Category: The everyday

Almost every day I see the same gentleman (who is in his 80\’s) walk very slowly down the sidewalk. Until he takes notice of me (or any other young woman around) he is supported by his daughter (who is in her 60\’s). But as soon as he sees me he shoo\’s her away, stands a…

At a restaurant the other night I saw at a table just a bit away a man I once knew years ago. And when I say knew I mean that we were, for a few weeks, on set together and our interactions were always brief but always enjoyable. We never divulged personal information or had…

I have been swooning, swooning, over my new bike – the Electra Amsterdam (which I just reviewed for Pet the Pretty Things). So much so that I keep it inside the flat, against a wall like a piece of art.I\’ve written in previous posts about how I don\’t have a car nor do I go…

Being frugal allows me to live very well. I\’ve spoken to this topic before but it seems to continuously confuse; frugality is often seen with being cheap or poor. But I believe in spending money when you need to and saving it when you need to – it\’s not just buying $700 shoes because you…

The photo\’s above are of my parents; in the left photo, my mother is the woman on the right and on the right photo we have my father. What is interesting to me, is that these photo\’s are taken about 10 years apart – my mum in the 1960\’s and my father in the 1950\’s.…

For most of my life I have lived in walkable cities and avoided owning a car until just a few years ago (and even then used it very, very rarely). There is something to be said for walking cities; a sense of community is somehow (and often unknowingly) created.Having spent the past couple of days…

Growing up, my birthday was a non-event until I was about 9. Then my father began taking me into the big city by deluxe coach bus for a day (which often meant I was able to skip school!). We\’d walk the city, looking at the sights, learning the history of this building and that and…

The french see cultivating happiness not through luck as the English to, but by cultivating it daily. Learn more about \’bonhuer\’ or the french \’good time\’.

Frugality (also known as thrift or thriftiness), often confused with cheapness or miserliness, is a traditional value, life style, or belief system, in which individuals practice both restraint in the acquiring of and resourceful use of economic goods and services in order to achieve lasting and more fulfilling goals. In a money-based economy, frugality emphasizes…

During the holidays, I normally don’t give or receive gifts. The reason isn\’t because I’m all bahumbug but because, for me, there’s something very awkward about feeling the pressure to give or receive something just because it’s December and it’s something we’re supposed to do. I don’t like feeling forced to participate in that and…

Growing up, my mum and I were at odds a lot. The older I get the more I understand why – we are so very, very similar. Quirky, independent, dreaming girls with birthdays just two days apart, we often clashed on everything, especially if we weren\’t personally happy which tended to be the case with…

Several years ago I was offered a great writing gig for a major American magazine. After some serious thought, I ended up turning it and canceling all my subscriptions to American magazines. The reason? I felt that most of the magazines were nothing more than ads (and not just in the advertisements) and \”self help\”…