HTMW Recaps: August 2018

I normally add a quote to the beginning of each post that sums up or enhances my writing. However, I’m going to use my monthly recaps as an opportunity to sum up the month – be it the mood, the weather, my feelings… Anything really. This month I’ve been all about saving money and getting to grips with my finances – I even gave up drinking for the month! The quote for August reflects how I’m feeling about money these days…

‘Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.’ – Barack Obama.

In January 2017, I announced I was going to start monthly recaps on my blog. If you missed last month’s recap, you can find it here.

I’ve spent quite a lot of my weekend time in August out of London, starting off the month with a trip back to Wales, and following these few days away with a weekend in Essex and Suffolk and then a day trip to Kent to visit Leeds Castle. It’s been lovely to get out of London a bit more this month and spend quality time with family and friends outside of the city. It’s also been a month where I’ve tested myself a little – read more about it below…

The Highlights

A long weekend in Wales.

I love going back to Wales, and this time was no exception. All three of us sisters returned and it was wonderful to spend four nights there, celebrating our parents’ wedding anniversary and enjoying our brief time together. I really did not want to return to London when Sunday came around, and for the first time in a very long time, I actually felt like crying as we drove away! I’ve not felt that emotional about leaving for a while, so it kind of took me a little by surprise.

Although I won’t be home for Christmas, I am going to be heading back in November for four nights, which I’m really looking forward to already. Spending time there recharges me and replenishes me like nothing else.

Managing an entire month without drinking! Yes, really!

After our trip back to Wales, I decided that I wouldn’t drink for a month. I’m not entirely sure why I chose to do this, but I’ve been seeing the benefits. Not so much in terms of health, but definitely in terms of saving money!

Obviously, I’m off to Australia and New Zealand at the end of the year, both of which are expensive countries to visit. Saving has been tough for me, but giving up alcohol for a month has shown me just how much I do spend on drinking, and saving has been easier this month.

I’ve been surprised to find that I still have fun evenings out (a bit more low-key, but enjoyable none-the-less) and it’s interesting to see how many more people are quick to offer a drink when they learn you’re only on the lime and sodas… 😉 I’m not going to give up drinking forever (that’s a bit much!) but I’ve definitely proven that I can give up drinking if I want to, and it’s not as difficult as I envisioned it being! Going forwards, I definitely think I’ll drink less, and I will be taking more periods of time where I skip the alcohol entirely!

Getting to grips with my finances.

Giving up alcohol for a month also prompted me to look more deeply into my finances and try to get a grip on them once and for all. I realised I’ve been living beyond my means for a few months, while my mindset played catch up and refused to acknowledge that my rent and bills since moving have increased quite substantially.

I’ve now drawn up a complete budget, and feel far more confident about saving money going forwards. It’s nice to feel in control and know my limits!

A flying weekend trip to Essex and Suffolk.

It was really great to get out of London over the second weekend of the month and visit our grandparents in Essex and Suffolk. We hired a car and drove ourselves, which was costly but afforded a bit more flexibility.

E and I spent a night at each respective house and had a lovely time catching up with our grandparents, hearing lots of stories as they took trips down memory lane and we also took the opportunity to visit our Nanna’s grave and place a rose bush there, which felt like a good thing to do. We enjoyed some great food too!

Seeing Suffragette at an outdoor cinema.

I always like doing ‘something different’ in London. I’m of the mindset that I may not live here forever, so why not take advantage of living here now? Going to an outdoor cinema and watching a film whilst a chilly breeze blows and I slowly freeze falls into the category of ‘something different’ and something I’d be unlikely to do outside of London.

The added bonus of this particular trip was that I went with J, and she treated me. What a great friend! I’m going to miss her immensely when she heads off to France!

Visiting Leeds Castle in Kent.

I’ve spent a lot of time with J this month it would seem… We spent a lovely day out in Kent visiting Leeds Castle. Both J and I share a love of old houses, stately homes and castles and this is our third visit together out to visit such an attraction.

Leeds Castle was the first of three places we’ve visited that actually really felt like a castle, designed and built originally with the specific purpose of defending the local area. Apart from far too many kids running around (I’d recommend going during term time if you ever go!), we enjoyed finding our way through the maze, watching a birds of prey display and eating a picnic. It’s not somewhere I’d necessarily return to, but it was great for a day out of London if you are interested in castles and history.

