My Month In Photos - August 2018.
Hello hi it me again, back with another monthly round up. Here to exclaim how quick the year is going and how on earth do we only have a few months left and where is time going and all those other sentiments.
I am normally a big lover of Autumn and counting down the days to pop all the pumpkin themed decorations up and prematurely wearing knitwear cos just so desperate but this time around I digress. I loved this summer, I loved the weather, I loved the sunshine, I loved the mood it put me in and I really wasn't ready for it to end. Soz not soz here's hoping for an Indian summer till like October?
What I Did;
August was my first full month in work and it's taken me the whole time to get into some semblance of routine and normality (ngl don't think I am quite there yet). I can barely remember what I was doing at the beginning of the month so I referred back to my bujo and I literally couldn't even believe it was this month.
Back at the beginning of the month we had Jos' brother, fiancée and mother in law staying with us for a few days so we were spending lots of time with them and eating all the best food, cramming it all in when they were here. My Dad was also away for the first week and a half of the month so I took my Mum out for a girls evening to see Mamma Mia which was amazing and I also stayed the night at hers for a sleepover one night too.
A few days after Jos' family left his godfather came to stay and then a few days after that his grandmother came to stay so it was a busy old time for us. In the meantime I moved my office into my house and decorated my spare bedroom, repainted, made countless trips to Ikea and put up furniture.
A few weeks ago I was invited to a bloggers event with Boux Avenue in Cardiff so I took my old flatmate and bride to be from uni to see if we could find any bridal underwear, have some nibbles and have a fitting. We had a fab time and came away with the biggest goody bag ever, plus a free set of underwear - all of which you can see on my Insta story highlights.
I have actually done loads of fun stuff this month, meeting my friend for lunch one day in work and my Mum and her pal for lunch another day. I have been into Cardiff too many times to count in hunt of workwear clothing, we have had more takeaways than I would like to admit and we had a lovely meal out with Jos' family when he grandmother was down. It was my Dad's 50th birthday this month so I spent the evening with my grandparents and then we celebrated with the rest of my family the following weekend where my niece helped unwrap everything and licked the icing off the cake......
We of course had a lot of cider events this month and I worked the odd few when I had time to help out, including the soggiest day in Porthcawl I have ever experienced. I spent the bank holiday cramming in as much as possible to such a short space of time, first spending the day with my flatmate in Cardiff shopping and she found her wedding dress which is now safely tucked away on top of my wardrobe. I rushed straight home only to go right back out again to a friends leaving BBQ which was divine, spend the Sunday with my family and then meet one of my very dearest friend for brunch on Monday.
To top it all off I enjoyed the last few days of the month with my auntie, uncle and cousin who were down from Manchester for a few days where we ate A LOT of chips and had a big old catch up.
What I Watched;
Well I kicked off the month with Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again so I think I peaked right there - I bought the soundtrack immediately for my car and haven't stopped listening to it since. We also watched Dunkirk which was harrowing but amazing and vowed to have a film night every Saturday.....and promptly haven't watched one since. TV wise all the best stuff is back again, the Last Leg finished but was another great series, GBBO is back with a bang (I adore Terry) and I have enjoyed reruns of Life of Kylie more than I like to admit. We've also started watching Bodyguard which is the new big BBC drama and I basically haven't caught my breath back since. V highly recommended if you want to catch up on iPlayer.
What I Worked On;
I had a deadline for the second week of August for a personalised print and I have been doing my regular website/admin job but other than that and a few Etsy sales I haven't worked on a lot. I also haven't really been fretting about it, my shop is still open and my work will tick along but I haven't put too much pressure on myself to sell as much as normal because I knew I needed to take time off to get stuck into full time employment work. I knew managing it all when it was so new would be tricky and that combined with the fact my home office was only completed this past weekend, my own work has taken a back seat that I was actually happy with. Now my office is done I am excited to get stuck in, sat down at my desk and beavering away on something new. Roll on Christmas card designs......
What I Journaled;
Well for starters I have actually taken bullet journal blog photos and that means I might actually have some blog posts up for you soon! In my mind I intend to do a week long bujo event on my blog but we'll see if I actually get my act together enough to do so.
This month I actually slacked a little in my bullet journal and it was mainly to do with work. I use my bullet journal as a means of planning ahead, of writing down everything I need to remember and I found in August I was just too busy to do that. I was using my phone more for lists and my google calendar for planning and just on the go so much I didn't have time to stop and bujo. That being said I did journal as much as I could and I will show you sometime this month maybe never.
I did however cave and buy a bullet journal for work. I went for a Leuchtturm 1917 in navy because #profesh and I have not turned back. It has cemented in my mind they are the best bullet journals and also that bullet journaling is life. I have a blog post planned on my work bujo but also it's full on confidential information so I am unsure as of yet how I plan to show you that one....Watch this space.
What I Blogged;
Again, I didn't blog all that much in August and time was definitely not on my side, even though motivation was. I really wanted to blog, I had (and still have) so much I want to write about and just not enough time to do it in. Still working out a way to blog a bit in my lunch hour but oh lord a lunch hour goes so much quicker than a working hour doesn't it?
I wrote 6 blog posts and alongside my normal advertisers post and my month in photos I wrote some stuff I was really happy with. I got a lot of response to my blog posts this month too what with an insight into my new job and particularly my 'death of blogging' post. The latter I think is my favourite of the month because I really enjoyed asking all of your opinions, collating all the results and putting a lot of research and thought into it. I also have had to stop myself buying everything in my transitional workwear post because my bank balance will hate me (but my wardrobe will not).
What I Bought;
Aaaaaaa fuckload is what I bought. I realised quite early on into my first weeks in work that my working wardrobe was lacking in a few key areas so I stocked up on cardigans, trousers, sensible shoes and a few tops and spent a hefty portion of my wage before I even had it.
Combine that with tickets to Mamma Mia, days out with pals, brunch, meals out, takeaways and all life throws at you like petrol and food and my bank balance was looking v unhappy before I had my first pay packet. That being said, I was paid for 5 and a half weeks because I started at an odd time and I was very happy about it (especially when I then booked my car in for a 100 quid repair).
Enjoy your September my love, whether you're back to school, back to uni, doing nothing at all or counting down the days till the end of the year - have a blast my darlings.
