The Sustainability and Sleep Edition
We’ve made it, January is here and we are somehow in 2022. The last few years have been testing for everyone, but I have a feeling that 2022 is going to be the best yet. The pandemic has put paid to many holiday and travel for the past two years, but as a family we are really ready to start having some mini breaks. With rules relaxing, we have started to book some trips. We absolutely love a city break and have been really missing the cultural infusion of delicious food, spectacular museums, galleries and festivals as well as early evening passeggiatas (or strolls) in the city. We have always believed it to be really important for our children to see, experience, understand and enjoy all the wonderful other cultures that surround us. Unfortunately, one thing that has been capped due to lockdown is our cultural variety, and as a Mum I want my children to appreciate, be intrigued and interested in other people and the world around them.
With January comes Veganuary, and we have been trying really hard to be extra conscious on the food we consume and our own sustainability. We have recently discovered a fabulous cookbook, ‘The Green Roasting Tin: Vegan and Vegetarian One Dish Dinners’ which has been an absolute game changer. It also allows me to get it fully prepped before hand and have an extra half an hour with the kids whilst it cooks.
We have been really enjoying the chillier and darker evenings, it’s a perfect excuse to get cosy with the family. Board games go down a treat in our household, with our current favourites being Cluedo and Mouse Trap! Rumikub and Monopoly are next on our list to learn and play.
We enjoyed lots of fun activities over the Christmas holidays, such as ice skating and cinema trips. The children are back at school now, and we are missing spending time with them greatly – but feel very lucky to have had such a wonderful break.
In this month’s Romantic Reveries, we have some wonderful discoveries for you to explore and enjoy – from fashion to coffee. We are also focusing on sleep health and how to ensure you get a great night’s sleep, with a catch up with sleep expert Tracy from Vispring. So grab yourself a cuppa and get cosy.
Enjoy x
SUNDAY DISCOVERIES
We love sharing some of the fabulous discoveries we have made with you, this week we are focusing on sustainability - from gorgeous fashion brands to coffee and everything in between.
Paper London
We are really enjoying seeing all the spring blossom floral prints emerging already. The summer season is going to be filled with pretty prints and ditsy floral dresses – with accents of lace, ribbon, chiffon and wide smocking and yet more of those happy, flouncy ruffles. At TFBC we are being inspired by these new season trends so on the drawing board at present are three new beds in romantic floral fabrics – keep your eye out for those in the coming months. For flouncy ruffles, Paper London have some absolutely stunning pieces. They are really big on sustainability too, with every purchase you make recovering 1kg of ocean-bound plastic, providing income to local waste pickers. You can even track your impact after purchase.
Cru Coffee
We love finding quirky independent brands, and we absolutely love Cru coffee. They’re on a mission to bring the best Organic, Fairtrade & ethically sourced coffee in 100% recyclable packaging to their customers. Not only is it ethical - it is also delicious too!
Vegan Gifts
At TFBC we try to limit waste as much as possible. Candles by Manuel make the most perfect gift. Not only do they look good, and smell good, they also do good. For every candle sold, a percentage will be donated to Get Fit 4 Mental Wellness to help support them in their movement to change lives. They provide a meditation guide, are sustainable and have zero waste! The candles are packaged in a seed paper, which allows you to re-use the pot once the candle has finished - perhaps to grow beautiful flowers. For other sustainable gifts, our vegan cushions are a great option. We are also set to launch a range of vegan candles, combining a balanced blend of olive oil, rapeseed oil, coconut oil and beeswax.
SLEEP HEALTH
We have all found ourselves struggling to sleep a busy or stressful day, with a thousand things on our mind. But we know just how important a good night’s sleep is, for both your physical and mental health – so we have put together some tips on how to maximise your sleep health.
Empty Your Mind
After a busy day, spend 5 minutes organising yourself for the next day before you relax. Emptying your mind of those still-to-do tasks helps you to start winding down. This could be preparing your work bag, packing lunch or planning an outfit. When you attach something pleasant to a chore, you make it into a ritual – essentially a chore that you enjoy.
