Articles – Marbie's Kitchen

On Living with Intention

Michelle Davies — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 16:57:01 +0000

We’ve all heard one phrase or the other around ‘intentions’ – whether that’s setting them or living with them. Somehow we’ve made it very complex and mysterious and I think it’s become far too easy to mystify particular things that really shouldn’t be all that complicated.

Sometimes people do this for personal gain, i.e. the more complex they make it sound, the easier it is for them to make a profit from explaining it to you. On other occasions, people get some form of a high from being gatekeepers around particular topics and areas of life. Sometimes the mysticism surrounding particular topics is actually fuelled by the laziness that we have when it comes to understanding something that we haven’t been familiar with for the bulk of our lives.

I see all of this when it comes to discussing and exploring intentions or living with intentionality. Even in trying to write this blog post I found it so difficult to actually try to explain the crux of it.

Simply put, I’d link it to moving purposefully. Deciding what you want and letting your actions, thoughts and behaviours reflect that. Throughout this post, I’ll make reference to the following:

Setting intentions – deciding what you want for or from something. This will then guide the decisions you make and actions you take.
Questioning intentions – taking the time out to examine existing desires, hopes and approaches you may have towards a particular endeavour or relationship.
Living intentionally – moving or behaving purposefully.
Changing intentions – deciding to pivot from the current desires, hopes and approaches you have towards a particular endeavour or relationship.

What’s the alternative?

The first thing I’d like to say about intentionality is that if you don’t think it’s necessary to incorporate it into the way you live, then I’d ask you to explore what the alternative of that might be. If setting intentions, no matter how frequently you choose to do so, seems like a futile exercise – then what does the alternative look like?

Do we not then end up living by happenstance (which a lot of us are comfortable with) until we experience the rude awakening of failure that we didn’t plan for but at the same time didn’t plan to avoid…?

Even if setting intentions for you is an activity that happens once or twice a year, to me that seems better than not taking the time out to explore what you want in particular areas or aspects of life. You can become really granular with it and choose to set intentions for every single task but I think the main thing to focus on instead is the principle behind it which to me speaks more to moving purposefully through life.

When you move with intention, you aren’t as easily swayed by all of the unexpected forces that come your way – from other peoples opinions, to trends, tragedies, etc

For example, in disagreements with loved ones or when I feel hurt by someone else’s actions, I often ask myself – who do I want to be?
This trumps what the easiest reaction would be and forces me to lean into my intentions around the kind of person I want to become, even beyond the pain I currently feel. The intention I’ve set becomes the fuel as opposed to the emotions I experience.

What does living with intention actually look like?

The second thing I’d like to point out in thinking about it, is that sometimes living with intentionality looks like setting intentions as well as examining your intentions. In particular seasons in scenarios it may just be that you need to question your motives or your desires surrounding particular actions or decisions. This can be done through a quick internal dialogue as opposed to a lengthy process of mapping out what you want over 100 pages of a notebook.

Over the past year I’ve also loved exploring the fact that I have the power to create the life I want. I can move from the space of living like life is happening to me, to making things happen in life. And part of this involves setting intentions.

The analogy I love to give is one I heard Jordan B. Peterson explain where he spoke about how our minds work when it comes to setting goals and intentions. He explained that when you think about or are exposed to a particular car for example, your mind all of a sudden begins to see everyone else that has that same car on the road. These cars were there all along, but now your mind is filtering everything else out as noise and unnecessary information based on the targets set before it.

Intentionality and pivoting

Setting intentions doesn’t mean that you will always get the desired result, simply based on the fact that you can’t always control every variable involved. But what it does mean for me is that even when the arrow misses the intended target, my lessons and insights gained from that venture are seen in light of the desired target that I had in mind.

So simply put setting intentions helps with acquiring specific feedback even in light of failure.

Even if you don’t always have a concrete plan, you can have an intention. Over time, your intention should feed your plans.

Setting intentions allows you to pivot when needed because you aren’t tied to the goal in an irrevocable way but the intention instead. You’re aware you can take an alternate journey to the goal instead.

Always remember, you can:

Set your intention
Question your intentions
Change your intention

Questioning your intentions requires honesty. For example, often with content creation and business goals, I have to ask myself, am I doing it for approval and acceptance or for the betterment of those who experience what I create?
Sometimes we won’t like the answers we might find when we ask the hard questions, but nonetheless we must ask them at least to avoid the chaos that often comes as a result of choosing to bury our heads in the sand instead.

How do I actually do this?

Living with intention will look different from person to person as well as in each season. The main takeaway I want to leave you with is having the mindset and moving purposefully through life. In some circumstances you’ll need to question your intentions and in others you may need to actually set them – decide what you want the outcome to be as opposed to living in happenstance.

Sometimes you may need to journal in order to do this, other times just creating space to look inward without all the extra noise is a part of the process. Especially when it comes to intentions around life decisions that are the norm or expected societally – you may have to question what you really think about it and if you actually desire it or have been told to.

