The Simple Things

The Simple Things is a beautiful, useful, quirky and fun magazine about taking time to live well. We cover mindfulness and microadventures, eating and growing, forgotten wisdom, home life and slow moments. It's for people who love their lives but want to take the pressure off and remember what’s really important. We like tea & cake, learning stuff, being outside and the satisfaction of a job well done. Do you?

THIS MAGAZINE BELONGS TO

joules

A could-do list for July

CAKE IN THE HOUSE • Full of retro-charm and with no decorating required, what’s not to love about a topsy-turvy cake?

My day in cups of tea • WE ASKED NAUTICAL KNOT-MAKER JANETTE WATSON TO TELL US ABOUT HER DAY IN CUPPAS

THINGS TO NOTE AND NOTICE • July is the month for feasting on the farm, world-class netball and getting reacquainted with Dennis the Menace

A FOODIE TOUR OF YORKSHIRE • MAKE YOUR OWN WAY ON A FOOD-THEMED WALKING TOUR FROM THE SIMPLE THINGS AND INNTRAVEL

HOW TO BOOK

FINDERS KEEPERS • LIA LEENDERTZ CUTS LAVENDER AND ROSE FLOWERS AND PUTS THEIR PERFUMED PRETTINESS TO GOOD USE IN THE KITCHEN

A NEW LEAF • SOMETIMES WHAT’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF US WE NOTICE LEAST. HELEN BABBS URGES US TO TAKE TIME TO WONDER AT THE TREES STANDING SENTRY ON OUR STREET CORNERS

A simple thing...

Japan puts empty homes to good use • A NATIONAL VACANT-PROPERTY CRISIS HAS BECOME AN OPPORTUNITY TO REHOME SINGLE MUMS

TRADING PLACES

SMALL CHANGE

GOOD FIGURES • Where statistics and optimism meet

Savour • A BIRTHDAY, ANNIVERSARY OR REUNION – WHATEVER THE OCCASION, IT CALLS FOR FRIENDS, FIZZ AND CAKE

SIMPLE STYLE • MULES

THE UPDATE

THE BORROWERS • Ownership is overrated… With reuse and low waste high on the green agenda, there’s a lot to be said for borrowing, says Iona Bower

Borrow or bypass?

Seriously overdue

WHERE WOULD YOU GO? • YOU COULD WIN £500 TO SPEND AT CLASSIC COTTAGES, BUT WHICH OF THEIR THOUSAND-STRONG COLLECTION WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

TALLINN • SUMMER IN THE ESTONIAN CAPITAL MEANS WARM DAYS, LONG NIGHTS AND A FLURRY OF FESTIVALS, SAYS PIIA ÕUNPUU

PIIA’S PERSONAL TOUR

ARMCHAIR TOURIST • NATURAL MATERIALS AND SEA SHADES FROM PALE TO STORMY HELP TO RECREATE A LITTLE OF THE ENGLISH WILD WEST IN YOUR HOME

excellent women • FINDING SOMETHING POSITIVE IN TRAGEDY, OLIVIA CHAPPLE CREATES GREEN SPACES FOR REST AND REHABILITATION

Know a thing or two... Bees • WHAT’S THE BUZZ ALL ABOUT? HERE’S A HIVE OF INFORMATION

Bee-speak

Bee bounty

BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS & FLOWERS • Garden goodness as voted for by hungry pollinators… Time to reassess what you might think of as a weed

A simple thing...

“I wanted to be that person standing on a hill. It wasn’t about owning a farm. It was about having that freedom” • The Yorkshire Shepherdhess, aka Amanda Owen, had a very particular life in mind when she moved to a remote hill farm, as she tells Rachael Henry

IT’S ALL ABOUT EWE The Amanda Owen CV

WHAT A PICTURE! • SUN, SEA AND THE SNAPSHOT. SAY CHEESE, AS WE CELEBRATE THE TRADITION OF HOLIDAY PHOTOGRAPHY

the comfort things of EVENINGS IN THE GARDEN • There are certain things in your home that are like old friends, they always cheer you up. This month we feel the love for sitting outdoors in the dusk

FIRE STARTERS • How to make your garden (safely) blaze

THREE TO MAKE, BUY OR CUSTOMISE • Turn your outside space into a magical world of twinkling and glowing light by the cunning deployment of outdoor lighting

HANDMADE HISTORIES Découpage

Marsh mellow • AN ACCIDENTAL PURCHASE OF EIGHT ACRES OF MARSHLAND LED SIMON BARNES TO A...