October has been a quiet month for me. I've not really done all that much, but I have found myself watching a little too much Netflix so this monthly round-up could be a tad TV-heavy.

What I've been up to:

- Watching too much: Somehow this has been the month I've realised I actually love binge watching new things, it's probably a sign I've had too much time on my hands. I have discovered some great Netflix series though (more details on what in the watching section of this post).

- Moving Bedrooms - My sister recently moved out, so now her old bedroom has had a spruce up, I've moved my things across the corridor, into the bigger bedroom. I've spent a lot of time organising my belonging, trying my make my new space feel like mine.

- Going for dinner with my friend Jess: My friend Jess and I have been for dinner a couple of times this month to try out new menus and catch up, so I've eaten a lot of yummy food and had many lovely, and hilarious chats.

- Taking myself for coffee: It's been nice to get out of the house and type away while sipping a delicious latte. I'm always more productive in a coffee shop, so taking myself out for coffee has been a nice way to break up my days and ensure I'm getting the work done.

- Writing. Because that's what I do.

- A Spontaneous Night Out: Dancing in a gay club with my friends, having only decided hours before that we were going turned out to be one of the best alcohol infused nights I've had in a while

- Pumpkin Carving: After complaining to my friend Matt about my lack of Halloween plans we decided to spend a Friday night carving pumpkins and drinking hot chocolates. I was over ambitious with my pumpkin design and decided to go for, so naturally, one of the bats looked like it had a broken wing - but I had a great time doing it, nonetheless.

Watching:

Riverdale: Oh, so Riverdale... I'm a little obsessed. I'm utterly confused about the genre, sometimes it is crime investigation, sometimes it's teen romance, sometimes it's supernatural and sometimes it's musical, however, this weird mash-up seems to work. As it has gone on, my opinion of Cheryl Blossom has changed and she is now my idol. Also, I think Jughead is kind of wonderful. I'll be honest, I think the new session may have gone a little too far down the supernatural route, but it's only on the second episode as I write this, so things could change.

A Typical: I love this Netflix series a lot. It's about the life of a teenage boy and his family. Sam the main character is on the autistic spectrum. They a normal family dynamic, each character with their own issues and story. It's just quite wholesome. It's funny at times and sad at other times and all it feels very real.

The Mind of Jake Paul: This series was great, unlike anything I'd ever watched on Youtube before. I know people have been complaining that it humanised Jake Paul too much... but he is a human, so why should be not be seen as one? Yeah, I get that he's messed up before and can be seen as problematic, but it was interesting to see another side to him, to find out more of what's made him, how he is. I just thought this was great tbh.

You Me Her: I have never heard of this Netflix series before I watched it, but honestly it's great. The series is based around a married couple who both fall in love with a college student. It explores sexuality, polyamorous relationships, societies expectations of relationships, family dynamics. It's just really interesting, a lot more happens in the series that you'd expect.

All I See is You: This film is starring Blake Lively tells the story of a blind woman who regains her vision and how that impacts her marriage. This film is very beautifully shot, and very thought-provoking, but also a little confusing at times.

The Kissing Booth: I rewatched this and remember how much I love this film. The is the story of how a kissing booth brings a relationship to life. It's just a feel-good teen rom-com.

Reading

Articles:
Dolly Alderton on Personality Types in The Sunday Times Style.
Dolly Alderton on Confronting the Man Who Ghosted Her in The Sunday Times Style
Sir Philip Green named in Parliament as businessman at centre of Britain's #MeToo scandal in The Telegraph
Vera Papisova on Why Breaking Up and Being SIngle is Actually the Best in Teen Vogue


Books:
Playing Big by Tara Mohr
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Feminist Don't Wear Pink and Other Lies by Scarlett Curtis

Blogs:
Carly Rowena on Body Positivity
The Anna Edit: My Top Reads of 2018 so far
What Olivia Did: 5 Skincare Favourites

Listening:

Podcasts
Feminist Don't Wear Pink with Helen Fielding
On the Line with Eileen Kelly on Embracing Your Sexuality
Don't Panic on How to Host a Halloween Party


Follow

It seems everyone is jumping on the Podcast creator bandwagon recently, and I, for one, am not complaining - there's a podcast for every mood. You cannot have too much of a good thing I like to
believe.

