Little Things 16

Brunch, Banana Bread and a Mid-Year Reflection

Summer is here! June has come to an end and the sun has finally made an appearance. This weekend I’ve alternated between working on my blog, soaking up the sun and having my head stuck in the devastatingly beautiful, ‘A Little Life’.

As I write this, chain-drinking tea and very much enjoying the sun shining through my window, I’ll catch you up on the little things I’ve been loving lately.

First blog event

Yep, I crushed my social anxiety and attended my first blogging event. To say I felt anxious about going alone is an understatement, to the point at which I was in two minds about even going. I’m so glad I did! Northern bloggers were invited to the Edward Pavilion, located at The Albert Dock, to have a tour around the new workspace run by Clockwise. It’s a large modern-looking space with sound-proof meeting rooms, a cosy lounge area and an on-site coffee shop. I look forward to making the most of the space whenever I’m in the city with my generously gifted free access pass.

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We were also treated to some brunch courtesy of Thoughtfully Café and the chia pudding was on another level. Overall, I’m happy I pushed myself to attend. I just hope that by challenging myself more often, stepping outside my comfort zone will gradually become easier.

Reflecting

We’re halfway through the year and lots of us are reflecting on the goals we set ourselves for 2019. As I chatted about in my Two Thousand and Nineteen post, this year I set myself broader intentions rather than specific goals. One of these intentions was to strike a good balance between maintaining a social life, work, health and self-care. While I still deem striking a perfect balance futile, I have allocated myself more ‘me-time’ to curl up with a book and a mug of tea or binge-watching a series on Netflix.

In terms of my reading challenge, according to Goodreads, I’m currently 19 books ahead of schedule. Will I hit 100 book by the end of the year? Or is that a tad aspirational? I also intended to read one classic each month, and so far, so good. My plans now are to continue tackling my Summer Reading List and see if I can surpass my goal.

Oh, I also intended to travel to either NYC or Tokyo this year, neither of which look as if they’re going to happen any time soon.

Years and Years

This. Show. Years and Years is one of the best, albeit most terrifying, things I’ve watched this year. This drama follows a family over the course of 15 years offering up a chilling forecast of where our country might be heading. What made this show so frightening was how tangible it is. The characters are your family, they are living your lives, they’re relatable and full of flaws and imperfections and they’re completely lovable.

Anna Reid deserves an award for her ‘Our Fault’ speech alone. Even if you don’t watch the show, do yourself a favour and scout out this chilling monologue somewhere online. It’s the most apt criticism of our consumerist society I’ve ever heard.

Climate change transforms the UK into a soggy mess, chocolate is a luxury and bananas are extinct. I just hope that most of the eerie forecasts contained within this drama will never happen. But, what an insight into our current failings as the human race this show is.

Banana bread

Anyone else purposely let their bananas go spotty so they can bake banana bread? It had been a hot second since I last baked anything, so with my bananas way past their prime I baked one of my favourite desserts inspired by Cookie and Kate’s Healthy Banana Bread recipe. I served mine with a dollop of Biscoff spread and oh, what a combo. What shall I bake next?

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Couch to 5K

I love working out in the morning, especially now with the summer season providing us with extra daylight hours. With bright and early starts, I thought it was an apt time to tackle the Couch to 5K and incorporate the challenge into my summer morning routine. Tomorrow, 1st July, marks the start of Week 3, and I’m surprisingly enjoying it much more than I thought I would! However, running for 20 minutes straight at the moment is unthinkable. Has anyone else given this a go?

Recent Posts

My Summer Reading List
A Reintroduction

As always, be sure to let me know what little things you’ve been loving! 
What have been the highlights of your week? Do you have any new TV recommendations, foodie finds, summer plans? Let me know in the comments!

Evie

♥