When you’ve lived somewhere for a long time, or, in my case, the majority of my life, it can be easy to stop seeing its beauty, excitement, and fun. Since returning to the UK, after three months travelling Asia, and making the most of each day whilst over there, I was itching to explore more of my own city, and get out and see the best of it. I must admit that in the start of 2024 I did struggle a little with this, and finding the motivation in the middle of winter, to get up and out, but the past week I’ve been out and about trying to up add more and diversify my social life.
In the past week I’ve been to see The 1975 at their ‘Still… At Their Very Best Tour‘ at Resorts World Arena, which was fabulous; explored some little hidden gem bars along the canal-side on a date; and danced the night away with my sister and her friends on Broad Street.
WHAT’S INSPIRED ME THIS WEEK
As a fashion designer, and general creative type, I am constantly seeking inspiration wherever I am, and these posts are a way to document what has ignited something within me this past week. Whether its artwork I’ve seen online, photography that moved me, or a collection of colour in nature that kick-started a creative idea in my head, I’ll be sharing four ideas that have brought me joy in the past seven days.
R. READING
Last week I spoke about In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead, which I loved, and this week I went on to read another of her works: Midnight is the Darkest Hour. I didn’t love it quite as much as In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, but I’m still a big fan of Winstead’s writing style.
I’ve also finally read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, after years of meaning to. I, like many of my generation, watched the film adaptation as a young teen, and was dramatically affected by it; I think I had ‘we accept the love we think we deserve’ reblogged on my Tumblr at least once a month. I’m so glad that I finally got round to reading it, and it did not disappoint.
E. EDUCATING
The moon has been absolutely stunning these past few nights, and I have had my telescope out looking at it non-stop.
I’ve had my telescope for over a year now, and there’s still so much for me to explore and learn about using it, but one of my favourite (and easiest) thing to do is to simply stare at the moon.
P. PLAYING
Last week my Dad and I went to see The 1975, a firm favourite of ours for many, many years. I introduced my Dad to the band in my teenage years, and there were many hours spent driving to and from university with their albums blasting, so it was a real joy to experience a concert together. It was also my dad’s first time seeing them, which made it extra special!
We’ve had the setlist playing on Spotify ever since, which was a great one, and it’s sure to make me want to dance around and relive the concert memories.
O. OBSESSING OVER
I wore my brown knee high Franco Sarto boots for the first time in a while this weekend, and reminded myself of just how much I love them.
I purchased them years ago, in my second year of university, after coveting them for months, and they soon became a firm favourite. I highly recommend them if you have skinny legs that usually can’t hold up knee high boots, as they hold up so beautifully.
R. RECOMMENDING
As I mentioned at the start of this post I had a lovely little date in the past week, and we went to some lovely bars that I had never been to before.
My favourite hidden gem, tucked away beside the canal in Birmingham, had to be The Gin Vault, a rustic little gin bar. As someone who doesn’t drink I was overjoyed to find a plethora of non-alcoholic gins, and had a lovely citrus ‘gin’ and tonic.
T. TREATING MYSELF TO
My current guilty pleasure is spending the evening doing nonograms. As someone who grew up loving sudoku, I feel like I’m connecting with my inner child sat around solving little puzzles again.
Love Chloe x
