With the start of every New Year there often comes the feeling that we are being given a chance to begin anew, to write on a fresh new slate. All around us there is encouragement to make some changes and improvements to our lives, our routines, ourselves.

We call these plans our New Year’s Resolutions. We have great intentions to commit to them. We get off to a great start, full of hope and determination.

Commonly, within a few weeks or a couple of months we have fallen off the resolution band wagon and perhaps even forgotten what it even was we’d thought we were going to continue all year long.

There are two things I find note-worthy about New Year’s Resolutions.

Firstly, I find it interesting and a little strange that we seem to feel almost compelled to make a change effective from the 1^st January.

Why do we need the special date to begin?

If it’s something that we actually want to do, then why don’t we just get on with it?

What’s wrong with beginning on say, February 11^th, or October 26^th?

I have often told myself that I will start things at the beginning of the following week, or month, rather than right now when the idea has struck me. Are exercise programmes or healthy eating regimes, etc. really more effective if started on a Monday, or the first day of the month?

To address the issue of when to begin, we only need to look a little further than New Year to realise that the whole year is actually full of new beginnings we could utilise.

We all have a birthday that signifies our own personal new year of course. Anniversaries of marriages, new jobs and new homes are all the chance for a fresh start.

Other new starts we can add to our list are the beginning of each season. Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring give us four more opportunities to start afresh.

Every month starts with a new day, as does every week. If we continue this one step further we can see that, in fact, every single day is a brand new start for each and every one of us.

Another day to write the next page of our life story upon, as we shape our days, weeks, months, years and lives as we want them to be.

The other question I have is why we so often choose things that we feel we ought to, rather than taking up something that we truly desire to include in our lives.

Imagine how much easier resolutions would be to keep, if they were ‘to eat cake every Wednesday afternoon’, or ‘to spend an hour (or two) each Sunday evening in a bubble bath with a great book and a fine wine’.

I think I could stick to those resolutions months longer than the usual ‘eat less, exercise more’ ones, that basically instruct me to do less of what I want to do and more of what I don’t.

It is up to us to resolve to create our own version of a life well-lived, one that is authentic, meaningful and precious to us.

So, for those of you who are looking to make a change or two, including those of you who did so on January 1^st and have already forgotten what they were, I conclude…

Do what you love and start today.

Leave me a comment below and tell me one thing that you love that you want to include in your life this year.

Well, it has been a very long time since I wrote a blog post. I have been feeling a bit down in the dumps if I am completely honest with you.

A couple of things happened in my family recently and they both took my time and focus away from my business which resulted in me getting behind schedule in blog posts, conversation publications, Facebook updates, pretty much every area really.

The first thing that happened was our daughter had a car accident. Somebody hit her in the passenger side of her car. Luckily, she wasn’t seriously hurt, but did have a few osteopathic appointments due to the jolt she endured causing her a bit of back pain.   Thankfully, she appears to be on the mend now, with hopefully no on-going problems.

The insurance company deemed the car irreparable so I became the taxi for my daughter for a few weeks, as she still had to get to work and university, and we live rurally in an area without public transport.

We spent many hours looking for a suitable replacement vehicle, which we have now found.

In the midst of this going on our son visited from Melbourne, accompanied by his girlfriend. It was wonderful to see him and to meet her for the first time. I hadn’t seen my son for a year, so it was very special to be able to spend some time with him and to get to know his girlfriend a little too.

During these times, I found it difficult to give time to Cupcakes & Bunting and before I knew it, weeks had gone past and then I started to feel guilty for not having given it any attention. I got myself into quite a state about it actually, feeling a failure for not publishing a conversation on time and keeping up with all the tasks required to keep things progressing forward. The more time went past the worse I felt and the more difficult it was to pull myself out of it and get back on track. I started to feel rather down and despondent about the whole thing. I was really giving myself a very hard time!

Then I got to thinking about it. Really focussing on my life and everything that was in it…and everything I believed that I was doing wrong in it. Yes, I was really in the doldrums.

After wallowing in that state for a while, having my one-member pity party, I finally came up for air and put aside one session of dedicated time to work on getting an article written up from the last interview I had done. I began to feel a little better. I didn’t manage to finish the article in one sitting, but I had achieved about half of it. I thought I could see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Once I began to feel better I was able to see things more clearly. Rather than beating myself up for ‘neglecting’ my business, I realised that the reality wasn’t so much about what I had neglected as much as it was about what I had turned my attention to instead. It was about weighing up priorities in my life and adjusting my schedule to make room for what really mattered.

