Home

Welcome to Jenny Chat

A place to express opinions about life and the world as I know it

About Me

Media Kit

Instagram

  • ,

    Surviving October

    Hey friends, hope you’re all doing well. We’re all obviously going through a variety of things in our topsy turvy, midst of a global pandemic so what exactly are we allowed to do Boris lifestyles, however today I want to chat about more of a long standing concern thats rearing it’s less than attractive head in my life right now.

    The autumnal slump.

    For the past few years, I’ve had an extremely difficult time in the month of October (and sometimes a little beyond). I become tired, listless, depressed and emotional, basically like an extreme case of PMT for a whole 31 days. Like clockwork – September ends, October hits and within days I’m like a completely different person. I’ve never sought a specific form of diagnosis, but I imagine Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) would be the closest thing to what I seem to go through.

    Each year I have braced and tried to prepare myself to no avail, however this year I seem to be winning the fight a little bit. I’m still tired and a little disinterested in life away from the office, but the depression and emotion seem to be staying at bay for now. So, what’s changed? Well, I’m in a much stronger position in life for one. I had some much needed time out during Furlough to figure out what I wanted and needed out of my life, I’ve gone headlong into a new job, am around nice people a lot more often and have plenty if things to look forward to in my life.

    Simply reminding myself of the good things in my life goes a long way, however also reminding myself that sometimes I can’t win 100% of the battle is just as big a comfort. During the slightly more difficult feeling times, I aim for the small wins – small bitty tasks that take little concentration but can be taken off the to do list, or a longer repetitive task that I can just lose myself in for a few hours. Trash tv, hot shower, huge bowl of pasta, brisk walk to blow off some of the internal cobwebs, all things that reduce the effects of the slump.

    If I’ve been a little absent of late; not posting as much or showing up on social media, this is the reason why. As soon as I’m reset I’ll be back on the regular with posts, pics and probably Tik Toks galore! I hope to see you then.

    Thanks for reading,

    J xx

  • ,

    Let’s Chat – September 2020

    Say hey to October everyone!

    In the month when I RETURNED TO WORK….well that’s the biggest thing that’s happened to be honest. Sorry for the spoiler, please keep reading to the end!!

    This month’s outfits have mainly been office attire (most of it not new and still fit from pre-lockdown, yay). I also picked up a couple of new bits including this pair of dresses from Next at the bottom of the pic, which I have been obsessed with ever since.

    • Outcry: You catch up with this one on Sky documentary, and you should. It’s a documentary about a high school footballer is accused of molesting a child and what happens after that. My though process was driven wild throughout and I didnt fully form an opinion until the last episode (there are 5)
    • Gogglebox: It’s back! This may be my favourite series yet now I’ve watched it a while and gotten to know the cast over the series.
    • The Duchess: Written, produced by and starring comedian Katherine Ryan (I’m fairly sure its loosely based on her life) the six-parter follows the journey of a single mum trying to have a second baby in the midst of criticism over her circumstances and relationship woes. I really enjoyed it, and of you enjoy Katherine’s sense of humour and outlook you will too.
    • Michael McIntyre: His new live dropped onto Nteflix this month (kind of wish he’d have released it a few months ago when we were bored in the house bored in the house bored) after we’d seen one of his warm up gigs in Hull shortly before lockdown.
    • Ran through a corn field (see my title image): Theresa May eat your heart out! Not quite as carefree as all of that, I just met up with Kat and we took some photos for our Instagrams, made a couple of Tik Tok videos and had some food. Always a pleasure to spend time with that one
    • Started a new job: I’m back in full time business baby!! As you read this I’ll be at the end of my fourth week, and so far so good. I wrote a blog post last week about job hunting during a global pandemic where I shared my experiences and a couple of tips if you fancy a read.
    • Had some date nights out: We actually made a concerted effort to get dressed up and have a couple of nice meals out (just in case everything closes again for a while). It was really nice just to enjoy each others company, eat some nice food and just enjoynthe atmosphere.
    • Fresh nails: Following a DIY mishap (I tried the foam mirror thing) I had to have my acrylic holiday nails removed, so I went for gel on my natural nails in a cute colour with a spotty design.

