How To Write a Picture Book ❤️

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share my new picture book, VIOLIN & CELLO, with you. I’d also like to tell you about the process, in case you’ve always wanted to give it a whirl…and why not? Why not you?

Here’s what happens:

  1. You write a story (no more than 500 words in total). But here’s the trick — it has to be compelling, unique, and fun for kids, with a child-centred hero who solves their own problem. And yes, even a children’s story has to focus on a problem because that’s what story is: conflict. Whether you’re writing a novel or a picture book, your hero has to want something they don’t have.

    Five hundred words sounds so easy, but often a story can take months to create!

  2. Email your manuscript to a publisher who is accepting submissions (check their websites). How to find a publisher? Look at picture books you love — who published it? Also, if you don’t know which picture books are doing well in the current market, that’s the place to start! Go to a good bookshop to browse and buy books you love.

  3. Success! Let’s talk about this, because so much information around writing is about dealing with rejection. (And let’s be real: rejection happens A LOT.) But if a publisher loves your manuscript, they’ll call you — so exciting — and say they’re taking your story to an acquisitions meeting! This is usually a monthly meeting where editors take a short list of perhaps eight great titles and decide whose books will be selected to be published. Publishing houses can’t publish every worthy manuscript…

  4. The publisher then pairs you with an illustrator of their choice. Look who I was paired with for VIOLIN & CELLO…the exceptional Joanna Bartel from South Australia! (It’s rare to be an author who is able to illustrate, but many illustrators go on to write and illustrate their own stories.)

Joanna created concept drawings, and we discussed them. Her vision was perfect for my beautiful story set in a big city about two young mystery musicians who’d never met…

Then Joanna spent many, many months creating beautiful illustrations for the book, while my editor and I perfected the story.

And…VIOLIN & CELLO is a world-first…because this is the first picture book worldwide featuring violinists and cellists. The talented young Australian composer, Alexander Lau, composed The Mystery Friends duet for young cellists and violinists to play. The music is part of the story.

5. Publication happens about a year after signing a contract. Authors and illustrators split a 10% royalty from every book sold, which is around $1 per book sold for each creator.

If writing a picture book is something you’ve always wanted to do, now is the perfect time to get started!

And if you’d like to cheer us along with our beautiful new picture book, here’s how:

  • VIOLIN & CELLO is out now in Australia! Ask at bookshops or order online.

  • Spread the word — if you know any child musicians, this is the first picture book worldwide featuring violinists and cellists. Please tell your school library, your child’s music teacher, and musical friends. ❤️

  • Pre-order in Canada, America and here in the UK — coming in early November!

  • You can gift a book to a little musician, to a local school or to your library.

Thank you, my friends, for sharing. It means the world, truly. Enjoy your weekend.

Love, Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!

Happy Father's Day, Australia!

Hi everyone — this guy, this is the father of our sons. He is, above all, a good sport. Ready to be silly when required by a fun-loving wife like me, ready to be stable when we need that (all the time). I can’t thank him enough…and one of the things I value the most is his willingness to have fun, and be fun.

It’s Father’s Day in Australia, which brings up so much for so many people. Thankfulness, gratitude, disappointment. Worry, regret, love. Wherever you land when you consider your relationship with your father (or the father of your children), I hope you can find wisdom and resolution.

We’re all so very human, and so flawed.

We’re all brilliant at some things. Terrible at others.

When I wrote The 10 Minute Fix, I asked a question. It’s an important one.

When I’m in the tumble dryer of worry and fear, or tiredness or disappointment, I stop and ask myself that question.

Am I being fun?

Could I be a little more fun?

What would that take?

Usually, it’s as simple as getting out of my own head, and thinking for a second about what might delight someone else. Then doing that thing. It can be so tiny:

  • an unexpected chocolate bar for my teen who is studying

  • a text saying, “I’m thinking about you today!”

  • NOT SAYING something (you left the kitchen in a mess / the lights on / the dog unwalked…)

I value FUN, but here’s the trick: fun starts with us being fun.

With us bringing the joy.

(I imagine all of you around the globe doing this, and the ripples of happiness extending to the people you love. What a difference we’ll make today.)

Love, Catherine x

PS. The Fun Stuff

A Sneaky Bit of Happiness...

