The school holidays are at an end here in the north of Scotland and we are quickly hurtling towards Autumn. There’s been a definite chill in the air these last few days and the long evenings are suddenly drawing in. As much as I love Autumn, there’s a lot to be said for the motivational properties of summer weather. We’re already busy making plans for the October holidays and a rather exciting road trip in our campervan. The end of the holidays is always a good time for more holiday planning. Nothing like a few weeks off to put you in the mood for another few weeks off I say 😉 .
READ
Holidays aside, there’s been plenty to love lately on the little loving front. I had a fab few weeks of reading over the summer hols and you can read all about that here and here. I’ve also been reading lots of lovely blog posts, including Suzanne’s fab round up of her New York adventure and her posts about using her phone less. I was also moved by Chloe’s beautifully written post about some of the challenges she and her family face. Non bloggers often ask me where to find good blogs so I’ll try to include a few favourites on here more often. There are so many amazing blogs out there – grab a coffee and dive in and have a look!
WATCHED
You’ve guessed it, I’m still watching Dawson and co and their endless carousel of romantic drama. We also finished the sixth season of Once Upon a Time – a lovely end to another love affair. Although there is a seventh, and final season, it’s a complete reboot, with new characters and stories. We just haven’t been able to engage with it in the same way so I think we’re going to draw our own line under the end of season 6. As much as I miss my favourite shows when they finish I think there’s always a good time to say goodbye before things start to lose momentum. Having said that, if a Dawson’s reboot happens in the future, scratch everything I’ve said and count me in!
WORE
This month I’ve been loving my new yellow Lighthouse rain jacket. I treated myself to it in the sale after reading Hayley’s post on their range not so long ago. Yes, I admit it, reading blogs can lead to you spending money you might not have otherwise parted with 🙂 . But SALE, remember… (P.S although I wish I was.. I’m not affiliated with Lighthouse in any way 😉 ) .
HEARD
I’ve been getting back into the swing of dog walks and podcasts since the kids went back to school last week. This month, I heard a couple of fantastic podcasts on why sleep is so important with sleep expert Matthew Walker on Dr Chatterjee’s Feel Better, Live More show. It might seem obvious, but this really helped me understand just how important getting the right amount of shut eye is. The conversation touches on things like the impact sleep has on our immune systems, minimising jet lag and the effects of caffeine. This was all particularly interesting to me as over the past few months I’ve been having problems with waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to nod back off. I’ve realised that if I don’t get enough sleep at night I need to make it up elsewhere and after listening to this podcast, I’ve treated myself to a few naps over the past month. There seems to be some sort of stigma in society and the idea that sleeping enough is something to be ashamed of, or being seen to be resting is some sort of weakness. I mean, that’s ridiculous isn’t it? If you have issues with sleeping or think you might not be getting enough I’d definitely look this podcast up!
This month, I’ve also been listening to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast and particularly enjoyed her interviews with Gok Wan, Kirsty Young and Matt Haig. They all touch on issues around mental illness, technology use and making the most of life. Fearne has such an upbeat attitude and I really enjoy these nitty-gritty conversations. If you also have a lunchtime walkies date at the beach with your canine I’d definitely recommend tuning in!
MADE
The last couple of weeks have been all about getting back into the routine and making my regular weekly spreads in the bullet journal. I don’t tend to use my journal very much in school holidays but in term times it’s an invaluable tool. I get a lot of questions about my bullet journal – do have a look at this post if you’d like to get some bujo inspiration. I make up my weekly spread on Sundays while dinner is cooking – it’s less of a chore and more my artistic interlude in any given week!
Over the summer I also made quite a few changes to my website. A little revamp has been well overdue and you can read all about that here. I still have quite a few tweaks to make but I have to admit my ‘finishing energy’ has deserted me.
Perhaps it will return in time for next month…. 😉
See you all again for another Little Loves outing very soon!
G x
As usual I’m linking this post up to Morgana’s monthly linky:
I need to listen to that podcast! I’ve always had problems with sleep, but I actually think my problem is that I don’t know *how* to fall asleep, if that makes any sense. I’ve always taken at least an hour to fall asleep, from as far back as I can remember, regardless of how tired I am.
And that jacket is so lovely! xx
Ah thanks Andrea 😊. Oh that’s a real pain about the sleep thing! I’ve never had a problem with sleeping until the last few months so I don’t know what’s going on. I’m blaming hormones but I wish I could get to the bottom of it. Someone recommended ‘box breathing’ to me recently (google it). Might be worth a try! Xx
I love looking at your bullet journalling stuff, it really looks therapeutic! Thanks so much for sharing my blog posts, glad you’ve enjoyed them. I’ve not heard of Once Upon a Time but need some new series to get stuck into so will go and check that out. Is it Netflix? xx
No problem Suzanne, I love your updates! Once Upon a Time is on Netflix, it’s a sort of fairytale show. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea but we really enjoyed it. Also okay for watching with the kids which was another reason we got into it so much! 🙂 . xx