find wonder where you already are
In one minute each week, discover the magic of your daily life, away from screens.
call for adventurers
Every day is an unbirthday celebration waiting to happen.
In Everyday Wonderland, we focus on daily life details, because personal development doesn’t have to feel like such a big deal.
The postcards are designed to get you started and keep you in momentum. Less dwelling on later, more focus on adventuring now -- because today is what we have.
When you can find wonder in your surroundings, you can find it anywhere.
When you understand daily life, everything comes together. Bigger dreams and decisions become clearer, because you are an expert in the subtle nuances of your day - in motion and in stillness, in stress and in joy.
Through small details, each week we articulate how we want to live. When you understand this on a smaller scale, the bigger questions will fall into place. When you slow down, time expands.
Our Quest for October 2021: Quest/Life Balance.
Now recruiting 12 new Secret Gardeners. Will you be one of them?
First you receive the digital handbook:
Everyday Wonderland - A Handbook for Heroines in Training.
Then each Sunday, you'll receive a digital postcard - quick and easy reading, in the time it takes the kettle to boil for your tea.
Each ends with a Call to Adventure:
week 1. begin a new chapter
week 2. invoke the muse
week 3. obsessions diary
week 4. fashionably light
There is wisdom and something to learn in everything that you do for fun.
Geeking out and indulging in what you love is not only acceptable - it’s productive, and essential.
- Xandra Robinson-Burns
can I join now?
Sort of...
The gates are open year round, but bear in mind that Patreon will charge you up front, and then on the first of the month.
The best time to join is the first couple days of a new month!
Our Quest for October 2021: Quest/Life Balance.
The first virtual postcard for October will be delivered in:
love notes
REBECCA E. SHAPIRO, HUFFLEPUFF
"Everyday Wonderland makes me feel less alone in my fairy tales :-)"
I discovered Xandra through her TEDx talk, How Harry Potter Saved My Life. I remember how excited I was to find someone with similar views on how we can use literature in our everyday lives.
Before joining Everyday Wonderland, I was worried that I was too old and insecure to let others see my passions. But I signed up anyway — and bought a new notebook!
Everyday Wonderland has given me back the youthful and creative inspiration I needed to get out of my own way. In the Secret Garden community, I’ve befriended likeminded dreamers and letter-writing pen pals. Now, I live more adventurously, and use my imagination to get through tough situations.
I wait eagerly for my next virtual postcard, and allot time to read it every Sunday. Then, all week, I live those Calls to Adventure. Everyday Wonderland is true to its whimsical name: ever evolving and growing with new, wondrous quests.
NAT DELANEY, RAVENCLAW
“I have enjoyed Xandra’s informative and entertaining writing, and am inspired by the wonderful ladies from across the world who are part of the community."
"The prompts in the programme have inspired me to try different things, one of which was handwriting a note instead of emailing, and looking up my mother’s recipe for afternoon tea scones to share with the group.”
ERIN OCHOCKI
"The Everyday Wonderland postcards are designed so beautifully - every time I feel like I'm getting a present in my inbox that I actually want to open!
Lots of e-mails give me an initial feeling of stress but when I see Xandra's postcards I'm like YES and sometimes save it for a special moment during my day when I know I'll get to enjoy it.”
CHARLI RENKEN, HUFFLEPUFF
"Everyday Wonderland's simplicity helped me realise how overwhelmed I was from overcomplicating things."
NICOLE DEGNATS, HUFFLEPUFF
"I love the sense of community in Everyday Wonderland, and our interesting conversations."
"During the month of Cosy, I decided to take hot cocoa along on my errands. I enjoyed this so much that it's now part of my weekly errand running.
After my first errand, my cup of cocoa is at the perfect drinking temperature. Simple changes can invite wonder to the most mundane of tasks."
MARGARET S., HUFFLEPUFF
“I’ve been on a personal journey to rekindle the magic of life – to find a little more joy, fun, whimsy, loveliness and sparkle to every day."
"Xandra and the Everyday Wonderland weekly Calls to Adventure are the perfect reminders nudging me to seek the things that make me happy and to find adventure in my own backyard. Woohoo!”
ANJELICA ETWORTH, GRYFFINDOR
"A ritual I look forward to every week."
"Whenever that magic postcard calling me to adventure enters my inbox, I'm smiling before I've even opened it, knowing that whatever's inside will give me a very classy pair of Xandra-style glasses that will inspire me to see my everyday surroundings and actions in new and surprising ways.
Everyday Wonderland has given me simple yet powerful spells to discover and practice new habits that continue even after the month's theme has ended. Answering the calls to adventure is like inhabiting a parallel universe where I carry out imaginative acts that only I can see in the moment, but that have an effect on the real world.
