This Kitchen is for Dancing

Hello, friends! Welcome to the weekend.

Today I woke up to the gentle rumble of thunder, and is there anything better? I was able to snuggle back in for a sleep instead of jumping up in the dark to have a quick walk before work. So here I am, refreshed and ready to share a little story about cleaning the kitchen.

I’d been walking by the fridge for a few months, thinking I needed to get help pulling it out to do a thorough clean beside and behind it.

You know the drill — think about your own fridge for a moment. It’s either clean or it isn’t…and if you live with other people, it’s likely that you’re the only one who notices the fuzz and the dust.

I finally got my bodybuilding son to pull it out for me and help me out. And just like I wrote about in The 10 Minute Fix way back in 2020, it took ten minutes to vacuum, then scrub the floors and walls. When it was time to push it back in, my son had already left for the gym so I gave it a tiny shove.

And guess what? Anyone can move a fridge backwards and forwards alone.

ALL. THIS. TIME. I. DIDN’T. NEED. HELP.

I just needed myself.

It’s a little lesson I need to relearn over and over. So often, youngest ducking of six kids, I look around for direction and permission.

The fridge was such a good reminder for me — and maybe for you, too — that some things are possible to do on our own and they’re easy.

I hope you have a gentle Sunday, with lots of love and care sent your way.

Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • My ‘This Kitchen is for Dancing’ sign was a gift from a friend, but I found the link for you.

  • Two Emily Dickinson lines i love: “I am out with lanterns, looking for myself” and “Hope is the thing with feathers.”

  • I tried the denim blazer from last week and here’s my verdict: if you’re petite on top (and I’m not), I think it would be great. Otherwise, it feels and looks a little bulky.

  • Did you know that the second edition of my best-loved nonfiction book, The 10 Minute Fix, is available now? (Important — the intro has changed, and the cover — but if you have the original with the feather cover it’s essentially the same as this one. A million disclaimers: you don’t need to have them both.) This is the little feel good nonfiction book that so many women love. If you need a thoughtful gift for girlfriends, everyone always loves The 10 Minute Fix. Here in Canada, and here in Australia and here in The UK and here in America.

  • Kitchen dancing: this one and Little Bitty Pretty One.

It's a Feel-Good Sunday

Hello, friends — and hello if you’re new. It’s Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, writing to you on this gorgeous winter morning in Sydney.

I’m up early and about to drive in a zillion directions today, so I’ll pop some Sunday dinner in the slow cooker and hope for the best when we all land back home.

Today’s a beautiful day to ask yourself a question that we often forget to ask:

Whether it’s an expected surprise, a compliment you didn’t know you were getting or even just an insight or a new way of looking at an old problem, it might be time to ask yourself, “What’s the best that can happen?”

We are so wired to think immediately of the worst.

We try to prepare ourselves sometimes by rehearsing for disaster in advance, to steel ourselves against a future that — actually — may never happen.

Today, I want to plan for the best, imagine the best, focus on it and even expect it.

I hope you’ll join me, and I also hope that something wonderful happens in your world.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Today's Quick Tip

Hello, my friends! The news from this morning is real and raw — I know this is true. Forgive me if I don’t write about it in this small and uplifting corner of the internet. Thank you for your understanding.

And thank you for being here with me this morning. Last night was the longest night of the year, and I was lucky enough to be a beautiful backyard celebration under the stars enjoying it. Fresh air, a fire, lovely company: nothing is better than the simple things.

That celebration made me think about what I wanted to share with you today.

We have a back patio (above) and it can be the prettiest space with fairy lights. The lights, when we put them up, create what feels like an outdoor room…and it’s beautiful. It takes time and it’s a bit fiddly, but all it requires are cup hooks, fairy lights and an electrical outlet.

From something ordinary, it’s so easy to create ritual and even peace. It’s about living intentionally. The fairy lights are in the garage already, those hooks are in place on the patio. To make the magic, it’s just me…getting up on a chair, hanging the lights, and doing something intentional that I know I’m going to enjoy. (And then the beauty is there for everyone).

Being intentional always feels good.

It’s the weekend — but it’s also YOUR weekend. This is your time and mine to enjoy our lives a little. It can be simple.

Here’s my top list:

  1. Care for my face: wash it and put on face cream.

  2. Make sure the electric blanket has heated the bed before I hop in to read.

  3. Get a stack of books! I use the library, sometimes kindle, and buying books is important to me.

  4. Stand outside at night under that shower of stars. Look up.

  5. Use the physiological sigh anytime to release stress (link below).

We’re going to live this day anyway, and we have the gift of being able to do that with some intention. It’s good to ask ourselves:

  • What makes me happy?

  • What can I do this Sunday that I enjoy? Night skies, face cream, pot of tea, walk, fairy lights? (What is it for you? You already know the answer.)

I hope you have a beautiful, intentional Sunday. Time to rest, appreciate yourself, and do a few things you love to do.

Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Missing you! Here's why....

Hello friends, and hello new friends! I’m Catherine Greer, lover of waking up early, hot coffee, girlfriend chats, writing and baking. Sharing the gorgeous photo of my new book taken by the talented American photographer, Karen Pavone — link below. (Karen truly captures soul pictures and portraits!)

