My Month In Photos - July 2017

Another month another intro on how busy I've been, yet at the same time I feel really relaxed and calm and like I haven't been that busy? It might be due to the fact I'm writing this about to go on holiday till the end of the week and I've been living at my parents house by myself for 10 days. Of course actually house sitting at my parents house hasn't been all that relaxing, I set myself a to do list way too big to complete, ran here there and everywhere but it was a bit blissful all the same. Having a bed to myself meant I had some of the best nights sleep I've had in ages (sorry Joss) and just doing what I wanted when I wanted meant I feel pretty chill writing this.

What I Did:

The beginning of July seems like a lifetime ago as it always does when I sit down to write these and I always exclaim at how fast the year is going. The first few weeks were pretty relaxing and enjoyable with a little heatwave thrown in for good measure. We celebrated some family birthdays with a takeaway or two and we spent a beautiful blue day by the sea with my niece. I did boring things like had a car service and went to the supermarket lots and did lots of shopping and I met up with my Foundation pals for a cheeky Nando's. We had a family wedding this month so a few weekends were spent at the bride's hen and preparing for and at the wedding itself. This month saw the end of the 100 day project and also saw me ticking off a few of my Instagram bucket list (but still a million and one to go!) And then the past few days have seen me cat sitting and preparing to come away - even for just a few days there's been a lot to do!

What I Watched:

FARGO IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS!!! I've been banging on about it for ages but series 3 of Fargo is amazing, it's the last one on Wednesday but it's well worth catching up and buying the boxset of the first 2 series if you like utterly insane dark gross dramas. I actually missed a lot of TV this week whilst I've been at home and working hard and not watching TV but obvs I made time for Game of Thrones. I've been rewatching from the beginning whilst simultaneously watching the new season so I've just finished season 2 again. I also watched The Great Gatsby for about the millionth time cos priorities. I also, hate to admit it, but I got hooked on Love Island - 3 episodes from the end. More on that on next week's Friday Favs.

What I Worked On:

I actually didn't work on much new this month. Freelancing and the type of work I do is very very seasonal and with most people spending their money on holidays this time of year, commissions isn't massively on the top of their agenda. I did some more work for Effi and we're nearly there now I think and I created a few printables for my blog. I also did a lot of work for my permanent design job that I don't really talk about much, I did a lot of web design and updating for them this month and a hella lot of printing. What I did focus on though was my own branding - I am feeling really inspired at the moment with lots of new ideas hence I'm taking my blog off tomorrow for re design. I have created two new Instagram themed mugs for my Etsy and I'm working on a newsletter and I've really tried to up my Instagram for my business and started making progress on my Twitter too.

What I Journaled;

I journaled a lot this month and I wrote a lot of bullet journal posts on the old blog. I filled my first bullet journal of the year in 6 months so July saw the start of my second bullet journal of 2017 so I worked a lot on creating it, designing the spreads and getting it ready to use. I've created a few new spreads that I'm really enjoying like my sleep tracker which I nicked from Mel and I also have some fun new lists and trackers. Much is the same and my monthly spreads are still ticking along in the same way but obvs this month I've been preparing for holiday which you can read more about here. I have also made a few mistakes and embraced them in my own way - by covering them up with mood boards. I am really enjoying this journal again and enjoying filling it in and designing spreads for the coming weeks.

What I Blogged;

I took a few days off blogging here and there when I was too busy or posting too late at night but actually I looked back at my schedule for the month and I actually only missed 5 days of the month which ain't that bad. Aside from my bullet journal posts which I really enjoyed writing I've actually had a really good month blogging wise. I always enjoy blogging don't get me wrong but some weeks or months I feel like maybe I'm slogging content out a bit more or feeling rushed and pressured to write but I've really enjoyed what I've been doing this month. It feels fresh, it feels fun, it feels easy to write and I want to write, desperately, all the time. Undoubtedly my favourite post to write was this one on Instagram unfollowing and why I had a bit of a cull - I think people really resonated with it and it got a good reception and it was one of those posts you whack out in about 5 minutes. Again, on the same kinda thread as the above post, I wrote one off the cuff after a late night bloggers chat about the extras we've come to expect from blogging, it was just a bit of a brain dump and I find that they're always the nicest, and most inspired, to write. This month I also wrote a bit about small businesses, one post on things to remember when you purchase from a small business, one on the struggles of needing to buy new stock and one on how to take your business on holiday and I really enjoyed producing them. I went through a phase of not writing so much about the creative side of my life but having done three in a single month I think I'll make an effort to get back to it.

What I Bought;

Not a hell of a lot! What with booking a gals weekend away and needing my car serviced for a cool 125 quid and not working much on new things I didn't have a load of disposable cash. I did buy a shirt in the Primark sale and a new dress recommended by the lovely Hannah and I also bought a milk bottle from Tesco that uhm, rubbed off in one wash. I have been paid for things in the last week or so and my jury service expenses finally came through so maybs when I'm on holiday it's time to treat ma self.....

Don't forget I'm taking a blogging break from tomorrow for a revamp!