intentional living | curated Home
I’m considering this post to be something of a start over on the content front – an official re-dipping of the toes in the waters of blogging again. Spring seems to be arriving and with it, the impetus to create and share… proving once more that the seasons have more of a hold me than I can sometimes comprehend.
As 2025 progressed I barely touched this blog as I didn’t have the time or the headspace to think about what or even if, I wanted to write or create. It was a year of trepidation over what was to come and in terms of in having an online presence, there was a lot of indecision. Rewind to May 2024 when I had gotten 90% of the way to setting up a new blog under Amanda Start dot com that would primarily cover style. As the year wore on and the world of style influence made me itch by just scrolling past it, I lost momentum and enthusiasm – the site template idled in a corner and eventually, Amanda Start dot com just sputtered out into the ether.
Back to 2025 and apart from the ongoing job of creating content for a local florist, I decided I would do nothing online at all. I now had my pension from the corporate years so why not? Then I was going to start a Substack. Then I wasn’t. Doing nothing seemed preferable whilst I was forming a close relationship with my old friends, apathy and indecision. Either of those were a strong candidate for my word of the year… had I bothered to pick one that is.
As the year wore on and I attempted (and obviously failed) to prepare myself for what was to come with Biscuit, I noticed that any small moments of lightness came from focusing on the mundane daily moments and making them matter. Tiny snippets of routine, calm and respite. I began to tune into the peace of mind and joy found in just being at home and in doing so, became hyper focused on what a home really feels like and what it means to me and our family unit. When life plunges me into new chapters, welcome or otherwise, home feels like the anchor I want to put down and hold onto with all my might.
As well as small tweaks here and there around the house, in spring we’d begun to make plans for a living room renovation – albeit one that would take place over several years due to some of the work being more significant than just a lick of paint. With H away at university, I find myself thinking of this project as “the thing I would do” when I was no longer caring for Biscuit and beyond that, a focus to help pull me through the pain of losing her. Turns out not a lot can help with that and you just have to ride the waves, day by day.
Fast forward to early 2026 and eventually, amid the deep fug of grief and all the winter rain, some clarity about what to do with my online presence finally began to float to the surface. I decided not to reinvent the wheel and instead keep going here on Simply Start Living – just tweaking the nature of the content and the things I want to write about. Namely, living with the intention of making the most of the everyday moments in life and continuing to figure out ways to make the most of the home we live in.
My default modus operandi has always been to squeeze every drop of joy out of the mundane and recognise the value in small rituals, making them a component of everyday life. A more recent revelation is that the time to double down on this is right now… fast approaching fifty-seven and trying not to think too hard about how many “good years” there are still to come. If I could spend those years living for the small moments, stopping to soak up details of the seasonal changes and making the best of the coast and countryside I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by, then I’ll have done the best with this one wild and precious life. Mary Oliver knew.
This chapter finds me craving more nature, more books, more small adventures, more cooking and more creativity. Creativity that might look like gardening, knitting, writing, baking, making the best of what’s in my wardrobe and delving more into interiors – I don’t yet fully know - but I do know I’m open to learning. I’ve never picked up a trowel or a pair of knitting needles in my life… and an obsessive streak about home décor doesn’t mean I’m going to study to become an interior design either. But I want to dive into the details and find inspiration in places that aren’t just online. Have a go, make mistakes, see what works and learn from what doesn’t. Suffice to say on the interiors front, there have already been a few lessons as the living room slowly progresses… but that’s an update for a whole other post.
I’ve become fascinated with what makes people feel connected to their homes. What evokes a memory, an emotion and a sense of belonging that goes bone deep? I’ve noticed a definite shift in how I react to our home since Holly has returned from Uni in last three years. I observe how she responds to the house when she is back here – sensing her relaxation and happiness – absorbing by osmosis her feelings of calm and belonging… and learning from them. On the flip side, I’m already wondering how home will feel to us when she eventually leaves on a permanent basis – what will we change to adapt and what will remain steadfast, purely out of nostalgia?
When I think back over the years, I realise how much I’ve leaned on this house and its comforts during tougher times, and how in the subtlest of ways, it always makes the good times feel better. I appreciate and relish the sense of peace and well-being I soak up from it when things feel lighter in general. Juxtaposed with those emotional connections are the objects and furnishings and their function and form. Things collected and acquired over the years that bring ease to daily life but are also a joy to use.
Then there are the things I find beautiful and that are full of meaning and memory. The blueware jug I picked up in the village charity shop because it’s one I recognise from a china set that belonged to my parents when I was growing up. Or the photo I took of Holly taking a photo of Biscuit in Norfolk that now sits in a vintage frame in our bookcase. Because that was the last holiday we were able to take Biscuit on and one of my core memories is the number of times that dog would sit patiently in front of Holly’s camera over the last few years.
Phew… having not written for a while, this post has turned into something of a meander, so I’ll attempt to finish with a lucid final thought! The physical home in which we live doesn’t’ remain static but morphs and shapes around the lives of the people in it. That… and my default mode of finding ways to Elevate The Everyday is where my focus is now.
Hopefully that brings my tag line Intentional Living | Curated Home to life… and if these things hold meaning for you too, then I’d love it if you stick around for this evolving chapter.
Amanda x
