Spring forward - with celeb tips to make your life that little bit better
Francis Brennan, joint owner of The Lansdowne Hotel, Kenmare, adjusts the bedding in one of the hotel's rooms. Picture: Andy Gibson.
We can learn a lot from others’ lives, especially those who we admire and look up to. We asked those in the know to share tips you should try for a month that has worked for them. From sustainability, writing things down and delicious food to brightening up your spring home, check out these top tips from some of our favourite people and see what positive and interesting tips and changes you might get inspired to include in your daily life.
Francis suggests adding joy to your rooms in February by bringing in spring flowers. As many daffodils and tulips as you can get in the corners of your room.
Also, if the weather is mild, try opening more windows and having a lot more fresh air along with the different colours from your flowers, to get you ready for spring.
Rick suggests taking a step back and thinking about the amount of meat we consume. Rick and his wife have had a goal since the start of the year- to eat less mean.
“It’s partly environmental, partly just increasingly feeling weird about eating animals that run around, to be honest. So far, it’s been brilliant, and we’ve found so many genuinely delicious recipes for all-veggie meals (our veggie chilli is legendary)”, he said.
They still eat fish, but so far in 2022 have been able to avoid eating red meat at home. Rick reveals they occasionally still eat it if they’re out or ordering in, but they are feeling pretty great.” I’ve lost some Covid weight!", he adds.
Muireann says she is a person who needs to write things down. If It’s not written down it will not happen, be attended on time or remembered at all. So, if you’re like Muireann and need to have things on paper, not only in your notes on your phone, but she also suggests going old school.
“I have told people that I need to write things down for years, especially as they laughed at my Melanie Griffith-in-Working Girl-sized-Filofax. They’d then go on to explain to me that a phone has a calendar on it like I was a newborn who has yet to discover their hand is connected to themselves.”
“I was happy with my Melanie Griffith-in-Working Girl-sized-Filofax until I got sick of carrying around a bag that wouldn’t be out of place among the rucksacks of climbers heading to Base Camp on Everest, but I need to write things down so this year, I took a leaf out of my parent’s book and got myself a wall calendar. Old school, if old school wasn’t really that old, just something that has worked for millennia that we like to sneer at because tech has us convinced anything pre-2000 isn’t worth it.”
Now every morning she’s happy when she takes a look at the piece of hard paper hanging on her wall that prevents her from missing birthdays, nights out and smear checks.
James suggests giving slow cooker porridge a go.
“The emperor of Cork Donncha O’Callaghan introduced the world to this method and it’s a treat. The night before, soak your oats in whatever liquid tickles your fancy - I use oat milk. Then in the morning, switch your slow cooker on for an hour (I switched it on high, but Donncha says low - my slow cooker must be a bit shite) but what’s great is there’s no stirring or minding involved, switch it on and do your morning bits, it’s like you’ve a porridge servant in the kitchen; I imagine it’d be ideal for a big family.
“It’ll be the creamiest porridge you’ve ever eaten - it verges on a dessert. An almost Ready Brek consistency. I then top with banana, chia seeds, crushed walnuts and date syrup”, he added.
Jennifer decided to give us a skin tip to try this month.
“When it comes to results-driven skincare, less is more. Keep it simple and don't overload your skin with too many different products…choosing the right ingredients that tend to the needs of your skin should take priority.”
For example, if you choose a serum containing hydrating and pro-ageing actives, your skin may not need an additional product for moisture, just don't forget that SPF is always necessary and should never be excluded from your capsule collection”, she said.
"I'm in my final year of DCU's MSc in Climate Change and I champion accessible climate action that everyone can get involved with on my social media platforms," says Fionnula. Having gone vegan in 2018 and quit fast fashion in 2019, she finds acts of personal responsibility to be empowering catalysts to increased climate action. Her tip is to try clothes buying ban.
“I did this for a month before embarking on my sustainable fashion journey, which I then kicked off with a six-month-long buying ban! It was so interesting to observe all the shopping triggers that went off in my brain when I saw ads or shopfronts visually merchandised to perfection, I love how it reset my consumption habits and now I shop more mindfully which gives me solace.
An added bonus is that you'll save a heap of money! My commitment to sustainable fashion was my 2019 New Year's resolution and it's been such a rewarding journey, sprinkled with secondhand treasures, that I haven't looked back.”
Darina gives us a tip on how to reduce our food waste and re-use ingredients in a way we might not have thought to before.
“Working towards zero waste is like a game for us, we look at everything and think about how we might reuse it. Dry citrus peels make excellent firelighters, loo paper cardboards too.
We also use them to start seedlings and to keep electric flexes from tangling.” Darina suggests whizzing leftover bread into crumbs for stuffing or to add to homemade sausages as they freeze perfectly and can be used straight from the freezer. Leftover scones, croissants and brioche can also make delicious Bread & Butter pudding.
But most importantly she says “to avoid waste, learn or re-learn the skill of judging when food is safe to eat by using your senses, eyes, nose, and taste".
"Use-by dates are always conservative – tons and tons of perfectly good food is wasted every year because we trust the use-by dates rather than our senses.”
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