Hello and welcome!

I’m Francesca and I am the author/owner of a different everyday life. I live what you’d call an ordinary life and I love it! I didn’t settle for it. I chose it. And I want to show you how to find your happiness too.

I believe happiness and meaning can be found in the smallest moments in life and we’re so busy doing, chasing, and striving, that we can miss them.

We can skim across the surface of life without ever noticing the depth to life. And that’s where the good stuff is!

Travelling and adventure is one way we can push ourselves off the treadmill and outside of our comfort zone to get a glimpse of this, but we can also find this depth when we slow down and take time to look around us and enjoy the absolute beauty of any given moment.

But sometimes when we slow down, it can be a bit frightening what we see. Is your life the way you imagined it would be? Or did you wake up one day and wonder how you ended up here? Do you remember making the decisions along the way that lead here?

Or maybe you’ve been busy setting goals and crushing them (go you!), only to find they didn’t bring you the happiness you were hoping for?

Modern marketing is doing such a great job telling us what sort of life we should strive for, that we’ve forgotten the kind of life that brings joy. An epic, action-packed life is not the only way. And by all means, if you love it, then that’s ok. But if some days you can’t hear yourself think, then maybe you need to  s l o w  i t  d o w n.

And start living with a bit more intention.

I’m not really a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that having a lot going on in our everyday lives can be overwhelming and put us in a state of “just get through the day” rather than enjoying, breathing and loving. And I know which state I’d rather be in.

A little about me

I grew up in a small city in New Zealand that, as a teenager, I couldn’t wait to move away from. I moved north as soon as I could and spent my early career years in the Navy. I noticed almost immediately that there were quite a few people around me that were unhappy, but “staying for the money”. I vowed to not be one of them. I enjoyed it in the beginning, but five years in, once I had commissioned to an officer rank and been awarded a university scholarship, I realised that if I had to list my reasons to stay –the top three would be money related. It was time for me to leave.

I continued studying, paying my own way, and even studied in Italy for a few months. I was home sick and couldn’t wait to get back to my small city that earlier I couldn’t wait to leave.

When I came home I started to truly fall head over heels with this place. I loved the view out to the hills, looking down onto the sparkling city lights at night and the five minute drive to work. And the five minute drive to my parents. Everything is close and I love it.

Finding happiness

And then I married 🙂 and had kiddies 🙂 and oh my, I fell even deeper in love! As my life became more and more ordinary, I became more and more happy. I noticed the little things that bothered other people were caused by them trying to juggle too many balls and it inspired me to throw another ball away.

Instead of feeling frantic, I felt still and content.

Instead of searching for meaning, it crept into my everyday life.

Brewing the morning coffee, morning cuddles with my two cats (who are the only ones that will get up early with me!), and goodbye kisses at the school gate. The secret to my happiness wasn’t that I got to do these things, it was that I got to do these things without being stressed out.

Yes it’s ordinary, yes it’s common, but guess what? This is what life is. This is the beautiful treasure we have been blessed with. And somewhere along the way, someone started saying it wasn’t enough. We had to live epic, wild lives, filled with adventures and achievements. It was only good enough if it was insta-worthy. And we had to do it all before we turned 30! We had to buy houses and cars that we couldn’t afford, rack up debt we had no hope of paying off and smile for the camera. Even if we’re not happy.

It’s exhausting! And the ironic bit is that we are so busy doing all of this, we haven’t had a chance to stop and think. What actually makes me happy? What does my best life actually look like? And how do I get it?

Well, my friend. That’s where I can help you. Sit down, pour a cuppa and take a stroll through my blog. Find out how to remember the things that bring you happiness and craft an intentional life!