Five Highlights From The Month of February

When I first sat down to write this post I thought that February was a bit of ‘head down/waiting game’ month for me. I have some fun travel plans coming up in March and April, so February has been a month of getting ahead with my to-do list and attempting to make headway with some side-projects that I have bubbling away. BUT, when I actually looked through my diary at what I’ve been up to for the past four weeks, I’ve realised that they’ve been pretty packed and it’s actually been a really good month, that if I hadn’t taken the time to press pause and look back at what I’ve been up to, it would have dodged past me without recognition. Reason #645 why it’s great to blog, eh? Onto the highlights…

GOODBYE BUILDERS! Although I had grown fairly fond of our renovation team and the daily grind that involved making them possibly the world’s worst cup of coffee in the morning and them softly knocking on the living room door whenever they needed to ask me a question because they thought I was asleep; it’s been nice to shift back into my normal routines, even if it is without their surprisingly in tune sing-a-long soundtrack. I PROMISE that they’ll be a final update video on the hallway and bathroom in the next three-ish weeks and honestly we couldn’t be happier with the results. Lunchtime baths have become a thing (shhhh – don’t tell Mark!) and I think that my skin is actually looking all the better for it because I actually take the time out of my day to conduct it properly, rather than completing it in record time because staring at the massive hole in the ceiling was freaking me out. We’re finally living in a fully completed home and it’s LUSH.

An Escape to the Country. Press trips are always a perk of the job, but given that the timing of the escape to the countryside with the lovely Skinceuticals team was before the builders had cleared away their tools, it felt even dreamier. A BATHROOM WITHOUT DUST! A PLACE TO WEE WITHOUT A BLOKE HAMMERING IN TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL! It was also dreamy because I had the chance to hang out with my favourite blogging lasses for two whole days. We ate. We laughed. Ruth made me cry with one of her nutty stories as per usual. Although the launch was for a Glycolic product that launches next month, it’s the H.A Intensifier – which is a Hyaluronic Acid serum that is seriously the bee’s knees – that I’ve fallen in love with. It even got monthly favourites status. BIG DEAL.

AMSTERDAM! Last year two of our mates moved to Amsterdam and this month we finally got round to visiting them in their new pad and we had such a great weekend that even two weeks later I still say, ‘Awww wasn’t Amsterdam so much FUN?’ to Mark at least once a day. We headed over with two of our other mates and for the long weekend it felt like we were in an episode of Friends hanging out at their super chic flat, or at our ridiculous airbnb which turned out to be bigger than any house I’ve ever slept in! We walked over 45,000 steps in two days, ate our bodyweight in various fried or baked goods and drunk a rather large volume of red wine. I really switched off and so didn’t get round to collating any kind of city guide; but I did love the apple pies at Winkle 43, the Rijksmuseum and Canal Museum were great and the Nine Streets were well worth a wander. In fact the whole city is BEAUTIFUL, just make sure you pack comfy shoes.

A Sunday with My Parents. As this month has been full of trips and travel I haven’t got to see my parents as much as I usually do. So this past weekend, with us all missing my sister who is currently off travelling on the other side of the world (MISS YOU ALREADY SIS!), we invited Mum and Dad to join in on our Sunday roast plans and ended up having the dreamiest of Sundays. We got up, had a big breakfast and then cleaned the flat. Then my parents came over and we walked down to Brighton Beer Dispensary which does THE. BEST. SUNDAY. ROAST – that’s a direct quote from my Dad by the way – and feasted on the crispest roast potatoes and the best rolled lamb we’d ever had. Then we did a slow walk back and made rounds and rounds of tea and coffee, chatted until the sun set and then they headed home on their merry way. Sometimes off the cuff days are the best.

THE ANNA EDIT’S BOOK OF THE MONTH – ‘Everything I Know About Love’ by Dolly Alderton. If you follow along with my Instagram stories, then I feel like this will be no surprise to you as I’ve sung the praises of this book at any opportunity. It’s a collection of essays that document Dolly’s life growing up as a teenager with an obsession about boys *raises hand*, leading to life in her twenties where the obsession gets even stronger. It’s not just about romantic relationships, but also friendships, love, death, body image, hen parties (I read this section out loud to my Mum the other day and couldn’t get through it because I was laughing so much), weddings, babies and just generally growing up. It’s truly a ‘will make you laugh, will make you cry’ read and Dolly’s writing is so witty and beautiful, I finished up the book wanting MORE. 10/10. Also this month I have read another TWO BOOKS! ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng which I mentioned in my February Favourites also, and ‘The F Word’ by Lily Pebbles – which is just the WEIRDEST thing to write! It was fab and at the time of writing this post I’ve yet to get the end, but I’ve been reading along with the biggest smile on my face. I’m so proud of my mate!

One More Thing… The weather has been absolutely freezing this week. It’s snowed. It’s got icy. It’s snowed again and anytime spent outside is accompanied by a 10 minute pre-game routine that features multiple thermal layers. We’re lucky enough that are spells in the snow are brief and followed by a blast of a radiator when we get home, but what about those who aren’t in such a privileged position? Sadly the homeless rates in Brighton & Hove and across the U.K are staggeringly high. So to raise awareness for and help to fight it in whatever we can, Mark and I are taking part in the ‘Sleep Easy 2018‘ event to raise money for Galvanise Brighton & Hove and YMCA DownsLink Group’s ‘Life Change Fund’; which both aim to help home the homeless and give young and vulnerable people the opportunity to better their lives. Mark and I will be sleeping out with just some cardboard and a sleeping bag for comfort and it would honestly mean the world for you to donate to our Just Giving page – all donations great or small are appreciated! THANK YOU!

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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