lifestyle – Page 3 – Keeping it creative

Blogging, lifestyle, reflective journalling

Currently… Life update October 2024

Posted on Oct 10, 2024 by Laura

The last time I did a life update was in the summertime of this year so I figured that, as we’re now well into the autumn season, it’s time to write a new one. Before starting, I’ve made some brief notes on what I’m up to right now and how I’m feeling at the moment.

Currently reading…

About once a week, I check out the Kindle charts to peruse the popular books and select a few to download. I also regularly visit Waterstones to see what’s new. This month, I’ve decided to try a few different authors and I’m currently reading a novel by Simon McCleave called The Snowdonia Killings which is a crime thriller set in North Wales. I found it a little difficult to get into at first but I’m now enjoying it more. The only other book I’m dipping into at the moment is The Happiness Year, where I’m selecting Autumnal exercises to try.

Currently watching…

There’s so many good television series on in the autumn and I made a list of all of the ones I want to check out. At the moment were watching:

Joan – a crime drama inspired by the true story of a woman who becomes a jewellery thief in a bid to provide for her young daughter who is currently under the care of social services
Ludwig – a crime / comedy drama starring reclusive puzzle lover David Mitchell who poses as his twin brother, a police detective, to try to find out why he has disappeared and ends up solving a number of crimes along the way
The Voice Season 13 – the popular British singing competition where individuals (and the occasional group or duet) take to the stage to perform in the hope of get at least one chair turn and the chance to work with the support of a celebrity coach

Currently eating…

Since the beginning of autumn, we’ve been enjoyed cooking together and trying out a range of online recipes for vegetarian soups and stews. Over the next few weeks, I’m hoping to type out the recipes with any modifications we’ve made, to add to our little recipe folder that I keep in the kitchen.

Currently drinking…

As the weather gets colder, I’m starting to crave hot chocolate and I’ve discovered that it tastes much better made with oat milk rather than the soya milk I used last year. However, cartons of oat milk are much more pricey so I’m trying to only have it as an occasional treat.

Currently feeling…

I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment as I have a painful sprained wrist after falling over on the beach and it’s taking ages to heal. Also, I’ve been unable to hear through my left ear for two months due to impacted wax and I’ve been trying various remedies to no avail. I’ve finally seen a doctor about it and will be getting it syringed at the surgery later in the month. I’m grateful that they’ve started to offer this treatment again though!

Currently crafting…

I’ve bought a couple of mini cross stitch kits from Mouseloft to do this autumn. I’m currently working on a cute little squirrel called Cyril who is holding up a prized acorn. The other kit, which is also from the ‘In The Woods’ collection, features a mouse peering around a tiny toadstool. These kits are super quick to do and intend to custom frames for them so I can add them to my seasonal decor next month and for years to come.

Image credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative

Currently working on…

I started adding some new products to my Etsy Shop last month and I hope to continue with this during October. Some of the charms are winter and Christmas related, whilst others will be available all year round. It takes me a while to take all of the photos with my DSLR and, as it keeps raining, the lighting isn’t too good!

Currently enjoying…

As the dark nights draw in, there’s plenty of time for indoor hobbies and one which I’m particularly enjoying right now is doing 1000 piece jigsaws. At the moment, I’m doing a Gibson’s one called curious creatures and it has four panels going across – minibeasts, land mammals, birds and aquatic life. After I’ve finished doing my jigsaws, I pass them on to my mum and dad to do. They then donate them to a charity shop for someone else to enjoy. During days out, they scour various charity shops for jigsaws to do. They then save them for me so we’ve always got a good stash to keep us busy.

As well as being fun, doing jigsaws is an excellent way to challenge and exercise the brain.

Final words…

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my mini life update and it’s made you think about all of the things that you have going on at the moment. I’d love to hear about your current favourite hobbies and if you tend to enjoy different activities depending on the particular season.

bullet journal, Bullet journaling, creativity, Cricut, goal setting, lifestyle, personal growth, Planning and journaling

My Autumn 2024 Bucket List BuJo spread

Posted on Aug 29, 2024Aug 27, 2025 by Laura

Although I’ve finished doing my four traveler’s notebook journals where I documented each season of the year including my bucket list items, I decided to continue making a seasonal bucket list and adding it to a double page spread in my bullet journal as I really enjoy making them. Today I’m sharing my Autumn 2024 list in which I’ve included some seasonal activity favourites and new things to try. I hope my bucket list inspires you to create your own, whether by simple writing them down in your journal or getting creative and adding hand drawn pictures or making stickers like mine which complement the items.

