I’ve written year reviews on my blog for a long time and I’m quite annoyed with myself for skipping it last year, I don’t really know why I did. This year though, it feels like a necessity to have some kind of record of 2020. It was the year that so much happened, but yet so little.

When I was looking through photos for this, there were a few months were we really didn’t do much at all. I’m also a bit annoyed with myself for not documenting more of the unusual moments in the past year - like wearing face masks, home schooling etc. I guess at the time it seemed mundane and un-photogenic, but now it feels like so much of what the last year looked like. Anyway, on to what I did photograph… let’s skip back to January 2020, just before our lives changed so much…

JANUARY

Heju’s gorgeous home which we featured in Volume 9 of 91 Magazine

The year started off quite fun. Myself and photographer Jemma Watts took a day trip over to Paris to shoot a gorgeous home for 91 Magazine. We had a lovely morning shooting the space and afterwards we did a bit of shopping before our train back. (We did run into some slightly scary street protests though, which wasn’t so fun!)

January saw another work-related trip, this time to Margate with my colleague Hannah. We were there on a recce for the 91 Mag event we were planning to run in the summer, which of course had to be cancelled. We had such a great day planned for June, working with these guys above and many others, so hopefully we will be able to reschedule this for 2021!

I also hosted the first of our online workshops in January, which was something I’d had in the pipeline for a while and turned out to be the perfect addition to the business for 2020, considering what was soon to happen. It made up for the absence of the in-person events as we were able to connect with and help lots of small business owners across the world. As well as attendees from all corners of the UK, we also welcomed people from across Europe and the US which was amazing.

FEBRUARY

When I was looking through photos I scrolled past a screenshot I’d taken on the 31st Jan which I guess I must’ve Whats App’ed to my other half - it was a BBC news update saying the first case of coronavirus had been identified in the UK. I guess that was the day it all officially kicked off here for us. It just took the government a bit of time to do anything about it, so February still felt relatively normal. These shots above are from one of the last visits I would make into London for the rest of the year. It honestly feels so strange to think of getting on a busy tube train or bustling round a museum now - something we all took for granted, but would soon give anything to be able to do.

In Feb, we also took our last mini break before the country went into lockdown a few weeks later. I remember at this point we were definitely talking about it more and were wondering what would happen, but we were still very much going about our lives as normal. I remember we stopped off in Bristol on our way home from Wales and met some family for a cosy lunch on a tiny restaurant table and I popped in this mini plant shop - again all things that became impossible to do as time moved on.

One thing I got into doing at home and continued throughout the spring and summer, was propagating plants. I’ve spent a lot of money on plants over the last few years, but finally felt I had enough knowledge to give propagation a go. Although out of these six specimens here, I think only two of them have managed to survive! It’s all a learning curve and I did have more success later in the year!

MARCH

Getting Volume 9 of 91 Magazine out in lockdown

March is when the world was turned upside down. But it wasn’t til towards the end of the month that the UK actually went into a full lockdown, so for some reason we thought we could make a start on our bathroom renovation! We’d had quotes, so we decided to make a start on ripping out the old one. Thankfully, we left the essentials in place, as the bathroom is still looking pretty much like it does in the above photo!

Like so many other parents around the world, we suddenly became teachers for the next few months, which was tricky on one level but interesting on another. We discovered more about our daughter and where her strengths and weaknesses lie, and we had the chance to teach her things that we feel are important that might not necessarily be covered in the curriculum. Of course, the battle was both of us trying to continue with our work minus childcare, and for a while I was terrified that our printers would have to close, and I wouldn’t be able to get the new issue of 91 Magazine printed.

APRIL, MAY & JUNE (Lockdown 1.0)

lots of lockdown walks in the countryside

Thankfully, my printers stayed open and we got 91 off to print on schedule. I didn’t have my usual team help with packing all our pre-orders and subscriptions though, so I had to enlist the help of the immediate family! Another home-schooling lesson - sometimes when you run your own business, you have to do the not-so-fun jobs too!

