Best wishes to you and yours for a relaxing holiday!
Wherever you are, I hope you enjoy these beautiful days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, that you stay well, and find all the joy you can during this season.
See you on the other side in 2022.
Love, Catherine xx
Hi friends! How are you this beautiful Sunday? Here in Sydney it’s finally hot, hot, hot — and I’m having a thousand coffees by myself as the family sleeps in after our little Christmas party last night.
Best part? The live music! A pianist, a cellist, and a violinist all crammed in the music room singing Christmas carols. It was so much fun and reminded me of my Canadian home.
Then we stayed up until 2:30am talking with our young adult sons, just the four of us by the tree amidst the mess of plates and food and presents from friends. It felt like magic—one of those family Christmas memories.
Today I’m thinking about imperfection.
When we open our homes and hearts to people, we make beautiful things (not perfect things). Yes, there could have been cleaner baseboards, and it was so hot. I had about three seconds to get dressed for my own party because I was rushing to get the food ready. My original pianist cancelled last minute and my cellist son and his talented friends stepped in.
But friends showed up to bring the cheer.
Honestly, there are presents here today that I never even saw last night…little hostess gifts under the tree and sprinkled around the house. People sang and chatted and met new people and laughed.
In my heart, here’s what I’m thinking: people are so surprisingly lovely.
This Christmas, let people love you.
Sit for a minute and soak in your good fortune, like I did last night.
Nobody wanted us perfect, or our home to be any different, or the food better or the fun more fun. People just want to be welcomed in.
Nobody wants your worry—they want your love.
Wish you were here, and I’m sending you a heart full of peace. Breathe in, enjoy, make some magic this holiday season with whatever you’ve got in your own two hands.
Catherine xx
PS.
Ladies, these are great holiday party shoes! Flat, cute, comfy, a little surprising. Order your regular size and sparkle a little!
And thank you for gifting my books to women who will love them. Authors can only keep writing when readers buy books, and I appreciate you. You are the friends I treasure.
Happy Sunday, and hello from Sydney! It’s Catherine Greer writing to you — author of The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps Are Perfect.
Eeeep! 13 days until Christmas, and I’ve been zooming around with work and writing and planning a Christmas party. I haven’t done much baking yet (and baking is my thing!) but I finished shopping in November so I can enjoy all the special moments of Christmas.
Except there’s this: I haven’t been enjoying. I’ve been rushing. You?
Let me tell you a funny story. On Tuesday, I decided to get our piano tuned. Haven’t had it done in seven years, and the tuner—a lovely guy—had one request BEFORE he came over in the evening.
Easy, I thought. I’d open both windows beside the piano and give him all the fresh air he needed.
But my son who’s at uni ALSO has this hobby of doing Texas barbecue and smoking meat, and he’d made (from scratch) this huge smoked ham that wasn’t quite cooked in time for a Christmas party he was attending, so he had to finish it off in my oven.
At 250 degrees (which is 482 F).
The piano tuner came. The kitchen started to look like this.
Then the whole house looked that way.
There was smoke BILLOWING from the oven, the piano tuner was humming, my husband was manually turning off all our smoke detectors which kept announcing “WARNING, SMOKE DANGER, ALARM WILL BE LOUD!” I was fanning smoke with a tea towel, my son was charging around late for the party waiting for this 10 kilogram leg of pork to cook, my husband was turning off smoke alarms and meanwhile we were trying to keep everything calm and VENTILATED for Andy, who was tuning the piano.
OH MY LORD.
I’m cry-laughing just remembering how funny and stressful this was.
The situation reminded me of Christmas. We rush around and we try to do special things and there’s smoke and food and kids and piano tuners and ho ho ho, merrily we go…making the magic and taking care of everyone and everything.
And maybe we’re tired.
And maybe we need a rest.
Remember the secret, my friends: you need to take care of you. Light a candle, enjoy the season, make a hot drink and laugh.
Here’s what I have for you today: my favourite Ram Dass quote.
On we go, bringing the joy this holiday season.
I’m so very honoured and happy to be here every Sunday, walking you home.
