I seem to be having some reoccurring bad luck lately which is this: I run into our local (very, very small) convenience store in search of a maximum of three things at any given time, crisps, fish fingers or feta cheese. This specific shop has around three aisles, four if you include where the till is, and a frozen section the size of our washing machine. So, there I am, three things in hand, or maybe two or maybe one and I'm in the queue leaning on my heels as I suck in the air on the inside of my mask.
I take my time to do some careful mental gymnastics, calculating how long I have left of my lunch break vs how many minutes the fish fingers are going to take to cook. I'm going to be out of here in no time. Then, in a state of mild panic, I watch the customer in front of me slide an overflowing basket across the counter as the contents squeezes against the perspex divider. The supermarket employee then starts bagging the items as fast as she can as a significant line forms behind me. I turn to look at the queue and there's a girl struggling with a very large bottle of water, I didn't even know they sold them in here, do they? How Interesting. Sweat is beginning to accumulate on my forehead and I'm two Taylor Swift songs deep without having moved anywhere.
I blame myself, and poor timing, my bastard impatience, and shit luck.
1. Met up with Em today to get very soggy hot chocolates in the rain.
2. Our landlord stopped by last weekend and dropped off a few Christmas goodies for us, which included this mistletoe and eucalyptus candle and it apparently smells like a brisk winter morning walk. Not sure on that one.
3. Sky over London showing off.
4. Very Intense Christmas decorations that left me wondering how the occupiers enter their home.
5. Here is a picture of me xo
Closed tabs of the week:
Something about the Sims 4 update. Estrid razors. How to stop spiralling. Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas special. Uniqlo website. Mint tea. Mall Grab. Ordering tracking for three different things. Eytys Halo black leather trainers. Here's the right way to approach your gym crush (lol). Dubarry boots.
Skincare update:
Hormonal problems aside my skin is looking a lot, lot better and Emily even told me today that I looked like I was glowing! I stopped wearing foundation about a year ago so when I get a super bad pimple I find it really distracting BUT in the past week I have noticed such an improvement in my skin which is a huge relief for my confidence.
NEARLY CHRISTMAS, I am absolutely shattered, what a year.
Lauren xo
I had an unexpected double trip to the dentist in the week which was as expensive, as annoying and as painful as it sounds. I blame my longstanding sweet tooth that has guided me nowhere but to misery. Still, at 25, I will go to Tesco, do an armful of grocery shopping, and with my one spare finger, scoop up a bag of Strawbs on my way to the till. It's embarrassing and I've decided to go cold turkey on sugar...
As last week's weekly round-up was so shambolic, I tried to make a real effort this week to capture more content so here we go.
1. I had my haircut waaaaay back in August and now it's started to get rather long. It's actually caught in that weird 'it's not short, it's not long' phase, which means it'll tie back nicely but unfortunately still looks a bit like a mushroom when it's down. (I'm growing it out by the way).
2. I'm making leaps and bounds in the skincare department having now fully committed myself to an extensive morning and night routine. Salicylic acid every other day before bed, CeraVe every day, twice a day, morning and night, SPF every morning after moisturiser and a star face spot patch when there's a pesky little lump on my face.
3. Me to myself when I don't leave enough time in to have a morning walk.
4. The sunsets in London, when it's not pissing it down, have been amazing recently!
5. Urgh okay - I went to the gym last night and then came straight home to a half-prepared chicken pie which meant leftover pastry for me to make this incredible chocolate twist with. Long story short I left it in the oven for too long and fucked it.
6. An unsuccessful Christmas Tree shopping excursion.
Other bits:
So we're fully into December now, how's that happened?!
