A Grown Up’s Gap Year – The Newsletter #28

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Summer Life on the Greek Island ‘Hydra’

In conversation with chic local, artist Desiree Prinsloo.

HELLO – HAPPY SUNDAY!

If your brain is already halfway to the holidays, this week’s A Grown Up’s Gap Year – The Podcast episode is an armchair ticket to a Greek Island.

I’m talking with artist Desiree Prinsloo, who divides her time between Sydney and the island of Hydra – and who describes mid-life as middle youth. I could not love this sentiment more.

After the years of monumental unravelling that followed her husband’s sudden passing, she did what most of us only dream about: one night, scrolling property listings in Greece, she thought “Why not?” and bought herself a farmhouse on Hydra.

We talk about:

What “middle youth” means.
The realities of owning a home abroad (lawyers, bureaucracy, bills – the lot).
Daily swims, keeping her home simple & authentic, art, and what she sees in the women who come to her artist classes.

Enjoy.

And remember: during this busy, busy time of the year it is perfectly fine not to approach everything at full tilt 100%. In fact, it’s downright appealing to ditch that idea entirely. Next week’s episode includes why 2026 will have me nabbing a darling friend’s new move – 60% for most things. I will be using the extra 40% for the things that actually “float my boat”. Join me!

That’s it for this week.

May you find a patch of sun, a good Greek Island daydream, and five minutes to ask yourself:

“If I had a Hydra moment of my own – a room, a habit, a place – what would it mean to me?”

With love (and wishing you a bit of space to sit with a HOT coffee this week),

Monique x

LISTEN HERE

THIS WEEK I AM BAKING

Nigella Lawson’s Christmas Cake

Late to bake.
But couldn’t not – I ❤️ Christmas Cake!!!
Nigella Lawson’s recipe from her Domestic Goddess cookbook (I believe it was bequeathed by a girlfriend’s KIWI Mum – it’s seriously good – our friends across the ditch know how to bake)
Enjoy🎄

Ps. Baking purists look away 😂
To make up for ‘lack of resting time’, pour Sherry liberally over the cake after baking, then tightly wrap in foil, into an airtight cake tin until you are ready to slice and serve. Ice or not (and if you do, definitely go the extra mile with the marzipan layer). Delish!

DEAR BLOKES

A love letter (with checklist) from the women who carry the mental load.

If the woman you love keeps half-joking about a Greek island, a beach shack or a hotel down the road (without you), it’s usually not just about the house.

It’s about:

Space – a day where we are not on call for everyone, ALWAYS.
Autonomy – a decision that doesn’t run through seventeen calendars.
Possibility – wanting the next twenty years to feel expansive, creative, FUN.

Cont…

DEAR BLOKES FRIDGE NOTES

READ | CHARMIAN CLIFT ‘Peel Me A Lotus’

“…the companion volume to Mermaid Singing relays her move to Hydra where Charmain (and George Johnston) bought a house and grappled with the chaos of domestic life and three children whilst also becoming the centre of an informal community of artists and writers. The group later included Leonard Cohen who became their lodger and his girlfriend Marianne Ihlen. Clift paints an evocative picture of the characters and sun-drenched rhythms of traditional life, long before backpackers and mass tourism descended.”