Love, Catherine x
PS.
Andy is the loveliest piano tuner and so reasonable. He gave me permission to tell you if need a tune up, please do give him a call in Sydney on 0408 979 819. He works so hard at his craft! I hope we can all give him a little Christmas cheer and a business boost. (Please don’t mention the SMOKE.)
White Chocolate Raspberry Berry Shortbread here (at my previous author website blog)!
Hello, friends and welcome new people! It’s Catherine Greer from The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps are Perfect (new book!). So happy you’re here this weekend. If you’re new, an intro:
I’m married and we live in Sydney. I’m Canadian and Aussie — first half of my life in Canada, second half in Australia.
We have two young adult sons (one in Year 12 and one studying Law Commerce at Sydney Uni).
I love growing older and wiser! I let my hair go silver at 49, adore baking, lift weights grudgingly, have the sweetest puppy, don’t Facebook but I am on Instagram and I’m an author.
This beautiful white sand beach above is my favourite place in the entire world, a three hour drive from Sydney.
Here’s what I’ve got for you today — a bit of a truth bomb.
Ready?
We are so good at criticising ourselves, and we are so bad at loving ourselves.
We tell ourselves we’re too much AND too little, but let me offer you a virtual coffee (or tea) and offer this perspective.
I just wanted you to know that today.
Enjoy your weekend. Rest up, relax a little, be the joy.
Love Catherine x
PS.
For the new people…thank you for being here!
A favourite skirt if you’re Aussie (you can order online): it’s a lovely linen blend and surprisingly slimming. Mine is cream and I pair it with a black top.
A favourite poem: American poet Billy Collins’ “Forgetfulness.”
If you want to get all your girlfriend & sister gifts in one fell swoop, I would be so honoured if you’d consider my books. They’re $19.99, pretty and encouraging. If you’re posting gifts, they send as a letter with slightly more postage…easy! (Look at my towering stack of bedside reading….and yes, I still read and re-read my own books for all those good ideas.)
America – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Canada – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Australia – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix or shop local here.
United Kingdom – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Hi everyone, and hello new friends — it’s Catherine from The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps Are Perfect (new book!) dropping by on your weekend.
When I get newsletters, I like to SEE who is writing to me…so I took a dozen selfies for all the new people, but when I went to pick one where my eyes weren’t closed — ha! — my photo roll was FULL OF NATURE and I had to share.
a jacaranda tree and Jacaranda Snow (my first picture book!)
a red bottlebrush (called Grevillea)
white flowering something-I-don’t-know
bush walk in our suburb down a sandy path
I am so lucky.
Nature. Does it recharge you, too?
Deep breath, my friend: today is an excellent day to open your front door and look around. Notice what you’ve been given:
a city streetscape
an ocean view
a back garden
christmas lights
snow
A rainy Sunday?
I used this inscription to begin Small Steps Are Perfect — it’s Van Gogh, and his words are every bit as beautiful as his paintings.
It’s time to appreciate where we are.
Tiny little things matter.
Holidays are a perfect time to look carefully at what’s right in front of us. I hope you have time to enjoy what you see outside your own door, and chat with or hug the people you’ve been given to love. We are so lucky to be here, aren’t we? Very small things are the best.
Happy (peaceful) Sunday. I’m thinking of you.
Love Catherine x
PS.
Remember Jacaranda Snow? Link is here!
These beautiful words of Byron Katie to ponder: “No two people live in the same world.”
A funny poem by Ogden Nash (the American poets again!!): A Word to Husbands.
Happy Thanksgiving, Americans! Did you know that Aussie pumpkin makes the best pumpkin pies? Here’s an Aussie Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Pie recipe.
Hello, friends…and a warm welcome to all the new people here today. It’s Catherine Greer from Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix writing to you from…my side of the bed at 2:53 in the morning. Gahhhhh! Growing older and getting sleepless.
If you haven’t been asked lately, how are you? Really — how’s your world at the moment? Big plans, secret worries, feeling pretty okay, only so-so?
