New book out today - romanticize your autumn

 

 

Hello my lovely readers,

I am so happy to share my latest book with you, called The Autumn Reset.

Even though it’s not autumn here in New Zealand – we are waking up to spring and all her beauty, I could live in autumn year-round, it’s just such a wonderful time.

And our northern hemisphere friends are lucky enough to be entering fall and all the fun that the season brings.

In The Autumn Reset you will find:

🧡 Ways in which to make the most of your autumn season

🧡 How to still be involved with all the fun even you’re in spring like me (or maybe don’t even have autumn in the climate you live)

🧡 Ideas to curate your ideal fall wardrobe whether you’re on a budget or not

🧡 How to pamper yourself and luxuriate as you get ready every day

🧡 Cozy ways to subtly make your home whisper ‘autumn’ to you

🧡 How afternoon tea can be a beautiful tradition to include in your fall plans

🧡 A gentle framework to achieve one or more ‘soft goals’ this season

🧡 How to edit your life and ‘let go like the leaves’

🧡 How to live slower and feel more sensual

🧡 How to fall into your own secret season and romanticize the ordinary

🧡 How to plan for productivity in a light, stress-free way

🧡 A fun way to map out your autumn with intention

🧡 How to become iconic in your own way, and become ‘the autumn woman’

Overall, how to live beautifully this season, within your own sensibilities, and with the time and money you have. And, with the responsibilities you have too!

 

Pick it up here on Amazon (Kindle or paperback)

 

If you are in the swing of fall, I think you will find a lot of joy and inspiration in this book, and if you’re like me, heading into spring, perhaps you’ll make a few plans for your fall season. Or maybe even apply the chapters to spring!

As always, thank you SO much for supporting this Kiwi author by reading and reviewing my books. I appreciate it more than you could know.

And don’t forget, you can recommend this and any of my other books to your local library for purchase. Most are open to self-published authors, which hasn’t always been the case. Maybe there are too many of us to ignore now 😊 And we’re too good! Haha!

 

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My sister took these cute seasonal pics on her recent trip to NYC. I love all the fall goodness on display 🧡🧡🧡

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And finally, I have to share a moment from the other night. We were rewatching the 1983 movie Trading Places (It was soooo funny 😁), and I also had the discomfort of being stared at by Nina cat 😹

 

How cute is she peering from behind the stool-masquerading-as-a-side-table 😻 (sitting up on my footstool).

Our pizza and red wine movie dinner was delicious - we buy the bases (gluten-free for me) and make our own. I had salami, blue cheese and capsicum 🫑

I always have half and then the other half for lunch the next day. I cut it and put half in the fridge before I sit down otherwise I keep on nibbling and regret it 🤭

Pizza is such a nice treat dinner, and red wine always pairs well with it 🍷

I love pizza and movie night, and Nina says hi!

 

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I am celebrating the release of The Autumn Reset today with a little spritz on each wrist of Pumpkin Pecan Waffles (yum, from Bath and Body Works), even while I’m planning to plant my herb plants and spring vegetables later on today. I love being a global-season-citizen!

Happy reading to you and thanks again, I hope you enjoy my new book!

xx Fiona

 

PS. For links other than Amazon, check out fionaferris.com

 

[My Amazon links are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase using these links. It’s no extra cost to you, so I really appreciate it if you choose to use my links for any Amazon purchases you might be making!]

 

It's my birthday week!

 

Hello chic friends, it's been a week of celebration here.

 

Happy birthday to us! Paul and I celebrate our birthday on the same day 😊 Just tooting our own horn 🎉

My mum took a photo of us at her place when we popped in on our way out for lunch earlier in the week. It was a beautiful day too!

We both really enjoyed our lunch and then headed home to relax outside in the sun.

Since we'd dined well earlier in the day we had a light seafood dinner - fresh oysters, and salmon and tuna sashimi. A special treat that is healthy, elegant and delicious 😊

A very happy birthday to all the October babies and Libra ladies reading! 

