Amanda Brooke

A Gratefully Accepted Invitation

An invitation came by my way this week and I am excited to share the news now with you. Rhonda from Down to Earth has invited me to be a regular writer, on the popular The Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op blog.

I was extremely grateful to accept this invitation and I look forward to sharing this space with some wonderful writers and getting to know some of the regular readers and visitors. I will be writing mostly posts on family, cooking and craft.

Three other women will join me as new writers and here are their blogs:

• Linda: http://witcheskitchen.com.au/
• Jemma: http://timeforalittlesomething.com
• Megan: http://www.thebyronlife.com/

Thanks again Rhonda and I am looking forward to being a part of the Co-op community.

Our meat free, menu list is growing and getting rave reviews by all family members. We have enjoyed the last of the lentil loaf, created new sauces for pasta from beans and veggies, made vegetable curries and veggie style burgers. I have even created my own recipes using the ingredient above.

Can you tell what this is?

I will post a recipe using this ingredient this week. It's a delicious meat free burger that you might like to try.

I have to say that since we have changed our eating habits we all seem to have more energy, don't feel as bloated after meals, have lost some weight and just feel great in general. We are saving money not buying as much meat, but spending more on vegetables. Once our garden is generating some plant food again (and the plan is to make it bigger) it will eliminate the need to purchase most vegetables and fruits and we will save even more! I see exciting times ahead for us here.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 

 

 

An authentic self through creativity

In response to the feedback on my morning rituals post, I have decided to share some more of my rituals that extend from the Simple Abundance book.

Below is my gratitude journal. Daily I write at least five things I am grateful for during the course of a day. This is a page from last year and as you can see the 5 things I was grateful for that day weren't anything startling, but they make you appreciate the smallest things. Some days it is hard to think of 5 things, but just being grateful for family, friends, food, shelter, the sun on your face may help. This journal also serves as a lovely keepsake or mini diary of events in your life that you may not otherwise document elsewhere.

I used to document my things that I was grateful for on my blog when I first started blogging. You can try it this way and share your journal as snippets into your day in bullet point format. This is something you might like to share with your children (or grandchildren) and document the things you are grateful as a family. Or give each child their own special journal. This is something I have been meaning to do.

 

I also sketch, as I posted earlier, in a sketch book to keep the artist within me 'alive' and inspired.

Lastly something I haven't done for a while, as I haven't picked up any magazines for a bit (op shops are the best source) is an 'Illustrated Discovery Journal'. Doesn't that sound divine?

Here you place snippets and images of anything you 'LOVE' into a blank book. I have used an A3 sketch pad for mine. You could even collect images and collate them on your computer and try it that way, but I prefer a tangible book.

My pictures depict anything from a swatch of fabric to a corner of a room, a garden image, the colours in an image, the texture of something...anything. The pictures only make it to the book if I look at a picture and it evokes an emotional response or inspires me in some way.

These are Sarah's words to explain what this book does:

"The key to loving how you live is in knowing what you truly love"

We get so caught up in trends or follow what others like that we lose trust and awareness of what we really like ourselves. This book is very powerful and worth doing if you feel a little detached from who it is you really are. When I look through my book it makes me feel wonderful and I like the whole process of collecting the pictures, cutting them out, pasting them in (no special way) and then picking it up from time to time and going through it. This book isn't a wish list of 'things' you may want or need...you would need to create another book for that. This is you...this book is like a montage in some ways of your authentic self.

You only need 5 minutes every day to do a quick sketch or write a few things down that you are grateful for or browse a magazine/internet for a few images that 'move' you. If you do this, I am certain you will feel a little shift, a little bit more 'aware' and a little more grateful for the simpler things.

Please feel welcome to share what you may do each day or week that helps you to become more aware or grateful. I understand some days it is hard to be grateful and for some in the world there is very little at all to be grateful for. I am just sharing what I do and hope it inspires visitors to my blog in some small way.

Thanks for your support of Little Eco and a warm welcome to visitors from Rhonda's blog. I am overwhelmed by your kind words and I was thrilled to post out parcels yesterday, to my first visitors to the store.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

One little web address | Little Eco Giveaway

When I was small, like most children I loved to play 'shops'! I would line up the items on a small table, on a rock at the beach, on the bedroom floor...a shop could be created anywhere, in any place. I would have pretend customers, my dolls and teddies, and real customers, my brothers and family.

