It’s been quite a week around this end of town. Work has been kicking my ass (not that I’m complaining too much, amirite fellow freelancers?!) and I’ve also been sans phone since around Monday afternoon. As I pen this post, it’s a very quiet Saturday evening in; nobody’s home except Milo and I, I’ve a tumbler full of coconut juice by my side and I’m catching up with the last few episodes of the Ladies Who Lunch podcast.
Spring blossoms
This week, I’ve mostly been excited about getting out early in the mornings with Milo. The cherry blossoms have almost reached full bloom in our town and I’ve loved taking my DSLR along with me to document their progress. I suppose passers-by think it’s pretty odd for me to be getting right up close to the trees - has anybody else been heckled at whilst shooting blog photos of any form? - but I just can never resist their beauty. It also reminded me that precisely a year ago today, my siblings and I were on our way to Japan for a two-week trip chasing anime characters and sakura.
An accidental digital detox
My phone died an untimely death on Monday afternoon and so I’ve been largely without phone this week. And it’s been interesting! I always tell myself I’ll do a midweek digital detox once in a while and now that I’ve done it, I can confirm that I feel much more refreshed, completely out of whack with the social media game and utterly at a loss of what to do after work. It also means that Instagram is almost totally untouched and I’ve not replied to any WhatsApp messages in forever.
Have important messages and calls been left for me? Which new Instagram features have been introduced? How do I book an appointment with my GP? How can I double check my Barrecore booking? As much as we complain that the Internet and smartphones are ruining our brains’ abilities, my entire lifestyle has been tipped on its’ head and ‘Help, I can’t remember where our house phone is kept!’ Hopefully a new phone will be back in my life if these bloomin’ invoices are ever paid to me! ;)
Food!
Living at home and coming from a Chinese family means that I’m usually forced to eat with the family and rarely cook anymore. Since my parents retired last summer (early retirees!) I’ve barely cooked and my cookbooks have gone untouched, but on Wednesday night I decided to make a Palak Paneer Curry served with basmati rice for the family dinner. And it was SO good! The recipe came from one of my Gousto boxes (get £25 off your first box here) and it was so good that I might just have to reenact it and share it on the blog.
MAL/MDL
I made new My Anime List and My Drama List accounts earlier this week whilst procrastinating another evening of editing work. I used to take such pleasure in keeping track of what I’d watched and was currently watching! I spent absolutely ages racking my brains to remember everything I’ve seen, but I guess that’ll be a work in progress, eh? If you’re into Asian dramas and/or anime, you can keep up with my lists and take recommendations from there! It’s so aesthetically pleasing to see a comprehensive list; it almost makes me feel productive for those several hundreds of hours they’ve taken up!
Zara, you’re great
I made a sneaky Zara order earlier in the week and I can’t stop wearing it all! I’m not much of a frivolous shopper these days, tending to research old favourites and just placing a few larger orders ahead of a new season arriving to top my wardrobe up, but Zara has changed that completely. I’m already working on another basketful of pieces! It also means you’ll be seeing a whole lotta outfits arriving to the blog v.soon - a win-win for us all!
Links I’ve Loved:
- For some reason, this Life Lately catch-up with Angela over at The Awkward Blog really put a smile on my face after reading it late on Friday afternoon.
- This recipe for Marinara-Smothered Lentil Bites with Mozzarella has gone straight into my foodie dossier for future use! I can’t wait to make a batch of these for popping with courgetti, in baguette sandwiches or just to eat with plenty of sauce.
- I’m currently working towards buying a house and this post from Lauren at Belle du Brighton was so interesting to read! She outlines home improvements that she’s made to her current property and there’s a great infographic in there too. (Lauren does a sponsored post SO damn well, btw.)
- As somebody still trying to get into podcasts, this post full of Podcasts for Creatives came at a great time. I’m almost excited to start work on Monday and pop one of these on!
- And finally, this ‘Morning List’ from Marianna is an absolute joy to scroll through! Her pup is just too cute!
