SUNDAY SUMMARY 3.1

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