August Life Lately
IT'S SEPTEMBER! WE GO ON OUR HONEYMOON THIS WEEK!!!
I can't believe it's finally here, after over a year of planning. We are currently spending our evenings watching videos on the best things to eat in Vancouver or the best walks in Banff. I'm writing endless lists of what to pack and trying to squeeze in one last trip to H&M for something else I need. I'm trying to work out how much I need for a two-week, multi-location, multi-climate, multi-activity trip without bringing my entire wardrobe with me.
My camera is charged and ready (rescued from the loft!), I'm still deciding on my podcasts and audiobooks and my books are all downloaded.
I can't remember the last time I was this excited for a holiday!
I don't know how much detail I've gone into about the trip, but we fly to Vancouver first and we have five nights there, then on Monday we pick up a car and we've got 5 nights exploring the Rockies - stopping off at Whistler, and breaking up the drive to Banff with a stop off in Salmon Arm, and heading to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Jasper while we're there. Then we fly to Toronto for three nights before finally heading to Niagara Falls.
In the nearly six years we've been together we've never been on a "big" holiday - we haven't even done a long-haul flight together! - so we decided when we did our honeymoon we were going to do it properly. I am so so so excited!
Anyway! Enough about September! Let's talk about August (and here's my One Second Every Day for the month)...
Where I've been
The month started with my cousin's hen party which was in the beautiful Double Tree Hotel in Manchester, and we were so lucky with the weather that we could sit on the balcony. It was so lovely and I totally nailed the dress code by wearing the exact same dress as the bride (I did not do this on her wedding day I promise). It was so lovely to hang out with all the women in my family and my wonderful cousins.
We also went to Formby this month for a day out with my best friends and their partners. We had a gorgeous walk along the beach - until it started to rain! It was such a nice day and a lovely beach so I'm hoping we can make it an annual trip!
After hearing good things from... basically everyone, we managed to snag nosebled seats to The Book of Mormon. We'd seen Avenue Q on our minimoon in Cheltenham so we were really excited to see Book of Mormon.. which was even more outrageous than we expected! It was so much fun!
Then on Friday, my cousin got married! It was the most beautiful day, her dress was incredible, the room was gorgeous, and Phil and I absolutely killed it on the dancefloor. I absolutely love a family wedding - my Dad is one of eight so at any family wedding there's a lot of us! I absolutely loved welcoming Rob into the madness of the Crowley family!
What I've been doing
The 3rd of August marked exactly six years since my first parkrun, so obviously I celebrated with...parkrun! I'm so proud of myself for giving it a go six years ago - parkrun is my biggest passion and a huge part of my life! In six years I've run nearly 200 parkruns (I'm due to hit my 200th next month!) across 26 different locations (with my first International parkrun coming next week!). Six years ago I had no idea I'd go on to run half marathons and marathons, and come back every single Saturday morning!
We've not been crazy busy this month which has given us plenty of time for my kind of "planned spontaneity". As you know, I'm not a spontaneous person, but with a few weekends free this month we managed to be spontaneous enough to plan a few days in advance, rather than months in advance!
We met with our wedding photographer to discuss our album and picked up some lovely prints from her so we've been able to put up a few photos, and we managed to get the most gorgeous cabinet we'd been eyeing up for months ex-display in Habitat, so our living room is really coming together!
We also used the afternoon tea voucher that Phil's sister got us for Christmas (yep, Christmas!). It was for the cafe where our wedding cake came from, so it was so nice to go back and visit and eat some delicious cake that reminded us of our wedding cake! Then after that we headed back to our wedding venue for the first time since we got married to take advantage of the spa membership we got as part of our package (which expires next month so we needed to use it!). I kept joking with afternoon tea and a spa day we were basically having a hen do!
We had a completely free weekend for the bank holiday and we completely basked in the sunshine. We had brunch outside with Phil's sister, walked into the village to meet my parents in a beer garden, watched football and ate pizza, did a National Trust walk, had a BBQ, cleaned the house - it was perfect! Maybe I'm getting better at this spontaneity thing, eh?
What I've read
Eight books read this month:
Supper Club
What it means when a man falls from the sky
Look at me
The Testament of Gideon Mack
The Other Half of Augusta Hope
Our Endless Numbered Days
The Furies
The Bellwether Revivals
I went on a bit of a reserving-at-the-library-binge again, with all six coming in at once, so it's been intense making sure I finish everything before going away! My favourite book this month was Supper Club - I just wish it had been longer!
I've also listened to The Five on audiobook which I really recommend on audio!
What I've bought
One planned recipe book this month - Meera Sodha's East which I've already reviewed here, and I couldn't resist Katy Beskow's 15 Minute Vegan On a Budget to complement the other two books of hers I have in my collection.
I am also completely obsessed with midi skirts and got myself a third one this month. Please please please can brands release more midi skirts in petite lengths? I will buy them all.
What I've watched
Quiet month = plenty of films watched! We've watched four films at home this month:
Time to Kill
Top Secret
The Hours
Heat
We also finished Big Little Lies and we're about to finish season 2 of Mindhunter which is basically my favourite drama of all time (except Fargo). Season two has been brilliant.