Posts This Week:
- Hello Spring
- Barrecore: An 8-Week Update
- A Grateful Heart
Sundaze
Sundaze 45
19.3.17
It’s been quite a week around this end of town. Work has been kicking my ass (not that I’m complaining too much, amirite fellow freelancers?!) and I’ve also been sans phone since around Monday afternoon. As I pen this post, it’s a very quiet Saturday evening in; nobody’s home except Milo and I, I’ve a tumbler full of coconut juice by my side and I’m catching up with the last few episodes of the Ladies Who Lunch podcast.
Spring blossoms
This week, I’ve mostly been excited about getting out early in the mornings with Milo. The cherry blossoms have almost reached full bloom in our town and I’ve loved taking my DSLR along with me to document their progress. I suppose passers-by think it’s pretty odd for me to be getting right up close to the trees - has anybody else been heckled at whilst shooting blog photos of any form? - but I just can never resist their beauty. It also reminded me that precisely a year ago today, my siblings and I were on our way to Japan for a two-week trip chasing anime characters and sakura.
An accidental digital detox
My phone died an untimely death on Monday afternoon and so I’ve been largely without phone this week. And it’s been interesting! I always tell myself I’ll do a midweek digital detox once in a while and now that I’ve done it, I can confirm that I feel much more refreshed, completely out of whack with the social media game and utterly at a loss of what to do after work. It also means that Instagram is almost totally untouched and I’ve not replied to any WhatsApp messages in forever.
Have important messages and calls been left for me? Which new Instagram features have been introduced? How do I book an appointment with my GP? How can I double check my Barrecore booking? As much as we complain that the Internet and smartphones are ruining our brains’ abilities, my entire lifestyle has been tipped on its’ head and ‘Help, I can’t remember where our house phone is kept!’ Hopefully a new phone will be back in my life if these bloomin’ invoices are ever paid to me! ;)
Food!
Living at home and coming from a Chinese family means that I’m usually forced to eat with the family and rarely cook anymore. Since my parents retired last summer (early retirees!) I’ve barely cooked and my cookbooks have gone untouched, but on Wednesday night I decided to make a Palak Paneer Curry served with basmati rice for the family dinner. And it was SO good! The recipe came from one of my Gousto boxes (get £25 off your first box here) and it was so good that I might just have to reenact it and share it on the blog.
MAL/MDL
I made new My Anime List and My Drama List accounts earlier this week whilst procrastinating another evening of editing work. I used to take such pleasure in keeping track of what I’d watched and was currently watching! I spent absolutely ages racking my brains to remember everything I’ve seen, but I guess that’ll be a work in progress, eh? If you’re into Asian dramas and/or anime, you can keep up with my lists and take recommendations from there! It’s so aesthetically pleasing to see a comprehensive list; it almost makes me feel productive for those several hundreds of hours they’ve taken up!
Zara, you’re great
I made a sneaky Zara order earlier in the week and I can’t stop wearing it all! I’m not much of a frivolous shopper these days, tending to research old favourites and just placing a few larger orders ahead of a new season arriving to top my wardrobe up, but Zara has changed that completely. I’m already working on another basketful of pieces! It also means you’ll be seeing a whole lotta outfits arriving to the blog v.soon - a win-win for us all!
Links I’ve Loved:
- For some reason, this Life Lately catch-up with Angela over at The Awkward Blog really put a smile on my face after reading it late on Friday afternoon.
- This recipe for Marinara-Smothered Lentil Bites with Mozzarella has gone straight into my foodie dossier for future use! I can’t wait to make a batch of these for popping with courgetti, in baguette sandwiches or just to eat with plenty of sauce.
- I’m currently working towards buying a house and this post from Lauren at Belle du Brighton was so interesting to read! She outlines home improvements that she’s made to her current property and there’s a great infographic in there too. (Lauren does a sponsored post SO damn well, btw.)
- As somebody still trying to get into podcasts, this post full of Podcasts for Creatives came at a great time. I’m almost excited to start work on Monday and pop one of these on!
- And finally, this ‘Morning List’ from Marianna is an absolute joy to scroll through! Her pup is just too cute!
Posts This Week:
- Hello Spring
- Barrecore: An 8-Week Update
- A Grateful Heart
