Welcome back to the Hearth and Soul Link Party for the first week in September! The idea of September being the new January, a clean slate where we can start fresh, has always resonated with me. However it has never been more the case than this year, the strangest year I have ever known. I crave a clean slate in this most different of Septembers and I’m excited to make a fresh start, however daunting it may be!
The Hearth and Soul Link Party welcomes blog posts about anything that feeds the soul. Things that feed the soul may include (but are not limited to) recipes, decorating, crafts, family, home, DIY, organization, travel, book reviews, the arts and self improvement.
NB. Please only share blog posts. Unfortunately links to Facebook posts etc will be deleted.
What’s New?
My husband and I had a lovely overnight break at a historic hotel in the New Forest as well as wonderful visit with our son and his partner in Cambridgeshire recently. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a few of our adventures, and I’m looking forward to sharing more on the blog soon. We’ve got an overnight stay planned at another luxurious historic hotel coming up soon. These mini adventures are helping to assuage our wanderlust just a little until we feel ready to start travelling further afield.
Have you started travelling at all again?
On the blog this week I shared 5 Places I Can’t Wait To Visit Again when it feels a bit safer. This is also a hot topic on my Facebook page, so please do pop over and weigh in on where you can’t wait to visit once again.
Just in time for back to school (whether in real life or online), I’m sharing a delicious cookie recipe that you can make ahead and keep on hand.
My Peanut Butter and Honey Cookies are a slice and bake recipe the whole family will enjoy. (If nuts are a no go at your house, try my Chocolate Chip Slice and Bake Cookies instead 😀)
I may be in the minority in our family, but I’m really looking forward to the fall now. Is it too early for pumpkin? I really hope not!
My friend Heather shared this Easy Pumpkin Cake recipe with me a few years ago and it’s been a firm favourite every fall since.
Thank you all for your support of Hearth and Soul, and for sharing your blog posts!
A Clean Slate Featured Posts
Clean Slate featured posts – from top left, clockwise:-
If you love to crochet, check out this free crochet pattern for a Lightweight Veronica Infinity Scarf from Alexandra of EyeLoveKnots. I’ve always wanted to learn to crochet, and this lovely scarf would be a great project to start with!
I’m already thinking about fall decorations to help with the feeling of a clean slate, and I love the idea of Making a Faux Pumpkin Centrepiece like this pretty one from Joanne at Slices of Life.
Is fall is a fresh start for you in terms of healthy eating resolutions? Then you will love this Ruby Tuesday Mashed Cauliflower Recipe from Michele and Meagen at Cook Clean then Repeat.
If you are a parent or grandparent, these 18 Tips To Actually Be On Time With Kids from Marielle of Lovin’ Life with Littles with definitely come in handy! (Many of Marielle’s tips are actually really good all round tips for those of us who feel like we are always running behind.)
On with this week’s link up!
The Hearth and Soul Link Party
- Please do not link to anything except blog posts. Please share the permalink to your blog post, and not to the home page of your blog.
- Linking your blog posts here means you consent to me sharing as many of them as I can on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook and featuring them on my blog with photographs from the post. It’s easier for me to share if you have share buttons on your blog, and if you put links to your social media on your home page.
- It really helps when you share the party on social media using the buttons at the top and bottom of this blog post or provide a link back to AprilJHarris.com, but there is no obligation to do so.
I look forward to your blog posts. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Comments & Reviews
I’m glad you and your husband were able to have a little getaway- and visit your son and his partner!
Given that America has little to no control over Covid-19, traveling is not in our future. Instead we are adding a semi-in ground hot tub to the backyard. Apparently everyone had the same idea, because there is a 4-5 month backlog. It will be winter before it arrives, but luckily our winter temperature are usually pretty agreeable so we will still get to enjoy it most days.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Thank you, Michelle. And what a good idea! If travel is not possible or comfortable, why not make improvements to your home so you can enjoy it even more? I’m sorry you have to wait so long, but I’m glad that you will be able to enjoy your lovely new hot tub in future! That’s really great that you have temperate winters so you can enjoy it when it arrives.
I’d love to return to Bermuda one day although I admit that it will be hard returning to places where my husband and I used to vacation. My exposure to Ontario was so limited as I was only there near Toronto for a gluten-free conference for a few days so I’d definitely like to go back there. All those other spots on your list would be new ones for me but they’d be wonderful places to visit, although I would probably prefer the less populated areas of HI. Thinking about any travel right now still seems tough. So many of my get together and travel plans have been squashed for the foreseeable future.
On to a brighter note … food, as we can still enjoy that–albeit at home mostly. 😉 Yum on pumpkin cake! This week I’ve linked up a glorious roundup of gluten-free peach desserts and a lemon sponge cake recipe. All get me salivating!
Have a good week, April!
Shirley
I’m so sorry, Shirley, I totally understand it will be poignant returning to places where you used to vacation with your husband, and of course travel right now is difficult before you even start. Food is definitely something we can enjoy though, and I look forward to your posts. Your recipes sound delicious!
When my children were in school, our year was always from September to September, funny how I still think that way in many respects. Hope you week is amazing and thanks so much for the awesome new party!
Miz Helen
I always think of the school year as starting in September too, Miz Helen, although I know it can vary now depending on where one lives. I really do like to look on September as a fresh start. I hope you have a wonderful week too!
Good to hear you had a nice time with your staycation. 🙂 We’ve just recently started lockdown part 2, where there’s even more restrictions than before, but I hope your area is doing better and able to go further safely! Thanks for hosting! I brought by some Probiotic Mango Gummies. Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Oh CJ, I’m so sorry to read that. Please do take care. Thank you for visiting and sharing.