Hello everyone! Writing a little newsletter to you is something I look forward to every week. Thanks for being here. If you’re new, I’m Catherine — behold me here walking the dog. (I share photos of myself every so often so internet friends know who’s writing…)

I had to force myself on this cold afternoon, so on went my favourite boots. (For some reason, shoes have always motivated me! Is this weird? Are you the same? Like putting on cute runners makes you more likely to exercise? Heels make you feel confident? Strappy sandals yell, Let’s have fun!!??)

Today, I’m sharing a happiness hack.

It can seem impossible some days, but it’s true.

We’re all icebergs, right? It’s a cliche but it’s true. We show the top 1/8 to most people (the tip above water), and some of our closest friends get maybe our iceberg’s top half. But deep beneath the waterline, there is so much going on.

Pain. Disappointment. Worry. Fear. Stress. Maybe a diagnosis. Or fear of a diagnosis for someone you love. A failure. A hope so big that you’ve carried so long and it feels heavy, like pain, instead of promised joy. For every person (you, me, the stranger walking the dog), the pain is sitting under the waterline.

But. But! We’ve also been around long enough to know that the day goes better when we focus our attention on joy.

Yes, I have to walk the dog, and I can do it in boots.

Yes, we have to face the hard thing, but we can make a very hot coffee and sip it while we read the email.

We can squeeze the heck out of someone’s hand during the diagnosis. Or send a text if we’re alone.

You know. I know.

There are two ways to live: one, head down. The other, head up, looking for little bits of joy.

Here’s my wish: that something so special, so fun, even tiny, happens for you today. That you choose to see it. That you savour it. Or that you give a tiny piece of happiness to someone you love.

Enjoy your Sunday,

Love Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!

  • Aussie friends, this is what donuts are in Canada. 🇨🇦 Please, please can someone open a chain of donut shops here?

  • Shoes! I’ve tried everything this year to recover from a foot injury, and these cute sneakers work so well for me. If you have wide feet, worth a try. Also these ones are great.

  • Cute jelly sandals — summer’s coming in Australia! And pearl studded strappy flats.

  • Fluffy slippers that would make morning coffee so much happier! :)

  • Song I’m loving: Crash and Burn and surprise…it’s country music. Never thought I’d say that! (Hey, MUM…you’ll like this one.) Best-ever Canadian memory: with my 90 year old mum, taking turns playing songs we love on Spotify, and dancing in our matching pjs.

,

Three Things Worth Enjoying

,

Hello, everyone, and hi to all the new people this week. Look what’s happening in Sydney…tulips! Spring is here on 1 September and I can’t wait!

This week I wanted to share three things worth enjoying. Let’s go!

1. Consider making bread. Gluten and carbs, I know, I know, but this is so fun. I’ve written about this easy focaccia before, and if you want to feel domestic and successful, you can make it.

2. Dust off your beautiful dishes and use them. When our beloved ‘adopted’ Australian grandmother died, we inherited her set of Royal Crown Derby. Her real family was kind enough to ask if we’d like them (before they went in the Op Shop box - gah!)…and I use them on the weekends. I’m guessing there are pretty things in your cupboards, too.

3. Share some gratitude. Not just be grateful. Share “grateful.” Spread some heartfelt compliments. Tell the people you love that you see what they’re doing. Say something fun and appreciative today to a person who might not expect it. It’s an old, tired cliche because it’s true:

Everyone, everyone, everyone needs a kind word. You can give it.

Enjoy your weekend, and have fun loving all the people you’ve been given to love.

Catherine xx

PS. The fun stuff!

I share links here to things I’m enjoying. Sometimes it’s a product I’ve bought, sometimes a poem or a recipe, a quote or a thought or an activity. Or a book I’ve written. No pressure, just for fun.

Hi, I'm back!

Friends, I had the best time in my beloved Canada!

Hugged my mum a million times, celebrated her 90th birthday (we wore yellow…from The 10 Minute Fix, remember?), met up with blog readers (a treat!), saw my best friend from high school — we’ve known each other 41 years — and finished off with four days in Vancouver with my favourite cousin, who’s like a bonus sister to me. The laughing dude above is one of several in Morton Park, Vancouver.

And you?? In case you haven’t been asked today, how are you?

Where’s your heart at?

Have the winds of change been blowing your way?

Wish I could gather all of you up and invite you to my kitchen table. I’d make you lunch, probably this most delicious salad in the world, and ask you how you are.