~~

Carrying on the birthday celebrations - and relaxation - with a new (library ☺️) book by one of my favourite authors, and a glass of Prosecco 🥂 (See it on Amazon here).

Life is good, and I’m excited to see what my 54th year brings me!

~~

 And now it's time for this week’s reader question from my newest book ‘Financially Chic Vol. 2’ 😊

 

 

"There are so many good causes that I would like to help financially, but like everyone else I have to choose where to send my limited funds. Do you have any thoughts you can share on how you make those choices? I would love to hear your ideas.”

None of us have unlimited funds in which to help the causes we’d like to, but we can help in our own small way.

There are two ways to go about this: you can either choose your main charity, and make a payment, each month or whatever suits your schedule. Or you can make smaller payments to a number of charities. Even $5 a month can be helpful.

And, re-evaluate once a year and make sure these are still the charities you wish to support. Or maybe you might change once a year regardless just because that’s the decision you made at the beginning.

Another way to help is with time. When we still lived in Auckland, I volunteered at the main SPCA once a month on a Sunday, for about four years.

And I’m sure there would be jobs you could do at home, if you were good with computers etc. There are always jobs to be done at charities, and never enough people to do them.

I also used to deliver my donations to a cat shelter instead of a thrift store, because they’d have regular yard sales to raise money. This was the shelter where my two cats Jessica and Nina came from.

Chloe :)

 

Chloe, in the photo above, who jumps in between the pillows on our bed and then flips them all over… came from the local SPCA here in Napier, along with her ‘sister’ Daphne. Adopting them is also a form of charity because you are freeing up a cage to help the next pet, and paying the adoption fee too.

And of course you can choose to donate or buy from the thrift stores which are aligned with your preferred charities. I always take my donations to an SPCA or bird sanctuary thrift store. It’s just another little way to help, and as you can see, it doesn’t always have to be about how much money you can donate.

~~

Little Ninacat with her twisty mouth and almost crossed eyes 😂🥰

Yes Nina is still in her collar! She ended up having to have surgery on her climbing injury and is now almost, almost fully healed.

I've taken the collar off her a few times and she starts licking the surgery area (under her arm) straight away, getting at it with her raspy tongue, so back on the collar goes.

I keep saying 'maybe by the end of September, maybe by the end of October, she can get it off'. Maybe by Christmas?

The great thing is, the collar doesn't bother her in the least, not like the sweatshirt I bought her. That was 100% a fail!

So Nina will keep on rocking her collar, and also help 'press' my mum's new navy trousers that I'm hemming for her... Yeah that's not a great combo, dark fabric and cat fur. What did we do before sticky rollers!!

 

~~

 

The other night we had the most magical moon, illuminating the sky and a few clouds. It truly was spectacular.

 

Then, when I turned in the other direction, I saw a bright star and found out it was Venus with my SkyView Lite app. Venus in Libra too. So nice to have for a Libra girl's birthday sky!

We have a four-day long weekend here in Hawke's Bay, how lucky is that? Our local show is on too.

My late dad used to tell me that the day after I was born he went to the show while mum was in hospital and said he walked around with a big smile on his face thinking about his new baby daughter :)

I hope you have a lovely weekend too whether it's long, normal, or something in between!

xx Fiona

PS. If you have Spotify Premium, you can listen to my newest book 'Financially Chic Vol. 2' for free now! Check to see if this is available in your country by going here to Spotify.

You can also purchase an MP3 copy from my eStore here.

Audible is coming soon, it always takes a little longer!

I hope you enjoy listening to this book, I especially enjoyed recording it 😊

 

How to read my books for free, and a Ninacat update

 

Dear chic friends,

 

Little Miss Nina is back with an update for you!

You may recall her hoodie photos a month or so ago. Sweet Nina had an injury under her arm that she wouldn’t let heal, so I bought her a sweatshirt to cover it up. The goal was to stop the licking.

