Sundaze 238: London with Friends and Leaving Freelance

It’s been a very exciting week at Chez Chai this week, and it feels nice to be able to carve out some time to pen a little Sundaze catch-up. I think I’ve alluded to changing up the way I work and going after some bigger dreams of mine and I finally got what I wanted this week! Between closing up my freelance business (which feels so weird to say), seeing friends for long overdue catch-ups, and getting into a great summer routine, it’s been a nice week for the soul.

It was my last week of freelancing!

Yes, you read that correctly!

After six (and a bit) years of being my own boss and working as a freelance writer, I bit the bullet and decided to pivot back to the world of permanent work. I’m really excited to be continuing my role at Stella McCartney permanently as of tomorrow – it feels completely in line with my values and pace of career right now. I felt it pertinent to share here as, of course, we’re all friends, and I’ve made ‘freelancing’ and talking about life as a small business owner a huge part of Daisybutter. I always feel responsible to some degree for the people that’ve reached out to me to say they transitioned to freelance after reading about my experiences! There’s no huge dramatic reason behind my choice, aside from craving some security and stability during these uncertain times, and striding towards an even bigger future goal.

Not much will change here; I still plan to post somewhat regularly, but my day job will now most certainly be my top priority again, followed by & Chai. A loose idea is to continue with my ‘Open-hearted joys’ and ‘Sundaze’ series, so there’ll be weekly or fortnightly posts, at least.

& Chai newness

Speaking of which… We’re almost ready to share our Autumn 2022 collections with you all on & Chai! Cosy candle season is almost upon us and we are so excited. After a really scarily quiet summer (understandable!), we really want to give this drop our all and we just can’t wait to let the cat out of the bag. Developing these collections has been so much fun – and madness, as we both lost our sense of smell for around two months – and it’s always really rewarding to see things come together.

To be amongst the first to shop and discover the new collection and products, be sure to sign up to our weekly newsletter.

Reuniting with friends

My jam-packed summer continues! This week, I nipped into London for a very exciting dinner and drinks with my Dream Team girls as our very own Lily is home from Dubai for a little while. It’s been more than two years since I saw her in person and, of course, it felt great to all be together for a good ol’ not-on-WhatsApp chinwag. We dined at Tendril Kitchen, which was absolutely incredible and I couldn’t recommend more, and then ventured nearby to Connaught Bar for a nightcap cocktail.

On Friday night, I headed to a nearby town with my girls for an even more overdue catch-up at a local street food evening. Plenty of small plates and obligatory mocktails (I was driving!) later, we left feeling hearts and belly full, already anticipating our next girly night together.

Links I’ve Loved

  1. I’m fully back in my Pinterest era! Follow my Pins here.
  2. As we’re now in the full swing of August and late summer, I’m starting to plan my autumn wardrobe for the year. Sophie at A Considered Life shared a great post about recreating Pinterest outfits.
  3. This Vegan Chicken Caesar Salad recipe on Cupful of Kale sounds amazing!
  4. First crystals, now oracle and tarot decks… I really enjoyed this Moonology Oracle Deck review on Mooey and Friends.
  5. I’ve been weaning myself off daily coffee… and replacing it with burning Brewster Soy Melts from & Chai almost every morning instead.
  6. My sister and I watched the Shania Twain documentary on Netflix this week, and I enjoyed this article about her on The Cut too.
  7. 7 Staycation Ideas for When Travel Is Out of the Budget via The Everygirl
  8. As someone that has definitely, previously, felt like they compromised in love, I absolutely loved this think-piece by Chloe on the always-incredible The Little Plum.

Posts This Week


How was your week?

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