Then I’d sit back and listen.

I’m feeling so contemplative, like I’m birthing a change but I’m not sure what it is yet.

So this is what I’m doing:

  1. Walking a lot.

  2. Putting myself to bed early.

  3. Eating leafy greens at every meal. Ridiculous, but greens make me feel happier. Kinder to myself.

  4. Wondering about my life….

Because this is true for all of us:

For me, it’s time to sit down and think about what I love and where I’m heading.

Sending so much joy your way today. I hope something unexpected and wonderful happens to you.

Love Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!





Farewell for a while...

Hello, friends!

This view is from Sydney’s beautiful Shangrila Hotel in the Blu Bar on Level 36. I recommend going before the sun sets —such a spectacular experience. Fun tip: family groups can take underage people and be seated on the right side of the venue before 6pm to watch Sydney become a fairyland.

Today I’m saying farewell to you, my family and our beautiful city for a month while I head to Canada to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday. I’ll be taking a break from everything (including sending you notes on the weekend) until August. If you’re on summer holidays or school holidays here in Australia, I hope you’re having a relaxing time.

Just wanted to leave you with two bits of encouragement!

  1. We’re only half-way through 2022. If things haven’t gone to plan, we still have six months to take ACTION and do what we promised ourselves we’d do. It’s not too late. (It’s never too late to start!)

  2. How to take action? This reminder from the founder of @newhappyco — I love Stephanie’s work! You can find her here.

Thank you for being here on the journey with me! I plan to rest, rest, rest and come back refreshed and filled with new ideas. Then we keep going…

Love, Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff…

A little slice of peace...

Hello friends. The talented American artist, Morgan Harper Nichols, made this beautiful image. You can find her work and follow her here.

This morning, while my household sleeps, I’m up with a coffee thinking of you. Around the world there are upsets and worries, injustices and trials. In the midst of it all, I hope today you can stop for a moment and enjoy the life you’ve been so busy building.

If you’re struggling, my favourite quick meditation is this…

Anytime, anywhere, we can breathe, look down at our feet, and bring our awareness and busy brains into the present moment. NOW is where we live. Not in the past, or in the future. Always in NOW.

Today I’m wishing you strength and peace.

Love, Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff…

  • Have you discovered the hidden space or room in your own home? This looks like turning a garden shed into a writing shed, parking the cars outside and making the garage a home office and gym (like we did!), adding shelves to a tall kitchen broom cabinet to store your most-used handbags, or even something simple like this: a little holder for plastic lids stuck on with 3M hangers. It’s a tiny life-changer.

  • Wow, the eye serum at Aldi. All of their beauty products are fabulous, including the lipstick.

  • The best baked spinach-artichoke dip I’ve ever made.

It's none of my business...

Hi friends.

I had a realisation last week, and it shook me.

Eighteen years ago today, I had my last baby. This beautiful kid is our son, and today he became a man. He was a smiley baby, then an absolutely Terrible Two. My oldest son was Easy Child (I blessed him with sushi and babycinos, and he blessed me back by behaving perfectly.) This kid was the one who would LAY DOWN IN THE GROCERY STORE and scream like I was torturing him because I said no to a chocolate bar at 9am.

This one is a skater (see the skateboard?) and he loves people. A memory: picking him up from Tae Kwon Do after school, and hearing the boys chanting his name: they were carrying him on their shoulders through the hall. He was 7.

This one I worry about: after this final year of high school, I want him to go to uni, find a great career, and be successful.

BUT…

It’s none of my business what he does. Not really.

He’s a man. He’s his own person. He has a life path that has nothing to do with pleasing his mother. I gave him breath so he could live his own life.

His birthday reminded me of this important truth.

It’s none of my business what anyone does. You, my neighbours, my friends, my family. (Exception: my husband. It is my business what he does..haha, just ask him…)

It’s also none of my business what you think of me.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember…

  • It doesn’t matter if your people (and your family) are wrong about you.

  • It doesn’t matter who your mother thought you should marry.

  • It doesn’t matter what people on the internet think of your posts.

It matters what YOU think of you. And it matters what I think of me.

Some things really are none of our business.

I look at my child and try to see the man. I have to squint to do it, because I remember all the little versions of him. But it’s none of my business to choose his path. It’s his business.

