Loving lately

A round-up of what I've been loving lately.

Hi friends,

I hope you’re all well and have had a good few weeks since I last wrote.

I wonder how many of you feel the same as me when asked, “What’s new with you?”. Every time I see friends or family and the inevitable question comes up, I cringe a little internally because honestly - nothing. Nothing is new.

Which feels like quite the contrast to a lot of people in my life who are navigating big changes. There are a few things quietly slotting into place for Dan and I, and change is on the horizon, but nothing quickly.

A question I’ve realised I’d rather be asked at this exact time of my life when not much newness is happening, is “What are you loving lately?”. That, I have answers for.

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What I’m loving lately

Sunnier days

Ask pretty much anyone in the UK, and this will likely be at the top of their list. Winter was long, grey and wet. The light and warmth of the sun has given a lot of us a sense of hope and like, perhaps, things will be OK after all.

Sci-fi

I mean, I’ve loved sci-fi for a while, but this year is an excellent year for sci-fi films. After reading and loving Project Hail Mary, I was excited to hear about it being turned into a film and listened to the audio book in preparation.

We saw it last weekend, enjoying our first Everyman cinema experience, and it did not disappoint. I’m now planning a rewatch of Dune part one and part two in preparation of the third instalment.

I’m also playing with sci-fi more in fiction writing. Some eagle-eyed followers may have spotted I posted a sneaky short story to my substack recently.

I’ve been getting back into a bit of a writing routine and decided rather than let the stories wither away in my Drive folder, I’ll share some of them on Substack.

I decided not to email it though, and likely won’t email future ones, just because that feels a bit too exposing. I like the idea of quietly publishing and letting people stumble across them.

Day trips

Dan treated me to an incredible day out for my 40th last month in London. We had lunch at Egg Slut, wandered around the city, had coffee, visited the largest bookshop in Europe, then it was time for dinner (at Dishoom) and a show (Stranger Things: The First Shadow).

Then last weekend we went to Wokingham, mostly to go see Project Hail Mary at Everyman, but also to scope out the area as a potential place to live, which brings me nicely on to…

Learning more about finance

After a few weeks checking out the rental market and realising just how wild it is out there, we’ve made a decision to stay where we are, continue to save and buy a place.

We’re getting into a pretty good position deposit-wise after years of saving and have come to the conclusion that now is the time.

The next step is to decide where we want to live, hence the scoping out of places. Making the decision has prompted me to get serious about a goal I set out at the start of the year to learn more about finances.

I’ve been reading up on mortgages, how to make your money work harder and am very much in my ‘saving’ era.

With buying a house finally becoming a reality rather than a distant dream, I’m being as frugal as I can and obsessively checking my accounts to watch the savings number tick up.

Artsy magazines

Saturdays remain my ‘no social media’ days and ‘no sims’ days in an attempt to decrease my screen time and increase my creative juices.

Something I’ve been loving to do on Saturdays is read magazines - specifically fancy artsy ones. I’ve read Grand, which “celebrates creative life outside the usual media focus.” and Frame which is all about interior design and architecture. It’s a great way to fill your creative cup and avoid screens.

Next on my list to check out is Cake Zine which is “a literary print magazine exploring art, history, and pop culture through food.” Sign. Me. Up.

Because these kinds of magazines are usually so big (as they only come out quarterly or biannually) they also last a good few Saturdays which makes the cost feel worth it.

Work (and, wince, LinkedIn)

At the start of the year I was feeling a little lost in my role. I think I had been in firefighting mode for so long at the end of last year that when the firefighting wasn’t needed post-Christmas, I didn’t quite know what to do with myself.

I had my annual review a few weeks ago, and it was a chance to really clarify my responsibilities and what the company needs. After that, I created a road map for the year ahead and my motivation has rocketed.

Since then, I’ve known exactly how to fill my days, have been feeling creative again and ideas are popping up all over the place.

I’m also leaning into being a LinkedIn girlie. It’s needed for my job, and sitting down to create a strategy and plan content has been, I must admit, fun.

Instagram and Facebook are less and less appealing to me each day, especially in terms of showing up. But LinkedIn? Get ready to be sick of me.

Sometimes I worry I’m loving work a little too much, you know? A friend recently described a feeling of work being consuming, and I totally relate.

It feels a bit consuming for me at the moment too. I have to be conscious about switching off at the weekend and zooming out to gain perspective.

But, because I am loving it, it doesn’t feel like a bad thing.

A strange place to be in, but I’m keeping my awareness up. If I start to get any urges to work overtime or find it too hard to switch off, I’ll know things have taken a turn.

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So there we have it - a few things I’m loving lately. Now, I can’t write an upbeat post like this without acknowledging that the state of the world feels pretty dire right now.

We are living in truly terrifying times and I think that’s what’s drawing me to focus on the light.

It may also be why I’m letting work consume me a touch. I feel useful there, like I can make a difference. The work our company does… makes a difference.

So, I’m quite happy to sink into it. And maybe that’s not the worst way to be dealing with * gesticulates wildly *.

Anyway…. Tell me, what are you loving lately?

Until next time,

Kat x