Sunday Pick-Me-Up!

Hi friends! It’s Catherine from The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps Are Perfect.

What’s new in your world?

For us in Sydney, spring is in swing, bush turkeys are trying to nest in our back garden (eeeeep!) and I’ve been busy writing a new novel that I think you’re going to love. It’s been so much fun!

Also: I found a new recipe for chocolate cake that I’m going to try for my weekly Sunday desert AND I’m starting to put out my nutcracker collection. There’s a story behind them, so if you don’t yet follow me on Instagram, you can read about it here.

This cute guy on a rocking horse is here in Australia (and you can order online, but be quick…they sell out so fast!) Here’s a similar one on Amazon.

Today I plan to rest a whole lot, to make dinner with love for my crew, put a tablecloth and a table runner on the table and enjoy the things I have. The fancy glasses. The beautiful plates.

Lately, I’ve been considering this idea and it’s changed the way I approach my days.

So true.

Today, for me, it’s pure enjoyment of all the things in front of me. The good (family dinner, a table to set, a meal to cook, a cake to bake, a book to write) and the not-great (laundry, weekend copywriting to meet a deadline, and all the hard things we don’t tell each other but we all deal with every day).

Wherever you are, I hope you enjoy your day.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. New book out now!

Why would a woman love Small Steps Are Perfect? You can grab it when you feel a little down, and be inspired. Letting lovely new people know where to find it:

• Aussies, to support a local online bookseller, try the lovely folks at Northern Books here. They deliver Australia-wide. It’s also here.

• in Canada (selling out so fast!)

• in America

• in the UK

• in Germany

This is so much fun.

Hi to so many new friends who are joining us this week, and hello to everyone who has been here for a while. Thanks for sharing my Sunday! It’s Catherine (from Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix) dropping in to say hello…

…at 4:37am on Sunday morning! Yep, couldn’t sleep, thinking of you.

Why?

This idea.

Ruby slippers. Red shoes. A metaphor.

I wrote about it in The 10 Minute Fix, but it bears repeating:

Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz could have gone home at any time. So can we.

We’re already wearing the ruby slippers…but we forget.

Let me give you an example in my own life this week. Please do go ahead and insert your version of fun in the place of mine. For me, dancing is so much fun. But truly, how many chances do you get to have a boogie? At a wedding? Maybe at a party. A couple of times a year at most, right?

Wrong.

This weekend I remembered I can dance any time I want to. I put in my earbuds. I pick a song I love. I shut the door. I can have a dance with me, for me.

Anytime. Several times a day.

It makes me so happy.

I know this is obvious, but be honest: how often do you actually allow yourself to do what’s fun?

I’m guessing you can probably go and do that thing right now.

Who is stopping you? You are.

Who was stopping me? I was. But not anymore.

If your life feels a little short on fun at the moment, HEY! We’re adults. We can give ourselves the gift of having fun, and being fun.

We’re already wearing the red shoes, my friends. Let’s hop up, put our phones down, and do something that we love.

Let’s LOVE our age,

Catherine xx

ps. Fun stuff for you…

• Red shoes. Truth: I’m not a red person, but I would wear pink all the day long. Still, these are fun red heels. High, though. I barely do this anymore! Or cute with shorts or wow, red trainers. Okay, maybe I could wear red shoes :)

• Why would a woman love Small Steps Are Perfect? You can grab it when you feel a little down, and be inspired. Letting lovely new people know where to find it:

  • Aussies, to support a local online bookseller, try the lovely folks at Northern Books here. They deliver Australia-wide. It’s also here.

  • in Canada (selling out so fast!)

  • in America

  • in the UK

  • in Germany

5 Surprising Ways To Feel Better Even If You're Tired

Hi, my friends. It’s Catherine from Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Happy Freedom Day, New South Wales — we’re out of lockdown on Monday! For everyone from every country, thank you for being here with me.

We have 83 days left in the year, which gives us so many chances to do and be all the things we might have been in 2021.

That’s 83 sunrises and 83 night walks.

83 fresh starts.

When I was writing Small Steps Are Perfect, I learned five surprising ways to feel better — no matter what was happening in my life. If you’re like me, we’re ALL tired of Covid and being steeped in the daily tea of negativity and bad news.

I was also struggling with some personal bad news and setbacks, and ugh, I needed these tips.

In case you’re not able to get my book just now, I wanted to share them with you here.

1. Failure can be a good thing. It can force us to get moving.

2. Choose who you let sit at the judges’ table in your life. Everyone has an opinion. Should it matter to you? You can choose.

3. Allow other people to be wrong about you. That’s it: just let them be wrong.

4. Try not to miss it twice. If you’ve made a commitment to try something new — writing your book, exercising, having a day of healthy eating — missing once is okay, but try not to miss it twice.

