Sundaze 262: Late summer, advanced reads and the September start

Happy Sunday, my loves!

You know what? I didn’t mean to slow down posting to my blog over the summer, but it seems like it was just what I needed. Returning to my laptop this afternoon really feels like a good ol’ Sunday daze, languishing in the sunbeams poking through my gauze curtains, (really good) cup of tea in hand. It does feel like a Sundaze.

When you’re a creative – by nature and by trade – it can feel as though you have to be creating and sharing new things all the time. The heavily online lifestyle almost everybody leads has tricked us into thinking we always have to be doing something, sharing it and making sure it goes viral too. But, the more that I slow down and lean into quietly living for myself, the less I’m online. Having said that, I like to see Daisybutter as a safe haven away from all of that: no pandering to app algorithms, posting the things first and considering SEO second… I’m looking forward to what September and beyond has in store for our community.

Late summer checklist

The very last part of summer has long been my favourite. In fact, I shared a post on Friday all about it! With just a few weeks until autumn, I like to try and squeeze in a few more little activities:

Picnic lunch breaks or dinners!
Alfresco dinner date with my love, in the city
One last veggie garden harvest
Making our own ice lollies
A boat dinner with a friend in Little Venice!

August was absolutely packed, so I’m excited to turn the dial down and potter a little while we await glorious, colourful autumn.

A mini NetGalley project

Something I’ve been tinkering away at is getting my NetGalley feedback ratio to an acceptable percentage. If you weren’t aware, NetGalley is a platform that distributes digital galley proofs of yet-to-be-released books. It’s a brilliant platform for publishers and authors, and bookish content creators. Anyway! When my tablet broke in 2020 (along with just about everything else in the world), my NetGalley ratio – books reviewed vs. books granted – dipped drastically. A good practice ratio is 80% and I’m currently sat at 46%. Eek! So, right now, I’m focusing on getting all of my past ARCs read and reviewed, and factoring in upcoming titles to my TBRs.

The back-to-school feeling

This week, we returned to the office (hybrid!) after a summer of solely working from home, which meant I had a distinct back-to-school aura all week. From making sure my bag was properly packed to getting prepped with lunch boxes once more, it reignited my productivity mode, that’s for sure!

I even took the chance to deep-clean my car, reorganise my bookcases, clear out my wardrobe (which is basically just storage, since I don’t have many clothes) and get all of my ducks in a row. The only thing left to do is check off all the boxes in my beloved agenda.

Dinner with Lily!

My friend Lily is home for a short while, visiting from Dubai, and we made plans for an overdue catch-up over dinner. Even though we talk almost every day over WhatsApp, there’s always more to ruminate. We dined at Megan’s – which is always an easy go-to – and had so much fun reminiscing on all the fun we had as OG bloggers at so many incredible brand events in London, catching up on everyday goings-on and really thinking about how much the world has changed since our Zoom yoga classes during the first lockdown.

Links I’ve Loved

Love the sound of this recipe from Lucy. I’m going through a real lentils phase at the moment!
This post about back-to-school traditions on Love from Lisa was really sweet and reminded me of all the fun things Mum would do for us before school.
There’s still another part of our lives to romanticise: our careers! I adore my job, so I think I probably already do this? But it’s a fascinating read nonetheless.
11 Books Like Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow via What’s Hot Blog
My latest Medium column for Stella McCartney went live, and it’s all about our newest vegan material innovation.
Made a big batch of this delicious gnocchi for my work packed lunches this week. The perfect transitional summer-to-autumn meal.
I am SO excited for Clare Waight-Keller’s upcoming Uniqlo collection!