Nutcrackers are marching, tree's going up!

And I’m giving you a wave this morning. How’s your weekend going?

Like so many other people, I decided this year that Christmas was going to start early and stay for a long time. If a virus can do it, Christmas can, too — so there.

And that brings me to a principle I wrote about in The 10 Minute Fix. When life hands me something rotten, I respond with a tiny, good thing I can control.

Covid. Early Christmas.

We’re going all out around here this holiday season—not with the expense, but with the joy. I’m hauling out every decoration we own and re-appreciating it. I’m planning to make my husband’s favourite 1980s appetiser for tree decorating this afternoon: Ham & Cheese Puffs. (Even that name makes me laugh because it’s so 80s). Here they are — what do you think?

My friends, I’ve collected nutcrackers for 25 years and there’s a special reason why. It’s because my life was in the toilet.

I had literally imploded everything in my world through a combination of stupidity, passion, a thoroughly broken heart, a cowardly man and my own immaturity. And pride. And love.

True story.

But I had a girlfriend who appeared to be a lot like Olivia Newton John at the beginning of Grease—kind of perfect and shiny. I was more like Olivia at the end, or at least that’s how it all appeared to the world about the two of us.

Anyway, this beautiful friend collected nutcrackers.

I felt like if I could somehow emulate some part of her life, I could be a shiny Olivia Newton John too. I’m laughing at my young self, but honestly…I bought a nutcracker.

Fast forward a few years.

Life gave me some lucky breaks after all that misery. I married an officer and a gentleman, immigrated to Australia from Canada, had two beautiful kids…and collected a lot more nutcrackers.

Then I just started to like them. I loved how our little boys loved them, too.

Every year when we bring them out we make each other happy.

The skateboarding teens who slept over last night walked into the living room at 11pm after feasting on nachos and collectively said wow.

Now I’m heading way down memory lane, but the lesson for myself is this.

I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

I don’t hate my past and I’m not ashamed of it. I love the young woman who made all those big mistakes. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and was a champion for trying, failing, trying, learning. She held her head up and kept working at a job when every man around her fell apart like a baby. She did the only thing you can ever do—she kept going.

My sweet Olivia Newton John friend (the nutcracker inspirer!) is still a friend, 30 years later.

And my beautiful family has our own nutcrackers.

We’re doing okay. I’m doing okay. I’ve learned so much and come so far.

And as for you and yours, I hope you’re okay, too. I hope you can do the little fix from my book: if life is crappy right now, lob something really good back at it. It can be a tiny thing—anything you have control over—to make yourself feel a little better. And please, keep going.

Whew! Time to make breakfast for all those teens.

Happy Sunday, and I really truly am sending all of you love.

Catherine x

PS.

• Thanks for listening! I feel like we’ve had coffee together this morning at my kitchen table. Oh, look…where there are TWO MORE nutcrackers! Ha!

The thing we lost recently...

So here’s a weird true story for you with a metaphor for life…

We moved into our family home 14 years ago, and the owners had a double door between two bedrooms that locked with a special key. Our two young sons wanted their own rooms, but often would play together with those double doors open between their rooms.

That key was the only way to keep the doors closed, and with two young kids, we guarded it with our lives.

What if we lost the key?

What if the boys were playing with it, locking each other in and out and they lost the special key?

Fast forward 14 years to yesterday, when we were replacing the carpet on that side of the house. We needed to open the doors between the boys’ rooms, which had been locked since they became teens.

But we couldn’t find the key.

It wasn’t in the special key spot we’d used for years (a hidden mug on a shelf). Frantic texts to the boys yielded a no from both of them. My husband tried a zillion different allen keys, with no luck.

The worst had happened. After worrying we’d lose the key for 14 years, we finally lost the KEY. We’d have to remove the doors from the hinges to get the carpet installed, and then…

My husband googled ‘round key with ridges double doors’ and found that Bunnings carries THOUSANDS of them.

For $3.

In fact, we must have walked by walls of those keys every Saturday for 14 years when we were at the hardware store.

Yep, it’s a metaphor for life.

Most of the things we worry about never happen. All that time is lost.

And even if we do actually lose the key, sometimes it is laughably easy to just FIGURE IT OUT.

If you’re worrying about something today, is there a chance that maybe it isn’t such a big worry after all? Maybe it’ll be easy. Maybe the solution will pop up before you have to rip doors off their hinges.

Maybe this time, it will be a simple fix with no downside.

I hope so! You deserve every good thing, especially this year when life has been hard.

Happy Friday.

Love Catherine x

PS.

If you’re in Sydney and you need to replace carpets, you may want to get a quote from the guys who helped me this week. The price was almost 40% less than the exact same carpet installed from a provider in my upper north shore suburb. What?! Email me for info — happy to help you!

