Well, firstly I need to say to Saskia: I'm sorry I couldn't finish what you started. We ran out of time to go hat shopping so I had to 'recycle' my Christmas hat I got last year from Primark. And it's shaped like a pudding. To be completely honest, I never knew what Christmas Pudding was before last year, which was also the year I got a Christmas Pudding Pandora charm for my b-day.
This post is pretty irrelevant, but seeing as it's my birthday – ain't nobody gon' stop me yo. I haven't done much since we got to the good ol' countryside, so we decided to take a walk today with my pudding hat aka the star of the show in this post! (And me, 'cause b-day girl and all.)
1. CHRISTMAS EVE ~REFLECTIONS~
Well, what's there to say, really? I'm another year older in realising I gots to get to grips with my life. AKA doing adult-y things, paying bills, buying all the bags I'm eyeing up etc. To be fair, I've never really celebrated Christmas and this has only been the second time I'm having 'proper' Christmas; usually I spend it traveling! Nevertheless I'm thankful of the many little things and people who've wandered/strayed into my life this year... especially all ma bloggah friends. I got yo back.
Anyway, being back in Buckingham for Christmas this year should've provided me with some respite, alas, I've been running a fever for the past few days so fingers crossed I'll be healed by tomorrow's celebrations...
We decided to take a walk today just round the estate, also cause: I HAVE RED HAIR AGAIN! Tell me what you think ;) I personally love it, but I always do, and it fades into a lovely brown even after it wears off so I'm not fussed about the colour...
2. THE PUDDING HAT
Again, this post is really out of place because it's not about anything specific. But rather, it's a generous reflection of my past year. And the pudding hat just happened to be the perfect metaphorical receptacle. It's been a tuff year, my friends, I'm not going to lie. But some highlights included finishing my MSc and 10k words dissertation and getting a distinction (!!), travelling to Seoul and back home (aw), worked harder than I've ever worked before!
So what I'm saying is – thank you everybody for being here, virtually or in ma life, giving me the encouragements I really needed (some of which do not read this blog anyway) to carry on :') sobs am I getting soppy already? There have been the worst of the worsts, and crying fests, but there have also been celebrations of love, friendship and family of which I am entirely grateful for....
3. BACK TO BASICS
And since I'm not one for NY resolutions/Christmas refreshers, I'd just like to take these few days of festivities to go back to basics aka remind myself of things that truly matter - being in the present, learning how to (really) live and not worry so much! It won't be easy, as I'm such a worrier (still am right this moment) and it gets in the way of enjoying being in the present...
One of the book that really helped me through this year is Neil's (Matt's friend) book Walking on Custard and The Meaning of Life: A Guide for Anxious Humans – I've been meaning to write a 'review' of sorts but life gets busy etc etc. If you're ever in a pickle of feeling out of breath, clouded, or just overwhelmed, give it a whirl! Neil writes in a painfully unpretentious way, and everything is easily understandable and very very funny.
In all, I'm happy this year to have had many wonderful friends, family, and of course, the nugget :) everybody y'all better have your fingers crossed for my most challenging year ahead - scary!
The usual applies - let me know what's been on your mind lately, or how you're celebrating new year's?
Everything I'm wearing here has been around for a while so no links, soz friends. Not like I'm super stylish here but ya know...
(Wearing: Coat - ASOS / Scarf - COS / Jumper - Korea / Jeans - Dorothy Perkins / Shoes - Amazon / Pudding hat - Primark)
