July has been busy.  And… different.   I decided to take the whole month off from client-facing therapy work so I can focus on some other stuff that I’m creating behind the scenes and that has resulted in an entirely alternative rhythm in my day-to-day life.

At the start of July I had a much-anticipated trip to Chicago for ClickAway photography conference (the first time I’d been on a plane since before the pandemic 2 1/2 years ago when I made it home from Atlanta ClickAway just before the world shut down); it’s been the end of term/the start of summer holidays for the girls; and at the end of the month we escaped to sunny Spain for a long-overdue family holiday (which is where I’m writing this from, watching the girls as they play in the swimming pool).

Here are all the little things I’ve been loving lately throughout July…

READ

Sorrow and Bliss: by Meg Mason.  I finished this right at the start of the month.  I hadn’t been expecting to enjoy it that much but by the end I was surprised to find myself really caring for the main character and cheering her on.  I found it to be heartbreakingly poignant, really quite relatable in certain ways, and brilliantly insightful.

‘Sorrow and Bliss’ by Meg Mason

A Darker Shade Of Magic:  by V E Schwab.  I loved ‘The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue’ (which I read last month) so much that I wanted to read more from the same author as I like the way she writes and the characters she creates.  I took ‘A Darker Shade of Magic’ – the first book in a trilogy – all the way to Chicago with me, planning to read it on the aeroplane and in my hotel room.  It turns out that I didn’t even open it thanks to chatty travel neighbours on the plane and being so busy exploring the city and/or immersing myself in photography classes at ClickAway that the only time I was actually in my room was when I was sleeping.

Once I eventually got started with it, I couldn’t put it down.  It’s totally different from Addie LaRue, despite the underlying themes of magic and travelling – there’s more action and it’s faster paced. It was intriguing – I have no idea what’s going to happen in the next book.   I managed to finish it during the two weeks in between getting home from Chicago and heading off to Spain for our family holiday.

‘A Darker Shade Of Magic’ by V.E. Schwab

WATCHED

Stranger Things: We watched the eagerly anticipated Season 4 Volume 2 the day that the final two episodes aired.  The week of waiting for them after Volume 1 finished was excruciating and it felt like so much longer but oh gosh they were worth the wait.  They were so, so, SO good.  Tears were shed (both happy and sad); cushions were hidden behind; I think I held my breath for the entire time we were watching; and now we have to wait until 2024 for Season 5 and I’m not sure how I’m going to cope with that.  Mimi watched them too and it’s really lovely to have something I can talk about with her and connect with her on.

Dear Evan Hansen: I’ve heard lots of positive things about the film ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ (which is based on a book of the same title and is also now a West End musical) and I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while now.  When I saw it on the list of films available on the aeroplane on the way to Chicago I thought I’d give it a try.  It drew me in and distracted me from the flight for a couple of hours and I thought it was good but I didn’t quite get why there was so much hype around it?  Perhaps the book is better and I need to give that a try instead. (Generally, I find that the book is always better).

Fireworks:  I really love a good fireworks show so when I found out that there was a fireworks display at Navy Pier in Chicago on the Saturday night whilst I was there I made sure I went to see it.  It was short and sweet, starting at 10pm and only lasting about 10-15 minutes in total but it was worth it – they were very pretty, the company I was with was excellent (a couple of photography friends came with me) and it made for a memorable and enjoyable night.

The firework display at Navy Pier in Chicago was pretty special to watch

HEARD

Classical Music:  Whilst I was in Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival was being held at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park, just down the road from my hotel.  I headed over on the Friday evening and watched a little bit of that night’s performance (I couldn’t stay for the whole thing as I had the ClickAway opening night party to get to later as well).   It was an incredible venue, completely free to attend and there was a great turnout of people who had brought picnics and drinks to enjoy alongside the music.  The theme was ‘Lights On Broadway’ and it was a selection of songs from musicals – it was fab.