And because everyone loves a good before & after…(my older son, the one whose day job is law school and hobby is becoming a BBQ pit master, spilled a tray of meat and juice on this carpet six months ago. That’s why it looks SO BAD.)

Before…

After!

It’s hard to take a photo of carpet that shows the colour properly. It’s actually lighter than it looks here…but so much better!

"I'll figure it out."

Hello & happy Sunday.

Well, here’s some irony for you…I’ve spent the last hour in tears trying to write a blog post telling all of you guys that one of my favourite phrases ever is this:

First, let me tell you why I love this idea so much. (Then I’ll tell you why I’ve been crying.)

“I’ll figure it out” is a little mantra I whisper to myself all the time. When I don’t know where the next client is coming from in my business, “I’ll figure it out.” When I’m not sure what to do (if anything) to help a child with a broken heart, “I’ll figure it out.”

When I’m sad or scared or lonely, when I worry that COVID means I’ll never get back to Canada to see my mum, when I don’t know what the future holds for authors and who will buy books during a pandemic…when I worry about all of it, I whisper to myself: “I’ll figure it out.”

Try it. It helps every time. You can whisper, “I’ll figure it out” and I promise you’ll feel a little better about your challenges.

Honestly, it works.

Except for computers. This is where we get to the part about me crying this morning. (I’m laughing now at how dumb I am, you guys, but here it is…)

I’ll figure it out does NOT work for my stupid computer. When there is an automatic system upgrade, and suddenly it has become 10,000 times harder to snap a photo of my beautiful Aussie native flowers on my kitchen table and quickly make it smaller so it loads faster in a blog post I am sending to you on a Sunday morning — and it NO LONGER WORKS because of the new computer upgrade — then, my friends…

I WILL NOT FIGURE IT OUT.

Because I hate technology. Because it makes me want to tantrum. Because it literally makes me cry and want to throw my laptop in the pool that is almost warm enough to swim in now in our Aussie springtime.

So instead, I did the next best thing: I cried. I drank coffee. I made my long-suffering husband’s eyes roll back into his head as he tried to google and fix this thing that used to be so easy to do before the computer upgrade. (IT IS NOT AN UPGRADE IF IT MAKES MY LIFE WORSE, BILL GATES. JUST LETTING YOU KNOW.)

Oh my lord, I am now laughing at myself and crying all at the same time. Literally, laugh-cry. Grrrrr, agh!

Thanks for letting me be honest about my not-so-perfect life.

I hope this photo didn’t take too long to load for you today, and that you’re able to read this and find a little inspiration.

I hope you start to tell yourself, “I’ll figure it out.”

Now I have to go and actually try to figure it out. (Thank goodness for my husband. I appreciate him so much when it comes to tech. Honestly, he’s a gem.)

Enjoy your Sunday.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• The Aussie native flowers were a gift from a beautiful young couple last weekend when we hosted a dinner for my husband’s team at work. They’ve lasted so well! If you’re overseas, I thought you might like a peek—our native flowers are so unusual and so gorgeous. Wish you were all here to have coffee (while I cry about tech) and see them! Let’s believe that one day this virus won’t stop us from visiting the people we love. I truly hope you and yours are coping. Sending love.

Simple gifts from the heart.

A new friend came over a few weeks ago to pick up her teen after a sleepover, and this is what she brought: a fragrant bunch of rosemary tied with brown string.

I ran a vase of water, placed the rosemary on the kitchen table. Every time I walked by, I bent down to inhale her kindness, her garden.

It was a special gift.

This year, I’m trying to remember the little things, the simple things.

• Sharing leaves from my kaffir lime tree for other people’s curries.

• Gifting extra copies of my latest book to a women’s shelter to add to their holiday packs.

• Making chicken noodle soup for a son recovering from surgery…even when I know he might prefer a chicken burger and chips.

Simple gifts from the heart are ours to give any time.

They don’t cost a lot but they feel like gold. This holiday season, I’m going to try to give more good cheer, more thoughtfulness, more hope, more change. For some new-but-not-yet-friends, I’m going to give a little piece of me…

If you have a second to think about it today, consider what you have in your hands and home that you might want to give from the heart.

Some of you paint (I know you do). Some of you bake beautifully. Some of you organise and teach classes. These are all beautiful gifts to share — a voucher for your online course, a gift card, a wrapped cake, a herb bouquet.

We’ve got this holiday season. We can do it simply, with so much love.

Enjoy your Friday. I hope you have a relaxing weekend, with lots of time to sip hot drinks and dream.

Love Catherine x

PS.

I have two fabulous friends with two businesses I’d love to share today. Both women are vibrant, talented and so much fun to be around. Ready to meet them? (These are friends, not #ads…women who I know you’ll love. I wish all of us here at Love Our Age could sit down and have a big, noisy morning tea together. I know you’d like each other!)