This morning I’m writing to you at 5:30am and I’m missing everybody. You! Myself! Girlfriends and sisters and family. My son who’s off travelling for work.

Winter has been a time of introspection for me. I feel like I’m pulling everything apart, looking at it, and trying to fit it back together. I’ve got more questions than answers.

In case no one has asked you this weekend, how are you? (How are you REALLY?)

When things feel overwhelming for me, I try to get a bird’s eye view of my life. This always starts with my One Piece of Paper solution. I grab a sheet of A3, and write everything down in categories:

  • Family?

  • Work?

  • Home / House?

  • Writing?

  • Health?

Then I list all the bullet points of what’s going on. Getting it all down on one sheet of paper always helps me figure out my next steps.

We’re half way through the year…so what else do we want 2025 to hold? It’s so important to take stock and realise who’s driving this Formula One car around the track! Ha!

It’s me: I’m driving.

It’s you.

And to extend the metaphor a bit, we’re all mature enough to know that there are circumstances like the road and the weather and how well the car continues to work. But nonetheless, some of where we end up is definitely up to us.

Let’s do what we can to make this second half of the year shine.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Sunday Things

Hello, friends!

It’s winter in Sydney and I was out this morning walking in the sunshine. I’d had one of those nights where I woke up at 3am (Hello, 3am Club — we should be texting each other!) and my brain went bananas.

So I got up and walked first thing…even before coffee.

And I had a little talk to my own brain — a kind and patient conversation. You see, it’s so easy to let our brains boss us around (especially during life stages that involve hormonal change). My brain can easily run headfirst into worry, negativity and even shame.

But my thoughts are not necessarily true — they’re just what I happen to be thinking. And sometimes, oh man, my brain gets way, way off-base.

So when that happens, I have a little talk and I ask two favourite questions:

  1. What’s going on?

  2. Why is that a problem for you?

Then I listen to myself talk. I become my own wise friend, instead of rocking in that rocking chair of worry and never getting anywhere.

For me, the magic is both at once: talking and walking (just pop in your ear buds and any passers-by will think you’re talking on the phone).

Give it a try, and remember to have a kind and patient conversation with yourself.

You’re working so hard, you do so much, and you deserve a little TLC this weekend. We all do.

I hope something beautiful and unexpected happens to you today.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Make It Beautiful

Hello, friends! Hello to the new people. If we haven’t met in real life or via my new book, The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, you can take a peek at my life online here.

So happy you found me.

My aim on a Sunday morning is to make life a little sweeter, and today I have the best idea for myself…and maybe for you, too.

When I’m tired, overwhelmed or stressed, I always feel better if i make my surroundings as beautiful as I can. Here’s my easy list:

  1. Wipe off the kitchen bench top and put everything away.

  2. Light a scented candle. Cliche, I know, but it makes me feel better.

  3. Cut something green from outside and bring it inside. A branch, some blooms, whatever i can find.

  4. Cleanse and moisturise my face, and use my makeup.

  5. Spritz on perfume.

  6. Do something for the people I love: this is me and might not be YOU, but I bake. Apple pie, but make it pretty! Chocolate chip cookies (my favourite tip: roll and freeze, then bake some warm as dessert anytime).

  7. Solvitur ambulando — for me, anything and everything is always solved by walking.

If you’re feeling that Life is extra Lifey lately, maybe pick one of these ideas and give it a try.

My simple mantra has always been ‘Make it beautiful.’ We can’t change a lot of circumstances, but we have the power to change our environment, our mood and our minds.

I hope you have a beautiful Sunday — sending big hugs to you around the world, and especially to the women who have reached out this week saying life feels heavy.

I see you, I get it, and I know we can all make it through.

Love,

Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Just snapped this photo of Evie who wants me to HURRY UP. She might be the world’s cutest shih tzu but she’s looking at me for a walk right now, so I’m going to make this quick!

Sunday Morning Love

Hi everyone. It’s Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, writing to you. Hello to all the new people today!

A little story for you: this week has been filled with downpours in Sydney, and I’ve been rushing around all week. Into the city for work, trains that were not running, broken umbrellas, long days. On the way into the office tower in Sydney, I stepped in the biggest puddle and had one sopping pant leg by 7:25am.

I stopped in at a nearby cafe, bought a flat white and said “Thank you.”

And the barista smiled at me and said this:

My head snapped up and I looked at her.

She grinned back at me.

No, I hadn’t.

I’m probably a lot like you — pretty good at thanking others, and not remembering to thank myself for all I’m doing to keep my little corner of the world spinning.

The check-ins with friends. Remembering birthdays. Family dinners. Delivering on time at work. Contributing to the bake off in the office. Walking the dog and buying her fresh bones. Calling my mum.

So today, here’s my question for you: Have you thanked YOURSELF lately?

For everything you’ve done to come this far, today’s a great day to say thank you to yourself. You’re keeping your world spinning, and it’s time to step back and notice that.

I hope you have a brilliant Sunday filled with at least one fun thing…and I hope you notice everything beautiful around you (including you).

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

An Easy Way to Get Closer

Hello my friends! It’s Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, writing to you from Sydney Australia.