When I 'grew up' I worked in real shops. I worked in retail and pharmacy and sold 'stuff' to customers. My most enjoyable place to work was in pharmacy, because I was selling goods to people that really needed them and most of the time those goods really helped and supported those customers. (I should note I worked mainly with vitamins and preferred to support customers naturally). But I was truly never satisfied working for someone else.

I have always had dreams of owning my own business, working from home to be with the kids and creating something to call my own. I like watching things develop, grow from the ground up, much like our property and current lifestyle. I have 'dabbled' in hobby businesses and enjoyed the hard work, but they never really made enough money to just keep our heads above water and out of financial difficulty.

After the birth of Ben I was desperate to stay at home and felt that simplifying our life even more would enable that to happen. But it wouldn't be enough with a mortgage, two kids in school, rising living costs and so forth. I needed to think about a job that would fit in with Ben, breastfeeding and being a mum and homemaker.

So I started thinking more seriously about a little thought that kept creeping into my mind. Could I establish an online shop selling products that care for children in a natural way and offer an informative service so parents could make wise and considerate choices? We did some sums and decided to take a leap. Little Eco had begun.

Creating Little Eco has been a challenging and amazing experience. It has also been a battle in my mind, as it will rely on the support of consumers and I believe in minimising our consumption. The baby care industry is rather large and parents and children consume so much, creating such a negative impact on our environment.

But I feel okay about owning this real shop. As disposable nappies contribute to 4% of Australian landfill and everyday plastic toys come in far too much packaging with way too many 'bells and whistles', I feel good about stocking nappies made from cloth and toys made from raw timbers. The products I use and love are all there and I feel like I am making a difference, not being wasteful, using them every day. The other good thing about these products is they are made to last and that has to be good for the environment too, doesn't it?

Little Eco has a heart and a soul. Little Eco is 'me' and I am so proud that I can finally share the website that has been stealing time away from my family, for so many months, whilst setting it up.

This is it...in one little web address...this is my shop!

www.little-eco.com.au

Please feel welcome to visit when you have the time, as I would appreciate feedback from all corners of my readership. My readers feedback is truly, very important to me.

I have a giveaway on the shop blog if you would like the opportunity to win a little grand opening prize. Just click the link to the shop blog, in the top or bottom navigation bar, and it will take you to the giveaway post.  If you would prefer to leave a comment on this post you will still be added to the draw.

This is one of the prizes.

I appreciate the kind comments thus far and the support I have received. I also hope you can bear with me from time to time if I post about the shop here. Little Eco will consume a large part of my life, but I think it will be fun and personally rewarding.

Thanks for visiting and for your lovely supportive comments on my last post. It is amazing that so many find the blogging community so supportive and it really does make me feel like I am sharing a path towards a better life, with support and kinship along the way.

Amanda x

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not So Lonely

I have experienced a range of mixed emotions lately towards the life I am trying to lead. The more I simplify our home, the more I have felt judged by some around me for my actions. I have even felt a bit lonely at times. My small group of close friends lead different lives to me and I have never had someone close to discuss a meat free meal with or ask what's growing in their garden, share an up-cycling tip or exchange yogurt recipes...you get the idea.

Two years ago when I stumbled across Rhonda's blog Down To Earth, I felt a connection to a life that I had experienced whilst growing up and in my early years as a parent. I had strayed from it and got caught up in the 'mindless consumerism' that is mentioned in most simple living blogs. More than anything else Rhonda inspired me to simplify our lives to save more money, and we needed to save more money as we had a new mortgage buying our dream property. Her blog drew me in and instilled a sense of support for a life I longed to live. 

Over the past two years I have strayed from my path at times, as we sometimes do when implementing changes in our lives. Perhaps I wasn't completely 'ready' two years ago? But recently the urges have become stronger and I feel more empowered to change. Could this be why I have become more sensitive to the indifference I have experienced?

