A Few Lifestyle Favourites from February
February felt like a funny old month and it wasn’t the month I was hoping for that’s for sure. I think we had a storm every single weekend and I’ve never walked the dogs so little as I did last month which completely threw off my routine. I’m going to into March feeling hopeful that little signs of Spring are on the way as I can’t deny the constant rain has got me down, do you know we’ve not had a dry week since September 2019? Anyway, enough talk about the weather! Here is everything I loved in February.
getting experimental with our food
This year marks my fourth year as a vegetarian and there are more plant-based and mock meat options on the market than ever before. It’s so exciting to see what companies are bringing out and making readily available, I would say now more than ever it’s the best time to introduce meat-free meals into your diet as you can find so many alternatives that don’t cost any more than meat. Each week when we do our food shop we try and find something that we’ve never tried before as a treat and it’s been so fun to try new things that we typically wouldn’t try. My favourite has got to be the Linda McCartney Bao Bun kit with pulled pork, bao buns are hands down one of my favourite things to eat if we happen to eat out (Wagamama does some great veggie ones). If you fancy recreating your own version M&S sells vegan bao buns so you can add whatever filling you like.
backpacks
Something that I use more than I ever imagined is a backpack, they’re an absolute essential to me when I’m taking my camera out with me and we’re going to be out for more than a few hours. When they became a popular style item a few years ago I always liked the way they looked on other people but never thought they’d be for me but now they’re a regular part of my outfits. I have a black faux leather one that I picked up in Primark which has held together incredibly well considering it was cheap but it’s not showing any signs of wear. As it’s a smaller bag I use it on shorter day trips and save my Kanken for when we’re out all day in the Peak District. I have to admit, I thought the popular Kanken bags were a bit of a fad at the time but I’ve used mine so much and I absolutely adore it. Obviously if you’re going on long hikes and carrying a serious amount of weight then this won’t be for you but as a general bag they’re wonderful, I’m currently eying up the camera inserts but they’re pretty pricey.
two months of no shopping
I wrote an entire post about doing a no buy in January and it was something that I carried on into February too and I’m very proud to say I didn’t buy a single thing that I hadn’t accounted for (like my dogs birthday). As these months are the quietest months that I have work wise it made sense to attempt a no buy then as it’s when I’m the most aware of what is coming in and out of my account and obviously, we’ve got a wedding to pay for and I’m very conscious of building on my savings. I found doing a no buy so much easier than I ever thought, granted I’m not a big shopper at all these days unlike I once was I do still very much enjoy the feeling of buying something new. The buzz I got from seeing minimal outgoings and the satisfaction I felt not giving into any lustings after something I’d seen someone buy on Instagram is something I became quite addicted to. For March I won’t be doing another no buy but I am going to be doing a low buy until my income becomes a little more consistent.
discovering office ladies
The US Office is one of my all time favourite tv shows, we’re currently rewatching it and honestly it’s brought so much joy to my days despite watching it numerous times before. It’s such an easy show to watch that it’s a bit like FRIENDS where you can just have it on in the background to keep you company whilst you get on with stuff around the house. I’d seen a couple of people mention the Office Ladies podcast before but for some reason I’d never given it a listen. I downloaded all the episodes a few days ago and now I cannot stop listening to it. Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Angela (Angela Kinsey) rewatch episodes of the show and talk through all the behind the scenes and offer up fascinating little facts that you wouldn't know otherwise. If you love the US Office, I cannot recommend this podcast enough.
longer days
As we’re approaching Spring (despite the weather being colder than it was in December) the days are getting longer and it’s something that has made me so happy. Now when I wake up with the dogs in the morning I’m no longer greeted by darkness but to the sun peeking over the houses and a slightly golden hue fills the house and it’s such a welcome change after waking up to the darkness for so long. The lighter mornings make me feel so much more productive and the lighter evenings help too. As much as I love the cosy feeling of winter it doesn’t help my productivity levels at all as all I want to do is cosy up with a blanket with the dogs either side of me.
my morning coffee
For all of last year I gave up my morning coffee as I was very conscious on relying on caffeine too much especially in the morning but this year I’ve reintroduced it and it’s something that brings me so much joy. I struggle a lot with the afternoon slump and find myself battling having a nap a lot but ever since I’ve started having coffee in the morning again I’ve not felt like I’ve fallen into such a slump. Of course, it could be for a whole multitude of reasons that I’m feeling more sprightly and they just happen to coincide with drinking coffee again but even if it’s not having any effect on my energy it’s something that I get a lot of joy from, those ten minutes drinking my coffee and reading my book are something I so look forward to.
