One of the most difficult aspects of life is that it changes us in ways we barely acknowledge from year to year so often we fail to give ourselves credit for the imperceptible shifts in attitude that shape the way we live now, or offer credence to the kind of small sadnesses that get under our skin and stay there… While journalling reveals much about who we are becoming and the bumps along the journey that brought us here, all too often we find ourselves fixated by certain topics, hide what we cannot bear to see put into words, or adopt  a tone of voice or persona in our diaries or blogs, that in effect describes only one aspect of the person we really are. What we need in fact is a bossy journal. A journal that asks nosey questions. And keeps on asking them five years on the trot. Questions that require quick answers, with little room to elaborate or dilute our truths. Markers along the journey that is life, available to compare and contrast during one era of our lives. The Q and A Journal from Potter Style is that rather impertinent five year diary. A page a day topped with a simple question, easy to answer but deep enough to reveal a single truth about how you are growing as a person… With questions as diverse as “In three words, describe your spirituality”, to “What is your favourite thing to do on a Saturday morning?” and  “Is your home/apartment clean?”, you can see the opportunity for prompting some deeply personal excavation and the whole business got me thinking about how we constrain ourselves to our own thought patterns and either avoid subjects that make us uncomfortable or simply fail to have them occur to us at all. So this is your opportunity to get a little bossy with me! Ask me anything. Ask me the one question now that you have always wanted to ask me and I have somehow managed to avoid discussing on Brocante.  Be cheeky. Be curious. Be demanding. Be kind… Ask me a question and I will answer it in a post over the next few weeks. I’m kinda excited. And a whole lot terrified.
Create your own Brocante Life Book, plan Christmas, set up routines and rituals or live life the BrocanteHome way with my guided workbooks and planners.
Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. If you want to know more , you can read more about Virago (lovely green spined paperback Virago) here or order the entire range of eight special 30th birthday editions here. I am too busy swooning…
Update: I am going loopy. Doo-Lally. Off my head. Call it what you will, but it’s not a pretty sight. I have a spot the size of a frozen pea on my chin. Repetitive Strain Syndrome in my right shoulder. Skin paler…
In the nicest possible way I am happy to declare myself a Twitterer. From now on at any given moment you can click the Meanderings link at the base of each post and discover exactly what it is I am doing. Yes…
So there I was. Sitting at a beautifully laid table in front of a bowl of home-made soup, with bread still warm from the oven and a jug full of real lemonade. There I was. Still wearing my “Domestic Goddess” apron, feeling…
In association with The Range Every Friday (almost without fail), Mum and I visit our local branch of The Range and inevitably pick up a little domestic something to gladden our silly hearts. We buy rolling pins and oilcloth. Photo frames and turkey…
I do hope you are grateful for the dedication I currently have to expanding your vocabulary. This week my subject is ABLIGURITION – or else the urge to lavish money on fine foods just for the hell of it. Though the word…
14 Comments
Sounds like a great way for me to discover myself without taking time away from reality!
OK, the question we ALL want answered: When will you write your book? Or, alternatively, because somehow I can't help thinking that was a bit rude: Could you name your five favourite writers and why you love them?
If you were to imagine yourself an old fashioned movie star who would you most likely to be? I fess up I am Liz Taylor!(without the seven husbands I hasten to add)
First let me say that I'm LOVING the idea of this book! Now on to the nosy, pushy stuff… in five words describe your best girl friend. Will you be coming to America any time this year? When's that book coming out? Any chance we could get you your own tv show? Is Brocante Home your primary occupation? What do you do when you're not homemaking or mothering?
I have a two-year-old, so I now understand that children, lovely as they are, are like little tornados in the home. So, what is your secret for having lovely fragile vintage things in a home with a small child, and not ending up with your head in your hands asking "can we just not have nice things until the kids are grown?" 🙂
How do you spend a day at home?(along this line of questioning ~are you mostly home during the week, do you have one day that you run all of your errands? )
I ordered that cool book through your link-anything to keep me writing at least a little bit everyday. As for the question…part of the reason I enjoy your blog so much is that it gives me a sneak peek into British life. The food, the terms you use for things that I have to look up on google to see what they are (chuckie egg buttie), the places you travel to, etc. is all very facsinating to me. It's like you live a life similar to mine, but in a different romanticized (to me) way. Is there anything about America or Americans that fascinates you, tickles your fancy, or absolutely horrifies you? What is your impression of Americans-and yes, I'll take the bad with the good.
Yes, I do find diaries and journals to be a bit lopsided. Mine make me out to be the most neurotic creature on earth. Which is why I end up destroying them eventually. Perhaps something like this would help. So my question for you: Describe your alter ego – what you would be like or who you would be in a totally different life.
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Sounds like a great way for me to discover myself without taking time away from reality!
Hmmm…what color is your front door and did you choose it?
You know, that's a brilliant question!
OK, the question we ALL want answered: When will you write your book?
Or, alternatively, because somehow I can't help thinking that was a bit rude: Could you name your five favourite writers and why you love them?
If you were to imagine yourself an old fashioned movie star who would you most likely to be? I fess up I am Liz Taylor!(without the seven husbands I hasten to add)
First let me say that I'm LOVING the idea of this book! Now on to the nosy, pushy stuff… in five words describe your best girl friend. Will you be coming to America any time this year? When's that book coming out? Any chance we could get you your own tv show? Is Brocante Home your primary occupation? What do you do when you're not homemaking or mothering?
I want to see your house! With your awsome puttery ness.. I only imagine…I want to see 🙂
I love how you have changed my home!
Me, too! 😉
I have a two-year-old, so I now understand that children, lovely as they are, are like little tornados in the home. So, what is your secret for having lovely fragile vintage things in a home with a small child, and not ending up with your head in your hands asking "can we just not have nice things until the kids are grown?" 🙂
How do you spend a day at home?(along this line of questioning ~are you mostly home during the week, do you have one day that you run all of your errands? )
I ordered that cool book through your link-anything to keep me writing at least a little bit everyday. As for the question…part of the reason I enjoy your blog so much is that it gives me a sneak peek into British life. The food, the terms you use for things that I have to look up on google to see what they are (chuckie egg buttie), the places you travel to, etc. is all very facsinating to me. It's like you live a life similar to mine, but in a different romanticized (to me) way. Is there anything about America or Americans that fascinates you, tickles your fancy, or absolutely horrifies you? What is your impression of Americans-and yes, I'll take the bad with the good.
Yes, I do find diaries and journals to be a bit lopsided. Mine make me out to be the most neurotic creature on earth. Which is why I end up destroying them eventually. Perhaps something like this would help.
So my question for you:
Describe your alter ego – what you would be like or who you would be in a totally different life.
What a clever idea, you have me thinking of the right question now. Ill get back to you. Megan xx
What is your daily routine (or perhaps rather how do you keep your routine and your sanity) through the summer months? Megan .