Here’s what I’ve been thinking this week: the holidays are coming, and we all know the truth: women make the magic.
We make it. There is never a stocking not filled by a woman (I’m pretty sure) and usually the ones with our name on it are the bedraggled slim ones, am I right? We plan the food, decide when it’s time to bring out the decorations and start the shopping, we think about the people who may need us (or need a little extra cheer).
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get so busy bringing and joy-ing and starting that I forget this basic truth: I need to take care of myself while I make the holidays for everyone else. I need to make sure I’m:
drinking enough water
getting outside for lots of walks (I walk the dog every day, but I also need to walk MYSELF sometimes…move and feel better, move and think, move and relax)
sleeping (hah! my midlife brain is laughing at myself right now but…yes, I need more…please send help!)
We’re here now. We have this time to live our lives and enjoy whatever we can. Sounds completely basic, I know, but sometimes I need to remind myself to be grateful for every new morning. They keep coming like gifts.
I’ve decided to have more FUN this holiday season, so I’ve been whispering this to myself. Maybe it will also help you.
When I clean all those corners before we start to decorate the house: this is the fun part!
When I’m tripping over unwrapped gifts on the floor on my closet: this is the fun part!
When I’m tired from stupid hormones and not sleeping, and wake up grumpy but my family is there to love and the dog is forever faithful, waiting for me to notice her, and I have a home to live in and grass to cut and a dishwasher to unload and floors to sweep and work to do: this is the fun part!
We’re alive. We’re here. We’re breathing. It’s another new day, another one!, and there will probably be another one tomorrow.
Just think: this is the FUN part.
Enjoy your Sunday, everyone, and thanks for being here with me.
Love, Catherine x
PS. FUN STUFF! Gorgeous red coats & poems & books & more…
If you want to shop: this coat in red if it’s cold where you are or how about this initial necklace?
If you want to read a beautiful poem: “The Best Time Of The Day” by American poet, Raymond Carver.
If you want to learn how to tie a Tiffany bow.
And if you want to get all your girlfriend & sister gifts in one fell swoop, I would be so honoured if you’d consider my books. (If you’re posting gifts in the mail, they send as a letter, which means they’re easy to mail.)
America – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Canada – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Australia – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix or shop local here.
United Kingdom – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Friends, hello! Hi new people…it’s Catherine from Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix writing to you!
42 days until Christmas! Do you celebrate?
I’m getting into the spirit of green around here. Maybe it’s the influence of my latest book cover, maybe it’s just all the gorgeous green in Aussie shops right now.
How do you feel about green?
I found this lovely faux silk blouse from Zara…
It’s such a classic. You can’t tell from the photo, but the buttons are a pretty mother-of-pearl. (Sorry, couldn’t find it on the Zara Australia website but I bought it Friday…so maybe have a hunt around?)
Other than that? Ohhhhh, I landed on a new solution for sleepless nights.
Really. I just started getting up and doing a few things instead of rolling around worrying about not sleeping. It was a tip from my mum, Katie…you guys know her from “yellow” in The 10 Minute Fix! She told me once, ‘If I don’t sleep, that’s okay…I’ll be a little tired tomorrow.’
I stopped resisting my own sleeplessness (which seems to be another gift of midlife—like a softer tummy, silver hair and changing skin).
I’m trying to believe that sleeplessness can be a gift. It gives us time to reflect and ponder. And if we’re a little tired the next day, well, it’s not as hard as so many things that people have to endure. Right?
Gift: a couple of nights ago, I had a beautiful middle-of-the-night-to-me text conversation with my cousin in Canada, Jean, who is more like a sister and a girlfriend to me than a distant relation. (You read about her in Small Steps Are Perfect!)
Some people meditate or pray or make To Do (and To Don’t) Lists when they’re sleepless. Lately, I’ve been doing this thing that I feel quite sheepish writing about, but it works.
Hand on heart, other hand on tummy, and say this to yourself: “I love you. I’m listening.” Then listen to your own thoughts like a kind friend. Ask yourself how you’re doing.