I don’t know about you, but I love everything about making a home wherever we are. The latest for us was carving out a spot in the back garden for a simple firepit, and spending hours out there with a bag of wood.

We have two young adult sons, one just finishing uni now, one who flies home on weekends with a suitcase of laundry and a desire to be in a kitchen (instead of living in a hotel with his a corporate job). And I’ve found this magical question to ask to make us feel a little closer.

Try with anyone and you’ll see them light up.

At work “What was the best thing about your weekend?”

In general: “What’s been the best thing about being at uni / a new mum / starting your job / moving house / traveling to Portugal / getting up earlier?”

It’s an easy way to get a little closer to the heart of the people you love.

Happy Sunday!

I hope something unexpected and absolutely lovely happens to you today. (If life’s been wobbly, I’m here in Sydney cheering for you. Nothing’s ever easy, but we’ll get there, my friend…)

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Hello, new people. Here’s where I list what I’ve been loving. 🩷 Disclosure: I don’t earn a commission, except every few months I might get a $5 Amazon voucher. So this is just the stuff I love…for fun…for you.

  • Gourmet Safaris: SO FABULOUS. Founder Maeve O’Meara is a beautiful reader who loved The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe and she invited me to be her blind date on a food safari in Marrickville. Maeve runs Gourmet Safaris…Sydney, Australian and International foodie tours. You guys, AMAZING. Better than amazing. It was a full day of meeting the artisans, sourdough English muffin bakers, Italian cheesemakers (burrata!), butchers, coffee roasters. Honestly, BRILLIANT. Please go! If you want to meet new friends, take a solo trip (worldwide) or learn more about Sydney, Australia or the world. I LOVED IT.

  • Get the sourdough English muffins from This is Us at Harris Farm. NO preservatives. Baked originally in a kitchen, now in a factory in Marrickville. Like eating HEAVEN. There is zero comparison between the grocery store ones and these. 10/10 recommend.

  • The travel duffle bag - everyone’s talking about this.

  • The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is now in Indigo. Also here in Canada. In Australia, in all bookshops, at BigW and Amazon. Here in America and here in The UK. THANK YOU - your support means the world!

  • Finally, today, leaving you with a favourite Mary Oliver poem. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Hello, Happy Sunday!

New friends — so excited you could join us this week! I’m Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, and I’m so glad you’re here. Every Sunday I share what I’ve learned during the week…and I hope it helps you, too.

I had a thought yesterday…a bit of worry around all the things.

You can fill in the blanks, but my thoughts ran away with “During this time of when your new book is launching, why haven’t you done MORE exercise, writing, walks, meal planning….” and on and on it went.

And then I thought this.

I won’t, and neither will you.

If today is the day you’re celebrating mothering of any kind…or even if you’re not, maybe it should be a celebration Sunday.

You’ll never look back on your life and wish you celebrated less.

I hope you have a brilliant day, and that you take the time to love all the people you’ve been given to love.

Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • If you’re mothering in any way—pups or kids or friends or friends’ kids—I hope someone makes you feel like Mother’s Day is for all of us.

  • New friends, can I tell you about my book? Women are LOVING it, so that’s keeping me happy. Canadians 🇨🇦 - The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is now in Indigo. Also here in Canada. In Australia, in all bookshops, at BigW and Amazon. Here in America and here in The UK. THANK YOU - your support means the world!

  • You know how much I adore our beautiful Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. Here’s a quick and fabulous history tour.

  • I love this slim, super handy rolling cart. Japanese design. So useful!

  • And this collagen balm stick - think moisture stick for your face, but kind of like the loveliest lip balm you’ve ever smelled. But for your face, and not sticky. It’s wild. I love it.

  • The most useful iridescent YAY sign - perfect for all your celebrations. It’s so pretty in real life. Trust me. (Photo is a bit awful, really, but this sign is perfection).

The Best Question To Ask Yourself

Hello, my friends. For all the new people, welcome! I’m Catherine Greer, Canadian-Australian author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, mum of grown sons, lover of baking, big believer in the Sunday dinners with all the trimmings. (And yes, I am the crazy lady who will jump out of the car in the ugly concrete carpark to take a picture with a rainbow.) You’re receiving my Sunday newsletter because you signed up for it. Thank you for being here!

Every week I share something I’ve learned. This week is a real winner. Are you ready?

A few years ago, when I had a son who had just started high school (that’s year 7 in Australia), a friend with much younger kids said that her boys really wanted a tadpole.

We were having coffee together, and we decided, spur of the moment, to go get two tadpoles. Reflecting on it now, I realise this was probably slightly illegal…but I’m a farm kid, and I was born in the sixties, so it didn’t occur to me at the time.

And off we went. We left that cafe, we found a plastic cup and drove to a pond where tadpoles were lurking and we caught two for our kids. It was hilarious, we got wet, and I honestly felt like I was eight years old again.

I brought the tadpole home, and my high schooler created a tadpole haven, grew that little guy into a frog, and released it back into the wild. A happy ending.

I often wonder why that memory — from all the coffees with girlfriends over the years — sticks with me. And it was this: life got interesting.

