This is my new direction!

Oh Hi!

After signing off from You May Say I'm a Dreamer for a little while, I promised to keep y'all updated on what my new direction is going to be. When I left here, I was uninspired, with no direction in terms of blogging. So I took some time, had a think, did some research, and decided to to the most obvious, and also scariest, thing. I decided to take myself seriously as a writer. So I'm still finding my way, but I do hope you'll join me in my new adventures!


Writing my ass off
I thought it was about time I stopped skirting around that one thing I know I'm meant to do with my life: write. So I made myself a website dedicated to my writing. I'm really excited about it! So I've put myself out there as a freelance writer, specialising in travel and the environment, and also provided information on my novels-in-progress and my non-fiction project, also in-progress. So I hope you'll take a look and let me know what you think!
http://sarahhardie.webs.com/

Travelling and dreaming

So, to become a freelance writer you have to be an expert on something. When I started thinking about that, travel was the first thing that came to mind, so I went with it and launched a travel blog called All the Wonderful Places. It's all about exploring at home and away. Take a look at that one too and let me know what you think!
http://allthewonderfulplaces.blogspot.co.nz/

And that's not all...
I'm also working on another project... but I'm not going to reveal what it is yet - what I will say is that it's exciting, it's innovative, it's friendly, and I hope it's going to make a difference. I'll keep you updated on this one too.

I'm undecided on whether I'll come back to You May Say I'm a Dreamer, but for now I'm leaving it be. So thanks for reading guys! :)  

Time for reflection

Hello friends,

You've probably noticed I have not blogged for a good couple of weeks.

Life is changing at a rapid pace for me right now. This year is flying by and by the end of it, I'll be married and starting a new and exciting life. My priorities, my passions, my view of the world, have all started changing and I have started eliminating things from my life that I'm not passionate about any more. Unfortunately, You May Say I'm a Dreamer is becoming one of those things. But it feels positive, so I'm going with my gut, following my instincts, hoping it will take me somewhere new and exciting.

Sometimes when I log in to blog, I ask myself a few questions: "Why do I do this?" Who is reading this?" "What am I teaching people?" And lately I haven't been able to answer those questions. I want to offer something to the world through blogging and writing, and although the principals of You May Say I'm a Dreamer have done that to a point, I feel like I need to rein it in, to focus on something specific so I can do it well.

I remember being told in Journalism school that to become a freelance writer, you have to "become an expert on something". Whether this sentiment will lead me into freelance writing or something else, I'm not sure. I feel like I have a lot of bits and pieces to offer the world and I need to bring them together to create something wonderful that I can be an expert on. Who knows what it's going to be - I sure don't - but it's exciting all the same.

So what I'm trying to say is that I'm taking a break from blogging for awhile so I can figure out my next step. I have a feeling it's going to be something big, something significant, but it's hiding from me. I know it's there, but it hasn't shown its face yet. So I think by simplifying my life as much as I can, I can make room for my new direction to show itself.

When I do figure this thing out, I will let you know on here, but for now I'm going to say goodbye and thanks for reading.

Sarah xo

There is no excuse!

I used to moan about living in an upstairs apartment with no outside/no grass on which to create a vegetable garden. While I still moan about having no outside and no grass, after I saw this picture of a guy who grew £900 of food on his balcony and windowsills in a year, I realised there is no excuse to not start my garden. I have balcony space that doesn't get used so damnit I'm using it! So two weekends ago (in the middle of a drought - real smart timing Sarah...) I went to out with mum and dad to buy some pots, plants, soil and tools to get me started. It's not much and I'm certainly not going to grow enough food for us to never visit the supermarket again, but it's a start! Right now it's really just a way for me to learn about gardening, as I've never really gardened before apart from a couple of stints with mum as a kid which I quickly lost interest in when I realised my sunflowers would take months to grow.
So I've started simply with a few herbs: Parsley, chives, rosemary and basil because I always used the herbs growing in the garden when cooking with mum back in the day - fresh herbs just make a dish that much more delicious! I've got a couple of vegetables, as there's not a lot you can grow at this time of year (but mark my words, in spring, it's on!) so I've got: spring onions, spinach and broccoli. Yum!

I also bought an amazing recipe book the other day, full of beautiful recipes using fresh, whole foods and all those awesome "super foods" like quinoa and couscous. Can't wait to use the stuff I've grown in these recipes! Yum!

Happy Monday :)

Hello! Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend! It's finally raining here, breaking our drought, and long may it continue so our farmers can get back on their feet and our gardens can start growing again. Instead of a quote I thought I'd introduce you to this amazing NZ born, Brooklyn-based band I discovered while watching one of my favourite shows last weekend, 7 Days - they're called Streets of Laredo and they're fabulous!

Engagement party photos!

It's definitely autumn...

I start work at 7.30am and I'm lucky that it takes my 10 minutes to walk there. Although it's hard getting up early, sights like this accompanied by chilly Autumn morning air makes it worth it. Ahh summer, it's been great, but autumn is still my favourite season.

I am what I eat - Week 6

I realise this post is a wee bit late, but it's like that for a reason I promise... I delayed writing about week six because I went back to see my Naturopath, Anya Nidd, on Friday to check in and see how things were going.
And things are going great! It's cool to see the changes slowly happening over the course of a few weeks, but it's particularly satisfying to go back to Anya and tell her all about the last six weeks, including the slip ups and the hard bits, and know that I'm doing things right and also that there is more I can do.
I felt like a different person on that second visit, like someone who had complete control of their health and skin. No longer do I moan about the state of my skin because, even though the majority of the time now it looks amazing, if it does look bad I know it's my own fault for indulging in too much sugar and fatty processed food. I also feel so much stronger in both mind and body. Although there have been times when I have had a taste of chocolate and it's taken me a couple of days of indulging (and nasty red pimples) to break the habit again, I've discovered an amazing willpower I never knew I had. I have stubbornly stuck to this new regime and the slips ups are becoming less and less because I'm now running on facts, not theories.
Before, in regards to my skin, I was bombarded by everyone else's theories on why I kept having breakouts in my twenties. Too much chocolate, too much stress, not enough sleep, not enough water, using the wrong products. But as much as I tried to turn those things around, nothing gave me results because I never actually knew the root cause of it.
Now I know I was extremely deficient in zinc, and dairy products, sugar and processed food were causing my breakouts. So now we never buy milk, barely eat cheese, my snacks consist of fruit, rice crackers and hummus, my meals are full of good whole foods and I take a zinc supplement.
Sounds easy, but it's been a commitment and a half requiring a lot of willpower and patience, which has paid off. I now believe that going off meat was my body's way of telling me it was time to do something drastic about my skin, energy levels, immune system and general health. So thanks body. xo