some happy things

well, that felt like both the longest, and shortest week of my life. i was back to work on wednesday - yes, wednesday, and it was pretty much a ghost town the whole week. except friday, weirdly, everyone seemed to come back on friday. yay for them! but seriously, i did a whooole lot of nothing this week, which felt bloomin' incredible. i'm still battling the lurgey, so it was nice to just come home and relax. which always makes me very happy. much like..

new year vibes | this year, i'm making myself my happy. i'm not going to worry about money; i'm going to make it work, and stress less about how. so, i'm booking holidays. so far: berlin and riga with my friend mike, bucharest with the bangarang girls, malta with bex, then ljubljana and lake bled also with bex. this is all before may. and i've also got some uk trips booked in; stamford and derby, and i'm so happy about having all these amazing travel plans locked in already. and, if that's not awesome enough, the girls and i are also talking about japan. japan! i mean, i'm never going to have new clothes or a house or expensive things ever again, but good god, am i going to have some incredible stories and memories.

defrazzle | i've been reading ruby's book since i started back at work, and it really has helped me be mindful when my stress triggers are activated. it's very wordy, for sure, but there's a lot of sense in there, and really obvious solutions to stopping the frazzle. it's been fab to read on the tube after a long day of work. if you're after something self-helpy to have a read of this year, definitely grab a copy!

new recipes | i had a pretty annoying thing happen to me last week thanks to hello fresh and their stupid subscription service, which meant that i received another box of fresh produce this week. i mean, that's not the awful part, because a girl's gotta eat, but the awful part was them taking £49 the week after christmas that i wasn't expecting. but. a minor twitter feud later, the refund was mine - but so was the box of fresh food, so i got to cooking. my favourite meal this week was a fruity lebanese lamb dish served with bulgar wheat and roast carrots. it was absolutely delicious, and it's the only recipe from the service that i've enjoyed and planned to make again. of the two, i'm a massive gousto fan, because you can choose your meals, and it's way more affordable. plus, their customer service is excellent. really can't fault gousto at all!

sensibility | i was all about non-sensible shoes at the start of the week, but then! my asos sale babies arrived and it was like i was walking on clouds, when i was actually walking on black ice. so, so comfy, and totally pretty too! i don't wear trainers - not my style, but these are slide-on plimsoles with a really ted baker-y print and bow on top. i mean, so me! i'm sure they will get dirty and ruined in no time, but until then, they're my new loves.

have a wonderful week!