We run so often on auto-pilot, don’t we? And our days and weeks and months race by because of it. But novelty and doing different things is what makes time slow down.

There’s so much research that backs this up. I’ll link to a good article below.

So here’s the question — and it’s a bit confronting.

Not IS your life interesting? But are you MAKING it interesting?

No matter where we are, or what our resources are like (time, health, money, living in an exotic location, travel, fame) we all have the means to make our lives more interesting.

All we need is this: the desire to follow our curiosity, ask new questions, and alter our routines. Time will slow down, and our lives will feel more interesting.

Think: tadpoles. So simple, right?

Today, I hope you take a moment to ask this: how can I make my Sunday more interesting? That’s exactly what I’m going to do. It won’t involve illegal tadpoles, but it might just be a neighbourhood adventure.

I hope something unexpected and lovely happens to you today!

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Make it Easier

Hello, friends (and new friends). I’m Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe and a woman who has COMPLETELY fallen off the wagon with exercising.

I am so far off the wagon that I barely saw the wagon in April.

Help me.

Yes, I was extra busy trying to promote my new book, The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe. (Thank you if you’ve helped by reading it, buying for yourself and friends, reserving it at your local library, requesting it at your library….all the things…you are an amazing army of women and I am so thankful for you!)

And I was busy with full time work.

But tell my arteries and heart valves and quad muscles that. Tell my tighter jeans that. And tell my mental health that Catherine was TOO BUSY to take care of the important things.

Then…suddenly…I was so far off that wagon and it was way too hard to get back on. So this is how I coached myself.

I told myself this:

I walked out to the garage.

I put on the best music I could find. Links below. Hello, Jason Mraz. Hello Only the Good Die Young. Hello, Exs and Ohs.

I did the simplest 10 minute weights workout with my lightest weights.

And then I put a heart on my calendar because it is done.

Yes, there was a time for years when I did five weight workouts a week without fail. But in this season, all I’ve done is failed at those workouts. I’ve had some intentions, but I just couldn’t get back out there.

So I made it stupidly easy.

And I felt better about myself.

When everything is too hard, the last thing we need is even more hard. The last thing we need is a challenge or a higher bar or a ‘never miss a day’ mentality. We actually (sometimes) need to make it super easy.

And fun.

And done.

If you’re struggling today with getting back on track, maybe you need to make it easier.

Thank you for being here with me — a Canadian Australian living in Sydney, navigating midlife, trying to live and thrive and do what I can to enjoy what I’ve been given. (Arms and legs that move, a garage with a yoga mat, a pair of leggings from Kmart, a wish to age with some flexibility and grace).

Are you with me?

Then make it easy, Matie. 🩷 Do that thing today…and easy does it. Whatever that looks like for you.

Love, Catherine xx

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

One Little Reminder

Hi everyone and happy Easter long weekend! If you’re new, I’m Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, Canadian-Australian living in Sydney, crazy lady who just had a mama Mina bird swoop at me while I took a photo of her nest, above!

If you’re up for a little encouragement this weekend on top of the busy Easter plans, you’re in the right place.

I don’t know about you, but this week I’ve been up and down worrying. A big thing: my family is heading into a new life stage this year, where kids fly this nest and we need to make some huge decisions.

And then, for me, there are all the other things: I haven’t been exercising enough (or at all), I spend long days in the office sitting and working, I’m a little worried if I’m doing enough to promote my new book (a huge responsibility to get the word out).

I woke up worrying at 3am.

Then I thought of something Ann Patchett, American author, said recently:

I carry this worry in my head.

I could just as easily decide to carry hope, excitement, satisfaction and joy.

  • I raised my family and now they’re grown and independent.

  • I have a new book out in the world!

  • I have an interesting, challenging job I love. (And I can start to exercise again now, today…I am not unwell or unable).

When someone asks us, “How’s the weather?” we always have two choices of what to say. It’s just a little something i needed to remember today, and I hope it helps you, too.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Come over for coffee and cake!

Hi everyone, and hello if you’re new! I’m Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, copywriter in Sydney, Canadian-Australian, wife of twenty-seven years and mum of two grown sons. You’re receiving this Sunday newsletter because you signed up after reading my books or finding me on Instagram.

You are so, so welcome here.

I have a little story for you today…

I was walking the pup, Evie, and I met a woman on the sunny autumn street. I was admiring all the Tibouchina trees…those purple blossoms, and how they stuck to Evie’s coat when she rolled in the grass.

(Evie loves grass the way I love making Sunday breakfast when the kids are home.)

“Love these trees,” I said, while Evie rolled in the grass. “I look forward to the Tibouchinas blooming every year.”

'“But the MESS,” the woman answered. “And they’re slippery on the ground and they stick to my car. I cannot get rid of them.”

She was right. And I was right.

Everything is bittersweet.

Maybe because it’s so easy to lean into the negative, I work hard to keep my mind trained on what’s beautiful and good. The research is pretty shocking:

I try to remind myself of this when the merry-go-round of my brain gets a little off-kilter, imagining the worst.

And I take comfort in the fact that I have some power over my thoughts — even when I wish the world would deliver continual sunshine and good news.

