October Life Lately
Hello, November! Whenever I write one of these posts I can never believe how much has happened in a month! I feel writing this one I've done a lot of watching but not a lot of... doing! Here's what's been going on this month...
What I've been doing
Well I suppose one thing I did do this month was run a half marathon! I'd had a horrible training cycle full of injuries and there were a few points when I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to run. I didn't have a time goal, but once I started and got a better pace than I expected on I decided I wanted to beat my 2:08 of my second half marathon in 2015.
I had knee pain within 3 miles, and foot pain almost right away, but I managed to push through in 2 hours 5 which I was absolutely thrilled with considering everything! I'm still struggling with the foot injury (starting running on it less than a week after the race did not help, and I managed to cause another injury through overcompensating), and I'm desperate to run again, but I'm so glad I had another great half marathon.
That's my two halves done for the year so I'm really hoping for a PB next year - while I did get another sub 2 hour in May, I missed a PB by a few seconds so it's given me something to aim for!
Enjoy this terrible race photo of me.
I spent a lot of October doing coursework for my marketing diploma. I am so so so close to being done. I just have one last piece of coursework to submit on 1st December and I am finished!
But it's not been all work, I've done plenty of socialising and had friends to visit, including my friend Ellen who I took to her first parkrun!
What I've been reading
Just two books this month read - The Fact of a Body which I'd downloaded months ago after a recommendation from Kate's newsletter, and then when it was mentioned on What Page Are You On? I decided to give it a read. I'm not super into true crime but this was a really interesting read, and I definitely, definitely recommend it if you are into true crime!
I also read The Shock of the Fall which I was a little bit disappointed with! I think it was built up a bit too much for me and it wasn't quite what I expected.
When I looked through my Goodreads I couldn't work out why I'd not read more this month and realised, I put a book down! I absolutely hate putting books down, but I know I'm not enjoying a book when I'm just not interested in reading. I don't think there was anything wrong with the book (it was Call me By Your Name so I could read it before the film) and I think I will pick it up again, but this time I couldn't get into it. So I decided I'd rather be reading something than nothing, so I put a book down and reached for something I loved.
What I've been watching
It seems with having had a quite quiet month we've had plenty of time to watch films which is always a good thing!
Here's what we've watched this month:
Blade Runner 2049
Enemy
The Death of Stalin
Lars and the Real Girl
Half Nelson
Gerald's Game
Speed
The Exorcist
American werewolf in London
I won't go through them all, but notable mentions - Lars and the Real Girl I LOVED. Instant favourite. I also feel like I have to mention my first watching of The Exorcist. Phil has wanted me to watch it for absolutely years and I've always been too scared! So the weekend before Halloween I caved. It was terrifying and I feel like I spent most of the film hiding behind a blanket, but the next day after some time for reflection I decided I actually thought it was brilliant and I'm looking forward to watching it again (and knowing when to look away!).
I also adored American Werewolf in London which we watched on Halloween. I found it hilarious.
TV-wise, we still haven't watched the new series of Stranger Things as we are hooked on Mindhunter. I am the biggest David Fincher fan so I knew I was going to love it but I think it's absolutely amazing. We're trying to pace ourselves cause we don't want to binge and it to be over!
We were also craving a comedy after finishing both The Office and Parks and Recreation so we've just started It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (yep we are about a decade late to the party) and love it so far.
What I've bought
In a word, a lot! I've definitely treated myself in October!
I gave myself a budget to get my winter wardrobe sorted and got nearly everything I wanted from M&S! I got these four jumpers for £60 and I've already worn them all so much. They're perfect.
I also played the long game in Oasis again and got this swan jumper after waiting 3 months for it to go in the sale. Always worth playing the long game in Oasis.
Speaking of sales, one of my favourite films is American Psycho and I've had my eye on this Pierce and Pierce tshirt for months, so when I saw it in the sale at Last Exit to Nowhere I had to have it. £8!
I also ended up with a few new recipe books, whoops! Anna Jones is my favourite ever food writer and her other two books are my desert-island books, so I've been (im)patiently waiting for the release of A Modern Cook's Year for what's felt like years. It's split into seasons so I've only been letting myself cook from the autumn section so far, and I'm going to review it on here a season at a time, so keep your eye out for my review of the autumn section.
I also bought Vegan Street Food after battling with myself over it for ages, and both of Elly Pear's books after borrowing them from the library and really enjoying them.
What I've been eating
I've gone full autumn-cliche this month and after focusing on the autumn section of A Modern Cook's Year I've been trying to eat more seasonally, so I went a bit crazy for these little pumpkins when I saw them in Aldi. Not going to lie, I bought 5 on November 1st cause I was worried they'd stop selling them after Halloween. They're currently decorating my fireplace.
As well as cooking through A Modern Cook's Year I've also been getting plenty of use from my airfryer, this month perfecting salt and pepper tofu and discovering it makes amazing baked potatoes!
Listening to
I'm still obsessed with What page are you on? podcasts and bought nearly every book from their Halloween special last week.
I also got hooked on Dirty John which is fascinating crime/mystery podcast which I binged over a few days. I'm also now down the rabbit hole with podcasts on cults - I'm currently fascinated with the Heaven's Gate podcast which then led me to Cults which is a podcast all about, unsurprisingly, cults. Highly recommend!
