We ended up relocating (as many of you will know), so this wasn’t a small move for us We decided to relocate back to Derbyshire, where I personally grew up in the countryside! In this decision, we also chose to buy an older property, where it needed a lot of work. We felt this was a better option to a newer property, having weighed up the benefits for nature. It did mean that we were in for the long run & some very late nights however! We’ve been lucky in part, where we’ve managed to save money by uncovering wooden floors under old carpet. We live very minimally, so once the work has been done, we aren’t big tech folk, so we have lots of house plants & upcycled bits & bobs.

I said last year that 2020 was the year for vision & it certainly gave us that. Chaos, destruction & grief all in 12 months. Helping us to see how fragile our world is & how delicate our lives depend on the rest of the world. 

The appreciation of nature grew & we all enjoyed the outdoors more than we ever realised. Yearning for a freedom, that for some (including us) is still not in clear sight. 

If I have one wish for 2021, its that we now all start taking action. We’ve moved on so much over the last few years, with more & more people becoming aware of their impact & changing their lifestyle for the future of our planet. 

It is within us to change & we hold the power to do so, for our future, for our planet, for our children, for nature. 

This week Sir David Attenborough signed up to Instagram for the first time to help spread his environmental message.

“I am making this move… because, as we all know, the world is in trouble,” he said in his first video message on the social media platform.

“Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying… The list goes on and on,” he continued.

Within an hour of his first post, he had more than 200,000 followers, and by 16:15 BST he had 1.2m followers!! Let’s hope more people start listening now

“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge,” the veteran broadcaster said.

How to get a better night’s sleep. Do you suffer from sleeping problems or suffer with anxiety late at night. Try these techniques to support. The bedroom should be for sleeping & intimacy, so try turning your phone off, keep it away from your bedside & cut down on the box sets late into the night. The emails can wait, and you really can do without binging, for one night!

This year, we partnered with World Land Trust (WLT) as our chosen charity partner

World Land Trust (WLT) is an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats acre by acre.

Through a network of partner organisations around the world, WLT funds the creation of reserves and provides permanent protection for habitats and wildlife. Partnerships are developed with established and highly respected local organisations who engage support and commitment among the local community.

Clean Beauty is the new Natural Beauty. What is your current facial routine? Is it working? Do you really know what are in your products? I’ve always stood by natural beauty. That’s not to say others cant enjoy the art of makeup, but I didn’t really ever learn to apply it & therefore tend to only wear a bit at times to accentuate my eyes when I go out. The rest of the time, I like to let nature run its course. Good or bad, it’s always been an easy decision for me & it hasn’t held me back at all.

Who knew that 2020 would play up to it’s name, & give people the chance for a clearer vision?

Understanding the confusion, devestation & interuption Covid has brought us all, has anyone else felt as though they’ve needed less and reflected more on what is most important to them right now?

We’ve seen a few friends & family reconsider what’s important. Do they really need new clothes, holidays or material objects.

So what is stopping people from choosing a more conscious lifestyle?

What is unsurprising is that in time of crisis, it really brings out the good & bad of humans. Who would have thought, that it had to come to this for everyone to build a community, for us to appreciate the NHS & for us to connect with our family on a daily basis?

In the modern world, awareness is helpful, but when social media rules our lives now & not all information is factual or honest, how can we know what to do for the best as consumers?
I thought I’d start by sharing some of the things that we’ve done, both personally myself (& as a family) to reduce our carbon footprint, work our way towards a simpler life and help the planet.

The first thing to note is that Appletree & Avalon is not a market place.
We don’t want to be, nor will we become a vast line list of products converting shoppers from commodity plastic items, simply to more trend led ‘eco-friendly’ options.
We are an online only independent, passionate about nature, the climate & our planet.

I’ve always been aware of how I see the world. I have felt at times as though I see it differently from most. A true believer that there really is beauty in everything. The good, the bad & the ugly!

They say, Christmas is the time for giving. It’s also the time to reflect & enjoy the little things. It’s the one time of year, you can try to truly relax, put your feet up and enjoy your loved ones (for 5 minutes, at least!)

The world has declared a climate emergency! At least, we know that everyone has recognised that there’s a problem, right?

On some level, I do believe that everyone is aware of this. Whether you choose to believe in the science, support campaigners like Greta Thunberg, or have been unfortunate enough to have witnessed it or been a part of it
Everyone has seen the recent events in the media.

Now, don’t get us wrong, no one is cringing more than us with what we’re about to say & we’re certainly not suggesting that we head back to the ‘dark ages’, but we have come to the conclusion that some of the ways in which we were taught to do things growing up, may just be helpful in the future.
Technology has come a long way over the last 100 years and its helped us develop phenomenally. However, we don’t seem to have grasped that it’s also made us slightly lazier and introvert at the same time.

Well, it’s our view at least, that the fact that we’re even talking about it, is a great first step!! We boldly believe that it is about informed choice. However, a lot of focus in the media seems to be fixated on debating whether climate change is real or not and not tackling the true