Writing with:
Annastasia: an Ooly fountain pen I’m testing for the Ink Drops shop. It writes so nicely! I really hope we can stock them and for the record, I’m holding onto this one indefinitely.
Carla: Too. Many. Pens. I thought I’d Marie Kondo my pens, pencils and highlights. Oh my god there might be such a thing as too many… but then again, I’m not getting rid of any! Ask me next month and I might have narrowed down a favourite or ten.
Current planner:
Annastasia: My passion planner along with Plutio and MS todo. My notebook use seems to have declined slightly which is either a result of summer being a bit less frantic or me getting better at making plans that I can stick to.
Carla: After a summer of very little actual work, I’ve returned to my day-per-page planner and an accompanying, colour-coded sheaf of lists. It’s almost bullet journal-esque and it’s making me feel a lot more organised and in control.
This month’s beverage of choice:
Annastasia Lipton’s peach ice tea bags cold-brewed in a glass bottle and then glugged in huge satisfying gulps.
Carla: Did a tour of the Adnams distillery over the summer and came home with several cases of their amazing 0.5% Wild Wave cider. I’m able to drink this even on my cocktail of meds. *snaps can open with delight*
Recent read:
Annastasia: Happiness, a Mystery and 66 attempts to solve it by Sophie Hannah. It was an intriguing read if not terribly relaxing. A friend suggested I read it so we could discuss it. Now I can’t wait to do so over a cuppa or three.
Carla: Decluttering at the speed of life – I’ve only just started it but it’s made me sigh with relief already. See also, How To Keep House While Drowning. I have just reorganised my bookshelf and scanned everything new into LibraryThing so expect some actual reading in the months to come!
Can’t stop thinking about:
Annastasia: The Ikea peg board that now lives above my desk. It’s made me more organised and excited about my workspace.
Carla: How being a maximalist is a lot more fun when everything in the house is something you actually want. And how the hell I had enough clutter lurking that I filled a skip the SIZE OF MY CAR to the brim. But everything feels so much brighter and clearer that it was totally worth the headspace!
Current goals:
Annastasia: I’ve been having a major declutter and reorganise so I’m determined to stay on track with this and ensure that I kick off 2023 in a well-organised space.
Carla: Similarly, I had my “spring” clean over the summer. Having tackled every cupboard, shelf and corner in the place, would like to now finish off the surface tidying so I actually have a home that is a sanctuary again, rather than a warehouse.
Summer memories:
Annastasia: Afternoons in the park with the occasional brass band performing in the bandstand, a surprisingly filling afternoon tea, morning walks in the warmth playing spot the urban fox and hours reading on the chaise lounge by the open window enjoying the cooling breeze.
Carla: Spontaneous trips to the lido in Brightlingsea with friends, collecting fallen feathers at all hours, extravagant kitten cuddles, sitting out in the evenings when 28 degrees (celsius) was deliciously cool compared to the daytime, sleeping on my cats’ cooling mats and turning my spare room into a campervan / library / narrowboat hybrid – more on that on the blog when it’s finished!