Nothing like a new year to motivate you into dreaming whimsically about your blog, your little corner of the internet gathering dust, racking up the pageviews on past posts that still do the rounds on Pinterest. Also nothing like a bout of covid to give you the time to type it, even if the very same virus has prevented you from even opening the lid of your laptop for 6 days. This blog has seen many variations over the seven years it has been live, starting as an extension to my illustration business, becoming my main focus and passion for years when I was freelance, a side hustle when I first ..read more

Aside from my 2022 word of the year and a wee reflection on my twenty eighth year round the sun, it was last October when I properly blogged, and even then it was one of these posts. I love writing these, as a way of putting pen to paper (or text to computer screen) but also a little memory bank for myself too. So what better way than to kick off a new year of probably barely blogging than a round up of 10 nice, big, life changing in some instances, things that have happened in the last four months. 1. T U R N I N G T W E N T Y N I N E Yes I am flying through the last year of my twenties, al ..read more

We’ll skip straight past the fact I haven’t written a blog post since my birthday shall we and move right on through to the fact it’s a new year. I love a new year, I know the cliches are true and the new year has a lot of pressure but I love the idea of a fresh start and a chance to better, a chance to hope, a chance for change. I always consider the age old resolutions, lose a bit of weight, read before bed instead of going on my phone, eat healthier, run more….but I always stick to it for about a fortnight and give up so for the last few years I’ve chosen instead to focus on a word as a st ..read more

October 17th 1993. My first birthday. How surreal. My twenty ninth birthday. The last year of my twenties. 365 days till the big 3.0. Last year I spent my birthday in a pandemic. Nothing unusual, we’ve all experienced a lockdown birthday now no matter what month you were born in. This year, a sedate affair with a bracing walk on the beach planned with the family I had to stay apart from last time. Next year, I can only hope will be more normal with a bash worthy of a big birthday or a trip away. I feel like your twenties, like most other decades in your life, is a big pivotal one. Kylie Jenn ..read more

I love blog posts like these, little life updates since the last time (May 7th if you were wondering). Not only is it a cheap and easy way to get back into blogging but it’s also a nice nosey into my life for you, and a nice reminder of memories made for me. So yet again, here we go, 14 small wins since the last one of these….. 1 . A N N I V E R S A R Y The last one of these I posted, as stated above, was May 7th and that was actually mine and my husband’s 11 year anniversary. Married for one (and a bit by now) but together for 11 long year since we were kids, we managed to celebrate by head ..read more

How ridiculous a concept to even be writing about coming out of lockdown. Who’d have seen that one coming 2 years ago huh? Hard to believe there was a life without the words lockdown, isolation, pandemic, vaccination, symptoms and a million others in the way we use them now. But I digress. This is not a post about the last 18 months, this is about baby steps toward the future and a little bit of hope. As we all know, the UK moved toward some semblance of normal in the summer of 2021, as we tried (and failed) to in the summer of 2020. This time though we went hell for leather, ditched masks, o ..read more

And let’s be honest…..there’s not been a post at all round here in over 6 months. It wasn’t that many years ago that this space saw daily new content, where blog posts were scheduled weeks in advance, where bullet journal posts saw thousands of views and whilst I did tick over 1 million in January of this year, my poor old blog seems somewhat neglected of late. I remember in about 2016/2017 when my blog was at it’s best, when I was shortlisted for a Blogosphere award and I had a large loyal following of people devouring my every word, I remember thinking how those who complained about not hav ..read more

I’m ashamed to say I’ve often scoffed a bit at those who say they need a screen break or people who’ve talked about their phones being a happier healthier place to be but this year has really tested my own restraint on the same topic. I love being on my phone, I like social media, it doesn’t make me feel bad and I constantly consume all forms of content. In my mind, if your phone makes you feel bad just put it away - but of course it rarely is that simple. The last year has tested us in so many ways but I didn’t expect it to test my relationship with my phone as much as it has. The constant ..read more

Well 2021 lockdown hit different didn’t it? Write blog post has been on my to do list every week for the last….three months? I used to pride myself on my ability to churn out daily content and there wouldn’t be a day where I didn’t have the laptop out in front of the tv. These days, the work life balance has been non existent and the idea of sitting in front of another screen has been the last thing I wanted to do - let alone find the bleedin’ time! Finally though, in front of Gogglebox and snuggled up in a blanket on a Thursday evening I have the time to type a line or two - so what better ..read more

A year, three hundred and sixty five days, Seemingly a lifetime since we all parted ways. Twelve months ago, flanked by flags, Boris sat at his desk, Telling us we’ll beat it by Easter, it’s what Britain does best. Empty shelves, fights for loo roll, lack of PPE, One rule for them, another for you and me. Terrifying statistics, constant doom scrolling, Endless news reports, press conferences, nonstop trolling. Anxiety, uncertainty, panic attacks, Hand gel, anti bac, making fabric masks. Economy in ruins, job losses, working from home, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, your colleagu ..read more