Sundaze 147

Well hello there! As I write this post, I’m pretty much ‘freshly’ home from a quick trip to Edinburgh. I hadn’t banked on writing a Sundaze post, but it felt wrong not to. Let’s hope that at least some words are still with me after almost six hours of travelling home… It was Harvey’s birthday yesterday, so I ~surprised~ him with a super quick trip away. I completely fell in love with Edinburgh when I visited in 2018 for my best friend’s hen weekend, and I knew he’d adore it too. Plus, it meant we could kick-start a year of more eco-friendly travel with a lengthy ol’ train journey!

Back to the gym!

On Tuesday, I officially got back to the gym! I had a (re)induction to my old gym and booked in a few PT sessions to get me back into the swing of things. I’m so excited to get stuck back in because as soon as I cancelled my membership last year — for various reasons — I immediately missed it. I’m not sure how much fitness content really resonates on here at the moment, but if you’re interested in my fitness journey, routines, etc. you can read the archives here. In short, I started Barre classes in 2017, absolutely loved them, joined the gym shortly after to aid my progress, and am now a huge fitness enthusiast!

Meandering thoughts about blogging milestones

Wednesday was my blogging anniversary! Can you believe I’ve been writing on this little platform for 10 years?! I shared some thoughts in a separate post, but overall it’s been a funny ol’ one. On one hand, I’m super proud that I had the foresight to create this blog way back when. It’s opened up immeasurable opportunities for me and given me a proper place to write of my own accord outside of work stuff.

On the other, I lament where my blog is and constantly wonder what my life would be if I’d pursued it with more vigour. Should I have spent more time doing this, less time doing this…? How can I have blogged for 10 years and yet ~only~ have X Instagram followers? But eventually my thoughts meandered back to this: Daisybutter has withstood the test of time, it’s continued to thrive whilst other platforms dip in and out of popularity, it’s a space that people can visit even if they don’t use Instagram. In 10 years’ time, Instagram could be defunct. And, in fact, Instagram still doesn’t serve me in the way blogging does: as a space to write freely.

A little Edinburgh trip

I’d originally hoped to finally write a city guide to Edinburgh after our trip, but I still don’t think I have enough knowledge or recommendations to do so. Maybe next time! Like I mentioned before, I booked us a little trip to celebrate Harvey’s birthday. We stayed at the Eden Locke Hotel, which was utterly gorgeous and the perfect way to stay in the city. The rooms are each apartments, so you have the luxury of a kitchen and washing machine at your disposal. We’ll totally stay with them again next time, although I’d cross my fingers not to have the basement apartment…

We only really had one full day, which we spent luxuriating in a lengthy walk, ticking off Calton Hill, the Meadows, Dean Village and an evening in Leith. We also had a wander through Grassmarket and the Old Town, and all the way down the Royal Mile. No wonder we’re exhausted now! For more snippets from our trip, pop over to my Instagram!

Links I’ve Loved

I’ve spotted SO many people joining the Goodreads Reading Challenge this year and I’m thrilled that everyone is getting back into books! If you’re doing the same, Blogger’s Bookshelf have shared their 2020 Book Club prompts and I’ll be joining in!
My girl Sophie shared her engagement story at last. It was one of my favourite weekends to pop onto the group chat and spy her gorgeous ring.
Now that we’re deep in the throes of winter, it can be all too easy to slip into the jumper-and-jeans routine. Here are eight winter outfits to try.
Philippa’s 2019 in review post was a wonderful read; I particularly enjoyed her opening ode to manifestation.
A Cup of Jo’s Climate Challenge.
Hannah’s favourite 2019 bullet journal pages gave me plenty of inspiration for my upcoming February spreads.