A simple place to start is to be willing to ask yourself “why” often.

If you’d like, you can also create a framework for yourself where you’re able to examine and/or set intentions prior to particular important decisions. Whatever approach you adopt, just ensure you are moving purposefully and allowing that to be reflected in your actions and decision making.

Love,
Marbie

The Gift of Self-Discovery

Michelle Davies — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 11:16:42 +0000

In thinking about self-discovery, much of the work we have to do isn’t creating someone new but instead uncovering who we are beyond the extras “others” have given to us.

Sometimes the “others” include friends, family, society, culture, religion – so many things that intersect to form the identity we have. These aren’t all inherently bad, even though sometimes people try to make it seem so, it’s just that they need to be examined often.

During an Instagram Live as part of my Marbie’s Musings series, I shared on self-discovery and how it’s the gift that keeps on giving. In so many areas of our lives, we can benefit from self-discovery because knowledge of a thing often precedes the action taken.

For example, with a car, you’d need to know if it needs petrol or diesel to function in order to adequately maintain it. Sometimes you even need to know its capacity or strengths – is it a Land Rover best suited to rough & muddy terrains? Or a Ferrari that needs open roads for fast speeds? All of this information then affects what you’re able to do with the car and essentially, how to get the best out of it.

Now make no mistake, self-discovery is a continuous thing. As you grow and evolve, there will always be more to discover about self. I’m not asking you to overwhelm yourself with the task of trying to know everything about yourself in one go, but instead to remain in a curious state about yourself.

If you have twenty minutes to spare, I would highly recommend you check out the IG Live here as I share my thoughts around self-discovery and the mind-shifts that typically need to occur for us in this area.

To accompany the video, I’ve created a worksheet to help kick-start or aid the journey of self-discovery for you. Click the link below to download it. Remember, be patient with yourself as you work through it and remain curious.

Self-Discovery-Worksheet Download

Love,

Marbie

Discovering What You Want & Pursuing It

Michelle Davies — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 14:50:50 +0000

Over time, as we do life, it’s easy to get into auto pilot mode. Before we know it, we look up and discover that the things we are investing our energy into don’t actually match up to what we truly want. Many of us are making great progress with dreams that other people have given to us. The problem then comes when dissatisfaction knocks at out door reminding us that it’s time to shake things up! Time to go back and rediscover who we are and what we actually want.

Typically for me, there are particular points in the year where I shift into reassessment mode. That often happens around my birthday, the start of the year and then the middle of the year – which is where we are currently. The awareness that time is moving, whether we like it or not, hits home when you’re able to see that six months have gone by. This isn’t something that should send us spiralling into a depression, even though it can sometimes…but instead something we see as an opportunity to reset.

It’s comparable to being on a journey in a car and discovering an hour into it that you’ve taken the wrong turn or perhaps aren’t on the most efficient route. The best thing to do would be to figure out how to get back on the right path and then do so. Of course you have every right to park up, be upset and spend an hour crying, but sometimes you have to think about what the best course of action would be as opposed to the most justifiable.

Here are some things to think about and questions to ask yourself in order to rediscover what you want and help yourself realign back on to that path.

Reassess

Spend time asking yourself, “what do I actually want?“

And by spend time, I actually mean create the time to do it. Don’t try to squeeze this into a day full of errands. Carve out time during your week to journal on this, or to think through it whilst you’re on a walk.

Once you’ve thought through what you actually want (and believe me, most of us know – we’re often just afraid to pursue it), then spend some more time looking at what you’re actually pursuing.

What do you spend your time on?

Where does your energy go?

What do you allow into your space or even your mind?

Once you’ve listed these, compare the two and see if they match up.

The results might shock you but don’t be afraid of this. It’s better to have data in front of you that you can use to bring change about instead of burying your head in the sand living in denial.

A good thing to do at this point of the year is also to list out what you’re proud of doing. This can also be a good pointer to what you actually want to do. Reassess what you’ve done so far that makes you proud, or happy, or feel accomplished. That’s probably where you need to focus more energy…

Reconnect

It’s key to be able to reconnect to what’s actually important to you. This is beyond what you’ve been told should be important to you. What do you actually value? Is it healthy friendships? Is it creativity? Romance? Or self-development?

Take some time out to think through what you value. Write them out so you can see it clearly. Then list out things you can do that will help you reconnect to these things.

Realign

It’s one thing to rediscover what matters to you but it’s another thing to move other things in your life into alignment with that.

Use the clarity you’ve gotten to implement systems that allow these things to remain incorporated into your life daily or weekly, otherwise you might find yourself forgetting and having to spend mental energy to reconnect to it often. For example, if it’s healthy friendships you want to reconnect to, you could schedule weekly catch-ups or fun activities with the people who matter to you the most.

Ask yourself how the tools that help with the actualisation of a thing can be realigned with what you actually want. For me these are, time, money, energy, and creativity. What do you have at your disposal that can help you get results and how can you cause that to be realigned to what you actually want?

