Hello from the skies! I’m writing (or starting…) this week’s Sundaze post from a super delayed flight to Northern Ireland, where we’ll be spending Bank Holiday weekend.

Hannah’s family kindly let Sarah, Sophie and I stay at their house on the Causeway Coast for a few nights, and I’m SO excited to a) visit Ireland for the first time, and b) add yet another country to my plentiful travel list.

Our itinerary is pretty jam-packed (the perks and pitfalls of going anywhere with Hannah) and we’re hiring a car, which should make the entire process much easier! But first, I mean, it’s 11.42pm and we’re still flying and we were supposed to land at 11.15pm…

Update: I’m finishing this post curled up on the sofa in front of a crackling fire with a cracking view just to my left. How are views like this even real?!

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and what it means to me

Last weekend, I watched To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and absolutely loved it. I’d read the book about two years ago and whilst it wasn’t a terrible read, it was predictable and relatively slow until the final third which gripped me completely. The film is SO good. It’s adorably cheesy and just the sort of thing you need to watch on a slow Sunday afternoon.

What I loved most about it was that it was my brand of Asian representation. Ahead of the release of Crazy Rich Asians, it’s so nice to see people that look like me in a normal storyline, on the screen. No gimmicky girl trying to hide her roots (a la Lane in Gilmore Girls), no forced token Chinese girl who marries a rich white guy, no shady guy selling knock-off DVDs, and nobody performing random martial arts in the middle of a plot. Just a mixed Asian family going about their business and Lara Jean experiencing crushes, first loves and the usual kinda deal a teen goes through. At 14, I would’ve LOVED to see this. I mean, name a coming-of-age film with an Asian female protagonist? Exactly.

Calling bullsh!t on consumerism

The girls and I had a very well-rounded debate on consumerism, particularly clothes, and our impact on the globe. Day and night, we’re pushed ideas of newness, now, and it’s all so unnecessary to me.

We discussed our own wardrobes and talked about our own approaches to shopping: I have a small but carefully pruned selection of investment pieces that I add one or two trend pieces to per season, while Sophie used to enjoy a payday ASOS haul until becoming a homeowner, and now prefers to buy items that she truly loves instead of that she just likes. I touched on the topic in Thursday’s post, but would love to hear your thoughts. Do you consider the wider effects when shopping? And what do you think of haul culture?

Musings from a late summer dog walk

Milo and I embarked on a late summer’s walk by the lake on Tuesday night, and it was deliciously slow. We ambled across the top plain where he always gets the zoomies, along the right side of the lake where Milo enjoys chasing geese, and then on our way back round, he stopped and delicately smelt every single flower. And what a mindset to live your life by. Stopping to smell and savour every single aspect of your evening, morning, afternoon. What a wise pooch my Milo is!

My first time in Ireland!

The girls and I have spent today exploring all the most coveted Game of Thrones filming locations, as well as a few other spots. We’ve hired a car, so I’ve been getting to grips with the winding country lanes paired with Hannah’s horrific direction giving 😉 I’ll be sharing a guide to the Causeway Coast in a week or so but for now, head to my Instagram Stories or onto my grid to see some Highlights.

Links I’ve Loved:

The Everygirl remains one of my favourite resources for financial advice, as well as myriad other twenty-something conundrums, and this post sharing the best personal finance resources instantly made it to my bookmarks.
Crazy Rich Asians is the film rightly on everybody’s lips at the moment and A Cup of Jo covered the debut screening with an apt tribute.
I’ve fallen back in love with Instagram for the 2357097th time this week, so am hungrily digesting any reading material on it. Sara Tasker’s piece about ‘liking’ Instagram posts or not was such an interesting read.
If you read one post this week, make it this one on sisterhood by Sade. She explores her own journey to finding a wonderful group of girls who support and lift her.
In an age where we’re all constantly pitted against one another, this post about writing love notes to yourself on What Olivia Did was a lovely uplift.
Elodie finally shared a photo diary from her three months living in Seoul and you guys need to read it immediately, then add all of the destinations to your travel bucket list.