Home Body with Laura Wright of The First Mess

Welcome to the fifth instalment of Home Body, an interview series where we talk to inspiring folks staying home during the lock down. Find the first interview here, second interview here , third interview here and fourth interview here .

If you have ever looked online for some beautiful, quick, comfy, vegetable forward vegan recipes you have probably encountered Laura’s website The First Mess. Laura is a recipe developer and author of the incredible cookbook: The First Mess Cookbook: Vibrant Plant-Based Recipes to Eat Well Through the Seasons. Laura lives in Southern Ontario close to the Buffalo border and usually shares her insights on illusive plant based American finds we can’t get in Canada on her Instagram stories but of coarse, that hasn’t been happening for a while due to the lock downs.

I love Laura’s cool, casual style, plant based dishes and adorable pups! I decided to reach out to Laura to see how lockdown was treating her and how she stays motivated when working from home.

How have you been feeling these past months while being in lockdown?

Honestly, my well-being ebbs and flows between “This is not a big deal!” and “Wow, this is really never gonna end, is it?” Spending as much time outside as possible has helped a lot. I used to dread winter, but this current mode of life has given me a new appreciation for it. A snowy walk without any tech (no podcasts or music or anything) has been one of my favourite things lately.

What has this time taught you?

This slower paced life has made me realize that I need to stop forcing unnecessary pressure as it relates to working and just life in general. The level of stress that I was inflicting on myself was totally inappropriate given the tradeoff most of the time. I’m a person who always talks about the toxicity of hustle culture/busyness for the sake of busyness, but definitely participates in aspects of it. I understand the privilege in being able to stop that participation when I decide it’s enough. I do think a lot of us are waking up to the idea that we’ve been favouring productivity as a measure of our self-worth over our basic humanity for a long time.

What are the things you miss most about pre-covid life?

Driving over to my parents house and having a coffee with them whenever I feel like it. Having friends over for dinner. Spontaneously ducking into a bar for a drink and a snack with my partner. Taking a little day trip over the border to Buffalo to check out the art gallery and maybe a new restaurant. Lingering at the grocery store to browse and look at stuff. Really the simplest things!

*Laura at home with her pups Mickey and Cleo*

Has your self-care changed during this time?

I’m going real hard for baths lately. I cycle through a bunch of different bath salts and always a big scoop of magnesium flakes. I’ve expanded my candle collection the past few months because if I’m spending all this extra time at home, I want a bit more ambiance. I actually stop and have lunch now when I’m working at home. I never really did this before! We’ve also really bumped up our takeout consumption in the past few months, which I 100% consider a form of self care.

What have you been doing to feel good lately?

Eating whatever I want, taking long screen breaks, having a nap occasionally, and getting as much fresh air as possible.

Do you have any favourite products, rituals or recipes you’re loving these days?

I used to be really big on rituals and setting up my morning and evening routines, always with some type of productivity or work-related goal in mind if I’m being honest. I’ve kind of let all of that go in the last year or so, favouring what feels good in the moment.

Things that have felt good: making soft pretzels and basically any kind of bread-adjacent recipe, calling my mom seriously ALL the time, eating every single thing with Brooklyn Delhi’s Roasted Garlic Achaar, having frothy baths with Bathorium’s Crush Soaks, and playing around with Seedlip non-alcoholic spirits at our daily cocktail time.

To find out more about Laura make sure to follow her

on Instagram @thefirstmess or online at thefirstmess.com