Closed tabs:
How many times a day should you floss? Will a two-week vacation ruin all your gym progress? Tracking a parcel with Hermes. Frizzy hair winter (but in my lack of time I typed frozzy haor winter in the hopes that Google would understand). Cheek biting: causes, symptoms and treatments (yes, yes I did get fitted for a nightguard). Mood changes before a migraine (bad headaches starting to creep in again). A picture of Shania Twain because my dentist said I looked like her. If I have fine hair, how many times a week should I wash it? All in one long johns (I'm cold okay?!) Sore after sitting? Try these three stretches.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK, stay safe,
Lauren xo
After reading a post on Reddit, I’ve concluded I’m allergic to McDonald’s, I think. The canker sores and ulcers in my mouth would agree too, which are, according to user123, a result of the salt that's been liberally applied to all their fries. Maybe I’ve reached the age where I can’t handle McDonald’s anymore? Sad.
ANOTHER SEVEN DAYS DOWN as we hurtle towards Christmas and the end of 2020.
Embarrassingly, I've not really taken any photos this past week and have instead concluded the end of November with a litre bottle of Bailey's and a bar of Toblerone.
1. This first image I didn't even take, Jules took it from our flat's living room window in the week, but how amazing was the sky?????? Thanks, Jules.
2. I got a croissant and a cup of tea from a boulangerie near us at the weekend
3. A dumpster in the lake topped with a rogue slice of bread.
Closed tabs: Love knot stud earrings. CeraVe moisturising cream. The best crispy chicken parmesan. Bamboo trousers from AYM. Olaplex No.6. Tiny zodiac studs from Bing Bang. VIB biscuits meaning. Punch needling. Jeffrey Campbell Dagget Western boots.
⭐️ Starface three-week review ⭐️
Skin is slightly on the mend I have to say. I've got small spots here and there but it's not as sore looking as it was around a month ago when it was much worse. I have a pretty solid routine now of cleanser, exfoliating water, moisturiser etc and even use saltwater when my spots get really bad too. It's not perfect but I'm definitely feeling more confident in my skin and I think having a better routine helps this.
Quote for the week 'I have licked the fire and danced in the ashes of every bridge I ever burned. I fear no hell from you' - Nicole Lyons
TILL THE NEXT ONE,
Lauren xo
Two things: Firstly, somehow and someway, this weekend marks my one year anniversary of living in London. I honestly have no idea where the time has gone and mentally I’m still in March. Nonetheless, and to commemorate this momentous occasion, I took a quick dive into my camera roll in order to temporarily relive exactly where I was 12 months ago. What. A. Ride. In between pictures of my now closed office, various snaps of the once dreaded commute, and a few absolutely horrendous selfies I found allllllll the images I had amassed from each flat viewing I went to last November and October.
This was a very painful experience, and sort of like dating I guess. You go in, you take a tour, you say your bit about yourself, they says theirs, you try and be funny, crack a few jokes, you’re not sure if they like you, you’re not sure if you like them and then you leave and hope for the best.
I saw the flat we’re living in now before going to look around a family home in Stoke Newington where, for some reason, the estate agent humoured me and gave me a very in-depth viewing even though we both knew I had no intentions of living there. ‘There’s a hole in the floorboards here but we’re having it looked at’. Great. Anyway, like I said, by that point I’d already seen our flat, I was in love, nowhere else was good enough and here we are today.
Secondly, this weekend also marks the two year anniversary of something of which I am sure I will never fully come to terms with. I've tried many times to define traumatic loss, both when dealing with my own emotions and when discussing things with those closest to me, but I can never quite formulate the perfect sentence. CALM, who if you don't know, are a charity that does a tremendous job at raising awareness around suicide, particularly in males. They have an active helpline, tabs on getting support and many resources on maintaining good mental health during lockdown too.
I also want you to know, dear reader, that you are never alone, not ever. Hold on. The sun will rise again tomorrow, it'll be a new day, a fresh start and we will try again. I am right here with you.
Seven days down, let's do this.
1. The temperature has dropped significantly in London. Here’s me in multiple layers, standing by our electric heater, drying my sheets and drinking a smoothie.
2. I had Wednesday off work so Jules and I went to get these delicious falafel wraps from a place near us. I haven’t had them since the summer and it was such a treat!
3. We’re deliberating about what kind of tree to get this year for the flat, these mini ones are £25 from a local garden centre. What do we think about tinsel?