What I've been reading online
Marisa Bate - I'm frightened of having a baby, and maybe that's a good thing
Marisa Bate - Being part of "generation rent" doesn't have to be a bad thing
Schmancy - Failure
Ruby Tandoh - The Perfect Kitchen
What I'm excited for
Wednesday is our four year anniversary. Yep, it's been four years since I sheepishly posted I "have a date tomorrow". Where has time gone eh? And here we are in the house that we own, after living together nearly three years. Time flies when you're having fun!
We're not doing anything on the day except our usual Wednesday British Military Fitness but we're going out for dinner and drinks on Saturday night.
Other than that, not much else! I am "excited" to hand in my final piece of coursework but I actually need to finish it in the next 3 weeks - eeek!
I'm also starting to get excited for Christmas but I'm not allowed to get excited til 1st December!
What I've been doing
I had knee pain within 3 miles, and foot pain almost right away, but I managed to push through in 2 hours 5 which I was absolutely thrilled with considering everything! I'm still struggling with the foot injury (starting running on it less than a week after the race did not help, and I managed to cause another injury through overcompensating), and I'm desperate to run again, but I'm so glad I had another great half marathon.
That's my two halves done for the year so I'm really hoping for a PB next year - while I did get another sub 2 hour in May, I missed a PB by a few seconds so it's given me something to aim for!
Enjoy this terrible race photo of me.
I spent a lot of October doing coursework for my marketing diploma. I am so so so close to being done. I just have one last piece of coursework to submit on 1st December and I am finished!
But it's not been all work, I've done plenty of socialising and had friends to visit, including my friend Ellen who I took to her first parkrun!
What I've been reading
Just two books this month read - The Fact of a Body which I'd downloaded months ago after a recommendation from Kate's newsletter, and then when it was mentioned on What Page Are You On? I decided to give it a read. I'm not super into true crime but this was a really interesting read, and I definitely, definitely recommend it if you are into true crime!
I also read The Shock of the Fall which I was a little bit disappointed with! I think it was built up a bit too much for me and it wasn't quite what I expected.
When I looked through my Goodreads I couldn't work out why I'd not read more this month and realised, I put a book down! I absolutely hate putting books down, but I know I'm not enjoying a book when I'm just not interested in reading. I don't think there was anything wrong with the book (it was Call me By Your Name so I could read it before the film) and I think I will pick it up again, but this time I couldn't get into it. So I decided I'd rather be reading something than nothing, so I put a book down and reached for something I loved.
What I've been watching
It seems with having had a quite quiet month we've had plenty of time to watch films which is always a good thing!
Here's what we've watched this month:
Blade Runner 2049
Enemy
The Death of Stalin
Lars and the Real Girl
Half Nelson
Gerald's Game
Speed
The Exorcist
American werewolf in London
I won't go through them all, but notable mentions - Lars and the Real Girl I LOVED. Instant favourite. I also feel like I have to mention my first watching of The Exorcist. Phil has wanted me to watch it for absolutely years and I've always been too scared! So the weekend before Halloween I caved. It was terrifying and I feel like I spent most of the film hiding behind a blanket, but the next day after some time for reflection I decided I actually thought it was brilliant and I'm looking forward to watching it again (and knowing when to look away!).
I also adored American Werewolf in London which we watched on Halloween. I found it hilarious.
TV-wise, we still haven't watched the new series of Stranger Things as we are hooked on Mindhunter. I am the biggest David Fincher fan so I knew I was going to love it but I think it's absolutely amazing. We're trying to pace ourselves cause we don't want to binge and it to be over!
We were also craving a comedy after finishing both The Office and Parks and Recreation so we've just started It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (yep we are about a decade late to the party) and love it so far.
What I've bought
In a word, a lot! I've definitely treated myself in October!
I also bought Vegan Street Food after battling with myself over it for ages, and both of Elly Pear's books after borrowing them from the library and really enjoying them.
What I've been eating
As well as cooking through A Modern Cook's Year I've also been getting plenty of use from my airfryer, this month perfecting salt and pepper tofu and discovering it makes amazing baked potatoes!
Listening to
I'm still obsessed with What page are you on? podcasts and bought nearly every book from their Halloween special last week.
I also got hooked on Dirty John which is fascinating crime/mystery podcast which I binged over a few days. I'm also now down the rabbit hole with podcasts on cults - I'm currently fascinated with the Heaven's Gate podcast which then led me to Cults which is a podcast all about, unsurprisingly, cults. Highly recommend!
What I've been reading online
Marisa Bate - I'm frightened of having a baby, and maybe that's a good thing
Marisa Bate - Being part of "generation rent" doesn't have to be a bad thing
Schmancy - Failure
Ruby Tandoh - The Perfect Kitchen
Jack Monroe - I gave up my smartphone for a 3310
Lauren Bravo -Suspended adulthood
Michelle - Blogtober
What I'm excited for
Wednesday is our four year anniversary. Yep, it's been four years since I sheepishly posted I "have a date tomorrow". Where has time gone eh? And here we are in the house that we own, after living together nearly three years. Time flies when you're having fun!
We're not doing anything on the day except our usual Wednesday British Military Fitness but we're going out for dinner and drinks on Saturday night.
Other than that, not much else! I am "excited" to hand in my final piece of coursework but I actually need to finish it in the next 3 weeks - eeek!
I'm also starting to get excited for Christmas but I'm not allowed to get excited til 1st December!
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