Get Happier

Ladies, Start Your Engines...

Hello, my friends!

Yes, it’s time to start your engines. The holiday season is soon kicking off, and if you’re anything like me, it’s time to get busy with the wrapping and the love, the baking and the party-planning.

Not gonna lie, some years I go into the Christmas season with a readiness to BE THE JOY, but this year I’m feeling a little more like cosy-ing up in my pjs and then into my swimmers, and back again. I’m truly craving REST and PEACE.

How are you? How are you really?

Wish we could have coffee and croissants together this morning! I could use some girl-talk.

I met my beautiful friend, Claire, for coffee in a neighbourhood cafe. (And it was so funny — when I walked in, my husband and his friend were there after a long bush walk they’d done, my friend’s husband was there having coffee and I had to laugh…because where could I sit to talk about ANYTHING with everyone there!? Anyway. shout out to the local cafe for being brilliant!)

But back to Claire. She said something that stopped me in my tracks.

Joy or service.

Claire’s words felt right to me. I want to do things that help my people, that spread love in my community, that are useful and relevant. And I want to do things that bring me joy. (Writing - baking - coffee-ing with friends - gift wrapping and tree trimming - gifting ornaments I love - having lunches - all the fun things that brighten my own heart and the hearts of others.)

What I don’t want to do is carry the crap that does not matter:

  • Regret

  • Comparison

  • Paralysing fear

None of those things will help me. They just ruin now, and squeeze the joy out of everything. This season, it’s time to deliberately seek the joy wherever I can find it. That’s my plan for Christmas. Would you like to join me? Would you like to let your shoulders down and be present to each moment that might contain a glimmer of good?

I hope you’re having a relaxing weekend, filled with at least a few things that you love to do.

Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • The red sandals you can walk in forever are on sale. Ideal for Christmas barbecues down under! They’re the perfect shade of red (in person).

  • Welcome to Christmas in Australia! Ha!

  • Speaking of cafes, let’s go to Paris!

  • So cute for my sons’ girlfriends for under the tree. Can you imagine heading out for New Year’s Eve with one of these at age 19 and 23? I’ve got two wrapped up already.

  • Mangoes! Yum! It’s the season around here…

  • How fun is this…went to a meeting at my publisher’s office and this was there to greet me. I love how publishers do this. You kinda feel like it’s your “paparazzi moment”! Hahaha! The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe will hit the shelves in March 2025!

Have Yourself a Beautiful Weekend

Hi friends around the world! How gorgeous is this shot from my local Harris Farm fruit and veg shop? So many beautiful things to share with you this weekend, starting with a story.

Every day when I head into the office in centre of Sydney, I put my breakfast and lunch in the fridge. Breakfast is always a bit of Greek yogurt with some frozen blueberries (easy) and lunch is usually leftover chicken with some vegetables. And every time I open the fridge, there is a BIG PAPER BAG on the top shelf, taking up all the space.

And by the time I walk in at 8am after an hour’s commute, there’s always this short guy from the mailroom making an elaborate breakfast…I’m guessing, with grocery items he stores in the brown bag.

Now there are signs all over the fridge saying it’s cleaned once a week and everything is thrown out on a Wednesday. So, clearly, someone was storing groceries in the brown paper bag.

And that same crinkled brown bag has continued to take up the entire top shelf. FOR MONTHS.

On Thursday, I was in super early…and I was tired and in a bad mood and I just had it with that brown bag. The mailroom guy was not in, so I ripped that bag out of the fridge and took a look inside.

There was one rotten banana in it. That’s it.

For four months, I’d been irritated by the stupid brown bag. For four months, the cleaners also assumed it was full and restocked with someone’s food. And there it sat, taking up an entire shelf, filled with one rotten banana.

The lesson is this: just take a look, CATHERINE. Just investigate. Instead of all the assuming that things are a certain way and you can’t change them (the mailroom guy! His elaborate breakfasts! His brown bag full of groceries taking up half the fridge!)…just take a LOOK and see what you can do.

I threw out the bag and the banana.

It made me wonder how many other times in my life I’ve assumed some kind of dictated helplessness because I thought things couldn’t be different. Too many times.

There are definitely a few more “brown paper bags” in my life at the moment, so I’m starting to take a look, step by step. Who knows? Maybe it’s time for you to do this, too…

Sending you my warmest wishes for a relaxing weekend! I think we could all use a bit of rest and peace.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The fun stuff!

Sunday Ways To Treat Yourself

Hi my friends,

Thanks for all the love and messages from last week! It’s been rainy and cold in Sydney, and it feels so strangely wintery. I’m ready for swimming season, summer dresses and relaxing into Christmas, but the weather is definitely not co-operating.

But last night we had dinner with friends, and their house was so lovely and inviting. I’m a big believer in having people over, and here’s why. I love the day of a dinner party — the early morning clean that makes me appreciate the home we have, the choosing of a menu that I hope people will love, making the dessert, and my favourite part: setting the table, putting out the ‘good china’ and too many tea lights, using the crystal, making everything beautiful.