4. It’s officially Bailey’s season. Did you know you can get Bailey’s red velvet? Neither did I.
5. Today I took it upon myself to dye some trousers and of course, like any sensible person, I wore a pair of yellow Marigolds to protect my delicate hands. Unbeknownst to me the rubber gloves had sustained a lesion when I used them to wash up once and consequently the dye got through the Marigolds, onto my fingers and the rest is history.
Closed tabs: An oversized wool-blend workwear shirt. Fact of fiction: water and acne. CORSX Salicylic acid daily gentle cleanser. BBC News homepage. The Alita: Battle Angel cast. 6 simple ways to reduce water retention. Parcel tracking for Collect+. A picture of a pheasant. A picture of a Leonberg dog. The best chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe from Tasty (they called it 'best' that not me). What causes occasional tooth pain? About the Covid flu jab. Awful Rivers Demita Wall mug from Carhartt. Love knot stud earrings. Where is See filmed? The best crispy chicken parmesan.
⭐️ Starface two-week review ⭐️
Around a month ago I was going through a prettyyy bad patch with my skin, a few deep under the skin spots here and a lot of blackheads there. Now I've implemented a pretty good skincare routine and have noticed my skin is on the mend. It's not going to happen overnight but I reckon after around a month there should be a significant change.
Thought for the week (and something I saw on Pinterest) 'yesterday was heavy, put it down'.
Stay safe out there kiddos,
Lauren xo
Yet, undeterred, I try. Today’s offering is a pair of beige trousers, bought several sizes too large and nipped in at the waist by my favourite tailors, a white turtle neck for warmth, a cream fuzzy cardigan (that looks itchy but isn’t) and a cropped tartan overshirt. The look is then finished off with some very tired Air Force 1s and an overstuffed leather handbag that’s drooping in the middle under the weight of my phone, keys, hand sanitiser, mask, life, etc etc, you know. I usually twist my brunette bob into the grips of a splintered Superdrug claw and pretend I’m Bella Hadid.
As I reach the stretch of houses that lead to the park, and while giving myself a pep talk in the form a podcast about independence fronted by two hilarious females, I keep a keen eye out for other people’s wardrobe picks. It's a plethora of lycra, headbands, fingerless gloves, breath that hangs in the air, the squeaky sound of running jackets, those water bottles shaped like a loop you can clutch as you speed walk, all completed by the exasperated sigh of someone's stride I’ve just unintentionally broken when taking a picture of a nice looking tree.
I wade through orange leaves and feel embarrassed. ‘You should’ve come in your Gym Shark leggings and New Balance trainers Lauren, for Godsake’ I lament as I repeat cuss words into the cold air feeling like I’ve missed some imaginary pre 10am memo. I’m uncool and definitely not active enough to be here, sticking to the outer banks of the park like I’m a newbie swimmer in bright, overfilled armbands. ‘You don’t even own a pair of running trainers’ I remind myself as I stand by the mouth of a puddle to let some experts sashay past me in matching 3M leggings.
Rounding a corner, the park opens up which means seasoned athletes begin to blend with bundled up dog owners whose pets are running feral in the soft mud. This is a sea of shin-length Uniqlo puffer jackets, Dubarry boots, expensive-looking knit hats, jeans tucked into cream knit socks and perfect morning hair that looks unbrushed but we all know isn’t. I’m now feeling even more aggressively overdressed, doubling up my walk as I force a smile at someone’s puppy before catching the eye of its owner and feeling my insides recoil. What am I even doing here?
To feel accepted I pause and take a picture of the lake, which in this spot smells of rotting egg. I'm too embarrassed to figure out the queuing system for the cafe so I spend a while feigning interest in the park's resident wildlife as they thrash around in the water. Oh look, some cygnets. Finding a quiet moment away from incredibly happy looking couples, very fast cyclists and people doing strange stretchers on benches, I muster up the courage to applaud myself (silently) for making such an effort to dress up for this small part of my day. This is my slice of recreation time and I’m not going to waste it as I feel I would if I was still in my flat eating a half cold toasted bagel with butter.
