It's been a little while since I've written a casual catch up a blog post, so today I wanted to talk about how life has been lately. In short, it's been pretty damn good, that's not to say there haven't been lows because of course they always exist, but overall to good stuff has outweighed the bad and I've felt pretty positive.

What I've Been Up To:

For the introverted home bird that I am, I've actually been kind of busy recently.  If you're UK based you'll know the sun has been blessing us with its presence, which has added an energetic spin on the atmosphere.

I had a picnic, my friends, Jaynie and Gina some friends. We bought lots of healthy (ish) food and had a catch up while snacking on hummus dipped pitta, whilst feeling the warmth of the sun, and 'awwing' at the cuteness of my friends beautiful baby Ryleigh.



One Saturday I went for a walk with Hannah and Matt, we had a heart to heart as we wandered past endless trees and admired bluebell between our laughter.





I've indulged in delicious coffee and told my secrets to my friends Kelsey when walking by the river taking in the unexpected beauty.

I've been going to see basketball games, alongside feeling like I'm part of One Tree Hill, I've actually found a sport that I feel joyful when I watch, and the electricity of the crowd is so much more than I'd expected.

I've been working out. I've started personal training, and two sessions a week, a few weeks in and I feel a million times better, although the sessions are harder than I ever imagined, I am constantly amazed my how much my body really can do, and I'm actually looking forward to my sessions (ask me during hill sprints and I'll tell you something different altogether).

I've been working a lot more, and I've not been hating it and reduced to tears after a long day. It's not my forever job, but I'm putting in more hours now, and feeling positive about it.

Watching;

13 Reasons Why
 I kind of love the controversial series. I admit there was a scene in the final episode which I had to turn away from, and the tiger warnings should be taken very seriously. But I actually like the show, I think it brings up a lot of serious issues that are often shied away from, and I think the actors and characterisation are great. The storylines are all fucked up, clever and obvious. I really love Clay's character, he feels very real.


Newness 
 My friend introduced me to this Netflix film and I love it a lot. I think it's a great insight into how modern-day dating can be, and it's done in a very beautiful way.

away with you by Will Darbyshire

Spring Capsule Wardrobe by What Olivia Did

Reading

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green 
I loved this young adult book very much. There's something very poetic about John Greens writing. The storyline is great, there are some mystery and some romance to it. It also covers themes such as mental health, wealth and friendship. The ended disappointed me slightly, but I understand why it ended how it did. I read this book in just a couple of days as I could not put it down, and it's definitely one I'll reach for again.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber 
This book was recommended to me by a friend and it both lived up to my expectations and disappointed me. The fantasy-style book is quite dark in places and not my usual read, but the storyline had me gripped, and although I didn't like the main character and the end was pretty frustrating, I've got to admit, the narrative was pretty clever in places and didn't expect some of the twists.

Productivity Tips by SunBeamsJess

The Truth Behind The Self Employed Blogger by Wonderful You

5 Rules for Casual Sex by Hannah Witton

Embracing a Messy Life by Laura Jane Williams

Listening:

The Fringe of it on Instagram V Real Life

The Emma Guns Show with Lily Pebbles

Nobody Panic on Procrastinating

Arctic Monkey - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

George Ezra - Staying at Tamara's




There's also a catch-up/favourites video on my Youtube Channel, and down below, it was filmed a  little while ago, so a lot of it isn't included here, plus, why would you not want to see me talk about all the things I've been loving.


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As I wanted an easy holiday read I decided to pick up Paper Towns by John Green, which I'm sure you have all heard of by now.

John Green novels seem to be loved by the world, and with good reason, I believe too. John Green has the ability to write ordinary emotions in a beautiful way, making the characters in the book completely relatable yet in some ways they also seem quite remarkable. His characters have a balance of being so ordinary, however still really something.

The story of Paper Towns is based around a guy who's in high school, who has grown apart from his neighbour Margo as they have grown up, however, he still has one of those forever growing crushes on her teens tend to get, so when she turns up at his window for a late-night adventure they have the most amazing time and then being the mysterious character Margo is, she then disappears the following day, Quentin, the main character then makes it his mission to find her - and that's all I'm going to say on the storyline so that I do not give too much away.

What I found with this book, along with other John Green books I've read is that it was necessarily the storyline that got me hooked, more the thought-provoking style of writing and the intriguing characters. I sure more of you have heard by now, that the film Paper Towns is due to come out soon, and the lady with perfect eyebrows, who seems to be everywhere and loved everyone Cara Delevingne is playing the role of Margo. I read the book knowing this, and found myself picturing Cara as Margo - I know this can sometimes ruin a character if you begin to see them as someone else - however, from reading the book this seems like the most perfect casting. Picturing Cara playing Margo made the character for me, I just hope the film does not disappoint!

What I loved about this book is that I found it to be one of those stories I could not stop thinking about once I finished reading it. I've heard a lot of people say they were disappointed with the ending, I, however, loved the ending,  I felt that was what made the story stay with me once I closed the book. The book was an easy read, however, I hate to say it- some small parts were a little boring and possibly not really needed. I enjoyed the book, however, I went into reading it with high expectations which made the book slightly disappointing - only because it wasn't my favourite John Green novel I've read, and it didn't quite leave me with the same feeling as Looking for Alaska.

If you're looking for something new to read I would definitely recommend picking this book up - however as I've said, it's not my favourite John Green book, yet it's enjoyable nonetheless.

1) Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

2) Not that kind of Girl - Lena Dunham

3) The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

4) Girl Online - Zoe Sugg

5) Paper Towns - John Green

6) #Girlboss - Sophia Amorusa