Of course nobody cares how clean the floor is, or whether our homes are lovely. It’s about being invited in. And last night reminded me of another truth. I believe this one with my whole heart.

Last night, the lesson was to be more fun.

I have been so bogged down and busy with the demands of my new job that I haven’t even remembered who I am or why I’m here.

But being in my friend’s home truly reminded me of FUN. Because she’s a person who embodies joy and celebration and interest and curiousity.

She’s unafraid to reinvent herself. Last night, I watched her shine and I listened to her speak. She was a lesson for me.

Every person is a lesson just for you.

The fabulous lesson. The frustrating lesson. The ‘I Wish I Didn’t Have to Learn This’ lesson. The lesson that says, “Oh, I want more of what she embodies.”

I love this about life: I love the learning.

And on we go—whether we intend to or not—inspiring each other along this path, until we walk each other home.

I hope you have a beautiful day!

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • This shirt is a great basic. Flowy and easy and perfect for work. (Sorry, the photo is not that great, but go try it on and see what you think.)

  • Want to walk a million miles in a pair of heels? Try these classic ones. Seriously, you can stand and walk for 10 hours, no problems.Also perfect for outdoor events if you’re on grass.

  • Christmas is coming — I’ve been listening the new Stella Cole album called SNOW!

  • One of my favourite poems of all time. Oh, the last line! Do you remember this one? America is many things right now, but she has also always been her poets. Published in 1923. Still gives us a shivers of recognition a hundred years later.

  • My friend’s lemon ricotta cake from last night’s dinner party. Yum!

We Are Not Invisible Women

Hello, my friends from around the world. This morning, I wish all of us were in my kitchen together (but we wouldn’t fit, we’d need a huge hall!) I have something to say to you, to my own brain, and it’s this.

We’re growing older, and we are not invisible women.

All the parts of ourselves that are changing are not meant to be criticised and judged.

The arms.

The neck.

The tummy.

We’re not meat packages laid side by side in a grocery store for comment and choosing. I like this bit. This one looks too fatty. Yes to her. No to me.

And we are not invisible.

Our arms are made for holding. Our older teeth and mouth wrinkles are for laughing. Our throats are there to swallow down the disappointments of life and then buck up to help the people we’ve been given to love.

You know this. I know this.

We are not invisible. Not to ourselves, and not to our friends. Certainly not to the people we love.

I am tired of society telling older women we don’t matter, and that we have to look young to look good. I’m tired of women our age who swallow and believe the lie.

I don’t want to pick myself apart, piece by piece. (I don’t want you to do that, either.) I want us to love, fully and deeply, and matter and work and create and build and hope and hold tight to the sails while our people learn to whoosh across oceans…and grow older and wiser themselves.

So today, please take a moment to appreciate you.

  • What have you learned? That everything is survivable.

  • What have you done? Tried — no matter the obstacle.

  • What will you do now? Love and love and love.

People are starting to ask me what my new book is about. And it’s about this: a woman who is sick and tired of people acting like she’s invisible. So she stands up and fights back with humour and joy and love…and baking.

Hugs to all of you, all over the world. Australia. Canada. Sweden. Germany. England, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Portugal, Japan, Barbados, India, Italy, the Channel Islands and America. This is what’s coming for you in 2025 (in some places, via Kindle only). The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe. And I hope you love it. But even if people don’t, I love it. And I’ve worked so hard to bring it into the world.

And on I go, like you do.

Growing older, falling down and standing again.

Because we are not invisible.

Love, Catherine xx

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Do you see the size of this proofread? My Reading Team has been helping me fill out a survey so I understand where and how you buy books. Thank you to my beautiful team!

  • These slides are the best. You know how slides always flop around and slap the back of your feet, even Nike and Adidas ones? These don’t. So good! And you’re getting them half off. Run! Great for Aussie Christmas gifts for the girlsssssss. M=size 8/9 and S=6-7

  • This amazing Aussie female athlete is my son’s girlfriend. She’s an Aussie-Mexican boxer (and Dental Assistant) and is trying to build her Instagram audience to gain sponsorship for her sport. Can you help with a follow? She’s asked for my help, so I’m asking for yours. Thank you!

  • This spot in downtown Sydney is the most beautiful. Take a peek!

  • If my message today has resonated with you, please share this newsletter with a woman who needs to hear it. Thank you. I appreciate you.

A Pause is Also Rest

Hello, friends. Are you ready for some Sunday inspiration? I’m here with a beautiful sunset photo of Luna Park in Sydney…you can read about the history below. I don’t know about you, but when I need a little rest, I try to look at my surroundings with fresh eyes.

A pause is also a rest.

A pause and noticing lets me fall in love with my life again.

I used to believe that it took a holiday or a new experience to let go and relax, but now I know all it takes is noticing what’s right in front of me.

I breathe in and look for something beautiful.