    That’s pretty much it for this month! I hope you’re all well, staying safe and are looking forward to the autumn months. Maybe some light at the end of the current COVID tunnel??

    Thanks for reading,

    J xx

  • ,

    Job hunting during a global pandemic

    In June, I was invited on the radio to talk about staring down the barrel of redundancy as a result of everybody’s best mate, Coronavirus. I had just been given notice by my employer and by the end of July I was without a job and no imminent prospect if another was on the horizon.

    Fast forward to a week ago. I was invited back on the same radio show to talk about finding a job during the current economic downturn caused by Cornonavirus. Because now, my friends, I’m back in employment. It took five weeks, a lot of effort and a bit of luck, but I’m very aware it’s not been this way for everyone. So, I’m going to share the words of wisdom that helped me through in the hope that they may help one of you reading this. I truly hope it does.


    Remind yourself ‘someone has employed me before and will do again’.

    It may take a little bit if time, but you know it’s true.

    Remain as positive and consistent in your job search as you can.

    Sounds a bit of a silly thing to start with, right?It will happen, it may just take a little time. When you haven’t been in a routine for a while (you may have been on Furlough or lost your job early on in lockdown) so establishing a job hunting routine is very helpful. Pick the days/times/places you’re going to search and do at least that every single week until you don’t have to. I created a Trello board to document my whole search which I would highly recommend – I had lists to record where I’d applied, when I applied and what stage I got to (1st interview, 2nd interview/awaiting feedback, unsuccessful, no reply so abandoned after 6 weeks). It’s a visual reminder of what roles you’re looking and where you’re at, which helps to focus things a bit more.


    Remember your positive qualities, your strengths and (most importantly) your worth.

    You have skills, things you’re really good at, things you may be able to do better than a lot of other people. Remind yourself of what they are and tell prospective employers you have them. We’re not programmed to blow our own trumpet but you have to just go for it – if you don’t tell an employer what you can do they won’t know, and you may lose out to someone else who isn’t afraid to say those things. When I interviewed for the job I actually got, I took a ‘balls to the wall’ approach as I had nothing to lose – I strutted into the office, told my now boss I could do the job and explained exactly why he should give me the job (because I could do it better than the other people he’d seen). Although a bit taken aback, he admired the approach and offered my the job on the spot. Knowing your worth is the most important part of this whole thing. You are worth just as much now in the job market as you were before, so don’t let employers take advantage of your need for a job and offer you less than this. Depending on what you got up to during lockdown you could even be worth MORE – if you took some training courses, learnt a language or mastered any new skill related to the jobs you’re going for, that could increase you value to potentialemployers.

    This next bit may sound a bit cheesy, BUT… this time really could be the opportunity you were waiting for rather than the threat you were dreading.

    If you’re currently in this situation, I wish you the best of luck with the next step of your journey. You got this!

    Thanks for reading,

    J xx

  • , ,

    Why the 00s was one of the best decades ever and I won’t hear another bad word about it

    I’ve seen a LOT of trash talk online lately about the 00s (which, for these purposes, is 2000-2009). They’re mocking the way we dressed, the way we did our makeup…and yeah, I admit some of those trends were a little out there when looking back, but what about the other stuff?

    I’ve had enough. I’m fighting back. Im showing these naysayers (most of whom were only just born in the 00s or not much before) why I’m proud to have lived through the 00s, and why its probably one of my fave decades so far

    I consider the 00s ‘my era’ of music, it was all so damn cool back then. Garage music hit the mainstream, spearheaded by The Artful Dodger who helped to launch the career or one Mr Craig David, who the young ‘uns today (and those of us who remember him first time round) go crazy for. R ‘n B blew up on this side of the pond, thanks to both stalwarts like Mary J. Blige and newbies like Aaliyah and Kelis. We met Lady Gaga, re-met Kylie Minogue and did NOT look good in the dancefloor throwing shapes to Arctic Monkeys. Also, how can you mock an era that gave us Beyoncé’s solo career??