Hopefully this all helps you to think through some things but most importantly, take ownership of your life & your decisions.

Love,

Marbie

Why You Can’t Seem to Get the Hang of Discipline

Michelle Davies — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 23:00:57 +0000

Someone once asked me online how to build discipline muscles. As much as it got me thinking, I realised it’s something that seems to elude a number of people. It also seems to be something people use to market a bunch of unnecessary things to the masses. We’re obsessed with it and it seems to be sold as the answer to all our problems.

Self Discipline is defined as “the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it”.

It’s not this thing that is as elusive as people make it out to be or magical and mystical.

It’s something that we develop and build over time.

It’s something that is necessary – fundamental even.

It’s necessary because there are too many factors outside of our control that can affect our goal.

How many times has your mood changed and affected a task at hand?

I can’t count the number of times that my motivation has dwindled away and caused my progress to come to a standstill.

Or on how many occasions unexpected obstacles have put a spanner in the works.

There is so much that we can’t control but being disciplined isn’t one of those things.

Since it’s something that is so essential to our lives and our success, it only makes sense to try and understand some fundamental truths about it or why it seems we haven’t gotten it right just yet.

Don’t Overcomplicate It

When it comes to building discipline, this is the first thing I would point out. Don’t allow it to become this thing that is extremely mystical. It’s within reach. It’s something you can build and develop. It isn’t something that some people are born with and others have to miss out on.

When we overcomplicate things, it becomes something that is out of our reach and that much harder to achieve. But it doesn’t need to be that way.

Think of it as a muscle. There are things you can do to build it and it’s your job to always be on the hunt for what those things are because that muscle will come in handy at some point – well at several points if I’m honest.

One Thing at a Time

Part of making something less complicated is breaking it down into little bite sized or manageable chunks. It’s the same when it comes to discipline.

It may not be that you haven’t been able to master discipline because something is inherently wrong with you, but rather that you’ve been trying to conquer the mountain all at once. A ten foot statue might be impossible for you to move all at once but if you broke it down into smaller pieces, eventually you would get it to its destination.

With building up discipline, it’s about mastering one thing at a time. It involves you creating and maintaining habits that will help you in the quest to be more disciplined. You won’t wake up one day and all of a sudden be the most disciplined version of yourself, but over time through mastering individual habits, you can get there.

For example if you wanted to become more disciplined when it comes to fitness, you can develop the habit of waking up earlier every day and working out. Or if you wanted to become disciplined in the area of writing and creating content, you could commit to writing once a day for five days of the week.

It’s about identifying the habits and little things you need to master in order to build that discipline, but it has to happen bit by bit. The approach of trying to conquer everything at the same time only works against you and often leads to frustration.

Take Ownership

This part is life changing – honestly. Once we are able to take ownership for the goals we have and the things we want, there really isn’t much room for excuses. It forces us to take responsibility for where we’re trying to get to and in turn, ensure that our actions line up.

Once we understand the responsibility we have regarding the life we want, we can begin to make decisions that are reflective of where we are trying to go and not where we currently are. We eliminate the ability to point fingers and sit back whilst life happens to us.

Our decisions are no longer based on how we feel, or how much motivation we have left but instead the responsibility we have to take action for where we are trying to get to. This is basically what discipline looks like.

Set up Systems to Help

If discipline is about doing it when you don’t feel like it, then you need things to help you do that.

Everywhere we go, we’re often exposed to systems and processes that organisations put into place in order to ensure a particular action is carried out. For example, in an office building there’s usually turnstiles at the entrance where you need to tap your pass to get in. Or within certain jobs, you are required to fill in a timesheet and submit it in order to get paid. Regardless of the feelings each employee has, their preference, lack of motivation or any ulterior motive – they still have to follow the procedures put in place.

Systems and processes help us to do what’s necessary irrespective of other factors that show up. We experience these everyday and it amends our behaviour each time but sometimes fail to see the benefit of implementing these in our own lives. Part of being successful in building discipline is being able to implement the systems that will help us get to the end.

You won’t feel like doing what you’re meant to every time, but if there’s a system in place that says you have to, then you’re more likely to. It changes from whether you want to workout that week, to knowing you have classes booked at the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays. It changes from whether you want to sort your finances this month, to knowing that every Friday you update the spreadsheet for your monthly budget.

Be patient with yourself

This is something I live by all the time. It doesn’t mean I’m not pushing to achieve my goals or get the best out of myself, but instead it means I’m able to give myself grace when things aren’t necessarily going to plan on the journey to being disciplined.

There will be days when even with all the tools at your disposal, you won’t get it right. You simply might not wake up to go to the gym that morning. The important thing to remember is that it isn’t the end of the world.

If every time things don’t go according to plan, you are incredibly hard on yourself, you may not even want to try at all the next time an opportunity presents itself. Which is why it’s incredibly important to be patient with yourself. Have the long term in mind and don’t allow yourself to get bogged down by what happens in the short term.

