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Susie - your beautiful, cosy home and family travel inspo

@thatch.and.thread

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City lawyer, mum of 2, living life frugal chic with our chickens in the English countryside. Making art and traveling the world with our kids.

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ad /gifted | Before I moved to the UK, I spent most of my life growing up in Canberra—the Bush Capital of Australia 🦘🌿 Yep, I'm actually Aussie, although my accent may have morphed thanks to being in the UK for too long!

Some of my happiest childhood memories are of walking home to birdsong, playing tips under the gum trees and spotting kangaroos in the wild. There's something about the Australian landscape that has always felt like home: peaceful, familiar, and comforting.

When I became a mum, I found myself wanting to share a little piece of that feeling with our children. Not just the animals, but the wonder, the nostalgia, and the comfort that comes with the place I grew up.

So I painted the backdrop to this nursery, inspired by one of our favourite Australian bedtime stories, hoping to create a space where bedtime feels like stepping into a story—and where our children will always have a little piece of my home, wherever in the world we are.

A huge thank you to @littlegreenepaintcompany for partnering with me on this project. Their beautiful colours helped bring this story to life, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Now we just need to finish the flooring and bring in the furniture! More to come soon x taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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3 months ago

I knew something was missing ....it was a lampshade worthy of our new bathroom.

Here's a simple cover, sewn to fit by an amateur (which proves anyone can do it), and it has changed this room. It's softer, more cottagecore, more personal, and it's basically a mini school pleated skirt.

I'm calling this the English Cottage schoolgirl skirt hack, and I've already made two because, well, lampshades deserve a wardrobe too 💁🏻‍♀️

#mycountryhome #cottagecore #lampshademaker #lampshade #diydecor taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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6 months ago

Welcome to our thatched cottage and an account full of bits and bobs 🤍 taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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9 months ago

When people ask what I do, I say, well I'm a lawyer. But what if people asked me, who I am? Well I'm much more than just my job and my career. I have lots of hobbies and passions, including art and and DIY decor.

Maybe we start asking people, who they are first. Because that's the more interesting question in my opinion ! taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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9 hours ago

I hate that I still tie my self-worth to what I achieve:

1. If I set a task for the day and I don't get it done, I really beat myself up about it, and it can ruin my mood at the end of that day.

2. Sometimes I really want to nap when my baby naps, but I feel like that's wasting time and I could be ticking off so many other things on my to-do list.

3. I rush my daughter during the week through her routine, to go to school, eat her dinner and get her homework done, but am I missing precious quality moments with her when she's so young ?

I think a big part of my need to achieve is my perfectionist personality and also my upbringing (traditional Asian household that immigrated to Australia to have a better life). Maybe that's how I ended up being a corporate lawyer. Rest can often feel uncomfortable and productivity feels safe.

I'm learning that being productive is not the same as being okay. And sometimes I need to slow down and be more present to enjoy life.

Save this for the next time you feel like you've failed at a task or when you're exhausted and don't feel like you deserve a break. Because you do! by @thatch.and.thread

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a day ago

When I was young I was taught that creativity was something to enjoy, not something to build a life around. So I studied hard, went to law school and became a lawyer. I chose the stable career path.

But my creativity never really left me. It just became quieter as I prioritised my studies and focused on my legal career.

As I started redefining what success means, my creativity re-emerged in various ways, like this mural I painted for our son's nursery.

Not everything you enjoy has to become your career to still matter. Sometimes it just needs space in your life to co-exist. taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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3 days ago

Hi I'm Susie, a 38 year old mother and high achiever. This is my story.

Coming from a traditional Asian upbringing I spent most of my life studying super hard and building a successful career. But somewhere along the way I realised that I was building a life I was proud of on paper but a life I was struggling to enjoy. Burnout, family and motherhood were very difficult years of my life that forced me to stop and reflect on what success means to me.

Now I'm trying to build a life that has room for my family, my creativity, our home in the countryside, travel and hobbies and simply having time to enjoy them. I haven't figured out the whole corporate law working mum thing yet and I'm not sure where I'll end up, but for the first time I'm not chasing a life I was told to want but building a life I actually enjoy.

If this sounds like you, you're in the right room, let's be friends 😊 taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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4 days ago

So off the back of my last reel, I had some questions about the energy saving sessions with @Octopusenergy, so thought it would be helpful to set out a little more detail here.