Byron Katie famously said: “There are three kinds of business: MY BUSINESS, YOUR BUSINESS and GOD’S BUSINESS.

I don’t know about you, but it’s something I need to remember. And now I’m off to make the cake!

Love Catherine xx

PS. The fun stuff!

  • In The 10 Minute Fix, I talk about easy family celebrations. All it takes is a bit of bunting, napkins, glasses, balloons. The light up numerals are here, Aussies.

  • I love Australia. ❤️ Every time I run to my own garden to snip flowers like these camellias, I feel like I live in the most beautiful country in the world.

  • We can see a whale’s journey — how lucky are we? Technology is a beautiful thing.

  • An old poem, but a favourite (from the early 1600s): remember this?

The Easiest Focaccia Ever!

Hello, friends!

What is it about cold Aussie winters and wanting to cook and bake?? That’s me this weekend. Brrr, I’m freezing (relative, I know, and I remember my Canadian life and laugh at myself now)…but I’ve made this delicious focaccia and wanted to share.

Bread: yes, you can make it and it’s easy. Many of you already do (hi, family!) but in case you haven’t given it a whirl yet, please let me introduce you to the easiest and best focaccia recipe ever.

You make the dough the day before, but it only takes five minutes.

Ready? Let’s go.

The day before you want to pull freshly baked focaccia from your oven and have your family or guests eat the entire pan (YES, THEY WILL), make the dough and pop it in your fridge overnight.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups plain flour

  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 2 cups lukewarm water (I combine 1/2 cup boiling water with 1 1/2 cups cold water)

  • olive oil

  • sea salt and rosemary (fresh or dried), optional, for the top of the focaccia

  1. Make the dough - this takes 5 minutes, max! Whisk the flour, salt and yeast. Add the water and mix into a sticky dough ball. Rub the surface with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and pop the bowl in your fridge overnight (or for as long as 3 days).

  2. The next day: remove the dough from the fridge. Using two forks, deflate it by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling the dough towards the centre.

  3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 3-4 hours on your kitchen bench top.

  4. Line a 9x13 pan with baking paper. Put the dough in the pan. Pull it into shape with your hands. Drizzle with olive oil.

Then comes the fun part!

5. Preheat the oven to 220C fan forced or 425 F.

6. Use your fingers to dimple the dough. Sprinkle with sea salt and lots of rosemary if you love it.

7. Bake. For my oven at 220 C fan forced, it takes around 16 minutes. It may take as long as 25 minutes to bake, depending on your oven. If this helps, the internal temp of the bread should be over 200F.

Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Make sure you have delicious dips or soups or cheese on hand. You can dip the focaccia in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, of course, or butter it. You can toast it or grill it for sandwiches, but ours never lasts that long.

Literally every time I’ve made this focaccia, all of it is gone within an hour.

It’s just SO DELICIOUS warm.

Enjoy your day, and I’ll be back next Sunday with a little more happiness in your inbox.

Love Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!

Chat with Future You!

Hi everyone, and hello new people. I’m Catherine Greer, author and baker, mum of sons, wife for twenty-five years, living in Sydney, Australia. You’re here for a little weekly inspiration every Sunday.

Let’s get started!

This idea from @EmandFriends is GREAT if you’ve been helping yourself this year to do all the things (walk and work out, make good choices, be on your own side).

But if you haven’t, here’s the good news: you have 7 MONTHS LEFT IN 2022.

Try this quick exercise. I call it Future You.

I was lucky enough to share it with a dynamic group of women from Ireland last week in a journalling workshop, and wow, I loved them! Such fun, engaging, vibrant women—Ireland is now on my travel list!

  1. Imagine it’s December 31.

  2. Sit down and pull up a chair for Future You. Really. Imagine Future You is sitting across from you. (See the photo above? I’m imagining Future Me in that empty leather chair. Future Catherine’s feet are up. She’s wearing shorts because it’s summer…)

  3. What does Future You say to Today You? Is she grateful you didn’t give up? Is she thankful you started in June?

It helps me remember that I’m doing things now FOR ME.

Because Future Catherine will walk around the corner seven months from now. Future AnnaMarie and Adele and Carolyn and Katie and Leslie and Faith and Francis and Annette and Corinne and Maura will, too.

It’s ME who’s going to be there in seven months’ time, and I will benefit so much from what Today Me does. Or not.