Essentially it’s two lines from my all-time favourite meditation from Canadian Sarah and it’s free here if you have 12 minutes to spare.
When we tell ourselves we’re listening, it somehow accesses the tender parts of us that we so rarely share with others.
I’m listening to me.
Are you listening to you?
Try it tonight if you can’t sleep.
Wish I could send every one of you a pretty green shirt along with this email. If you love green, I hope you go out and find yourself a cute one. Green treat. We’re green and growing.
Happy Sunday,
Catherine x
PS. Yayyyyy! Welcome new people. Love to tell you about my books because they’re spreading cheer around the world. Yes, I still re-read my own books because I need all the little reminders.
America – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Canada – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
Australia – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix or shop local here.
United Kingdom – Small Steps Are Perfect and The 10 Minute Fix
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:
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:
Hi everyone, and hello new people. I’m Catherine from Small Steps Are Perfect (new book!) and today I’m nervously sharing a little something with you.
It’s important.
BUT…please know I’m not sharing this because of our bodies or how much we do. This ISN’T about our bodies or our achievements.
It’s about TIME. And it applies to EVERYTHING.
Okay?
Here’s the idea.
I’m ageing. So are you. But it doesn’t matter because TIME can be a FRIEND.
It’s not an enemy.
It can be GOOD that things take a while.
It can be SMART to start when you’re old. Take a look at Joan and what she’s done with 13 years. Read the caption, please :) This image isn’t really about Joan’s health…it’s about her attitude to time.
It’s about doing things SLOWLY. It’s about believing that ageing is a good thing, and the best really can be in front of us, not behind us.
Time is our friend. We’re so lucky to have it. We’re also lucky to have this beautiful Canadian woman, @trainwithjoan, out there as an inspiration — NOT because of her body transformation, but because she reminds us that in all things…
FAMILY relationships
MAKING something new
STARTING over
Beginning LATER
Feeling LEFT BEHIND
…that time can be our FRIEND.
Just take a look at me (above). I’m 55 now, grey, wrinkled, losing hormones faster than a toddler can chuck a tantrum in the grocery store and still I believe this is true:
I have a bit of a similar story — starting with something new in the middle of my life. I had a dream to be a published author. Six years later, here I am…but there’s a lot of effort and trying and worry and failure that you can’t see in this photo. It took three years to celebrate my first published book. I’ve written two full manuscripts you don’t see here (yet) and I don’t know what will ever happen to those :) I’m halfway through another one. Fingers crossed!
Has it been like landing with my bum in the butter? Nope. No. Not at all. Has it been a roller coaster, with a lot of hard work, trying to keep faith with myself and convincing myself to keep going? Yes.
Has it been worth it to walk and shuffle forward toward MY dreams? Absolutely.
Has it been fast? No.
Have I had help or connections or fabulous luck? No.
Am I here, building slowly, believing TIME can be my FRIEND? Yes.
Time to do the things you want to do, the things your heart is aching for you to do. It might be
travel
writing your books (write your books…we need more books!)
building your tiny business
getting healthier
or even keeping the faith (that all your kids will get along and love each other properly one day, that the wound inside you will heal, that you can feel a little better than you do now)
Give it time. See TIME as your friend, please. It’s not too late. It’s good to take your time.
You can walk ever so slowly towards your dreams, like I try to do. I’m still becoming the woman I was born to be: a writer who connects with people’s hearts. I’m taking my time.
You can, too. Whatever your thing is, YOU CAN, TOO.
There’s room for all of us, and time is our friend.
Happy Sunday. I’m cheering for us all.
Love Catherine x
ps.
If YOUR book or business is coming soon, let me know, okay? I’ll be the first in line to support your heart’s work.
You can follow Joan’s journey here.
Small Steps Are Perfect is a book like a hug. You can find it here:
The 10 Minute Fix is still a favourite for Christmas gifts!! You can find it here. With love from me to you.
Hi everyone, Catherine here.
Today I’m thinking of all the ways we can enjoy ourselves, whether we’re out of lockdown (Sydney) or in lockdown (Melbourne), whether the borders are now open (Canada & America) or whether you’re simply hanging around in your pjs at home because it’s the weekend and you want to.