Saving sessions reward you for reducing energy over a set hour. You'll need a smart meter and have your energy signed up with Octopus Energy. When you sign up for the sessions they will email you on the day to let you know the hour during which you need to reduce your electricity consumption based on your typical energy usage. This is usually 6-7pm at night. If you do reduce your energy during this time you'll be rewarded with points that can be used to reduce your energy bill. It's not a lot but it's something and if you're trying to be "frugal chic" like us, it'll be worth it 😃

More importantly though, the saving sessions are a way for us all to reduce our demand for electricity during this window so we don't have to turn on dirty gas fired electricity generators to meet demand 🌱

Annnnd the added perk is that if you manage to reduce your energy consumption during TWO saving sessions you get rewarded with one free hour of electricity on a Sunday that you can choose (weekend happy hours). During this time you can use up to 16kw of electricity (loads!). You can also use two happy hours on a single weekend.

So now you know why I was waiting till 7pm (when our energy saving session ended) before using our microwave to heat up my dinner 😂

Hurry because as far as we are aware, the weekend happy hours are due to finish on 1 November!

Let me know if you found this helpful and if you'd like any other info e.g. on what daily appliances consume the most energy 💡 taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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4 days ago

This is a true story.

I went on a girl's trip to visit my bestie. It was my first trip away from our baby. Obviously I automatically wake up at his usual overnight feeding time. Instead of happily going back to bed as a child-free parent, I check the babycam and spy on my husband. I see him cuddling our son after his bottle and my heart melts. I decide to record this moment for memories.

But at that instant our son spits up all of his milk over my husband. It is a very large amount of milk lol. He clearly needs to be charged. I know my husband doesn't know where the baby stuff is so ....I softly speak into the babycam and say "it's on the wooden bench". This is so freaky to my husband who has no idea I'm watching him, but he is thankful.

The conclusion: mothers have super human radars and are the guardian angels of their children 😇 taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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6 days ago

Did you know! If you're with @octopusenergy you can get a free hour of electricity on a Sunday if you save electricity for two hours in their "savings sessions" during the week (ie try not to use too much electricity during these two hours during the week).

So during the Sunday happy hour, we power up the EV charger for our ID3, switch from gas to electricity for cooking (so the fancy La Canche is on pause) and turn on the electric oil radiator if it's a bit chilly.

While we are only saving a few pounds during happy hour, with energy bills set to rise again in October, it's a great way to save a little cash to fund your £5 flat white 😄 It's one of the ways we practice frugal chic in our household.

From an environmental perspective.as well, by powering down during the week, we also all benefit from reducing the country's demand for gas fired electricity and instead can hopefully rely on more renewable energy 🌱 by @thatch.and.thread

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7 days ago

Dear boy mums (and all mums of active wild babies), I feel you 🙃

All our friends warned us that a baby boy would totally change our lives, but nothing could prepare us for the carnage that would be coming our way!

So when he was sick the other day with a little fever, I was like wow ....this is one the calmest days I've had in tinks!

Despite the carnage though, he's the most smiley, most loveable little boy and it's totally worth it. taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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11 days ago

Radiators are SO HOT right now 🔥 Have you seen all the funky colours they come in ?

As part of our nursery makeover, we decided to paint our traditional white radiator...even though we were very tempted to purchase a new trendy colourful one.

It's the first time we've done this because we have more than 20 radiators (!) and we always thought it would be a pain with all the grates. But as it turns out, it wasn't too bad with the right paint, and we absolutely love the result! So much so that I'm now making my way around to all the radiators in the house !

Tip: Make sure you check your paint is appropriate for painting metal radiators and prep as instructed. Painting your radiator should not affect the radiator's thermal abilities. We chose Intelligent Eggshell by @littlegreenepaintcompany in the colour Livid to complement the colour of the walls, and no primer was required. But if your radiator is bare (ie hasn't previously been painted) or is in bad condition then you may need a primer. Two coats should be sufficient but we did three just to give it an extra layer of protection.

A really helpful guide on painting radiators is available on the Little Greene website here:
https://www.littlegreene.com/advice-hub/paint-for-radiators taken in Hertfordshire by @thatch.and.thread

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11 days ago