The Handshake I’ll Never Forget It was just before Christmas. I don’t even remember if there were lights up yet or if anything felt festive. It was just another busy day at the hotel. I remember feeling tired - the kind of tired that sits deep in your chest. The kind that comes from carrying everything quietly. Being a mum. Being strong. Trying to keep going no matter what. And then, something unexpected happened. The hotel owner walked up to me. He didn’t say much. He just looked at me, shook my hand… and pressed something into my hand, gently, like it was meant just for me. He simply said, “this is yours.” That was it. No big speech. No attention. No making a scene. Just kindness. And I couldn’t hold it together. I had to go to the back. Because in that moment… it wasn’t just about what he gave me. It was everything. Being seen. Being understood. Someone knowing my situation without me having to explain it. He knew I was a widow. He knew I bring my daughter to work every day. H...

Some days I wake up and the feeling is already there. That tightness in my chest. The quiet worry sitting in the back of my mind. Even when everything around me looks normal, my body still feels like it’s waiting for something bad to happen. Living like this is exhausting. But slowly, I’m learning something important. Fear does not have to control every moment. I still live with fear. I won’t pretend that I don’t. But I also refuse to give in to it. So I started collecting small tools that help bring me back to the present when my mind begins to spiral. Not big dramatic changes. Just small gentle things that help me breathe again. Sometimes it’s a grounding exercise. Looking around the room and naming five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I can hear. It sounds simple, but it helps my brain remember that I am here, in this moment, and that moment is safe. Other times I slow my breathing. Just counting slowly in and out can calm my nervous system mo...

 Creating Little Joys While Living With Fear The Playful Attic has been a little quiet lately. Not because I disappeared… but because life has been a little heavy. Where we live right now, things feel uncertain. Some days there are worries in the air that make everything feel tense and fragile. And when you are a mum, that feeling hits differently. You don’t just carry your own fear — you carry the fear of what your child might feel too. I’ll be honest. I am still living with that fear. But I refuse to give in to it. Instead, I keep doing the small things that help me breathe again. The Small Things That Ground Me When life feels uncertain, I return to the things that make the world feel normal again. Sometimes that means writing. Sometimes that means designing journals late at night when the house is quiet. Sometimes it means baking with my daughter on a rainy, windy afternoon and watching her proudly pull cheese biscuits out of the oven. Those moments might look small from ...

For a very long time, publishing a book felt like one of those mysterious things only “real authors” could do. You know… the kind who understand ISBN numbers, formatting rules, covers, marketing, and all the other things that sound terrifying when you first hear about them. Meanwhile, I was sitting there thinking: "How hard can it really be?" Well. Let’s just say… it took me a while. The Truth About My First Publishing Attempt When I first tried to publish a book, I thought it would be simple. Write the book. Upload the book. Done. But very quickly I discovered things like: • formatting problems • margin issues • cover sizes • ISBN questions • categories • keywords • Amazon dashboards that look like airplane control panels At one point I honestly thought my laptop might explode. Or I might. Slowly… It Started Making Sense But something funny happened. The more mistakes I made, the more I learned. Little by little the puzzle pieces started fitting toget...

Rainy Day Baking With Kids: A Simple Cheese Biscuit Memory Some days don’t go as planned. Today was one of those very windy, very rainy days where the sky stayed grey all afternoon and the house felt a little quieter than usual. I’ve been a little quiet here lately too. Not because I disappeared forever, but because behind the scenes I’ve been working on something special - creating new journals and books that I hope will help families capture their little everyday moments. But today reminded me that the real magic doesn’t happen on perfect days. It happens on rainy ones. A Kitchen Adventure (Led by My Daughter) This afternoon my daughter decided we should bake something. Not a complicated recipe. Not a big Pinterest project. Just cheese biscuits . And honestly… she did most of it herself. Mixing. Pouring. Sprinkling cheese everywhere (Including the floor. Have to tell you that one of our dog was very happy). The kitchen smelled warm and buttery, the rain was tapping on the win...