Beginning Couch to 5km.

J pushed me into starting the programme, and whilst it’s thrown up a few little niggles health-wise, I have enjoyed getting into running much more than I anticipated! It’s not easy, but I always feel a satisfied glow afterwards that I made the effort…

Surprise going-away drinks for J.

J is heading off to spend some time in France in September, so K and P organised surprise drinks to say goodbye and celebrate her new adventure. It was a lovely evening in a great pub in Angel, and it was nice to catch up with people I’ve not seen for a while. A wasn’t drinking either, so we spent a lot of time chatting and tried a couple of different alcohol-free drinks to see which one we enjoyed the most! The raspberry lemonade came out on top… Oh, what fun our lives are when we don’t drink!

Finally feeling the urge to write again!

It’s been a while since I’ve had the urge to write good and proper, but this month, finally, it started to come back. I posted once about how I use social media, and I also continued work on a couple of other posts that I have in the pipeline. It really felt like my writing was beginning to flow again, something I’ve not felt in months, so it was both a relief and great!

A really great dinner at a vegetarian restaurant just three doors down from my flat!

And… One more evening spent with J… She is featuring a lot in my August! Lucky her.

We planned to have dinner out on the 28th as it was my pay day, and after reading some amazing reviews of a vegetarian restaurant just a few doors down from my flat, we booked a table and headed there rather than going too far afield.

We weren’t disappointed. As a vegetarian, it was a novelty to be presented with a menu of food where I could pick from everything, and I went a bit overboard, choosing an artichoke with hollandaise, a crispy duck egg with truffle and asparagus, some delicious chips and the most amazing orzo mac’n’cheese which was just incredible. J finished her meal off with an ice cream from the parlour across the road and we spent a lovely evening together. The best bit for me is that this wonderful restaurant is so close! I can visit anytime… It’s such a temptation!

The Lowlights

Getting blinding headaches after nearly every run I’ve done so far! Not fun.

I think they’re pressure headaches, brought on by the veins in my head expanding and throbbing as the blood is pumped around my body more quickly. It doesn’t help when I run in the heat, so later on the evening is generally better for me. They’re horrid though – they distract me and linger on into the evening after a run, even after eating, drinking water and showering.

The knee pain has returned as well…

The running has also exacerbated my knee injury from earlier in the year, and it’s been aching now for a few days, even making it difficult to sleep a couple of evenings. It’s reminded me that it’s important that I book a physio appointment and take care of my body, so this is top of my agenda in September!

Some malware was discovered on my website!

This is the first time my site has been subject to this, and it stressed me out a little! Luckily, I work at a tech company and have some pretty great colleagues, one of whom helped locate the infected file and remove it. My site is now malware free, but it wasn’t nice feeling like my site had been hacked.

I’m so grateful I did have someone who could help, since it would’ve cost me quite a bit of money to ask my hosting company to remove the file if he hadn’t helped!

Posts This Month

My Viewpoint on Social Media (and how I use it).

Social media and the role it plays in my life had been playing on my mind for a few weeks before I wrote this post. I wanted to share how I view social media, why I use it the way I do and how I think I’ll be using it in the future.

My 2018 Reading Challenge Book of the Month – August.

NB: The list on my reading challenge post is constantly updated as I tick off books that I’ve read and add new books I want to read, so flick back to it from time to time to keep up to date with where I’m at!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Confession: I wasn’t really looking forward to reading this book. I made the mistake of watching the Baz Luhrmann film before ever reading the book and I remember really not enjoying the film.

However. J loves this book, and Mum enthusiastically informed me that no word in the book is there without reason – it’s been ruthlessly edited by Fitzgerald. Therefore, I powered through it (it’s not a particularly long book) and actually found that it wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated.

This is a literary classic, and I think a lot of people know the story. I found the book to have a strain of sadness running right the way through it. A great love and lost and a bundle of misunderstandings ultimately lead to a melancholic ending to the book. The story is full of nuances and I’d imagine it would take a second, or even third, reading to fully understanding all the layers of complexity involved. However, I probably won’t be taking the time for those second or third readings in the near future!

This won’t be my favourite book that I read all year, nor will it make the most impact, but I’m glad I picked it up and read it, despite my misgivings. It’s good to have you ingrained misconceptions be proved wrong sometimes! I would rate this 3.5/5, a little lower than the rating of 3.9/5 given by GoodReads.

