Spring Life Updates: Buying Home, Business, Sewing & Hair Journey

Hello on this gloomy March afternoon, I'm as snug as a cat by the fireplace. It's the middle of March and nature is springing back to life - not just flowers, but the first bright green leaves appearing on hedges and trees, making my heart sing! It can't be that long until Spring, right? I'm usually not one to complain about the weather, but to be completely honest with you, I'm tired of being cold all the time.

My husband says it's the same for me every year - right at the end of Winter, as we're about to enter Spring, I grow weary of the cold. Not in Autumn or mid-Winter, but now, in March. He's been with me for years, so I guess he's learned my patterns, lol! But as we all know, it's darkest before the dawn and I wanted to write this to let you know that if you feel the same, it's okay! Hold on just a little longer and life will get warmer again.

Right now, I'm warm and cosy, wrapped in a blanket with raspberry tea and of course, YR Studio candles burning. The house is quiet (kids are still at school), so I thought it's a good time to put together a blog post with my Spring plans as I know some of you enjoy life updates.

Watch My Most recent Vlog: Seasonal slow living, cosy homemaking & baking from the English countryside

1. House Update

Sorry to disappoint, but there's not much news! We still don't have a completion date, but we've learned the oil tank doesn't meet safety requirements. This needs sorting before the change of ownership and I'm worried it might add a extra weeks to our completion date. It all depends on how quickly the current owners can get it sorted - or if they get it sorted at all. If not, the sale would fall through and we'd have to start looking for another house, which I hope won't happen. But there's no point in speculating; things will unfold as they're meant to...

2. Business Update

Spring is naturally a slower time in retail (unless you run a garden centre!), but I'm really touched by how well our Spring candles and home decor are doing! I'm delighted to see the "Cosy Cottage", "Nourish to Flourish" and "English Countryside" candles, along with our rustic home decor, leaving our studio daily! Thank you so much for shopping with us and supporting our small, family-run business!

Also, if you're one of the people shopping for Autumn candles - I applaud you. The other day, Andrei was pouring Cinnamon Pumpkin candles. His hair and clothes smelled of this delicious scent and it gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling only Autumn can bring!

3. Learning to Sew

I recently completed hand-sewn curtains for our kitchen window (you can watch me sewing them in this vlog), and it made me realise how much I enjoy sewing! I'm not completely new to it - my mum taught me to sew, even using a sewing machine - but that was many moons ago and I certainly haven't practiced in years.

Sewing these curtains made me realise how much faster it would be with a sewing machine... which arrived at home a few days later, thanks to my dear husband. I'm really excited about the possibilities and there will probably be some lovely, cosy sewing content coming soon to YouTube :)

4. Exercise

The end of Winter gave us plenty of frosty mornings, providing a lovely excuse not to go running. Yes, I know I could wear gloves and a headband, but I'm not planning to. I swear I don't have a single sporty gene in my body and I welcomed this break from my torture - ehm, sorry, I mean fitness routine! Now, as the weather warms up and the sun rises earlier, I'll be back to running twice a week... until next February/March slump! :)

5. My Future on Instagram

I'm aware I haven't been as engaged and attentive to my Instagram account as I used to be, but I'm becoming more and more of a YouTube and Pinterest girlie. I love that content on those platforms is evergreen and offers a deeper connection with my audience. I'm currently having a great time on both platforms, sharing long-form content and my writings, which feels much more fulfilling to me as a creator than 10-second reels that get forgotten as soon as you scroll to the next one.

I hope my Instagram followers understand and perhaps decide to watch me on YouTube, where I genuinely pour hours and hours into creating content I'm truly proud of!

Of course, I'm not leaving the platform - I just really struggle to even open the app for personal scrolling. That might change, of course, but at the moment, this is how things are and I'm not going to force anything.

6. Hair Update

It surprised me how many of you commented or gave advice about me stopping the use of hair straightener, going back to my natural colour and restoring my curls, so I guess I owe you a quarterly update!

I've stuck to my word and haven't used any heat styling tools except a hairdryer. My curls are definitely recovering - I can see they're becoming less straw-like and forming more defined clumps (for non-curly readers, that's good - you want defined clumps!). Of course, it'll be a while before I manage to grow them out and cut off the dry ends, but I'm glad I made this decision. I haven't felt this happy with my hair in years!

These are the main updates on topics I thought might interest you. If I missed anything, feel free to ask in the comment section. I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to read my blogs, comment on them and of course shop with us!

Adriana x

Shop "Her Garden" Basil & Sage candle made in our Somerset studio