The Sunday Post #19

Good evening one and all. I come to you live from the heart of hayfever hell, with a face that feels like it's going to fall off and probably a tree equivalent of used hankies (ew). It's not all bad though, as I'm working my way through some Cadbury's Heroes and it's still lovely and light outside. Have you all been basking in the beautiful weather this week?

What Have I Been Doing This Week?

Doing the 7 Day Thigh Challenge

This week I completed Blogilates 7 Day Thigh Challenge. I couldn't believe how difficult the simple-looking exercises were and I was so proud of myself for following through. A couple of months ago I would have given up after Day 1. While I haven't transformed into Miss Stick-Insect Legs, I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I improved over the week. What absolutely killed on Monday and Tuesday was totally doable by Friday. It just goes to show - 20 minutes a day can make a huge difference.

The Sunday Post #18

Happy Sunday folks! I've had a lovely evening consisting of Line of Duty, an online book club chat, a Harry Potter quiz and Neapolitan ice cream. Not too shabby at all. I took the above photo today when I went a bit on a candle rampage. Does it feel inception looking at it?

The Week

I finished the SEO work I've been doing piecemeal for weeks on Julz Obsessions. None of my photos had alt text so going through 300 posts and adding it was pretty laborious. I did love re-meeting old me as I went back in time though.

This week I wrote my first article for Quite Literary, a new online magazine called 'Books to Read in Your Early Twenties'. Give it a read and let me know what you think. Writing is exactly what I want to be doing more of in the months and years to come so I feel like this is the first step of a fabulous journey. 

It looks like we're finally going to start coming out of lockdown. Is it just me or has everyone else lost all sense of time? It's as if we've been like this for 2 years, but also 2 minutes. While I'm very much looking forward to doing things like going to my fave restaurants, seeing my friends and family, going to the pub and shopping when we can, I also think I'll emerge on the other side changed. It's like the reset button has been pushed on my life and I can see clearly what's important, what I want, what I should be doing more of and less of. 

The Sunday Post #17

I've been going through old posts fixing some technical aspects (lack of alt text, broken links etc) and very happily stumbled upon an old series I wrote in 2013 called 'The Sunday Post'. Each week on a Sunday evening I'd write a short blog post about what was going on in my life that week and what I'd been enjoying. Honestly, for the most part it was me gushing about One Direction and calling into the online abyss for friends who shared my Pretty Little Liars obsession. But I have completely loved reading these back. They're such a vivid reminder of a very specific time in my life where I was completely immersed in Higher exams and, as cheesy as it may sound, I was finding myself and my voice. Incidentally, reading through the number of posts I managed to produce back then, I'm in awe at how I managed to find any time for studying at all. I'd just got my first proper part time job in Wetherspoons and my favourite song was Avicii Wake Me Up. I ended up working in spoons for 3 years (maybe one day I'll write a book about the fun and games that went on in there). Funny enough, I've been listening to Best of Avicii on Spotify the whole lockdown. I guess we don't change that much even though our circumstances might.

So, I thought I'd dive back in - 7 years later - and write The Sunday Post #17. Even if no one reads it, I absolutely love looking back and catching a glimpse of myself in time.

'The Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty | Book Review

This is a no spoiler book review

The Husband's Secret has been on my to-be-read pile for well over a year after I got it at a jumble sale 3 for £1 (bargain!). 

For such a book-loving gal who usually roars through novels alongside working full time, since we've went into lockdown and I've had so much free time, I've been finding it so difficult to get into a book. I don't know if it's because right now our brains are constantly distracted by the enormous threat of a pandemic. Anyway, while other folk have been using this time to whittle down their TBR pile, mine has been slogging along almost untouched. 

Have you been feeling the same difficulty in settling into reading lately?

I'm a big believer in 'feeling' what to read next. I need to be in the mood for a particular genre or type of book. For every few fiction books I read, I'll throw in a non fiction between to change things up. The diversity is the beauty of reading: having such variety to choose from means I never get bored.

Let's leave all the hard hitting science and canonical literature for later. My brain just can't deal. Right now? I need something light with a great story which hooks me in immediately. 

Cue The Husband's Secret.