Friday 30 January 2015

Things I've Learned Since Graduating: Make Time

30 JANUARY 2015

Sand of Time by Gadion

When I was at uni, I spent days procrastinating doing virtually nothing in my sweats with no makeup on. Attractive huh? I used to feel plagued with boredom, restricted by my student finances and London prices making everything twice as expensive. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the time I had with my friends, but I longed for more options, more things to fill my time and money to do those things with. Now that I'm back home and I've been working for 2 and half years, I'd chew someone's arm off for a free day with nothing to do, no pressure and no need to cake my face in cosmetics in a last-ditch attempt to look awake and vaguely presentable...

Now I'm living a different reality, one where the things I love the most take a back seat whilst the everyday repeats and repeats in its crushing monotony, superseding everything that makes life remotely fun. Looking back, I feel like I wasted all that free time I had as a student. I spent too much time being selfish and feeling hard-done-by, and not enough time embracing life and chasing opportunities. But then hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it? 

Ok, so I'm definitely overthinking things slightly, but there's a definite message that I want to convey here. I might not feel like I have time to indulge my passions these days, but is that really an excuse not to? When I do make the effort and find time to do the things I want, the sense of fulfilment I get is nourishing. When I take a great photo, bake something that tastes of pure heaven, or write a well-received blog entry, I feel like I get back the pieces of my soul that sprung loose on the 9 to 5 carousel.  

It's so easy to just sit there after a hard day and do absolutely nothing. Finding the drive to do something new and exciting amongst all the pressures and stresses of life is really hard. I admire  those who can and do do this on a regular basis. I want to be more like those people who embrace a life less ordinary by finding the time to run a sports club, paint a masterpiece, or write the next best-seller...

So, I'm going to stop apologising every time I blog for the 'long hiatus' and instead get off my bum and write about the things I've done. After all, Chantilly Press is nothing if I don't make time for it!

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Alphabet Minestrone

20 JANUARY 2015

Whilst it's nice to be all grown up and cooking my own dinners, I thought I'd bring a little bit of childhood to our homemade soup tonight. I took this amazing minestrone recipe by Tom Kerridge and swapped the regular soup pasta for alphabet shapes.

Follow the link above to try this gorgeous recipe for yourself...




Sunday 11 January 2015

Photo Club: January 2015

11 JANUARY 2015

It was the first session of the new year for Arden Photographic Society on Tuesday, and everyone brought in a selection of the snaps they had taken over the Christmas period. I managed to to get a few nice ones of my family over the festive break, but most of these were taken on the one frosty morning we actually managed to drag ourselves out of bed and into Malvern Park! Hope you like them...










Thursday 1 January 2015

Welcome 2015!

1 JANUARY 2015


Happy New Year everyone! However you chose to see in the new year last night, I hope you had a fabulous time and spent it with those friends and family you love the most. 

2014 was an exciting year for me and T. We've both started new, better jobs and in June we bought our first home together and started renovating it. We also bought our first pet, our gorgeous cat called Blue. 

This time last year we decided to start looking for our first house. Now, sitting on our sofa in our very own living room typing this post, it amazes me at how far we've come in 12 months. Life seems to be moving at pace, but it's bittersweet - on the one hand it scares me how quickly the months slip away, but on the other it brings a smile to my face every time I think about the progress we've made, all the things we've achieved and gained in that time. With a little determination, hard work and patience you can achieve anything, and I wouldn't change what we have for the world.

Whatever you've got planned for 2015, keep your head focused, your heart strong and don't let anyone stop you from following your dreams. I wish you all a fantastic 2015 full of health and happiness!

- X -