Treat Time: The interview with Grace Hall
Treat Time is back, because we could all do with a little something extra lovely from time to time. It’s good for you, right? Even if it’s naughty but nice. We’re also linking up with Work from Home Wisdom, so remember to drop by there too for some top tips about home office happiness.
This week we’re delighted to announce that our interviewee will be the one and only Grace Hall from the Eats Amazing blog. Her delightfully creative and healthy bento-style packed lunches that she makes for her son have been making us smile here for a while, and she’s also gone into business with a beautiful online shop selling hard-to-find bento box supplies. Follow her on Twitter (@EatsAmazing) for some really fun pictures and other tweets every day.
Now, let’s go over to Grace for Treat Time:
1. Iris Murdoch once wrote: ‘One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can be inexpensive and quickly procured so much the better’. How do treats improve your own everyday life, and the lives of your family? Do you have any special memories of treats?
We have a ‘treat box’ in our house, which holds the stash of chocolate and sweets that we seem to amass every Christmas and Easter. It’s great to have it there to dive into when we feel the need – a little treat here and there goes a long way towards keeping everyone in the family cheerful! Growing up, I remember that my Mum often used to buy us a Curly Wurly (chocolate bar) on her way home from work – to this day I can’t see a Curly Wurly without feeling nostalgic for my happy childhood! I am a great believer in the saying ‘everything in moderation’ – if you try to live a balanced life with healthy food and plenty of exercise (a work in progress for me!), then the occasional little treat does no harm at all.
2. As a busy parent and business owner, how do you manage to make time to treat yourself? How often are you able to schedule something nice in?
At the moment I rarely feel I have any time to myself – with a fledgling small business, a non-stop chatterbox of a 6 year old and a small baby in the house I have my hands full! It means that the little things that I used to take for granted have become real treats to me – a soak in a hot bath without a small creature peering at me, a chocolate bar eaten all to myself without having to share, 10 minutes of silence to concentrate on a good book, these are my treasured ‘me time’ moments!
3. If you had £10 or less to purchase a little treat just for yourself, what would it be? Where would you buy it, and why?
I have a real weakness for chocolate eclairs, so a stop in a nice tea-shop to enjoy one with a cup of earl grey tea would be an ideal little treat for me. Alternatively, I can always find new some new bento gear to buy for myself – I currently have my eye on some cute alphabet cutters that I’ve seen in a gorgeous local kitchen shop, they are next on my ‘want’ list. As you can probably tell, treats for me usually involve food in some way!
4. One woman’s treat might be another’s torture – is there anything that other people enjoy that you would do anything to avoid?
My mum seems to take great pleasure in eating olives – a bowl of good quality olives is a real treat to her. Personally though I’d do anything to avoid having to eat them, I just don’t understand the appeal. I also don’t like drinking wine – shocking, I know, but I have never enjoyed the taste!
5. What would your ultimate treat be if you had unlimited resources, time or funds?
It would have to be a holiday, with plenty of sun, sea and sand. Preferably in a secluded location where I could enjoy the peace and silence! If I was feeling a bit more energetic, I’d take a trip around America to meet some of the wonderful bento blogging friends that I have ‘met’ online these last few years. Blogging has opened up a whole new world to me and I would love to meet some of the friends that I have made through my blog in the flesh.
Has Grace inspired you to pick up a few new or nostalgic foodie treats? The kettle immediately went on at Golightly Gardens and a pot of Earl Grey tea was duly brewed!
[box type=”alert” style=”rounded” border=”full” icon=”none”]Don’t forget to visit Work from Home Wisdom too, where it’s Summer #GardenOfficeWeek. Kick back and relax in the ultimate treat of a sunny garden office as the birds sing and the light filters through the blinds…
*Come back and join both of us next week for another Thursday Treat Time!*[/box]