She hated the sweatshirt with a vengeance though, and once she worked out how to get it off (easy! just stretch out the neckline and come out the front 🐱) I resorted back to her pretty collar.

I don’t know why I didn’t just keep the collar on the whole time, but c’est la vie, I know now.

 

From her 100% hatred of the hoodie, she is 0% bothered by the collar. In fact, I don’t even think she notices it anymore. It’s a wonderful invention by Cool Collars. And I brush her most days to keep up the grooming in areas she can’t reach 😊

Her injury is doing well too, and she won’t need surgery thank goodness. It would be a lot for a tiny 3kg (6.6 lbs) 14-year-old cat to go through.

So it’s happy days for Nina. I think she’ll need about another month in her collar. Maybe she can be out of it for spring here in the southern hemisphere 😊

 

Her collar always makes me giggle. One afternoon it was sunny and she came around the corner of the house outside, and with the sun on her which made her black fur shine brown-black, and the golden tones of the ruff I, for a split second, thought, what is a bantam rooster doing outside our house? 😂😂😂

 

 

And in the photo above, she is set up on one of our dining chairs in my office. She is the Princess and the Pea on a quadruple folded luxury fleece blanket ON TOP of a sheepskin. I designed this ‘throne’ for her because she was always stealing my office chair...

Nina is living the dream 🥰 She sends kisses to your pussy cat(s) too.

 

~~

 

 

 

How gorgeous is this photo from Shelley in Ohio, USA? As you may know, I have been inviting readers to send in their photos depicting the feeling of a soft, calm life, to celebrate the release of my newest book '100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life'.

Shelley says:

"My husband and I are spending about 6 months camping in our RV. Our campground sits beside an old limestone quarry that is now a spring-fed lake and a wonderful place to swim. So wonderful. I love your books and have them all. Please keep up with your writing!"

Thank you Shelley! And how wonderful to be enjoying your beautiful countryside in an RV for six months. What a wonderful vacation. It sounds like a dream!

~~

Something I have noticed as a common theme in the photos readers have been so generously sending in for me to share, is that they all incorporate outdoor nature, and if inside, with an aspect of nature touches (fruit, flowers etc). Isn’t that interesting?

As exciting as fancy things are (I love a new perfume or buying a new outfit, and going shopping when overseas on holiday), nothing compares to the majesty of nature and how she makes us feel. It’s something that is deeply ingrained in us as a human.

~~

 

I also want to share reader Kim’s home-grown sweet peas with you. They are so pretty!

Kim lives in Monterey, California, in the United States, and she said:

“I read your 100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life book while flying to London from California. It really caused me to pause and re-evaluate the pace of my life and how I want to move towards enjoying the simpler things to give me more inner peace and happiness.

This year I tried growing sweet peas because I love their fragrance and sweet blossoms. They are such a beautiful and simple flower that only last a short time so you have to enjoy them while you can. Although my plants have bright and bold purple and red blossoms I thought the light pink and white flowers felt tranquil and calm. I love just a few cuttings in my kitchen window to remind me to slow down and enjoy the simple beauty around me.

Thanks for all your inspirations.”

Thank YOU Kim, and I will try this spring (coming up soon in New Zealand!) to grow sweet peas again.

~~

I have chosen today’s excerpt ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’ (still a number one best seller after six weeks!) to go with Kim’s lovely image and words. It’s tip no. 65:

:: Create a menu of options ::

“Imagine having a big list of self-identified simple pleasures to choose from each day.

You could have an activities list where you write down everything that makes you feel good, such as going for a walk outside for twenty minutes, having a coffee in a café, washing and blow-drying your hair, getting a manicure or pedicure (at home or out), or reading a book.

Note down everything you enjoy and keep this list handy to inspire pockets of rest and recuperation.

Try for one-hundred, and title the list (with your own name!) ‘Fiona’s 100 Simple Pleasures’. What a fun project this would be to build.

Imagine settling in for a journal session to find your one-hundred, and then the fun of ‘shopping’ from it!”

