Notelets on Nurture #16

Gathering joy in the everyday + creating a chain of moments — starting with seven small sparks

Spotting mushrooms on a woodland wander

Welcome to the return of Notelets on Nurture, an occasional Sunday series where I welcome a guest to share their thoughts on a topic that helps them tap into their curiosity and creativity.

Today,

Annemarie Bleeker

shares her thoughts on gathering joy in the everyday as we move towards autumn — noticing, connecting and creating a chain of moments.

Consultant by day, wanderer by heart and mum to three, Annemarie is the voice behind the newly relaunched

Ella & Jack

: a corner of the internet created for mothers craving small moments of connection in nature.

When we first spoke about refreshing her brand, I was keen to explore how Annemarie’s ideas could unfold in a way that felt easeful and playful. Too often, change is rushed through without much thought for the impact on our energy or resources. That’s why I love combining strategy with styling and storytelling — it creates a foundation that’s not just considered, but sustainable.

From early ideas to brand development, we’ve been planning email letters and building a website that supports her flow and her work, which is rooted in finding moments to trace a leaf, splash in a puddle or follow a trail, just because. I’m delighted to share her words with you here.

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A Chain of Moments
with Annemarie Bleeker

On my Pinterest boards, I envision myself walking through apple orchards in linen dresses, setting long wooden tables under the sunset, and making flower crowns for my children.

In the real world, I am rushing between office buildings, client meetings and airports. The gap between the world I "pin" and the world I live in sometimes feels enormous.

For a long time, I thought the only way to close that gap was to make space. Big space. Clearing days in my calendar, planning grand weekends and collecting ideas in notebooks. I waited for the right moment, the right season, the perfect mood. And mostly, nothing happened. The list of ideas became its own kind of pressure.

The shift came quietly, almost by accident. A Friday afternoon, my kids, restless at the kitchen table, and I, too tired to drive anywhere. I thought, what if we step outside, close to home, and make something small? Ten minutes. Nothing complicated. We passed a clematis vine, pulled off two fluffy seed heads and turned them into a sheep. It was silly, simple — but it worked.

Annemarie & her daughter, Ella, kicking up leaves

That tiny shift set something in motion: I began to see that the memories that last are rarely the big ones. Not the waterparks in Canada, but the four hours we spent waiting for a missed boat, playing a board game. Not the perfect French village, but the picnic on the side of the motorway during a horrendous traffic jam. Even now, years later, my daughter still waves at the giant hogweed on our cycle home: “Bye, grumpy uncle of the cow parsley,” she says — a character I once made up in passing. That tiny story, caught in her memory, has lasted longer than most of my big plans.

As Chip & Dan Heath write in one of my favourite books, The Power of Moments, it’s often the small, unexpected things that define our memories. So the dream for me isn’t linen tablecloths and sunrise breakfasts anymore — it’s a chain of moments, some messy, some golden. And when I think about the season ahead, I won’t ask myself how to create the perfect autumn. Instead, I'll ask: what small things will we carry with us?

And I wish the same for you. Autumn is busy enough as it is — work starting up, schools in full swing, projects piling on — while the light is fading and the natural world is slowing. The last thing you need is pressure to create grand, picture-perfect experiences.

So, here are a few invitations instead: seven small sparks that might grow into your very own chain of moments. Try one or two, or let them inspire your own ideas.

Ella throwing golden leaves

Autumn sparks

1. Pick brambles and make a hedgehog. A playful way to bring the harvest onto your table.

2. Hold a chestnut in your hand. Roll it, then grate it and make natural soap — a tiny ritual of wonder.

3. Make an autumn booklet. Press one leaf on each page and add a colour, word or small memory.

4. Look up. While walking to school or the shops, spot three different migrating birds overhead.

5. Play with leafy hairstyles. Use autumn leaves as wild crowns or hair on doodled faces.

6. Bake simple but cute mushroom cookies. Thumbprint, a spoon of jam, and you’re done.

7. Make a flavour card with your favourite taste of harvest season — apple, blackberry, pumpkin?

These are the kinds of sparks you’ll also find in my weekly Play Post — an invitation to notice what’s already around you.

I’d love you to join me: which small memories do you want to carry with you into this season?

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Nature lovers — subscribe to

Ella & Jack

for a weekly dose of magic and the reminder that wonder is always right on your doorstep.

There you’ll find a weekly Play Post, monthly Backpack Bulletin and, soon, a beautiful, inspirational Keepsake Journal to help you slow down and reconnect with the natural world.

How are you feeling as we cross the threshold from summer into autumn? And which of these sparks will you try this month? Meet us in the comments.

As a free subscriber of Brand Seasons, you can enjoy articles and essays exploring the rhythms of our creative lives and work and listen to my branding and business podcast.

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