After documenting weekends with my family for almost six years, I've come to realise just how important it is to make the most of Saturday and Sunday.

Rest and relaxation are key, but for me, it's also important to be productive. There's nothing worse than heading to bed on a Sunday evening with a gnawing sense that you haven't achieved anything with your time off.  

I know from experience that busy weekdays and a hectic schedule can leave you feeling decidedly uninspired by the time Friday evening rolls around. Without a plan or, at the very least, a tiny nugget of an idea, it's all too easy to waste a perfectly good weekend doing nothing much at all. 

The intention behind my new weekly newsletter is to share simple tips and ideas that will help you create truly memorable weekends.

You'll find delicious food to feed your friends and family as well as simple activities to occupy your time. I'll include links I think you'll love and give you an insight into the books, blogs, films and television programs that I think were made for long, lazy weekends at home.

I love an aspirational lifestyle blog as much as the next person, but I'm not about to pretend my weekends are perfect. Just like my beloved Sunday night series, I'll be focusing on finding happiness amidst the mundane and showing you how to maximise the simplest of pleasures.

Read on to discover my very first Weekend Prompt...

Pickling and preserving is an ideal weekend activity for this time of year. There's something incredibly comforting about stowing away delicious produce to be enjoyed at a later date.

My lovely neighbours, Margot and Leonard, always share their fruit harvest with me and the children. This year I decided to turn some of the glut into Spiced Pickled Pears. The incredible scent that filled the kitchen as the syrup simmered on the stove is reason enough for you to give this a whirl!

Pears can  be pickled while they're still hard, so there's no need to wait for that elusive window of ripeness. These are sweet enough to serve as dessert, but they're equally good with cheese or cold meats.

You'll find the original recipe in the September issue of The Simple Things magazine, which happens to be one of my favourite weekend reads!

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140/325F

2. Put the sugar, vinegar and spices into a pan. Warm gently until all the granules have dissolved then turn up the heat and simmer gently for a couple of minutes.

3. Meanwhile, peel, half and core the pears and place them cut-side down in an oven-proof dish.

4. Pour the warm syrup over the fruit, cover the dish with a lid or silver foil and bake for around 40 minutes.

5. Sterilise your jars {see note below} and pour in the pears and their juices while they and the jars are still warm. Seal and label accordingly. The original recipe suggested this volume should fill two 1-litre jars, but I only needed one 500ml container.

The pears will keep for several months, sealed, or for a few weeks in the fridge after opening.