Sometimes I capture it with my phone, and other times I don’t. But it gives me peace and a feeling of wellbeing to know that wherever I am, I can seek out and find something worth looking at and appreciating.

It’s such a simple trick, but I hope you try it. Even now, look out and up—what’s around you that is beautiful?

A pause is also rest.

I hope you have a relaxing Sunday. I’m off to play pit crew for my family…they’re in the Tough Mudder today, which is a race that will have them all covered with mud and water and obstacles and hard, hard, hard. I’ll be the one with the bag of towels and hoodies at the finish line. ♥️

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Good morning, sunshine!

Happy Sunday, everyone. It’s a chilly day in Sydney, Australia, and I’m writing to you from the living room where furniture is stacked everywhere. I painted another room yesterday and promptly caught whatever bug my youngest son had…so I’m a bit tired and feeling unwell.

But. But! I wanted to take a sec to share my blueberry muffins with you.

These are the best. And you know what — you can also make them as a morning tea cake! This recipe will be in my new novel, THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE, coming in March 2025.

Yes — recipes! All my favourite baking recipes will be in the book. I can’t wait.

This one comes together so quickly, but it tastes divine. (Emergency tip: I always keep a package of frozen blueberries on hand, and the ones from Aldi are the absolute best.) You can whip up these muffins and bake in under 30 minutes.

Let’s go!

‘Billie’s Blueberry Muffins from The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe’

INGREDIENTS

  • 195 grams (1 1⁄2 cups) plain flour, spooned and levelled

  • 150 grams (3⁄4 cup) sugar, plus more for muffin tops

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1⁄4 teaspoon seal salt

  • 80ml (1⁄3 cup) vegetable oil

  • 1 large egg

  • 80ml (1⁄3 cup) milk

  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • Generous 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350F fan forced

  2. Line muffin cups with paper lines. You will need around 10.

  3. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl.

  4. Choose a glass measuring jug that holds more than one cup.

  5. Add the oil, then crack in the egg, and pour in enough milk to reach the 1 cup line on the jug. And the vanilla extract and whisk together.

  6. Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry, and stir until the batter comes together. It will be thick. Try not to overmix.

  7. Gently fold in the blueberries.

  8. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with additional sugar.

  9. Depending on your oven, bake for around 15 minutes.

My favourite way to make this recipe is as a morning tea cake when a friend comes over. Pour the batter into a lined cake tin (20cm round, or a small rectangular tin) and bake.

Let me know if you decide to give this one a try.

Sending you best wishes for a fabulous, relaxing Sunday!

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

How to love our age

Hi friends, current and new. I’m Catherine Greer, author and copywriter, and I’m up early with a coffee writing to you before anyone else gets out of bed—including the dog. I feel like I’m having a mini-holiday and I’m trying to be extra quiet so I glean a few peaceful minutes alone. (I love my own company. Do you?)

I’ve been working on my new novel, and copyedits are due this week. In THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE, the main character grapples with the fallout from her own ageing. It’s a funny book, but also true. And yesterday I was writing about why the world expects that we’ll wither away in the second half of our lives.

We’re no longer young and beautiful. We’re experienced and beautiful.

Some things are harder, but a whole lot of things are actually easier. Things like this:

  • Knowing what really matters to us.

  • Being patient.

  • Understanding how and when to forgive — especially when to forgive ourselves.

Growing older makes me think of the past. It is far too easy to mull over our mistakes. And then I realised this.

Whatever we did or failed to do, whatever happened then, and how it happened…it might as well have been 800 years ago.

We can’t go back.

We can’t choose differently.

So why not just let it go? Let it drift down like a piece of white paper we’ve dropped from our hand…because that was then, and this is now.

We grow older. We grow smarter, too. And through it all we balance the hopes and disappointments that come with a life fully lived.

This is loving our age, right? Loving the fact that we’ve lived and are living—that we have today, and now, and the opportunity to enjoy what life is offering us: fresh air, fresh chances.

We can let things go, and move on.

I hope you have the most beautiful Sunday, filled with tiny moments of appreciation, love from unexpected places, and a whole day of rest and peace.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Happy Father’s Day in Australia! This guy’s the best.

  • School’s starting back in North America—and have you seen this beautiful idea? Wow.

  • Reporting back on Moo Goo from last week. I tried and love the face moisturiser. My favourite products are the face cleanser and body cream. Has anyone tried the hair care?

  • I made these blueberry muffins for my son’s early morning drive to the snow for his snowboarding trip and they were so good.

  • Driving back from the beach last week, I found this 70s Road Trip playlist that I loved. I was young in the 70s, but I had so many older siblings so I remember all the music. What about this one? Time to kitchen dance…

Heartbreak Hotel

Hi friends, and hello to the new people this week! I’m Catherine Greer, writer of books, lover of little dogs, mama to grown sons, compulsive baker of Sunday desserts. You’re so welcome here every Sunday in my little corner of the internet garden. I do my best to give you something encouraging and upbeat every week.

But today I want to talk about heartbreak.

You know—all the stuff that drags below the water in our iceberg lives.

