Mindfully Stylish 🌷

My 31st birthday in 2022 dawned almost painfully fresh and new, tentatively tipping over into the brink of the unknown. Recently single, it had become clear that in order to move forwards I had to move ~ to Leeds ~ a decision which was still in desperate need of being watered, and encouraged to blossom, to sprout and to green.

This was the first time celebrating in my new city ~ but I didn’t reside here, yet. Instead, I stayed with my sister, Cha, and awoke the next morning to this gorgeous spread with my mum singing ‘Happy Birthday’ from the bottom of the stairs…

No matter where we are in Life, all members of ‘The Three Musketeers’ have historically shown up with a cake and candles and fistfuls of glitter to celebrate another year.

And so, bolstered by Prosecco and chocolate macarons, we made our way to Cha’s favourite cafe, Fika North in Headingley, that she so wanted me to see. It was almost Easter and surrounded by the bursts of gold Spring sunshine, hot velvety coffee and kaleidoscope colours, it felt like there was no place I’d rather be.

Fika North is nestled between yellow stone, country-style buildings in the heart of Far Headingley, so called because ‘it was originally a small hamlet on what was known as Headingley Moor, situated further north than the main Headingley village’. Fika is Swedish (pronounced ‘fee-kah’) and is one of those amazingly compact words that means ‘a moment to slow down and appreciate the good things in life’, like coffee with friends or, indeed, that pocket of family time.

Comforting fluffy cakes lined the window displays and little plants and cacti adorned the tables.

For main, I ordered a vegan pastrami bagel and I highly recommend it, the ‘meat’ was nicer than actual pastrami!

Delicious. Also on the menu were fresh green fruit and spinach smoothies and the cutest Mini Egg blondie I have ever seen, which I chose for dessert.

After our (mostly) healthy brunch, we wandered up the quaint, ancient backstreets to find the car and came across this gorgeous cinema, which turns out to be the oldest one in Leeds and has been showing films since 1912!

This cinema fascinates me because of its interesting history. It is the only independently owned cinema left in Leeds and was once a motorcycle garage and repair shop. But one day in the early 1900s, along came a gentleman called Owen Brooks who would change its life path forever. Brooks, aside from being into vehicles and a handy repair man, was also keenly passionate about film, an amateur professional cameraman who had made short news reels to be shown at the Tivoli Theatre (now demolished but once served the biggest council housing estate in Leeds). Fast forward to 2021 and you can still see the classics here every six weeks during the newly introduced ‘Classics at the Cottage’. Previous showings have included Cabaret, Casablanca, Some Like It Hot and my personal favourite, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. You can visit Cottage Road Cinema and see what’s on here.

Next, we drove back to Cha’s and decided to walk into the centre of town, about a 40 minute jaunt along the canal path that runs beside the River Aire.

Most scholars argue that the River Aire is so named from a Celtic word ‘Isarā‘, meaning “the strong one,” due to the river’s powerful flow. It runs parallel for a long way beside the Leeds Liverpool Canal, a 127 mile length of water that crosses the Pennines, thus connecting the two cities. The canal was built to transport coal and limestone from the industrial cities of Yorkshire and Lancashire, to fuel the burgeoning textile industry in Liverpool and to supply the other expanding towns nearby. Today, it is a beautifully picturesque tow-path open to the public that still houses pretty canal boats along the way. It has become one of our favourite walks at any time of year, but particularly for me in Autumn when the leaves’ changing colours are reflected in water that is cold and crystal-clear.

When we reached Leeds, we decided a spot of shopping was in order and turned our footsteps to H&M, my favourite high street store for its commitment to sustainability, and found a purple floral shirt dress that reminded me of the bluebells I had seen on our journey there. I bought it to remember the day by since it felt particularly fitting for Spring.

Finally, after a slice of pizza, we went climbing, and I surprised myself with how bold I was! As we settled onto the top deck of the bus to ride the rest of the way there, I pulled out my phone and jotted down a few pieces of advice for anyone moving cities that I thought might be helpful to share.

1. First off, find your cosiest cafes that will become your go-tos again and again, preferably with Wifi so you can come and work as well as visit with friends. Sometimes the most contented interactions are those with strangers as you sip your morning coffee or herbal tea… The cafes in Leeds that have helped me feel less alone include Wolfox on Wellington Street, Laynes by the station, The Union Coffee House on Great George Street and Sociable Folk.

2. Celebrate a birthday, special event or festivity in the city you’re moving to before settling there permanently so that you already associate it with happy memories. If you can, treat yourself to a gift to remember the day by and wear it or take it with you as you start to explore ~ it will make it easier to reawaken that sense of joy and time spent with loved ones all the more.

3. Take yourself out to dinner. I will never forget the November I moved to Leeds and the night I went in search of a restaurant to serve as a kind of shelter for how I was feeling, which was scared and incredibly low. I found Fint for its two course seasonal dinner menu and settled into the minimalist calm, ethereal music and candlelit interior of this Scandi-inspired venue. Life hack: seek out the restaurants with real candlelight and bring your diary or a book with you so that inspiration and cheer are always present as you enjoy your meal.

5. Capture the city’s most striking architecture and visit it in every season. Getting to know the Spirit of a city often involves getting to know its greatest buildings. In Leeds, those that have inspired me include the vaulted circular ceiling of The Corn Exchange (opened in 1864) and the gothic Victorian vibes of Leeds Minster. I often refer to them as my ‘Gentle Giants’. It is surprising how much comfort a building can give, like an embrace made of soft stone and warm, polished brick…

6. Make your home a sanctuary you always want to return to. A safe space for your home environment (actually, for any environment) is incredibly important when you move to a new city as it forms the foundation of your forays out into the big wide world. This is my Rainbow Corner that my sister Cha built for me when I first moved in, surrounded by my tarot cards and framed print by John Atkinson Grimshaw up above. Colours, most-loved pictures, soft furnishings to curl up on and keeping it tidy will make the ‘present you’ thank ‘past you’ each time you step back inside.

7. Make a wish on the water and choose your sacred place. This is a Wild Practice that has always made me feel safe. Water holds memory and vibration so speaking to the city’s local Water Spirits is really important. Seek out your new home’s canals, rivers, ponds, lakes and streams (or Sea!) and leave an offering of dried flowers for the gods and goddesses. They may happen to be by a tree you are particularly drawn to or somewhere you feel a sacredness. Use your intuition to find where you feel that Magick, ask your Guides to help you and look for old forests and woods, fountains, waterfalls, or stones to make that sacred connection. Meditate or simply sit and absorb the energy of that place once you find it.

Let me know if you’d like to hear more witchy tips…

In Love&Light, FS XOX