The rest of our April reads like a huge lockdown cliché! We went on daily walks in our local area, we did lots of crafty things like flower-pressing and of course we got really into jigsaws! We had lunch together in the garden every day and again, like so many others across the country we cracked on with some DIY - painting quite a lot of our uPVC windows and doing a bit of upcycling too!

It’s heartbreaking knowing so many people have had really difficult experiences due to the pandemic, from redundancy to loneliness to losing loved ones. Sometimes it hard to bear the suffering that this horrible virus has brought to so many. This year has definitely made me so grateful for all I have, and I can honestly say I feel different because of it. We were so lucky we were both able to continue working and that we have plenty of space and a garden to enjoy. I don’t think I even experienced any boredom throughout as I can always find something to do between working, home-schooling, housework etc. While it hasn’t been an easy year by any means, I will look back on these months in lockdown with a strange kind of fondness, where we got to spend so much time together as a family, really appreciating and supporting each other in every way we could. I think our daily lunches in the garden all together must be one of my best memories - when do you ever get to do that?! We probably never will again either!

JULY

Gorgeous independent shop Frank in Whitstable

As much as I am happy pottering around at home, July did feel like a breath of fresh air; being able to get out in the world again and do some relatively normal things! We were able to celebrate Ruby’s birthday with a small kids party and my folks were even able to visit from Northern Ireland. Once the school term finished, we started taking little day trips to the coast, visiting Whitstable and Deal, and what wonderful weather we had too. It was so nice to be able to see friends again and we spent an afternoon with some wandering around the lavender fields near us. We also continued with some of the DIY in the house - painting the inside of the patio doors and we tiled underneath the windows to add some colour. We finally got a new dining table too, so this space started to feel much nicer. I still need to paint the struts on the glass ceiling…. a job for 2021!

AUGUST

Camping again - this time in windy Wales!

August was a great month. One of the things we had started to do during the lockdown was grow things from seed. Then in August I built a raised bed in the garden and planted out lots of things we’d grown - basil, tomatoes, chillies, sunflowers, nasturtiums and carrots. The basil & sunflowers did brilliantly, but I think I need a bit more practice with the rest as you’ll see in next month’s pics! I think we sowed the seeds a bit late really.

It was so lovely to be able to take some time away from home, and unbelievably I was finally convinced to give camping a go! We did two trips - one with family and friends in Sussex and one to Wales, just the three of us. I think the photos of Ruby with all her cousins and friends lined up holding hands is one of my favourite photos from this year. They had the best time together even though it was SUPER hot the week we were there! Our trip to Wales was a bit more stormy, but it was still fun and we stopped off in Cheltenham for a night and also managed a trip to Daylesford Organic which is just gorgeous. This is why I love looking back on the year - especially this year - as it is a reminder that there were good times amongst the tougher times, and I’m so happy that the summer months allowed this.

SEPTEMBER

getting the next issue of 91 ready to print

Volume 10 of 91 Magazine - created in lockdown

September certainly brought about a sense of normality as the schools returned, although remember those first couple of weeks when every kid in the country caught a cold and every parent rushed to get them a Covid test and there was barely one to be found?! It was nice to be back in a normal work routine though, and we got the second edition of 91 off to the printers.

Lots was happening in the garden, our sunflowers looked amazing (although some of them of them decided they’d face over the neighbours fence instead of into our garden!) Our carrots were disappointing, but perhaps I just pulled them to early?! Growing things is such a learning curve and I’m looking forward to having another crack at it in 2021.

Ruby desperately wanted a hamster, which I succumbed to. And while I knew I’d be the one who ended up cleaning it’s cage every week, she has actually stayed pretty engaged with it. Even though we’ve had a cat since before she was born, it’s nice for her to have a pet that is hers.

