The Simple Things is a beautiful, useful, quirky and fun magazine about taking time to live well. We cover mindfulness and microadventures, eating and growing, forgotten wisdom, home life and slow moments. It's for people who love their lives but want to take the pressure off and remember what’s really important. We like tea & cake, learning stuff, being outside and the satisfaction of a job well done. Do you?

Duvet

A could-do list Snug

Editor

JANUARY ALMANAC • Seasonal thoughts & things to help you enjoy the month

A merry midwinter • PUT A STEW ON THE STOVE AND BUNS IN THE OVEN FOR A WINTER WARMER WITH ADDED HYGGE AND CABIN-STYLE COSINESS

SEEING RED • WHETHER OUT ON THE ICE OR ON A SKI SLOPE, IT’S HARD TO IGNORE A LADY IN RED. FRANCES AMBLER AGREES, WITH HER PICK OF WORKS THAT CAPTURE THE WINTER SPORTING SEASON

Magical creatures • AN APPRECIATION OF THE MAGPIE

FLICKER AND FLAME • GIVE YOUR HOME A WARM GLOW WITH THESE SIMPLE PROJECTS THAT LET YOUR CANDLES SHINE BRIGHT

CAKE IN THE HOUSE • These tasty cookies are packed with vitamin E, so they’ll be good for you, as well as filling your biscuit tin.

My day in cups of tea • We asked Louise Hames of Tinker and Fix to put down her tool kit for a minute and tell us about her day in cuppas.

Excellent women • Ursula Myrie knows what it is to survive abuse.

Learning in the round • A NEW GIRLS’ SCHOOL AND CO-OPERATIVE IN THE DESERT OF RAJASTHAN IS BOOSTING EQUALITY FOR SOME OF INDIA’S POOREST WOMEN

SMALL CHANGE

GOOD FIGURES • Where statistics and optimism meet

A WINTER’S TALE • BLEAK-BUT-BEAUTIFUL VIEWS AND FROSTY-BREATH AIR... THIS SEASON IS FULL OF MAGIC, AND THE NATURAL WORLD IS NOT AS DORMANT AS IT MIGHT SEEM

Comfort lunches • THERE’S NOTHING SATISFYING IN A SNATCHED SANDWICH, BUT TAKING AN HOUR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY TO EAT SOMETHING GOOD WILL SEE YOU THROUGH HAPPILY TO DINNER

WEARING WELL • Stories of the clothes we love WOOLLY SCARVES

Daylight savings • MASTER YOUR BODY CLOCK, GET IN SYNC WITH THE SEASONS AND LEARN HOW TO THRIVE, THROUGH WINTER AND BEYOND

Clock these modern aids • New-wave prescriptions for an ancient physiological process

MY CITY revisited * FLORENCE • IN 2013, GIULIA SCARPALEGGIA SHOWED US HER CITY. WE GO BACK TO SEE WHAT’S NEW AND HOW TUSCANS ENJOY WINTER

GIULIA’S PERSONAL TOUR

The year of the cat • WHILE LIVES HAVE SHIFTED OVER THE PAST YEAR, FOR KATIE ANTONIOU, IT WAS WELCOMING A NEW PET INTO HER HOME THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST MEANINGFUL CHANGES OF ALL

A hug in a mug • NOTHING BRINGS COMFORT, CALM AND CHEER QUITE LIKE A HOT DRINK. THESE FRUITY OR FRAGRANT, BOOZY OR SPICY CUPPAS-WITH-A-DIFFERENCE WILL WAKE UP YOUR TASTE BUDS, TOO

“We should never, ever underestimate our power as individuals. Through every choice, we’re shaping the world” • The answer to addressing climate change lies at home, believes campaigner Natalie Isaacs. We just need to tackle it together, one step at a time, as Johanna Derry Hall finds out

CHAIN REACTION’

Life lessons to live by • FROM DOING LESS TO OWNING LESS, GLOBAL LIFE PHILOSOPHIES CAN GIVE US FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A simple thing...

Chorba Bayda • A simple recipe, with an interesting twist

A STITCH IN TIME • NOT ONLY PROVIDING WARMTH AND COMFORT, QUILTS ALSO BRING BEAUTY, CRAFTSMANSHIP AND A WEALTH OF DIFFERENT STORIES INTO OUR HOMES

PIECE BY PIECE • A simple quilted cushion is an easy way to try patchworking – no sewing machine required.

WHAT I TREASURE • My gran’s mixing bowl

FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE • Bringing blooms indoors: it’s what every home needs

FARM GIRL IN THE CITY • RUSTIC RURAL STYLE...