It's been a while since we've made our favourite Irish soda bread - https://www.wearelifestyles.com/cheesy-irish-soda-bread/ - because we've not had our own oven for so long. But, we wanted to get...
Slow design. Slow life.
This doesn’t mean we’re lazy – far from it. It just means that we’ve stood back, taken stock and slowed down the pace of things. We’ve (largely) stopped the 9-5 working day and we spend more time living. It hasn’t been easy making such big changes – coming from a city that never stops to a rural village has taken some getting used to, but we’re getting there. Our whole lifestyle is becoming much more balanced.
Our lifestyle now much more takes into account what we buy, what we eat, how we cook, how we relax. How we’ve largely weaned ourselves away from convenience and are now taking a much considered approach to how we live our lives. We still work full time from home and we’re planning our next adventure, but we do try to make time to live life.
Slowing down has had such a positive impact, that we want to share what inspires us and what has enabled a shift in our lifestyle.
What we’ve done isn’t rocket science. It’s just about savouring moments that we might have missed before, because we were just too busy. Too pre-occupied. And even if it’s just watching a sunset, getting in the car and having a night away or making a spicy curry on a Friday evening, listening to Kylie Minogue, well – we savour it…
recent lifestyle blogs
It's been a while since we've made our favourite Irish soda bread - https://www.wearelifestyles.com/cheesy-irish-soda-bread/ - because we've not had our own oven for so long. But, we wanted to get...
We have a Chinese Bazaar supermarket in our time, which is proving to be a bit of a treasure trove. We often find ourselves short of screws or nails, or can't find the mallet or need a tiny bit more...
We love our new lives in Andalucia and are immersing ourselves as much as we possibly can, mid-renovation. Sometimes though, especially in the cooler months - and this is why my thoughts are turning...
*This is NOT a sponsored blog post. We paid in full for all food and drink.* Living in Andalucia, we are certainly not short of excellent food options. Obviously tapas restaurants abound, and we've...
It's definitely red pepper season here, as supermarkets are bursting with them. We picked up a big bag of them recently and made a super spicy chilli at the weekend, full of these flavoursome ruby...
We decided this summer, with the garden revamp and everything, to replace the wooden sun loungers. Bought when we first moved in, we committed the initial rookie error of never oiling them, and then...
If you're a fan of a dahl, and also a fan of not using lots of pots and pans and creating lots of washing up, this is the recipe for you. It uses one pan or casserole dish, a chopping board, a bowl,...
We do love our tea in this house, but we like tea which is very uncomplicated. I have bought leaves and strainers - and even went so far as to bring back rose petal from Morocco - but the just ends...
I had to share this recipe as it's the easiest - and easily most delicious - curry, we've made in a long time. And, we are trying to extend our curry repertoire as we currently don't have Indian or...
I've dabbled in the past with making homemade hummus, but it's never become a habit. Hummus is so widely available that it just seemed a bit of a faff, and I could ever get a consistent recipe that...
Many years ago, when we had a website called Didsbury Life, promoting independent businesses in Didsbury and West Didsbury, we had a beautiful office, right on Burton Road. We designed the logo for...
Well, that's almost a Christmas wrap. We've spent the last few days hunkered down, with the wood-burners on, lights twinkling, candles flickering and eating all manner of luxurious food at the most...
The base recipe for this soup is exactly the same as the one I posted last year, but this time I did a couple of things differently. I decided not to whizz the soup this time, keeping the vegetables...
As the temperatures have started to plummet - the fires have been lit just recently for the first time this year, so this chilliness, even in December, has caught us on the hop - and so our thoughts...
Kozlović winery is one of the best-known wineries in Istria. The family has been producing wines since 1904, and today, the winery is run by its fourth generation. We are lucky that it's about...
San Servolo is a well renowned independent craft brewery in Buje, in northern Istria, producing excellent beers and pale ales. I'm not a beer fan, but have been known to have a bottle or two of the...
Our renovated kitchen is small, but with everything we need, and is painted in a soft grey to maximise the feeling of space. Worktops are kept largely clear of clutter, again to ensure that we don't...
Although it seems like no time since the long, heady days of summer, we're well into October now and only a week away from the clocks going back an hour. Usually, we've had the wood-burner lit by...
We're not short of places to buy food here. Istria is stuffed to the gills with supermarkets - Lidl, Spar. Kaufland, Konzum, Studenac, Eurospin, Tomy, Plodine, Butiga Ultra. They come in all shapes...