If you ever feel a little wobbly, like you’re leaning too much into thoughts that are making you unhappy, it’s good to remember what your brain is doing. 60-80% negativity is too much, right? And we need to pull that back into a more realistic picture of what’s going on.

I come back to the basics:

  • So many people in the world are good.

  • There’s always beauty around us, if we take a second to see it. (Even if it’s just messy petals on the driveway or on our car.)

  • And we have some control over our own brain, to direct it to a better place. (I always remember the “your brain is like a toddler with a sharpie / marker” analogy. Wrangle it in a bit!)

I know lots is happening in this big old world of ours, but I hope you have a beautiful Sunday. I’m going to make the Rosemary Olive Oil Greek Yogurt cake from The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, above. It is so, so worth it.

Honestly wish you were here to have coffee and cake with me.

I hope something beautiful and unexpected happens to you today.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Authors need readers like people need cake. Check page 371 of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe for the recipe. American photographer Karen Pavone took the photo above after reading my book…so much prettier than my photo at the top!

  • You can find my new book, The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, in Australia in all bookshops, at BigW and Amazon and here overseas. Reviews are strong and women are loving it! Thank goodness. And thank you:

  • One of my favourite spots in Sydney is swimming at Barangaroo at Marinnawi Cove, right by all the office towers. Have you tried it yet?

  • Remember from last week and how I’m not a make-up person? Well, I bought this Australis blush and it was on sale 50% off. Sorry, sale is done but this is fabulous. You can also use it for cream eyeshadow. Only in Australia, but this one looks similar.

  • Why are these shoes so, so comfortable? From last season and the black is all sold out (I’m so sad because perfect for work). But the taupe suede ones are still available and only in one size but 50% off. I love mine. Weirdly, you can walk 10,000 miles in these block heels.

  • Maggie Smith’s “Good Bones”. Oh, please take a minute to read this one! America, you have (and have always had) beautiful poets. I remember this, and repeat it to myself.

Why I Decided to Go Grey at 49

Hi, my friends. It’s Catherine Greer writing to you. If you’re new, you’ve likely signed up to my Sunday newsletter after reading The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe. You are so welcome here…I’ll send you an upbeat note every Sunday to chat about life and cheer us on down the road.

While launching my book, I got my first shot at journalism and was asked to write a piece for the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age weekend magazine. I hadn’t done it before, so you can let me know if I did an okay job…I was pretty pleased by how it turned out, and it caused a tiny, minor flurry in the office on Monday when I was asked to do an impromptu ABC radio interview, and then another podcast.

So that was fun — and those opportunities let me talk a little more about my new novel.

In the Herald / Age article, I wrote about going grey, and why I chose to do it.

It’s such a personal choice. In case you’re sitting on the fence, or just ‘grey hair curious’ I thought I might recap for you here.

I’d been colouring my hair since age 28…a very long time. Twenty years of cost and time, and also when my hair was wet in the shower, it felt like candy floss (fairy floss for my Aussie friends). When it was styled, it felt brittle and dry. To be fair, I don’t have the gorgeous, strong hair many of you do…mine is fine and slow-growing and only okay. But anyway, it felt so unhealthy.

I figured I should just get my ageing over with. And so I did. Over 18 months, I slowly grew out my roots without the help of any blending or a hair stylist. I just started to tuck it behind my ears (remember, your hair greys along the hairline first), so close to my face I looked silver almost straight away. If you’re curious and if you have grey roots just now, slick it all back and you’ll see — I’m betting that you look prettier than you think you do.

For me, coming to terms with my own ageing was the key: I wanted to be done colouring and I was ready to see what I looked like.

The upside?

  • My hair feels like it did when I was eight years old. Soft, silky, healthy.

  • The compliments from strangers. (I never, ever had hair compliments before I went grey.)

  • The time I’ve saved. (This is huge for me…I was feeling like a prisoner of the hair salon, and my roots needed doing every two weeks, which was so unmanageable.)

  • The expense.

  • I got my ageing over and done with. I haven’t had to think about it for years and years.

The downside?

  • I look older than my friends. It’s true, and I know I do.

So there you have it: an honest assessment from me. Yes, I look older…but I’m okay with that. And remarkably, it hasn’t impacted my ability to land a great job at my age, and work in a corporation where there there’s only one other women who has silver hair.

If there’s a little tug inside you wondering how it would be for you, you can always test it out for a few weeks, pull your hair back and just see how you look. You’ll know if you’re ready or not.

You’ll know if it’s for you (or not).

Your decisions are 100% your own, and I’m cheering you on…wherever you land.

I hope something beautiful happens in your world today.

Love, Catherine xx

P.S. The Fun Stuff.

I’m not a make-up person and never have been, but a few of my favourites are on sale for 50% off NOW at Priceline and so worth it. Love to share!

Are you interested in reading The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe? Is it a bit tricky for you to get your own copy right now? I can help. Email me if you’d like me to send you one as a little gift. (And for the lovely people last week, books are in the post now!).

  • The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is now on Audible - 🇨🇦 Canadians 🇨🇦, at the moment this is the best way for you to get my book. My publisher is still trying to sort out distribution and I am so frustrated! Lucy Bell, exceptional actor, does a brilliant job. I hope you love it.