The Benefits Of A Powerful Bath
A bath can solve everything, especially after a long day. Epsom bath salts are perfect for wicking away anxiety and toxins and eucalyptus is great for clearing the mind. Submerge into your bath with scented candle and book, then go straight from bath to bed via the basin for a toothbrush.
Your Bed
Having a cosy and comfortable bed is essential for a good night’s sleep. The look and feel of your bed can have a huge impact on how well you sleep. We think velvet beds look ultra-inviting. Our luxurious and Large Upholstered Pimlico Velvet Bed will have you wanting to be in dream land 24/7. The Prussian blue velvet upholstery curves look stunning around the sides of the large headboard and the bed has gently indented side borders on the edges. Team with a premium quality mattress like the Vispring Supreme Luxury Mattress, and our luxury French bedding. Place a hot water bottle in your bed half an hour before bedtime to help aid your perfect nights sleep.
Routine
The key element to a good night’s sleep is a well-established routine. Try to make sure that you go to bed at roughly the same time each night, and ideally start preparing two hours beforehand. This means shutting down blue-light screens, as they have a detrimental effect on sleeping pattern. No TV, and no phone! Our Sleep Well Essential Oil Gift Sets are great for helping you wind down.
SUNDAY BRUNCH: Tracy
This month, keeping on the theme of sleep, we are absolutely delighted to catch up with our friend and fellow interior-obsessive Tracy, who is a sleep expert from Vispring.
1. Describe your perfect Sunday.
Well for me, my perfect Sunday is waking up without an alarm, pop downstairs to bring a pot of tea to share with my husband in bed. This is our time for a catch up too on our renovation project on our house! Spending time with my gorgeous husband and Henry our son is a priority on a Sunday and we support and watch him playing rugby mid-morning usually. I love going for a walk together across the fields where we live and possibly a swim at my local leisure centre. Rounded off with cooking something scrumptious from our Gousto box and reading with Henry before starting a new week.
2. What are your top tips for a good night’s sleep?
My top tips are putting the computer/phones and electronic gadgets down before bedtime, we are all so tied up with social media and we are constantly bombarded with email and message these days. It’s good to get into a habit of being able to put them down for a while and be in the real world. I like to take a lovely warm bath to wind down, a little meditation with positivity in mind and of course falling asleep in our sumptuous Vispring Bed. I have to stay in hotels for some of the week when I am travelling, often on mattresses which are far too firm for me so I absolutely love coming home to my Vispring and very much appreciate having a handcrafted and supportive luxury bed.
3. What's your preferred sleeping position?
I prefer to go to sleep on my side in a foetal position, I think I then move onto my back. We all move about in bed during the night so we never wake up in the same position we fell asleep in. Too many people I come across in my work say they sleep on their fronts, which is so bad for your neck posture and usually indicates the mattress you have is too firm for you. Re-training your body to sleep on your back or side can take a while but you can do it with the help of a supportive pocketed mattress like a Vispring.
4. Do you have any recurring dreams?
No, not that I can remember! Dreams are a whole study in themselves, which is fascinating, but happen when we fall into rapid eye movement or REM sleep around 90 minutes into each cycle. We can easily wake up after this as REM sleep is not as deep as Non REM sleep! We think this is why we sometimes remember our dreams!
5. How do you wind down / What makes you feel at peace?
I like to do some yoga, I find it centring and mindful and not only good for stretching and posture, but also excellent for the spirit! Years ago, I trained as a classical singer, so I again to relax, I listen to VOCES8 singing Sleep by Eric Whitacre or their album Infinity, absolute heaven!
BLOG POST OMNIBUS
We’ve been busy on our blog this last month. Showing you how to build our spectacular Debutante bed, as well as how to create the most magical and perfect French wedding in the UK – from the style of dress and table decorations through to creating your own honeymoon suite with rattan furniture.
Words by the FBC girls