Adjusting my AirPods so as to not miss any important piece of information about learning to love my own company (I do) I remember how I used to put this much thought and consideration into my summer outfits for absolutely no reason other than to wear something nice on a two-mile round trip to Tesco. Though feeling like I've slightly overdone it and a little on the cooler side for this especially chilly November morning in London, I think it's incredibly important to take these small. personal moments of joy where we can. Also, I'm 100% certain the runners a) don't give a shit b) even notice me.
Dear park, I'll be back tomorrow and this time I'm thinking tights and a satin dress, I'll see you then.
Lauren xo
On Friday I made cheese on toast with beans for lunch, which was then closely followed by a lukewarm cheese string that had been out the fridge for too long. I pulled together this award-winning meal after letting out a few dry sobs and listening to Bloc Party.
Other bits:
Despite this confession, its been a good week lets get into it.
1. I went out walking in the week (I’m trying to get out and about every day for at least half an hour) and got absolutely drenched, like soaked. Water was dripping from my nose and I ended up stopping in an alcove to slick my hair back.
2. It feels totally unnatural and alien to say this BUT here’s me and Jules stocking up on booze for the weekend (as well as a selection of crackers and nibbles to accompany the truly horrific films we’ve been watching on Netflix)
3. The fairy lights in my room have been broken for about eight months, so in honour of the Christmas season that is upon us I finally bought some new ones.
4. Shadows in the light in our flat
5. Cute little coffee van in the park with delicious hot chocolate!
Other bits:
1. Could I pull off a beret? Yes.
2. I've reached the earth-shattering realisation that I don't drink enough water. Tbh I already knew this but now I really know so I've bought a water bottle with one of those reminder things on it to tell me how much to drink during the day so I have no excuse.
3. STARFACE update: I'm breaking out quite badly at the moment on my face as no fault of the product (it's a combination of hormones, lack of hydration and stress) but I will say the night exfoliator is really good and is enabling me to feel much better about my skin.
Closed tabs of the week: (I discovered this week that if you have more than 100 open tables on Google Chrome, a smiley face appears at the bottom).
A PDF on living with worry and anxiety amidst global uncertainty that my support counsellor set to me. A phone case from xouxou. A Google search for overshirts. Why do I look bloated when I wear jeans? A review of some personalised Christmas mugs on Etsy. BBC News homepage. Kermit the Frog keyring. Goodhood homepage.
Quote for the week: “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” from my favourite Brené Brown
Stay safe out there kids,
Lauren xo
What a weird week. The past few days have been some kind of strange, dystopic pendulum swing between routinely checking the US election results and clicking on the Coronavirus tab on the BBC News website as we go into a second lockdown.
Now I'm listening to The XX like it's 2009.
1. It's layering season. I'm slowly going to give all my money to Zara and hate myself.
2. The light at around 2/3pm gets really nice in the flat.
3. Squeezing in one more decaf iced latte before it gets truly, truly freezing and I can't stand cold drinks.
4. A sort of tomato sauce with chorizo and cannellini beans I made to compliment the fact that I've become increasingly better at boiling eggs.
5. My skin has been giving me the run around for about a month now. I managed to get it to a good point in the summer but now it's back with a vengeance. I've seen Starface all over social media so caved in and bought the hydro-stars (£12) and Exfoliating Night Water (£10), I'm one day into using them but I'll let you know how it goes. Covering my spots with little star stickers definitely makes me feel better when I look in the mirror tbh.
6. A new girl, as I've mentioned before, has moved in with Jules and I and she bought a mirror for IKEA last weekend so I now have a new selfie spot in the flat.
Closed tabs of the week:
Royal Mail Track and Trace. Columbia Road Flower Market. Mudslide cocktail recipe. Three open tabs of the Starface website. Gold Pearl Drop Choker from Lily & Roo. Four open tabs of BBC news. A picture from last year's bonfire night.
Sorry, it's a short one, busy weekend!