Remember Your Why

I had to save what I feel is the best for last.

Sometimes it feels like people are in pursuit of discipline as the end goal. It seems to be viewed as this thing we desire to possess because it places us an inch above the next person. But what’s the point in that?

If there’s no why behind it all, then it’s just a pursuit of discipline for discipline sake.

The beauty in discipline for me is that it’s there to serve the greater purpose you choose. It’s there to help you achieve the things you really desire to without you being the greatest obstacle there is. This point is important because in things relating to being disciplined, the act won’t always be pleasurable but the result is.

If you have a why, or the end result that motivates you, then you’re more likely to build and use discipline muscles that help you get there.

That’s all from me for now on this topic. I’m sure there’s so much more that we can unravel regarding it but this is indeed a great place to start for now.

Let’s grow these discipline muscles!

Love,

Marbie

Everything Is Not Important

Michelle Davies — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 23:00:37 +0000

Many of us start our week with extensive to do lists.

We’re eager to conquer our goals and achieve our dreams. Or even just to try and maintain our sanity by staying organised.

Sometimes these to do lists are even fuelled by the current societal obsession with being busy. It’s almost like if you’re not “booked and busy” then you have no value. If you’re not seen to be pulling in the results, then you’re not worth paying attention to. So in an attempt to fit this mould, we often jam pack notebooks and planners with extensive lists or even chalkboards with 101 tasks.

Yet at times it seems that the list doesn’t budge or decrease in size. The next week comes and we seem to be just as busy as we were in the previous week.

Or we accomplish things but feel completely burnt out and unable to function in any other area of our lives.

The truth is, this is usually down to a lack of prioritisation.

We fail to realise that everything is not important. Each item on the list seems to be treated with the same level of urgency as the next.

This is simply not sustainable.

Furthermore, what can often happen is that the things that are important can get less attention than they deserve because we lack the ability to prioritise.

Prioritisation is described as “the action or process of deciding the relative importance or urgency of a thing or things”.

It simply isn’t enough to brain dump the things that we are responsible over on to a piece of paper, we must be able to decide where they sit in the order of importance.

Doing this allows us to manage our energy appropriately and effectively.

If you are able to decide what is number one on the list, you can then decide to push your energy in that direction.

The Bigger Picture

Even beyond things on a micro level, e.g. weekly lists, prioritisation comes in handy on a macro level. For example, when you are able to look at the big picture for the year you can allocate the time and resources needed for the things that are the most important. It doesn’t mean that the other things need to get neglected, but instead you are aware of what takes priority.

It also helps you in being able to be content and not covet what others have because you’re aware that what you currently have, or are currently focused on is a reflection of your priorities.

For example, when managing your budget, if you decide that clearing the short-term debt you have is the priority, you are able to allocate the funds necessary to do that on a monthly basis. So then prioritisation within the big picture affects the small decisions you make on a daily and monthly basis.

The nights out might be alluring to you, but because you have decided what is important and what isn’t, you are able to say no when you need to or choose to have them less frequently. However if you hadn’t taken the time out to decide what the priorities are for your money, everything becomes as important as the other, robbing you of the chance to make headway on what you really want to accomplish.

The same can be said for prioritising certain relationships during certain seasons of life. Once again, this doesn’t mean that others get neglected but rather that you have taken the time out to decide what needs to come first or receive the ultimate attention.

Prioritisation helps us with managing what we have well, e.g. our time, energy and resources.

It also helps us with creating and enforcing boundaries, because these are no longer there for the sake of it but now they serve the purpose of helping us get to what’s important.

How it’s worked for me…

Last year, this came in incredibly handy for me whilst I was working on launching Marbie’s Kitchen. I decided that it was important to me and decided to focus my attention, energy and time on it. I swapped some Netflix shows to buy back time for writing blog posts and mapping out my website. I decided to use my lunchtime to brainstorm ideas and even spent some Saturdays indoors working on content. My finances also reflected the fact that this was a priority for me.

The problem for many of us has been that we simply haven’t recognised the importance of prioritisation.

Also, sometimes it’s that we haven’t allocated enough time towards prioritising. It won’t be done for you – you actually need to take time out to do this. On a macro level, you need to sit and look at what needs to take priority in the big picture. And on a micro level, you need to be able to do the same.

You can simply ask yourself, “does this need to get done right now?” or “what will be the effect or outcome on other areas if this task isn’t completed?”…

Assess the value and importance of each thing on your list.

A New Method

Instead of chucking a lengthy to do list in your notebook this week, why not try this new system I’ve adopted?

You write your list down of things to do, then beside each item, place a number that reflects its importance or when it has to get done. For example, if there are 10 things on the list, pick which one needs to be number 1 and then number 2 and 3 and so on and so forth.