Of course, growing and picking sweet peas will be on my Simple Pleasures list 😊

~~

:: How to read my books for free ::

 

You might not know this already, but there are a number of ways in which you can read my books for ‘F R E E’. Yes really!

Let’s go through all the options, shall we?

~~ Read my newest book on Kindle Unlimited ~~

If you have a Kindle Unlimited membership, you can read my latest release, ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’ for free.

If you aren’t a member, you can request a free trial of Kindle Unlimited and get reading straight away.

 

~~ Order my audiobooks and paperbacks at your local library ~~

Through Libby or the library app you use, you can request your library to order in my audiobooks, and if you would like your local library to stock my paperbacks, you can make a ‘request to purchase’ on their website, or go in and speak with a librarian.

I love it when readers have told me they do this because it means more lovely ladies can find out about my books!

~~ Listen to all my audiobooks on Spotify ~~

If you have a Spotify Premium subscription, all of my audiobooks are included as part of this. In Premium you get 15 hours a month to listen to whatever you like.

My shorter books are a couple of hours long, and the longer ones up to six hours, so you can listen to a lot of books each month at no extra cost.

Listen to my audiobooks on Spotify here.

~~ Free trial of Audible ~~

Try a free trial of Audible here and download one of my books for free, to keep forever. (Or it’s available for ‘1 credit’ if you already have an Audible subscription).

Phew! I hope this has been helpful and that you get a chance to try at least one of these ways to read or listen to my books for ‘free’!

Wishing you a wonderful rest of your weekend.

xx Fiona

PS. You can read the sample of ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’ here on Amazon. It's available on Kindle in paperback, and as an audiobook.

(My Amazon links are affiliate but the price doesn’t change for you, thank you if you choose to use my links!)

Winery lunches and a new cat

 

 

Hello chic friends!

 

We had a lovely mid-winter Christmas lunch at Craggy Range Winery last weekend. Paul, me, and my mum :)

As always, it was done so well - the food, the ambience, the staff... and I got a nice surprise when a reader came over to say hi. So glad you did, Sam! She is a local lady too.

Going out for a nice lunch is one of my favourite 'meals out', I much prefer it to dinner. Especially in the winter.

 

 

The stunning view of Te Mata Peak from Craggy Range Winery

 

I brought my Lady Dior handbag for a rare outing too. Can I tell you about her? In the early 2000s when I worked in the office for Parfums Christian Dior, we were invited (not often, twice in five years, it was a coveted thing), to the Dior Boutique's friends and family sale.

My Lady Dior bag is one of the items I was able to purchase at a steep discount. From memory I may have paid $350 for it, which at the time was still triple what I'd ever paid for a handbag.

It's such a classic piece that I'm glad I splurged. I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's polished black leather and printed pony which I think you'll agree is a perfect match for my blouse 😂

I still have the clip-on shoulder strap, and have seen fancy people like the uber-elegant Susi Rejano wearing her Lady Dior as a crossbody so maybe I'll try that too.

Do you have something like my bag that you bought at the time and enjoyed, but realise now you are SO GLAD you did, even more? A really special piece that brings back good memories of a fun time, and to make new memories with as well?

Describe away!

 

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We are nearing the end of our reader series of photos to celebrate the release of my newest book ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’. I have so enjoyed receiving and sharing these photos that you have so thoughtfully sent in to me, so thank you!

I have had good feedback that other lovely ladies are enjoying our little trip around the world too 😊 Yay!

Suzanne, in North Carolina sent me this fairytale looking picture above, and I’ll let her explain where she is:

“I absolutely love your books and writing style. I recently finished your book on living a soft life and enjoyed it so very much. I wanted to share a picture relating to living a soft life.

I was having lunch at a beautiful winery with my husband here in No Carolina, USA, and your book helped me to enjoy the experience even more. Thank you so much. Please don’t ever stop writing!”

Thank you Suzanne! What a lovely message to receive, and your lunch outlook is positively dreamy 😍

~~

For today’s book excerpt, I thought I’d share tip no. 82.