Stay home, stay safe,
Lauren xo
I just did that thing when you're trying to get the last remaining drops of moisturizer from the tube so you unscrew the cap and tentatively squeeze out roughly a fingertip worth; enough to cover your face. Except I didn't do it gently, I used the full force of my thumb and 10 faces worth of product that was lurking in the very limits of the packaging exploded over my hand. I can't put it back in, the nozzle is like the eye of a needle.
November is a tricky month, let's get into it.
I have to say that I have no excuse for the delay of this post, not one, but I am sorry it wasn't on time. I've developed a line of spots that follows the edge of my face mask and I've researched (and been told) that silk masks apparently help with 'maskne'. I'm adding this to the list of things I didn't know I needed to worry about but now do.
1. I saw this from the bus before they announced the new lockdown measures at the weekend. I've already immediately revived my previous lockdown worries from March and it's been a strange few days.
2. Chocolate milk can solve just about anything - just about.
3. My new flatmate (Charlotte) was only able to manage a few nibbles of pizza before fleeing out the door for work.
4. Stood in queue to learn that I know nothing about my skin and will continue to apply body lotion liberally everywhere.
5. I did zilch for Halloween this year. The pumpkin I bought in earnest two weeks early turned to mush. We put it outside in a Tesco bag ready for the big skip in the sky where it eventually became half liquid and half orange gunk.
6. Jules split a basil plant into four smaller pots in an attempt to nurture it but this was wishful thinking.
Other bits:
I've felt very strange these past few days as we dip into a second lockdown. I keep seeing articles titled 'All The Things You Got Wrong in the First Lockdown That you Can Get Right This Time' or 'How This Lockdown is Different'. I just wanted to say, whatever you're feeling, sad, odd, weird, confused, it's all totally valid. Take the time to be gentle with yourself. I was feeling weird this evening so cooked myself a really nice dinner, had a shower, cleaned my room, did some of my online therapy course, acknowledged how I was feeling, tried not to be so excruciatingly hard on myself, made a cup of tea, considered crying and now I'm about to get into bed. It's okay.
Closed tabs of the week:
Vegan beans recipe. BBC news headlines. A Zara shopping bag with two turtleneck tops in it (because you can never have too many). A Vogue article by Annie Lord titled 'Why it's Important to Fancy Two People at Once. A photo from my 16th birthday. What does 'follow suit' mean. How to identify and treat a laundry detergent rash. Jeffery Campbell Dagget western boots (I'm in love). Famous last words meaning. Cacio e Pepe. An Acne Studios belted puffer coat in Mink brown for £800. Hydro-stars from Starface (of which pretty much all their products are out of stock and if I did want something, delivery is £5)
A quote for the week: The writer Anais Nin on how to unlock a bigger, fuller life: "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." (Yes, this is from James Clear's email)
All the very best, stay safe,
Byeeeeeeee,
Lauren x
I also regret to inform you that I also just spent the absolute best part of five minutes rummaging through the small waste bin in my room looking for a Glossier sticker I thought had taken leave from my bedroom wall, floated down the back of my desk and found itself in the debris of the working week. Carefully lifting out discarded micellar water-soaked wool pads, Tesco receipts, clothes tags, used blister plasters (ew) sticky note reminders and crumpled Amazon packaging I believed the sticker to be lost, indefinitely. Now staring at the faint shadow outline of the beauty brand’s trademark logo, I picked at the remnants of blue-tac telling myself that sticker would've probably been worth thousands in 20 years time. No. Millions. As it turns out, I’d moved the sticker several months ago over fears that it would lose its affinity to the wall and slip between the floorboards. It’s still there, don’t worry.
Taking a rather steep change in the course of this post, I wanted to share something: In the summer I went on what I call a dating collision course (all safe) in an attempt to figure out how I go about falling in love. Stupid. Very stupid Lauren. (I'm also fairly certain I've mentioned this before but here we are!) After nearly a dozen dates I felt worse, horrid, just terrible. It was as if I had been putting my self-esteem through some rigorous, extreme pain. I ceremoniously packed in dating apps and decided to focus on myself.