This way, the things on your list don’t get completed based on whether you wrote them down first, but rather what actually has to get done by a certain time or what is the most challenging thing to do. Because we often do what feels easiest for us or what allows us to avoid the most difficult thing to do.

Of course after prioritisation, you’ll actually have to put in the work and effort to achieve those things on your list – this is where discipline comes in, but that’s a topic for another day! Choosing to prioritise is simply the first step you need to take on the journey.

Whenever you start to feel overwhelmed by the demands placed on you by yourself or others, or like there is too much to do, simply say to yourself “everything is not important!”

Love,

Marbie

Why You Need to Get Specific

Michelle Davies — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 23:00:46 +0000

Ever had an idea you wanted to bring to life but somehow nothing came of it?

Or a goal you were trying to achieve but it seemed to constantly evade you?

Have you ever gotten to the middle of the year and wondered why things were no different than they were in January?

Or even the middle of the week and realised you had gotten nowhere on that thing you said you were going to do once and for all?

Well it could be that you need to get specific.

Often when we’re motivated, we have visions of things we want to accomplish. We know what that success feels like, we can taste the victory even though we aren’t there yet.

However, the missing piece is often specificity.

We say “I want to start a blog” but aren’t specific on what type of blog.

We express the desire to lose weight but not how much weight.

Or say “I want to start a business” but aren’t clear on what type of business.

We mention the fact that we want to increase our savings, but don’t say by how much or what purpose those savings serve.

As I’ve observed this behaviour happen in a number of spaces, I recently began to wonder what the cause is. Could it be that it’s just a habit we’ve been trained to adopt societally? Or that we don’t know any better? It could be either of those but the cause that seems most plausible to me is fear. The fear of dreaming bigger than we’ve allowed ourselves to. The fear of stating exactly what we desire because it might not happen. The fear of committing to the work that dream requires.

There could be a range of reasons beyond what I’ve listed above which I’m not certain of…but there’s one thing I do know and it’s that a lack of specificity helps no one.

Not being specific when it comes to the things we want or the goals we have is the equivalent of leaving the USA and saying “I want to go to Europe”….which part sis – Paris or Peckham?

Either location is a possibility, but if you aren’t specific enough about wanting to go to Paris, you might end up in Peckham.

Being specific about the end goal helps with planning the journey, deciding what tools you need, the alliances that will come in handy and those that will be a hindrance.

Being specific will allow you to gain clarity on who and what is necessary.

It takes work and time to learn to incorporate this as a mindset but it can prove incredibly helpful.

Can you see the difference between these statements:

I’m going to run a marathon this year
I’m going to run a 5k marathon in August this year

I am going to start a blog
I am going to start a blog that helps facilitate transparent conversations around life’s issues

The latter statement in both examples are like the bullseye on a dartboard. They provide something much more specific to work towards. If I know that I intend to run a 5k marathon in August, I can begin to plan a training schedule that is in line with the goal ahead. I would be aware of what month I need to start preparing and be able to measure my progress against the specific goal in mind.

When it comes to being specific, this doesn’t need to be limited to just the what but also the why and the how.

Yes, you need to be specific about the type of blog you want to start but also the why behind it. It serves as a great assessment of motives when you have to spell this out but also as a great reminder when distraction comes in its many forms.

The how is also extremely important with regards to specificity. Being clear on how you intend to achieve said goal makes it so much easier than vaguely wandering on the path to the finish line. What are the measures you need to put in place? What are the things that need to happen?

For example, with the marathon in August, you know there is a need to train 3 times a week and also eat foods that will help achieve that goal. So instead of saying “I’m going to train for this marathon in August”, you would say “I’m going to do an hour of training every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday”.

Yes, you may not know all the details or have the exact roadmap figured out but how about what you do know? Or even who you know that can help you figure out the how?

I’m aware there’s a voice in many of our heads that says “what if I’m specific in all these things and don’t hit the mark?”…

To that I say, I am not defined by the results I achieve or don’t achieve.

My willingness to try means so much more to me. The lessons I learn as I aim for that specific thing shapes me more than the possession of the thing itself.

As I’ve said previously, the journey often impacts who we are much more than the place we arrive at. With being specific, we are able to set standards for ourselves and continuously aim for it. It doesn’t mean you will hit the target every single time but isn’t it better to know what you are actually aiming for and the areas you need to improve on? It may seem easier to be vague with the goals we have in mind and how we intend to get there but what’s easier isn’t always what is necessary.

I encourage you to try this in the coming weeks and months. Be specific. In your goals, methods, to do lists and even in relationships. Not because there isn’t room for grace but just so you can actually have a target to aim for.

After all, it’s hard to score when you have no goal.

Love,

Marbie

Holiday Gift Guide 2018 for Kitchen Lovers, Cooks and Hosts!

Michelle Davies — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 19:17:58 +0000

Gift giving is one of my favourite things to do, and not just during the holidays but all year round!

