I don’t quite know where to begin with my usual monthly reflections. February felt like a weird month. I spent so much of it feeling tired and energyless. I felt stuck in first gear. The tiredness dissipated towards the end of the month, but as I pulled together my monthly ‘Look Back’, you’d never know…
Category: Exploring
A Look Back At January 2023
I can’t quite believe we’re a month into 2023 already! I don’t know about you, but unlike previous years, I really enjoyed January. I eased myself into the New Year and found myself relaxed, with a chilled but positive mindset. If you found yourself bogged down by January (or any other month), I find it…
A Look Back At October
Wow! What an epic month of adventuring October turned out to be! It’s funny how I can go months without seeing people, and then out of nowhere, I have a crazy month of socialising and going places. Being an introvert at heart, I find socialising tiring. So as much as it’s been fun, I’m ready…
A Look Back At September
In a month where we said our final goodbyes to my Auntie and the Queen, it’s been hard to get on with life as ‘normal’. Although it’s been a difficult month, it has gone by so quickly. It doesn’t seem like five minutes since the August Bank Holiday weekend, yet here we are in October….
A Look Back At August
I’m a bit later than usual with my ‘Look Back’ due to recent events, but I’m back with a round-up of August, which seems like a lifetime ago already! August was a bit of a strange one this year. We sadly lost one of my Aunties last month, which has left my family mourning the…
My Italian Adventure – Part 2
After a lovely long weekend in Ferrara with my friend Magdalena, it was time to head south, back to Bologna, where I would spend the next four nights. Magdalena accompanied me to Bologna as she didn’t have to work until that evening, and as a newbie to travelling solo in a city, it was nice…
A Look Back At July
I started July in Italy, albeit on the last day of my trip. I had a late flight home, so I had a full day to explore Bologna before I headed back to the airport. I took the opportunity to climb to the top of the Towers of Bologna, eat some more pizza, and indulge…
My Italian Adventure – Part 1
I’d been dreading June since the beginning of the year. The tenth anniversary of my best friend’s passing loomed like a big dark cloud on the horizon. When my boyfriend’s parents booked him on a flight to join them on holiday at the same time as the anniversary, I found myself in a quandary. I…
My 2022 Goals in Review – Q1
As we somehow find ourselves a quarter of the way through 2022, I thought it would be a good idea to check in with the goals I set myself at the beginning of the year. As in previous years, I find that blogging about my goals helps me to: Keep accountable; Check on my progress;…
A Look Back At March
March has been a complete whirlwind. I’m not sure where the time has gone. But yet, here we are in April. Spring’s being its typically British self here in the UK with everyone out in shorts and t-shirts the week before last, and this week we’ve been back in coats and jumpers with a sprinkling…
Painshill Park
I’ve lost count over the number of times I’ve driven past the brown tourist signs for Painshill Park since I moved to London 6 years ago. I always felt intrigued by what it was, but it never seemed to be cross my mind when I was looking for something to do. That was until earlier…
A Look Back At January
How lovely January could have been if she’d allowed us to enter slowly, easing into the new year quietly, with no drama. But alas, the universe had other ideas. New Years Day started with a trip to the hospital for my brother, who had a high temperate and what turned out to be a nasty…
A Visit To The Sculpture Park in Surrey
I’ve decided to try something new this year with my working week. I’m attempting a four-day working week instead of the ‘normal’ five day week. I have no idea how practical this will be, but one of the beauties of being a freelancer is having the flexibility to set my own hours. I’d say that…
Burnham-On-Sea, Brean and Weston-super-Mare
In September, we went on a family holiday to the West Country and spent five days exploring Somerset. On my journey there, I’d been lucky enough to stop off at the incredible Cheddar Gorge. From there, I headed to Brean, where I met up with the rest of my family outside the holiday park that…
The Law of Attraction
This post was originally published on 27th May 2019 and updated on 20th June 2021. Have you ever felt an overwhelming desire to go somewhere or do something you’ve never done before? I’m not talking about a desire to go somewhere just because it looks nice or because it’s different to somewhere you would ordinarily…
Family, Radio Shows, and Wellness Retreats
I was starting to think this year couldn’t get any weirder, but it did. April was a strange month in many ways. It was time to readjust as lockdown measures continued to ease here in the UK, with two households or groups of six now able to meet outdoors and restaurants, pubs and cafes with…
Boris Bikes, Hail and New Adventures
It feels like a lifetime since we were able to go on new adventures. Although there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the lockdown measures here in the UK, it’s been a real struggle since Christmas. It’s been almost a year since we entered into the first lockdown, but the…
Olhos de Água and Praia da Falesia
As we eagerly await Boris Johnson’s announcement tomorrow as he lays out the UK’s ‘Road Map’ out of lockdown, I thought I would take another look back at my solo trip to Portugal. Fingers crossed BoJo’s plans see us being able to travel again before the year is out. This post was originally published on…
Claremont Landscape Garden
During a week off work earlier this month, I paid a visit to Claremont Landscape Garden, a Grade 1, 18th century listed garden, close to the village of Esher, in Surrey. I’d never been before, but after a week of job hunting and sitting in front of my laptop, I decided it was time to…
The Wombles of Wimbledon
With my neighbourhood starting to feel like it’s part of Eastenders, I was grateful to get out to the outskirts of the city yesterday to enjoy some much needed peace and quiet. Over the last couple of weekends, a number if things have got me questioning, for the first time in nearly five years, whether…
Bucket List
This post was originally published on 23rd September 2018 and updated on 19th October 2019. A few months ago I had a complete panic over the things I had achieved since I moved to London. More to the point, what I hadn’t achieved since my London adventure began. I had packed a lot into my…
Fulham Palace House and Gardens
I started this 2019 promising myself more London adventures, visiting places not typically found on the main tourist trails. I haven’t been out and about exploring as much as I would’ve liked lately, but with a day off today, despite the good old British weather, I decided to head out and explore a little corner…
Virginia Water Lake
What better way to start a week off work in August than a day out in the rain! Not one to be deterred by a spot of the wet stuff, yesterday, I loaded up my rucksack, cramming in my waterproof, and headed out in my trusty little fiesta, down the A3 towards Virginia Water. Virginia…
Solo Traveller
This post was originally published on 4th February 2019 and updated on 11th August 2019. The first time I travelled abroad on my own, I received a mixed reaction from friends and family. Some said good on you. Others thought I was crazy. Won’t you be lonely they asked? Aren’t you scared going alone? Why…
The Mindful Gingernut 