If we were in a room together (okay, a huge hall), and we stood up one by one telling our truth, our hearts would be so full of grace and understanding for each other. All the things we never say, the thoughts that give us sharp pains, the secret worries, the wonderings. Can you imagine what that would feel like?

I know it’s the oldest cliche around, but it bears repeating.

Every one of us.

When I wrote Small Steps are Perfect, I said it another way: “Nobody rides for free.”

My week has been a little hard. I’ve been working long hours, and I’m incredibly lucky and grateful to say that my copyedit is almost due on my upcoming novel, The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe. (The title of that book was almost WHEN EVERYTHING IS BITTERSWEET — because everything always is, right?) And yesterday, during edits, my beloved very old, well worn laptop had the neverending beachball pop up and I had a stone in my stomach because gahhhhhhh and I knew it was time to get a new computer. Later that day, I had an upsetting conversation, then another one, and all the while my worries about everything lapped against my ankles like winter ocean waves.

Be kind, Catherine—everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.

So what do we do with our heartbreak? (Asking for a friend…ha.)

I think it’s this:

  • Long walks in nature. Look up at anything that is older than you—the sky, the stars, a tree, rocks or hills.

  • Breathe. Out with worry, in with peace.

  • Love whatever is in front of us. Love the work. The person in the coffee queue. The dog that needs walking. The grubby fridge. The bed you’ve got and the new morning that comes with 24 hours of fresh chances to give life another go.

If you’re in a space of pain or sorrow today, I am so sorry that you’re there…and you really aren’t alone. We all carry our burdens like stones in our hearts.

But let’s keep going.

Let’s dust off, and continue to shine.

I’m hoping that something amazing, unexpected and beautiful happens to you today. And if nobody’s said it to you, Thank you for keeping on keeping on.

Love Catherine x

P. S. The Fun Stuff!

  • In Aussie movie theatres, we have choc tops. I’ve lived here for 26 years, so I don’t know if North American theatres also serve ice cream now? We went to see Iris and the Men…a French film, so it was racy and funny and I’m not gonna link to the trailer because not sure how that will land. So French! On now at Roseville Cinema if you live in Sydney ❤️.

  • I need an eyeshadow tutorial for beginners. I’m so bad at it!

  • This looks so yum. And healthy!

  • I finally bought the viral wide leg trousers from Uniqlo and they’re as good as everyone says. On sale in Sydney now. (I know the photos are kind of average, but the trousers are fantastic.)

  • Elvis, of course. But the best song I know about heartbreak is by Fleetwood Mac.

I Received Some Great Advice This Week

Hi everyone. I had a quick trip down to Melbourne again this week, and I took this photo of a rower on the Yarra River.

Doesn’t it look like a Monet painting?

So beautiful!

While I was there, I received some great advice and I’m excited to share it with you. Here’s the context: life has been a little busy for me lately. You know what this is like, right? Too much to do and too little time, and loads and loads of meetings.

As I was floundering around trying to figure out where to begin, a friend said this:

So simple, right?

To much to do? Feeling overwhelmed and unable to figure out a plan?

Just start by starting, CATHERINE!!!

So here’s what I’m diving into this weekend.

  • Copy edits on my new novel, The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe! Coming to you in March 2025.

  • Finding concrete pavers for some outside renovations that we have to do.

  • Family Dinner tonight, with a delicious dessert. I’m thinking of Sticky Date pudding.

  • And all the things: bathrooms need cleaning, there’s shopping to do, I need to organise my work clothes…

Whew! I don’t know about you, but I’m going to just start by STARTING.

Sending you good vibes for tackling some of the items on your never-ending To Do List. (And asking you as a friend…How are you, really? Hope all is well.)

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Love classical music? My son’s charity concert with Seraphim Strings is on Friday 11 October from 6:30pm at Trackdown Studios in Moore Park, Sydney. All proceeds will be donated to TOO GOOD, a women’s shelter and charity. Are you in America or the UK or Canada? Would you like to make a donation to the concert but can’t attend? You can buy tickets or donate here. Thank you, thank you.

  • I’m finally reading Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites. Reminds me so much of Atwood’s Alias Grace, and I’m loving reading about Iceland. (Note: it’s literary fiction, beautifully nuanced and themes are upsetting. But worth it!)

  • Dancing around my kitchen to this. So fun.

  • Making Sticky Date Pudding for dessert. Yum.

A Curious Thing Happened.

Hello, my friends. Thank you for letting me share your weekend! I love to drop by with a little bit of joy, and a reminder that we get a whole day in front of us. We’re the oldest and smartest we’ve ever been! We’re the youngest we’re ever going to be again!

It’s a lovely day to have a lovely day, in the words of Ella Fitzgerald…

I had a beautiful getaway last weekend filled with chilly air, delicious food, the laughter of women who have been through a lot and have survived it, a chance to dress up, a fireplace, warm matching slippers and love.