One cinema trip this month to see Once upon a time in Hollywood which I really enjoyed.
What I've read online
The New York Times - How to talk to people, according to Terry Gross
The Globe and Maill - The Life changing magic of making do
A Cup of Jo - What happened when I started intuitively eating
The Guardian - How to love reading again
Ramshackle Glam - I had a misdiagnosed eptopic pregnancy - here's why I won't stop writing about it
The Toast - All the comments on every recipe blog
The Guardian - What makes a millennial novel?
The Cut - The story behind the greatest internet recipe comment of all time
Writing between pauses - I'm going freelance, and you can too
Huffington Post - I love the Zara dres but after being shamed I can't wear it
The Guardian - Jay Rayner's last supper
The Guardian - The age of comfort TV
The Atlantic - I Gooped myself - what Goop really sells women
Buzzfeed - Friends hasn't aged well
Refinery 29 - Is my self-care really self-sabotage?
Refinery 29 - I tried 47 different things for my anxiety - here's what worked
Feel like I might have a lot to say next month? Catch up soon!
Charlotte x
I can't believe it's finally here, after over a year of planning. We are currently spending our evenings watching videos on the best things to eat in Vancouver or the best walks in Banff. I'm writing endless lists of what to pack and trying to squeeze in one last trip to H&M for something else I need. I'm trying to work out how much I need for a two-week, multi-location, multi-climate, multi-activity trip without bringing my entire wardrobe with me.
My camera is charged and ready (rescued from the loft!), I'm still deciding on my podcasts and audiobooks and my books are all downloaded.
I can't remember the last time I was this excited for a holiday!
I don't know how much detail I've gone into about the trip, but we fly to Vancouver first and we have five nights there, then on Monday we pick up a car and we've got 5 nights exploring the Rockies - stopping off at Whistler, and breaking up the drive to Banff with a stop off in Salmon Arm, and heading to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Jasper while we're there. Then we fly to Toronto for three nights before finally heading to Niagara Falls.
In the nearly six years we've been together we've never been on a "big" holiday - we haven't even done a long-haul flight together! - so we decided when we did our honeymoon we were going to do it properly. I am so so so excited!
Anyway! Enough about September! Let's talk about August (and here's my One Second Every Day for the month)...
Where I've been
After hearing good things from... basically everyone, we managed to snag nosebled seats to The Book of Mormon. We'd seen Avenue Q on our minimoon in Cheltenham so we were really excited to see Book of Mormon.. which was even more outrageous than we expected! It was so much fun!
What I've been doing
We've not been crazy busy this month which has given us plenty of time for my kind of "planned spontaneity". As you know, I'm not a spontaneous person, but with a few weekends free this month we managed to be spontaneous enough to plan a few days in advance, rather than months in advance!
We had a completely free weekend for the bank holiday and we completely basked in the sunshine. We had brunch outside with Phil's sister, walked into the village to meet my parents in a beer garden, watched football and ate pizza, did a National Trust walk, had a BBQ, cleaned the house - it was perfect! Maybe I'm getting better at this spontaneity thing, eh?
What I've read
Eight books read this month:
Supper Club
What it means when a man falls from the sky
Look at me
The Testament of Gideon Mack
The Other Half of Augusta Hope
Our Endless Numbered Days
The Furies
The Bellwether Revivals
I went on a bit of a reserving-at-the-library-binge again, with all six coming in at once, so it's been intense making sure I finish everything before going away! My favourite book this month was Supper Club - I just wish it had been longer!
I've also listened to The Five on audiobook which I really recommend on audio!
What I've bought
One planned recipe book this month - Meera Sodha's East which I've already reviewed here, and I couldn't resist Katy Beskow's 15 Minute Vegan On a Budget to complement the other two books of hers I have in my collection.
I am also completely obsessed with midi skirts and got myself a third one this month. Please please please can brands release more midi skirts in petite lengths? I will buy them all.
What I've watched
Quiet month = plenty of films watched! We've watched four films at home this month:
Time to Kill
Top Secret
The Hours
Heat
We also finished Big Little Lies and we're about to finish season 2 of Mindhunter which is basically my favourite drama of all time (except Fargo). Season two has been brilliant.
One cinema trip this month to see Once upon a time in Hollywood which I really enjoyed.
What I've read online
The New York Times - How to talk to people, according to Terry Gross
The Globe and Maill - The Life changing magic of making do
A Cup of Jo - What happened when I started intuitively eating
The Guardian - How to love reading again
Ramshackle Glam - I had a misdiagnosed eptopic pregnancy - here's why I won't stop writing about it
The Toast - All the comments on every recipe blog
The Guardian - What makes a millennial novel?
The Cut - The story behind the greatest internet recipe comment of all time
Writing between pauses - I'm going freelance, and you can too
Huffington Post - I love the Zara dres but after being shamed I can't wear it
The Guardian - Jay Rayner's last supper
The Guardian - The age of comfort TV
The Atlantic - I Gooped myself - what Goop really sells women
Buzzfeed - Friends hasn't aged well
Refinery 29 - Is my self-care really self-sabotage?
Refinery 29 - I tried 47 different things for my anxiety - here's what worked
Feel like I might have a lot to say next month? Catch up soon!
Charlotte x
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