Currently | July 2019

It's been ages since I last sat down and wrote a 'Currently' post about some of the things I've been doing and enjoying lately (more than four months, apparently- oops!), so I think it's about time for a long-over-due catch-up.

Here's where I chat about what I've been reading, watching, crafting, buying, loving, and enjoying lately- and so much more.

As usual, let's start with what I've been reading...

Reading

I'm really enjoying reading again at the moment, and have been reading so much lately. I've been making an effort to read every day for at least an hour, and I've only failed on days when the arthritis in my hands has been too bad to hold a book open, or my eyelids have been too heavy from fatigue for me to read. Even then, I've given it my best shot.

Since my last 'Currently' post in March, I've finished seventeen books- eleven of which I read in the last month alone! I know it's not a lot by some people's standards, but it's been a while since I've read so much in such a short space of time, and I'm really pleased with my effort. I've finished twenty-three books so far this year, which is already more than I read during the whole of last year and we're only half way through this one. I'm now only two books away from completing my Goodreads reading goal for 2019! I guess I underestimated myself by setting it at only twenty five... I may have to increase it to keep myself on my toes!

I've read some brilliant books over the last few months, including (in order read):

♥ The Extinction Trials Rebel by S. M. Wilson.

♥ Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott.

♥ An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim.

♥ The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.

♥ The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe.

♥ The Amateurs by Liz Harmer.

♥ The Giver by Lois Lowry.

♥ The Passengers by John Marrs.

♥ The Next Together by Lauren James.

♥ The One by John Marrs.

♥ The Last Beginning by Lauren James.

♥ The Good Samaritan by John Marrs.

♥ When You Disappeared by John Marrs.

♥ Welcome to Wherever You Are by John Marrs.

♥ Don't Wake Up by Liz Lawler.
♥ Her Last Move by John Marrs,
♥ I'll Find You by Liz Lawler.

Lots of 'thes' and quite a few John Marrs novels- I've fallen in love with his writing style and disturbing storylines after reading The Passengers and The One a few weeks ago and now I can't stop reading his books. His novels are amazing.

From all of the books I've read lately and listed above, I'd say my favourites were An Ocean of Minutes, The One, The Passengers and Don't Wake Up- they're all brilliant, five star reads that I'd highly recommend. Would anybody like me to write some mini reviews of the books I've read so far this year, or are book reviews not your thing?

Watching

I've watched several new-to-me films over the last few months including The Zoo Keeper's Wife, The Light Between Oceans, Adrift, Sully, Brain on Fire, and Flowers in the Attic, all of which I enjoyed. I've also been rewatching some old favourites like Me Before You, Phantom of the Opera, Arrival, Australia, What Women Want, The Longest Ride, and Little Women. There are probably lots more I've forgotten about, but my brain does not want to work right now. 

On TV, I've been loving Chernobyl, The Big Bang Theory, The Handmaid's Tale, and Stranger Things. Chernobyl was fantastic, but I definitely expected it to be more fast-paced and explosive, so the style came as a surprise. I really enjoyed the final series of The Big Bang Theory, and loved the finale- although, I'm disappointed that Raj didn't get his happy ever after and find true love. I felt like he was overlooked in the final episode while all the other characters got their happy endings. Does anybody else agree? I've since moved on to The Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things, which have both been epic so far. I fucking love Hopper, and drugged Steve and Robin! I finally watched the finale this weekend, which was amazing, but turned me in to an emotional wreck. The only problem is, I now can't get the theme tune to The Never Ending Story out of my head and I want to scream! My sister used to drive me mad watching that movie on repeat when we were growing up, and I can't stand it! I thought I'd finally escaped that film forever years ago. *Cries internally.* That scene in Stranger Things was epic, though!

Listening

I haven't listened to a lot of new music lately, but I really like Gloria by The Lumineers, and I'm looking forward to checking out their new album when it comes out later in the year. Other than that, I've just been listening to my usual favourites, and enjoying lots of cheesy eighties tracks.

Playing

I'm still addicted to Animal Crossing New Leaf, and have been playing it virtually every day so far this year. I probably shouldn't admit that I've lost over 500 hours to this game since Christmas, huh? Yeah, I was shocked to learn that, too. *Facepalm.* It's so addictive! I'm currently busy landscaping my town with paths and hedges, and trying to make it look super pretty and colourful by colour-coordinating my flowers and trees. It's a work in progress, but I think it looks pretty cute so far. Here's a few screencaps of what I've been working on lately:

I've also been sporadically playing another Animal Crossing game called Happy Home Designer, which you might like if you enjoy the home decorating element of the Animal Crossing games. You basically decorate and landscape homes for villagers of the town following a set theme, like polka dots, minimalist, modern, fruit, a specific colour etc. As a home designer, you also get put in charge of building the town's amenities like a school, hospital, and café. I enjoy using my creativity, so I find it really fun, and can easily lose a couple of hours to it at a time,

If you don't have a Nintendo DS, try Pocket Camp on your iPhone. I haven't played on it much yet, but it's similar to New Leaf, and it's free from the App Store, too!