Future You will be waiting for you.

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you love this little Future You exercise. Even my husband likes it, and he’s a hard-core logical guy…

Love Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff! And a favour, please!

Hope is the thing with feathers…

Hi, my friends.

I know so many of you are American, and the events of this past week are horrific. I keep imagining a circle of mothers standing with other mothers from around the globe, protecting children. I know, too, that thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. Please know that we’re here taking deep, slow breaths with you. 💔

Emily Dickinson, beloved American poet, wrote this line: “I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.”

It sounds dramatic and metaphorical, but in real life she was writing a funny letter about moving and losing some of her possessions.

Still, what a brilliant line.

I often feel like Emily, as if I need a lantern to go out into the world and look for myself.

I keep changing over the years, reinventing myself and growing. I know you do, too.

  • Have you ever imagined introducing 16-Year-Old-You to your Present Self?

  • Do you remember yourself as you walked into the first day on your first job? (Mine was in a shoe store, and I was fifteen.)

  • What would the conversation be like if Pandemic You had tea and chatted with you right now?

We change.

And yet, as wise women we continue to grab lanterns and look for ourselves.

At the end of my life, which I hope won’t come for decades yet, I want to be a person who always looked for joy. For growth.

My promise to myself this year, at 56, is to gain skills in all the little things:

  • I want to learn how to bake croissants.

  • I want to make a painting that’s beautiful. (Hard for me!)

  • I want to learn an instrument. (Gah! Scared of this one!)

  • I want to dance and sing more. Plan a family holiday. Write another book. Make a friend from one of my unexpected, unusual, new pursuits: a new dancing friend?

We have this beautiful day, and it’s good to have simple dreams.

What are yours? What do you love? Who do you want to become?

It’s all waiting for you, with your very next YES.

Enjoy your Sunday. Sending my love all around the world. I cannot stop thinking of those little American faces, and I hope you and your loved ones find peace.

Love Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff…

It's Always Best To Say...

Hi friends! Happy weekend!

You guys know I love to dance, right? I come from a family of kitchen-dancers. My Dad was an excellent dancer and so is my mum; we were all twirled and two-stepped around the kitchen dance floor as kids and all six of us (only five now…) have the moves. We can two-step anywhere, to anything!

Recently I started line dancing, which is so much fun. But midweek I noticed in-person Zumba was back on at my local community centre.

I wanted to go! And yet, I was a little scared to go. Did I really want to try a new class in the morning, and sweat and not know anyone and mess up all the steps?

But then I was chatting with my sis-in-law and she reminded me of this important truth:

I went.

Did I love the class? No, not really. It surprised me that I didn’t love it. The music was Egyptian-bellydance-techno-pop and the songs went on for an eternity. In the end, I decided I probably wouldn’t go back.

But now I know.

Seems incredibly simple, but is there something you can say YES to this week?

You might find you love it. It may open a door for you.

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you snuggle up, or get out there and SHINE.

Love Catherine x

  • Oh! Read this twelve-part story on @humansofny if you believe listening and speaking can change the lives of underserved kids. Way back when I was a teacher, I was a debating coach! Debating programmes in schools have the power to change a country.

  • For our rainy Sydney day—the most beautiful, evocative poem!

  • Is it always you who sighs and gets out the vacuum cleaner? Me too. But I finally got a robot-vacuum. I’m such a huge fan of this one—great price and quiet! Thin enough to fit under furniture. Even the dog likes it. Every morning I run around the house thinking, “Someone is vacuuming and it’s NOT ME.” Brilliant. It picks up everything.

You Need This Recipe

Hi friends, and hello if you’re new to Love Our Age.

Every Sunday, I try to provide you with some simple life hacks and share the (real life) things I’ve been loving, whether that’s a favourite poem, a new sweater, an interesting article, a book I’ve written or a way of looking at the world. Thank you for being here! I appreciate you!

This week, I’m sharing my humble, easy zucchini recipe that everyone needs.

Why?

  • Because you can cut it in tiny squares and serve it as an appetiser at a party.

  • Because you can whip it up for a girlfriend lunch very quickly.

  • Because it’s inexpensive and yum!

  • Because it makes an excellent lunchbox option for kids who are tired of sandwiches.