• Jules Van Mil at Style For Life has fabulous and practical styling tips for women. Her latest online class, The Secrets of Casual Elegance, happens on Nov 28 (Canada & America) and Nov 29 (Australia). Jules is in Australia.

• Colleen Kavanaugh is here at Your Life, Styled — her new biz that helps us get organised and find calm & joy. Colleen is in America. Her instagram is so inspiring!

Celebration Salad...Hearty & Healthy!

It’s Celebration Sunday around here. My husband’s team from work will arrive here this afternoon, and I’ve been baking and cooking. In our weird 2020, some of his team haven’t ever met face-to-face, so we’re looking forward to a fun afternoon and evening.

Can I share one of my favourite salads with you?

It’s hearty, healthy, and perfect for vegetarians (or vegans, if you use vegan mayo). It’s also perfect with smoked pulled pork, which is what my oldest son is making for our main. This year, while in law school, he fell into the hobby of being a pit-master, so we’re into all things American BBQ! (And speaking of America, did you tear up a little when you thought of Dr Biden as the new First Lady? And Kamala Harris as the first female VP?)

Okay, let me share this salad before I run around terrorising my family with cleaning up before our guests arrive!

Not quite sure how I’ll wake up the five teens who were skateboarding in the garage until 2:30am, but I’m going to try!

Corn Quinoa Salad

• Steam 6 cobs of corn, cool, and slice off kernels.

• Cook 1 cup quinoa and cool (this will yield 2 cups)

Chop the following:

• 3 cucumbers (for us here in Australia, Lebanese cucumbers and overseas…maybe 1 English cucumber?)

• 3 tomatoes, de-seeded, or a punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• 1/2 bunch of fresh dill

• 1/2 bunch Italian parsley

• 1 red onion

Make the dressing. This is embarrassing because it’s so easy. Are you ready?

• Mix 1 cup mayo with 1 tablespoon of soya sauce.

Mix everything together and serve.

My friends, you will thank me. This Corn Quinoa salad is healthy, filling, keeps for around 3 days in your fridge, transports well, and looks like you’ve made a big effort.

It’s delicious.

Enjoy your Sunday. I’m thinking of you!

Catherine x

PS.

• A couple of years ago, I bought this beautiful large bowl with Christmas money from my mum. I wanted a salad bowl that I could use and think of her. And I do — every time I use it. Here’s one from Wheel and Barrow that’s similar and on sale, but I think mine is a little prettier. There may be more to choose from in store, Aussies. This one in gold is pretty. And this one is lovely, too.

How I Comfort Myself

Hello, my friends.

It’s Friday morning in Sydney, and—remarkably—I have the house all to myself. One teen is at school, our older son is at his new part-time job in a city law office, my husband is in the city for work…and I’m here in the very quiet home office writing to you.

Covid has meant that the house has been full 24/7, and what used to be a quiet workspace for me on my own has turned into a ‘family office’ of sorts. It’s been great, but also the peace is nice today. I’ve lit an orange-blossom candle and poured myself a big glass of water.

Let’s talk about how we give ourselves some comfort, okay?

For a very long time, and this is embarrassing to admit, I didn’t really understand that feelings were for feeling. I was so quick to run from them or try to wrangle them into something resembling happiness so I could feel ‘safe’.

This looked a lot like:

• Buying Cadbury Fruit & Nut bars and stashing them in the fridge.

• Talking obsessively to my ever-patient husband, who is the wisest person I know and gives the BEST advice on everything. (Yes, the whole world agrees with me on this point. If you know him, you know! People queue up for his advice and always have.)

• In my head, saying mean things to myself about not being faster, smarter, better.

And then one day I realised I had to learn to comfort myself. Since this is fairly new for me, and I’ve only been at it a few years, I thought I’d share my Comfort List with you.

Maybe my list will help inspire you to create a list of your own.

1. I make myself a coffee. (I keep decaf on hand, too, for any time of day)

2. Light a candle, or as many candles as I can. Pretty light always makes me feel better.

3. Weird one (learned from my DOG! Ha!) — I literally shake it off. If I have a yucky conversation or feel awful about something, I’ve learned to actually stand in place and shake everything…get that negativity out of my body physically. I jump up and down, shake my arms, run in place, probably look like a maniac but TRY THIS. I mean really do it: shake it off. It works. It helps so quickly and is way more effective than thinking.

4. Listen to a song I love. (Remember, even if you don’t have Spotify you can listen to any song on Youtube. Google it and feel better.)

5. Go on a rampage of appreciation from The 10 Minute Fix.

So curious to hear what you do to comfort yourself! What am I missing? What do you know that I don’t? Tell me, if you have time. I love learning.

