Slowing down like nature does 🍂

Hello lovely friends !

I hope you are having a lovely autumn so far (if you live where it’s autumn !) 🍂 I have been meaning to write here for days, if not weeks, but something always came up that needed my attention first. But here I am ! With a cup of tea and a ray of sunshine on my desk. Autumn has been wearing all of its costumes lately : rainy, foggy, sunny autumn. Walking amongst the trees and watching the leaves falling down like snow is truly magical. Nature starting to turn red and orange, all sorts of warm shades, it is making my heart sing. Do you like autumn as well ?

Watching the changes of nature while the seasons pass is my favourite thing about living here in the countryside.
This is what I missed the most when I lived in a city a couple of years ago.

The peace and quiet of the woods in autumn,
the snow making everything silent and magical in winter,
colourful blooms warming my heart in spring,
and songs of birds and crickets in the long summer evenings.

If you follow my Instagram stories, you probably know this already, but lately I have been taking hundreds of photos of mushrooms of all kinds !!

Everytime I go for a walk in the forest, I find new cute ones, and I just cannot help - I probably have 200 mushroom pictures in my phone at the moment. There is something about finding mushrooms in the woods that makes you feel like you just found a treasure or won the lottery, in my opinion. It’s magical and a sudden rush of joy ! Sadly, I do not know how to identify the edible ones (I really hope I can learn soon), so in the meantime I just hunt them with my camera 🍄

I really wanted to share these little mushrooms here on the blog with you in case you are looking for fall inspiration or just want to enjoy a cozy forest walk through your screen if you don’t have the chance to have it for real. I know it comforts me everytime, so hopefully even if it’s not the same, it can also warm your heart even through a computer screen 🥰

(Just click on the photos to enlarge them !)

Seeing them all together here in a grid, so well organised, makes me feel so happy and satisfied 🤭

But this is not the only thing I wanted to share with you today ! September has been a tough ride and I’m still working on being patient and kind to myself. I am working and doing what I have to do because it is necessary, but at a slower pace. I allow myself to go out for a walk if I feel stuck or frustrated to stay seated at my desk, even if it is supposed to be “working hours”. I try to adjust said working hours to my needs. It is a luxury I did not have for a long time and that I know many of us don’t have (so I feel extremely lucky) - but I must also say that during the most part of 2022, I have been pushing myself a little too hard, working really many hours a day and feeling guilty everytime I was thinking about resting more. I have been neglecting proper rest a bit too much for a bit too long.

But a few weeks ago, the image of the forest slowing down to prepare for winter crossed my mind. And it felt right to listen to myself and imitate the nature around me, which I love so much. If my body and mind are asking for time, and I am lucky enough to have some available, why not give them ? Why not let some leaves go in order to feel better to go through winter afterwards, just like trees do ?

I allowed myself to rest more, work a little less, and also took some time to play in my sketchbook, which I had not done for a while, and to paint just for the sake of it. So I thought I could also share some bits and pieces of it here with you 🤍

Painted this little cat with white and blue watercolour, just for fun. I did not have any expectations but ended up really liking the way he looks 😊

Some autumny flowers in my sketchbook, trying to figure out how to paint a full colour background around little elements 🌼

Taking inspiration in my mushroom photos 💙

Playing with gouache + Watercolour !

These are all the little things I have been sketching and painting for myself lately. I have also made more drawing for my clients, but these are projects I cannot share here with you yet 🍃 I hope you enjoyed this mini tour inside my sketchbooks, and I hope you also find time to do what you love, what brings you comfort and joy. Life can get so busy sometimes but I wish for you to have some time where you can slow down and think of yourself before anything else. You deserve it 🌞

Thank you for reading until here, and thank you for being here !
I am sending you all my love, crispy leaves and cocoa herbal tea 🍵
See you soon 💙

Cécile