As a mother, my priority will always be my children. As a wife, my priority will always be my husband. As a business-owner my priority will always be my business. As an individual, my priority will always be myself.

But of course I am all of those things and I play all of those roles in my life. So, how to be ‘all things to all people’?

I must prioritise what is most important in any given moment. I must ask myself “Where is my attention most needed right now?”

It is a delicate balancing act, with me being the juggler of all facets of my life. It keeps things varied and interesting and although it can sometimes be challenging, I love my life and I’m grateful for everything and everyone in it and I really wouldn’t want it any other way.

Hello again,

I hope you are all enjoying the website.  I am slowly getting into my groove a bit now and it is feeling like this is a real thing!!  Does that sound a bit weird? It’s hard to explain what I mean and how I am feeling about it! I am loving it for sure. I guess it’s a little bit like preparing for your first baby. You have an idea in your head about what it will be like. About how you will be in your new role. Sometimes it is hard to see past the birth itself, to the next bit when you actually have to take care of the baby….forever more!

Well, it certainly took me months of preparation to get ready to launch this business. It was hard for me to see past the launch date too! But after I had put it out into the world for the first time, I did have a little moment when I realised that now I had to nurture it and help it to grow and become what it wanted to be, to find it’s place in the world.

My role has changed too. I have become a business-owner. I am more than just someone’s mother, wife, daughter, friend. Of course, all of those things are still valuable to me, but I have something in my life now that I have created for myself. Something that fulfils a  part of me that didn’t know it was yearning for something more.

I think that wanting to create something more in our lives is often why we, as women, make such great entrepreneurs. We are determined to be successful in our own right, through our own hard work and dedication. We bring a passion to our business.

I see that passion when I go to chat with creatives to feature in the Conversations section of the website. It is joyful and infectious. I love meeting them and I am honoured that they allow me to tell their stories and share them with you all.

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you Julie Lealand’s story.  Her business, Threadbear Cottage, came about after she suffered a nasty accident which left her with a broken neck.  I don’t suggest that you have a nasty accident in order to launch into business, but it does go to show that even from adversity something good can be created.  If you missed it, you can read my conversation with Julie here.

This week’s Conversation featured Louise McLennan and her lovely candle-making business Lulala. Louise’s handmade soy candles smell good enough to eat and the beautiful glass vessels she uses for them really add a special touch to any room. I have a few at home in my cottage and I love them.  When I met with Louise one of the things she told me was that she wanted to increase the number of stockists that were selling her candles. I know that she has been successful in achieving this goal. Her hard work and determination has resulted in a growth in her business of which she can be proud.  You can read Louise’s story here.

The little cardigan I am knitting for the new baby due to be born in our family in early July is nearing completion. I can’t show you yet, as I want to post it to my sister-in-law first.

I have needed a little help as it’s the first time I have used a pattern that is worked from the top down on a circular needle. It means there is no sewing up required at the end of the knitting, which I am very pleased about as that is my least favourite part of making a knitted garment. The tricky part comes when you have to pick up stitches and create the sleeve using four double-pointed needles!

I’ve been really lucky and I’m so grateful that one of the ladies in my weekly craft group is a knitting whiz.  She has kindly started me off on that part, knitting the first few rows of each sleeve for me, to get me going.

Unfortunately, I misread the instructions while knitting the first sleeve and decreased too quickly which resulted in a rather skinny, oddly-shaped sleeve. After I had knitted the second sleeve I realised my mistake, as they looked quite different, so I unpicked the first one and did it again….properly the next time, though. So poor Tania has had to start off three sleeves for me, but I assure you there are only two on the cardigan now!

The next thing will be to choose some buttons.  I’m trying to decide whether to go and buy some or just to have a little rummage around in my studio in my button stash. Will I have enough of one kind of button in there though? Or will it be ok to have mis-matching buttons to add a quirky touch? Should I just go and buy a set from the local wool shop? So many questions to ponder!

At the moment it’s pouring down with rain, so the prospect of going out in it doesn’t particularly appeal. I think I will go and make another cup of tea to help with the decision making….and the warming up!

Leave me a comment below to let me know if you vote for upcycled mis-matched buttons or a shiny new set.

Until next time,

Maria x

Hello again,

It’s been two weeks since I launched my website and I can hardly believe that it is finally happening and I am having so much fun!

