I stumbled across an extract from Julien Smith’s ‘The Flinch’ on social media and that paragraph alone floored me. In plain terms, ‘the flinch’ is an instinct that makes us behave the way we do and in order to lead better lives we need to master this instinct. In this post I will be summing up what I found most eye-opening from the book but I encourage you to read the entirety of it yourself too. If you’re not big on reading, don’t worry it’s only 38 pages and is available for free here.
Luna + Pearl is a handmade jewellery company based in London that embodies what it means to be a small business. I was delighted to get the chance to interview Luna, the talented girl behind the brand. I asked Luna to describe Luna + Pearl in three words and although she pointed out that is for the customer to decide, she hopes that L+P is natural, distinctive and graceful.
I associate intention with minimalism. Minimalism is all about only surrounding yourself with what you value and need most. I am aiming to be more intentional in my choices and only choosing what I value and need the most. Living intentionally has helped me remove the unnecessary stress that comes with spending money on things you don’t particularly want or need and being surrounded by people or things that don’t improve your life.
This afternoon I received a package I ordered a few days ago. I had stumbled across the company on instagram and realised they were selling a product I was about to buy off Amazon. Amazon is convenient and mostly reliable but the product was the same price from both places, so I opted for the small business. Here’s why I am glad I did!
Where The Pancakes Are is where you want to be. Not only do they deliver the most aesthetically pleasing stacks & drinks, but it all tastes like a dream too.
Too Good To Go acknowledges that food waste is an issue that can be easily avoided and reduced. The app offers ‘magic bags’ for restaurants or cafes in your local area. You pay a discounted price for a selection of food that would otherwise be thrown out that day. Then you go to the store during an allotted time to collect your ‘magic bag’. So the store makes money off food they would otherwise throw out, you get cheaper food or groceries and the food waste is reduced. Sounds like everybody is a winner, no?
Anybody that loves cocktails and brunch, should have The Alchemist on their food&drink bucket-list. They are famous for their hazardous looking cocktails – think lots of dry ice and theatre. The Alchemist is not a London Exclusive but I wanted to wait until I was back in London to go. All it took was a housemates birthday and almost two hours of queuing.
The last person you would expect to educate you on sustainability is Zac Efron. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by his new Netflix show ‘Down To Earth With Zac Efron’, hosted by the man himself and Superfoods Expert Darin Olien. As I was watching the London episode, where they are litter picking by the Thames, the idea for a zero waste swaps article came to me. In this post I will be suggesting the easiest swaps for things you use everyday, that will help you reduce your waste. I will link everything on Amazon as it is super accessible but urge you to shop local where possible.
I mentioned Coconut Bowls, as a sustainable brand that I love supporting, in my post How To Save The Planet by Shopping. Before I even purchased my coconut bowl, I loved stalking their instagram page for smoothie bowl recipes. A smoothie bowl is a classic smoothie with a thicker consistency, making it ideal to eat with a spoon. This recipe is my go to, because it only requires 4 ingredients and I usually already have them laying around.
You can usually tell when your digestive system isn’t in top form, because you experience bloating, discomfort and the symptoms of IBS. There are a number of ways to improve your digestion and I am going to cover the commonly known ones, such as assessing your diet and the lesser known methods like Food Combining.