5. Sometimes a book can really help especially when we don’t want to share what’s happening. Like Beyonce with her Lemonade album (she turned lemons into lemonade), I wrote the book that I needed to read when I had a very hard year. That book is Small Steps Are Perfect. It cheered me on. It’ll cheer you on, too. It will also cheer on a friend who’s having a tough time.

Small steps are perfect. They really are. We have 83 days to enjoy, to live a little, to do the things we wanted to do in 2021.

Love, Catherine x

PS. You can find Small Steps Are Perfect here:

• to support a local online bookseller in Australia, try the lovely folks at Northern Books here. They deliver Australia-wide.

• in Canada (selling out so fast!)

• in America

• in the UK

• in Germany

An Easy Life Hack

Hello, everyone! Welcome, new people…

How are you? How has life been this week? I’m double vaxxed, and was pretty sick from my second Pfizer but I slept for 13 hours last night and now I feel ready to take on the world and get moving.

I hope you’re finding a few new ways to nurture yourself this weekend. For me, this always works:

• Making a special weekend dessert. Strawberries are in season—hooray—so for us it’s Strawberry Shortcake.

• From The 10 Minute Fix, asking, “How is this working in my favour?”

• Doing a gratitude inventory every night when I climb into bed. The soft blankets, the safety, these are my touchpoint to list all the things in my life I’m grateful for.

But today I want to share such a good Life Hack that I learned this week. Are you ready? It’s a total game-changer and it’s so simple. I heard it on a podcast and thought, wow.

That’s it. Just allow other people to be completely wrong about you.

• The family member who still thinks you’re the same person you were when you were 16 years old now that you’re 55? Deep breath. Let her be wrong about you.

• The person who criticises your parenting, your home or your life choices? Deep breath. Let her be wrong about you.

• The manager who doesn’t get how hard you’re working? Deep breath. Let him be wrong about you.

We’re not for everyone. I know this is true. But what I’ve learned is that we can just let people be wrong about us sometimes, and not have to argue it away, or defend ourselves, or even make it a big deal.

Sometimes people are wrong about us.

And that’s okay.

Hope you enjoy this beautiful weekend! I know there’s a lot going on in the world and in our lives, so let’s treat ourselves a little better today and find joy where we can.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Need a little comfort & joy? YAY, exciting book news for you next weekend…

• Strawberry Shortcake, such a treat. I make mine as a cake (not individual muffins), in a 20cm round pan. Here’s a recipe similar to mine. Honestly, I don’t think gluten free flour would be very good... Perfect for afternoon tea during the height of strawberry season. It takes 20 minutes. Easy!

• Reaching out to anyone impacted by lockdown, illness, or the terribly sad events in Afghanistan. I’m so sorry if things are hard right now. Try to take a gentle walk in the sun today if you can. I know it seems simple, but walking always helps.

Let's Have A Big Catch-up

Hi everyone! It’s Catherine…giving you a big wave from deep in the heart of lockdown in Sydney. We’ve got beautiful weather this weekend in our Aussie winter, and though so much is going on in the world — Afghanistan, Haiti, Covid — I’m going to do my best to spread some joy around if I can.

I feel like we all need a big catch up. Wish I could host a zoom party right now and ask you how you are. I’m sorry the world is in so much turmoil and I hope you’re doing okay. Me? I’m missing connection with all the people I love but we’re optimistic. We’ve sorted out every nook and cranny for space and flexibility in our home: the teen skateboards in the garage in between zoom school, my husband works in there or at the kitchen table, my uni son is talking Law and Business nonstop over zoom, and sometimes I think….this house has never been so well used. I can barely remember the days when I was here all week on my own! My last jab is Thursday, and I’m hoping it doesn’t make me feel sick like the first one. That’s us. How about you??

Deep breath.

Let’s talk about fun, frivolous stuff and take a little break.

Blue nail polish!

If you haven’t tried it yet and you feel kind of sad this weekend, please do. Just get some blue nail polish and see how it makes you feel. Blue is fun, and we all need a little more of that around here. My favourite is Essie Bikini So Teeny.

In Canada, my family is celebrating a wedding this weekend (wish I could be there!). My sis, Dar (the gardener from The 10 Minute Fix and also the mother of the groom) sent me a photo of her gorgeous blue nail polish, which really made me wish I had the chance to dance the night away with all my family in the prairies at a wedding. I love to dance, and when I was a little girl I made myself the promise that if ever there was dancing, I would be on the floor. It’s one value I’ve held close to my heart for the last fifty years. If there is music on, I will dance.

(Photo source unknown…)

Rest!

This week, I rested. I’m basically never sick, but this week I felt unwell so I actually spent some time in bed.

While resting, I listened to a really great podcast on comfort eating. (Hello, Covid Lockdown. Come in and let me just eat all my feelings…and while I’m at it, I’ll decide it’s a great time to start baking buttermilk biscuits…ha!) The host said something really interesting about how we often tell ourselves, “I just can’t seem to xxxxxx.” She suggested we flip that script to this.

