{tinza's tiny good things #8}

{tea at Chota House}

Today's #tinygoodthings is to take out a special china tea cup or crystal (or both) and enjoy! This is especially important on a weekend or a holiday like today, Easter Monday, because it makes it feel extra special. And even if you're only on your own, actually even more importantly if you're on your own: it'll make your day feel that just little bit more special. I had a hot cross bun & a cup of tea (& a sneaky glass of prosecco) and it all tasted just a little bit better.

Yesterday I made a big roast lamb just for me (& yes the cat had some too). It felt nice to do it, even just for 1, especially during these crazy lockdown times.
Enjoy! & Happy Easter!

x
L

{tinza's tiny good things #7}

{breakfast & a magazine}

It's the weekend, it's a lovely warm day & most of us will be stuck indoors because of the lockdown measures to battle COVID-19.
My weekend ritual is to sit in bed & read a magazine with a cup of tea. So today's #tinygoodthings is to read a magazine. Turn your phone to silent and enjoy. If you don't have a new magazine I'm always finding amazing things in old magazines I have around the house. I subscribe to Country Living and Homes & Antiques, & I'm always so excited when I get one delivered through the door!

Do stay indoors! & save lives!
x
L

{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: