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Instagram best nine
I’m back with some OG kinda post this week!
It’s that time of year where Instagram shows us our mist liked/engaging grid pics from the past year, so I wanted to share mine and a bit of the significance behind each. Enjoy!
This was on my birthday back in June. A couple of days before, I’d found out I was being made redundant. However, I pushed this to the back if my mind and enjoyed a socially distaced BBQ at my mum’s house with close family and was made to feel very loved. The smile is 100% genuine.
The last time I posted a pic of myself in this bikini (about a year before) I was standing up and sucking in for dear life. This time, I decided to just snap a pic exactly as I was; relaxing in the garden and enjoying life. I don’t think that’s a brave thing to do, nothing here that you wouldn’t see round a pool or on a beach on holiday right?
Holiday!! 6 of my best 9 were from my summer holiday to Zante (still so grateful we managed to get abroad this year, even if it wasn’t where we’d planned). On this day we’d taken the bus to Zakynthos Town and enjoyed walking by the harbour, around the shops and stopping off for food before heading back to our hotel. I really like these ‘holding hands out of shot’ pics.
I didnt feel ‘brave’ posting this pic, however I was inspired to post it by some of my fave influencers who have helped me to have a slightly different mindset about how I view my body. Yes, I might want to make some changes, but they’re not going to happen overnight so I can’t simple sit around and wait until I feel I look ‘good enough’. So I went about my holiday, did what I wanted and had a ball.
This was just one afternoon (happy hour, to be exact) by the pool at our hotel, I’d been made redundant by this point but were having a great holiday and I was feeling pretty positive about the next steps (the week after this, I got my new job). I really did feel good about life and wanted to capture the moment.
This was taken mid way through a boat trip to Naviago Bay (otherwise known as Shipwreck Beach) the boat was a bit teeny and the waves were a bit too big for me to feel ok getting in the water, but we saw some amazing beaches and had some great food.
Back to June and the first time I dared to meet up with a fellow blogger to shoot content (which was @moretokat) we arrived and left separately, used our phones to shoot, and bought drinks at the shop afterwards to have outside. I took along my mirror (that was originally meant for my bathroom but has remained unhung for about 2 years) to do a couple of selfie style shots with the wild flowers.
We’d spent the day at a really nice beach club had some drinks and some nice food (standard) and a paddle in the sea. I was wearing this super comfy-casj cover up by Queens Have Curves (run by my pal Alex) that has kindly been gifted to me, so I thought this was the perfect chance to snap a pic of it.
And finally number nine! This was taken near one of the most photographed places in Zakynthos, Cameo Island. I say near, because if I’d have had more time I’d like to have seen a bit of the island and got a perfect pic, but (as I pointed out in my lengthy IG caption) life sometimes gets on the way and you can always ‘do it for the ‘gram’. I had sailed around the island previous to this photo being taken, and it’s very pretty.
And there you have it folks – nine images full of wisdom, fun, adventure and a few nice outfits! If you don’t usually, I’d encourage you to check your own Instagram best nine it’s bound to give you some of your 2020 highlights (yes, you’ve probably had some) and remember some of the important things you were thinking and feeling.
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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It feels so good to be so young and have this fun and be successful…
But, what about…?
For a lot of people 2020 has been a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, instead a train wreck. And they’re just the words of CNN’s Jake Tapper describing America’s Presential race! This year has been tough for lot of people in a lot of ways this year (though, all linked back to the same root cause, our mate COVID).
Not for me. I’ve had a couple of wobbles this year, but as we’re counting down to midnight on 31 December I’ll be looking back on this year and chalking it up as a pretty decent one indeed. Almost one of the best ones in fact. Sound weird? Let me explain.
My career is on the up
Believe me, I’m beyond shocked (and grateful) to be able to claim this as 2020 victory. Me, who nothing good ever happens to! I’d already decided at the start of this year that I was ready to move on from my current job and started applying for new roles, then we all got locked down and I thought “dammit, guess I’m just happy to have a job for now” a few months on from that, I was made redundant. However, I kept going and landed a new job 5 weeks later. The new job sees me being primarily in charge of my department (mainly because there’s only me in it) earning more money, working less hours, a shorter commute to work and generally succeeding because I’ve been trusted to do my job. This was a huge goal I wanted to accomplished this year, and somehow I did it (if you want to read about my experiences of looking for a job during a global pandemic, I wrote this blog post).
I’ve had some good quality time out
We all usually get some kind of holiday or time off each year, but rarely do we get the opportunity to have more than a couple of weeks in one go. This year, I had nearly 6 months of not working. I made a conscious decision at the start of lockdown to appreciate and enjoy every single bit of time off work I had, because I didn’t know how long it was going to last and knew this kind of opportunity would never present itself again. So, rather than being bored in the house bored, I took some selfish chill time for ME. I slept in, chilled in loungewear, watched trash TV marathons, went for walks on the beach and relaxed in the garden. When the time came for me to get back to work, I felt completely refreshed and ready.
My creativity is growing
This year provided a lot less time to go out and shoot content with friends, or have coffee and talk through upcoming ideas for blog posts, so I looked for other ways to find creative inspo. I turned to YouTube more than ever before to look at different makeup looks, outfit inspo and photo techniques. I had a go at self shooting a lot of photos, which is something I’ve enjoyed and carried on doing (though I’m glad I’ve been able to get back to seeing people to shoot collaboratively too). I joined Tik Tok and clumsily learnt how to make video content, something I’ve always thought I wasn’t good enough to do (and I may not be still, but I enjoy it).
My mental health is now in check
This has GOT to the be the Holy grail right! Now, I’m not gonna sit here and be like “yes, I’m cured, I’ll be fine forever now!” because it’s not true and is also pretty unrealistic, but I can say that I’ve been removed from some toxic people/situations that contributed to putting my mental health in a pretty poor state. When the country was told to stay at home and many were Furloughed, my battered little brain heard “you’re free”. Even now that things have gone back to something nearing normality, my state of mind has stayed pretty clear. I used to need ‘a bit of extra help’ to make me feel I could cope, but I don’t need that anymore. I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I am about that.
And I’m sure some of you can take some of the points above and claim them as successes for yourself too! But, in case you need a couple of other things for your 2020 highlight reel, here are some other things that have happened this year we can all be grateful for…
- Trump will not be the President as of the end of January 2021
- The COVID vaccine should be rolled out nationally soon
- A lot of the things we’ve gone though this year were only for this year
- Ways of working are now likely to be able to change for the better, because businesses can see that other ways aren’t wrong or unproductive
- We can wear joggers and baggy t-shirts and its called fashion
- Netflix brought it for us with the with the return of all our fave teenage sitcoms
- This time, when people spoke about black and LGBTQ+ lives mattering, it felt like the rest of the world actually started to listen
If you don’t think this year was the best for you, I challenge you to think of at least three things that have been good about it for YOU. We’ll kick of 2021 with a clean slate and determined to make it better than this year, but with the knowledge that this year wasn’t all bad.
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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Let’s Chat- November 2020
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…. how the devil are you?? Despite lockdown, I feel like I haven’t had a spare moment to get my creative juices flowing for new blog posts, which is why I’ve been a bit ‘digitally absent’ lately. No point in posting just to say you did if its a bit rubbish and nobody reads it right?
I’ve spent a lot of time in loungewear and comfy clothes this month (I’m sure you can relate) and I’ve also been given a uniform to wear at work so am dressed the same way for 5 days of the week now (which I like, because I don’t have to think about what to put on)
- The Undoing: I think pretty much everyone on my Instagram stories have been watching this! Have you seen it, what did you think? I enjoyed it was underwhelmed at the end, I really wanted there to be a Gone Girl style twist.
- Sister Sister: never knew how much I missed ya! Im soooo happy Netflix put this on the list and I ripped through it within the month. I didnt remember it ending how it did though. I’m hearing reboot rumours from Tia and Tamera’s YouTube channels so I hope this goes ahead.
- Blind Spot: its FINALLY back! Ive watched this series for about 4 years (this is the last season) but there’s been a ridiculously extended break between the last series and this one. If you havent heard if it and like shows like CSI and Criminal Minds, you’ll probably like this too.
- Halloween: I just had to eek out the last bit of Halloween out of the season before getting Chrismassey!
- 90s throwback: I have needed the motivation first thing in the morning that only Jazzy Jeff, the Fresh Prince and Kris Kross can provide! The dark mornings and wet weather are not my friend.
- Christmas songs: the Christmas decs went up (more about that in a bit) so obviously the classics were aying in the background. I like to mix it up between traditional carols, chart classics and the newer pop stuff. Obviously, Bublè features heavily.
My activities have been really wholesome. Starting with putting the Christmas decorations about a week early. This year I have 3 trees (a slim green fake tree, a fat snow flocked fake tree and a scandi style rope tree), 3 garlands, 2 table decorations and a wreath for the front door. I’m buzzing with how it looks! There’s a Christmas highlight on my Instagram if you fancy a nosey. Me and the Mr have also been cooking some big Sunday lunches (going out for posh Sunday lunch has always been one our fave things to do) and taking regular walks. The Christmas lights in our village went up early doors andnits been lovely to see those, as well as getting out for some more country style walks in Beverley
Sooo, that’s my final pre-Christmas round up done! I usually do #blogmas during this time, however this year I’ve decided that my content probably isn’t appropriate (or anywhere near enough) , however I’m still getting involved by resharing relevant content from precious years on my Twitter feed every day (Think yummy recipes and general life tips and you’ll be on the right lines).