I’m doing lovely things:
Making a dessert for Sunday dinner.
Slipping on my favourite ‘pink diamond’ ring. Similar one here — mine is three seasons old from Lovisa and I wish I’d bought a few :(
Taking a long walk in nature and enjoying the Aussie bush in our beautiful city.
Reading something I enjoy. I’m into Jeannette Winterson’s fascinating book of essays about Artificial Intelligence, 12 Bytes. And I absolutely LOVED Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun. If you’re at all wondering about how we might live with robots, you’ll love his book. I fell in love with the soft-hearted Klara.
Working on my new novel.
Hugging anyone who comes my way in the kitchen.
Listening to Fleetwood Mac while I cook: this song.
Pausing to slow down and be.
Adding the joy for someone else.
That’s it, my friends. If you’d like to join me, then let’s go ENJOY this day.
Sending love around the world,
Catherine x
PS.
Thank you for telling me how much you’re enjoying Small Steps Are Perfect. It’s a wonderful little gift book, and Christmas is coming!
You can find Small Steps Are Perfect here:
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.
Failure can be a good thing. It can force us to get moving.
Choose who you let sit at the judges’ table in your life. Everyone has an opinion. Should it matter to you? You can choose.
Allow other people to be wrong about you. That’s it: just let them be wrong.
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.
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
Happy Sunday! It’s Catherine from The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps are Perfect—my new book!
I promised you my easy macaron recipe. Let’s do this! It’s ideal for your gluten-free friends and family.
First, though, thank you to everyone who has jumped in and ordered Small Steps are Perfect. It’s a little book of comfort & joy and I hope you love it. This morning I received another beautiful message from a reader who said, “Just got my Small Steps Are Perfect book today—when will there be a third, please…so excited!” Thanks, Ingrid. I’m grinning.
Also this:
“You’ll want to share this book, but you’ll want to keep it for yourself, so save a lot of guilt and buy two.” Love!
If you’d like to pick up a copy for you (and I hope one for a friend!), the links are below. Thank you for your support! Writers can only keep writing when readers buy and share books, and I appreciate you.
Now on to these beauties….
Can you see how delicious they are?
The pep talk: yes, you DO need to weigh everything and you DO have to be exact.
You’ll need:
A scale.
A fine metal strainer to sift the almond flour.
Piping bag with a round tip.
Almond flour, icing sugar, caster sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs, and GEL food colouring (not liquid).
Okay, let’s make this easy. All the YouTubers act like it’s rocket science but I think it can be practical and fun (that’s my take on life, actually).
Weigh and set aside these ingredients in separate bowls:
260 grams egg whites (not from a bag…from real eggs…and at room temperature)
172 grams caster sugar
312 grams almond flour
458 grams icing sugar
(You’ll add a few drops of GEL food colouring to the egg whites later)
230 grams (1 cup) butter
380 grams icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Whip egg whites to firm peaks, and gradually add caster sugar. I use my Kitchenaid mixer.
Add a few drops of GEL food colouring and mix. So pretty!
In a big bowl, sift almond flour and icing sugar together through a metal strainer. Discard chunky bits. Weigh again and make sure you have 770grams total weight. (Yes, you have to.)
CAREFULLY and SLOWLY, mix the dry ingredients into the egg whites in your mixer until BARELY combined. I turn my mixer on and off, take it slowly and barely mix together. Nobody tells you to do it this way, but if you’re CAREFUL and don’t over mix, it saves you a lot of time and painful mixing by hand.
Then you need to macronage. Transfer the mixture to a wide bowl, use a spatula or a scraper and fold, fold, fold until the mixture falls off the spatula in a ‘figure 8’ ribbon without breaking. Then stop. Don’t overmix.
Pour mixture into a piping bag with a round tip.
Line cookie sheets with baking paper.
Pipe small 2 cm (1 inch) shells. Aim in the middle, hold the piping bag upright and squeeze a ‘dot' — it will spread a little. Whack the finished tray on the counter to remove air bubbles.