I love this idea! Does it inspire you like it does me? I’ve spent today flipping my “I can’t xxxx” into “I wonder if I can just xxx”

• I wonder if I can just wipe out the microwave while my coffee is brewing?

• I wonder if I can just have a mandarin instead of chocolate?

• I wonder if I can put on a cozy knit dress and tights instead of trackies?

Pretty in pink.

Galahs always seem to walk down the street in my neighbourhood. Why do they walk? True blue Aussies, please tell me why. I’ve only lived here for 24 years…

Okay, friends: blue nail polish, flipping the script, strolling galahs…that’s all I have for you today.

Thank you for being here, and for taking a little glimpse into my world.

See you next Sunday, and sending love.

Catherine x

PS.

If you’re Aussie and lockdown is hard, we’ve tried this:

• setting up a puzzle on the living room coffee table (excellent conversation zone!)

• making homemade pizza every friday night

• regular coffee break walks around the backyard during the day (“Hey, let’s go walk around the pool…”)

• reminding ourselves that older generations lived through war and loss (giving up their sons and lovers and so much more)

• recognising that people in Haiti and Afghanistan are truly, truly suffering

• reaching out with group texts and buddy checks on friends

If you’re overseas, wishing you a fabulous last week of summer before the glory of autumn sets in!

A Simple Pick-Me-Up

Hi everyone! If you’re new this week, it’s Catherine writing to you (author of The 10 Minute Fix) with some weekend inspiration…

Yesterday, wow, I was tired. Tired. It was Saturday in Australia, we’re in what feels like Week Seven Thousand of lockdown, I’d been working frantically on a secret surprise—announced soon!—AND all the things needed doing. Laundry. Floors. The kitchen windows. Our bedroom.

There were dust bunnies, actual dirt, piles of shoes everywhere…gahhhh!

I’m a tidy person, but I hate cleaning. You??

Some people love cleaning and I made myself a coffee and thought about why. Then I remembered the famous Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn. He wrote about washing dishes as meditation (prayer).

How often have you been sucked away into the future? For me, that’s pretty much every second of every day. Ouch!

I needed to “wash the dishes to wash the dishes” and notice what I have.

I started on my bedroom dresser. See it sparkling above?

• I dusted my wedding photo and let my heart swell. My handsome naval officer husband! The sunny autumn day. The mother of pearl flowers in my hair from my own mother’s wedding bouquet, saved from 1952. Being so young and so happy.

• I wiped off the “puppy” my then 7 year old son, EJ, sculpted in art class. He came home and gave it to me, wrapped in tissue, and said, “It’s pretty good, but I forgot that dogs have noses.”

• I sorted and cleaned my pretty earrings. How lucky am I have to have all these “jewels”? If I could tell 7 year old Catherine that one day she’d have trays of pretty earrings, the little-girl me would have been SO excited.

I cleaned with love.

It made all the difference.

This morning I woke up to sunlight through the timber blinds, clean sheets, a beautifully organised dresser, scrubbed floors, a pristine bathroom.

In cleaning up, I gave myself a gift. I don’t know about you, but I think I learned the secret of why some people enjoy cleaning. It feels so good to love what we have, to notice it, to “wash the dishes” with intention and care.

Just a little something to think about as you enjoy your beautiful weekend. Let’s be here today, and not get “sucked away into the future.”

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• Working on my fitness a little, and these are the best biker shorts on Amazon…you guys! I love these (so many colours), and I love this workout bra, too. I always size up a lot because I find they run small. So good for the price.

• Oh, lockdown! As our worlds get a little smaller—we’re down to a 5KM radius of travel now—I’m thinking about all of you here. I hope you’re still able to work. Our family is okay (we can work from home), but many aren’t and I hope you’re able to find the resources you need during these tough times.

• A photo from the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday…I appreciated the beautiful photography and thought all the overseas readers might be interested in seeing it.

Checklist for a Fun Sunday

Hi everyone, and welcome new people. It’s time for Sunday Funday around here…despite lockdown and feeling a little crummy from my vaccine on Thursday.

Here’s a checklist to make your weekend fun:

1. Afternoon tea: this is always a good idea. Fresh scones, cream and jam, put on the coffee or the tea. Perfect even if you’re on your own. Aussies have the most fun lemonade (7-Up) scone recipe.

2. Kitchen dance: by yourself with your earbuds in, or crank up the tunes. I loved rediscovering David Bowie this week… “Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes…”

3. Make a dessert with Sunday dinner. These Lemon Pudding Cakes look amazing.

4. Go for a walk in the starry evening. Learn the story behind Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

5. Remember your favourite story as a kid: I loved The Little Red Caboose and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Which stories have stayed with you your whole life? Remember them now for an instant happiness hit.

6. Polish your nails? See how often you take pleasure in noticing your hands. I love this Essie Lovie Dovie nail varnish! What a fun colour.

7. If you can, treat yourself to a little something-something. You know what you love: flowers, down time to relax, a delicious treat. Here in Australian winter, I’ve been cutting camellias to enjoy!