  • Everyone else, thank you for your beautiful support. You can sink into Aussie beach living at The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe here in America, here in the UK, in Australia at BigW, all bookshops and online.

  • Aussie authors Sophie Green and Rachel Johns invited me to their podcast. I’m excited because I’m a Sophie Green fan, and Sophie’s new book is coming soon (will link soon), and her latest is here: Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel.

  • Want to help spread the word about The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe? Gift a copy, tell a friend, request it at your library. Thank you! 🩷

On a Rainy, Rainy Sunday...

Hello, my friends! And hello to all the new people here this week. I’m Catherine Greer, author of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, Canadian-Australian living in Sydney. Thank you for joining us…we’re a group of amazing women from all around the world. 🌼 I’m guessing you’ve signed up to my Sunday newsletter after reading my new book. I’m so glad you’re here!

Every week you can expect a little inspiration from me, or a life lesson I’ve learned. This week, it’s something so very simple — are you ready?

I don’t know about you, but i’ve had a wild, wild week.

I’m a bit tired from work deadlines (I work full time as a copywriter in a large organisation in Sydney, and I travel to Melbourne a lot, too. Love it, but BUSY.). And I’m lucky enough to be launching a book this month, a book that means so much to me!

And at the same time, there is life for all of us, right? Kids we’re worried about, family stuff, tricky work situations, new people we meet.

I’m trying to take a deep breath and think: every person is a lesson for me.

How I want to show up. How I want to love. How I want to speak to others or walk through this world.

Every person is a lesson.

In admiration (not envy).

In patience (not harsh words).

In love (not worry or fear). Why is this so hard with kids?! We want them to be okay, we want them to be happy, we worry-worry-worry when they’re going through their own trials, don’t we? I often forget to ditch the worry and invite in the LOVE.

This mind-switch helped me this week, and I hope it helps you, too. I’ve reminded myself that people are lessons for me…to help me learn as we all walk each other home.

I hope you have a beautiful Sunday, filled with unexpected tiny joys.

Love, Catherine xx

  • Lucky enough to have an article in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Melbourne Age today. It’s locked unless you subscribe, and weirdly the photos are different everywhere. In print or online. But here’s a link to the final PDF if you’d all like to read.

  • Loved this fun photo shoot of women as goddesses.

  • Thank you a million for your support of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe! I’d love you all to have a copy. Means the world to me to have you read my book. If you’re in a tricky place in your life and not buying books, email me and i’ll get a copy to you. Also, you can check your library in Australia.

    • Audiobook is here on Audible - so funny! Read by Aussie actor, Lucy Bell!

    • Kindle here in Canada (distribution is getting solved, but slowly. Ugh. Still so painful for me to have these problems in my home country, but the publisher is working on it 🇨🇦).

    • America - forever the land of incredible, beautiful poets, you can find it here.

    • Australia (Amazon, BigW, all bookshops, airports).

A Little Weekend Love 🩷

Hi my friends,

We’ve travelled to regional Victoria this weekend, with a stop in Melbourne on Monday to visit bookshops, and we’re enjoying this lovely old hotel. Details next week! I can highly recommend the continental breakfast…the flakiest croissants, the best butter, the most delicious apricot jam.

After a fabulous book event yesterday at the Castlemaine Fringe Festival, hosted by the lovely team at Northern Books (check out all their upcoming events here!), we’re now exploring country living…and it’s so peaceful and warm-hearted.

How are you today?

What’s happening in your world (in your heart)?

Were you also up at 3am for an hour, and should we talk? Ha! I bet that ‘3am Wake Up and Overthink Things’ happens to a lot of us. So for today, here’s your beautiful reminder. (Apologies, I took a screenshot of this and promptly lost the creator’s name…but thank you to whomever made it!)

Remember, it’s the repetition of any idea that really helps calm the heart and mind when things feel wobbly.

Whenever my world is shaky — my people, my kids, health, work, books, or anything that feels like a big challenge — the repetition feels like hope, feels like prayer, feels like a mantra, feels like love.

I hope you have a beautiful Sunday.

Thank you for being here!

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Hello to all the new people this week! You’re receiving this Sunday newsletter from me, Catherine Greer, author and copywriter, baker and mother, Australian-Canadian. So happy you’re here.

  • That pink dress. It’s very pink…but also perfect for book events. Yesterday in Castlemaine I matched my book cover. Pink dress, red shoes. Fun combo. It’s 20% off now. Size down…it’s quite a big fit. (I wish I had, but I ordered online…)

  • Red shoes in the colour “tomato”— I’ve talked about these before. You can walk a million billion miles in these. I don’t know why. Chunky heel? Perfect for being a wedding or party guest on the grass.

  • If you’re new, learn more about some of my books here. Thank you for your beautiful support of The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe!

  • Melbourne on Monday: I’m at Avenue Bookstore in Richmond at 1:30, Dymocks on Collins Street at 2pm, and Readings in Carlton at 2:30. Come and give me a hug and a wave if you’re free!

  • Manly Writers Festival - you’re warmly invited to come along to a book chat next Friday 28 March at 12:40pm. Tickets still available!