Enjoy your day,

Catherine x

PS. Furry summer slippers…in Australia it’s time for them! Aren’t my jade ones pretty? They’re from Target. Link here if you’re curious. Not an #ad, just for fun. Oh, and here are some on Amazon.

Hello, I'm ageing. (And I'm okay)

Happy Halloween if you celebrate. We did a lot for two little munchkins who came to our door last night, but it was fun. Oh Corona, will you just give it a rest?? I think we’re all ready to be finished with you.

But today, drinking coffee in my pjs, I’m thinking about my face.

Can we talk about how I’m looking older? Can I tell you about my choices (which may be different from yours…and that’s okay.)

For me, all the delicious hormones of youth are gone now, and I’m not replacing them. I’m not botoxing. My hair is grey. My skin is a little thinner.

But my heart — my heart is beautiful.

And I’m guessing yours is, too.

Here’s the thing: do you care that my face is getting older? Do you mind that I have a huge teacher-frown-wrinkle on my forehead that shows I’ve listened and concentrated most of my life? Does it bother you that my skin isn’t snapping back to it, that I have age freckles, that all my parts that used to live up north are sliding a little southward?

No, you don’t. I’m sure you don’t.

I’m sure you love my wisdom and my friendship, my recipes and my cheerleading, my insistence that you can age and have fun, be yourself, grow older with grace and focus and energy.

Here’s what I think: I think it’s still worthwhile and important to scrub up and look lovely at every age. I’m all for pretty and FUN and enjoying our lives because, truly, we are all so lucky—despite the ‘hard’ that we all have.

But worrying about all the surface of me that I cannot control is not what I want to do.

I want to spend my last half loving my age. However many more years I get, I want to be comfortable and SHINE LIKE I AM.

If you guys have read The 10 Minute Fix you know that I like the work of Mel Robbins, an American coach, lawyer and speaker. She wrote this and I wanted to share (you can find her at melrobbins.com).

She’s right.

In my life, I feel proud of who I’ve become…and the people who matter to me really don’t mind one bit that I’m looking older. (If you’re one of the many beautiful strangers here who haven’t had coffee with me at my kitchen table — do you mind that I’m well and truly 54, and very unlike Nicole Kidman’s 53? Didn’t think so.)

Oh, yes, sometimes there’s this little voice in my head that says I have to convince people that I’ve still “got it” whatever IT is. But the truth talks a lot louder than that.

Truth is: we are here right now. We’re lucky for every day that adds a fine line to our faces. And I’m not going to spend one single moment worrying about whether this age, my age, is less beautiful than the last.

Let’s live it up, and love our age together…whatever that looks like for me and for you.

Catherine x

PS.

• Hello to all the new people this week! You’re so welcome here in my little corner of the internet.

• Like my sunnies?? Oh you guys, I’m starting to feel like a micro-influencer when I tell you where I got this and that…and honestly no one has asked me about them but I think they’re cute. Now I’m laughing at myself!! If you want to know, I bought them at H&M for $12 (current season). Similar here on amazon.

3 Minutes for Neck Relief...

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday in Australia :)

Welcome to all the new people here at the Love Our Age blog. If you found me via my new book, The 10 Minute Fix, I’m excited to have you here. I hope you’re enjoying the book so far. I got a beautiful message from a reader this week about Chapter 64: “Let People Remember You.”

“That chapter reminded me of how much I used love and wear yellow, too! It also made me think of Mum, how she loved the colour blue, roast chicken, the constellation “Orion’s Belt,” apple crisp...the list could go on and on.”

— Melanie in Canada

How amazing is it that one tiny book can help us remember the people we love?

If you’re new, you need to know that I blog twice a week, Friday and Sunday mornings in Australia, with goodies that are fun and worthwhile. So…on to today.

How’s your posture going? Mine is pretty terrible.

It’s been another busy writing and teaching week for me, with a lot of time in front of my laptop… Ouch! My upper back and neck are feeling stiff. So I did a little search last night and my favourite teacher online is Adriene, who has an incredible YouTube channel called Yoga With Adriene. She’s lovely…take a look!

This is one of her older videos and I absolutely love it.

Here’s why:

• You’ll get neck relief in under 3 minutes.

• Anyone can do this (you could probably do it now sitting in your office chair)

• The video is charming and whimsical — that flowered headband! It’s just…nice somehow.

• The music is sweet and old fashioned, so different from what daily life is dishing up at the moment.

Click here to watch or on the image below. I hope you find it useful!

Enjoy your Friday,

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Lately I’ve been cheering myself up with (silly, right?) nail polish! I had light blue nails this week and now I’ve changed to black. Hello, Halloween. Not an #ad, but you can find cute, inexpensive nail polish in Australia here. My favourite is this brand, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry. Go on, reach for a little Instant Happiness! Why not?

We know this, don't we?