Grant Park Music Festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park in Chicago

Cassandra Clare: I got to sleep in my own bed for just one night after getting home from Chicago before I was off travelling again – this time up to Chester for the night with Ella.  We’d booked tickets to see her favourite author, Cassandra Clare (who wrote the Shadowhunters series), being interviewed at Storyhouse Chester – similar to the Olivie Blake event we went to in Manchester back in April.  We stayed overnight as the last train of the day that would get us home was too early and we would have missed the end of the conversation.  As it was the final week of term I let her skip school the next day because all of her exams were finished and they weren’t really doing any work anyway.

We had a few challenges on the journey to get up to Chester – we missed our train due to a miscommunication about which platform it was leaving from, and as a consequence we missed our connecting train as well.  Then the keycard for our hotel room wouldn’t work, we didn’t have time for dinner before the event started so ended up with snacks from Tesco and Ella’s anxiety was high.  It was worth it though: the interviewer was excellent and Cassie Clare was engaging, interesting, funny and immensely likeable.  We both thoroughly enjoyed it.

We went for a wander around afterwards and watched the sunset from the city walls, then the next morning we explored the Roman Gardens before making our way home with memories made and stories to tell.

Ella and I explored Chester the morning after the Cassandra Clare event. These are the Roman Gardens right in the middle of the city.

MADE

New friends: It was so good to finally be able to meet in person at ClickAway all the people I’ve been talking to online on Instagram for years.  LeAnna Azzolini, Jessica Miles, Meg Loeks, Lisa Toffolo, Bex Maini and so many more.  I also reconnected with old friends: Anne Adolphson who I met when I went to Leap Retreat in Colorado; Ashley Marston and Dana Leigh to name just a few.  I’m an introvert – I need time on my own to recharge after being sociable – but I do like being with people and having good conversations.

l-r: Me, LeAnna Azzolini and Jessica Miles

Me with Ashley Marston, who I adore.

WORE

Heels and glitter:  The theme for the opening night party at ClickAway Conference was ‘Written In The Stars’.  Some people went all-in with head-to-toe sparkles and looked fantastic, I opted for some slightly more undrstated glittery eye make-up and a pair of heels (the first time I’ve worn anything other than boots or ballet pumps in about three years!).  It felt good to get dressed up a bit, even if it was only for an hour or so.

Bikini:  I love the sunshine and hot weather, but even I struggled during the 39 degree Celcius heatwave we had for a few days mid-month.  We put up the paddling pool in the back garden and I wore my bikini (bought five years ago for our holiday in Florida and never worn – it still had the tags in!) to sit in it to try and cool down on the hottest day of the year.

Baggy jeans:  I also wore the baggy jeans I bought a while ago  – they’re so comfy!  I’m definitely going to get a lot of wear out of them.

AND FINALLY…

Chicago:  I loved Chicago!  I explored as much of the city as I could in between photography classes and even though I did a lot, there was so much more I wanted to see.  I’m definitely going to need a return trip one day for sure.  Highlights were the Cloud Gate (‘the Bean’), SkyDeck, Chicago Riverwalk, and eating real Chicago deep dish pizza pie at Navy Pier. I will of course be sharing more in separate blog post, coming soon.

Cloud Gate (aka ‘The Bean’) in Chicago

The view from one of the bridges spanning the river in Chicago, looking out in the direction of Lake Michigan

Taken on my final morning in Chicago whilst on an early walk south along the Lakefront Trail, near the Adler Planetarium

Summer colour:  Two years ago, mid-lockdown #1, we dyed Mimi’s hair bright red and she absolutely loved it.  She asked to do it again this summer and the other two girls wanted to join in too.  Ella went for dark blue, Lola opted for purple and Mimi chose red again.  It took us most of the afternoon to do but they’re all really happy with it.  A bit of fun and colour for the summer holidays!

The girls love their dip-dyed hair

The seventh chapter of the year is now closed and we’re more than halfway through not only the summer but 2022 as a whole.  I’m very much looking forward to August as we have one more little bit of travelling booked in, plus plenty of downtime and hopefully some new experiences too.

I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout July and that August is full of fun and moments to remember.

Stay well x