30 Days Grace; September.
September
always feels strange, these days. I think because even after 3 years
out of education, I still get that 'back to school' instinct when
autumn kicks in and I have nowhere to put the
feeling, nothing to satisfy the craving for newness...no leaves to
turn over.
I've tried to do the maths, and I think I can safely say about a quarter of my September was spent out of the UK. I was in Barcelona briefly at the beginning of the month, then I started October in Berlin – easily two of my favourite European cities.
I booked both these trips while tipsy and emotional – I had been meaning to for ages, clearly I just needed the whisky to give me the nudge – and stayed with excellent friends living in the centre of the cities.
My
new
favourite things
this
month were...
Vegan
Nutella-style doughnuts in the cute little Chok bakery,
Barcelona. Goddamn.
Reconciliation.
It sounds dramatic, but in September I was reunited with the past a
few times – despite attempting to escape to European cities, it
still found me when I was between flights – and I didn't hate it.
In fact, I liked it. I liked the feeling it gave me, the closure; a
weight fell from my shoulders that I didn't know I'd been carrying,
and before I knew it I found myself crying quietly on a replacement
bus service home from Brighton. For the past, and the me in that
past. It was happy crying, I think.
My
new tattoos. I got two new inkings in one week, and they were
both deeply personal – and beautiful. I then wrote a post about my collection of body art, which I know is growing at an alarming
pace...
Barcelona
Belushi's offers
on spirits
– I bought two double G&Ts for 6 euros. I seriously considered
moving there, when the barman told me the cost. Not just the city,
specifically that bar.
Stargazy
jewellery.
Amanda is a crystal wizard and total delight to chatter with. I could
honestly spend all day in that little shop (the one in this month's
title image), playing with pretty things and discussing the strange
nature of the world(s).
A favourite person this month was...
Yet
again, there are two. Sophia B, and Maddie Z.
Sophia
put me up in Barcelona, and showed me her city.
She's lived there for a year now, after impulsively uprooting and
leaving her unhappy London life behind last summer, and says she
cannot imagine being anywhere else, now. And y'know what, the place
suits her.
Maddie
took care of me when I was in Berlin for the fourth time in my life –
and the second time this year! – as she has done on all my previous
visits. I'll be writing about Berlin in next month's wrap up as the
trip actually ended in
October (and I think I'll have a mini meltdown if I write about both
trips in one post...), but Maddie was, as always, the best buddy to
bunk with, and most badass Berliner to roam around with.
And the exciting news this month was...
I
took little sis to an Open Day at my alma mater, the University of
Winchester. It was surreal and awesome fun – especially when I
dragged her around my deserted old halls of residence (Snapchatting
my pals who also lived there and loved it as much as I did), and then
sat in on the Creative Writing talk with the irrefutable Vanessa Harbour, piping up now and again to gush to the prospective students
and their parents about the BA course.
(Me,
now 24, outside what was my home at 18. When we were looking up at my
old bedroom window, I definitely sighed and said 'I had so
much sex in
that room...')
I
started my job managing social media for the fierce as f*ck brand that is
Scarlet Ladies! It's only been a month or so, but I've already
learned so much...and turned a few tricks for them, too.
After
seeing my latest blogger girl crush Endrielly (aka Unapologetically Elly) uploading the most beautiful and honest photos of herself to
her Insta, taken for the 'Behind the Scars' project, I desperately
wanted in. I emailed Sophie Mayanne from Belushi's Barcelona –
between 6 euro rounds – and before I knew it I was in a studio in
Peckham Rye, being wafted with a large light reflector and giggling
as my tummy and head scars were snapped professionally and perfectly.
There will
be
a fuller post about that experience, too, but just know for now – I
have never felt so in love and in control of my messed up, magical body.
(Credit:
Sophie Mayanne for Behind the Scars)
I
bought 1
book.
I didn't even buy it, quite – I went to Holly Bourne's 'It Only
Happens in the Movies' launch party at Waterstones Piccadilly, and
part of the cost of the ticket included a goody bag! The angels at
Usborne put on a damn good event, I must say. Popcorn, proof swag, a
photo booth with props – and of course the usual Piccadilly open
bar did not disappoint. 5 stars for them. Oh and I'm currently
reading the book – that's pretty excellent, too.
That
launch was technically the only bookish event I attended, at least as
a ticketed guest. But then I was part
of 2
bookish events in September!
The
babes at Brighton Waterstones contacted me to ask if I'd want to
chair a couple of their upcoming author events, and I mean, like I
was gonna say no?!
I
interviewed – but really, both just felt like pretty cool
chats...with a big audience – non-fic authors Lucy Watson (her
fresh new cookbook 'Feed Me Vegan' is going down a storm in my veggie
household) and Emma Blackery (I guess you'd know her from YouTube?
Ha, of course you do. Her guide to life-type debut 'Feel Good 101' is
understandably super popular). Both events were very different, and
good fun. I'm definitely excited to do more things like that in the
future.
My
monthly
reading
went well, but that was hardly a surprise. I've been excited to
re-read my Harry Potters for some time now. I'll probably write a
post about it soon, as I really don't think I can fit just how much
it's affecting me into one paragraph.
I drank 43 cups of coffee.
My
favourite cuppa would probably be the one I had right after getting a
tattoo – because wow, the relief – and also the one I (finally)
grabbed with Ella, aka Whimsicella, at a small chain in the big
smoke. Grind are excellent; I especially love their fabulous use of
neon in every one of their cafes...and their super cute (if at times
OTT hipster) baristas.
So,
September is done and dusted. The Back to School vibes are fading
away, and I can hear wicked giggles and troublesome bubbles creeping
in already...
I'm
also getting excited for 2018, if I'm honest. Yes I know, it's still
a couple of months away and
I am a massive hypocrite for getting livid whenever I see a Christmas
display in a shop right now...but c'mon. 2017, I'm pretty much done
with you, tbh...
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