How do you like to celebrate?

Good morning, my friends!

I’m up at dawn doing the final party prep for my book launch party…but first, thinking of you. Wish you were here to sit with me among the clutter and the un-frosted cakes, the last-minute vacuuming and the table cards that say gluten-free and lamb and sage sausage rolls and carrot cake!

As the youngest of six, it always feels a little odd to be front and centre…but The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe deserves some celebrating. Wish me luck! It’s supposed to be 37C in Sydney today.

How do you love to celebrate?

The easiest way to have guest over, for me, is to put out a spread and let everyone self-serve. I like to set up a beautiful table with a table cloth and a bit of glitter (links to the sparkly table runner and YAY sign below!) and always a white tablecloth because food just looks better on white.

I also use the white IKEA side plates and boxes of champagne flutes, and all my white platters of various sizes. Savoury food always includes fresh sandwiches (I have boys, and they have friends…so something delicious and hearty to fill them up), along with some kind of quiche (today it’s carmelised onion and feta), special homemade sausage rolls, various wraps (easy to make and slice into pieces) and always a big platter of fruit.

Then I bake an assortment of cakes for a dessert table (Carrot Cake, my famous Dark Chocolate Cake — both of these recipes are in The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe), my white chocolate raspberry shortbread cookies (also in the book)…and off we go!

Today my oldest son, the cellist, and his friends will be playing music together…and we hope to do some singing, too. I’ve got a song sheet with a few favourite tunes, and my son’s picking up one of his friends who is interning at the hospital (how did high school Stephen become old enough to be a doctor???) — so he’s on deck for piano show tunes!

Wish you were here today to celebrate with me!

So much to do, and it’s just hit 7am for me…so off I go, into party-land!

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • The IKEA side plates - perfect for parties.

  • The boxes of champagne flutes.

  • Sparkly silver table runner — these are perfect. Buy two. Silver is prettier than the gold.

  • YAY light up sign — photo is horrible on their website but SO CUTE in real life. I love this! You can use it for any occasion.

  • Flowers are a gift from my publisher, and they are OUTSTANDING. From Lush Flower Co in Sydney. If you’re sending flowers, these ones are worth your spend.

  • And, of course, the hero today: The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe! Your support, reviews and love mean the world to me…and make it so I get to do this all over again. (Canada 🇨🇦 - my publisher doesn’t have distribution or pricing sorted out yet. Please hold on…news soon, I promise.)

  • Author-talk with the lovely, extremely talented and bestselling author, Monica McInerny…I was so lucky. Fan girl moment!! Watch here. We reveal a LOT of secrets. Monica’s many, many books are here.

International Women's Day...and us!

Happy Sunday!

Ohhhh, my friends! Come over to my kitchen table today in Sydney and I will share my figs. I’d love to slice them for you fresh, and serve with some beautiful soft cheese and biscuits. Or I would poach in a rich caramel sauce, and set a gorgeous white bowl in front of you with a cup of tea.

Can you tell I’m feeling a little bit stretched at the moment? And female friends are ALL I want around me: friends and sisters and friends-like-sisters and female colleagues and smart women in shops. I want the sisterhood this week because I’m tired, and that’s what International Women’s Day is all about.

We lift each other up. We carry the load for one another. I had this image the other day that all of us know how to greet each other: we sling that backpack of rocks to one side, we pop our heavy baby on the opposite hip, and we look into one another’s eyes and ask, “How are you? (How are you really)? What can I carry for you?”

That is what it is to be women.

Way back from the dawn of time we’ve been doing this for each other. And it makes me think of Julian of Norwich, the first known woman to write a book in English.

So many of you here are English and / or you love to travel, and I wonder if any of you have been to the fabulous exhibit in the British Library: Medieval Women: In their own words? Julian of Norwich’s The Revelation of Divine Love is in that collection, and this is the first book definitely authored by a woman. Julian was a mystic who lived from ~1342 - 1416.

She wrote these brilliant words that still resonate with women today.

I wonder if there were women before 1360 who were able to get the supplies to write their own books? I wonder how hard it was for women to get any tools to create art?

We’ve come such a long, long, way…and we stand on the shoulders of giants who just kept pushing. Julian wrote a BOOK when she’d never seen another woman do it before her. That’s why her reassurance still reaches us today. I say it to myself often: it’s the repetition that’s the wisdom. “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

  • ALL things - the big things

  • And all things - the everyday

  • And all manner of things - the tiny, the hurts and worries and niggles that maybe mattter only to you

ALL OF IT shall be well. Somehow we grow through it, and come out on the other side.

Thinking of you all on this beautiful Sunday. I hope you are well. Thank you for being here with me, and for being internet-friends.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Chatting with a favourite bestselling author on Wednesday night at 8pm AEST — Monica McInerny! Link is here for our Facebook Live chat. Please join us! (Irish friends, that’s 9am on Wednesday morning for you!)

  • Learn a little more about the exhibit at the British Library, Medieval Women In Their Own Words.