8. Give someone a compliment. Grab your phone, send a text now…3,2,1 go!

9. Remember your feet! Lotion, give yourself a foot massage, do some foot stretches. Our feet hold us all day long and need a little TLC and respect.

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are.

We’re still here, we’ve got some people to love and really, that’s all that matters.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• How are you doing? Really, how are you? (I hope someone asks you in real life today, and takes the time to listen…)

The Best Advice I Ever Heard

Hi friends (and new friends who’ve found me from my book, The 10 Minute Fix!) I’m glad you’re here.

I’m Catherine, writing from Sydney, Australia: 55 and still going strong…freckles, wrinkles and a few extra Covid Lockdown Kilos but hey, here we all are: authentically us. Right?

Today I wanted to share some of the best advice I’ve ever heard. This little bit of wisdom is super old, but here it is:

This means that if we’re not failing, we’re not even in the neighbourhood of success.

It’s hard to remember when we fail at something that failure is necessary. It means we’re in the game. Success and failure go together, and you can’t really have one without the other.

We’re learning either way, but the truth is that we learn so much more from failing. Gahhhhh, I don’t like this but it’s true.

I love to be the pourer of the coffee or the bubbly, the friend who whips up a celebration cake, pops on a dress and some earrings and says, “YAY! Let’s celebrate!”

I’m wired to be a forever-cheerleader.

BUT we all fail. I certainly do. Oh, I could tell you some stories and cry you a river…

Failing is never fun, but it’s the quickest path I know to growing and learning. The key is to stay in the same neighbourhood and head off in a new, revised direction.

If you’re trying something new—or if you’ve recently had a ‘wee upset’ (like my British friend calls it)—I hope you’re still walking. Move, move, move, anyway you can. Keep that trajectory forward.

Thinking of all of us Aussies today (lockdown continues but our weather is lovely), and everyone overseas enjoying summer dresses and having barbecues. I’m going to make that Blackberry Cake from last week, walk our puppy, and work on a NEW book written just for you! Yipppeee.

I hope you’re well.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Cry Me A River with the amazing Julie London. Her voice!

• Aussies, grab a package of frozen blackberries and you’ll have everything you need to make the most delicious cake from last week. Summer people, you’re in blackberry season. Lucky you.

• Vegan and healthy-healthy friends—can you help? I sometimes search for good desserts to serve vegan friends (because I’m a compulsive baker). Do you have anything to share? Email me here. All I have is the best recipe for Delicious Raw Brownies.

• Pink trackies above…I had a tracksuit almost identical to this one when I was 17, and I bought my sisters the matching blue, green and pink pastel sets for Christmas. This one is so soft and cuddly, and Aussies, it’s here on a fabulous sale (not an affiliate link). Thanks to my stylist-friend for letting me know! Love!

I Refuse To Be Sad During Sydney Lockdown

Hi from extended lockdown in Sydney, which has not been improved by the rainiest rainy weekend. This photo is from the freedom days (not this lockdown), when we could go try on cute jumpers and fake leather pants…

But I refuse to be sad.

I’m doing my best to make the most of lockdown and it looks like this:

• Losing badly at Scrabble while table dancing, listening to upbeat Simon and Garfunkel and Johnnie Cash, and doing the kitchen two-step with my son so he remembers how to dance if we ever get to attend a family wedding.

• Doing an easy puzzle of the world on the living room coffee table.

• Walking the puppy in between rain showers.

• Hauling in the veggies from Harris Farm. Have you ever seen a Broccoli Romanesco? Me either. Doesn’t it look like something you’d pick up on the beach, or find on a column in a cathedral? Nature made this. Amazing.

I’m also writing—stay tuned on that—and eating chocolate, drinking lots of coffee, and finding ways to keep our spirits up.

If you’re in the middle of summer and freedom, enjoy! If you’re weary, feeling small…sending you hugs from Sydney.

Love Catherine xx

PS.

• Upbeat Simon and Garfunkel…gee, but it’s great to be back home….

• Fun tip with tights…you know how they always work their way down, down, down and are so irritating? This winter I bought footless tights to wear with socks. Oh my word, so much better!! (See below). Nothing slips. Truly comfortable. I love these fleecy warm ones and these cooler ones, too.

• My favourite watch is here—I really love the rose gold + silver.

• My Melbourne friend, Emma Bowd, has a new picture book called Wonderful Shoes. So gorgeous for your mini people.

• Emma’s illustrator is the lovely Tania McCartney. Take a peek—such a gorgeous book!

You Can Start Over...

Hello, everyone.

What a week. In my little corner of the world, we’ve been under pressure. Covid lockdown continues in Sydney, and I’ve been growing and learning (which always means embracing hard things…ugh!).

When I feel off-course, I literally read my own book.

It’s true.