Several days ago I had the extreme misfortune of experiencing something that brought with it a series of strange feelings I thought I'd altogether forgotten. In the past years, I've actively pretended the girl who fell haphazardly in love before wasn't me but someone else, anyone else. I make a point to not to use that love as a template, but I do, sometimes. It's like that inescapable love which was so dreadful I was marred by it, forever destined to wonder what I'd be like should it never have happened, if I'd taken the stairs and not the lift. Hesitated more at the amber light. Turned right instead of left. It was the kind of love that occurs in movies when you're willing the protagonist to start afresh and become a florist on the Isle of Wight and live in a cottage on the edge of a cliff with four windows and a tiny dog.
Lining up my romantic experiences side by side while thinking about my own capacity for connection and love, I analysed all those failed interactions, dead ends, rejections, lost sparks and miss fires to understand this: the love of my life is me and what I need to know is not how to love someone else but how to love me. And so, to my strange, recent encounter (and the one I'd been dreading all along) that I thought would devastate me, rob me of everything, and leave me depleted, I say thank you. Thank you for holding up a mirror to my tremendous growth, perseverance and strength at a time when I probably needed a good kick up the arse.
To the women I have become, who I always was and always will be this is for you. Plus, it's time, it's time to move on. I'm ready to let go.
To bring this all to a close I just wanted to add the following quote (I watched Brené Brown: A Call to Courage on Netflix and I 100& recommend it)
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
All the best, stay safe,
Lauren xo
Did I ever tell you I read an article once which included a segment about how if someone (this piece pertained to guys) has their bed in the middle of their room it means they have their life together and are ready to date? Both parties then have their own 'side' of the bed and you both get your own table too I guess. I brought this memory to the forefront of my mind while talking to my flatmates last night about beds.
I got up momentarily just now to lean against my door frame and reimagine my room. My bed is currently pushed into the corner under the window which I think is quite cosy. However, I'm wondering now if I should move my bed into the middle of my room. What does my room layout say about me?
I don't have a side of the bed in London, I sleep in the middle. It's totally luxurious and I make a little nest using all the pillows. The few (few) times I've had someone over I've end up sleeping against the wall, which I don't like, and I then have to shimmy around them if I need to pee. Anyway, to conclude, don't have people over, ever, and also I'm not ready to sacrifice sleeping in the middle just yet so the bed stays where it is. Glad we could have that chat.
It's been a super super super busy week and I haven't had time to take many pictures. Another seven days down, the clocks have gone back, our pumpkin went rotten and this time next week we'll be in November.
1. Here's me, bright and early on Monday morning pulling a horrendous face that no one needs to see, but our dining table looks nice at least. And so does the eucalyptus I bought last weekend. The pumpkin is reering it's head but it was in it's final few days, I was too keen and bought one too soon. Now we are without a pumpkin this week for when it actually is Halloween.
2. A new girl has moved in with Jules and I and she's great. She's so great she brought with her these two lovely egg cups. I boiled these eggs so hard that the yoke didn't even run. Unforutnaely when I was washing up just now I went to put the egg cups away and dropped one chicken, nearly decapitating it. (The egg cups are chickens)
3. Sums up my day, fairly productive and well intenioned but not quite there.
Other bits:
1. I'm watching a new K-Drama on Netflix called She Was Pretty. It's great.
2. What do we think about the corset trend? I so nearly bought a corset at the weekend but didn't because I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I don't have any boobs either.
3. I had a massage in the middle of a shopping centre at the weekend. It was £1 a minute and I had one for 10 minutes and it changed my life.
(a corset image for context)
Tabs of the week:
Urban Outfitters Corset top. Spot Eraser from Glossier. Zoning out and trauma. ASOS satin bustier top (there's a theme here). This other random corset on ASOS marketplace that I actually quite like. A sequin bustier top from Zara. An image of me and my older brother from 14 years ago. A Barbara Bui cropped tartan overshirt for $1,860 that I stumbled across. A MyProtein gym top. Best star sign for a Pisces female (don't even ask). Sagittarius men (no). A returns barcode for something. Santuario Madonna della Corona (a church).
Quote of the week: “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.” - from none other than Brené Brown.