OCTOBER

In early October, I turned 39! I honestly can’t believe I’m nearly 40 sometimes. I’m desperately trying to turn my mindset around for the big birthday next year and be excited about it. So many women have told me their 40s are the best and I’m really trying to look at getting older with a different perspective. If we can, I’d love a nice holiday somewhere to celebrate. (hint, hint!)

At the October half term, we were due to go to Wales and Herefordshire for a few nights, but Wales had just went into another lockdown so that part was cancelled. We did go to Herefordshire and stayed in a cute little cottage and it was so nice to have a change of scenery, even just for two nights. Disappointment and cancelled plans have been a recurring theme this year, but with each one, we did our best to appreciate the reasons and simply make the most of what we could do.

No trick or treating this Halloween (which to be honest, I didn’t mind!) instead we painted pumpkins, make yarn ghosts and made some quite successful cat ears!

NOVEMBER (LOCKDOWN 2.0)

The lack of photos from November is a tell tale sign that we went back into a lockdown this month. Not a lot was happening other than work and school. We did a huge clear out in the house though - we got a couple of Hippo bags - have you ever used them?! Like a skip but a giant bag that you fill and they come and collect. They were great and it was so cathartic to clear lots of stuff from the garden and the house. I spent a day tidying and organising my office too which felt great.

As the month came to a close, there was nothing for it but to start getting festive. We gradually introduce some Christmas decor and even got our tree the last week of November! I’ve always enjoyed the build up to Christmas more than the day itself - making decorations and baking festive treats, watching Christmas movies, and enjoying Christmas outings (usually). For me, it’s all about creating memories and mini traditions, rather than just focusing on this one day and getting presents. I think this really helped me deal with what was coming up in December and reduced the disappointment about the situation.

DECEMBER

As I write this, the country has just found out that the relaxing of Covid rules for Christmas has been scrapped and in our area, we are again pretty much in lockdown for the foreseeable future. It’s been super upsetting for so many who had made plans and I totally get how hard this has been. But for us, what this year has taught us, is to be grateful and at peace with what you have. I’m so thankful of how lucky we are and the fact that we get to spend a cosy little Christmas just the three of us is absolutely fine in our eyes. Of course we’d love to see our family and friends, but when the choice is between waiting a few more months when things are safe again and potentially risking more people’s lives, the decision is easy for us. All you can do is make the most of the situation make it as special as you can, and not constantly look for the negatives that this horrible pandemic has dealt us.

My mind constantly returns to those who have suffered directly at the hands of this virus, either losing a loved one, being left with the debilitating effects of Long Covid, and those who have sacrificed so much to care for those affected. Having a smaller, slower Christmas is a small price to pay. As a family we are totally happy in our little bubble and look forward to the days (hopefully in a few months) when we can embrace our loved ones with no worries and share and create memories with them again. But for now, we are making the most of every moment we get to spend with our daughter, knowing that this too shall pass.

I also had a mini celebration this month after finding out I’ve been shortlisted for Editor of the Year (Homes and Interiors) in the British Society of Magazine Editors awards! This is so exciting for me, as while I’ve won a couple of awards for our blog before, this is the first time the magazine (and me!) have been up for an award. The selection process and final decision is made by peers in the industry which makes it feel even more special, as being recognised by others in the magazine world means SO much. The winner will be announced in February, so I will keep you posted!

As we hurtle towards the end of one of most difficult and strange years in living memory, I am taking stock and considering what this experience has taught us. For sure it has become clear that nature is bigger and more powerful than us. As a species we could be wiped out quite easily and the world would keep on turning, and would probably thrive without us to destroy it. Life is a journey, and we should learn from this year what is truly important. For me, being kind is one of the biggest take-aways. Being kind to our planet and the animals that inhabit it (lets not forget that the exploitation of animals is what got us here). Being kind to our fellow humans and being kind to ourselves is all that really matters. As we enter 2021 and the continuing challenges we face, lets try to support one another, not judge others and simply enjoy the small things that make life worthwhile.

Happy Christmas everyone, wishing you well for the year ahead.

Caroline xxx