This is my favourite chapter of The 10 Minute Fix because I need it for myself. Maybe you need a little reminder, too. In a world where we can feel the pressure to succeed, and where we rush to make everything work, there’s something to be said for claiming our right to start over.

With a partner. A child. A work situation. A dream. All of it—sometimes it takes a few tries, and we need to give ourselves grace on the journey.

We can be easier on ourselves. What a relief.

I hope you rest today, and remember to have some fun (in the way that truly feels fun for you!). It’s a big weekend for North Americans…thinking of you all!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• A beautiful poem about the night from Robert Frost. Love!

• I bought this Essie Expressie quick dry nail polish and I love it! Try In The Time Zone or Breaking The Bold. Nail polish is always an easy, fun way to perk yourself up. And if you make a mistake, just swish-swish it off and start again.

• Happy summer if you’re in the other hemisphere. I wish! Winter’s getting to me this year. This little white dress would be cute to throw on after swimming!

• You’ve been such a huge support for my book—thank you!

Hello, We're in Lockdown...

Last week, I saw this beautiful photo of a mountaintop. I can’t tell you the exact source, but it was posted by Earthfocus. I wanted you all to see it, too.

The world continues to surprise us, and there’s so much beauty to enjoy if we look for it. Australian winter has been full of sunny, crisp days with camellias blooming, and cold, starry nights. Sydneysiders have mostly been healthy, but now we’re heading into full lockdown so we’ll all be expected to stay at home for two weeks and wait for Covid to subside.

It’s a time to turn inward.

Work on our projects.

Be kind to the people we’ve been given to love, whether that’s cranky forced-to-be-home teens or family via zoom, co-workers on Teams meetings or the grocery and Amazon delivery guy.

I’m trying to summon up a mindset of appreciating this lockdown: we’re healthy here, we have a freezer that’s full, books and board games and work we can do remotely. But still—lockdown always makes me want to plan a dinner party, do a day trip, go shopping for a dress—the opposite of what we’ll have to do.

If you’re freewheeling into summer in the other hemisphere, enjoy your barbecues and gatherings. If you’re living in our lucky country Down Under, I hope you and yours are healthy and well.

And if you’re in my hometown of Sydney, I’m wishing you a peaceful time in the next two weeks. I hope you get a lot of little jobs accomplished: wipe out the fridge, clean up your desk, soak the school shirts in nappy san, crack open the Monopoly or Scrabble. I hope you and yours are okay.

We face what we have to face, and even lockdown can be useful.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Something to learn: books I’ve been planning to buy are Flavour, a cookbook by Ottolenghi (love the cover) and Atomic Habits by James Clear. I borrowed Atomic Habits from my library but I need my own copy as a reminder.

• Something fun: new socks. When was the last time you went through your own sock drawer and made sure you had enough new socks? I regularly do this for everyone else I live with but my own socks were woeful. So I did a full ‘range of socks’ shop for me. Feels so good to replace them all at one time! Look how pretty.

Up in the night?

Hi everyone! If you’re new, it’s Catherine Greer (author of The 10 Minute Fix) writing to you. Happy rainy Sunday if you’re in Sydney — so wintery and chilly!

Last night we went to the Darling Harbour Winter Festival and celebrated our youngest son’s 17th birthday. The teens went skating on a very wet, slushy temporary ice rink, then we had dinner and finished off the evening with a ride on this giant ferris wheel. Fireworks were cancelled due to the rain, but look — there was a snow machine! The Canadian in me chuckles at the Aussie in me…

But here’s the point: then I was up in the night.

What do you do when you can’t sleep?

For me, sleeplessness starts innocently with a review of the day. I was excited that our son had such a great night with us and his beautiful girlfriend, and I had a good time being out on the town. But soon I was up with all the worries of the world sliding into my brain — even though everything is going well. We have all the basics of happiness right now: health, jobs, a home, kids on track, the usual ups and downs but nothing heartbreaking…and still, I couldn’t sleep.

So this is what I do, and maybe these tips will help you, too:

1. I direct my thoughts from the past into the future. I find when I think about the past, usually I start to feel some regret or a little hopelessness, but when I wonder about the future and all the good that can happen, I feel better.

2. I stretch in bed. Nothing fancy here, and obviously it’s not so good to wake up a partner, but I often stretch right in bed when I can’t sleep. I’ve tried to find you a good link to some of the stretches that I do, and this is the best I could find. You might want to try some of these.

3. I remind myself that there’s nothing wrong with being tired tomorrow. Then I let my mind stay awake as long as it needs to, and I gently corral my thoughts into a more positive space.

That’s my go-to for sleeplessness. If you have any brilliant ideas, I’d love to hear them!

Happy Sunday, and I hope you’re going to enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• More info on the Darling Harbour Winter Festival here.

• Have to share this amazing workout / yoga tank top I bought and absolutely love. Great for under workout clothes, too — so much support and really amazing. I got the black but I’m going back for the other colours. If you pair it with high waisted leggings, so good!

