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Chapter 1 - January

Updated: Apr 3, 2023

“January is the month for dreaming.” – Jean Hersey

Welcome January




Happy New Year and I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas! Unfortunately, ours was

filled with illness so I have only managed to write this New Year’s blog now.

This is a big month for me. I am hitting a milestone and turning 40! Although I have been

long dreading reaching this age, now that it is actually here, I am feeling excited and

positive. My thirties were filled with much change, upheaval and uncertainty; my husband’s

job meant that we moved all around the country and I had no family close by as we started

our family. Anyone else married to a doctor will understand this situation well and I often

felt very alone raising our three children. Now, as I face my next decade, I feel everything is

much more stable and solid, that I can reap the rewards of the last tumultuous ten years

and relish the things I have achieved. We have bought and renovated a gorgeous old coach

house in beautiful Boston Spa, my children are all happily settled at school, and I am proud

of the things I am achieving in my career. So roll on fabulous forties!





This month I’m celebrating:-

While many people spend January detoxing and dieting, I do not! A January birthday is not

ideal and so I never have any intention of making it glum by denying myself too much;

especially this January as I celebrate the start of my fourth decade. However, that doesn’t

mean that I carry on in the same overindulgent style as Christmas. I try to be more

conscious about what I’m eating and start some good healthy habits for the new year; just

nothing to strict!






This month I’m reflecting:-

On all the things that I have achieved in 2022! As well as looking ahead in the new year and

getting some good habits in place, I think it is also important to look back over the previous

year and reflect on your progress and the things that you feel really pleased with.

I am so proud to have worked with some fantastic brands in 2022. One of these companies

is La Residence Interiors. They gifted us the most fabulous Brunswick Extending Weathered

Oak Dining Table and I look forward to the years of celebrations and memories that will be

made around it.


Working with Hobbs, one of my most favourite brands, has also been a dream come true. I

absolutely loved attending the Hobbs press event in London; the subsequent instore styling

event that I organised with Hobbs York and Personal Stylist Laura Fawcett, was a real

highlight of last year.



The other events that I have loved organising have been with The Enterprise Collective,

which I set up for bloggers and influencers in Yorkshire to network and share their expertise.

A real standout moment from March 2022 was having the fabulous Jack D March come to

our event and share his amazing knowledge and experience.









There are also some amazing family related events and experiences that have made 2022

such a fabulous year. We had our first ever family holiday abroad at the incredible Almyra

Resort in Cyprus. Covid and just the expense of having babies meant that we had never yet

managed a foreign holiday. This trip was everything I had hoped for and where some of our

most happy memories were made.




And where would I be without our most incredible, fabulous and wonderful au pair Melissa!

I discovered the absolute life changing extra pair of hands that having an Au Pair brings in

2020 when we had Lisa from Germany living with us. After years of struggling with three

children, no family nearby and my husband constantly away at work, I had finally worked it

out! Since then, we have also had Laura from Italy and now our current au pair Melissa, who

is from Yorkshire, is an absolute wonder. Check out my blog about how to find the perfect



And of course, I am super proud of the progress that we made in 2022 on our wonderful

coach house. It is now, finally, the most lovely space to live and relax in. Years of living in an

unfinished house was very stressful and hard work, but my dreams have come to fruition

and we now have the dreamiest of kitchens in our big upstairs room and the cosiest of living

rooms downstairs and I couldn’t be more delighted!




This month I’m still working on:-

Whilst my delight in our newly renovated rooms cannot be dampened, there are still things

to finish off this year. There is still work to be done on one of the bathrooms and I really

want to create a useful boot room. And then there are the endless finishing touches and

painting over of grubby little handprints. But all these jobs for this new year are much

gentler than the momentous changes that we made in 2022.

I am also going to embark on a clear out of our garage. I would love to be able to use this

space as a gym, especially whilst the weather is still so cold. Before this can happen, a

thorough spring clean is needed; the garage is filled with things that need selling, given

away and taken to the dump. Out with the old - the perfect job for the new year!



This month I’m wearing:-

January is the perfect month for a bit of hibernation. The weather is grim and there is no

better way to avoid those winter blues than by getting warm and cosy at home. And I will be

doing just that in these fabulous Bobby Striped Pyjamas from Phase Eight (AD/PR). These

100% cotton pyjamas are so comfy and come with matching eye-mask and scrunchy for

nights snuggled at home.



But of course, for some of us there are things to celebrate in January and with my big

birthday this month, I won’t only be dressed in lounge wear!! Check out this gorgeous

Helena Gold Stud Dress also from Phase Eight (AD/PR) which I am very much looking

forward to wearing (my husband better have organised something…!).


This month I’m listening to:-

At the beginning of each year, I have started a little tradition with myself to listen to The

Secret on Audible. The Secret is an audiobook that has become a global phenomenon and is all about gaining confidence, happiness and life satisfaction. I love having a bit of a listen

and using it to give me some direction in thinking about some of my forthcoming goals. I

really recommend it to anyone who is wanting to reset and refocus for the year ahead.




This month I’ll be eating:-

Of course, being healthy is one goal that many of us set ourselves after an indulgent

Christmas. I have the delight of working with Dorset Cereals whose mantra is that “healthy

eating doesn’t have to be boring”. Perfect! I am looking forward to finding out about how

their muesli and granola can be enjoyed in these colder months!



This month I’m decorating:-

As you may have noticed, I absolutely love decorating my house. And as sad as I am to see

the Christmas decorations being put away, January brings the start of some beautiful

blooms. I love to arrange seasonal flowers to dress difference corners of my house and am

looking forward to the snowdrops, winter jasmine, daphnes, winter heather and cyclamen.




I hope everyone is coping with the dark winter after all the Christmas excitement and fun.

Don’t forget to take a peek at my Instagram and YouTube channel to see how the beginning

of 2023 unfolds here in Yorkshire. Wishing you all the happiest of New Years.



Love Caroline xxx



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