Two weeks into November and I finally feel as though I’ve achieved ‘balance’ for the year. Balance in work, leisure, fitness and health, balance in my mind (which has been all sorts of up and down this year) and balance in not trying to outdo myself at every opportune moment. Much of my energy is going into making sure my loved ones have the most incredible Christmas – yes, I said it – listening to Taylor’s new album on repeat – my favourites and a review are coming tomorrow – and in, well, usually in wrenching forbidden objects from my dog’s jaws. Reality check. Anyway! Here’s my week in a round-up:

It’s about to get festive!

Christmas gift guides land on Daisybutter in just over a week! I’ve been working on collating a little selection of gift guides that will hopefully suit every eventuality. Gift guides are some of my favourite things to work on and I hope they’re helpful for you guys. I still fondly remember the days of adding snowfall HTML to my earlier blog layouts throughout December and somehow wish that could still be a thing without feeling/looking so dated! Hands up if you were a reader back then 😉

Recently Reading

Going back to sharing lifts to work with Mum and Babybutter means that I’ve got a little more time to put towards reading. I finished Rob Ewing’s ‘The Last of Us’ which garnered such great interest in my previous books post that I wanted to share an update. The Last of Us is a dystopian novel but not in the expected sense. The story tells of Rona, an 8-year-old child who has survived an infection that has killed the adults in her hometown. Along with a handful of companions, we learn of their survival tactics, their childish innocence and delve into life alone as a child. I won’t share any more than that but I found it to be a compelling read, full of intrigue, heartbreak and gut-wrenching sadness. The plot takes a while to unravel but not in an annoyingly slow manner. 10/10, would recommend. Pick up a copy here.

TRX Lovin’

Gym updates seem to be a bit of a ‘thing’ around these parts now. I suppose they would as I’m averaging gym sessions 5 times weekly at the moment and it’s become somewhat of a sanctuary for me. Working from home often means that the concept of working out at home is waylaid in favour of ‘getting a few more jobs done’ or simply lazing around, but heading the gym makes me accountable for getting a solid workout in. Like I mentioned previously, I’m working on a little post for ‘new starters’ so if you have any burning questions, share it in the comments and I (or my trainer!) can help. This week though, I’ve been really into TRX. Those scary suspension leads that do a helluva lot for core strength. DaYUM. It might even be up there in the realms of my love for Barre…

Blog plans for the year ahead

Oh, so by the way guys… I’M MOVING TO WORDPRESS! Eight years of sharing posts via Blogger are about to come to an end as I’ve finally decided to take the plunge and move across to a platform that’ll hopefully be less clunky and offer me a little more freedom to create and share content exactly how I want to. I’ve touched upon this time and time again but my blogging inspiration has been at rockbottom lately and it’s only resurfaced as a result of my grand plans to move it across and do a bit of a mini rebrand. There won’t be huge changes (except from my beautiful new blog design), just an upgrade. The same content (ish) but elevated to a whole new level. It might mean that posts are less frequent but hopefully the posts that do make it will be perfectly (im)polished for you. Which leads me to…

Brush lettering practice

I’ve recently been practicing my brush lettering like a maniac because I wanted a custom logo that came from my own hands. I can’t bloody wait to share it with you! And FYI, Teri’s workshops are absolutely incredible. Book a place here.

How was your week?

Links I’ve Loved:

• Sade’s post on being a second-generation immigrant really resonated with me. In it she openly discusses her experiences being raised across two cultures and it makes a really eye-opening read for anybody.
• My girl Sophie wrote a post all about her experience visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. A harrowing experience I’m sure and I loved the way she shared her experience.
• The team at Blogger’s Bookshelf shared an awesome post all about book recommendations for each Taylor Swift album. As the world’s biggest Swiftie, need I say more?!
• Ghenet wrote all about her new tattoo (which I love!), as well as her experience being tattooed previously. She also uploaded a vlog and I command you to go and watch it! She is a fine example of human.
• Erin’s post full of natural, vegan recipes that she’s tried recently instantly made me hungry. Get your Sunday dinner inspo here.
• For the girls also getting into fitness, I couldn’t recommend Carly’s vlogs enough. They’re everyday vlogs with non-invasive, non-intimidating short workout routines thrown in. This week’s includes an ab workout. So good!
• Last but not least, click here to instantly download reputation. by Taylor Swift on iTunes.