Take A Micro-Break

Hi everyone! Yes, Covid’s still hanging around our part of the world, and I thought you’d enjoy seeing this Aussie take on social distancing. Remember to stand at least one adult kangaroo’s distance from each other, okay?

Love this sign—it’s so Aussie in its humour and we all need to laugh more during these times! My husband and I saw it in Leura this weekend and I quickly snapped a photo for you. On the spur of the moment, we hopped in the car mid-afternoon and drove to the Blue Mountains because we needed a holiday. Instead, we took a micro-break.

This is the most brilliant idea.

When a true holiday just isn’t possible, can you take a micro-break instead?

Our micro-break consisted of road trip music and conversation, a quick drive to the mountains mid-afternoon and a stop at a quirky cafe for sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and a chai latte. Heaven! The whole trip took three hours.

Micro-breaks are possible for all of us, even in our own homes.

• A bath with a candle.

• An evening walk under the stars (if you normally watch TV).

• Afternoon tea with your china dishes.

• A drive somewhere, anywhere.

• Getting up to see the sunrise.

Anything different and outside of our routines can feel like a beautiful little micro-holiday. Try it if you can. Weekends are the perfect time to explore something new.

Happy Sunday, everyone. I know it’s not easy just now with Covid nipping at our heels, but let’s do our best to love these days together.

Catherine xx

PS.

• Fun stuff: we visited Josophan’s Fine Chocolates in Leura! Here’s their bespoke recipe for Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Oatmeal Cookies. What’s not to love?

• I bought a new notebook this weekend: it’s simple but I love these guys. I tear through them at a pace of about four a year.

• And my favourite, favourite, favourite pencils are here. I think of them as writers’ pencils: my beloved Blackwing 602s.

Bigger or smaller?

Happy Sunday!

Look what I found yesterday…our dog, lounging on my laptop. Cute and totally unposed, though it looks like I put her there. In fact, I’d just gone to the kitchen for my third cup of decaf and came back to find Holly like this. She’s almost eight now and I hope she lives forever.

Today I’ve got something very simple for you: a little thought I’ve been having about my own happiness.

Our brains love keeping us safe and helping us do the same things over and over. For me right now, it’s time to try something new.

If you’re in the same place, ask yourself the bigger or smaller question. I know that happiness follows growth and stepping out, whatever the outcome, and that when we’re learning we feel the most alive.

Beginning again or daring to try is harder than seeking happiness, but it is always worth the journey.

I hope your weekend is uplifting, inspiring, and a whole lot of fun!

Love Catherine x

• I just finished a smart, rollicking, fun novel about Seattle — Where’d you go, Bernadette. Wow, Maria Semple can write and since we used to live in the Pacific Northwest, this book was a winner for me!

• Can’t wait to read Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun.

Tricking You?

Hello, new friends! Welcome to Love Our Age…I’m Catherine Greer and you’re here probably because you just read The 10 Minute Fix. I’m leading with a selfie today so you can see me! I’m always signing up for blogs and then not really knowing who’s writing to me :) So here I am, Catherine, standing in my study in Sydney mid-way through a big writing day.

I drink a lot of coffee, my friends. :)

Hi to everyone, all of you who I know and love, and new people from around the world and in my city.

I’m so glad you’re here! I have something really juicy to share today — an idea I read a couple of weeks ago that truly changed me. (You can find Mel Robbins at melrobbins.com)

I had to unpack this and ask myself if it’s true.

Yes, thinking about writing sometimes does make me feel like I’ve been writing — even when I haven’t put a word down on a page. Thinking about solutions in dealing with a teen really does make me think I’ve done something to improve our relationship…but I haven’t actually DONE ANYTHING at all.

I’m not suggesting that it’s not helpful to think.

I’m agreeing that my thinking and even deciding often tricks me into believing I’ve already done the thing and moved closer to my goal when I haven’t.

Do you do this? Think and plan and then somehow get tricked into believing that you’ve acted on your plan?

Most of life is about the doing.

Moving closer to our goals? Doing.

Getting healthier? Doing.

Writing a book? Doing.

Changing jobs? Doing.

Starting a business? Doing.

Improving a relationship? Doing. Acting.

I’m so excited about this idea. Here’s why: because now that I see it, I can change it. I can think and plan—of course—but also make sure that I act.

Enjoy your beautiful weekend! I’ll be here today helping a teen with a ton of assessments (not just worrying about him) AND doing some writing on my new book. Can’t wait for you to read it! If you enjoyed The 10 Minute Fix, you’ll love this one…

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• I overbought a ton of pears…wondering if I can make a pear pie for Sunday dinner? Does that sound terrible to you? Maybe mix it with apple? Here’s my apple pie recipe from my author website and blog. I am a serial baker—haha!