Before I created my Autumn 2024 bucket list, I revisited my autumn 2023 list so I could be sure I wasn’t just repeating last year’s items. I then spent time writing down all the things I love about the season such as seeing the beautiful colours on the trees, spotting autumn visitors at my local nature reserve, making my home warm and cosy and putting out seasonal decor, trying out new comfort food recipes and warm desserts and so on. I also added new activities I would like to try such as making caramel covered apples on sticks and planning out my TV viewing for the next three months so we can have plenty of series to look forward to as we cosy up each evening.

Having made plenty of notes, I turned lots of them into bucket list items on a scrap piece of paper before making stickers for each of them in Cricut. I also used Canva Pro and downloaded images to go with each. For a few of them, I also downloaded mini pictures either using Canva photos or via Google and turned these into little stickers too. Finally, I used Cricut Design Space and Canva to download watercolour leaves to add further decor in the spaces on the spread.

My finished bucket list BuJo spread

Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative

Final words…

I’m really pleased with how my pages turned out and I hope you like them too. I won’t be creating TN journals to record my progress but I might stick a few photos in my BuJo weeklies to evidence the items as I tick them off. I hope today’s post has encouraged you to give making a seasonal bucket list a go and I would love to see your creation if you would like to share yours to your own blog or email me at laura.j.jones77@gmail.com

goal setting, life hacks, lifestyle, personal development, personal growth, Setting goals and intentions

Monday Matters: How I’m preparing for the Autumn season this year (2024 edition)

Posted on Aug 26, 2024Aug 25, 2024 by Laura

Over the past week, the weather in Sunderland has cooled down and it’s been quite breezy with a few warmish rain showers. It feels like the end of summer is fast approaching and that we’re quickly heading into the autumn time. My husband reckons there are still some bright and sunny days to come and I shouldn’t pack away my shorts, vest tops and cropped trousers just yet but, although I love a nice bit of sunshine, I certainly won’t miss applying greasy sunscreen to my exposed skin before spending time outdoors and feeling hot and sweaty in bed at night despite only having a thin cotton sheet as a covering. In fact, I’m looking forward to autumn this year and will be planning lots of lovely activities for the season. Today, I thought I’d share how I’m getting ready for autumn 2024 with the intention of giving you some simple ways to prepare for what’s to come and hopefully helping you to look forward to the coming months too.

Home decor

A few months ago, I was looking at the autumnal home decor in Next and saw some really cute pieces. I was very tempted to make a purchase of yet another pumpkin but I resisted as I already have over ten in my collection. However, when I got home, I decided to look at everything on their website, as often, many of the products are not available in store. With 205 items including bedding, kitchenware and tableware, vases, fragrances, lighting, pictures and more, I found it difficult to restrict myself to just one item but I was very restrained and, for click and collect, ordered a sweet little three-dimensional autumn picture with battery operated tiny light up sections.

Cute little light up 3D Hello Autumn sign

Other ways I’ll be getting my home ready in terms of decor include:

putting away a couple of my current mugs and replacing them with my oversized autumn leaves design one (from TKMaxx)
adding our autumn wreath to our front door (I got ours from Lights4Fun)
getting out my various pumpkins to display – I have different sizes and different textures including some ceramic ones, some plush ones in velvet (including a fantastic orange doorstop with sequins on along the grooves) and a lovely handmade crocheted one which I got last year
bring my throws and blankets out of storage to place on the arms our settee and the chair in our living room
airing our thicker quilt to put on the bed as the nights get cooler
choosing a few new candles to scent our home to go with the ‘baked apple pie’ one I purchased late last year (unfortunately, Aggie, our hamster doesn’t react well to stronger smells so I’m having to place them well away from her cage in the hallway)
collecting and using pine cones, dried leaves, stems and branches to create natural centrepieces and arrangements
making my own autumn inspired decor using my collection of watercolours (for this, I will experiment with mixing different earthy and autumnal colours in my palette such as browns, yellows, oranges and deep reds)