On this rainy Sunday that feels like winter has returned to Sydney, I’ve been thinking about icebergs and shampoo.

We got up early, made toasted sausage sandwiches on sourdough rolls with hash browns for the skateboarding teens who slept over, then walked the dog in the drizzle.

And while I was in the shower after all of that, I thought about a simple fix that always makes me feel better: the smell of shampoo and conditioner.

To me, shampoo smells like hope.

It means — I’m going to give this thing another shot, scrub up and head back out there. It means — the day could be good (or even great, or better than I expected). It’s a small bit of hope in a bottle: the smell of your own fresh, clean hair or the smell of a child’s hair after the bath. Isn’t that scent a gift?

Because for all of us the icebergs exist.

Most of what is going on in our lives lies beneath the parts of ourselves we share. Think about social media, and all that perfection (the crop, the filter, the angles). Think about the last conversation you had with a friend and what you didn’t reveal.

Whether or not we do it online or do it in real life, it’s easy to fall into the trap of Being What We Think The World Expects.

But here’s the thing: we can be who we are. Right this second, in our own internal worlds: we can be all of it, the iceberg and the shampoo. Today, we can let our shoulders drop and be imperfect.

Be the one who has a hard time when she tries to change herself.

The one who still criticises, or overeats, or over-drinks. The one who meant to start working out three months ago and has done it twice. The one who said the wrong thing and didn’t get the project finished (or even started).

You are loved right now, like you are: imperfect and trying. So am I.

Yes, yes, you can do better. We all can, and we will keep on trying. But for today — hugs to you where you are.

The iceberg is real, but so is the shampoo. Fresh starts are here for all of us.

Sending you rainy day best wishes today.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• No judgement at all, but if over-drinking is a thing you’re thinking about coming into the holidays, my incredible cousin at The Bubble Hour podcast has written a helpful book called The Unpickled Holiday Survival Guide. Today it’s on super-sale at amazon for $7! You can find it here.

• And hey, it’s Jacaranda season soon. My picture book, Jacaranda Snow, is available online everywhere and in bookshops Australia-wide. Free delivery worldwide on Book Depository!

A dress should make you feel happy, right?

A long, long time ago I owned a charcoal grey overall dress made of the softest wool cotton blend. It had a pencil skirt, like this one, with a split in the back for easy walking and I wore it with a black turtleneck and boots all winter.

I loved that dress. I shudder to think of the size of it because, truly, had I kept it, it definitely wouldn’t fit me now! I was very thin at the time from disappointment and heartbreak.

But still, wandering into BigW to buy books last week (did you know BigW is the biggest book retailer in Australia, and does home delivery?), I saw this similar dress and bought it on the spot.

Can’t wait to wear it in summer with or without a T. The straps are wide and cover a bra (total bonus) and it’s super cute and stretchy.

It reminded me of myself — my previous self — and I loved that girl with all her foibles and mistakes, her fears and her hardworking brain. Despite everything she was and did, she was pretty darn amazing. Now, from an older and wiser and stronger place, I wanted to show young Catherine some solidarity.

If you need a pick-me-up, something fun and new, maybe it’s time for a dress you love. If you like the look of this one, you can get yours here. I found a couple of similar ones in Canada (this one and this one) and America.

Sometimes, you know, clothes should be FUN. And they should be about memories and making ourselves happy.

Have I brightened up your day?

Have I inspired you to find and re-buy an outfit you used to love, in a size that fits you now — just because it makes you HAPPY? (A jumpsuit, white boots, a velvet skirt, some bootleg jeans? What was ‘your outfit’ when you were younger?)

I hope so. Because life is so very short, my friends, and why are we here if we’re not making the most of it?

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Oooooh, I also did a little bit of winter clearance shopping and ordered this dress! It’s absolutely lovely, with an almost pleated flared skirt and will look amazing with boots next winter. Such a deal at the moment — not sure if they ship overseas? The plum colour is so pretty and the knit-plus-flare skirt makes it super flattering (not clingy). True to size. (40% off right now with code TAF40). I packed mine in tissue and will open it up next July. Voila! A treat next winter!

• Note: this is not a sponsored post or an #ad. Just sharing some favourite dresses with you.

Do overs, and why I need one.

Happy Sunday, everyone.

Today, a very quick tribute to this beautiful country…

I walked into a shopping mall in Sydney and on the way to the ladies’ room found this on the wall.

Reset! Take a moment to relax and just breathe.

The sign got me thinking — first I swelled up with pride because Australia is amazing, and how wonderful is this sign in a shopping mall? I mean…how thoughtful. The wall could have been blank, millions of people over the years could have just walked by, but instead, someone had the idea to use a WALL to HELP PEOPLE.

Australia, you’re cheeky and fun and also inspiring.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to reset. Maybe to do-over. To take off the things we no longer need as if we’re shedding a huge hot jacket on a climb up a hill. I watched a favourite Instagrammer, Mel Robbins, talk about it this week.