While I was away, a curious thing happened. Our beautiful hostess made some pre-dinner drinks, and when she did, she whipped out these icecubes she’d made for us in advance. Can you see them in the photo?

MASSIVE DIAMOND RINGS.

How fun is that? She could’ve done the usual—ice from the tray or even from her fridge dispenser—but she thought of us in advance and froze ice in the laughter-inducing ice cube trays.

She reminded me of something I’ve written about before, but it’s been a while.

It is so easy to forget about BEING fun.

It’s the first thing that drops off our radar as soon as stress hits, but it’s exactly what we need. I believe that pretty much anything can be done with love—and pretty much anything can be done with fun.

Maybe give that a whirl today and see how you feel?

Add a dollop of fun to your Sunday wherever you can. It’s the best way I know to be magnetic and loving to others.

Thinking of you this morning, and I’m hoping you have a beautiful day.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Moonlight, Starlight

Hello, my friends! Giving you a quick wave from my back garden at twilight—and if you’ve read The 10 Minute Fix, you’ll know that’s my favourite time of day. This week I’m saying hello to lots of new people, so that’s why you’re getting a photo of me. Here I am, tired in Sydney.

In case no one has asked you today, how are you? (How are you really?)

Can you tell that I’m wiped out, and ready for some good times? Luckily, I’m heading away for a girls’ weekend and I can’t wait. I’ve scheduled this newsletter for you so you’ll receive it while I’m gone.

It feels like the perfect time to talk about rest.

  • Earlier bedtimes.

  • A routine if you tend to wake up in the middle of the night. (Hello, any 3am people out there? Come over for tea and cake…I’m up.)

  • A willingness to stop and let things be.

I’m talking to myself here, but maybe also to you. If you need a rest, please take one. If you have people around you who will help, ask them. Resting is about ourselves but it’s also about the people who love us.

Even if I don’t know you in person, I am absolutely certain that this is true: it’s critical to take a break when it’s time.

We need you here, shining.

We need you here, feeling good and being free.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

How Beautiful is Melbourne?

Hello, friends (and hi to all the new people this week)! I’m Catherine Greer, author and copywriter, lover of hot coffee in the morning, books that make me laugh, and long in-person chats with girlfriends…especially when the chats involve cake.

This week I travelled to Melbourne for work, and it’s a beautiful city. Cold in the winter—for us in Australia, cold is somewhere around 5-10 degrees C—but oh, so lovely.

The cafes!

The hot coffee!

The bookshops!

The people!

My trip made me think of a superpower we can all have, no matter where we live or what we do. We can choose to love things.

It’s true: I like to love things. It makes me so much happier than criticising something.

And the best news? We can choose to like most things.

  • Business trips that start at 4am and finish at 9pm two days later? I can choose to love Melbourne.

  • A sink full of dishes that somebody left in the kitchen? I can choose to love that I have a kitchen, hot running water, time to wash up (and the ability to stand and wash up).

  • Exercise that needs to be done? I can choose to love that I’m well enough to have exercise on my To Do List.

I was up and heading to the airport at 4:45am this week. And you know what I kept telling myself? I LOVE AIRPORTS. PEOPLE ARE SO EXCITED AT AIRPORTS. I decided to choose to love it.

Yes, I know it’s all a bit irritating….and I’m not telling anyone to just smileeeeeee and get on with it when things are truly terrible. But I do find that criticising always makes me feel worse. Loving things makes me feel better. And choosing to love something? That’s a superpower all of us have.

Enjoy your Sunday. I hope you can give this idea a whirl today and see how it goes for you.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Solo Joy

Hello, friends. And hello if you’re new this week!

A beautiful reader sent me an email last week that gently suggested, “Recommendations on how to have joy solo would be appreciated.” Sarah, you’re absolutely right — and this one is for you.

Solo joy. It’s so possible.

Here’s how I would approach it.

  1. Learn what is fun for you. Hint: it’s not necessarily the same as what other people find fun. We need to think about finding our flow: what lights us up? What makes us lose track of time? For me, that’s writing and revising books. It’s baking cakes. Doing a puzzle. (It’s not going to new restaurants or travelling…but that might be fun for you.)

  2. Plan a joyful treat for yourself just so that you can look forward to it. Spend some time in pleasant anticipation, and set the scene beautifully for what you want to do. If you love to cook and enjoy a special meal, plan it for a few days from now. Anticipate it, and remind yourself you’ve planned a treat just for you. Choose music you love, set the table the way you like it, light the candles, cook (comfort food or something new or takeaway). Savour it. The planning and anticipation make it special.

  3. Be where your feet are. Feel the experience and appreciate it. Talk out loud if you’re at home. Speak words of encouragement and joy over your own life. Say what you love about the experience you’ve created for yourself with so much care. (“I love this! I love treating myself to a brand new novel and a hot cup of tea.”)

  4. Revel in the peace of being with yourself. So few people have peace and it’s completely under-rated. Our nervous systems need it: the calm nest we can create, the beautiful music, the deep breaths, the feeling that everything is okay.