But mainly I’m sharing because of this: EVERYONE (and I mean everyone) I’ve ever known has asked me for this recipe once they’ve tried it.

Now I can tell people to search LoveOurAge/zucchini for the recipe. And when you’re asked (which you will be), you can, too. Easier all around! 😊❤️

Let’s go!

Zucchini Slice

  • 3 large zucchini, grated

  • 1 cup self-raising flour

  • 1 cup grated cheddar

  • bacon or ham (around 3/4 cup chopped or more)

  • 1 large onion, chopped finely

  • 5 eggs

  • 1/2 cup oil (I use olive)

  • salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Line a 9x13 tin with baking paper.

  1. Saute the bacon and the onion. Important! Don’t skip this step!

  2. Grate the zucchini and cheddar.

  3. Mix the flour and salt and pepper through the zucchini cheddar.

  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and salt and pepper.

  5. Finally, mix everything together. Pop in the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Done!

I know this is a recipe for people who eat all the things (meat, eggs, dairy, gluten). Maybe you could have a play with adapting it for the people you love?? I promise, it would be worth it.

It even looks lovely and healthy unbaked, right?

Oh, I’d planned to take a pretty photo of a slice on a plate, but then my son’s girlfriend (who loves to work out and eat, bless her!) walked into the kitchen and had some for dinner, and then my husband and I were starving after our workout, so we ate the rest. The same will happen in your house if you leave this Zucchini Slice on the bench top.

I didn’t even bother making a salad because half of this is baked zucchini.

Try it for a party, cut into tiny squares and served warm. Very easy and low-cost, too.

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you enjoy yourself today!

Love Catherine x

PS. The Fun Stuff!

  • Write your way through the The 10 Minute Fix Journal! Over 200 pages of goodness: a quick overview of 100 “fixes” from The 10 Minute Fix book, with 200 unique writing prompts and 100 practical affirmations. 6x9 inches, lined cream paper.

  • You can find it here in Australia and Canada (paperback), and hardcover and paperback in America and the UK . Thank you for your beautiful support — and please spread the word!

3 quick ways to celebrate anything...

Hi everyone!

May is always a beautiful month. For me, it’s my birthday followed quickly the next weekend by cards from our two sons, some kind of special breakfast, a bit of a celebration at home—which I love.

So today, in honour finding fun, I’m sharing my favourite ways to celebrate at home.

It may be an unpopular view, but I love celebrating in my own home. Why? To me, restaurants are impersonal and even a little fussy. I love to be able to start in heels and switch to comfy shoes, climb into bed when the party’s done, or get on my pjs and continue into the night chatting and curled on the sofa with a cup of tea.

Have you ever tried these ideas?

  1. Afternoon tea with girlfriends: iron a tablecloth, set out your prettiest china, clip some greenery from your garden or use grocery store blooms and light some candles. Make scones, add jam and cream and cups of tea. Bake a cake or make finger sandwiches and cut off the crusts. Your girlfriends will love being in your home.

  2. Easy family celebration dinner: you already know what you and yours love best. Just make the same thing every time you celebrate. For our special family dinners, it’s a starter of crab cakes followed by steak on the barbecue (I have a house of BOYS!) plus salmon for me, a delicious green salad with everything in it (think feta, toasted pepitas, tomato etc), and a classic chocolate cake for dessert. My boys also love the blackberry and plum cake pictured above. Recipe here!

  3. The simplest girlfriend lunch: grab a platter and arrange some salad leaves on one end. Add burrata, sliced tomato, maybe some roasted and cooled carrots on a smear of hummus, or roasted asparagus, a few slices of protein—smoked salmon, ham from the deli, salami. Place the platter in the centre of the table with large serving spoons and done. It’s pretty, easy, you can use what you have and (let’s face it-haha!) the two of you are only really there to talk, anyway! You can buy dessert or open a box of chocolates with your coffee, but I always opt for quick and hot apple turnovers—recipe below! You can pop them in the oven while you eat lunch.

I’m a fan of celebrating everything, especially with the people closest to me—family and girlfriends. And why not?

If not now, when?

What exactly are we waiting for?

To be more perfect? To be more ready? To be less busy? (Meanwhile, the days and weeks and years slide by…)

The truth is that none of us expect perfection in anyone else’s home; we just want to be invited, to be welcomed in, and to feel loved.