• What should I shed?

• What could I try to do over?

• Is it time for a reset?

Today I’m sitting with these questions, and I wonder if they might also be helpful for you. I don’t have any answers for us, but often I find the questions are the best place to start.

Rest, relax and enjoy your day. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in fifty years of living, we can actually find a way to do-over a lot of things (once we know what needs doing)!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Fun stuff…I did some early Christmas shopping in the Amazon Prime sale days this past week, I got my favourite OPI nail polish for my own Christmas stocking. Love this colour!

• In case you missed it, I wrote about nail polish and mum life here.

Dear Readers, Thank You.

Hello, beautiful friends!

Today, I want to send you a kitchen dance…

If you have a little time, this one is from ME to YOU.

I’m so grateful you’re here with me, and I’m thankful that you find the blog fun.

I love that you “take me the way I am.”

Click here to listen… (it’s so worth it! Just 2 mins…a flashback to 2007!)

Enjoy your day,

Catherine x

PS.

• And since I have some fun Ukulele followers, here is the Ukulele music for free :)

• The beautiful artist is Ingrid Michaelson. (Photo credit: star105.com)

...and we made magic at home!

Today is our 23rd wedding anniversary…and last night, we made magic at home.

One son was hiking with a 25kg pack and the other was at the skate park with his crew, good teens that we feed and let sleepover on the regular who have their own labelled toothbrushes here. (Teen tip: love their friends. Really love them. It’s so important!) We knew we’d be in for evening pick-ups, so we decided to make a magical anniversary celebration at home.

And it was beautiful.

I asked my husband to hang the lights. It took 15 minutes of us grumbling at each other as we untangled them but … WORTH IT.

And because I’d rather cook for us than sit in a restaurant, I made his favourite (simple) meal.

• A cheese platter (first, not last…I know, I know, but this is what we like.) Burrata and the most delicious aged cheddar from Harris Farm.

• Crab cakes! They’re my husband’s favourite and so very easy to make. Let me know if you want the recipe? Takes 10 minutes and two tins of crab meat. I crazy-poured that sauce on the side by mistake but they still look delicious.

Then I panfried two pieces of trout, which we like better than salmon, and roasted asparagus in olive oil for ten minutes in a hot oven. We ate two (whoops!) Lindt chocolate bars for dessert with fresh blueberries.

In between, we talked about important things, and eventually I got cold so I slid on fuzzy pyjama bottoms with my dress.

And that is what you can do when you make magic at home.

Oh, my friends, we’ve been lucky to weather it all so far. And though you might be imagining ease and glamour and beauty and fun — that is not the real story. It’s just what you’re seeing in the photo of this magical night.

There’s been love, and effort, fights and forgiveness, trying again, years of talking, give, take and struggle, money issues, unemployment, health scares and huge fear and worries about all of it.

We’re all the same in our hearts. Life is 50-50 for everyone. Me and you.

But if you have a chance to make a magical night at home, I urge you to give it a try. If you’re COVID-struggling right now, it’s beautiful and inexpensive. You can use what you have to make what you love. Light a hundred tea lights on your table — make a simple meal you enjoy.

And if you’re doing well right now, a magical night at home can be so much fun! Just try it for FUN. Surprise someone: a partner, a friend. Start in a dress and end up wearing your PJ bottoms underneath when it gets cold, and talk until the stars come out.

Life is for living.

Let’s all remember that, no matter where we are on the road to home.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• My freshwater pearl earrings are a treat from Zjoosh. You can find them here.

Lucky Me

So the coffee machine broke yesterday — it literally catapulted my coffee mug off the machine, threw it on the kitchen floor, sprayed coffee everywhere and broke my favourite mug. How?? I dunno, but it did.

Thanks, Nespresso!

But still I think: Lucky me.

Lucky me that I have coffee, that I have a kitchen, that I have a timber floor, a mop to clean up. That I’m flexible enough to bend down and pick up broken glass, that I have a gorgeous dog I had to yell at to keep her out of the kitchen and out of harm’s way with her little paws.

That I have a husband who walked in and said, “WHAT THE—!!!” and a teenage son who rolled his eyes and said, “Mum, what did you DO????”

And by the way, did I tell you that a year ago I dropped a cup of coffee out of the microwave, and coffee shot upwards for 9 FEET and sprayed all over our kitchen ceiling and I had to get it repainted?

But…I’m lucky.

Even though there is the other story I could tell—the one that involves fear and lack and worry and pain and struggle—ultimately I choose over and over to say this: Lucky me.

What’s the old saying? That if all of us put our troubles on a platter and had the chance to take home someone else’s, we would all choose our own?

For me, that’s true.

Nothing here in Sydney is perfect or stress free.