  • Thank you for all the love and patience while I launch The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe into the world. Reviews are dropping now, and women are loving it 🩷. But here’s the behind-the-scenes…we’ve got to get this book into women’s hands one by one. When you’re Lee Childs or Liane Moriarty, there are stacks of books everywhere. When you’re a debut author, not so much 😊 and this makes sense because publishing is a business and big names sell. The best way for women to find my book is through you! If you’d like to…and if you enjoyed the book:

    • Tell your book club, your female friends and share a link.

    • Request it at your library.

    • Gift a copy to someone, if that’s in your budget.

    • Write a review.

  • What’s the big rush? Launch week is so, so important. And more behind-the-scenes: bookshops simply can’t carry all the new releases indefinitely, so it’s important to support a book early if you can. I’d like to get a chance to write another one!

A Few Fun Things!

Happy Sunday!

Hello to all the new people this week. I thought it was time for a photo of me and Evie — I had a chance to do a new author photo shoot. And look at how cute Evie is! She’s coming up to her second birthday in April. She’s the best little girl.

Quickly, I’d like to share a behind-the-scenes update, and then I have a special bit of inspiration for you, too.

Last week I asked for your help (and that was hard to do!). I’m launching The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe into the world on Tuesday, and so many of you showed up with beautiful support!

  1. Book clubs: 5 so far! Yay! Three in Australia, one in Canada, and one in America. (Thank you, Jules, Claire, Marg, Wendy and Victoria 🩷 )

  2. Preorders — links below and thank you, thank you!

  3. Sharing on social media: yayyyy, LOVE IT!

  4. Word of mouth: chatting is what I do best, hahahaha! Thanks for sharing in your chats, too!

  5. Sister / cousin / friend / daughter love: I can feel the women gathering beside me to keep me running. Makes me tear-y just writing that.

  6. Requesting at your library: thank you for letting me know Tara and Sophie and Rachel! (If you have a library card anywhere, you can “Request to add to the collection” on the website or in the library.)

You are THE BEST. Thank you!! Next steps: please keep on sharing. (I’ve got a busy month of book launch party, a few events, and LOTS of work deadlines that are pretty heavy, not gonna lie. But on we go!)

Now…on to you and your world.

I saw a piece of art by Emily McDowell that I loved and have to share. Isn’t this an amazing reminder?

Original factory settings are LOVE and JOY and FUN.

For all of us.

Can you remember being a child and being so absorbed in something that you didn’t want to stop doing it? LOVE and JOY and FUN.

That’s where we begin, and we can still access that side of ourselves now.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately on my commute into the city, and I’ve been considering how to feel good in my body right where I am. More on that in April, when I get The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe out into the world and standing on its own strong legs.

But for now, there’s this: let’s remember our Original Factory Settings, no matter what the world brings. They’re still in us, and available today.

Love Catherine xx

P.S. The Fun Stuff! (And The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe)

If you want to read for joy, about a woman who fixes up a run-down apartment with endless views of the sea, and creates a life for herself with grit and resilience and what she’s got in her own two hands…this is the book for you! The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is fun, easy, inspiring and big-hearted.

Ladies, rev those engines. Can you help?!

Hello, friends! (And hello to the new people this week).

How are you? And what’s going on in your world?

Mine is a little on the wild side, not gonna lie. It’s time to put this Catherine Greer Author show on the road, when mostly I enjoy having a quiet lunch with a girlfriend or making a beautiful family dinner on a Sunday.

But. But!

My new book, THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE, is really good. I knew it was, because I wrote it for me and I loved and needed every word. I wrote it because I needed more:

  • Grit

  • Self-belief

  • Joy

And of course, you know me by now: I figure out what the heck is going on in my mind by writing about it. So I wrote THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE for myself, and I love it with my whole heart.

It’s about a woman who learns to fall in love with herself, in the middle of her life.

It’s inspiring, funny, beautifully-written yet easy to read, FUNNY, warm and big-hearted.

And it needs a chance now out in the world, and the way to do that is pre-orders and sales. And reviews and word of mouth.

And I’d love to ask you to help me, if you can. Here are 6 options, and you can pick whatever combination works for you:

  1. Buy a book and review it, or give it 5-stars if you love it.

  2. Gift one to a friend (or a few, if you can).

  3. Library - If you can’t buy it (or even if you can) please ask your library to order it in.

  4. Tell your friends about it, and that you know me.

  5. Share a picture of it on your socials, if you don’t mind. (It’s getting a beautiful groundswell in Australia with midlife women who are falling in love with it! So you can trust it’s good)

  6. Text a link or photo to a friend - it’s an impulse purchase, and I love receiving a text with a link to a bookshop or retailer so it’s easy to buy. This is a great way to share.

  7. Your bookclub - could it be a bookclub book for you? I can attend by zoom or in real life in Sydney.

Debut authors don’t get a huge marketing budget or a lot of help from the publisher, so it’s up to us to sell enough books that we can keep writing. You only get another chance if your book sells.

So thank you for your support. Now’s the time, and the links are below.

Next week, I’ll be back with fun inspo to make your day a little brighter. But for now, it’s true that I really do need you — and would love your support. So if you can generously share your recommendation, a photo, the links or an actual book (or many books, if you can), that would be amazing.

Thank you, thank you.

Love Catherine x

P.S. If you’d like to help launch The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe today!