I love thinking about the person in question, their hobbies, needs and possibly their wants. As much as gifts are an expression of your love and gratitude, I also believe they can or should fall into three categories.

Something useful.

This will be something that they actually need and will use as opposed to stashing it away somewhere and forgetting about it.

Something sentimental.

This can have practicality to it but it’s usually more reflective of the fact that you’ve thought of them. It can be an ornamental gift or something personalised. The great thing about this category is it doesn’t always have to cost an arm and a leg!

Something necessary.

This type of gift is usually based on you being observant and seeing what they need but possibly aren’t aware of so they haven’t gotten it yet. Sometimes the person in question may have already made mention of the fact that they need this particular item, so that could work in your favour.

Within my ultimate holiday gift guide, I’ve taken the work out of it for you and included a range of gifts that fall into each of the categories above! The gifts included are suitable for those who love cooking, kitchen gadgets, entertaining guests and even baking!

There are also some adorable pieces that can fit into Secret Santa activities which is fantastic!

Hopefully you find something you can purchase for a loved one or if you’re a foodie, then something you can gently hint that you want!

Happy Holidays!

Le Creuset Stoneware Roasting Dish (26cm) – £39

If you didn’t know already, I’m obsessed with all things Le Creuset and this stoneware roasting dish is no exception! It comes in a range of colours but most things in the Teal/Caribbean Blue are a hit for me! Find it here and try not to buy the whole range!

2. Ferm Living Brass Salad Servers – £39.50

Pretty, shiny and useful. What’s not to love? Check them out.

3. Sophie Conran Dining Set 12pcs – £108.80

An extremely useful gift to purchase for someone who loves entertaining or great presentation. This plate set is the perfect mix of stylish, modern and classic.

4. Harvest Home Pestle & Mortar – £20

Seen a prettier pestle and mortar? Thought not. This one from Sainsbury’s is adorable and stylish all at the same time!

5. Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor, Jug Blender and Nutri Ninja – £139.00

This is actually on my list of must-haves! It’s such a great deal on Amazon and saves on having three different appliances for all these functions. Must buy.

6. Le Creuset Stoneware Cafeteire (Coastal Blue) – £44

Pretty and functional? Yes please.

7. Anthropologie Alma Small Glass Cake Stand – £16

Lately, anything from Anthropologie has been a craving for me but at this price it’s a no-brainer. If you have any friends who bake, this would be a treat!

8. Nespresso Pixie Coffee Machine by Krups, Titanium – £129

Is this what dreams are made of? Thinking of swapping my current Nespresso out for this one! Generally these are a great gift to give, so if you see a colour you think would suit their taste better, then feel free to grab that instead!

9. Kuhn Rikon Metallic Swiss Peeler (Straight) – £8.95

Remember what I said about gifts suitable for Secret Santa? This is one of them! This peeler is a must-have for me in the kitchen and any budding chefs you know would be grateful for one of these.

10. Aris Espresso Cup, £29 and Aris Espresso Saucer, £17

Can you tell I’m a sucker for the pretty things? If you are too then you need these! The cup is here and you can find the saucer here.

11. Peel, Chop, Carve Chopping Board – £28

This board is perfect for the ‘something useful’ category. A wooden chopping board is never a bad idea, especially when it has a witty phrase on it!

12. Sainsbury’s Home 3L Cast Iron Shallow Casserole Dish – Orange, £45

If the budget can’t stretch for a Le Creuset Casserole dish, this version from Sainsbury’s will work a treat! The vibrant orange will brighten up any kitchen even in these brutally cold days!

13. Luxe Loop Marble Drinks Trolley, £375

Ready to splurge? Then this is your best bet, especially if the recipient loves to entertain! A drinks trolley is a great way to take the hassle out of sorting drinks for your guests. Place some ice, mint, berries or lemon slices and your chosen drinks for the night and let guests serve themselves. Check it out here from Oliver Bonas.

p.s. there are much more affordable versions if you look around, but this one was too pretty not to include! I mean look at it!

14. Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer in Pistachio, (inc free gifts) £494.10

Will you be my Valentine? Sorry, I forgot it can’t be items…ha! This is just perfect and to top it all off, it comes with a bunch of free gifts which you’ll love including the glass bowl!

15. Chef’s Notebook in Tan, £18

This is a great gift for someone who currently wants to develop a few recipes or has a thousand dish ideas running through their head. It has cool features like conversion charts and of course the gorgeous tan leather cover. Thank you Santa.

16, Marble & Copper Bar Tools Set, £60

On the last day of Christmas, Santa made drinks with this gorgeous utensil set. Once again this is a great gift for someone who loves entertaining or perhaps loves drinking or making cocktails.

Hopefully one of these gifts makes it under your tree.

Happy Holidays!

Welcome to Marbie’s Kitchen!

Michelle Davies — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 20:39:41 +0000

Welcome into my kitchen!

I’m so glad you could make it here – into my favourite space of all time!