THE SECRET — let dry for 30 mins to an hour. You should be able to run your finger across the top of the shell. This creates the ‘feet’ on the macaron shell.
Preheat oven to 160 C fan forced. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool, match up the shells, then make the filling in a mixer. Whip the butter for about five minutes, add the icing sugar and the vanilla and that’s it. Pipe the filling onto one shell and top with a matching shell.
This will make more than 50+ delicious macarons. They freeze really well, and taste even better the following day. Everyone loves them.
Is it a little bit tricky? Maybe, but only the first time. That’s kind of like life, too.
Enjoy!
Love Catherine x
PS. If you need a little inspiration, please consider SMALL STEPS ARE PERFECT: Simple ways to find comfort & joy. You can find it here!
Surprise!
Happy Sunday, everybody, and hello new people. You’re so welcome here in my little corner of the internet. I have some book news to share…
Small Steps Are Perfect: simple ways to find comfort & joy!
Isn’t it pretty? I love this book!
You might love it, too. Here’s why.
It’s practical.
It’s an instant pick-me-up when you need some encouragement.
It’s the perfect book for your bedside table—short chapters, fun stories, wisdom, reassurance…all the good things we need to feel better. Like a big sister to The 10 Minute Fix.
It’s a fantastic gift for a friend—lasts longer than flowers, and it’s pretty, encouraging and fun!
You can find it here!
This book is dedicated to all of you (you’ll see when you open it!)
Here’s a sneak peek inside. Months ago, when I was writing the epigraph, I loved the synchronicity and magic of finding these words of Van Gogh’s. I’d never read them before. Amazing.
You guys, this beautiful book is like the little engine that could…we just keep chugging on, my friends, and sometimes we need a bit of inspiration and encouragement. Comfort & joy. That’s what you’ll find here!
I’m off to celebrate with coffee and breakfast! See you next Sunday…and I hope something amazing happens for you today :)
Love, Catherine x
PS.
Welcome to the new people this week. So happy you’re here.
Stay tuned…next week I’m sharing my EASY recipe for macarons that anyone can make. One batch is probably 40-50 macarons. Buy almond flour + butter + icing sugar + gel food colouring for next Sunday .
Book love—with my whole heart, THANK YOU for your kindness and support! Sharing books with your friends truly helps authors keep doing what we love. I appreciate you!
Hi everyone and hello new friends.
Let me tell you a little story. Here I am at 34, plump baby in my arms — The Boy Who Never Slept. I spent the first eleven months of Luke’s life sleeping and waking, day and night, 40 minutes at a time like he did. I was so sleep deprived that I have photos of myself at parties and gatherings I can’t even remember attending. I’d call the Tresilian Sleep Help Hotline, they’d tell me it was a two week wait to get in for help, I’d think it was too long to wait, put the phone down and keep on keeping on.
I was an inexperienced mum and completely, utterly exhausted. Not putting my name on that waiting list was an indication just how incoherent I was. In fact, I look back on that time now as so traumatic it makes me feel PTSD about the lack of sleep. But there I was, alone in Australia, a new mum at 34, no real friends yet and no idea what to do.
It was hard. Today, I look at that younger me and think, “I wish I could help you! I know what to do now. Put your name on that sleep-help list because he still won’t be sleeping in two weeks’ time. Go to a hotel by yourself for 24 hours. Ask your husband to bottle feed the baby for a night — it will be fine for him.” But at the time, all I could do in my state of endless exhaustion was keep going.
Forward, forward, forward, trudge, trudge.
I wasn’t thinking straight, of course, but sometimes we all do this…forge ahead into a situation and keep going, instead of lifting our head above the mire and trying to take stock of the situation to change it. And sometimes we do this because, mixed in with the difficulty, there’s a lot of joy.
I was joyful here, in this photo. My baby was perfect. I was beloved. And exhausted and young and inexperienced…wow I was young.
Over to you today. Is there a time when you’d like to reach back to your younger self and gently give her some wisdom and encouragement?
