Happy Monday!
February is finally here, and please, please, pleaaaaaase let’s all pray that sunshine, warmth and blue skies aren’t far behind.
I have mixed feelings about January. On the one hand, York was awesome, Gary’s birthday was fun, and I had a lot of cosy nights in. I cooked yummy meals, worked out, booked holidays, made future plans.
But on the other hand my mental health took a bit of a nosedive. Call me a twenty-something cliché, but I’ve been feeling lost, unmotivated and confused about what I want to do with my life. At one particularly rocky moment last week, I actually considered quitting my blog. (Before my common sense kicked in and I realised that maybe I was being a biiiiit of a drama queen.)
After that, I’ve spent every waking hour reading books, talking to friends who are wiser than I am, and really pondering what it is I want for my future.
And it seems to have worked. I feel motivated and excited about my career again, for the first time in months, and I actually think I’ve learned a lot about how my mind works too.
Here’s what else has made me smile this week!
1. Brunch with Claire. Claire and I went for brunch yesterday, then headed out into Shoreditch for a wander and a chat. We squealed over puppies, drank lots of tea, and took a bunch of outfit photos. A lovely relaxing day!
2. Grit by Angela Duckworth. Holy smokes, this book. Grace recommended it to me last week and I’ve been eating it up in chunks. It’s about passion and perseverance, and how successful people have certain personality traits which drive them to the top. And BEST OF ALL, how anyone can develop those personality traits. I’m finding it so helpful to get over my: “eurgh why am I so useless” phase.
3. Sunshine. The sun put in a couple of appearances over the weekend and I couldn’t be happier about it. We even had daylight after 4:30pm the other day! COME ON SPRING. HURRY UP PLEASE.
4. Beef chow mein. Cos sometimes you just need a takeaway in your life.
5. We are family. We had a family reunion for my cousin’s birthday on Saturday, with drinks and nibbles and lots of ping-pong. It was lovely to catch up with all my cousins, and talk travel plans with my aunts, and I’m already excited for round two in May!
6. New planners. I bought a GIANT notebook in Paperchase the other day. It’s got lined pages, and divider tabs, and I’m basically going to make myself a huge blog planner and daily task list, to keep me on track with things. I’m fed up of being so rubbish at actually sticking to my plans, so hopefully this (and a bit of help from my Fairy Blogmother) will help.
7. Girl talk. Karen, Jasmin and I went for dinner at The Folly on Friday. The food was fantastic, and the company even better. Yay for girl friends who are totally on your wave length. *praise hands emoji*
8. Thai red curry. I made a turkey Thai red curry last week and it was BANGING, if I do say so myself. Deep, rich, spicy, and it warmed me up right down to the bones.
9. Personal style. After clearing out my wardrobe over Christmas, and picking up some new pieces in the January sales, I’m actually SO happy with my style at the moment. My clothes feel like ME, and that feels awesome.
10. Japan plans. We’ve booked flights for Japan! Charlie, Erica, Leanne, Jen and I managed to pick up return flights for just over £420 on the KLM website, and we’re heading off for two weeks at the end of September. Which means I’ll be spending my BIRTHDAY in TOKYO!!! I have to pinch myself every time I think of it.
This week I plan to apply for a new driving licence (I lost mine a while ago), book a refresher driving lesson, transfer my phone contract, plan a month’s worth of content, and work out at least twice.
See? My adulthood levels are improving already!
And I’m going to actually do it all too. I’m not known for my staying power, but I’ve realised that I’m really, reaaaaally sick of being known as the flakey one who’s always late everywhere and never answers emails.
It’s my own stupid fault (because I AM the flakey one who’s always late everywhere and never answers emails), but I’m working on it. I really am.
In fact, I finally realised what I want my “word” to be for 2017: GROWTH.
So here’s to me growing into a better, kinder, wiser person.
Have a wonderful week guys! ♥
