Only three more months of 2016, how weird is that?! It doesn’t feel that long ago that I was seeing in the New Year, just recently engaged and having picked up my re-size ring that day. Now I’m having to think about Christmas, plan presents, work out when I’m heading home and genuinely kick my butt in gear already!
September was exhausting for me, pretty predictable really. I remember when I first start placement in 2014 how tired I was, how difficult it was to adjust to working rather than studying. This wasn’t any different, and coupled with moving, sorting bills, fixing the mess the council made of our council tax application, it was all a bit stressful! That said I have an okay-ish commute and I’m now managing to stay awake past 10pm again, so I guess things are good! Favourites have been…
The Lake District
Work arranged for the whole 18-strong graduate cohort to head up to the Lake District for team-building in our first week; I had a blast. I was initially worried about whether it would be too ‘outdoorsy’ for me, whether I’d have to sleep in a dorm (I hate sleeping in front of people!). It worked out fine, the place we stayed in was right on the edge of Lake Windemere and absolutely gorgeous, and I even managed to kaykak in a reasonable fashion. It definitely helped that the Lake District is a beautiful part of the UK too…
Pizza
I’ve mentioned my love for white pizzas a few times, and thanks to a new favorite restaurant it’s definitely growing. The Dynamo is dangerously close at only 3-minutes away from our flat and serves gorgeous sourdough pizzas. The base isn’t quite as good as Franco Manca but the toppings are excellent. Three (3!) tomato-free pizzas are on the menu, but on our visit it was a special that caught my eye. Smoked chicken, pancetta, mushrooms, mascapone, smoked mozzarella, garlic, herb oil and Parmesan. Sounds like an overload but everything worked so, so well together. One of the best pizzas I’ve had for sure!
Dynamo also do an amazing sounding brunch menu (Eggs Benedict, with black pudding instead of ham?!) so I’m sure at some point you’ll see more of the place on here…
Great British Bake Off
The best thing about this time of year, right?! I’ve been loving this series, I think they’ve gone back to basics a bit which is SO much better. It annoyed me last year how contestents would be baking macarons for ‘decoration’ – this year it’s very much about good baking, good flavours and the recipes seem so much yummier!
Me and W are also trying to ‘bake along’ as best we can. We missed the first week, but so far have pretty much kept up. I’ll be blogging about what we’ve made from next week – but the spiced chocolate hazelnut tea bread was a huge hit! Even if my kitchen did look a bit sticky and doughy…
That ‘New Year’ Feeling
September is definitely the month for new starts, and that definitely was the case for me this year – new home, new job, new study plans. I celebrated with ensuring I had a fresh clear diary in my Filofax, organising my time and setting myself some goals. It scares me to think that starting in a few short weeks I’ll be back to studying again, but I’ve set myself a challenge to try and complete all my exams in 2.5 years (including skipping a sitting for the wedding!). Nothing like a bit of pressure!
First day at work “selfie” – good luck to all the grads starting their new jobs today!
A photo posted by Chloe Ellen (@ninegrandstudent) on Sep 4, 2016 at 11:53pm PDT
Workwear
I might be a bit of an odd one, but I love formal clothes. I think that they can look so lovely and feminine, and I’d like to think I’ve managed to hit the right balance of formal and personality in my work outfits. Typically I’ve not get photography my favorite outfit – a lovely lace skirt, duck-egg blue, midi-length, pleated. I love it!
Now I’ve got to work on the shoe front. I bought so many lovely pairs of shoes and all of them need a ridiculous amount of breaking in so I’ve shied away from wearing them. Whoops!
What have your September highlights been? Anyone else looking forward to Autumn?! Oh, and congrats to all grads who started their new jobs this month, hope it’s going well!