I am very happy, and grateful, with the response I have had from all you lovely readers. Thank you so much for all your supportive and encouraging comments and messages.  It has meant so much to me to hear what you think about it and to know that it is being enjoyed by you makes it all feel worthwhile and spurs me on to make it the best I can.

I had a suggestion that it would be handy to have a printable version of the recipes, as well as the videos, so I have been busy this week putting that excellent idea into action. I am pleased to tell you that there is now a ‘print this recipe’ button below all the recipe videos that I have published so far, and I will continue to do this for all the new ones I add. Please do keep your suggestions and feedback coming as this is the way I can know that you are getting what you want from the website.

My daughter is very keen on the apple roses. I made them the other night and she has been asking me to make them again every day since! (I haven’t succumbed yet, but perhaps we will make them again over the weekend.) They are very simple and they look so pretty. They are an excellent recipe to make with children who like to help in the kitchen.

In the Conversations section of the website I plan to feature a new conversation with a creative businessperson every second Thursday.  In the first conversation I introduced you all to Mieke Smit of Dreamstitch.  If you missed it you can read all about Mieke and her wonderful yarny ways here.

Mieke is holding a felting workshop on Saturday 18th June in Hamilton. If you would like to enrol in her class and learn this new craft send her a message on her Facebook page

In the continuing saga of house renovations our kitchen has been a work in progress for longer than I care to admit to you. This morning we had a tradesman come in to make a template for some pressed tin panels that we are attaching to the kitchen wall as a splash-back. This is the first stage of the process, once they are cut we will need to take them to be powder-coated before they will be attached to the wall. I will post a before and after photo once they are all done. It does feel good to be making a little progress though.

Life has been crazy busy these last few months. First there was the normal Christmas insanity, then we embarked upon a to-do list as long as our arm of house renovation jobs, including exterior house painting, upgrading our kitchen and a huge declutter and re-organisation of my studio to make it habitable, not only for me to work in on a regular basis, but also to act as a bedroom for my Dad who came to stay with us from England for five weeks.

We had a wonderful time while he was here, but the moment he left, indeed the very moment he walked through the departure gate, I felt a heavy sadness descend upon me and I spent that whole weekend in a bit of a funk.  By Monday I realised I needed to spend that week in transition, re-connecting with my nine-year-old daughter and just trying to do some fun things to cheer us up a bit.

I’ve been feeling a bit disconnected from my little fledgling business of Cupcakes & Bunting, which is a worry really, considering I haven’t even officially launched it yet.  After much soul-searching I have come to realise that it is because I have just not had the time and energy over the last few months of afore-mentioned busy-ness to devote to it.

I remember how excited I was at the beginning of the journey, the nervousness and anticipation of the first interviews I did with crafty business owners and the feelings of excitement when the conversations flowed easily. I enjoyed the learning curve of building my own website and the satisfying thrill of success when that bit that I had been working on for hours finally worked.

What I need to do, I realise, is carve out some dedicated time to work on Cupcakes & Bunting.  To find some time amongst the house renovations, the housework, the home-schooling, the commitments to family and friends and groups and activities in my life, that is uninterrupted work-time.

While thinking about time I looked for some quotes and found a few I quite liked.  Albert Einstein said “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”   I can totally relate to that one. It makes me think about multi-tasking….apparently recent research has been found to demonstrate that trying to do loads of things all at once is actually not that effective, but rather focussing on one thing at a time is more likely to achieve the desired outcome in a timely manner, thus allowing you to move on to the next thing on your list.

I have long been fascinated by the genius that was Leonardo da Vinci. He stated that “Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.”

Perhaps my favourite quote about time came from none other than Dr Suess!

How did it get so late so soon?

It’s night before it’s afternoon.

December is here before it’s June.

My goodness how the time has flewn!

How did it get so late so soon?

The success of my business is dependent upon my dedication to it and me valuing it enough to give it priority for some time in my schedule each and every week.

I am not generally an early riser, but I am usually awake between the hours of 7am and 11pm, so that is sixteen hours at my disposal on an average day.  When I put it like that, I have to wonder as to where those hours disappear!  How much time is spent on what I ‘must’ do versus what I ‘want’ to do and exactly how much time do I fritter away on social media and watching evening television?

Have you ever taken a serious look at how you fill the hours of your day?

Is there something that you would love to do in your life but believe you don’t have enough time to add it to your schedule?

Are you wasting hours, and energy, on tasks that are robbing you of time to do what you love?

What are your top tips for time management?