FOCUSSING ON THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE

WE’RE NEARLY DONE WITH JANUARY… CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH!?
I’m SO flipping chuffed that we’re one month closer to spring and after a glorious weekend away with gorgeous friends, I’m feeling extremely thankful for those small things in life. I’ve done a few blogposts on this topic before, strangely enough on this very day last year, (check it out here) as I think it’s really nice to take a step back from the woes of daily life to have a good hard think about those smaller things that make a huge difference to your life.
As it’s January and essentially the dullest month of the year I thought it would be nice to say sayonara in a way that wasn’t “Piss off and don’t come back” and more, “yeah you’re crap but inevitable so see you in 11 months time…”

1. This brings me rather seamlessly onto my first small thing which is the sheer beauty of getting away for the weekend with great pals. This weekend in fact we headed over to George’s hometown of Helmsley in North Yorkshire which is one of my favourite places in the world and I feel so lucky and so grateful to now have it as my home away from home. It was so amazing to share such a special place to both George and I with our best pals Rob and Amy.
The weekend in itself was pretty uneventful but thats what I love about these kind of getaways with these kind of people, you don’t have to do much to have a bloody good time. Our time was spent in country pubs, with a VERY windy and cold country walk and of course with a good ole roast dinner, but it was my fave weekend in a long ole while. It’s weekend’s such as this that make me feel so thankful for great friendships and for our beautiful country, you don’t have to spend a lot or travel far to really take in some natural beauty, it was a belter and I can’t wait for more glorious weekends just like this one.

2. Next up is one that creeps up on me every few months but makes me feel v thankful for it… Are you ready to be WOWED!?
I’m grateful for fresh electric toothbrush heads… Yeah really!? I’m actually chuckling to myself as I’m writing this for the sheer menial-ness of such a statement but what can I say, I’m feeling very thankful for the small things in life right now. The difference in a well used toothbrush head and a fresh out of the packet head is really rather something and my gnashers are very happy when the update comes along.

3. I’m not sure there is anything better to kick start your day then waking up to blue skies! Especially at this time of year when we’re often greeted with darkness or in the case of Manchester… RAIN! But as I woke this morning and the skies were completely blue and without a single cloud (although it was ABSOLUTELY FREAKING BALTIC) it instantly made me feel happier about it being Monday. In that case I’m thankful for fresh, sunny days, my favourite kind of weather.

4. I couldn’t EVER do this style of blogpost without discussing how truly thankful I am every single day for my dogs Peter & Nancy. I’ve mentioned in a similar style of post before how one of the most special of small things is being greeted by them every time I walk through the door. And whilst that is still the most special part of my day, one of the latest small things that I truly appreciate from them, particularly Nancy is there love of a warm radiator.
If you follow me or those guys on Instagram (yes they are dogs and they do have their own Instagram account) then you might be aware of Nancy’s infatuation with a warm radiator (see this photo here). Her new favourite place to sit is wedged between the back cushions of the sofa with her head lying on the radiator, it’s the most adorable thing I have EVER EVER EVER seen and it truly brings me so much joy whenever I SEE IT.

5. Next we have clothing. Clothing is, as expected a huge part of my life yet lately I’ve been a bit bogged down by it all. It’s got a lot to do with having been educated in sustainability and eco-friendly clothing options and how I’ve tried to make a change in my buying habits and the way in which I share said buying habits with you guys. I must admit I feel a little guilty every time I purchase something new, which is understandable but totally silly as I’m shopping less frequently than ever before and that in itself is a step in the right direction.
Despite feeling a little out of sorts with all things shopping, I must admit that I broke my spending ban for two HUGE voids within my wardrobe and picked up a new black coat and a pair of washed black straight leg jeans.
Yep, they’re both black and therefore absolute styling essentials, something I’m going to get SO much wear out of for many seasons to come. I didn’t have a single black coat (how ridiculous) and my black jeans were starting to resemble that of pedal pushers which wasn’t the desired look. So since updating my wardrobe with two staples such as this I feel totally rejuvenated once more. I think it’s quite normal to feel in a bit of a style rut at this time of year but I can safely see that I’ve come out the other side now and yes I had to purchase something to make me feel better, but hey I’m not going to be looked down upon for buying a staple black coat and jeans combo. So, here’s to that small mini buzz of buying something new and feeling like yourself again a small thing yes, but something that makes a HUGE difference to your self esteem.
And if that doesn't work an A-line skirt and knee boot combination such as the outfit featured here is always a failsafe small thing in my world.