Here’s the truth: we’re allowed to let go of old misunderstandings.
We can listen to ourselves.
One of my favourite free meditations of all time is Sarah Blondin’s Loving and Listening to Yourself. Sarah is a beautiful Canadian from British Columbia and you’ll love her. If you have 12 minutes to listen to this, it’s worth it. This particular mediation has 2 million downloads and honestly is so beautiful.
Loving and listening to ourselves: it’s just so important. We need to honour all the versions of ourselves we’ve ever been.
I wish I could tell this beautiful young Catherine that her baby will be 21 this week, that he’s doing two degrees in Law and Commerce, that he’s building a start-up, that he makes a mean American barbecue, that he’s an amazing cook, loves playing the cello, and personality-wise is almost an exact replica of his Dad. That it all turns out beautifully. That he even takes you for lunch at his favourite Vietnamese restaurant from time to time.
I’ve been a mum for twenty-one years, and I still carry all the versions inside of me of every person I ever was.
The five year old who had a pet deer on the farm, and dirty bare feet all summer long.
The ten year old whose hobby was “making books” in recycled duotang folders.
The young teacher, the grad student, the Canadian, the Aussie, the ups and downs and struggles that, of course, no one sees in photos like these.
The struggles—we all have them.
The joys—we have those, too.
All this reminds me of a favourite poem. I’ll share it with you here today, and hope that it makes you remember yourself and love yourself (all the versions of you) on this fine Sunday.
I’m thinking of you.
Love, Catherine x
To My Nine-Year-Old Self
by Helen Dunmore
You must forgive me. Don’t look so surprised,
perplexed, and eager to be gone,
balancing on your hands or on the tightrope.
You would rather run than walk, rather climb than run
rather leap from a height than anything.
I have spoiled this body we once shared.
Look at the scars, and watch the way I move,
careful of a bad back or a bruised foot.
Do you remember how, three minutes after waking
we’d jump straight out of the ground floor window
into the summer morning?
That dream we had, no doubt it’s as fresh in your mind
as the white paper to write it on.
We made a start, but something else came up –
a baby vole, or a bag of sherbet lemons –
and besides, that summer of ambition
created an ice-lolly factory, a wasp trap
and a den by the cesspit.
I’d like to say that we could be friends
but the truth is we have nothing in common
beyond a few shared years. I won’t keep you then.
Time to pick rosehips for tuppence a pound,
time to hide down scared lanes
from men in cars after girl-children,
or to lunge out over the water
on a rope that swings from that tree
long buried in housing –
but no, I shan’t cloud your morning. God knows
I have fears enough for us both –
I leave you in an ecstasy of concentration
slowly peeling a ripe scab from your knee
to taste it on your tongue.
Friends, hello from Australia…and hi, new people! It’s Catherine (from The 10 Minute Fix book) writing to you, as promised.
It’s September 11 overseas and the 12th here in Australia, and I know the world still shares remembrances of this date. In honour of so much loss, I wanted to share three lighthearted, beautiful things amidst that memory of sorrow.
This is how I roll: when the world hands me hard, I pour back in something—anything—good.
These are tiny things, but small things also matter.
Today I wanted to pause a second and bring you into my kitchen. I cut some clivia from the back garden and they’re hollering Hello, Orange! on the table. Wherever you are, whatever the season, anything will do. Branches, leaves, even a few beautiful stones can look so pretty. Summer’s coming in Australia—actually feels like we’ve swooped right past spring and summer has been with us this weekend.
I learned the best way to cut watermelon sticks. I served them for dessert last night after a barbecue, and one of my sons said, 'Hey, it looks like a cake!’ Yes, it does, but it’s healthier and easier, too. Plus FUN.
When I was an English teacher in my twenties at a beautiful private school in Victoria, British Columbia, I loved poetry with my whole heart…and I tried to show my students that it’s available to everyone.
It doesn’t have to be too tricky or tough. It can be as easy to understand as a cake recipe. It can. Not always, of course, but choose what you love. Meander until you find a poet who speaks to you.