Nothing is as lovely or glitzy or easy or CUTE as it seems in my photos or anyone’s on the internet. Mine or yours. And I know this is true.

Today I cleaned up the kitchen before I realised I should’ve snapped a picture of all my broken mess to show you my reality, and all my many, many mistakes…But since I forgot to do that, I’m showing you the picture I took of me with my book yesterday.

I am so very proud of The 10 Minute Fix. I hope you read it and enjoyed it. And if you have — can I ask you a favour? Would you please gift a copy to someone you love? (Buy it here in America, and here in Canada, and here in the UK and here in Australia.)

Thank you for supporting authors and cheering me on. (What you may not know is that books don’t make much money for authors — most full time authors earn under $11,000 a year from their books so…it’s about something else! It’s about love, not money.) I wrote this book because I wanted to encourage women. Today I read this review: “I wish I could buy this book for all the overwhelmed women of the world.”

(If you need encouragement and a complimentary copy just for you because times are super tough, let me know. And if you can share a copy with another woman, please do!)

Enjoy your Friday — and watch out for your own killer coffee machine!

Love Catherine x

PS. Here’s how women are sharing The 10 Minute Fix. (It posts as a letter for easy gift giving…)

• Heather shared 6 copies with her book club. Thank you.

• Leanne introduced it to her staff, and 10 people ordered a book. Thank you.

• Jen and 5 other girlfriends received it as a gift on a girls’ weekend away. Thank you.

• Sharon gave books to all her daughters. Thank you.

• Jules mailed copies around the world to her friends in Australia, England and Canada. Thank you.

• My sister Dar (“it’s time to drop that bag of rocks!”…you’ll read about her in the book) got 10 to give to her friends and family. Thank you. This is how we help each other, one virtual hug at a time.

Simple & Oh So Pretty!

You guys, are you ready for a little recommendation for something sweet this morning?

Not an #ad, but I bought myself a new little pick-me-up and I think you might like it. It’s pretty, floral and very very light…

And since I know some of you Love-Our-Agers are juggling all the hard things right now — job fear and change and disappointment and everything else — this is a win-win because it was gloriously affordable, under $10 here in Sydney.

And it’s lovely!

Surprisingly lovely!

You can find it at your local pharmacy / chemist / drugstore and all the department stores, and also online here in America and here in Australia (yes, they deliver!). I tried to find it online in Canada but it was pricey and I think you’re better off trying Shopper’s Drug Mart.

Now we can smell the same kind of delicious: simple, floral and oh-so-pretty!

(Honestly, my favourite pick-me-up is a hot shower, freshly done hair, a spritz of perfume and a slick of lipstick. Available anytime, day or night!)

Sending so much encouragement your way today.

Love Catherine x

We All Need This Question

Hi there — for fun today, here’s a gorgeous screen shot of the talented Marilyn Monroe from a film I don’t recognise.

THAT OUTFIT.

Doesn’t she look like a woman who is owning her day?

This photo makes me think so many things:

1. Why do we judge beautiful women?

2. What stops us from being a little “extra”? I mean, the nails, the bling-y jewels, that sash, the colours…everything Marilyn is wearing says, “MORE can be GOOD!” I forget this all too often, and sometimes devolve into a colourless life.

3. Is it time to add a little spice to our day?

But more than these questions, the photo of Marilyn makes me think this:

Judgement.

Same old habits.

Forgetting that I can choose a little bling, a little bright lipstick, a fun song while I’m walking.

Am I ready to let go of the way I’ve always been?

What — exactly — am I ready to let go of?

What are you ready to let go of?

(This question makes my brain buzz with possibility!)

Ohhhhh, wish you were here at my kitchen table because I’d love love love to hear your answers! Tell me, is there one thing YOU’RE ready to let go of?

Love Catherine x

Waving across the cafe...

My friends, very quickly…we’re having such a relaxing getaway and I appreciate it with my whole heart.

Wow, it was my turn for a rest. We haven’t been away from Sydney on a little family holiday in well over a year.

Solitude.

Peace.

But if I saw you this morning at the beach cafe, sipping your latte at a table with a friend, or waiting for your bacon and egg roll while chatting with your partner, or wiping the strawberry jam off the hands of a daughter or a grandchild, I would wave to you and smile.

I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday.

Love Catherine x

This Is True...

A little story for you this morning, before we jump in the car and whiz to the beach to celebrate our son turning 20!

Over the years I’ve come to know my cousin-by- marriage, Adele. Her beautiful bracelet is in this photo, above. She’s game for adventure and upbeat, spontaneous, fun and she laughs all the time. She’s also smart as a whip.

And her life looks charmed from the outside — as does mine, and maybe yours does, too. And really if we have clean water and fresh air, we are all privileged and blessed.

But there are things, right?