Since discovering Down to Earth I have discovered many other new blogs sharing similar hopes, dreams and everyday challenges and successes. Most recently I have found a sense of similarity and friendship at Tania's blog Ivynest. Tania's blog is simply beautiful. Unlike Rhonda, Tania's lifestyle is a little newer and it will be wonderful to watch her family life and her property develop into something truly inspirational.

These new found blogs with families and couples sharing snippets of their lives has inspired me and strengthened my interests. I love reading the stories from the beginning...about why these families made the changes and what they are doing to create a more sustainable life.They give me confidence, make me feel part of a wider community and fill me with new ideas. Without these blogs I would feel very alone in my pursuit for simplicity.

The whole point of this post is because after a 'bad day' recently and a little bit of an upset when I felt frustrated at members of my community, I expressed some feelings to Kate at Purple Pear Organics (another new blog I discovered recently) and decided to search a little deeper within my community, to seek like minded people that may share some of the same living ideals as me. This proved to be reasonably successful with the discovery of a community food swap in a nearby town on a fortnightly basis, a few groups to join...a sustainability group (had heard of this one previously), a permaculture group and a transition town group. So there are some like minded souls out there in my community for me to meet and network with. I just have to be a little more pro-active and get out into my community and meet these people.

As mentioned in a previous post, I am a member of a local natural parenting group where I have met some lovely mums but I am yet to form strong friendships with any of these mums...I hope to in time and it would help if I attended on a more regular basis! The idea of meeting more members of my community is an exciting prospect for me and I will start with the community food swap and go from there.

The blogging community, my readers and now my local community have made me realise that even at my lowest, when I feel alone in my passions for simplicity or in the minority for the changes I wish to see in the world, that I am not so lonely after all.

You are all there...I just have to share.

Thanks for visiting and sharing your rituals on my last post. I loved reading what made your days special to you and what time you try to make for yourselves.

Amanda x

Morning Rituals

Being a mum and a creative girl I find the whole concept of taking time to oneself very important. For me the process of homemaking is creative, but I also place high importance on creating through craft, drawing and reading.

I have created a morning ritual that I like to do before the sun rises, but if I'm not up before everyone else I just work a couple of things into my day. They only have to take 5 to 10 minutes each so it's really not that difficult, just easier and more nurturing if I am solitary.

I thought I would share this mornings creative pursuits with you....

This is my sketch book (below) and a book I read an essay from each day. In my sketch book I do a 5 minute 'warm up' sketch of something I can 'see'. This morning it was a snippet of the view from my window with the fog lifting in the distance. If I feel like continuing I then do some design related sketches or anything that inspires me at the time.

The book of essays is a year long book that I have been reading year in and year out for three years. The book is by Sarah Ban Breathnach and I picked it up op shopping, but you can buy it from Fishpond or try your library for a peek . Each day you read a new essay and they follow the seasons and inspire living an authentic and fulfilling life. In some ways this book has helped shape my life.

I am currently planning our veggie garden and working out what we need from Diggers. This is where I buy our Heirloom seeds from. Working from a few gardening books and the recommendations for what grows best in our 'zone' I have compiled a wishlist. The next step for me is to decide what veggies and fruit are going to grow where in our garden and then I'll order our goodies.

We are going to plant more fruit trees this year as we certainly have the space. What space we have in our paddock which we were going to put a sheep on, we are now thinking about using for food...not the meat variety! It will be more work, but with some planning and more discussion we may just become that bit more sustainable.

Every second day I bake rolls. This is one of my morning rituals.

Every other day I bake snacks. Yesterday it was cheese twists. I remember my mum making these when I was younger. I used the recipe from Gran's Kitchen but here is a recipe I found online. I used cheddar, parmesan and paprika on ours.

I also cut out three bibs to sew, crocheted a row of a beanie and started this post this morning. Tomorrow I may only do one thing...but that's okay. I am making the time and that's important.

Today I am going to think about how I can create a body care ritual as this is something I have neglected over recent years. I used to be big on making fresh masks and bathing in oils and herbs, but these days it is just the basic skin/hair cleansing and moisturising routine. With a little planning I am sure to work out time for this too.

Do you have a daily ritual or make time for yourself on a regular basis? How do you make time work for you?

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x