'TIS THE SEASON TO EVOLVE...
Another year’s end – was it just me or was this one exceptionally quick? Speaking of which, I feel I should be quick and not take up too much of your time with this one – time seems to be a commodity that women the world over find themselves inexorably short of come December. But this is my end-of-year, signing off with an “I have news” twist post, so stick with me if you can…
Where was I? Oh yes… time and the lack of. Despite my leanings towards the concept of a simple Christmas, life has a habit of dictating otherwise, meaning that finding yourself caught up in the mayhem is easier than you think. Even with scaling things back a little, something we try to do each year, its easy to feel overwhelmed by the planning, shopping, decorating, deciding what to eat (cheese if you were wondering), gift wrapping, the influx of winter germs and the dilemmas we’re supposed to have over what to wear to all the festive parties. Digressing for a moment here – does anyone really have so many parties to attend at Christmas that they run out of outfit possibilities? I definitely don’t… mainly because I’m not 28 anymore, I don’t work in an office, I rarely go out-out and the only thing I want to put on at 6:30pm will be made of cashmere, have an elasticated waist and be comfortable enough that, should I fall asleep on the sofa whilst wearing it, I can simply crawl into bed. Sounds a lot like pyjamas to me.
Anyhoo – time is in short supply - specifically the extra time to fit in all the Christmas on top of the day to day. With this in mind, I ask myself why did I decide to have the (albeit awesome) idea that I should undergo a rebrand… to be launched in the New Year? On one level it makes sense, what with the whole New Year, fresh start concept – a concept that in my experience, people either shun completely or embrace with open arms. Seeing as Start is my last name, I am firmly in the latter camp - Fresh Start is my default mode - I am a perpetual “evolver”. Except… launching in January means that a fair amount of work needs to be done in - you’ve guessed it – December! Note to self – if you have an idea amid the heat of July and it seems like a really good one, pause, wait awhile… and imagine yourself bringing it to fruition in December and January - the season when all you normally want to do is to go deep into hibernation.
In truth, this isn’t the I’m-so-busy-please-feel-sorry-for-me-who-has-the-joy-of-working-for-herself whinge it’s cracked up to be. I’m actually really excited to introduce you to the new look site in January and whilst it’s been a bit of a juggle fitting in the additional work, from a creative perspective I feel invigorated by the process. These last few years have been beyond strange in so many ways that, as we head towards another year of learning to live with a variety of things to file under unexpected, I find myself in the territory of wanting to make the most of everything. Creativity included.
Journeying through midlife makes me feel like these really are The Days – even though there are possibly less ahead than those already lived. Time feels finite and therefore vital. I say that not with a sense of melancholy but with fervour, optimism and a deep-seated feeling of the potential for so much joy still to come. And no, I haven’t been at the sherry... yet. It’s with these and other such thoughts in mind that I want to further evolve Simply Start Living into a place that celebrates the visible, modern midlife woman and all we embody… and I’ll stop there or I’m in severe danger of this becoming the launch post.
So, to the Holiday Season lull - the perfect time for the site (and me) to shut down. During that time, you’ll find a landing page to keep things looking clean and simple whilst the technical stuff takes place behind the scenes. When it comes back up - at some point around mid-January - it’ll be the shiny new Simply Start Living - same place, same dot com address etc. If you’ve already signed up to either of the Slow Coastal Living or Style Notes emails, I’ll be keeping you in the loop there – with a few hints as to how things will look and what you can expect from the new site. Sign up here if you’ve not yet done so – and don’t forget to add my email address - amanda@simplystartliving.com - to your address book or check your junk mail folder to ensure you don’t miss out on emails. And of course, I’ll be popping up on Instagram from time to time too.
If you’ve had the time to read this far, I salute you – I hope that doesn’t mean you missed the supermarket delivery slot/forgot to order the turkey/didn’t ice the cake/neglected to buy Aunty Fanny those slippers – [insert any other seasonal activity you can think of here].
Thank you, as ever, for being first an Online Stylist and then a Simply Start Living visitor. I’ve said it multiple times but without your continued readership and support, there wouldn’t be any reason for me to continue publishing content and to keep on evolving my digital home. The women that read this blog really are some of the most wonderful human beings and I routinely give a nod to gratitude that fourteen years later, I’m still here writing and you’re here reading.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, all the small winter joys and a peaceful start to 2023.
See you on the other side!
Amanda xx
