Sundaze 244: Milestones and Winding Down for Winter

Hello my loves, and welcome December!

It’s been a few weeks (ahem, months…) since my last Sundaze post – or any blog post – and I can only explain it with life being incredibly busy and full-on. I often crave downtime and solitude as the holiday season nears and this year is the perfect example. Between a busy period juggling my job and & Chai, a few health concerns and seeing friends and family, I’ve also been seriously considering the future of this blog. The fact that you’re reading this now is a positive sign that I did renew my domain and I didn’t delete the entire thing. Small wins. After working hard to build a life I love, I realised there’s still more work to be done and I’m looking forward to prioritising my health for the remainder of 2022 and beyond.

That being said, I’ve been looking forward to taking some time to share another Sundaze post. I love checking in on here and it feels almost necessary after pulling back so much from social media. So, let’s catch up?

Celebrating our anniversary in Milan

Let’s start with a big one: my boyfriend and I celebrated our first anniversary together… in Milan!

He surprised me with the trip a few weeks ago, and surprised I was. I’ve wanted to explore Italy for absolutely ages and it felt really special to visit for the first time with my favourite person. We soaked up the key tourist destinations, ate lots and laughed lots, star-gazed, and even visited Lake Como – one of my bucket list spots!

To be honest, we celebrated an anniversary week and it felt really nice to take time to celebrate each other and our relationship. This year has been absolutely amazing in so many ways, and we’ve really grown through a lot together. I don’t think I’ll share a travel diary or ‘guide’ of our Milan trip, but I shared some of our photos over on Instagram, and here are a few bonus ones.

Christmas tree day

This is the most magical time of the year for many reasons, but a top one for me is Christmas tree day! We were originally going to pop it up last week before our Milan trip, but instead we chose this past Friday. One of our little traditions is a mini bauble competition: we each choose a new bauble each year and let our families vote on whose is nicer! Building new traditions together makes the holiday season feel even more magical, and this year was no exception. It felt so special to pop some festive music on, prepare some picky bits and festoon the tree for another year.

Elodie’s in town!

Our girl Elodie is in London! And so we descended upon the city for an overdue catch-up and mini not-so-festive lunch. First we grabbed coffee at Omotesando Koffee – always delicious –then we headed to Tacos el Pastor for a delicious feast. It’s really quite rare that I pop to London at the weekends these days, so it felt like a lovely treat. And, it was lovely to celebrate our 10th or 11th Christmas together! Already excited for the next city break get-together with Elodie!

Pokémon Violet and other evening activities

My reading slump continued throughout November and I took it as a chance to let myself be completely taken in by Pokémon Violet. Despite its performance issues and graphics that still haven’t upgraded from Pokémon Legends: Arceus, I’m really enjoying spending a few evenings a week playing through the first open-world story game of the series. I’m probably around 50% through, at an estimate, and I’m happily savouring the game before Atelier Ryza 3 lands and all of my attention is diverted there.

I’ve also been spending evenings migrating to my 2023 bullet journal – an exciting time! It’s pretty relaxing to set up my foldable desk in front of the TV and slowly formulate my layouts and trackers while watching something comforting – usually reruns of Scrubs and My Wife and Kids.

Winding down for winter

And on that note, I’m mostly looking forward to (attempting to) winding down for winter. Why fight against the cold, dark evenings when you can embrace them? I’m excited for evenings with nothing but ‘pasta and wrapping 2-3 presents’ on the agenda, for days of just getting through work and popping a Christmas film on, for weekends full of country walks and breakfast in bed. There’s a few trickier things on the agenda too, before the year closes, so I’m really happy to embrace simply winding down.

Links I’ve Loved

• ‘People Are Opting for a ‘Soft Life’–Will It Really Transform Your Wellbeing?’ via The Everygirl
• The Girlfriend Collective sale is still on, and they’re my favourites for sustainable, inclusive activewear
• I LOVE seeing people share their gratitude lists, inspired by own series, and Michelle’s Magical Moments is always a joy to read!
• Chloe’s article about morning rituals was a dreamy read
• And this post on The Everygirl is filled with 50 rituals that will keep you happy and healthy

How was your November? I’ve missed you! Share your stories with me in the comments below.