• It’s the book birthday of The 10 Minute Fix! That little book has been sneaking its way into women’s hearts around the world for exactly one year. If you want to celebrate with me and gift a copy to a friend, you can get it here in America, and here in Canada, and here in the UK and here in Australia. I love that this small book is helping women feel a little better about everyday life. To me, that’s everything. xo

How To Rest Your Nervous System

Hello, my beautiful friends who are probably also busy and maybe a little tired, can I give some unofficial, un-expert tips on what’s been working for me to rest my jumpy nervous system? If you feel a little tired or overwhelmed, this might help.

I’m not a healthcare professional, but here’s what I do for a quick rest and reset.

1. Exhale, deep sigh.

2. Touch (hand massage or hug…even hug yourself).

3. Hand on heart and breathe.

Let me explain: these are three little tricks you can use to calm down your nervous system while you’re in the middle of something hard. For example, you can use them mid-meeting, mid-argument, or in the middle of receiving bad news.

You can also set them up like a practice — that automatic response you do to soothe yourself.

• Exhale deep sigh — this one comes with a warning that if you do it regularly, you can become a little irritating to your partner! (I don’t want to be a person who sighs all the time — haha — and it was actually my husband who inadvertently taught me this one because his sighing was driving me CRAZY and when I asked, “Tell me about that sigh thing you do…” he said it was to release stress.) Anyway, exhale-deep sigh works, so go ahead and try that one now. Your nervous system will relax and you’ll get a moment of immediate release.

• Touch / hand massage / hug / hug yourself — this one is brilliant. Hand massage works anywhere. It’s unobtrusive and feels amazing. Hug yourself is perfect if you’re lying in bed worrying and can’t sleep. It will remind you that you’ve got your own back, that you’re always there for yourself, that you’ve “got you” no matter what. Hug someone else is as lovely as it always is, whether that’s a little person or a big person.

• Hand on heart — this one is like a touchstone for me. It reminds me that I’m okay. I can do it anytime, anywhere, and usually combine it with an exhale. Another great combo if you’re in bed worrying is ‘hand on heart plus hand on tummy’. This is a great time to do whatever your belief system urges you to do: meditate, pray, send good thoughts to someone.

I hope these little tips work for you. So simple, right? Yes they are, but I know from experience that small steps are perfect.

Enjoy your weekend,

Love Catherine x

PS.

You guys, I share fun stuff I love in the PS of my notes to you just because it makes me happy and I hope it brightens your day! I’m not a big influencer, and if I post an affiliate link to a product on amazon, it means about twice a year I get sent a $15 amazon gift card. That’s the extent of any earnings from affiliate links, but I just wanted you to know. :) If I link to Aussie items, these are never affiliate links — just beautiful, useful things. So, this week…

• If you’re Aussie, go check out these coffee mugs from Wheel & Barrow. I love them so much!

• For winter, my fuzzy sherpa-lined heart socks were a gift from my Aussie bestie this week, and oh man, I love pulling them on during morning coffee or if I go to bed with freezing cold feet. Similar ones here.

A Simple Reminder

Hi and welcome to Love Our Age! If you’re new this week, I’m so happy you dropped by. I’m in pjs with hot black coffee as I write to you, thinking of so many things.

• Goals.

• Plans.

• What we achieve and what we aspire to achieve.

I don’t know about you, but I’m heading into a season of getting some writing done. I’m excited about a novel I’ve been writing for you—my first try at adult fiction—and it’s aligned with the encouragement and wisdom in The 10 Minute Fix. It’s a story about a woman who finds her strength…it’s about reinventing ourselves in the middle of our lives and starting something new. The message? You’re not too old, and it’s never too late.

How are you doing? Is spring or fall making you think of pursuing something fresh and new?

Whatever you decide, I hope you remember the six words on this t-shirt.

Be good to yourself, inspire others.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: the first one has to come before the second. It’s the old ‘put on your own oxygen mask first’ cliche, and it’s true. Take care of yourself this weekend, have a few treats, be good to you.

You deserve it. We all do.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Some fun for you…my favourite salad ever! You need fresh corn and quinoa and it’s worth it.

The Lesson of 'Not This'

Hello, internet friends…hope you’re enjoying your weekend.

I’ve started making mint tea for myself, similar to this beautiful way it’s served at my local cafe. It feels like abundance—stuffing all that mint in the tea pot (that’s how I make mine at home). Something for you to try if you have mint in the garden. Fresh mint tea is just surprisingly better: not difficult, just better.

Today I’ve been thinking about how we change, and what we need to invite into our lives to grow into the next version of ourselves. It always makes me think of Elizabeth Gilbert’s words turned into a beautiful card by the amazing Emily Henderson at Em and Friends. You can find this card here.

Through every season of my life, I’ve run headlong into some Not This moments. Maybe you have too. And because we don’t know what’s next, it’s easy to feel like we’re stuck…but we’re not.

We’re feeling ‘Not This.’

All we need to do with Not This is sit for a while—for as long as it takes—and listen until our truth shows up.