    The 2000s is one of THE defining eras for chick flicks and love stories that are still heavily quoted on the daily. During lockdown, Tik Tok was filled with creators getting their cheer on a la Bring It On (2000), releasing their inner Sophie or Donna from Mama Mia (2008) and share their love of all things pink like the Mean Girls (2004). This was also the decade that blessed us with Elle Woods, Bridget Jonesand a fairly decent amount of both Sandra Bullock and Anne Hathaway. Until then we didn’t know the devil wore Prada, that pants could travel as a sisterhood or girls were just as good at football. And we discovered that Love, Actually is all around us

    Forget what you’ve read or seen, the 00s in fact blessed us with some fashion moments that left us shooketh for the right reasons!

    • J-Lo in the Valentino jungle print dress
    • Kylie Minogue in gold hot pants
    • The Alexander McQueen skull scarf
    • The universally flattering halterneck (WHY hasn’t this come back around yet, though I see that Bella Hadid is giving it a go)
    • Bedazzled hair clips (I see y’all doing that now on the ‘gram)

    This is just a snapshot of the good stuff! I know there are some questionable things to look back on – dresses over jeans, velour tracksuits, liberal use of blue eyeshadow…but the world forgave the 80s for their misgivings so now its the turn of the 2000s to get some redemption. You know I’m right!

    Thanks for reading,

    J xx

  • , ,

    Let’s Chat – August 2020

    Well THAT was a bit of a busy month! Holiday, celebrations, and….Tik Tok fame?? I unintentionally had a month off from writing any posts as a result, but it’s September now so back to school it is!

    (AD| Gifted – some of the items in this collage were given to me as part of a new brand collaboration, which I’ll talk about more below)

    • Hamilton: I managed to bag a free 6 month subscription to Disney+ (thanks O2) so the first thing I did was watch this to see what the hype was about! I enjoyed it and the songs are very catchy, it’s quite lengthy so I don’t think I’ll be watching it again for a while.
    • First Dates: Another one of those ‘why didn’t we watch this before’ programmes. Guess I’m just meant to be a few yeata behind the times with my viewing pleasure!
    • Semi-Detached: The new sitcom by Lee Mack. Not his usual style and I’m not a fan of it after 2 eps.
    • We’re Here: the power of drag with those who don’t fit in or have suffered hard times. Can’t get through an ep without balling.
    • Secured some regular freelance work: as you may remember from my June post, I’ve been made redundant from my full time day job. As part of a completely separate interaction, a brand I like found my blog, liked my writing style and asked if I would be interested in doing some work for them. I snapped their hand off and so far I am loving it! I thought a lot about transitioning to full time at the end of last year, but the planning and timing didn’t feel quite right. Maybe it is now?
    • Made a balloon arch: One of my besties turned 40 at the start of lockdown so we had some bekayed celebeations and decided to get some extra little touches to make it special for her. She’s a massive fan of leopard print so we made that out theme and got a cake, decorations and photo props to match. The final piece de resistance (if I do say so myself) was a 12m balloon arch that I made and fitted all by myself (I bought a kit on Amazon). I also made her a Vogue cover from the trend that was going round a couple of months ago and put it in a frame.
    • Had an afternoon tea picnic: …and the spot my friend chose ended up being right next to our local COVID testing site!
    • Aunty duty: because of the school holidays and my current ‘not in full time permanent employment’ sitch I’ve had my niece and nephew for a few days this month while their parents have been at work. It’s been lovely to soend more time with them but damn is it tiring. How do you full time parents do this??
    • Went on holiday: As I mentioned last month, we booked a holiday to Zakynthos, and low and behold we actually went! Not without a couple of hiccups though – our hotel decided not to open so we were moved to another in the middle of nowhere which wasn’t suitable for us, then a possible quarantine for Greece was discussed which would have hindered the Mr going back to work. The answer? Bring the trip forward by 2 weeks and move to another hotel closer to the action. There was no quarantine when we came back and we got to go away when the weather went a bit rubbish again in the UK, wins all round! You can read more about our experience in my previous blog post here.
    • I *may* have gone Tik Tok viral?: I say may because I don’t know how many views you need to be classes as viral, but all of a sudden this month some of my videos blew up! At the time of writing I’ve inexplicably gained 6.5k followers (a number I could only dream of on IG) and some of my videos have been watched tens of thousands of tines (again, something I can only dream of on IG) one with over 275k views. WTF? Who knew that dancing like an idiot in your husband’s dressing gown would be so appreciated…

    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.

Follow Me On