Planning some fun activities for the season

Over the past year, starting in autumn 2023, I’ve been creating a seasonal bucket list and then working on a journal to record my experiences. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed creating these but making and finishing the journals has been time consuming and involved quite a lot of expense – I must have gotten through over 50 roller tape glues over the course of the year. So, now that project is almost over, I’ve decided to continue making a bucket list for each season but only record a few of our favourite and completely new experiences in journal pages. I’m yet to create my Autumn 2024 bucket list but here’s last years in case you haven’t seen it already.

Wardrobe changes

Although I have my shorts and crops out at the moment, as the season gets going, I’ll be laundering and putting them all away and getting all of my thin and more cosy knits out. I picked out a few new jumpers and cardigans last year and have already bought a gorgeous pale khaki green batwing jumper with metallic fibres from Love & Roses at Next so I’m pretty much set for the season already!

We’ll also be washing and vacuum packing our thinner summer weight duvet in favour of a higher tog but we won’t put the thickest one on until the really cold nights! And finally, my sandals will be heading into the loft and my walking shoes and ankle boots will be taking their place. I keep my trainers out for my gym sessions but rarely wear them out and about unless I know I’m only going to be walking on solid, open paths where they won’t get soggy or muddy.

Recipes and drinks

As I write this section, I’m enjoying an icy cold J2O Summer Shine to help me hydrate after an intense Clubbercise class. However, in the autumn time, I will crave warming coffees, creamy hot chocolates and tasty mochas. I’m also hoping that I will still be enjoying my new, very low calorie option, mint tea, which I believe only has about 2 calories per cup. I’ve long wished to develop a liking for herbal teas (to ensure I don’t drink too much coffee in the colder months) but it has taken me a long time to find something I can tolerate let alone grow to love!

As well as transitioning mainly to hot drinks, my husband and I will also be swapping light salads for heavier and warming soups, stews, pasta and risottos. Before the autumn season arrives, I like to pick out some online recipes to try using my favourite ingredients. I also like to fill our store cupboard with wholegrain rice and pasta, packets of other healthy grains such as quinoa, freekeh, bulgur wheat and oats, plus tins of pulses such as chickpeas, kidney beans, butterbeans, black beans and lentils. We also tend not to have ice cream when the temperatures drop, opting for warming desserts with lashings of custard such as treacle tart or syrup sponge. I’m also planning on having a go at making a pineapple upside down cake (complete with cherries in each pineapple ring) this year as I remember enjoying the ones my mum used to make when I was a kid. I just need to add it to my bucket list so I don’t forget!

Pumpkin everything?

Personally, I love cooking with the various squashes that are around at this time of year and love trying different varieties (interesting known as winter squashes not autumn!). However, I’m not a fan of the popular PSL (AKA pumpkin spiced latte) or other sweet pumpkin flavoured treats that become available. Also, I don’t want any of the sickly sweet pumpkin scented candles that can be found in abundance at TKMaxx already. I don’t mind the spice element, but I’d rather go for a nice warming cinnamon. What about you? Do you fully embrace pumpkin in sweet stuff or are you glad when they run out of pumpkin spiced stuff at your local Starbucks? Luckily, cinnamon flavoured items can be purchased alongside the popular gingerbread bits and pieces which come out closer to Christmas time so their warmth can be enjoyed in winter too.

Digital screens

Each season, I change the wallpaper on my laptop and my mobile phone. Last year, I remember having a photograph of a squirrel collecting nuts, surrounded by autumn leaves which I’m sure was digitally created but used to make me smile each time I logged into my computer. I’ve seen lots of background images on Canva Pro which I must choose from before my free trial ends. For the phone wallpaper, I usually just Google ‘autumn aesthetic phone screens for android’.

Enjoying the outdoors

As the weather becomes slightly chillier, there’s no need to stay inside with the heating on and complain about how cold it’s becoming. Going for walks in the autumn is, in my opinion, an absolute must, especially when the leaves begin to change to beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and brown and then start to lace the ground. As long as you remember to layer up so you stay warm and cosy whilst enjoying the stunning scenes, there’s so much that nature has to offer. And if you struggle with cold and pain in your hands when the temperature steadily drops, my husband can recommend the rechargeable hand warmers that you can pick up on Amazon for a small (and very worth it) charge.