I don’t know about you, but it’s so easy for me to argue with my own deepest truth, to try to convince myself that I’m not hearing what I’m hearing, that I shouldn’t feel this way, that I’m maybe too old or inexperienced. I worry that I lack the talent, connections or opportunities.

But the deepest truth hangs around and whispers to us: Not this…it’s THIS. Try this. See what happens.

We can get better at so many things: waiting a bit, listening to our hearts, knowing our deepest truth, taking a small step forward. That’s my plan right now. I hope it’s yours, too.

Enjoy your weekend. I’m cheering for us all.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• My favourite book by Elizabeth Gilbert is Big Magic, and I’ve been meaning to read her novel, The Signature of All Things, published in 2014. City of Girls was not for me—that’s how I always talk about books and art because I know how hard they are to create and every book is for someone. You may love it…America in the 1940s.

• Tea and a book…always a beautiful combination!

Hello Spring, it's nearly Autumn...

Today in Sydney: so much rain. There’s flooding in New South Wales, and I hope you’re safe and dry. We woke up to State Emergency Services evacuation warning texts for some areas, and we live in a particularly rainy suburb but thankfully our area of Sydney is still okay. If you’re in warning zones in New South Wales, I hope you’re safe and I’m thinking of you.

On this side of the world, autumn, and on the other side there’s spring.

I live in two places in my mind and heart — that’s the life of an immigrant. My birthday is in spring and fall (beginning of May), Christmas happens in winter and summer. I always think we can choose to feel strange about this or good…experiencing both, living both, and knowing what the other side feels like.

Mangoes at Christmas. Christmas snowfall. Either way can feel like magic.

It helps me to remember a little tip I learned — that happiness is 50-50. I used to want to be happy all the time, but the older I get, the more I believe this is true. Fifty percent happy, fifty percent other is do-able, and (as I always tell myself) it’s okay to walk through the low side and know that the good feelings are coming back.

Whether it’s family or our dreams, finances or opportunities, even health or sickness…I know that life rolls on in peaks and troughs and everything feels better weathered together.

Happy Sunday, my friends. Enjoy your Spring in northern climates, and stay safe and dry Down Under.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• No news yet about how to help people in flooded areas of NSW — I hope you’re keeping safe.

• Fun thing — water lilies are going in my pool, my friends. Aren’t they pretty for winter? I got mine at IKEA.

• Super useful — the best Lululemon dupes for workout leggings are here. Really lovely! I want the snakeskin ones because…why not live a little? My favourite workout tip is this: the louder the music, the more fun I have and the harder I work. Happy Sunday!

Hello, Beautiful Day.

Hi everyone. Question for us this morning.

What if this day was completely neutral?

What if anything could happen, and we could simply make it mean whatever we want it to mean?

I’ve been told I’m optimistic, that I’m sometimes irritatingly positive, but the alternative just never seems like a good idea to me. If I can choose my thoughts, then mostly I want to choose some good ones.

Even during these tough times, I believe that every day arrives neutral and ends neutral, too. We get to shape our days to some extent, and no matter what happens, we can think about our lives however we choose to.

Sometimes it’s good to zoom out and get some perspective, right? This week, I drew a little chart while I had a big talk with my husband. It looked like the future for us:

This is our plan, if we’re lucky with health and family. Yours might be different, of course, and we all want to live our lives in a way that’s meaningful and true.

For us, we’ll continue to work as long as possible. We both enjoy working — we find it stimulating and interesting and we both love being on the go. We hope to invest in being involved grandparents — that matters to us. Our boys and our family have been the heartbeat of our lives together, and our family is the best thing we’ve ever built. And do you see our very unpopular point of view with that little question mark…we don’t care much if we travel? Really, we just don’t care.

Here’s the thing: when you draw out your life in however many columns you have left, attitude becomes everything.

No one knows what the future will hold, but when we take a bird’s eye view of the best case scenario of the years we may have left, it’s really easy to get clear on what we value.

Right now more than ever, the days are long but the years are short. Covid’s been rough, with a few hidden gifts inside like more time getting to know ourselves, or loving our families, or making our homes feel more like “home.” Right now we’re all caught up in the daily grind and thoughts of “will this ever end”? But I believe it’s also really important to pull focus, like they do when they shoot movies, to back up our Life Camera a bit so we get a look at the full picture.

Then we can decide a few things.

We can choose how to think. We can decide what we want to happen, and take steps toward that if we can….come what may.

That’s the question I’m trying to ask myself right now. And hello, beautiful decades (if I get you). What will I do with you to make the biggest impact I can with — as poet Mary Oliver says — “my one wild and precious life”?

Sending some good weekend vibes your way. I hope you’re doing okay.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• Texas is close to my heart. I spent a lot of time there in my 20s with my snowbird Canadian parents. Here’s how we can help during the storms.

• Read Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Summer Day”. (Thank you, America and Americans, for sharing your amazing poets with the world.)

• My beautiful friend, Tara, a lovely Texan-turned-Aussie, gave me the little aqua notebook. You can find it here.