  5. Top and tail your day with joy. For me, that’s hot coffee first thing in the morning and reading in bed at night (especially if I heat the bed up first with an electric throw in this chilly Aussie winter!). I love to create tiny sparks of joy for myself: the ritual of finding the next good book in the library or the bookshop, discovering my favourite coffee pod for the little Nespresso machine, using my favourite coffee mug, sitting in my favourite chair.

  6. All of us are solo in our own brains. Take a moment to ask yourself this: how am I talking to myself? Am I encouraging and kind? Do I love my own company? Here’s an important question: are you spending too much time being the mean version of yourself to yourself—Mean Catherine, Mean Juliana, Mean Helen? Or are you kind and grace-filled towards yourself, like you would be to a friend? (I need to work on this!)

It was good to be reminded about our solo friends that join us here every Sunday, so thank you for giving me the loving nudge to write about other ways of living.

It’s fair to say I write most things about my own lived experience, but that doesn’t mean I should forget about the experiences of others. If my life seems happy and full of family and moving parts, it is—but it is also hard and uphill, too. So uphill sometimes! If only you knew! On the internet, we tend to share a tiny sliver of what’s going on, and I like to be encouraging and upbeat. But I know sadness and pain, and so do you, my friends.

Solo: life can be hard. In a family: life can be hard.

My mother likes to tell me the story of everyone wearing a backpack filled with their problems. They’re able to walk into a huge room, lay the backpack down, pick up someone else’s backpack without knowing what’s inside and walk out. Whose backpack would you take? Probably your own.

This is what I know for sure: living solo is a full life. Carrying a family is a full life. All of us have people we’ve been given to love, even if it’s the neighbour next door who adores our carrot cake, commuters on the train, or the stranger who looks like they need a kind word in the fruit and veg market. We’re all connected. We find our joy where we plant it. We do the best we can with what we have in our own two hands.

No matter what you’re currently carrying, I hope today is beautiful for you. I hope you fill yourself to the brim with deliberate joy. I’m thinking of all of us around the world, flying solo and together.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Sitting at my desk writing to you this morning, no makeup, freezing cold. Hiiiiii - it’s perfectly imperfect me.

  • The most beautiful way to do a simple task with love.

  • Aussie friends…I love this cable knit jumper so much. Sharing it again! The beige is even softer than the grey. Sold out in so many stores. A total winner.

  • Twice I saw a lyrebird when I was on a bushwalk one morning. Amazing.

  • You will laugh (especially if you read the caption…). I cried laughing.

Come Over for Coffee...

Hi my friends, and hello to all the new faces around here. Wish you could come over for a coffee at my house in wintery Sydney! It’s time for a quick intro and a photo, so all the new people see who’s writing to them.

You’ve signed up for this Sunday newsletter from me, Catherine Greer, Canadian-Australian, author and mother, wife and small dog lover. I let my hair go grey at 49, which was a bit radical at the time. I love shiny stuff (fun rings, pretty dishes, crystal glassware) and I’m so glad YOU are here today.

How has your week been? How are you really?

I’ve been uneven.

That’s to say: my workout and weights routine has gone haywire, I haven’t been as consistent with walking, and I’m feeling a bit like I’m on the downward slide.

When my life gets like this, three crazy things help me. So simple that they’re embarrassing. Are you ready?

  1. I take a sec to do my hair — wash and blow dry.

  2. I make everything smell beautiful (scented candles, perfume, the nice body lotion on my hands, legs and feet).

  3. I get outside in nature (a bushwalk, not the city streets).

And I remind myself of this. Take a breather, Catherine. Consider what really matters. Because as soon as I get stressed, my stress is what flows out of me. I get short with my family. I think too much about myself, my own worries and concerns. I ruminate. I worry until I tire myself out. And then…I speak unkindly to the people who matter most—to the people I’ve been given to love.

Because this is true:

Just for today, I’m going to be full of LOVE.

I have a Sunday to enjoy, and people all around me in this house and suburb and city who could use a little lightheartedness. It’s time to speak some FUN. To speak some joy. To be more encouraging to myself and everyone else.

I’m going to give that a whirl and see where takes me. I hope you have a beautiful Sunday, too.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The fun stuff!

  • The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is coming in March 2025. If you love to read for joy, and if you want a book that makes you feel good and have a laugh and see what it’s like to live in Australia, this one’s for you.

  • Breathtaking! Do you also love white sand beaches?

  • If you can’t sleep, here’s my favourite free meditation. This one works for me! 14 minutes.

  • Love this cute travel outfit.

  • The most wonderful Aussie cookbook. Easy, practical recipes. Everything is good. So worth it!

All the Fun Stuff

Hi friends. It’s been a whirlwind week…or maybe a tornado week would be a better description. That’s why I am so excited for the weekend. It’s time for some Deliberate Fun.

It’s easy to sit back and hope that fun will happen to me, but usually I find the best way to have a good time and experience peace and joy is to BE the good time, and BE the peace and joy.