Today I wanted to update my podcast love list as there are a lot I have been enjoying recently, and my last podcast based post was back last June (here), so it's probably about time.

Get it off your Breast with Emma Gannon and Lliana Bird - This is one I've only recently begun listening to and fell in love with straight away. Being a big fan of Emma's CTRL ALT DELETE, I knew it was going to be another great podcast - Emma is a natural when it comes to podcasting and I love that she has a co-host on this podcast.

Get it off your breast is simply woman discussing anything they want to get off their chest. They have a different guest each week so you hear the thoughts of many women and it's just one big very open honest discussion.


The Heart of it by Estée Lalonde - When Estée originally said she wanted to do a podcast, I was excited, and after much anticipation, when I finally heard the pilot of The Heart of It (which was on protests) I've got to be honest, this was not what I expected. I expect something a lot more lighthearted - this, however, became the podcast I didn't know I needed.

In The Heart of It, Estée discusses matters which are important to her, and she brings in her own experience, alongside interviewing somebody who she thinks is valuable to the subject. This is a lot more serious than I expect, and also, unexpectedly, that's what I like about it.

This podcast is also formatted unlike any I've listened to, Estee switches between the interview to bringing in her own thoughts and experiences on the subject outside of the interview setting.



The Debrief with Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin (now Nobody Panic)  - I keep going on about The Debrief Podcast,  so I'll keep this short and sweet because it's probably getting boring and repetitive, this podcast on adulting is just hilarious, helpful and relatable.



Crash on my Couch by Will Darbyshire and Arden Rose - In this Podcast Will and Arden basically, discuss funny articles. There are different segments throughout the podcast which I love, it breaks the podcast up, and one episode can talk about conspiracy theories, cute animals, answer readers questions, Japanese culture and more. Until I listened to this podcast, I did not realise how much I needed to listen to an in-depth conversation about a treasure hunt but trust me, it's gold.

It's just a fun podcast. I also love hearing Will and Arden interact with each other, as unlike the podcast with two hosts that I've mentioned, they're in a relationship and (weirdly) I like hearing how couples interact, it makes it more enduring.



At Home With... by Lily Pebbles and Anna Newton - Season 1 of this podcast has recently ended, but if you haven't listened already, there an entire season you can catch up on. In this podcast, Lily Pebbles and Anna Newton (two of my internet favourites) go to the homes businesswomen they admire and interview them. I find this podcast very inspiring and personal to each guest. It feels like you really get to know the guest as Lily and Anna visit their homes - I'd recommend listening on the A Cast app because they usually include pictures too!



Dear Sugars by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond - This podcast was born from an advice column and you can tell, Cheryl and Steve both very honestly answer personal letters from listeners, and share their own experiences.

They are both very wise, honest and thoughtful. They cover a range of subjects from relationship-based problems to career struggles. You can tell Steve and Cheryl both speak genuinely from experience and are still willing to hear different opinions.


Have you heard any of these? I'd love to hear what you think! Also if you if have anymore recommendations, my ears are always open!

Follow

I have recently dived into this whole new realm of Podcasts. I know what you're thinking, it's not a new thing Chloe, podcasts have been around for ages, which of course is true, but I never had any interest in listening, until recently. Now I'm hooked. There are three particular podcast series which have been leaving me feeling both inspired and empowered.

These Podcasts have become a place where I can hear the voices I want to hear and the opinion of people whose voices I can relate to and they deserve to be heard . I feel these podcasts are all hosted by young people with similar morals to me and it's wonderful to see these values can translate into success in creative industries.

 I am writing this post straight from listening to me the second podcast today because I have recognised coming away from listening to both Podcasts I have felt mindful, and content, yet extremely motivated, and inspired to get shit done. Anything which I find creates this desirable mindset, in my opinion, is worth sharing on my little space on the internet.

1) The Ladies Who Lunch by Cat Valdes and Ingrid Nilsen - This is the Podcast series which originally caught my attention and started this listening obsession.

