JUNE’S LITTLE LOVES

What a month it has been! It was not all sunshine and mojitos on the patio as I would have liked it to be, but it was definitely filled with warmth and love: we celebrated my bf’s 30th birthday and I got a job! We’ve been super lucky with the weather this past week here in Belgium, so I’m enjoying sweating in the heat and, I must say, working on my tan – even though I got a little sunburn the other day, oops!

This month, I’m joining Morgana over on her blog Coffee, Work, Sleep, Repeat to share my June’s little loves!

READ

Do you remember that lovely book I was reading months and months ago? Hmmm.. Probably not. It’s A Little Princess by Frances H. Burnett. Yup, I’m still reading it. It’s really a lovely story, I don’t know why it’s taking me so long. I only read it in bed because I don’t want to damage it carrying it around in my bag or anything so I’ve only gone through one or two pages in the evenings before snoozing off. I’m super slow finishing it. The bf told me he read somewhere it was better not to do anything else other than sleep (and sex) in the bedroom so, I don’t know, should I change my habits? I’ve been so used to read a book before getting to sleep that it would be very weird not to do it anymore… What do you think?

I got the July copy of Red Magazine and I enjoyed going through the pages, especially on the Saturday mornings we were having a nice breakfast. I lurked into the books recommendations column and found my next read: How do you like me now? by Holly Bourne. Have you read it yet? It looks like I would love it. It’s about a girl that vaguely resembles me: nearly 30, friends that are getting married and having babies, in a cycle of self-doubt and unhappiness… Well, okay, it’s not exactly me. But it looks like it’s about the new Bridget Jones, so I’m going to order it ASAP.

WATCHED

NETFLIX

So many things… First things first, we’ve been watching Friends again! We’ve seen the episodes so many times but still, we love it, it’s so comforting and still remarkably very funny. We also watched Safe as everyone was recommending it. We saw all episodes in the space of three days if I remember right. I really wanted to see what was going to happen next as soon as each of the episodes ended.  My opinion on the show is that Dexter wasn’t very believable as a British guy. I also couldn’t stop thinking he was going to kill someone… Overall it was a bit meh but still enjoyable.

YOUTUBE

I’ve just discovered and recently been obsessed with Hunter & Heels. It’s a family/lifestyle channel starring Lauren, a mum of three, who looks so sweet and kind. I’ve enjoyed watching her make up tutorials because I love Bobbi Brown and because I think she’s so stylish! She’s totally my summer crush! Do you follow her or watch her videos?

MADE

BAKING

I baked two beautiful cakes for M’s birthday.  It was a lot of work but it tasted really good. I had wanted to do a Milk and Cookies cake with cookie dough filling. I found a recipe online that didn’t include eggs yolks in it at all so it wasn’t going to get us all sick with salmonella. You can never be too careful! I might share my adapted version of the recipe, would you be interested?

BLOGGING

I made an effort with my photos and blogging skills. I set myself some goals like ‘post every day on Instagram’ (already failed that one!), ‘publish a post a week’ and ‘improve my photography’. It hasn’t gone like I had imagined so far because I’m still into the ‘planning and discovering tips and tricks’ stage…

Anyway, I play with my sister’s camera settings: exposure, depth of field and all of that. It’s a bit tricky and it takes me forever to get some good shots, I probably take hundreds of photos to get just one right! It’s good practise though and well, I’m learning.

WORE

I really have been into wearing stripes and polka dots… But to be honest, my wardrobe is super sad-looking: I got rid of my old clothes and I don’t have much money to spend on new ones right now even though I’m dying to get some new summery pieces…

One thing I’ve have been doing every week since getting fired is to paint my nails. It’s weird, isn’t it? I didn’t use to do that before, it was more of a random thing for me. Now, I’m hoping this habit is going to stick because it’s a great way to take care of myself. It makes me feel a little bit more polished. At the moment, I’m into nude colours, I wear mostly Essie’s limo-scene and fiji.

My go-to makeup right now is Tanya Burr’s My Paradise eyeshadows palette. The shadows look very summery and fresh. It’s not high-quality makeup, but it’s cheap and it does the trick. Plus, it’s super handy to travel with as you’re never going to smash it… like I did with BB Shimmer Brick… *insert crying here*

HEARD

I’ve listened to A LOT of podcasts this month. Here are two that I particularly enjoyed: Stopping the glorification of busy – it resonated with me a lot since I experienced a tiny burn out last month… Jen Carrington was a guest of Sara Tasker on Hashtag Authentic; and Show up as if you’re already where you already want to be – Jen Carrington’s Make It Happen’s episode is super inspiring because she gives great tips on not just ‘faking it til you make it‘ but on actually getting into the right mindset, something I’m trying to do more recently.

I’ve also heard some great news this month: a particularly romantic engagement story and the yes! I got from my new employer when she told me she was hiring me! Hurrah!

AND LASTLY…

With everything that happened with my job and all, I’ve realized that blogging is important for me. I can write things down and get some perspective. It also helps me be more creative because I have to think about what to post and what pictures I need to take to illustrate my point. I even get out of the house to practice my photography skills so, that’s a plus. While I was job hunting, I really thought about how my ideal working life would be and neglecting my hobbies and self-care is something that shall not happen ever again.

What are your plans for July? The bf and I are off to the beach for a week and I plan to rest, do a little bit of work for a friend and get the house in shape before my first day into my new office in August. I’m excited about it all actually, I really want to get cracking now that I found a nicer boss – it’s like I’m at my first ever job, starting all over again! Happy July lovelies! x