Today, I’ll use a few simple tricks that I know will bring happiness right into our home:

  • I’ll pop a gorgeous, bright tablecloth on the kitchen table.

  • I’ll make a delicious Sunday dessert.

  • I’ll learn something new — today it’s so simple: homemade mozzarella.

  • I’ll stop for an afternoon at-home coffee with someone I love.

  • I’ll go for a walk in the fallen autumn leaves in our suburb.

  • And I’ll notice every single thing we DO have.

I found a little quote a long time ago, and I loved it and kept it. (Apologies — not sure of the source.)

I hope your Sunday is filled with all the joy you can bring to it.

I hope you and your loved ones are well and safe.

I hope you have a house full of love: sunlight and friends, fresh air and new mornings, work and joy, people who need you and know you.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. More of the Fun Stuff!

How to Deal with Overwhelming Emotions

Hi friends. I hope your weekend has been filled with rest and peace…and some unexpected fun!

But if it hasn’t — I wanted to share my easiest trick for dealing with feeling overwhelmed. For years now, when too much is going on at once and I feel stuck or unsure, I use the One Piece of Paper Trick. I wrote about it in Chapter 23 of The 10 Minute Fix.

I take a huge sheet of paper…you can use anything, even A4, but I specifically bought one ream of A3 paper for this, and I am slowly using it through the years. I like something BIG for big thoughts and plans (and problems).

On the paper, I brain dump everything that’s going on, and I place those things in categories like Family, Work, Books, Health and Fitness, and any other topics that are on my heart and mind. Then I make lists of what is working, and what isn’t.

It helps so much to see everything on one page.

Try it for yourself and see — it’s the best way to plan and feel like you have a bird’s eye view of your life. You can group all your worries and joys in one place. A simple paper of paper can help you breathe a little easier, I promise.

And yes, I do still use my own book! I wrote it for others, but also myself, and it’s a collection of ideas I need to move forward with happiness, confidence and far less worry.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend. I hope something unexpected and lovely happens to you!

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • I’m trying to improve my chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know if it’s my oven or what, but my cookies are just not as good as usual. I’m going to try this recipe. Tips?? Let me know.

  • Remember this gorgeous line from Emily Dickinson? I am out with lanterns, looking for myself…

  • I know, I know, the photo looks pretty terrible, but I’ve seen this dress on so many women online and it looks AMAZING. I’m tempted to try it. (Note: they were all a bigger size, too, not super slim.)

  • A favourite song for table dancing (you know, when you’re all sitting around playing a game, or having some snacks and you shimmy your shoulders and bounce in your seat?). Also great for cleaning the kitchen. It’s the song that makes everyone sing along…wah, wah, wah….here on YouTube and here on Spotify.

A Fun Thing Lately

Hello from beautiful Sydney! Here’s a picture I took recently of the Opera House at dawn — isn’t it lovely? If you’re from overseas and haven’t visited here yet, you should consider Australia for your List. It’s such a beautiful country.

Now, onto some fun!

Lately my life has been extra Life-y, and you already know my favourite trick. When things are hard, I try to throw some good right back into the world. It somehow makes me feel like I’ve got more control that I really do. The “good” is often simple (running over to my elderly neighbour, Robert, with a piece of carrot cake, doing an adult son’s laundry when he’s extra busy, or smiling at someone in a shopping mall who looks like they need a lift.)

But here’s the other thing I’ve been trying recently.

I’ve been working on expanding my joy. When I feel happy, I try to focus on that feeling for a full minute — savour it and enjoy it.

I think of it this way.

Whatever is lovely or makes me feel happy, I imagine shining a metaphorical flashlight at it, so I can notice it and focus on it.

Does it make the worry go away? Not really.

But it makes me feel better and more balanced, and it makes me remember that life usually holds moments of peace and relief and happiness, even when things are hard.

If you’re in an extra Life-y season right now, I hope this helps you, too. And I’m sending all my thoughts your way for something beautiful and unexpected to happen to you today.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Do you love to dance? Sharing with you a picture of… Ta Da! Our garage. Hahaha! Here’s the reason our garage is so fun. During Covid lockdown, we needed more space, so we started parking our cars outside and now we have a ‘gym’ and my favourite thing in the world…’a dance studio.’ This little string of lights from Bunnings and the peel and stick wall mirrors from IKEA make me so happy. Yes, it’s where my husband and I practice our dancing — and that’s exactly what we did for an hour on Saturday night. It’s my joy. I took a photo of it to shine a flashlight on it.

  • Open Door, Open Heart. A dear friend from Canada taught me how to make my own iced tea. Genius! Why have I never thought of this?? You can follow along here. She has the most beautiful heart.

  • My winter Aussie friends — this Kmart jumper dupe is so fantastic. Size down as it’s really quite big.

  • Wow. I’m sharing one more time because it’s AMAZING, I love the Shark Hairstyling tool my beautiful cousin gifted me for my birthday. I cannot get over how great it is. It’s pricey, but if that’s in your budget…you will not regret this. Link is here. Worth it.

