Sundaze 301: Writing, wedding and work outings
Happy Sundaze, my loves!
Life is going at a million miles an hour at the moment, and it feels good to carve out a little time to write a blog post amidst everything I have on my plate right now. Last weekend, Eddie and I spent Sunday out in Cambridge with his cousin, who’d been visiting and staying with us. Another check for guest room use! We’ve come to really love Cambridge and its beautiful buildings, plethora of independent restaurants, and general air of cool academia. Perhaps I’ll cobble together a city guide from all our recent visits. Then, I popped to Oxford for my first-ever bookstagram influencer event, which was a) really fun and memorable, and b) a lovely milestone to reach.
Lately, I feel really content in staying in my own quiet lane. For a few weeks there, I kept being cancelled on and ending up loving the reclaimed time. Being cancelled on is never a great feeling, but I have known for years – decades, even – that I’m great company for myself. In these hibernation months, I’ve amped it up by designating a bigger focus on looking after myself properly, since it turns out that takes up a lot of time. I feel great for it: managing three heavy lifting sessions at the gym, enough time for a proper sleep, being on top of house bits, doing my skincare every night, and making time for Eddie and my hobbies. This is precisely how I’ve always wanted my life to feel. Somebody in our Substack community rightly reminded me that my middling phase of no progress just means that I should soak up everything that I’m grateful for – it’s what I worked for!
& Chai is five!
The weekend before last, we excitingly celebrated FIVE years of & Chai! I can’t believe my sister and I have successfully worked together for five whole years 😉 It’s been so much fun, even with endless bumps along the way. It turns out that politics do have a huge sway on small businesses, and we’ve had to pull out of trading in the EU and in the US in recent months. Even though I doubt we’ll ever be able to take & Chai full-time like we’d once hoped, I really do have so much fun flexing my creative muscles at our candle business. I love everything from working on the website to penning product descriptions, pouring candles to blending new scents, designing packaging to outreaching to makers’ markets for new opportunities. It is so much fun, albeit hard work around my 9-5. If you’ve ever bought a product or shared one of our posts, I am endlessly grateful for you.
Writing in November
I’m currently taking part in an unofficial NaNoWriMo all of my own! I want to add a significant chunk of words to my novel manuscript this month, which will be my main creative focus for November. I’ve been at a bit of a standstill with the creative non-fiction that I write here and on Substack, so perhaps this challenge will top up my inspiration resources!
Wedding planning begins!
Excitingly, this month, Eddie and I start planning our wedding! We’re viewing venues this month and it feels like such a milestone. We’ve been in the most magical engagement bubble for the last couple of months, and we’ve both been reluctant to leave it. But, our dream venue has an open day, so we’re crossing our fingers that we love it in-person, and then I’ll be adding another commitment to my bow. Eek!
A day with Bodleian Libraries
All my dark academia dreams came true when the team invited me to visit Bodleian Old Library and the Treasured exhibition in Weston Library this week. After a couple of train problems, I made it over and got to enjoy a private guided tour of both the library and exhibition. I’m already working on a full blog post!
Christmas is coming
Lastly, I am SO excited to decorate our home for Christmas this year. We’ve celebrated a few Christmases together, but this is our first festive season living together, and I’ve got endless décor ideas. (Including a second tree!) We’ve got a packed holiday season this year, so I’m looking forward to decorating slowly and soaking up every last moment that it offers. Catch me hiding from my friends, enjoying Christmas films and hot chocolates…
Links I’ve Loved
- Elle’s round-up of 25 speculative fiction books is perfect.
- I’m loving the look of this jumper for winter.
- Granny hobbies are trending – yay!
- Shop the & Chai Christmas collection.