Honestly, I’ve loved the kitchen for longer than I can remember. I’ve always known it as the focal point of the home. From the buzz going on in there where an amazing meal is being prepared, to the times when I’ve been in there alone with some of my favourite songs on blast.

Over the past few years, the kitchen has been the space where I think, listen, connect the dots and so much more. One of my favourite things is being able to whip something special up and invite people in to have a good time.

I remember growing up, on Sundays after church a different family would take it in turns each week to cook something special and everyone would come round and just eat and drink to their hearts content. Discussing everything and anything over a hot meal seemed to make everyone forget about their issues and differences.

My mother was my introduction to that. She exposed me to understanding that food can do so much more than fuel you. It can bring people together, it can provide comfort, it can kickstart conversations and leave you speechless at the same time!

So I’ve decided to bring you into the space that brings me so much joy, into the space that has been incredibly transformative for me. I look forward to sharing the lessons I’ve learnt whilst being in the kitchen and also some amazing recipes of course.

Hopefully one day we get to meet. But till then, enjoy the site!

Love,

Marbie

What To Do When You Have No Idea What To Do!

Michelle Davies — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 23:31:31 +0000

We’ve all been there at some point. We have a glimpse of the end goal, a vague, or even on some occasions a very clear picture of where we want to get to or what we want to achieve. However the bump in the road usually shows up when it comes to figuring out how to get there. How do we know what we should actually be doing if we haven’t done it before? How do I know what to do when I have no idea what to do? Pretty perplexing right?

I’ve been here on several occasions and I must admit that too many times my response has been paralysis. I’ve often resorted to doing nothing because it seems easier than trying to figure out what to do. But this year I decided to try something different. Thankfully I did because now you’re here in Marbie’s Kitchen!

So what did I do? And what can you do when you have no idea what to do?

Do something.

Sounds crazy right? I’ve learnt that inaction only allows us to remain in the same position and can sometimes feed the fears we have. This advice comes in super handy in those times when we do know what the next best step is but are avoiding it. A quote I love says “the magic is in the work you’re avoiding”. Try it. Do the next best thing you know you should. Not entirely sure? Read on…

Research.

This is always a fantastic place to start. There is a ton of information out there, most times it’s free (or at least the amount you need to get started is free). How much more could you achieve if you worked on being a bit more resourceful? Prior to launching Marbie’s Kitchen, I listened to endless podcasts about podcasting. Imagine that. There are podcasts about podcasting! As absurd as it sounds, it goes to show that the information is out there waiting for us. So if there’s an area or subject that you’re unsure about, do some research!

Become intentional about your time.

There is always time. Sounds harsh but it’s true. What may be lacking instead, as Tim Ferris often points out, is priorities. If you are clear on your priorities, you’ll make time for them. This goal that you have that you want to achieve, set aside time to work on it daily or weekly. I often block out several hours on most Saturdays to work on a particular goal. Sometimes it may be an hour a day instead but either way, I became more intentional with my time and began to see results.

Remember the little bricks build the mansion.

Sometimes when we have no idea how to get to the end goal, it can seem insurmountable. However, if you remember that seconds make up minutes, drops of water fill up a glass and the little bricks build up the mansion, you’ll realise the same principle applies everywhere else. The goal seems less daunting when you know you can’t get there overnight. Take time to digest this principle, because it comes in handy across the board. Do the little things well and it will help you get to the end goal.

Give yourself homework & build muscle.

As you’re researching and brainstorming, it can become easy to take in large amounts of information without doing anything with it. We become information hoarders without intending to.

Give yourself mini assignments with each chunk of research you do. As you take in information, always ask yourself what you can do with it in the near future to see results. If you’ve read about becoming a better writer, take an hour out of a weekday to practice the tips you’ve been given.

The more you do, the bigger muscles you’ll build in a particular area.

Get exposure.

I’m big on exposure – seeing something and knowing it’s possible does wonders for the mind. And I don’t mean this in a way where we begin to replicate the exact work we’ve seen elsewhere. Rather, I believe it helps to find stories about people’s journey. How did they get there? What were the obstacles? Then you know your struggles aren’t that peculiar and realise the possibilities that exist.

Be bold.

It recently clicked for me the other day that being bold and having confidence aren’t the same thing. Being bold is a choice you have to pick everytime a situation pops up. You choose to be bold in the face of whatever comes your way. Now how does being bold help when you don’t know what to do?

Everyday on my commute on the underground I notice something. At the ticket barriers, there’s usually a door that’s completely empty. Everyone scurries and queues up for the door that already has 10 – 15 people trying to squeeze in. Why? Because for most people, it’s safer to go through the door that’s proven to be open or working or available. Even though there is another door completely free and waiting for you to walk through it!

Yes I’ve said get exposure to see what’s possible, but guess what? Sometimes even with that exposure, you’ll see that the path you’re eager to walk down doesn’t have footprints on it already. Don’t let that deter you. Sometimes it’s not that we don’t know what to do, it’s that we’re scared to do it because we haven’t seen it done.

