Daily inspiration and the making of rituals...x

I don't know if I've mentioned on my blog yet but I am soon to be married, in fact October 20th to be precise so like many brides-to-be I have started to think about looking my best on the big day aka the dreaded diet! I have almost got my pre-baby body back but I would like to shed a few more pounds and tone up as my dress is a little Pippa Middleton, if you know what I mean..? So I have started a slightly crazy diet called Six weeks to OMG...please feel free to mock me at this point.

You may be wondering what this has to do with inspiration and rituals, well bear with me...one of the key components of the afore mentioned diet is the obligatory early morning cold bath.  I must admit I shuddered when I read this as I am the kind of girl who gingerly dips her toes into the sea, squeals and runs back up the beach, and does this several times before a friend or family member loses patience and pushes me in.  So as you can imagine I wasn't keen, however after a week of following the diet minus the cold baths I decided to take the plunge so to speak.....and to my huge surprise I kind of liked it.

The first few seconds are a bit of a shock to the system but after that it is almost relaxing and is becoming part of my daily ritual, see I am finally getting to the point. So my morning begins with Jake, a quick change of nappy and a bottle for him and then I settle him on the bathroom floor with some toys and take my cold bath.

This morning Jake was still fast asleep at 7.30 so I decided to try reading in my cold bath and here comes the inspiration...I took my newly purchased and only slightly flicked through copy of Kinfolk, (purchased from Anthropologie yesterday afternoon) into the bathroom and crossed my fingers that it wouldn't get all crinkled.  

As I read I began to fall completely head over heels about this splendid journal.  Not only is the photography beautiful, sensitive and dreamy but the articles are thought provoking.  I would like to share a little of the welcome written by editor Nathan WIlliams. 'The essays and personal stories in this volume suggest that we all might benefit from incorporating more of the things that we love into our daily routines instead of saving them for the weekend or our next vacation.  They focus on welcoming food, community and simplicity into our lives as regularly as possible.' 

This article and indeed many others look at the preparation, serving and eating of food and the rituals that we create with our colleagues, families and friends.  This was a strange moment to get lost in whilst submerged in my cold bath on my strange diet, but actually really resonated with me.  The diet is helping me to think about eating rather than mindlessly eating and to think about what I eat and how I eat it.  The cold baths are giving me a time and place each day to think about things, even if Jake is crawling around the bathroom most days.

It made me start to think about the rituals I would like to create with my family...shopping together, cooking together and eating together.  I have struggled hugely with weaning Jake onto solid food and it has helped me to realise how important it is to me that he has a love of food and eating.  As the weather gets warmer I would like to eat outdoors more often and wander down to the green with packed lunches and picnics.  I must walk to meet my (almost) husband  as there is a delicious ice cream stand and a vibrant square minutes from his office.  Maybe this could be a weekly ritual that I am sure Jake would enjoy.

I adore this photograph taken by Katie Stratton, so beautiful...I am really looking forward to creating memories and rituals like this with my little boy, how absolutely precious.

Oh how I ramble, from funny diets to baking bread calling in at a cold bath and a yummy scrummy anthropologie store on route.  Anyway I would love to know about any food rituals that you have with your family...baking days, Sunday morning brunches or homemade smoothies, I just can't wait x