Next time we catch up like this, Christmas will be done and 2021 will almost be on us…Wowza!
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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Let’s Chat – October 2020
For those of you reading this in England: happy lockdown 2.0 day! Sheesh. I genuinely thought the second wave of Coronavirus would be much milder than the first, but at least this time we know what to expect so we can e prepared in our heads as well as our homes. We’ve done it once, we can do it again!
I’ve had a but of a bummer month (As you may have spotted in this blog post) so I’ve basically only worn PJs and the same 3 or 4 outfits to be cosy. I’ve been referring my summer dresses with tights and a polo neck to get a bit more wear from them so I don’t feel the need to buy any more clothes I don’t need!
- Emily in Paris: I had to see what all the fuss is about. 2 episodes in, I wasn’t a fan, but I stuck with it and by the end I can I appreciated that she shed light on the importance of marketing to a business! The plot lines aside from work were a bit cliche (althpugh some of them a bit relatable to me) but I’ll be tuning in for season 2 to see if I can borrow some of her social media strategies.
- Slasher (series 1): My second time watching this. This is a Netflix series about a woman who returns to her birth town to live in the home her parents were murdered in on Halloween night, and the obligatory carnage that ensues. It has a slightly different take and has a few sub plots too, definitely worth a watch. There are another 2 series featuring the same cast but completely different stories.
- Friday the 13th: Which one? You ask. Pretty much all of them! Its a Halloween tradition that every weekend we watch a couple. They kind of annoy me with how cliche they look nowadays, but I still put them on.
- Halloween reloaded: Are we sensing a theme here? It is October!
- Visited a pumpkin patch: after 6 years of blogging, I finally went all basic bitch and went to a pumpkin patch! Obviously my primary aim was to take pics, but I did also buy a few pumpkins to carve and decorate my house with for the month. Thanks to my gal Kat for suggesting the trip!
- Halloween capers: we popped to my sister in law’s house before for an early spooky/fireworks gathering for 5. We enjoyed some Frankenstein Colin the Caterpillar mini rolls, star shaped sparklers and wrapping the boys up as mummies in toilet roll (before people lost their shit and started stockpiling it. Again.)
And that, my friends, is pretty much it! Who knows what the month of November holds (well, it’ll definitely involved Christmas shopping and putting my tree up, but apart from that…). Stay home, stay safe, but reach out if you’re struggling. We all have to be here for each other where we can.
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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Self chore, or self care?
Is it just me, or does the thought of doing simple things for yourself just sometimes feel like yet another item to add to your very long adulting list?
By simple, I include (but am not limited to) the following tasks: have a shower wash my hair, take my makeup off, make a cup of tea…instead, the thought of doing anything else in the day stresses you out to the point where you just kind of slump on the couch and do nothing, when in that time you could’ve just done the thing?
So, its this thought process that has convinced me this is why a lot of people don’t have very much ‘self care’ built into their day to day lives. Our over worked, 21st century brains have autoprogrammed our thoughts to class this as a chore, something more we have to factor in to our already busy lives. The problem perhaps isn’t having the time, it’s our wired little brain.
Because of lockdown, I forcibly took time out this year which drastically cut down on the amount of things I had to do. So, I ended up doing a lot of the things I usually can’t be bothered to do (within the realms of social distancing and lockdown) that made me feel very happy and relaxed. I sat in the garden and had a cup of coffee, did face masks, had some leisurely hots showers…hell; I even cracked out the ol’ foot spa and gave my trotters some needed attention!
Now the world has reopened somewhat, and I’m still managing to do all of these things, when I couldn’t seem to before. What’s changed? My thought process. I’ve reframed these tasks in my head and compartmentalised them in correct place: things I like to do that make me feel nice. I’ve also started doing them at different times of day that fit in with my life now, rather than leaving everything until the end of the day/week when it feels like effort. Now, rather than my mood determining whether I do self care activities, I do self care activities to determine my mood. And you know what? Its bloody glorious.
I know everybody has different commitments, different lifestyles, different environments, but every one of us needs to have just a little bit of time for ourselves on a semi regular basis in order to remain both sane and productive humans. Whether you call it self care/me time/time out/a little break and whatever you choose to do with that time, do it.
Self care isn’t a revolutionary concept, but how we address within ourselves could be the key to truly unlocking its real potential.
Thanks for reading,
J xx
About Me
I’m Jenny, nice to meet you. I’m a thirty-something who likes fashion, holidays and wondering about life. A lot.