:: Connect with others in a way that suits you ::

“I am happiest when by myself, and often at home, but that doesn’t preclude me from enjoying seeing others.

Over the years I’ve realized that I enjoy certain social experiences more than others. I prefer going out for lunch rather than in the evening, and having people around for dinner at home instead of a restaurant.

I also love hosting ladies afternoon tea.

A friend and I used to meet to watch a movie at the theatre on a Saturday afternoon and it was such an enjoyable visit. We’d have coffee afterwards and discuss the movie as well as catch up on our lives.

Decide for yourself how you most enjoy seeing others, and plan for something soon.”

~~

A new cat in the family!

 

My mum lost her 17 year old doggie to old age in May, and recently she gave a home to a rescue cat ('last year's kitten') who was looking for a forever home on Facebook.

 

Her name is Minnie, and she is shy of visitors but loves playing with her toys when home with just mum. I brought her a cat-warming gift of a low-sided basket with some thrift store hand knitted toys and a packet of a dozen table tennis balls (which are distributed throughout the house daily).

 

How funny is she sitting up in the sun on a dining chair? She knows how to find the sun, like all cats do.

Minnie says 'hello' to you, and she's happy to be in her new home 🐱
 

Wishing you a wonderful rest of our weekend and a fab new week to come :)

 

xx Fiona

 

PS. You can read the sample of ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’ here on Amazon. It's available on Kindle and in paperback, and the audiobook will be out any day now 😊

 
(My Amazon links are affiliate but the price doesn’t change for you, thank you if you choose to use my links!)

A soft, calm life + Nina cat in her new hoodie ❤️

 

Hello chic friends!

I'm keeping warm in the winter in my super-soft merino top.

I always bought merino to be cozy in the winter but the scratchiness drove me nuts. I looked for any excuse not to wear my winter tops and when I did I regretted it.

I was resigned to NOT wearing wool and finding something else to wear in the winter. Then I found 'supersoft merino' and it is a revelation. I'm so happy that I bought six of the same top in different colours lol.

Today's excerpt - tip no. 18 - from my newest book "100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life" is for you if you feel the same way about fabric on your skin 😊

:: Surround yourself with cozy textures ::

"Even if it’s not cold outside it’s still nice to drape a light throw over your legs while reading. Choose the softest cotton when you are buying tee-shirts. Pad around in bare feet on soft carpet or wear fuzzy socks if you have hardwood floors. Wear fine cotton palazzo pants or satin pyjama sets as lounge wear.

Let everything that touches your skin feel good.

In the past few years I have discovered pure linen sheets. Oh my gosh, they are lovely! I have built up our collection and almost have two complete sets – the final piece is another top sheet. They aren’t cheap so I wait for special offers, and I know they will last us a while too."


(In case you're interested and are in New Zealand, my supersoft jersey is here.)

(And my linen sheets are these ones: flat plus fitted)
 

~~

 

My sweet little Nina cat needed further treatment on the injury under her arm. It almost heals and then she licks it again. I put her collar back on but then her vet suggested a tee shirt, as she still could scratch the area even with a collar on.

 

Being winter here a pet tee shirt is hard to come by so Nina now wears a sweatshirt! She has two weeks of antibiotics to try and avoid surgery.

Amazingly enough the sweatshirt stays on her, but when she first wore it she wouldn’t walk forwards, only backwards and in circles!! I feel mean but it really made me giggle. It’s all for her own good and it’s just strange for her, not painful in any way.

Doesn’t she look soooo cute, and perhaps a little bit street? 🤭

 

My darling Nina, almost 14 soon! She is so youthful though 🥰

 

~~

Do you remember last week I said I would do a little series of photos, inviting readers to send their pictures of anything that depicts living a soft, calm life to them? Well Rachel in the UK sent this lovely image of a pretty mews house near her to play along. Thank you Rachel! It’s delightful 😊

I love walking around nice areas taking in the sights too.

