Stéphanie Alice

I recently discovered the Japanese concept of micro seasons. In ancient Japan, the year was divided into twenty four periods based on the Chinese calendar, and then subdivided into 72 seasons. Each of these mini seasons lasts approximately 5 days and is named after the blooming of a plant, the arrival or departure of a bird, or some event in the annual cycle of Japan's physical environment. You can read more about Japanese micro seasons here: https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00124/

Intrigued, I researched whether anybody had applied the idea to the British climate and discovered a recent collaborative project over on Twitter. I am not on Twitter myself, but had an enjoyable deep dive into their project and names: https://twitter.com/Naturalcalendar

Inspired, I have decided to create my own list of micro seasons to describe the ebb and flow of the physical world in the context of the urban environment I call home. I want to make it abundantly clear that this concept is not my creation, I am just inspired by this beautiful way of seeing the world. If you would like to join me and those who have trodden the path before me, whether through writing, photography, video, illustration, or any other medium, then please jump in at any stage. You don't need to wait for a new year to begin. It's a brilliant way to learn more about the world around you and discover the plants and animals in your neighbourhood, including their scientific names if that's something you are interested in learning more about.

Today's video is in celebration of living small, and making the most of what you already have. My kitchen is tiny. It measures 2m by 2m and it doesn't have any windows. It is dark, and it isn't very well designed. In this video I share what I have done to make the most of this tiny kitchen space so that I can cook and bake comfortably in my small apartment kitchen.

In this video I am baking vegan madeleines using this recipe:
https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2021/03/08/vegan-madeleines/

April is a beautiful month which starts burnt umber and ends sap green. This week I captured some footage of my everyday life and assembled it into another quiet vlog. Join me as I potter around at home, bake bread, prepare for a photo shoot for work, and go for a walk in the silver birch woods where I encounter the wild ponies.

Join me for a walk around Cambridge University Botanic Garden in Cambridge, England. Last week, my husband and I made a daytrip to Cambridge to visit the botanic garden. The fruit trees are in blossom and we have been enjoying some lovely warm weather recently. We made a picnic and ate lunch beneath the redwoods before exploring the glasshouses and mature trees throughout the grounds of the botanic garden.

We were lucky enough to witness the university's "Strongylodon Macrobotrys" in full bloom!

In today's video I want to share some ideas for cat proofing, dog proofing, or child proofing a houseplant collection. My cat is six months old and he loves to play with my trailing houseplants. He can climb and jump, so I have had to be creative to keep my plants by my window, but out of reach of his curious little nose and paws.

I hope this video gives you some ideas for your own houseplant collection. I try to use objects I already have rather than buy things for a single purpose, and many of the glass vases I use for my plants were vases I had to hand already.

Today I am sharing a sustainable sewing project and making a hair scarf with recycled fabric. The fabric I am using is a silk remnant that I bought on eBay, which was originally part of someone's kimono. The fabric I used was approximately 150cm long and 20cm wide and it is long enough to wrap around my head twice and tie the ends together comfortably. If you would like to make a hair scarf with fabric remnants, search for a long rectangular strip of fabric of similar dimensions.

This sewing project is a brilliant way to use up fabric scraps and is beginner friendly, too.

It's spring in England, and I am so happy to see the light returning, to hear the birds singing, and to be able to spend lots of time outdoors. Join me for a quiet, peaceful vlog as I spring clean the balcony with my six month old kitten, bake baguettes, and go for a walk to people watch and view the cherry blossom which is currently in bloom in my city.

Happy first birthday to my YouTube channel! "Eighteen and Cloudy" turns one today, and so I am celebrating in the manner in which I began, with a silent, cinematic ASMR baking video! I'm making vegan babka with a chocolate and tahini filling. "Babka" is a sweet treat which is thought to originate from the Jewish communities in Poland and Ukraine during the nineteenth century. The version we know today is a little bit more indulgent, and much more closely resembles a cake than bread. It's really tasty!

The recipe I followed to make this vegan chocolate and tahini babka can be found here: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2020/05/17/vegan-chocolate-babka/

I followed the recipe for the dough, but created my own filling with melted 70% chocolate, golden syrup, tahini, and a pinch of sea salt. Rather than using a bread tin, I braided my babka into a four strand braid, and baked it in my fan oven for 15 minutes at 180C and then another 10 minutes at 150C. Keep a close eye on your oven whilst you bake, babka can burn quite quickly.

Thank you so much for supporting my channel, it means so much to me to have you here. Here's to year two!