Today, here’s Mary Oliver’s “Watering The Stones” for you. Do you know it? Am I the first friend to give it to you? The thought that I might be the giver of this poem to you for the first time fills my English-teacher heart with adrenaline.
You’ll love this one.
Every summer I gather a few stones from
the beach and keep them in a glass bowl.
Now and again I cover them with water,
and they drink. There’s no question about
this; I put tinfoil over the bowl, tightly,
yet the water disappears. This doesn’t
mean we ever have a conversation, or that
they have the kind of feelings we do, yet
it might mean something. Whatever the
stones are, they don’t lie in the water
and do nothing.
Some of my friends refuse to believe it
happens, even though they’ve seen it. But
a few others-I’ve seen them walking down
the beach holding a few stones, and they
look at them rather more closely now.
Once in a while, I swear, I’ve even heard
one or two of them saying “Hello.”
Which, I think, does no harm to anyone or
anything, does it?
- Mary Oliver
From Blue Horses, 2014
Enjoy every second of this weekend if you can. I hope you and yours are okay, despite lockdown and any sorrow. American friends, the world still remembers your loss. We do.
Love Catherine x
PS.
My favourite Mary Oliver poem is here.
My favourite writer’s pencils are here. These pencils are so dear to my heart (and I know, expensive per pencil, but I love them). I’d rather have these than takeaway coffee.
I’ve shared them before but I’ll say it again: my favourite exercise shorts / bike shorts are here, but I wish I’d ordered a size down. Still, love them so much. I have the buttery soft blue colour. They’re nice and long, so if you go out walking this summer, you might like them, too.
If you’re new and wondering what’s in those frames behind my kitchen table, it’s my favourite four stanzas from Wallace Steven’s “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” You read about that in my book, too…xo
Welcome into my sunny kitchen this morning, and hello to all the new people this week! It’s Catherine writing to you (from The 10 Minute Fix). Thank you for being here…every Sunday morning Australia-time I’ll send you a little upbeat note as promised. Thank you for inviting me into your inbox.
It’s Sunday celebration time around here because it’s Father’s Day in Australia…and I know we’re still in lockdown and this means that extended families can’t get together. If this is you, I hope your day is filled with Facetime, a brisk walk, a treat you love and some plans about all the parties we’ll have when our world reopens.
I know the world is so unsettled right now (Covid-Afghanistan-all the news), but we can all bring a little instant joy with this.
Stand there and think about someone you love. (This sign above is in Saskatchewan, Canada!)
Chocolate and strawberries.
Want to know the secret to making the best chocolate dipped strawberries? So easy.
Melt chocolate in a glass bowl set on top of simmering water in a pan on the stove. (yes, it seems to work a little better than the microwave method)
Add 1 tsp vegetable oil for every block of chocolate for that nice sheen.
Wash and DRY the berries thoroughly with a tea towel or paper towel.
Let the melted chocolate cool a little. Then dip and place on baking paper.
Most important tip — DON’T place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Then pop the tray in the fridge. This stops the chocolate from cracking.
I hope you find the time today to enjoy your weekend, to rest, to treat yourself and to celebrate the fact that we’re here with a chance to love all the people we’ve been given to love.
Love Catherine x
PS.
Happy Father’s Day to my guy (see below!). And here’s A Tale of Lockdown Hair. The salons in Sydney have been shut forever, and I have a husband who looks like Santa Claus, an older son who looks like a black-haired Einstein, and a younger one who looks like a wild man emerging from the Colorado wilderness. But I love them so!
Fun stuff: it’s a little thing, but I think this is the best clothes shaver I’ve ever found, and all it takes is two AA batteries. Comes with replacement blades. Also considering these cute swimmers for summer…
New favourite novel (from 2014?): The Paris Wife … about Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley. Hemingway was a huge part of my education. Really enjoying it, but also sad when I think about the women’s voices that were constantly overlooked throughout history.
Favourite Raymond Carver poem: “The Best Time of the Day”. So romantic and true. Short and evocative. To all the Americans, your poets are so incredible.
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.
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.
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…)
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?
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!
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.