As you enjoy the outdoors, why not collect some nature elements to display at home or make art with such as pine cones, jewel-coloured leaves, branches and stems. Google autumn nature crafts and don’t be put off from doing something arty just because it says it for kids!

Final words…

The more preparation you put in prior to the autumn commencing, the more joy you’ll feel and the more exciting opportunities you’ll create. Each season has so much to offer us and rather than engaging in that popular British pastime of complaining about the weather, why not spend your time fully embracing autumn doing activities that you love or have always wanted to try?

Wishing you an amazing autumn,

amateur photography, Anxiety management, bird spotting, lifestyle, wellbeing, wellness, wildlife

Monday Matters: Wildlife Watching for Wellbeing

Posted on Jul 29, 2024Jul 28, 2024 by Laura

Over the past month or so, I’ve taken a real interest in watching wildlife and found it to be amazing for my general wellbeing. It’s such a calm and relaxing activity and the perfect way to engage in some mindfulness as it encourages you to be in the moment and really study the action with your five senses whether that’s watching a blackbird taking a bath, listening to the screeching sound of swifts zipping around the sky or quietly observing butterflies sunning themselves in a wildflower meadow whilst feeling the warmth of the day on your skin.

Today, I thought I’d share some of the benefits of wildlife watching that I’ve particularly enjoyed and also include some of my photographs which I’m pretty proud of as I took them in manual mode on my DSLR. I hope you enjoy the post and that, ultimately, it whets your appetite for wildlife viewing this summer season and beyond.

Learning about what’s out there in my locality

Quietly observing in our garden and other local settings such as parks, forest, woodland, heathland, meadow or the coast, I’ve been able to see and enjoy all of the different wildlife and begin to learn more about them. I now know that greenfinch have started visiting our feeders and that, despite us having an overhanging conifer trimmed significantly by a tree surgeon, there are still plenty of birds nesting in what remains, albeit in slightly closer proximity to each other! In my quest to photograph butterflies this summer, I’ve learnt why we have much fewer individuals this season (poor weather at the start of summer) and where I’m most likely to spot different species. I’ve also observed the six spotted burnett moth in tall grasses at the cost, and discovered where their favourite places to land are.

Learning something new each day not only helps with personal growth but it also develops a sense of accomplishment which I believe is essential for wellbeing. There’s nothing better than sitting down at the end of the day, (whether busy or more relaxed) and recalling something new that you didn’t know yesterday.

Female sparrow and her young on our garden fence

Expressing gratitude

I find there’s something to be grateful for every day of the week (in fact I write 3 things in my The Five Minute journal each morning), but I’m always especially excited when I witness something new or go somewhere a bit different in my quest to explore wildlife in the North East of England and beyond. I’ve just started reading Hannah Stitfall’s recently published book, Wild Treasures, where she documents a year of watching wildlife in her home county of Cornwall – a place I have visited and loved many times as a child and throughout my adult years. However fruitful (or not) her trips to wild places have been, you get a really sense of how lucky she feels to have these opportunities on her doorstep, and I must agree – we have so many amazing natural spaces throughout the UK that are just waiting to be explored.

I often find my wildlife spots end up being recorded in my highlights of the day or as part of my morning gratitude writing, whether that’s mentioning our plans for an exciting day out exploring nature and the wildlife it has to offer, or recalling the feeling of a good spot.

Opportunities to practise using my zoom lens

I’ve had my zoom lens for a long time now and I’ve often been frustrated by its limitations in terms of getting close up shots of birds (it’s really not powerful enough and I would need to invest in one of the huge ££££ lenses which I’ve seen used in hides). However, I’ve now discovered that it works really well for insect, plant and flower photography when placed at a distance of 0.85m from the subject. I’ve built a collection of macro shots which are pretty good for an amateur and I’m enjoying adding these to my journals and sharing them on Instagram.

Again, this chance to explore and develop my skills (with both the photography and the use of Photoshop to edit my images) has been a real boost to my wellbeing, including when I add my photographs to social media and use them in my creative journals and show them off.

