The Artist's Way

For some time, perhaps forever, I've been feeling something was missing from my life. I couldn't understand what was the matter with me. I have a wonderful husband, two amazing girls, a beautiful home and the luxury of being able to stay at home and raise my family. I thought I had everything I wanted and yet I couldn't shake the feeling of somehow wanting more. I was becoming fed up and increasingly irritable. At first I put it down to being tired from waking for night feeds but even more sleep didn't help. And then one day, for whatever reason, inspiration struck and for the first time in ages I got out my notebooks and started to write. Immediately the cloud lifted and I felt truly happy. Afterwards I was able to enjoy even more my time with my girls, I was able to be more patient and present. The key it seemed was to spend time doing something that I love, and for me that is writing. 

After talking this over with a friend she suggested that I try a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I'd already heard of the book as both my mum and sister have read it and I had it on my list of things to do some time in the future when I have more time. Not wanting to loose my new found enthusiasm however, I immediately ordered a second-hand copy of the book online. And so came to the end my two years long writer's block. 

So what is The Artist's Way? It's a 12 week course in 'discovering and recovering your creative self.' Each week there are tasks to complete aimed at helping you to unblock your creativity. It helps you to silence your inner 'censor' and work through any issues from your past which are stopping you from following your dreams. In addition to these tasks you are encouraged to write 'morning pages', three pages every morning of whatever comes into your mind, and also to go on a weekly 'artist's date'. 

I'm two weeks into the course and already I've noticed a big shift in my mindset. I've struggled for a long time with the feeling of 'I'm not good enough.' Now I'm starting to realise that being 'good enough' is not what's important. What's important is simply to spend time doing the things you love. The biggest difference is that I'm finally writing again. I'm filling pages upon pages in my notebooks which have been sitting empty and gathering dust on my shelf for the past few years. The other incredible thing is that it's having an impact on other areas of my life. I'm able to be more patient and present with my children, I'm enjoying more than ever my weekly dance classes and I'm more organised and efficient in taking care of my daily chores.

I'm so looking forward to seeing where this course will take me. If the difference after only two weeks is so great then after twelve who knows what I'll manage to achieve. I'd love to be able to connect with anyone else who has followed this course so please leave a comment with any thoughts or ideas you'd like to share.

Happy creating everyone.

love Sarah Elizabeth
xox

Things that Make me Happy Part One

I was thrilled last week to receive the Happy 101 award from the lovely Flick of Everyday Chick. I love reading her blog which is full of the adventures she regularly embarks on with her family in Perth, Australia.

The rules of the award are:

1. Thank the award giver (Thanks Flick!)

2. List 10 things that make you happy.

3. Pass this award on to 5 others.

I'm going to divide the 10 things that make me happy into 10 individual posts over the next few days otherwise this post will end up being too long. I could ramble for hours about the things that make me happy!

1. Books

I devour them! I am at my happiest when sitting curled up in a corner or in a sunny spot somewhere with a good book. I love the look, smell and feel of them. I spend hours of my life browsing in book shops. I love any kind of book; novels, cook books, children's books, second-hand books, library books. I have wonderful memories of visiting the local library when I was a child and choosing a pile of books to take home. I've just finished reading The Garden Cottage Diaries by Fiona J Houston. It's a wonderful account of this inspiring lady's year living in the way of her eighteenth century rural Scottish ancestors. She recreated their lifestyle in a one bedroom cottage, surviving only on what she grew in her own garden or collected from the wild. It's full of ideas of how to live a more simple and self-sufficient life. I admire her determination and resourcefulness.

I'd like to pass this award onto 5 bloggers who I can always rely on to make me smile.

1. Rebecca at Daydreams in Lace for her lovely diy wedding ideas

2. Tammy at Sugo and Sunshine for her witty observations on life in Italy

3. Cathy at From Australia to Italy for being another foreigner marrying an Italian

4. Sara in Le Petit Village for bringing me a little part of the South of France

5. Laura May at Home Sweet Home for being my 41st follower!

Thank you again Flick for passing this award onto me. xx

Loving Ladders

Since my post the other day I've come across even more book shelf pictures so thought I'd post a few of them. My library will definately require a cute little ladder like one of these, in fact I think ladders might even be added to my favourite things list along with hooks and baskets. The first picture is from Inside Out magazine and the second is from NZ House & Garden.

Inspiration for the Library

Here are a couple of pictures I've collected as inspiration for the 'library.' Matteo and I both love reading and between us we have a pretty large collection of books. I'd like to have a whole wall covered with book shelves like in the pictures below. The first one is from Melanie Acevedo and the second is from one of my favourite shops, Cabbages and Roses.