The things we don’t share.

Because here’s the truth: nobody rides for free.

Nobody. Whether we are healthy, with job security and loads of dough or alone and unwell with a bad diagnosis…we’re all in this same boat.

Life.

Nobody rides for free (even if it looks like we do).

I wrote it on a sticky note to remind myself that we are ALL in this together, and no matter where we’re at, there are mountains to climb. Rejection, sadness, worries, relationships that aren’t close or are close-to-broken, health scares, loss of a beautiful activity we loved, fear.

But this is true, too: we can always choose to listen to each other, and give what we have to give: our time, our love, our resources, our gluten-free chocolate brownies…

Let’s do this, my friends — let’s be here for each other on this wild and beautiful ride.

Let’s assume zero about each other. Let’s remember, nobody rides for free.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Thank you, Adele, for gifting me this beautiful faux pearl bracelet (above). She literally TOOK IT OFF HER ARM and handed it to me when I admired it. I’m trying to be a person like that!

• And our eldest son at 1 and 3. Now he’s a man and so like his Dad. Love that look on my husband’s face…and me, at 34. I feel smarter but also somehow just the same….

Easy Scalloped Potatoes For Sunday

Hello, everyone. Fires in our beloved Pacific Northwest and the west coast, the anniversary of September 11, masks everywhere…I’m so sorry all of this is happening.

I’m a helper and from our home here in Australia, what I can give you is this: the best, easiest classic recipe for scalloped potatoes.

A few weeks ago I bought a mandolin, my first ever (because I was always too afraid a kid would slice his finger) and wow, it’s a game changer for slicing potatoes.

Don’t bother peeling — just wash the potatoes, slice, slice a white onion thinly and you’re set.

The secret?

A loooooong cooking time to ensure the potatoes are tender. Start with 40 mins at 350F / 180C but keep checking with a knife. Also: cream. That’s another secret!

• 5 potatoes, thinly sliced. (Peel if you prefer, but I never do.)

• 1 onion, sliced

• 1.5 cups of heavy cream whisked together with 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder

• 1 cup grated cheddar

• Salt to taste

Heat the oven to 180C / 350F.

• Oil a baking dish and layer with potato, then some onion rings, potato and on it goes. Finish with potato on top.

• Pour over the cream mixture.

• Sprinkle with cheese.

• Bake for 40 minutes plus. Check for tender potatoes.

Some things in life really are easy.

Good thing, too, especially when life is handing us some challenges in 2020.

I hope you love these — I don’t make them often, but when I do my husband has seconds (or maybe even thirds).

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• I’ve been working quite a lot in the corporate world lately, and can’t wait to get back to some writing soon…I have a great concept for my first novel for adults and I’m super excited to test the idea with you!

• Next week, I’ll be blogging from my favourite beach in the world — yay! We’re celebrating our first son turning 20 with a weekend getaway. People always say the years fly by, but for me…I was there for every second and they didn’t fly. The years waltzed or jitterbugged: from the worn out knees on my jeans to endless endless endless batches of cookies, washing all those school uniforms, Sunday dinners, rowing driving before 5am, all of it. A long and beautiful family waltz…and I’m grateful!

Your 'car to bar' shoes! :)

Come on, ladies, we ALL have them…the beautiful, uncomfortable shoes we’d love to wear.

If only they didn’t hurt.

If only we could walk in them properly (still).

But they do, and we can’t so we don’t. And that sometimes makes me feel sad.

These are our ‘car to bar’ shoes — hehe — and I’m pretty sure you have a pair (or seven) in your closet, too. So since Covid was getting me down and I’ve been working from my home office, my shoe wear is normally a lot like these cuties:

Super comfy Skechers, and because I love you all… (not an #ad or a #sponsored post but just to be helpful) you can buy them here in America, in Canada (similar) and in Australia. So comfortable and yes, cute.

But maybe not inspiring?

So this is what I did on a rainy Wednesday. I wore my ‘car to bar shoes’ to work in my home office. It perked me RIGHT UP and it was so fun. And comfortable.

I know, I know…I’m a little silly. You may not all agree with me. But I say this: if you’ve GOT it and it’s fun to USE it, then why not?

Why not enjoy your beautiful things in a way that actually works?

Wear that bling down to the dining room in your villa (I see you all, Saskatoon ladies and my sweet mama!). Wear your favourite dress in the house on a Sunday afternoon. And wear your ‘car to bar shoes’ to work, while you’re sitting on your backside at your desk anyway.

Life is so short, my friends.

We all know this.

Haul out your treasures today, look at them, wear them and enjoy.

Let’s love our age together,

Catherine x

PS.

• I need to work on my posture, especially forward head thrust. These exercises from a rehab team in Brisbane look really good. The tennis ball? That seems do-able. Swipe right for all exercises.