Next up in September: The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch, as recommended by A.

In August, I also read:

May I have your attention please? by James Corden.

I first read this autobiography several years ago, and re-read it this month largely as a commuting book. Whilst it’s not the sort of book to set my world on fire, I did like the fact that it reminded me to re-watch The History Boys and Gavin and Stacey again.

The book is written before Corden breaks America, and he talks about his early life and how he broke into the acting and comedy scene. It has good insights into an often tough industry, and he is brutally honest about the fact that he didn’t always cope very well with fame and fortune. I don’t tend to read a lot of autobiographies, but think that Corden’s life pre-America is interesting enough for a book and I enjoyed the largely light-hearted read.

Move along, please – Lands End to John O’Groats by local bus by Mark Mason.

Another title with the word ‘please’ in this month! This is the second of Mason’s books that I’ve read, and this is just as enjoyable as the first. Mason takes on ‘mini’ UK adventures, previously walking the routes the London tube lines follow, and in this book he travels from Lands End all the way to John O’Groats by public bus.

It’s the simplest of ideas, and yet Mason is sure to pepper his writing with interesting facts and useful gobbets of information to have in your head for the next pub quiz or to impress your friends and family with. I like his style of writing too, as he includes some of his more personal thoughts and feelings and not just those facts about his journey or the destinations.

He makes adventure on your doorstep seem entirely possible and inspires me personally to explore more of the UK. Definitely worth a read if you like travel, want to know more about the UK or just want a light-hearted book to pass some time with.

Instagram Pictures of the Month

My photos this month were taken in London, Wales, Kent and Essex, with one throwback post to sunrise over the Annapurna region in Nepal.

I choose these three images based on which got the most likes on Instagram and then tell the story behind the picture. Disclaimer: They are not necessarily my favourite photos!

Birds Eye View, Tate Modern, London.

I go and get breakfast from the cafe upstairs in our office building about once a week. It’s on the eleventh floor and has great sweeping views across London, with the Tate Modern directly in front. Whilst I stood waiting for P to finish filling his breakfast box, I peered down and managed to get this photo of the art installation currently residing outside the gallery.

It was an unexpected hit on my Instagram, garnering a surprising number of likes. I’d decided that it’s the interesting shapes and contrasting colours that I like about the scene, so wonder if this is what others liked about it too.

Golden Hour, Tirabad, Mid Wales.

I took myself and Sybil (our dog) off for a walk on our final night in Wales. The sun was beginning to set and golden hour had arrived as I strolled down the hill towards the river.

Sybil is infinitely patient and stands to wait when I get sidetracked from our walks and begin taking photos. True to form, she stood watching me as I crouched down against the bank and began photographing the grass, which was shining in the late evening light. Although I was unsure if I’d managed to capture anything good, I didn’t keep her hanging around too long and we continued our walk.

The river was running low after the long, hot, dry summer. I threw pebbles into the chilly water and Sybil dove in after them, swimming whenever she was out of her depth and watching me expectantly if I stopped for any length of time. A few inquisitive cows wandered down to check us out as I paddled into the water myself and crossed onto the far bank. We stood watching each other until Sybil barked, sending the cows scattering off in jumpy agitation. They didn’t return, so we took the opportunity to begin heading home, slowly meandering across the field back to the main path and then onto home.

When Your Dinner Looks Like Art, Tufnell Park, London.

J and I ordered artichokes. J had never eaten one before, and I’d only had one once before, many years ago when I visited Italy for a short week on a school trip. When they arrived at the table, we both agreed that they looked beautiful, with a sprinkle of sea salt on top and the petals delicately parting, waiting to be plucked and chewed on to extract the edible flesh.

We pulled them apart and dipped the petals into hollandaise. I made the mistake of trying to eat a part that definitely should not be eaten, before discovering more edible parts underneath. Both of us agreed that whilst the artichokes looked beautiful, they weren’t our favourite part of the meal, which overall was fantastic.

Coming Up in September

September is often my favourite month of the year, as summer slowly slides into autumn and the leaves begin to turn on the trees. I have the birthdays of two of my closest friends coming up to celebrate this month, as well as catching up with friends I’ve not seen in a while. I have no current plans to escape the city this month (for the first time in a while!) but you never know where I might head on a whim!