Ever since I can remember, I imagined what it would be like to live in a fairy tale. With age, my version of “fairy tale” changed but the premise of a “magical life” was still there. This is my version of a modern fairy tale.

As a child, my fondest memories were reading fairy tales as they always transported me somewhere familiar yet magical. Usually they were from the Romantic period featuring English countrysides, manor houses, stone cottages with wild English country gardens and wonky cobblestone streets in the heart of little villages. I loved these scenarios because of how easy they were to find in the real world, especially in the UK. I never had to venture too far to feel like I'd entered a storybook. It was the perfect mix of real and imaginary.

My inspirations:

• Oliver Twist (1968)

• Mary Poppins (The original with lovely Julie Andrews)

• A Christmas Carol

• Peter Rabbit

• Flower Fairies

• Hans Christian Andersen

• Grimm’s Fairy Tales

• The Secret Garden (1993)

• Studio Ghibli films (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro)

• Dr Dolittle (1967)

• Nanny McPhee

• Winnie The Pooh

FROM DREAM TO REALITY

My love for fairy tales still lingers and is stronger now if anything. I can’t remember when, but years ago, my mom and I dreamt up the prospect of finding a country cottage. As soon as I got a car, I drove as often as I could to places that resembled something from a storybook. The older I got, the more necessary it became to get away from the city to make my stress and anxiety melt away. Then one day my mom posed the idea of house hunting for fun. Little did we know that we would end up finding the dream chocolate box cottage sooner than we'd imagined.

FROM CITY CHAOS TO COUNTRY CALM

So here I am today, in my little chocolate box cottage, living out my very own version of a Charles Dickens book. I still have so much to change, interior-wise, but the scene has been set. This move is significant in so many ways, it’s not just about fulfilling my dream of living out a fairy tale. I also wanted to have immediate access to nature. To go for long country walks with muddy boots, learn to cook, take up pottery and more. It also became about adult things like the want and need of a better lifestyle so that I could work smarter not harder and take care of my wellbeing.

Increasingly in the past few years, I found it difficult to find inspiration in the city making it hard to be creative and have always known in some shape or form that I wanted a quiet life, work for myself and do things on my terms. Although I'm not quite ready to give up the city and move full-time to the countryside, I am lucky enough to have the best of both worlds for the time being. I am curious, however, to see which one I end up choosing, if either! I know that at this moment in time, for my imagination and creativity to exist and thrive, it needs a place of quiet and calm. Welcome to this new chapter of Hikarui, the country edition.

Related: The Cottage: The Before

This post includes affiliate links and I would love if you decided to use them. Affiliate links + referrals programs help educators like me, at no extra cost to you, fund the free content that we provide on our blogs.

Want More Hikarui?

Get lightweight content straight to your inbox to guide you through modern stressors and help restore creativity.