Bare Beaunz : Sarah

As soon as I 'discovered' Sarah Laurie, I felt I had found a kindred spirit. She has mastered the art of balancing long term goals with everyday happiness, and makes a point of filling her days with people and things that touch both. Fresh flowers, beautiful candles, snuggly blankets, quality time with family and friends, quiet moments to herself...Sarah wholeheartedly embraces the belief that what we think and do everyday shapes who we are. Dream it, write it down, own it, be it.


As well as her business as a life coach, Sarah recently launched her own stationery line 'Lifestyle Couture', of which her Gratitude Journal is one of my favourites. 


When I photographed Sarah for Bare Beaunz, I could have stayed all day. Light, airy and cosy could describe both Sarah and her home, and it's such a treat to have her on Beaunz today. Over to you Sarah...

I just bought...

Flowers, fresh from the markets. I always come out feeling like I’ve really indulged, my arms bursting with lilies and gerberas.

I'm about to buy...

A beautiful pair of boots from Workshop. When I go and look at them in the shop I feel like I already own them.

I wish I could buy... 

A pool for my children.

When I was a kid I wanted to be...

In Abba. I just wanted to be this wonderful singer and dancer. On a more serious note, I also wanted to be a pilot.

I never leave the house without... 

My hairbrush. That might sound really vain, but it’s my thing! I brush it a lot; it’s like a security blanket.

If it wasn't so naughty I would... 

I’m feeling quite un-naughty at the moment.

At home I am usually...

Tidying up! I love a tidy, calm home. My kids are really kind in that they understand how hard I work, so they pick up after themselves. I love it when things are in their place, then I feel calm and can come up with new ideas. Now, when I write things down in my dream journal, I feel like I’m writing down my future.

My fashion sense at school was... 

Always trying. My mum used to make me things, and they would be terrible but I would have to wear them.

If I had one magic power it would be.... 

Reading people’s minds, only so I could help people more. I find with my clients that they don’t always say what they mean, so it can take a while to uncover what they actually need.

The last time I (really) laughed was… 

I laugh all the time. My son William makes me laugh - he has always been really funny, he has the coolest sense of humour.

My secret pleasure is... 

Not that secret, I love candles, relaxing and simple calm indulgences.

I'm happiest when... 

With my children. We love hanging out in the weekend, and watching tellie like Big Bang Theory. They also like to stay up late and watch Desperate Housewives with me.

If I died tomorrow I would be remembered for...

My terrible baking. There’s a piece of it out in the garden right now in fact. I threw it out the window and even the dog won’t eat it! My kids are always telling me how terrible I am, it’s just not my thing.

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Gratitude is the memory of the heart

The first I heard of a Gratitude Journal was when Oprah Winfrey interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow, not long after she had split from Monsieur Pitt (I'm team Chris all the way, by the way).

The thing that stuck in my mind was that she was thankful for her friend's freckles. Her freckles? I thought. I wonder if anyone is thankful for my freckles? (Turns out they are)

A few years later I was surviving on £20 a week in London, newly split from my partner of 5 years, and had just been turned down for a job I really, really wanted. As I sat on the bus home to rain-drenched Fulham Broadway, I cried for a few minutes then opened up a scrappy old notebook and wrote my first gratitude journal entry: I am grateful for...warm feet. My mother had just posted me the thickest, warmest merino bed socks from New Zealand. I was secretly wearing them under my work shoes and for the first time in months my feet weren't ice cold. Such a simple pleasure, and that's the point of the gratitude journal. Once you start looking for things to be thankful for, beauty appears from all corners of your day.

I have had several gratitude journals since, and love to read through them from time to time. I have always just used a standard notebook, so when I discovered Sarah Laurie's new Lifestyle Couture stationery line I was instantly smitten with her Gratitude Journal. With its delicate butter-yellow linen cover and thick paper stock, it is a thing of beauty itself.

Last night as I sat and contemplated what my first entry would be, I spotted a tiny freckle on my daughter's squidgey, peaches and cream thigh. Turns out, I'm grateful for freckles too.

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