Stitching

I haven't actually been able to do much cross stitching so far this year as my arthritis has been so bad it's been too painful to sew. I've only managed to do a little more of the mandala cross stitch I showed you back in March, so I'm feeling pretty unaccomplished right now. Fingers crossed (or not because that's also too painful) the arthritis in my hands lets up soon so I can get it finished, and get back in to stitching regularly again. 

Crafting

I haven't managed to do much crafting, either, which is really bumming me out. I miss using my creativity! I think the last things I crafted were some pastel-coloured Easter crackers in April. I used cracker kits from Little Crafty Bugs, tied them with satin ribbons, and glued little pom poms on to them in contrasting colours. I then filled them with mini Easter chocolates and scratch cards. They were so much fun to make and looked so cute on our Easter table. I was hoping to blog about them at Easter but I wasn't able to, so I'm saving them up to blog about next year. I did make similar crackers last year, though, and you can find a tutorial for those here.

Wanting

more concert tickets, some new books, all the new Lyra dresses from Lady Vintage, everything from the new Erstwilder Endangered Animals collection (I've collected six of the brooches so far), and a Nintendo Switch Lite so I can play the new Animal Crossing Game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, when it's released next March. It looks awesome!

Needing

a hair cut and a holiday. I've only left the house a handful of times for non-medical appointments so far this year, and I haven't been on holiday in a couple of years, so I could definitely do with a break, and some new adventures. It's not going to happen this year, but my sister and I are hoping to spend a week in Cornwall together next year once my brother-in-law finishes his posting in Germany and they get transferred back to England. I'm excited at the thought of getting back to one of my favourite places again- even if it's not for over a year, and not even set in stone yet. I need to believe my feet will make contact with the Cornish sand again soon.

Buying

Since March, I've bought several Erstwilder brooches and pairs of earrings (which I'll be blogging about soon), the Cath Kidston positivity journal and patchwork duvet set (on sale), some Body Shop Satsuma bath and body products (essentials I'd used up), tickets to see Boyzone live again in October, and quite a few books. I can never say 'no' to new books. I also recently treated myself to the red Russian Doll convertible backpack / cross body bag from Vendula London. It reappeared in the sale online at half price, after selling out months ago, and when I went to checkout, another 10 percent was taken off the price, so I snagged this beautiful £77.50 bag for under £35!! Bargain! I think it's going to be perfect for my next lot of concert adventures! (Please note, I have previously worked with Vendula London, but both of the bags in the above photo were purchased with my own money).

Winning

I entered a rainbow mandala cross stitch I made in to Hobbycraft's sewing-themed June Make of the Month competition last month, and forgot all about it, until last week when I found out I came in as a runner up! I'm absolutely thrilled- even if I can't understand how anybody would deem my cross stitching worthy of a prize. I won a £20 Hobbycraft gift card, which will definitely come in handy. I just can't decide whether to spend it on some fabric for making hoop art, or to save it to put towards my annual Christmas craft haul this autumn. (It's scary how quickly it's coming around!)

Celebrating

Last month, we celebrated my older sister's 40th birthday. She and her husband came over from Germany for the weekend to spend it with us, and although she couldn't do anything big as she was waiting on surgery on her knee and could barely walk, we had a lovely day popping in to Oxford for a spot of shopping, going out for lunch, and then spending the rest of it at home with some good food and a Patisserie Valerie birthday cake. I filled the house with so many decorations- confetti balloons, word balloons, giant number balloons, bunting, paper flowers... I just couldn't stop myself. Thankfully, my Mum and brother-in-law helped me put them up because I was so shattered from leaving the house I would never have managed it all by myself! I was so worn out by the time I'd finished, I didn't actually have the strength to take any photos of them (the horror!), but one room was decorated colourfully, the other mostly gold. The sister seemed to like them, so job well done.

I also celebrated my own birthday on the 2nd, but I'm going to write a separate post about that soon. 

Loving

the sunshine we've had lately. The blue skies and sunshine have been gorgeous, and have put me in such a good mood... even if the heat and humidity have been a bit unbearable at times, too.

Enjoying

a slice or two of chocolate Patisserie Valerie birthday cake, on both mine and my sister's birthdays. The parents got me a chocolate Patisserie Valerie cake with layers of chocolate and Chantilly cream, strawberries, raspberries, and chocolate curls. It was amazing! I've only ever had homemade or supermarket birthday cakes, so it was such a treat.

Day Tripping

On my birthday, I also ended up taking an impromptu day trip to The Cotswold Wildlife Park with my Mum. Even though i've been there dozens of times before (I've lived locally all my life), we had another lovely visit taking in all the animals and plants, and it was a good opportunity to play with my Instax camera, too. I've only left the house a handful of times all year, so I was particularly happy to get out and about for a while, and just spend some time in the fresh air and sunshine. It's the little things in life...

I'm not going to dedicate a whole post to my visit this time, as you're probably sick to death of my wildlife park posts, but I will share a few photos when I blog about my birthday really soon.

And that's what's been happening in my life lately, minus all the boring health stuff, which I'll go in to separately another day...

What about you? What have you been enjoying lately?

You Might Also Like
Currently | March 2019
Currently | November 2018
Currently | July 2018
Currently | April 2018