A little hit of happiness for you today...

Hi everyone — and hello to you if you’re new here. I’m Catherine Greer, author and baker, Sunday dinner dessert maker, corporate copywriter and trainer, mum to two adult sons AND a stubborn little shih tzu pup. (You’re getting this email because you signed up at Love Our Age, probably after reading one of my books. Thank you! I am so, so glad you’re here.)

Today I have a little happiness tip for you, and it’s something I’ve always done with my own family. I think this is because I have sons — and they can be a bit light on the emotional details when we talk. Over the years, I’ve drifted into the habit of asking them two questions that cause the defences to tumble down.

First I say, “How are you?”

And then I say this:

Try it with someone you love and see what happens.

They’ll soften. They’ll look at you — and open their hearts.

The older I get, the more I realise that connection is the best and most beautiful thing we have. (Think about it: when was the last time YOU were asked “How are you — really?”) How does it make your heart feel to be asked that by me now?

If life is tricky for you today, I hope you have ways to give yourself a little break. I’m going to put some links to do-able things in The Fun Stuff below. Cookies! Hot chocolate! And if you need to heal or improve a relationship with someone you love, take a moment to ask them how they are…really.

Enjoy your Sunday. I hope you find all the peace you need today.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The fun stuff!

  • First up, a tiny thing: this sugar free hot chocolate. Oh my goodness! It’s fantastic — even if you make it with water. Run to the shops and get some for yourself. It. Is. So. Good.

  • Take at look at my hair in the photo today. Guys, I have okay hair normally — it’s not my best feature by any means. BUT my beautiful cousin gifted me the BEST EVER styling tool for my birthday and all I can say is WOWWWWWWW. If you can afford this, I’d definitely invest in it. I feel so lucky to be given one, and I’d give it a million stars in my review. So good. So easy to use. In the photo above, I used the curling wand attachment and it’s just fabulous. Link is here. Worth it.

  • These gluten free cookies. Amazing, amazing, amazing and just three ingredients. You could whip them up in under ten minutes.

Hello...I'm back! And I missed you. 🩷

Hello, my friends.

After a four month break to recharge and reset, I’m back with regular Sunday morning (in Australia) emails straight to your inbox. If you’re not sure why you’re receiving this, I’m Catherine Greer, author of books including The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps are Perfect, and you signed up for my weekly newsletter.

I have so many new thoughts and ideas to share with you!

Today, though, I just wanted to catch up and say that I’ve missed you. And I’m leaving you with this little question about your worries.

It’s always better to live high-vibe. Right? Right.

Enjoy your beautiful weekend. Have some fun, and be fun to live with!

Love, Catherine x

P.S. What you can expect ongoing…

  • So many of you are NEW here - hello, and welcome to all of you who’ve signed up in the last four months! I’ll be writing to you weekly with upbeat inspiration and hints and tips about wellness and happiness.

  • I’ll share new or old recipes I love - this one I can’t wait to try.

  • Little skills that look fun. I’ve always wanted to be able to do this. 🩷

This is happening lately...

Hi friends! A quick intro for the new people: I’m Catherine Greer, lover of shoes, kitchen dancing, finding joy, making Sunday desserts and writing books. Thanks for joining me for a little weekly inspiration. You’ll hear from me every Sunday morning in Australia (Saturday night overseas). If you need a reminder of what I look like, I’m a silver-sister, here on Instagram but I haven’t posted in ages…

I had a realisation this week and it really shook me, so I’m sharing it with you.

Maybe it will help?

Here’s the story: as well as writing books, I also work in Australia’s finance world as a copywriter and communications specialist. This means I write all the things — books and blogs (adult novels, picture books, young adult novels) and also executive speeches, business articles, presentations, advertisements and more.

I was struggling with a presentation — trying to make it look good, trying to find the right words — and suddenly the simple solution just came to me.

The problem with how I approach things is that I plow ahead, diligently, doing MORE of the same thing until I get the results I want.

And I made a coffee that morning and thought of the famous words that are usually misattributed to Einstein (but probably came from an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting — see link below): “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

So I made a promise that I would spend the week like this:

It sounds so simple.

My results were amazing.

I don’t know how long my comfortable brain has had me stuck in so many areas of my life, but now I’m changing it up. From the simple to the complex, I’m over here trying EVERYTHING differently.

  • The type of dishcloths I use get so smelly when the boys just leave them wet in the sink. Now: sponges.

  • My morning routine: it has always been slow chair time with hot coffee. Now: I want to be the one to walk the dog in the fresh morning air.

  • Eyeliner: watch a YouTube video.

  • Gift wrapping: try another way for bulky packages - link below and it’s fabulous.

Every single thing I’ve done differently has worked so much better.

I wonder if it will do the same for you?

Sending you good vibes and all the blessings this weekend. Next week, I promise we’ll race towards the holidays togather.

Stay tuned for favourite recipes, lots of baking and more!

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The fun stuff!