Equip yourself adequately and walk boldly anyway.

Be bold with that which seems unpopular.

Hope that’s helped.

What was your favourite takeaway from this? Let me know in the comments below!

Love,

Marbie

Must Haves for My Kitchen

Michelle Davies — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 22:33:49 +0000

The truth is, every kitchen is going to look and feel different for a number of reasons. What is crucial for the functionality of the kitchen depends on the owner, their needs, how frequently the kitchen is used and what resources are readily available.

For me, the kitchen has always been more than the space I cook in. It’s been like a safe space and a growth hub all in one. I think a whole lot in my kitchen, whilst cooking or washing up. I even learn life lessons whilst making the simplest of dishes. It’s like there’s room for the dots to connect in my mind whilst I’m putting a meal together.

There have been amazing soul-searching conversations, belly-aching laughter and some moments where I’ve simply had to be held whilst sobbing.

Aside from the life lessons there have also been many dance parties in my kitchen. I have held concerts in there with my trusted wooden spoon microphone as though I was Beyonce’s lost twin sister.

However there are some things that I need to have in my kitchen but without them it’s just not the same space.

MUSIC & GREAT SPEAKERS

Listen, if there isn’t good music in my kitchen then we’re basically not cooking. Usually my selection is dependent on my mood but for the most part I’m listening to something upbeat whilst I’m in there. If you’re up for a party then check out my playlist here. For speakers it has to be something with great sound quality and you can find my favourite so far here.

PODCASTS

If you can’t tell already, I’m stimulated by all things audio and this fuels my love for podcasts. I fell in love with them about two years ago after obsessively listening to episodes from Myleik Teele. They’re a great way to take in information on a wide range of topics (trust me there’s a podcast for everything) and it’s so easy to do whilst you’re cooking, meal prepping or cleaning up. I love them so much I created one of my own which you can listen to here.

THE CORRECT KNIVES

Originally I wanted to say ‘sharp knives’. But in hindsight I believe it’s more important to have the knives that are right for you. The grip, the weight, the style…these are all things that are important to me when selecting knives to work with. Also, understanding which knife works best for a particular ingredient is key, for example slicing your tomatoes with a serrated knife will leave you much less frustrated. I’d suggest going to a department store and seeing how a couple of knives feel to you and also checking out some reviews online.

FOOD PROCESSOR

For the yummiest (yes, it’s a word) marinades, a food processor comes in really handy. It makes things a whole lot easier and faster. I’ve had mine for quite a while actually and had no issues with it. Here’s a link to one that’s similar but also comes with a blender!

HONEY

Ok this sounds like a weird one, but I promise you it’s life changing. I don’t recall the first time I began experimenting with honey in the kitchen but it’s probably linked to my sweet tooth! I love mixing sweet and savoury, kind of like Thai food or BBQ sauces or maple syrup and bacon. Honey comes in really handy for a number of things and along the way you’ll see that from the recipes I share!

SPICES & HERBS

It’s the worst thing when you find that a recipe you’d love to make requires a spice or herb you don’t have. I like to stay stocked up and often look for deals on these to make it more affordable. Some of my favourite spices include smoked paprika, mixed spice and chinese five spice. As for herbs, my favourite dried herbs include Parsley and Thyme (probably as a result of being Nigerian) and generally I absolutely love fresh herbs. They can really elevate a dish! Favourites include Parsley, Thyme, Cilantro/Coriander and Mint.

ORGANISATION

Having an organised space makes a huge difference across many rooms in the home. However in the kitchen this is crucial for me. To help the flow when I’m cooking, I need to be able to access my tools and ingredients easily. The set up that will work best for you is based on your kitchen space and the way you prefer to cook. For example, I organise all my dry herbs together and my spices together. I also keep the spices & herbs I use most frequently closer to the front of the cupboard. But I’d recommend setting aside an hour to organizing your space and seeing what would work best for you.

MEASURING SPOONS AND CUPS

Did you know that when a recipe refers to ‘cups’ as a measurement, it doesn’t mean your favourite mug? Yes, shocker! To get the best results from recipes, it’s best to use proper measuring cups and spoons.These have changed the game for me when it comes to cooking and baking. They’re also super affordable from most local supermarkets.

GOOD BAKEWARE & COOKWARE

Stoneware baking dishes, cast iron pots, amazing woks and trusty sheet pans are among some of my favourite things to use when cooking. It’s best to aim for trustworthy brands like Le Creuset but if you don’t want to break the bank, you can always try TK Maxx and Sainsbury’s for some great options.

KUHN RIKON PEELER

I stumbled on this peeler whilst in Sur la Table in NJ and let me tell you it’s one of my best finds ever! This peeler is sturdy, sharp and will easily get through even the most stubborn butternut squash. Order it here and you won’t regret it.

There you have it! A list of the must haves for my kitchen. What are some of yours?

Let me know in the comments below!