**Summer Travel**
My summer began in June with a family stay-cation in Devon. Photos are of Sidmouth beach and the family holiday rental we stayed in.
Beautiful Uk beaches and rolling countryside reminded me of the beauty that is right here, on our British door step.

Venturing further a field In August, we went on a villa holiday to Alcudia with my brother and his family.

My art is often inspired by mother nature, so the beautiful flowers, wildlife and tiles around the Villa really captured my heart.

The Tropical Hibiscus were my favourite flowers. They would close up their petals at night as if they were tucking themselves in, and then bloom open when the sun rose, so cute!

The lemon tree rain shower added a unique feature. With a bounty of zesty lemons that weren’t quite ripe, you were elated when you found a yellow one on the floor.

Alcudia beach offered inviting turquoise waters that lapped the white sandy shoreline.
The beach was in walking distance for me to manage which was great!
Collecting sea shells from the seashore was one of my favourite activities. My niece and nephew delighted in using them to decorate their sandcastles.

Sangria and cocktails went down a little too well. As did Julio’s crepes, which if you are in Alcudia it’s a must stop for delicious desserts.

Alcudia Old Town had real charm. It was like stepping into a Disney Movie.

I bought a perfume whilst we were away. I wanted something that would remind me of the holiday whenever I smelt it.
I didn’t know what scent I had bought, I just liked the notes of it - mandarin, white flowers, sunkissed vanilla and patchouli.
When my sister-in-law checked the bottle in tiny writing it read ‘La Vie Est Belle Soleil Cristal’, which translates as ‘Life is Beautiful, Sun Crystal’ which I think is just perfect.
The stars in Alucdia shone so brightly at night, I loved lying on a lounger and gazing up at them.
My brother introduced me to ‘The Night Sky App’ which when you hold it up to the sky, it tells you what the stars and planets are that are around you! Amazing!
This lead to deep conversations about whether there is other Earth like planets out there and whether or not you would go to Mars if you had the chance?

‘The best of Nelly Furtado’ became my soundtrack to summer, thanks to my brother playing her songs in the villa.
So many classics… ‘I’m like a bird’, ‘Try’, ‘Turn off the light’ and ‘Maneater’ to name but a few.

The CFS health recovery programme is something that I follow every day and have done for the past 5.5 years. It’s a holistic programme that helps people with chronic health conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, improve their lives over time.

I did alot less art over summer and really concentrated alot on trying to progress physically, to enable myself to manage the holiday. The Zebra Club which is an at home pilates app is specifically designed for people with chronic pain and hypermobility. Along with the CFS health programme, It’s been a real game changer for me, it does feel like one step forward, two steps back sometimes but I am building up slowly.

I did have a flare for 5 days after my holiday, which indicates I still have a way to go on my journey. But I did recover back to where I was quicker than I used to, so my body is healing little by little and my capacity to do things is going up. All the work I put in daily is paying off.

Summer Reads included the brilliant “it’s not about the money” book by Catherine Morgan. She talks about uncovering the stories you may have around money, which may be holding you back from being financially free and teaches you steps in becoming financially literate.

‘Bird Hits Glass’ by Beate Triantafilidis was my Devon holiday read. I follow Bea on Instagram, she did the same CFS health recovery programme as me. She is now fully recovered and has written a fictional book about someone who has chronic fatigue and what it is like for them living with invisible illness. There were so many parts of her book that I could relate to.

My summer podcast of choice was ‘The sensitive and soulful show’ by Alissa Boyer. I discovered I am a highly sensitive person this year which explains quite alot. Alissa is all about helping highly sensitive people feel empowered in a world that doesn’t necessarily embrace sensitivity.

‘Friends From College’ (18) was my TV NETFLIX pick. It got negative reviews on rotten tomatoes and cancelled after it’s second season, but I loved it. I laughed out loud in so many moments - great for the parasympathetic nervous system.

I did do one painting this summer…..
The jolliest bouquet ever!
Inspired by a Bloom and Wild bouquet, this characterful painting has just been listed on my shop and looking for it’s forever home :)

I hope you enjoyed seeing what has been inspiring me this summer. I do feel like my well of creativity has been restocked. Excited to see where it takes me.

I hope you had a lovely summer too :)

Catch up again soon,

Love, light and gratitude Jenna xx

Summer Mood Board