Every Tuesday there is a new Ladies Who Lunch episode, which I find myself looking forward to each week. Ingrid and Cat are friends who discuss pretty much all things which happen, the things we feel, think about and go through but don't often discuss in many days to day small talk conversations. It opens up your mind to a new realm of consideration and thoughts, as there are many things we have been almost programmed to not speak (and therefore consciously think about) about when actually many people are going through somewhat the same shit.

I find Ingrid and Cat both very relatable, they're both Youtubers who are both introverted women with very loud, creative minds. They have the topic each week ranging from dating and sex to society expectations. They also read letters from readers and offer advice, which is generally pretty solid explained advice, but also only suggestions - there's no 'you have to do this' because both Cat and Ingrid seem to understand they are not perfect, and the advice they other is still just opinions. They offer their thoughts, what they'd do in that situation and Ingrid, of course,  quote Cheryl Strayed several times in each episode, which I personally love. They both also give different viewpoints - they often don't agree on things but listen to and take the time to understand the other perspective.

I find this podcast is great too if you're going through a personal or social dilemma, I often find the things discussed unintentionally fit what I'm going through so I can relate and find comfort in listening, not only to Cat and Ingrid's voices but what the listeners letter say.  Every topic so far I have found to be some worth thinking about and this has really opened my mind.


2) Filler Podcast by Harry Hitchens and Matt Shore -  It was actually listening to Filler Podcast the inspired this post (this episode to be exact). Filler Podcast is all about the creative industries. Harry and Matt talk to different people who work in creative industries who are usually pretty much self-made and successful, which I find is what I 'need' to hear a lot. Being a creative mind, and feeling a little lost career wise it's very comforting to hear that I'm not the only person who doesn't feel they fit a 9-5 office job. This Podcast and it's guests show that the creative industries matter. Listening gives me the understanding that if I want to become someone working with a creative career, I can, and I will, and I am not the only one that doesn't fit in the box we are expected to be in beyond school. It's interesting to hear the success stories of other and appreciate the work they're put into to get where they are.

I also think this is great there are often creative people who talk to Matt and Harry on Filler whose work I love and fully support,  however, I may not have come across them without listening - if you're looking to discover new creative people doing great things, I'd recommend giving it a listen. You can hear what people are working on and why. It's quite inspiring that you can go from never have heard of someone at the start of the Podcast to feeling quite investing in them and their work by the end of it.

It's just great. They answer questions which the creative mind crave and they're also quite funny,  Matt and Harry add a lighthearted vibe to a real conversation, and you gain something to take with you, from both Harry and Matt and their guest.
(Also, Matt and Harry, if you're looking for a guest, get in contact - I will break into this creative industry soon, and you'll be glad you got in there early... (I'm joking... kind of))

3) CTRL ALT DELETE - By Emma Gannon - This Podcast is somewhat similar to the Filler Podcast, in the sense in both they talk to others from creative industries. However there are different vibes, of course, CTRL ALT DELETE has a female voice. Emma mainly interviews (if you can call it that) people who become a success through the internet. I read Emma's blog before listening to this, and I find her voice very relatable, which of course makes for easy listening. Emma chats casually to blogger, youtubers, comedians, and many others working in creative fields, about their success, their growth and their plans for the future.

I find this really interesting because you hear a somewhat different, yet still familiar side to those who work you've seen online. Guests like Zoe Sugg, Tanya Burr, and Olivia Purvis are all people I've felt like I've known after endlessly stalking their social medias for years, however after listening to this podcast I felt a deeper connection to them and the brands they created for themselves, and there was also a proud little fan girl inside of me that felt like I'd followed these girls on their journey.

Emma is very engaging (and I can't wait to get my hands on her book), and she asks her guests all the right questions, so you gain something listening but she creates a casual chatty vibes which make you feel as though you're listening to a conversation with friends.

I especially loved her recent episode with Tanya Burr - I felt there was the right balance between the casual chat to serious chat. Ranging from Tanya's makeup brand to Tanya work with Global Goals really got across that the people Emma talks to (and Emma herself) do more that just one thing. I also found it very interesting to hear about Tanya's pursuit of acting lessons and auditions but that may be because of my interest in acting with I've been considering further, especially once I'd listened to this.


I'd strongly recommend giving these a listen, and any Podcasts you think I'd enjoy, please let me know!

Love Chloe x