{tinza's tiny good things #6}

Today's #tinygoodthings is: plan a trip! 
If you know me well, you'll know I grew up on a boat sailing around the world. If you know me at all, you'll know that I love to travel and can't stay put long. Both those things are making this time hard, but also have provided me with life lessons that I am taking with me during this 'travel ban' time.

{us on Pitcairn island in the '90s. Photo: from my sister Rachel's archive. I'm third from left}

Growing up on a boat meant that we were weeks out at sea: these were the days of no internet and the era of mixed tapes. I learned to keep myself occupied by reading (I read the Hobbit in one day when I was 12), being creative (I wrote stories and drew), and finding new skills (like learning how to play the guitar). I learned to find beauty in nature around me, which on first glance didn't seem like it changed much: horizon, clouds, sun, and waves. But taking note of a small change in the weather, the change in colour of the ocean, the change of wind... these become observable and enjoyable. And you look for the exceptional, such as when dolphins decide to play with the haul and swim beside the boat and do flips.
and I learned to plan for the future: to get excited about what I'd do when we got into port, or when we lived on land for a while. 
So, I'm trying to do the same. I'm planning for future trips and looking back on amazing trips I have taken. Last spring I was away almost every week: Amiens, Barcelona, New York & lots of travel within the UK...and I spent a fellowship in May in Lisbon. Those were good times.
So here are some pics of travel planning, packing, and reflecting on the good times of travels of the past.
x
L

 & some of my faves from my instagram account: 

{I'm in love with this cross stitch façade in Valencia}

{Golconda Fort, India}

{streets of Lisbon}

{celebrating my birthday in Nice}

{the streets of Mumbai}

{tinza's tiny good things #5}

This week has had its ups and downs. Yesterday I was feeling quite low but a quick lunch break on google hangouts with my bookclub cheered me up.

Today, I got my regular Friday milk delivery and it made me stop & appreciate that despite COVID-19, some things haven't changed (yet!). So today's #tinygoodthings is just to appreciate the tiny normal things that you've taken for granted in the past. 
For me, it's milk on the doorstep from the local farm.
Have a happy weekend! (& stay at home!)
x 
L

{tinza's tiny good things #4}

Tonight I'm going to bookclub: not in person sadly but online at least! So today's #tinygoodthings' suggestion is to join a bookclub!
I'm part of Poppy Loves Book Club which is online and in person and is all around the world. So you can join even now when we're all self-isolating! 
It's one of the best things I did, and my bookclub friends are now some of the best women I know: we take trips together and go for walks, and drink wine, and oh yes, discuss books too! 
x, 
L

{bookclub in action sketched by the very talented Miss Magpie Fashion Spy}

{us in Versailles}

{tinza's tiny good things #3}

We are now on lockdown here in the UK. Stay home everyone and save lives. So I suggest for today's #tinygoodthings is to find your favourite mug or a special teacup and make yourself a cuppa. Maybe even bring out that silver teapot!

For me, tea is a restorer. I've written about it here and its importance to my family. It was on our first trip to India that we gained the nickname the 'gurrham chai sisters'--given to me and my four sisters by our faithful taxi driver Jaya Kumar. Whenever we get the chance, we still enjoy our cups of tea together! We can't now but I'm hoping we can try to achieve this virtually soon. 

Today, I'm going to try to have some tea in the sun in my garden! 

x, 
L

A few favourite from my instagram account: 

{tea in the sunshine from a few summers ago}

{back in the days we could socialise}

stay tuned for more tiny good things!

{tinza's tiny good things #2}

These are strange times. At the moment, the sun is shining, the tulips & daffodils are showing their sunny heads in the garden, and I'm trying to remind myself of the simple beautiful things unaffected by the crisis in the human world. Nature is thriving in these times. 
So today's #tinygoodthings is a reminder to stop and smell the roses (or whatever flowers might be blooming). If you have a garden, I urge you to make a small posy of flowers to bring that cheery side of nature indoors. 
take care, 
x
L
ps: I'll admit that I've not got a very big garden, nor am I the best gardener but somehow these things still thrive! 

Some posts from my instagram account of flowers from my garden, from other times of the year: 

{tinza's tiny good things #1}

So today's #tinygoodthings is the things weekends are made of: a lovely breakfast with nice crockery.  My normal breakfast is a piece of toast & coffee sat at the desk... but for weekends, I try to do something a little different. I sit at my dining room table and try to take a moment to pause and enjoy it. It doesn't have to be super fancy, but something different. So go on! enjoy! ( & I know in these times food is a bit scarce so you might have to make do with what you have; who knows, you might concoct a new recipe!)
bon ap'!
xo, 
L

Here are a few of my faves from my insta account...

{tinza's tiny good things}

so, hello! I know it's been a long time since I blogged. But I've been thinking about compiling 365 days of tiny good things for a while, and with the current coronavirus crisis, I thought it would be a better time than any to fill the world with tiny good things that make life just that little brighter. 

For those of you who know me, you'll know that on the whole I'm a positive person...& I love the tiny little things in life that make life just feel special. For me, grand gestures can be romantic and amazing, but they aren't really real life: life is actually about the small little things. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July 2019 and I think the key to their marriage is the fact that they have tea together every morning-2 cups to be precise: it gives them time to talk, to sit in silence in the early morning slumber, & it's this tiny ritual that keeps their marriage going strong. 

I live alone. I'm happily single (yes, I can tell you that very frequently people ask me why I am, or am I looking for someone, or 'don't worry the right person will come along'). I can honestly say I absolutely love my own company; I absolutely love owning my own home paid for with my own money, not having to make any compromises. But that's not what this is about. What it is about is enjoying everyday and making it special, whether that's just for you, your family, your partner, your parents, your friends. It's celebrating life. What I have learned is that for me, every day I try to find something beautiful in the world around me & it makes me happy. Most days I work from home; most days I spend in my own company (with a Siamese cat, Simla)... and in this current strange world we are living in, when most people are stuck inside their homes, I think now is the time to try to post something everyday that will encourage you to find the beauty in your life & in your home.

So, starting tomorrow it begins, my 365 days of tinza's tiny good things. I will try to post everyday, but with a very busy working life (yes, I'm still going at the moment) that won't be likely, but I'll try to be as regular as I can.
Feel free to share, but more importantly do try these out. They'll make you a whole lot happier.

xo
L