Slow Living in a Fast World | A Day in My 1940s-Inspired Home 🕰️🏡

Welcome to a day embracing the slow life in my little 1940s inspired house. Now, this is not a day in my life, because although it might be lovely, not every day for me is as gentle-paced as this one. But that's kind of what makes it special. I deliberately try and make space for slower days in an anxiety-inducing fast world, and to help me not feel like an utter procrastinating failure at the end of them, I have some very helpful guidance that I follow. Some of which comes from a daily routine of a 1940s woman, which adds a level of discipline and ensures that I feel accomplished. The other comes from my wonderful mum, grandparents, dearest friends, and myself. So, let's count this as a reset, cutting through all of the noise and living presently, even just for a day. I always like to start by tidying my room and making my bed, putting away all the odds and sods from the night before. In my 1940s cleaning routine, which is available until the start of June, it ties in domestic advice from the 40s with modern day life, and I'm following part of that today. Then I water all of my household plants, and I'm no plant parent superstar, but I've had some of these for over five years, and I do my best for them. So, here's your little reminder to whiz that watering can around your houseplants if you haven't for a while. My sleepwear of choice last night was a cotton nightgown, which I find so comfortable. They're soft, unrestricting, and not too hot, and I always find I sleep better when wearing one. I've also left an outfit out the night before, just to ensure that today is void of any kind of decision fatigue. Plus, it's another 1940s recommendation. But even more poignant than that, this is something that I remember my nan doing every single evening. After putting everything away, I do what many of us do, and I pop the kettle on. Currently, I live with my mum, who's at work this morning, but if there's one thing that I remember from childhood, it's the calming smell of incense or scented candles. And so today, we're embracing a bit of that nostalgia. Now, I would love to say that I always start the day with a good, strong brew of tea, but I don't. Please don't be heartbroken, but I just love a morning coffee, and I have mine with milk and a teaspoon of honey. Then it's time, sorry Ted, for a very important part of any morning routine, and one that comes from my dearest friend Diane, known online as Chubby Vintage Nana. She's coined the term sit and stare time, and it helped her through a lot of tough times when she was a working mother. The premise is simple, sit with a hot beverage in a morning for as long as you can afford, and simply take in the beauty that's around you. Diane used to do this from a car park outside her place of work, and was still able to find moments of beauty. Rain dripping down her windowpane, leafy green trees, a good spot of people watching, one of my favourite things to do, or listening to the hustle and bustle of the world outside, as I'm doing today. It really is just about embracing life's little moments. And of course, no morning is complete without your cat completely ignoring your offering of affection. In the 40s, as you'll probably know by one of my previous videos, people used to start the day with stretches and then a workout. I'm doing the same today, and this journey hasn't been easy. I have a very on-off relationship with fitness, not because I want it to be that way, but simply because life, life's. But currently, fitness is back to being a part of my week, and as I always discover, I do feel better for it. I spend five minutes stretching, 20 minutes doing a high-intensity, equipment-free workout, and then a five-minute cool-down, and I try to do this three times a week, which I feel is somewhat manageable. 30 minutes, three times a week. And my favourite thing to do next is a nice, hot shower, another opportunity for my mind to completely clear. Breakfast time now, and I'm keeping things simple with bran flakes and a big bottle of water, which I always endeavour to finish by the end of the day. And I'm also adding some supplements. I happen to take iron for an energy boost, vitamin D to make up for the fact that I often avoid direct sunlight, as it sadly gives me migraines, yes, I'm a migraine girlie, and wands to boost hair and nail growth. For those that struggle to take tablets, I'll tell you my grandpa's little trick. A glug of water held in your mouth, pop the tablet in, throw your head back, and gulp it all down in one fail swoop. The tablet never even touches your tongue. One of mine, though, you have to sit underneath your tongue and let it melt, which I happen to think is just pure evil. Today, my mum arrived back from work early, and so we decided to take a donation bag to a charity shop, and naturally have a bit of a browse. You know that I try not to buy too much, but today I did happen to find these lovely high-waisted trousers and oversized blazer set, which I just couldn't resist. Listen, I'm only human. At least I didn't pull up with an actual shopping trolley. 10 points for dedication, though. All right, I confess, maybe it wasn't just the outfit. So for a grand total of £13, I managed to get the most gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous trousers. I'm just, I'm so excited to wear those. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna get dirty. With a beautiful belt to go with them, and a gorgeous oversized, for me anyway, blazer, which I think will go really nice. I'm sure I've got a top that can go with it at home. And then this adorable fairy door for 75 pence, which I don't know where it's gonna live. Maybe in the garden, but I can't wait to have that as a new little crafting project. And a lovely vintage soup cup, which even has a recipe on the front of how to make onion soup, which who knows, we might be trying for a Monday grandma's kitchen video. But yeah, I'm so, so happy with all of those. Yeah, good day. On returning home, I'm then getting my Rosie the Riveter on by changing into my old boiler suit that I use to clean out the pigeons and protect my clothes. I have to say, these birds have done a lot for my mental health. I like the routine that they give me. They get me outside every day, and I just love taking care of them. Actually, you know what? I've been getting a lot of comments about them. And so I think that it's time to meet the gang. Obviously, we've got to take a moment for my girl Penny, who started this all in the most incredible and kind of unbelievable way. Then we've got my big gentle boy, Florin. His ring is yellow. His partner, Tuppence, whose ring is red. Now, I don't have favourites, but she really bonded with me from the off more than the rest, I would say. And her name actually means two penny, as in Penny the second. Their son, Sixpence, who loves landing on me constantly. His ring is orange. Dime, who knows the kiss trick and is a very intelligent little lady. She's green. Her very handsome partner, Bob, who is a rescued X-Racer, who still has his original rings of green and blue. Little Nickel, who's pink and wildly timid. Florin, again. And the stud muffin that is Yen, who I'm currently on the hunt for a partner for. This is Dime and Bob's son. He's blue. Decided to join us, have you? And I really have to take a moment for the pigeons, actually, because recently in my hometown, there was a terrible incident with a pigeon in a car park. And unfortunately, I can't go into any further detail because the description is far too brutal. That's what my charitable association, Penny's Pigeon Aid, is currently investigating. And don't get me wrong. We're not naive to the fact that pigeons can be a nuisance and that there are far too many of them. But we also happen to believe that some of the onus should be on us as humans, the environment that we've created and the fact that we bought pigeons over to start with. At its heart, we're promoting kindness and the protection of their well-being because we believe that no living creature, no matter what they are, should be subjected to unnecessary suffering and cruelty. And I even got to speak about this cause at BBC level at the Hay Festival recently. But more on that in another video, because for now, it's lunchtime. I don't eat al fresco as much as I'd like to, but on those rare occasions that the sun is shining, I do like to eat outside and just allow the world to hum around me. On today's menu is pita bread with salad, avocado and boiled eggs. And another thing that I fail to do enough, but I am working on, is reading. I do read a lot when I make videos for researching things, but it simply isn't the same as the smell of a book's pages as I'm transported to another world. And then after pottering around the house for a bit, I decided to go and visit my boyfriend where we let our inner child roam free. Before that was abruptly stopped by classic British weather. Maybe I should have just stayed at home. And as the day winds to a close, I love nothing more than cosying up next to a nice roaring fire and watching something that will always bring a smile to my face. Simple pleasures. Simple routines. A simple life.