The Simple Things

The Simple Things is a beautiful, useful, quirky and fun magazine about taking time to live well. We cover mindfulness and microadventures, eating and growing, forgotten wisdom, home life and slow moments. It's for people who love their lives but want to take the pressure off and remember what’s really important. We like tea & cake, learning stuff, being outside and the satisfaction of a job well done. Do you?

A could-do list July

FORAGED FLORISTRY • FROM HEDGEROWS TO COASTAL PATHS, ROADSIDES TO MEADOWS, SUMMER OFFERS UP BEAUTIES FOR BOUQUETS THAT WON'T COST YOU A PENNY, SAYS RACHEL DE THAMPLE

Magical Creatures • AN APPRECIATION OF SWIFTS

How to make summer slow • THERE ARE MANY UNEXPECTED BENEFITS TO BE HAD FROM TAKING YOUR FOOT OFF THE PEDAL DURING THE SHORT WEEKS OF SUMMER…

Home and away • Blurring the boundaries between home and holiday brings a more mindful perspective, discovers Jo Mattock…

CAKE IN THE HOUSE • Try this for a new way to enjoy your strawberries and cream

My day in cups of tea • We asked aromatherapist Vanessa Afful about how she spends her day in cuppas – and for a few suggestions to help us relax into summer

July Almanac • SEASONAL THOUGHTS TO HELP YOU ENJOY THE MONTH

MY ISLAND THE UISTS • VANESSA WRIGHT SHOWS US ROUND NORTH AND SOUTH UIST, HOME TO STUNNING WILDLIFE, WILDFLOWERS AND ENDLESS BEACHES

COULD-DO THE UISTS • Vanessa's favourite places on the island

PAUSE • Take a moment with some well-chosen words

French connection • NOD TO BASTILLE DAY AND GET EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR'S OLYMPIC GAMES WITH A FRENCH-INSPIRED GARDEN PARTY

Seeds of change • ANGIE LEWIN IS INSPIRED BY OVERLOOKED PLANT LIFE, WHEREVER IT BLOOMS, AND HER ART ENCOURAGES US TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, TOO

WEARING WELL • Stories of the clothes we love SWIMMING COSTUMES

Shaped by the sea • ELECTRIC BLUE, PALE TURQUOISE, GREEN, LAVENDER, ORANGE: REMNANTS OF OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST WASH UP AS TREASURES OF SEA GLASS, DISCOVERS KATHRYN TANN

TIDELINE TREASURES • SHOW OFF YOUR SEA GLASS MEMENTOS BY TURNING THEM INTO UNIQUE PIECES OF JEWELLERY

THE PUZZLE MAKERS • WHAT WERE LEISURELY BREAKFASTS AND TRAIN JOURNEYS BEFORE THE INVENTION OF THE CROSSWORD? MEET THE WOMEN WHO MADE THE PUZZLE INTO A PHENOMENON

CLASSIC PUZZLES

CROSSWORD

SUMMER SEARCHING • Find the words that make us think of summer days (and nights)

A simple thing…

Small ways to live well • Join us for Season 3 of our podcast from 21 July for how to take time out and time off

My living Independent markets • Many of us dream of running our own business. We ask the people who are actually doing it to share some of their insights and inspirations, the reality of the graft and their hard-won wisdom – and why they wouldn't have it any other way…

WHAT I TREASURE • My caravan, Kylie

UP FRONT • A WALK ON THE PROMENADE IS ONE OF SUMMER'S TIMELESS PLEASURES, YET THE PROM IS CONSTANTLY REINVENTING ITSELF

Good things • POSITIVE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Tales from a veg patch • MAKING THE MOST OF THE HARVEST AT HOME, KATHY SLACK COOKS UP A SEASONAL FEAST AND SHARES THE STORIES FROM HER BACK GARDEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

TIPPLE OF THE MONTH • This celebratory rose-f lavoured milkshake from Zanzibar is just the thing for balmy summer days.

KNOW A THING OR TWO… MAPS • Essential for finding your way – or designed to lead you astray – maps shape how we think about the world around us…

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD • PEBBLE BEACHES, COUNTRYSIDE WALKS AND AN ALMOST TROPICAL GARDEN MADE THIS CORNER OF KENT THE IDEAL PLACE FOR PENNY WARNER TO RAISE HER FAMILY

Flowers, fruit and fun • LARA HONNOR RUNS A...