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you’re inspired to try a little celebrating of your own.

Love, Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!

  • To all the women who mother (that’s everyone!), I hope you enjoy today.

  • Easy apple turnovers: buy puff pastry sheets (Aldi brand is best!). I use this recipe!

  • Did you love The 10 Minute Fix? The 10 Minute Fix Journal is out now. Over 200 pages of goodness: a quick overview of 100 “fixes” from The 10 Minute Fix book, with 200 unique writing prompts and 100 practical affirmations. 6x9 inches, lined cream paper.

  • You can find it here in Australia and Canada (paperback), and hardcover in America and the UK (paperback coming soon).

  • Thank you for spreading the word! xo I appreciate YOU.

Do you know who really needs you?

Hi friends (and new friends). This morning I’m writing from sunny, autumnal Sydney. So many of you are rushing into spring, and the other half are cozying up like I am, getting ready for winter.

Last night I danced the night away, celebrating a special birthday with a beautiful friend. Tomorrow I turn 56. I post a yearly selfie here in my Love Our Age blog, documenting myself growing older and wiser. But like I wrote in The 10 Minute Fix, I may be 50+ but I feel 35 in my head. My soon-to-be 90 year old mum, the “original” Catherine Greer, says the same thing.

Both of us love to chase joy. It keeps us young at heart.

Still, for me, 55 was a year that surprised me with its challenges. I thought it would turn out differently than it did, and instead I struggled.

So today, in honour of turning 56, I thought I’d share this secret. It’s the #1 thing to do when we struggle or fail.

Keep going ANYWAY. (You won’t feel like it.)

Do the next right thing. (You probably won’t want to.)

Why keep going? The reason is not so you become resilient. The real reason is this.

Because your future needs you. Your past doesn’t.

Your Future Self needs you to stand strong and keep walking. She does. If you’ve hit a bump lately, maybe try thinking about your Future Self.

She’s waiting out there for you—a year older, a year into the future—and she needs you to do the courageous thing and keep going. A year from now, she’ll thank you for it.

Our age is such a gift: every year, we grow smarter and faster at knowing what’s important and true. Your Future Self needs you. Your future does, too. But your past doesn’t.

I hope you enjoy your beautiful weekend! Mine will involve birthday cake, which is always, always a treat.

Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!



It's Time To Finally Tell You...

Hi friends, and hello to all the new people this week! I have an exciting announcement!

But first…time for a quick intro (and photo!) in case you’ve forgotten what you’ve signed up for. I’m Catherine Greer, author, and this weekly newsletter is Love Our Age, my little corner of the internet where I spread joy. I’m Canadian-Australian, and we live in Australia with two young adult sons and the cutest little pup. You’ll hear from me every Sunday (Saturday overseas) with useful tips and fun suggestions.

Today I’ve sharing some quick wisdom and a fun surprise. Let’s go!

There’s one little word that’s magic. It can activate us to:

  • try something new.

  • make a change.

  • believe again.

  • stop anxiety.

  • have a fresh start.

We can use it anytime. It’s this.

You’ve probably done a lot in your life: some things were easy, and some were hard. I have, too.

We’re all facing things now—some you share with others, but a lot you don’t. Some things we hold inside, the worries and the fears, and struggle to move forward.

From time to time, we can struggle to believe in ourselves.

That’s where a little word like “maybe” can move mountains. It opens up space and shifts our attention to what is possible, not the blocker that’s right in front of us.

Give it a try today and see what happens.

Love, Catherine x

PS. Yay! You’re the first to know…

  • The 10 Minute Fix Journal is out now!

    • Over 200 pages of goodness: a quick overview of 100 “fixes” from The 10 Minute Fix book, with 200 unique writing prompts, and 100 practical affirmations.

    • 6x9 inches, lined cream paper, with unique questions and guided writing prompts.

    • Find it here in Australia and Canada (paperback), and hardcover in America and the UK (paperback coming soon).

A simple tip to help with worry...

Happy Easter weekend, beautiful friends!

I hope you’re enjoying the extended break like I am. The sun is shining in Sydney, the Easter baskets are filled, my family is sleeping in and I’m here, laptop on knees, ready to bring you a little joy.

Thank you for being here on your weekend.

I appreciate you…and I hope these thoughts make you breathe a little easier, especially if you’re facing some worries today.

