September Life Lately

October 06, 2021

September Life Lately

Happy October! The knitwear is out, I'm reading spooky books, the heating is probably going on this week and going for a run at 6am feels like it's midnight outside!

September was a quiet one. We had a lovely little break away but it definitely felt like the end of the summer which is always a bit sad particularly after this year which still feels like it's only just started!

But I have lots of excellent things to share with you from September, and here's my One Second Every Day for the month.

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What I did

Now Phil and are both officially flexibly working we've finally sorted out our office spaces. We're very fortunate to have the space to have separate rooms, and last month we both got new desks and I got some new bookshelves which I've wanted for ages. I'm still working on sorting out all my books and Phil needs to sort out his 300+ DVDs but I really like my new set up!

Last month we also got a few lovely days away in the Lake District. We stayed in Elterwater and had the most gorgeous dog-friendly Air bnb just round the corner from where Phil's parents were staying. We did loads of lovely walks and of course, some parkrun tourism at Keswick.

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After being pushed back from May 2020, to September 2020, to May 2021 to September 2021, I finally ran my 9th half marathon a few weeks ago. This was my first proper half marathon since 2018, after taking 2019 off for our wedding and honeymoon. I'd had so many niggles and injuries in training (there was a period at the end of July when I couldn't run 5 miles without pain) that I was really nervous leading up to the race about whether one of my knees would go during it. The Great Manchester Run is the race that got me to start running in the first place when I watched my friend Eve run the 10K in 2013, so it's got a real special place in my heart, and I love that I can do a half marathon on that route now. I had an absolutely great time although my hopes of a PB fell by the wayside at about 10 miles where I completely hit the wall, but I was happy with my 2 hour finish!

What I read

I'm definitely noticing the number of books I read every month dwindling now things are getting a bit more back to normal! At the start of the year I was easily reading 10+ books a month, but I'm definitely noticing I'm only managing 6 or 7 a month at the moment now I'm back in the office a bit more and not reading during my breakfast and lunch, and in the evenings I sometimes want to cross stitch or blog, or sometimes I even have plans!

I'm still going to hit my goodreads goal of 100 books for the year in the next few weeks but I hope the dark nights are going to give me some more cosy reading time over winter!

7 books read in September:

Oh William by Elizabeth Strout

Beautiful world where are you by Sally Rooney

Reprieve by James Han Mattson

Dark things I adore by Katie Lattari

When things get dark by Ellen Datlow

Other people's clothes by Calia Henkel

56 days by Catherine Ryan Howard

One of the reasons I didn't get as much read in September was because I read a couple of quite long books, but also because I savoured Oh William so much I didn't want it to be over. Elizabeth Strout is one of my favourite ever authors and this addition to the Lucy Barton series is just utterly beautiful. Nobody writes quiet family stories like she does.

I also enjoyed the new Sally Rooney, but particularly enjoyed all the fanfare around it. It really felt like "an event" in the world of Book Twitter, which I loved.

You might notice a lot of books with the word "dark" in the title in September because yes, I made a start on my spooky season books. I love to read horror in the autumn, and one of my favourite book-people, Blair, did a fantastic newsletter about upcoming horror reads and I ended up buying or requesting ARCs of so many spooky books! I've got a few more to read now it's October and I love scary reads near Halloween (I wrote about some of my favourite spooky reads last year!)

What I watched

One trip to the cinema in September to see Candyman which I absolutely loved.

Phil also couldn't believe I'd never seen Billy Elliot so bought us that on blu-ray to watch. He's right - why hadn't I seen Billy Elliot?! I adored it and cried,

We also got super into the Amazon documentary, Lula Rich. I am obsessed with anything about MLMs or cults, and this ticked both my boxes. I just wish it had been longer.

What I loved

September brought the launch of the 5th (and last?!) roasting tin book with The Sweet Roasting Tin. While I love to make bread and the occasional brownie or cookie, I'm not a massive baker, but I've already made so much from this gorgeous book that I can't wait to tell you about! Review coming soon!

I was also extremely lucky to get an advanced copy of Ruby Tandoh's Cook As You Are after a chat with Ruby on Twitter earlier in the year (here's my review of her book, Flavour). This is the most wonderful book. Super accessible with an emphasis on flexibility and making cooking simple. I can't wait to review it for you.

Autumn meant a change from my usual rainbow nails, so I've had the most gorgeous autumn nails over the last few weeks, which I matched to my new favourite Joanie jumper.

What I listened to

Picking a favourite podcast is like picking a favourite child, but it's probably Maintenance Phase. So much so that last month I signed up to their Patreon and the bonus episodes have been absolutely fantastic. I particularly loved the episode on why Shallow Hal is trash and the episode on fat suits.

Another podcast recommendations - Spectacle: An unscripted history of reality tv. I found this completely engrossing but would have loved to see a few more TV shows included (not including Big Brother felt like a big loss). I particularly loved the episode on the Great British Bake Off.

What I wrote

Two huge blog posts in September which have been sat on my to-write list for probably close to a year.

I wrote about how I buy nearly all my clothes second hand and my top tips for shopping second hand online and also about the lockdown habits I want to keep.