Okay goodbye, goodnight, stay safe!
Lauren xo
I’ve been trying to figure out how to introduce this week’s Sunday Summary but it’s been a strange 72 hours, to say the least. I’m in the process of boiling some eggs (right now, next to me, in a pan) and I’m making my own chicken ramen for the first time.
London went into a secondary lockdown (pretty much) at midnight on Friday, along with other cities across the UK, as the government introduced new restrictions to help try curve the rising cases of Coronavirus. My anxiety and I have been on a steady incline for several consecutive days since this news also escalated.
Another seven days down of 2020, let’s get into it.
What’s the general consensus on bumping into people a) you haven’t seen for a while and b) weren’t expecting to see. Maybe not even bumping into, maybe just seeing from a distance and being so alarmed you completely forget regular bodily functions, assuming fight or flight immediately. That’s where I'm at after it happened today.
1. Coffee from a walk…
2. …I took myself for an early morning stroll at the beginning of the week. I feel like I’ve been waking up on the wrong side of the bed for days so it was nice to get up, nip out and feel the fresh morning air.
3. Couscous, roasted peppers and harissa in bed
4. In my opinion, Krispy Kreme makes the best doughnuts...maybe ever...
5. Flowers from the market! I loveeeeee Sunday flowers from the market, they make my whole week. When I was putting them in separate vases earlier (one being an old washed out glass coffee pot) I considered what it would be like to be a florist. How does one become a florist?
6. I bought a sweater vest a few months ago and here’s me trying to get some wear out of it. I do really like it though, it’s very warm. Maybe I need a big beige overcoat? I keep seeing people around London wearing them and I have coat envy- of course - it’s that time of year.
Tabs from the week:
Eytys Cypress Tar Jeans (I want these so badly but £190?) Ruby’s Soho. 15 Mistakes you definitely don’t want to make in the gym (I’ll start: don’t snog someone who works there). Kermit the frog at Christmas. NYX Epic Ink Liner (which I bought btw and I’ve already botched the nib). Royal Mail track and trace, again.
A quote from the James Clear newsletter I’m always banging on about: ‘I’d estimate at least half of my frustrations with others are actually frustrations with myself for failing to set clear boundaries and stand by them’.
Until the next one, stay safe,
Lauren xo
I wanted to love these boots, I did. I willed myself for about a week before, first wearing them with my pyjamas, then with leggings (I looked like I was about to go ride a horse) till I finally paired them with some suit trousers I bought from NA-KD. Alas, no luck. Yesterday I carefully boxed them up to take to the post office and send them on their merry way.
Bye,
I'm also wearing:
NA-KD Wide Leg Suit Pants // £40.95
NA-KD Wide Leg Suit Pants // £40.95
Zara Knit Halter Neck Top // £17.99 (LOVE this top)
I'm very much a Dr Martens girl, you know? Stomping around on the rainy streets of London in a long coat and platform shoes. They are my forever boots and trying to make room in my heart for anything else just feels like a betrayal. It's DMs Or I'm in trainers.
Also, can I just share this tip with you real quick? Firstly when I read this I was like ??? I'm sorry what? But hear me out. I've been a proud owner of a pair of platform Dr Martens for almost a year and every time I wear them, every damn time, they wreck my feet. I'm talking blood blisters, sore heels and me rushing to buy those special blasters from the nearest Boots to tape my feet back together. Scrolling through my TikTok FYP the other night I saw someone share a new pair of DMs they'd got and the comments section was filled with recommendations of how to break them in. Someone suggested hitting the heel with a hammer. Another said 'good luck with blisters for the next three years'. But someone else mentioned: 'I've been putting pantyliners in the back of my Boots, and it works'.
While on FaceTime with my friend before I met her for dinner I laughed 'humour me, humour me please, I'm going to put a pad in each of my Dr Martens to stop them rubbing against my heel'. Giggling, I thought: 'no way, no way'. My friend replied 'what on earth?!' But it works, it really works.
Had to share that, wish someone had told me sooner honestly.
Hope everyone is safe and well,
Bye,
Lauren xo
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