Living in a Fairy-tale

Romanticising Life with Anne of Green Gables

This voiceover is an audio version of my Slow Sunday Letter below. It is unedited, so may have some stutters, imperfections, and background noise. I hope you enjoy listening to it anyway!

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“The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and storytellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Two wonderful things happened to me this week… I finished Anne of Green Gables for the first time, and I stayed at The Tea Caddy – a whimsical, pretty little fairy cottage in the countryside. These two experiences combined have led me down a romantic, enchanting path of imagination, dreams, and heart.

In this week’s Slow Sunday Letter, I want to deliver you a hefty dose of whimsy, romance and sentiment. Please grab a cuppa, get cosy and let us begin…

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Anne of The Tea Caddy

“Because when you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while.”

I feel as if I have met a friend for life in Anne. I’ve never fallen in love so quickly with a character. From the first page, she went straight to my heart. My sentiment and love for her grew and grew with each turn of a page. Written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables is one of the most cherished books and it is so easy to see why. Montgomery’s love of nature, the beauty in the everyday and the lovely moments of a simple life charge themselves into her words.

When you live in Anne’s world of daydreams and fantasies, the world becomes a wondrous place. This is where I have lived for the past couple of weeks reading with Anne. The stakes rose higher still, when my Husband and I arrived at The Tea Caddy for a holiday in the countryside. We pulled in from the road, and The Tea Caddy stood so delicately in amongst the green. I jumped out of the car and pulled the gate open across the driveway. Looking around, I couldn’t help but feel as if I had stepped foot into a fairy-tale myself.

For many of us, the world loses it’s magic as we grow up. This world that is full of magic, wonder and enchantment. Imagination is something Anne holds so dear, and something I haven’t tapped into or thought about in years. My imagination suddenly seems so valuable, I have sought it out the last few days. I fear we are strangers, but I want that to change. As we get older, we learn to squash our imagination with routines and responsibilities. In a society that hurries childhood along, we discard imagination as foolish and childlike. I am starting to see that imagination is essential.

I felt this deeply as we arrived at The Tea Caddy and explored room after room. The Tea Caddy is a Grade II listed cottage. It was likely built around 1818, during which time there was a boom of wealth in England from the popular tea trade – this could explain its resemblance to a tea pot, though its architect and original family are unknown. The house was once owned by Dorothy Joan Wedgwood who married into the famous pottery family (Wedgwood). In 1983, a covenant was signed between Wedgwood and the National Trust to protect a portion of land including The Tea Caddy. The reason for this is unknown, though likely to be due to it’s unusual architecture and historical importance.

The Tea Caddy was extensively renovated in 2011 and 2023 and what has resulted is a wonderous home and garden overflowing with romance and charm.

I must admit before we arrived here, after a long period of time without any annual leave from work, I found myself quite desperate for a break. And with that- a loss of wonder and sense of gratitude for the simple magic of every day. It made reading Anne’s words even more important as she epitomises the concept of romanticising life. And who could not romanticise life in this setting, with Anne for company.

Taking a moment to appreciate the glow of sunlight through the windows in the morning. The warm cup of tea between my hands in bed. Listening to the birds sing their songs back and forth. Embracing silence. A warm hot shower, unrushed. Going on long walks out into the countryside. Lighting a cosy fire and reading a book under the blanket. Buying some fresh tomatoes from the local farm shop and eating them like apples to savour their sweetness. Listening to Jazz music and writing this very sentence…

Like Anne, I believe there is beauty and romance waiting around every corner. Feed your imagination with fairy tales, stories, and poetry again. Embrace play and creative endeavours. Move slowly through your day and be gentle with yourself. In turn, the world becomes more colourful. Romance isn’t indulgent, it is essential to expand and fill your soul. Romanticise your life, and you will become lovelier for it.

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Love of Nature

“There is so much beauty in the world, sometimes we just need to open our eyes to see it.”

I love Anne for so many reasons, but particularly her unwavering love for the beauty of nature, learning, books, poetry and storytelling, and her love of home. Passion is a beautiful thing. It means you’re excited about life. You’re learning to love. Whatever lights you up? Fill your life with more of that.

Now we are mid-March, it still feels like a New Year to me. Stretching and awakening out of the winter. I can feel myself starting to turn towards the sun, growing little by little alongside the flowers in the garden, as the buds appear from the ground beneath and impatiently start to flower and bloom.

Whenever we go on holiday, especially when we escape into the quiet of the countryside, I cannot help but get a little introspective and thoughtful about our lives and where I am and where I am going. There’s something about getting out in nature that is restorative to the soul and rekindling to the imagination. I am finding myself really drawn to nature in a way I have never been before.  

In the last few years my Husband and I have planned regular holidays in the countryside. We live and work in the city and love it. We enjoy having everything on our doorstep and I love the anonymity of city living. But, alongside this, we now crave and long for the space, the green, the birdsong and the peace of the countryside.

I’ve come to realise how important it is, even at home to get outside as often as you can. Anytime you begin to feel uninspired or lacking in energy open up the windows, or step outside into the fresh air. Let nature move you.

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A New Day

“Isn’t it wonderful to think that tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it yet?”

Every day is a chance at a new beginning. Every morning you wake up is a fresh slate, a whole new day full of beauty to be discovered.

Even if you think you know exactly what will happen in a day, it never turns out the way you expect. I love the possibilities, and freedom of days unplanned. With my renewed sense of imagination, gratitude, and a building of my energy as we turn toward the possibilities of Spring, I am vowing to be inspired by Anne, and her vivacious spirit and thirst for life.

It is important to empower ourselves, and remember how much agency we do have over our lives and moods. How powerful our thoughts are, and I am practicing looking for the simple joys as I embrace Slow and Gentle Living.

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The Unknown

“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? ... It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?”

In Anne I think I found a kindred spirit, just like the many she finds in her first few years at Green Gables. Her insatiable curiosity and love of learning really sparked something in me. One of my key values is to continue to learn and grow. I feel drawn to the unknown, and I am going to keep exploring as much as I can.

In a recent Slow Sunday Letter, I talked about my renewed love of reading, and Anne has cemented this with my first five star read. Yes, I am stingy with my stars, I had been saving my five-star rating for a life changing book, and Anne of Green Gables has been just that. I had forgotten what reading a book that speaks to your core feels like, to meet such a character as Anne.

In Create Your Own Reading Habit I asked you if you would like more book/reading inspiration here at Generosity of Spirit, and 98% of you voted, yes! So, expect some more reading inspiration and book talk alongside our Slow and Gentle Living exploration.

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Ten of the best books to inspire you to romanticise and embrace your wonderful life:

Fiction

Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Emma by Jane Austen

Non Fiction

The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray

Enchantment by Katherine May

All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living A Collection of Poetry from Morgan Harper Nichols

A Renewed Spirit

“It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”

Anne and The Tea Caddy have both uncovered this newfound sense of wonder and imagination in me. As we return home, I want to start romanticising and loving my beautiful slow and gentle life more than ever before.

I’d love to know your thoughts on romanticising life, and if you have ever read the books in the above list, or if you have any recommendations to add?

Thank you for being here,

With Light & Love

Emily xxx

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