Rifle Paper Company

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This week is National Stationery Week. I thought I'd share a link to one of my favourite companies, Rifle Paper Company. I bought this card on my recent trip to New York and it sits on my desk and makes me pine for the city every day. All of the Rifle Paper Company stationery is designed by one of their founders Anna Bond. The company has a beautiful aesthetic and palette. Best to hide your credit card away before you take a look.

Recipe - Ribollita

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The weather really chilled down again this week and it made me crave cosy food. I've been meaning to try making ribollita for a while having seen it in a few magazines. As is my habit I mashed together a few recipes and ended up with a warm bowl of loveliness that lasted me a few days. Ribollita means reboiled and this really does taste better and better the more you simmer and reheat it.

Ingredients (serves 3 - 4)
1 white onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 leek (many recipes suggest using celery but I prefer leek)
2 carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 small potatoes, chopped into small cubes
1 tin of butter beans (many recipes suggest using cannellini beans, use whatever you have)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
2 large handfuls of chopped spring greens (you can use kale but I prefer spring greens)
a generous pinch or two of dried thyme
crusty italian bread to serve

Method
Sauté the onion and leek in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for a minute or two. Add the remaining ingredients except for the spring greens, stir and leave the ribollita to simmer for about 40 minutes. Add the spring greens and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Cut the bread into large cubes. You can add this to the pan and stir it in if you are serving all the soup at once. I like to add it to each individual bowl so that when I reheat the remaining soup the next day I can add fresh bread rather than let it completely breakdown.

Serve and enjoy slowly while reading your favourite magazine or book.

Iggy Pop Turns 70

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"You can go a lot of different directions from being nothing." - Iggy Pop

Well, this is just wonderful. Last weekend, Mary Anne Hobbs interviewed Iggy Pop for his 70th birthday celebrations and the result is a conversation full of wit, wisdom, creativity and that wonderful voice. Put aside 30 minutes and enjoy.

A Little Bit Of Coffee & Calm

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I was rushing around one day last week, trying to run errands before I was due to head out of London. I decided to reprioritise and carved out a much needed hour for myself to sit with a coffee and read a magazine before I got on the train. It's so important to take time for yourself, to stop ticking boxes and breathe for a moment. I read a lovely article in SImple Things magazine (my favourite!) about how to find calm. Why not get yourself a coffee too and have a read by clicking here : )

Podcast - Being Freelance

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The Being Freelance podcast really inspires me. It's run by Steve Folland who chats to creatives about how they make being freelance work for them. I like listening to the episodes when I'm walking or commuting. Today I listened to an episode from October 2016 in which Steve chatted with Sarah Tasker, a Yorkshire based freelancer who has built a very successful career using Instagram. A great listen if you are just starting out on your creative journey or want to grow your creative business.

#ifindoubtcreate

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This weekend we went for a beautiful walk in the woods. I bought some paper decorations for the little ones so we took them with us and played around taking photos of them blowing around in the breeze. The pink looked beautiful against the green of the leaves and I loved the contrast of nature and paper.

Sunday Song - Easter

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An early Sunday song this week as I'm taking a little Easter break. This beauty was introduced to me by Mary Anne Hobbs's show a year or so ago. I listened to it on headphones while walking through the blossom in Regents Park and was taken to another place. Just magical. Happy Easter my lovelies!