Hey, it’s good to be back here once again! And let’s all start September fresh!
Thank you, Michele! And that’s definitely a good idea 🙂
I’m all for starting anew. While we won’t be traveling for some time, I’d love to go just about anywhere!
We’re not really traveling yet. We just enjoyed a staycation with the family that included some picnics, but we mostly stayed home and played games. My oldest took a train here, and though it took longer than plane travel, it was very easy to stay distanced.
Your staycation sounds lovely, Barbara. I think it’s so nice to have time with family like that. I’m glad your trains are not too crowded. They reduced our train schedules here, so I’m told it can get quite busy. (I used to travel into London by train fairly often, but I haven’t been on a train – or into London – since March.)
Hi April
I hesitate to travel as yet, unless it is local and by car. We were supposed to be in Venice in June, so missing that was a heartbreak, but someday we will see it again! In the meantime we purchased a new fire pit and hope to enjoy the fall evenings outside with its warm ambiance. It’s all about creating joy each day the best way one can.
I love pumpkin everything so no, it’s never too early for a slice of pumpkin cake–it looks delicious!
What a shame you missed your trip to Venice in June, Pat, but hopefully you will be able to reschedule when things settle down. I know that is hard to imagine now, but I’m sure they will sooner than we expect. In the meantime, what a lovely fall you will have in your garden with the new fire pit! That sounds so lovely and relaxing. And thank you for the compliment on my pumpkin cake 🙂 Take care and Happy September to you!
I think it’s never too early for Fall or Christmas! Bring on the Pumpkin Bread!
Thank you, Alexandra! I’m definitely ready for some pumpkin 🙂
I love the idea of a clean slate this month. As you mentioned, with this year it’s much needed! Looking forward to checking out your travel post. We love traveling too! Thank you so much for the feature, and I really appreciate you hosting each week. Have a great week!
Thank you, Marielle! Wishing you a great week too!
I loved seeing the beautiful scenery of your trip, April. I took a little mini-adventure of my own last week, and it proved how much I need to do it more often!
Thank you, Lisa! I’m so glad you were able to get away as well!
Hi April! It is interesting how the worries over Covid and every other dystopian care seems to pale after the loss of my granddaughter. We have come to see what is truly important in our lives. One of our biggest comforts was that all of our family was here to give each other comfort. Some traveled from CA and others from WY. We have all stayed healthy thankfully and we are filled with gratitude for the time we had together, especially those days with Baby Élodie. It does feel like those few days together were the perfect time for a fresh start. We all took a drive up to a mountain creek where we swam and picnicked and pretended life was normal again. Thank you so much for your kind message on the post I shared before. Today I have shared the post that contains my daughter’s story in her own words and an article that discusses ways to overcome grief and sorrow. We are on the way back to joy and happiness.
Oh my goodness, Helen, I can definitely imagine what you mean. Such a profound loss must have shaken you all to the very core, and I am so glad you were all able to be together safely. I’m so sorry for your family’s loss. Thank you to you and your daughter for sharing these posts and your experience. I know it can help so many others when you are able to open your hearts and share like this. Sending love to you all.
Thank you so much for featuring my pumpkin centerpiece! I’ve been working on two other fall crafts this week as well.
It’s a pleasure, Joanne! Fall is such a lovely time to be creative!
As a retired teacher, I relate to feeling like September is the beginning of the year! We are still sheltering in – our biggest excursions have been a day at the beach which is an hours drive. We are grateful that we took a month long trip the May prior to Covid and traveled by cruise all over Portugal, Spain, Morocco and then 2 weeks on land in Israel. We have great memories and not sure when we will travel again –
I am so glad you got to the beach, Judee! I think being near the water (ocean or lakes) is so restorative. It’s so good you were able to get your trip in before Covid. Your cruise sounds amazing and I do love visiting Israel. It’s a truly amazing place for scenery, history and food!
Thanks April for hosting. So many interesting posts and pin worthy material. My share this week is Positive Quotes to inspire Us and How to Make Scrumptious Hummus, a Recipe Roundup. Hope your readers and fellow bloggers will check them out. I’m interested in feedback and would appreciate social shares.
Your posts sound really interesting, Nancy, not least of all because I love positivity and hummus too! I do visit and share as many posts as I can – sometimes it is hard to comment on them all but I do my best 🙂 Take care and have a lovely week!
So many goodlies!
There sure are, Lauren! Thank you for visiting and sharing 🙂
April, yes! September is MY new year, fresh start, etc, as well. Thank you for hosting. My post today is for all those people who have more fresh tomatoes than they can use, but not so many as to tempt them to drag out all the canning equipment. Oven-Roasted Tomatoes for the Freezer.
Oh I love the idea of oven roasted tomatoes, Jean! I didn’t realise you could freeze them. I look forward to visiting your post. Happy September!
Hi April, I can’t tell you how happy I am that Hearth and Soul is still going after 5 yrs! So glad to be blogging again!! We haven’t travelled much this year, other than to see immediate family and to enjoy the cottage. Hoping the start of the school year bring a bit more normalcy to our lives.
Thank you so much for hosting and enjoy the rest of your week!
I’m so excited to see you back, Cindy! I’m excited to visit your blog. Welcome back!
Sorry that I am so late. Haven’t been really traveling as a lot is still closed here. Just the way things are. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
No worries, Patrick. It’s great to ‘see’ you! I hope you are having a wonderful week too.