Here’s a beautiful reminder from Corrie Ten Boom.

Truth is, I was up in the night worrying. Twice. For at least two hours in total. So here’s what I do now, and it might be helpful for you.

I’ve downloaded Insight Timer on my phone (a free app - search in the App Store) and when I can’t sleep, I listen to this Sleep Meditation by Bethany Auriel-Hagen. It’s long enough that I usually fall back asleep part way through.

For me, if I can get out of my own thoughts and worry-loop by listening to someone else talk, I can usually fall asleep.

Like Corrie wrote, we only have enough strength for today—not two days.

Enjoy your Easter weekend. I hope you have a beautiful time loving all the people you’ve been given to love.

See you next Sunday,

Catherine xx

PS. The fun stuff!

  • I made this cheesecake. It’s sooooo easy. Ready?

  • Make your favourite no bake pie crust. (I used 2 cups almond flour, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup melted butter. You could use graham cracker crumbs, etc.) Press it in a pie plate.

  • Soften (important!) and whip until fluffy 2 (large) packages of cream cheese + 1 cup white sugar. (I use the sugar substitute below. This one is GREAT with a 1:1 ratio…not all are as good!) Pour into the crust and bake for 20 minutes at 180C / 350F.

  • Mix 1 cup sour cream with 2 Tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Pour on top of hot cheesecake and bake for another 10 minutes.

  • Let cool. I sprinkled with dried edible flowers.

More fun stuff—had a beautiful conversation with the Lead Your Day podcast. The topic? How to love our age. Link is here if you want to listen in…

Happy Sunday & Fun Things!

Hi friends. How are you?

I’m currently getting over a cold, which is a minor inconvenience compared to all the people I know who’ve caught Covid recently. A beautiful friend dropped off chicken soup, and I’m on the mend now. When she showed up at my door at 7:30am, I was in my new Target pjs (link below — you’ll love them!) and I remembered to say, “I appreciate you!”

We’re so lucky to have friends, aren’t we? To have a friend and to be a good friend—both are blessings in this upside-down world right now.

If it’s time for you to rest today, please take a moment to do that.

I hope you take good care of you this weekend. Sending you lots of love from Sydney!

Catherine xx

PS. The fun stuff!

  • Honey Harissa Carrots on Whipped Feta — yum. Recipe here.

2 Quick Relationship Tips That Really Work

Hi everyone!

I’m away on a weekend getaway in country New South Wales with my favourite guy…yay! I hope you have something wonderful lined up in your world.

Are you ready for Two Helpful Tips to smooth out all your relationships?

Let’s do it.

  1. From Small Steps Are Perfect: Don’t Ask “Why didn’t you…?”

2. Remember that most people (most of the time) need a little more love.

I hope you enjoy your weekend. Mine will involve coffee, rainy walks and watching someone I love compete in a race.

Love, Catherine x

PS. I have an exciting announcement coming soon!! Stay tuned.

No grit, no pearl...

Hi everyone, happy Sunday, and hello to all the new people today!

We have a busy day ahead—lots of housework and garage-cleaning and book revisions and yep, weights to lift—so I’m dropping in quickly with something that stopped me in my tracks this week. Maybe it’ll help you, too.

As much as I would love to grow in times of good luck, blessings, prosperity and fun, I normally grow when my butt’s been kicked by the world with a big old failure and a whole lot of “No”.

Wish you were here so I could ask you…is it the same for you?

I grow under pressure. It’s the same with our fitness and bodies as it is with the rest of our lives. The blister lets us know the shoes don’t fit; the “no” forces us to keep looking for the next yes; lifting the weights makes us stronger.

Remember this old saying?

While my wish for you—for everyone—is safety and health and success exactly how you want it, the truth is probably that we need more grit, not less.

Our grit helps us grow…and grit doesn’t just mean our determination; it’s also irritation, failure, blocked doorways, a twistier (sometimes harder) path than we’d hoped for.

I’m trying to be grateful for the grit in my life right now.

I’m trying to grow from it, to learn what I need to learn, and to keep walking forward anyway, even when life isn’t easy (or lucky or fast).

I hope you are, too. I hope your grit is making you the most beautiful, the biggest, the most lustrous pearl.

Thinking of you today; wish you were here in rainy Sydney, Australia.

Love, Catherine x

PS. The FUN STUFF…