And even if it looks like there's no-one else around me who can see Everyday Wonderland, I know that someone else somewhere in the world is playing in Wonderland too. That's the real magic for me."
ANNELIESE M., RAVENCLAW
"Everyday Wonderland is the part of my To Do list that puts the life back into living."
"Everyday Wonderland encourages me to use what I already have or experience, but see it in a different way. The Calls to Adventure prompt me to simplify and make a game out of whatever I’m doing.
I relax into myself and appreciate my experience more. For example, actively enjoying a visit with relatives, instead of getting lost in making sure everything is perfect.
Xandra is so supportive and easy to communicate with. That warmth is something I didn’t know I needed, but am glad to have found in Everyday Wonderland.
KIMBER W.
"Such a welcoming online community.
Everyday Wonderland is just a delight!"
your pen pal, xandra robinson-burns
Xandra Robinson-Burns is the writer and protagonist of Heroine Training, where she chronicles her journey, chapter by chapter. She graduated from Exeter College, Oxford with a degree in English, and an eye for finding portals to imaginary worlds. A TEDx speaker, her work has been featured in The Guardian and the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband Steve and their dog, Snug.
i have questions
Everyday Wonderland is welcome to all. The feminine term 'heroine' in Heroine Training refers to my own perspective (and Catherine Morland's. Read Northanger Abbey for the full story). Our community is mostly women, and welcomes readers of all gender identities. Over the years I've chosen to refer to the members of our community as Secret Gardeners.
When you join, you will be sent your downloadable copy of Everyday Wonderland: A Heroine's Handbook, which will guide you on your journey.
Your membership also includes an allotment in our Secret Garden Gallery, an ongoing collaborative art project. This is a place to turn to when you spot something magical and want to share with someone who understands.
Then, every Wednesday morning, you will receive a new digital postcard, each with its own Call to Adventure.
Everyday Wonderland brings the handmade touch of a subscription box - but in digital form. It’s digital, but bounces you back into the physical offline world.
The minimum time commitment is 1 minute per week. Yes really :)
Guess what? Neither am I! Yay! Our Secret Garden community used to gather on Facebook, but we have moved to a non-Facebook alternative, The Secret Garden Gallery (connected via your Google account).
Now! You should receive your welcome email within 24 hours on a weekday. Your first digital postcard arrives on the Wednesday after you sign up.
Yes. You can manage your account via Patreon.
some mini adventures from our members...
- Rebecca reimagined working at the dispensary into working at an apothecary, or Diagon Alley potions house. She even turned a visa appointment at a government building into a visit to the Ministry of Magic!
- Susan brought light and intention into the task of tidying her home. Now she views it as a loving ritual of decluttering and beautifying. 'When my space is clear, my mind is more creative and at peace'.
- During the month of Cosy, Nicole began a tradition of bringing hot cocoa along on her mundane weekly errands.
- During the month of Simplicity, Charli scrapped frantic Valentine’s Day pressure in favour of sharing breakfast and exchanging cards with their partner. 'I just want to spend time with you,' Charli told him, and the pressure lifted.
- Janelle woke up early on a weekend trip with her friends. She meant to busy herself with activities, or go on her phone, but it was freezing. So she wrapped herself in a blanket, warmed her chilled hands, and took in the sight of melted ice floating slowly down the river. 'It was such a stripped-down, magical moment, I did it again the next day'.
- Planning felt impossible for Meridian. On mostly-bedrest, she found herself believing that her planning life would be perfect if she could go to a café. She challenged that thought, and brought the café to her. She decorated her space with pretty pillows, a lace curtain as a tablecloth, a custom playlist, and a homemade almond milk rooibos chai latté. 'Best of all, you can show up in your pajamas with bed hair!’
where will everyday wonderland take you?
MARY R., RAVENCLAW
“I am completely captivated by Everyday Wonderland."
"As an enchanting hostess, Xandra will make you aware of the delights to be found in the most unique and charming places.
The community is a quiet refuge reminiscent of sitting serenely amidst lush foliage, breathing in fragrant air, and hearing only whispers of rustling leaves.
This is what life is like with no cell phones, no rushing traffic, and no noisy demands on your time.”
SUSAN ROSSOW, GRYFFINCLAW
"Everyday Wonderland is my happy place, a spa for my soul."
"Everyday Wonderland has shown me how to celebrate wonder in the ordinary business of my day. By viewing my life through this lens, I am acutely aware of the little things that make me happy.
Flowers both planted and wild call out to me and make me smile. The task of tidying my home has become a loving ritual of decluttering and beautifying. When my space is clear, my mind is more creative and at peace.
In Everyday Wonderland I feel a sense of light and intention from Xandra and my fellow heroines. In this community, our paths intertwine in a magical, purposeful journey."
or, venture further