 

In keeping with this theme, allow me to share tip no. 26 from ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’, in the bonus chapter ‘50 Ways to Romanticize Your Everyday’ 😊

:: Notice the beauty around you ::

“This is what romanticizing your life is, at it’s simplest.

So what can you see right now? Do you have a view outside? Even if it’s just buildings, you can notice the sky, a far-away tree perhaps, or even birds flying past.

If you are at work and can’t see a lot to admire, perhaps your handcream tube is beautiful.

Train your mind to search for beauty and you will find it.”

~~

🍎🍎 Wintry view across the apple orchard 🍎🍎

I have a bit of a strange thing to let you know about today. It actually feels a bit yuck and I have a horrible feeling in my tummy, but I have had readers reach out to me and I wanted to warn you.

Apparently there are some books recently published that look JUST LIKE mine, with very similar titles, cover art, design and fonts etc, but they are NOT BY ME (it's a different author's name).

I even did a double take myself when I saw the covers I was sent – it was like looking in the book mirror (if there was such a thing 🤣)!

So I just wanted to let you know to check the author name before you press the ‘Buy now with 1-Click’ button.

I find it so strange that someone would want to have their work look so much like mine, but I guess I should take it as a compliment.

I shall try and shake this unsettling feeling off and carry on doing what I do, dreaming up new ideas and writing more books. And recording them as audiobooks too!

~~

 

And finally, the last of this week's 'soft calm life' photos brought to you by Sharon, from Norfolk in the United Kingdom.

 

Sharon said:

“Here are a few photos from my summer in the UK so far. It’s a life that you have helped me create. Your books are an inspiration.”

 

I am so honoured, Sharon. Thank you. I had tears in my eyes when I read this email!

 

I hope you enjoy these lovely summery English photos from Sharon. It’s especially welcome here on a chilly winter’s day in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand with icy winds straight from the South Pole. Brrr!

 

Thank you for joining me for this week's newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks to Rachel and Sharon for sending in their 'soft, calm life' photos this week 😊

Wishing you a wonderful Saturday/Sunday wherever you are.

Big hugs,

xx Fiona

PS. If you haven’t already read ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’, it is available here on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. Audiobook coming soon!

Mothers Day, and a Chic Success tip

 

Hello chic friends!

 

Last Sunday we had ladies afternoon tea at my Mum’s for Mother’s Day :)

It was a lovely afternoon with Prosecco, coffee, and afternoon tea treats.

 
I made the Edmonds chocolate cake again but instead of the icing being too stiff I made it too runny 🤭 Maybe the third one will be just right!

~~

With love from Miss Nina enjoying the crisp Autumn sunshine here in Hawke’s Bay

 

This is my darling 'kitten' Nina (now 14 years old, according to the estimated date of birth on her adoption records).

She healed well from her climbing injury a few months back (a little gash under her arm) and is her old self again - racing around, catching mice outside (and bringing them in 😮), plus scaring the dogs. She is the Queen Bee and the boss!

She is so tiny, and quite self-contained and independent too. Although she always sneaks up onto our bed at night after the dogs have gone to sleep in their beds.

Her current favourite food is Fancy Feast Petite Delights. Any other brand is left uneaten... She also doesn't mind a few slivers of fresh fish when we have it for dinner each week.

We adopted her in Auckland when we lived there, from a cat shelter along with her mother Jessica. (Jessica crossed Rainbow Bridge about 18 months ago, rest in peace my sweet princess.)

Nina was so stressed when we moved here since she'd only lived in the one house with us, but she's good now that we've been here seven years and loves her life in the country.

 

She really is a sweet girl, very gentle and friendly, and prefers affection on her own terms. She is a self-patter, meaning she likes to be in charge of the patting and not feel too smothered. You hold your hand out and she will deign to rub herself against you!

I regularly find her on my writing desk sitting under the lamp which has a halogen bulb so it’s warm, and if I get up she always steals my seat.