Enjoying the beauty of all that nature has to offer

As I mentioned earlier, we have some wonderful natural spaces across the UK and I thoroughly enjoy exploring the flora and fauna of different places. Sometimes, I’ll visit familiar places such as the coast, where at this time of year, I can see razorbills, kittywakes (and their young) reed buntings and meadow pipits and mammals such as grey seals and even dolphins! On other occasions, we’ll go further afield to favourite locations and places on my must visit list. Wherever I go, alone or with my husband, I tried to stay in the moment and really appreciate the beauty on offer as I look out for the wildlife to be spotted.

Mindfulness and its many benefits

I’ve talked about mindfulness and the many benefits in various previous blog posts. For some people, mindful activity is all about meditation, but it’s much more than this, practising mindfulness involves being in the present moment and developing a quiet awareness of your immediate environment, and I’m sure you can see how wildlife watching fits in with this. There are too many benefits to list here but a few include reducing anxiety and depression, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, lowering stress levels and better ability to manage long term illness and chronic pain.

Improved physical health

Although I love watching wildlife from my own back garden (or via the kitchen window as I wash up!), there are so many more opportunities in the North East of England and further afield. As well as the chance to breathe in fresh, clean air, as I explore the natural environments, for me, my travels often include a brisk walk too. Adding in an uphill trek, a saunter across various fields, beaches or heathland on our way to more remote locations, offers a wonderful and more relaxing way to exercise which is completely different in experience to my gym sessions and various classes. Also, whilst your focus is on looking at the stunning views and watching out for various fauna, you’re often barely aware of what a good workout you’re having at the same time!

A sense of community

One of my absolute favourite ways to watch wildlife is to go to a nature reserve (especially one which has some bird hides) and take my binoculars for close up viewing and my DSLR camera for recording my spots. We’re lucky to have a number of locations within an hour and a half’s drive including Rainton Meadows (managed by Durham Wildlife Trust), Hauxley Nature Reserve (Northumberland Wildlife Trust) and RSPB Saltholme. When we visit, there are always plenty of others walking around the reserves or observing birds from the various hides and sharing these spaces develops a really sense of belonging, especially as you know that we’re collectively there for similar purposes – exploring the beauty that nature has to offer, enjoying the peace and quiet, looking out for different species and ultimately hoping to spot something new.

Wherever you live in the UK, I guarantee there are wild spaces on your doorstep to be explored and shared with other locals. Even in London, there are vast parks across the city offering peace, quiet, wildlife and the chance to get away from the busyness of the place and most people there have the same objective.

Final words…

Although I haven’t covered them here, there are various scientific studies done which offer proof of the mental health benefits of wildlife watching, especially bird spotting. It’s no surprise, then, that many of us turned to walking in the great outdoors during the pandemic to reduce our stress levels and find pleasure in nature. I wonder how many of you still make the time to visit natural spaces as part of your routine each week now there are no restrictions on your activity choices? I would love to hear if wildlife spotting is as valuable to you as it is to me to maintain good wellbeing and general happiness. I’d also be over the moon if you’ve found benefit from reading today’s post and it has encouraged you to find time in your busy weekly calendar for this perfect mindful self-care activity.

Blogging, lifestyle, reflective journalling

Currently… Life update July 2024

Posted on Jul 9, 2024Jul 9, 2024 by Laura

So, the plan was to do one of these every three to six months but I’ve just checked my published post list and it seems I haven’t done one since June 2023! Anyway, I enjoyed looking back at last year’s post and seeing what’s changed and what’s stayed the same. I’m still reading lots of books at the same time, and it appears that two of them were started this time last year and are still on the go now. I’m also continuing to love seeing the wildlife in our garden but I’m upset that the hedgehogs who used to visit last year are no longer coming – our hog biscuits are being polished off by various other creatures included neighbourhood cats, a fox, a cute little mouse and what appears to be a baby rat (the images and videos on our wildlife camera show a twitchy nosed character who is bigger than the mice we’ve seen featured onscreen!). Here’s some more things which are currently filling my days…

