, I will go through the steps to create a natural and beautiful home for you to enjoy. I’ll share my tips for decluttering, creating your own vision board and sourcing products. I will share my ‘before and after’ photos of my own redesign and be offering interior consultations for those who would like advice. It’s all go here!

Of course, I will also continue to share the inspiration I find from other creatives homes via the journal. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Thanks for reading,

Emily x

A time for reflection and a refresh