What Keeps Me Together.

I am a woman of routine, as much as that drives me crazy its the truth. I hold myself together by doing things a certain way. As silly as that sounds, when you are juggling 50 million things, being a mum to two kids that are developing into their own personalities, being a loving fiance, planning a wedding for 60+ people, changing my lifestyle and losing weight, whilst fighting depression and trying to make a name for myself Art wise...something has to be there in place so that I don't lose the plot.

Now I've posted about my beautiful Malden in one of my latest posts, This is my new love, one that my darling fiance purchased for me, and it is just delightful to live in. It is handmade in Italy by many many talented craftsman and its second to none. A Gillio Medium dark Brown Compagna. She is holding my life together, keeping me 90% sane!

I never thought such a simple thing, could help me get so many aspect of my life in check. It's like My one woman show book.

I use a week on two pages, and have toyed with the idea of a week on one page with a notes page opposite, maybe next year I will trial that. I get our lives down in this book, from bills, to school things to remember, daycare days, letters I need to write to penpals, our weekend plans and so on. Using  highlighting stickers to make important things jump out at me.

I make my planner my own, with little drawings, stickers, bright tape and coloured pens, it helps me feel like I am in charge of my life, not the other way around.

My daily routine was an idea from a fantastic video by Joy over at enjoyette @youtube if you haven't seen her, do watch her filofax vids. they are some of the best I've seen.

I can move my tags around if my day is different, and I should have taken a new shot of this page, because now my work outs are at the crack of dawn lol and my blogging is later on in the day...I've got these post it flags on a hambly screen print dashboard - all my dividers are dashboards now.
Another idea from joy was context boards...which I quickly adopted into my own planner

they get checked off once they are done...the errands one has been replaced a few times already once all the jobs are done, a new board is put on. It's awesome, I love this idea.
Major daily things that MUST get done go into the weekily board.

my planner is where I go to remind myself of little important things...

it is where I store things that I know will make me smile when I flick to them

I don't just use mine as a planning tool, I also use my Gillio as a wallet...it is working so far, but I see another pocket sized Gillio in my horizon.
Some people may think its silly, or archaic, but for me...pen to paper is how I get through life be it art or writing...so paper planning is the only thing that makes sense to me...even if I am a digital girl in so many other areas of life, it will never be part of my planning life.

 I will do a more updated set up video soon, so keep an eye on that if that is something you would enjoy.
maybe paper planing is something that youre missing in  your life...
It keeps me together, it makes me happy...and I collect things that make me happy.

I will be more present within the walls of my little blog nook...enjoy your evening, and thankyou for reading.

xx Courtney

Fighting the Black Dog - How I do it.

image from Bill Taylor

If you have been a reader for a long time, you know that I live my day to day life with an illness. I battle Depression day after day, and currently I am fighting it with no medication...just my diet and exercise and my art...but there are a few things that I do, each day to arm myself with enough happiness to get through another day.

Depression is a sucky illness, it can make your day go from 10 to 0 in a matter of seconds, it sucks us down into a hole which we try to claw our way out of over and over. I was diagnosed just after having eli, it started as post natal depression and then evolved into full blown depression. I've been on medication for years, and its only been the last year and a bit that I decided to try something different. What I was doing wasn't working...I was still stuck in the hole...and I wasn't making any headway trying to claw my way out.

so here are a few things I do in my day to day life, that helps me deal with the black dog.

1.Take each Day as it comes, living in the moment helps you put blinkers on so your're not getting lost in the things that are going on around you..you can focus on just now..just this moment...and live it to its fullest.

image from Poppies and Sunshine

2. Surround yourself with Light! - As kooky as this sounds, Sunlight is a natural mood lifter. Our moods and emotions are so in sync with how a day looks visually. I try and get up and open the curtains and windows. Every morning letting the light in is a simple way to make a day seem lighter and more uplifting, easier to deal with.

3. Give yourself permission to wear bright shoes! - This may seem silly...but honestly this is one of my go to things when I feel those emotions starting to creep in. Get yourself a pair of shoes that make you smile. I put on a flowy bright skirt and really bright shoes and walk into my day with colour!

image from Now and Then

4. Take some time out of your day, to walk in the sunlight. We need a little Vitamin D, yes you can get it in a pill form..but nothing beats taking a few moments to soak in some sunlight....I get some of my best ideas sitting on my back porch with my journal just daydreaming...we need that time to sit still and just soak up the rays of sunlight...close your eyes and look towards to light...you should see rainbow colours within  your eyelids...its beautiful. I need sunlight like I need air most days.

5. Feed your body With Love - In our current society, our food doesn't resemble food anymore...we are putting things into our bodies that is doing more harm then good! With additives and preservatives and colourings and sooo much hidden sugar...these are all factors in our moods...whether we like it or not! When we feed our body with junk and bad food, our mood reflects that food...and believe me, I did not understand this step..till I lived it. I went Paleo,  I eat whole foods, nothing processed, no sugars, as natural as I can get! and the lift in my general demeanor was very evident. When I moved house, we had a heap of takeaway because hard to do paleo while you move..and you could see the shift in mood! I felt heavy and sad, frustrated angry! (not just because I was moving) after we'd eaten, I felt so disgusting. So if there is one thing you do to fight depression...let it be this step, its a life changer.

image found via Pintrest

6. Take some time out of your day, to do some exercise, it may be small, it may be huge...but do it. I was and still am a hater of working out, but I do it, because I feel better after I've done it. I work out 6 days a week, for 45mins to an hour a day. Its part of my wellness plan, I know its good for me, I know it helps me keep above water.

It's not rocket science, and I know they may seem like huge steps...but I promise you, try them out for a week...it has taken me years to get to this stage, but I do it everyday, to fight the darkness. 

I hope this post has helped you in some way shape or form..and please if you want to talk to someone shoot me a email, I am a good listener - theinnerstitch@gmail.com 

Have a lovely Thursday.

xx Courtney