Currently reading…

I now record my reading on Storygraph (rather than using my bullet journal) and at the moment, I have 9 titles listed as current reads. However, a few of them have been shelved for a little while so here’s the ones I’m actually grabbing on a regular basis:

Prickly Company by Kitty Johnson – a lovely romantic fiction book which features the goings on of a street called Hilltop Place and a side story of hedgehogs visiting gardens via a ‘hedgehog highway’. If you’re looking for a light read coupled with facts about hedgehogs (and a possibly unexpected twist), this is the book for you! It’s taken me so long to finish this blog post that I’ve now actually finished reading this one and have moved on to the book directly below.
Salt Slow – this is a book of short stories by Julia Armfield which caught my attention when I was reading a book related blog. Described as a collection of gothic, magical realism, the stories are like nothing I’ve read before. I’ve enjoyed some of them more than others so far but my favourites have stayed with me well after the conclusion.
Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal – I put this down for a bit and picked it up a few days ago when I was chillaxing in front of our tower fan on a very warm day. As I’ve been reading, I’ve been using a highlighter pen to highlight interesting lines and paragraphs. At a later date, I’m going to summarise the highlights in written form.
The Happiness Year: How to Find Joy in Every Season by Tara Ward – full of seasonal tasks to help you find the joy during Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, no matter which is your favourite and which you least prefer.

Currently feeling…

I’ve recently made some changes to my diet which have helped me to feel better about myself. So far, I’ve lost 9lb which I’m really pleased with as two of the medications which I take for my Bipolar disorder have a side effect for me of increased appetite and tiredness which have led to weight gain over the past few years. I’ve tried really hard to modify my eating habits after a doctor recently told me that my cholesterol level was a little on the high side. Changes I’ve made include:

cutting out sweets – bye bye Colin The Caterpillar sweets from M&S and other gummy favourites!
choosing healthier breakfast cereal – supermarket own brand Weetabix every day (no more crunchy nut cornflakes) and Special K to ve reintroduced when my crown has settled)
sticking with our vegan spread on bread for sandwiches and in white sauces rather than using up the butter purchased for a particular recipe (only having butter when we go out for a meal)
watching my portion sizes – having a small handful of crisps from a large packet rather than a full individual bag, reducing the amount/type of table sauces and dressing e.g. mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, less calorie laden salad dressings etc, having one or two biscuits instead of three, checking the portion sizes on boxes, packets and tins, making sure most of my plate is full of fruit and veg etc.
not having so many treats on weekends (less cakes, ice creams, less calorific desserts etc)

Currently working on…

I’m trying really hard to spend time working on our garden each day so that plants thrive (apart from those irritating weeds that seem to pop up everywhere within days), deadheading is done regularly, leaves and stems are checked for disease and little critters such as greenfly, snails and slugs and evaluations of fauna which helps us to see if our spaces are wildlife friendly. At the moment, it feels like I’m not dedicating enough hours each week to keep on top of things, but I’m trying to be happy with the progress we are making in our front and back spaces rather than noticing all of the bits we haven’t got around to!

Currently creating…

I have two creative journals on the go at the moment – my summer 2024 TN insert and another insert for our North Wales holiday last month. I’ve printed lots of photos from my phone, manipulated images taken on my dslr in Photoshop and have made stickers and ephemera for decorating the various pages. I’ve also got postcards, tickets, receipts and other bits and pieces for tipping in too. Now I just need to dedicate some time each week for creating the spreads.

Currently enjoying…

I love summer time as it means I can enjoy a range of fresh and juicy fruits and easily get my 5 a day seven days a week. I love mango, raspberries, nectarines, peaches, watermelon, pineapple and sweet oranges but my absolute favourite are strawberries. Although not as healthy as enjoying them on their own, I’ve bought some cooking chocolate and for dipping them in as a special summer treat. If you seen my bucket list, you’ll also know that I plan on making strawberry lemonade at some point soon.

Final words…

If I’m going to be in with a chance of this being published any time soon, I think I’ll have to leave it there. As before, I encourage my readers who have their own blog to give writing a ‘Currently…’ post a go as it is an interesting way to evaluate your current priorities and, over time, see how they have changed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about what I’m currently up to in July 2024. I think I might add a date to my bullet journal future log for starting the next update so I don’t leave it too long next time!