6. Now for something totally menial once again, ‘cause why not this post aint called “The small things in life” for nothing. Freshly Zo’Flo’d floors, who’s with me? Fellow Mrs Hinch fans or just general lovers of cleaning will know where I’m coming from when I say how wonderful it feels to have a home that smells like sweet, sweet Zoflora. If you’re yet to try it, it’s basically a concentrated disinfectant that smells utterly incredible; we use it for quite a few things around the house but my favourite and the most noticeable is when you use a cap full in your mop bucket for wooden floors throughout the house. The scent is so beautiful and it really leaves the house feeling SO freaking fresh, I bloody love it!... And now I must get back to my knitting...

7. If you’ve been reading along here for a wee while you’ll know that I’ve had a bit of a battle with my skin for the past couple of years. Having had really perfect skin all my life it really through me off kilter when I developed mild adult acne when I hit 25. For the past two years I’ve stripped back my skincare to the simplest of routines, seen numerous dermatologists, and was even prescribed antibiotics all of which did absolutely nothing for my skin. I ruled out various food groups, I took all the right vitamins and supplements, eliminated all oil-based products and gave my skin more make-up free days than it’s had in a really long time. Nothing seemed to be working and it truly knocked my confidence, I’ve been a little out of sorts for the past two years and I feel a huge contributor to this has been my skin and being extremely self conscious about it.

In the past few months something has shifted and the breakout days are few and far between and I’ve got my glow back, PRAISE THE LORD! My skin is better than it has been in a really long time and I’m finally getting my confidence back. Now don’t get me wrong I still have the odd breakout but the majority of mornings I am greeted with clear and glowing skin when I wake up and that is the best kind of small thing EVER! I have a couple of hero products that I believe have contributed to this new lease of skin-life so do stay tuned in the next week or so to hear what they are.

8. A personal 2019 goal that I’ve set for myself is to read 12 books in 12 months. We’ve not even finished with January yet and I’ve successfully finished two books HURRAH! The feeling of accomplishment I get once I have finished a book is one of life’s small wins and I freaking love it! I’m well on my way into book number three and once I’ve read five, you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll be a new bookclub blogpost coming right atcha.

9. And last but certainly no means least a new small thing in life that makes me feel flipping bad ass is having an empty inbox, who’s with me!
I’ve not had an empty inbox in around about a year now, seriously! I always check my emails every day but naturally there are those emails that I put off answering or simply mark as unread for the next time I get 5 minutes to reply and in-turn the inbox continues to tot-up.
Throughout January I’ve been ON IT and the inbox has remained under 10 unread emails for the majority of the month, having emptied it THREE times entirely. Yep, certainly a small one, but a small one that makes me feel like I finally have my shit together.

Right there we go, 9 of life’s small things that I’m feeling extremely grateful for right now! I’d love to hear if you can relate to feeling this type of gratitude to any number of the small things listed above and I’d of course love to hear any of your small things that make a BIG difference in the comments below.
One more small thing, that I’ve mentioned countless time before but I'll say it anyway, is you lot. Chatting with you in the comments of these blogposts or my YouTube videos or over on Instagram no matter how big or small that may seem is one of the highlights of my job. It brings me such joy to feel like I’m really getting to know you guys in the comments of my content and when I see the same names cropping up time and time again it really does fill me with so much joy! You lot are awesome. So with that I hope to see you in the comments and as always I can’t wait to chat with you.

x M

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSIE BUTCHER