She's a funny wee thing and we love her 🥰 If you have a cat, Nina sends love and wishes your way, and even if you don't she'll share a purr. She’s generous like that!

~~

 

Inspiration for today 😊

I thought I'd share a little excerpt from my latest book "100 Ways to be a Chic Success and Create Your Dream Life".

This one is tip no. 43.

"Become the CEO of your life.

Imagine if your life was an organisation – mine would be The Fiona Company. And within, you would have many different departments: the health department, the finance department, the home department, the love department, the career or job department. How fun does that sound! And you’re in charge of everything!

As the CEO, you would want to oversee all these various components of your company and ensure they are running smoothly. Because if any of the departments are not going well it’s not good for business.

Just simple things like looking at the finance department and making sure it’s not spending more money than is coming in. Or the health department that enough fresh fruit and vegetables are being delivered to that floor, and are being used up!

It’s a little bit silly, but I often find that looking at things from a different angle can give us insights or Ahas that can help us a lot."

I love thinking about things using this tip, it really does give me a different angle to be inspired by if I'm feeling blah.

Think about your company - it's so fun to name it - and what departments you want to focus on at the moment.

Today I am going to tidy my writing desk and clear away all the financial admin (receipts and paperwork laying around etc), so I guess that would be the Finance Department.

I also want to do some writing on my next book (which is 2/3 finished!), so that would be the Career Department.

Even just dreaming up all the different departments of your company would be an inspiring journal prompt! Make them fun names too. Perhaps your Finance Department could be the Wealth Department, and your Health Department could be the Beauty and Vibrancy Department.

Please let me know the name of your company, and which departments you will be working in today!

~~

And if you are wondering what other ladies think of this book... (thank you to my readers who leave reviews for me on Amazon, it really makes my day, my week!)

~~

Another day, another dog walk! We like to go for multiple short walks a day instead of one long one.

I sometimes put leashes on to walk away from home, then let them off to run back. Otherwise it is a slow walk 😂 I tend to keep fluffy white Micky dog on his leash because he has zero road sense, and even though we don't get much traffic, we do get some. It could be a dogsaster for all concerned 😬

But Daphne and Chloe are very good at staying on the side of the road and I can trust them off-leash. Sometimes we walk in the paddock, but it's mostly just up and down the road. There is a slope so it's good for the heart rate!

I heard a great quote once that said to 'walk your dog every day, even if you don't have one', and it's true, walking a dog is a great excuse to get outside and absorb some Vitamin D, no matter the weather. And if you don't have a dog, still do it anyway 😂

Walking outside is such a happy pleasure of mine. When we lived in the city I used to walk around our neighbourhood listening to inspiring audios on my headphones, and I loved to go window-shopping downtown too. It was an exercise walk and a lovely look around all at the same time 😊

Are you a happy walker like I am? Where are your favourite places to walk?

~~

Nature's beauty from our front lawn ✨

I hope you're having a lovely week as it draws to a close - the working week that is anyway. I've been so productive! Working on my next book, finishing up my next audiobook (Thirty More Chic Days), and still not managing to tidy my desk 🙈 Maybe tomorrow!

What are you proud of yourself for doing this week? I'm most proud that I've been writing my new book. I was letting my writing be further down the priority queue than it deserved to be. Once I'd done other things, often there wasn't time for writing, so it missed out for another day.

I started doing it first thing, before anything else, and it worked! Those productivity experts know what they are talking about 🤣

I'm off to take Micky dog for a long walk now, and then it's back to my beloved writing. Daphne and Chloe don't like long walks, it's a battle to get them going! So Micky and I, and a podcast, are taking a long walk today (by long, I mean 40-45 minutes, so maybe not long by others standards!) It's a beautiful morning, so peaceful, and mild too.

Happy weekend to you and I look forward to seeing you next week!

 

xx Fiona

 

PS. Please share this with a friend who might like the same things you do, I'd appreciate it! They can join my mailing list here if they would like to receive a cheery email once a week :)