What a gratuitous title! I know it's been forever since I dropped in but I quickly realised these photos weren't going to be any good after the holidays so what better opportunity to combine Christmas and my birthday into one giant update...
To be frank, nothing big has really happened – work is busy and exciting (I passed my 3 months mark in the beginning of December) and I've been enjoying staying offline a bit more during the week days which translates into quiet evenings, or games nights with friends, hanging out with work friends and just living life a lil after a really stressful first half of 2018.
If you're anything like me, I love a little nosy Winter Update so here's mine...
MY BIRTHDAY
But today is also my birthday! I've never been a big birthday person anyway so this year will be spending time with family, and doing little else.
LIFE UPDATES?
Matt bought me a new Kindle a few months ago and I've been furiously reading (or trying to) all sorts - as you'll have seen in my previous post on books, but have also added a lot of non-fiction books so slowly making my way through them.
We went to Hong Kong in November! It was Matt's first time, and though it wasn't my first, I was only a kid the last time I went. I've been updating my Instagram with our travel stories, and some lovely snaps while we're there.
Hung out with my friends and they threw me a surprise birthday party, that was lovely and it's heartwarming to have friends (near and far) you can just be relaxed around...
I started doing Korean languages classes! It was something I'd always wanted to do but never got round to it, but after my friend started hers in the beginning of this year I decided to take the plunge too. It's loads of fun, and I just love learning a new language and being able to speak (almost) coherent sentences now.
I also started going to mental health coaching sessions at work - at work we have someone from Sanctus who come in and you can have 121s talking about anything that's on your mind, ranging from general chats, anything personal and career-related conversations. I think it's had really positive impact for me, and if you have access to anything like this, it's worth going to one and testing the waters yourself.
Winter time is also the time I spend most time indoors... Shorter days and cold temperatures just don't bode well with me, especially as I grew up in a tropical climate!
A few weeks ago however, I wanted to go for a walk but didn't want to go anywhere crazy (cough Oxford Street) so we went to the Bank of England - there was an adorable Fortnum and Mason sponsored Christmas tree which was a nice place to wander around on the weekend.
Truth be told, I've shied away from blogging of late because writing pieces no longer felt empowering or personal to me - everything needed to be topical (being a feminist, having an opinion, staying relatable) or SEO-friendly (and we all know I dislike listicles and yet it's one of my most read post on here, ironic haha). Some days I have an opinion but they're either: topics that don't really cover what everyone likes, or things that fail to capture attention...
I'm not saying this as a bad thing, I've just learnt to share in other ways - real life, with friends and less so online.
I can see the new year bringing some new and big changes, but more than ever, I'm trying to be present in these single moments, because you never know what can happen next. Having this at the top of my mind works as a great reminder that often the simplest things bring the most joy...
Before heading off, everyone's who has hugged me in the last month have told me how soft my coat feels (and looks) so to spare the suspense, here's my swishy outfit details:
Have a great Christmas and see you around!
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