September has been a full-on and curiously contrasting month of travelling (in the space of just over a week I flew to Barcelona for a few days break and went to London on two separate occasions for different work events), and time at home getting everyone settled back into school & college.  It’s always been my favourite month but this year I feel like I’ve not had the time to stop and appreciate it as much as I usually do.  There have been some behind-the-scenes challenges to navigate as well as the good things and the everyday ordinary stuff.  I’ve done my best to pay attention to the magic in it all – even the hard parts.

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

READ

The Body Keeps The Score: by Bessel Van Der Kolk.  This non-fiction book all about trauma has been recommended to me many, many times and is very highly thought of in the therapy world.  It’s been on my bookshelf for a long time and I kept putting myself off from reading it – I thought it would be too scientific and intellectual for me to take on board.  However, I’d booked to go and see the author talk in London this month and I figured I should probably read the book beforehand to give me some kind of foundational knowledge and context of what he’d be discussing, so I picked it up one evening and tentatively started it.

I needn’t have worried.  He explains things incredibly well – it all makes perfect sense and so much of it is resonating, both on a personal level and in terms of how I can integrate it professionally with my clients.  Almost every page has a folded down corner and multiple sentences (or even whole paragraphs) underlined.  I’m only about halfway through it at the time of writing this (it’s taking me a while – there’s so much information on each page and it demands a fair bit of concentration span) – even so, I already know I’ll refer back to it time and time again.

Lonely Planet Pocket Travel Guide to Barcelona:  My spontaneous trip to Barcelona this month meant a new addition to my slowly growing library of trusty little travel bibles – this dedicated city guide was perfect for a mini break.

Reminders Of Him: by Colleen Hoover.  I very much wanted something easy to read whilst I was away in Barcelona, that I didn’t need to think about.  This hit the spot perfectly – I finished it in two days.

‘The Body Keeps The Score’ by Bessel Van Der Kolk

WATCHED

Sunrise at the beach:  Whenever I travel, I make an extensive wishlist of things I would like to see, do and experience.  Within that wishlist is a mini-list of the non-negotiables: the things I absolutely have to do whilst I’m in a new-to-me place.  Sunrise at the beach in Barcelona was one of my non-negotiables.  I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it to the location in time – my Airbnb was a little out of the way and getting to the beach involved two metros and a decently long walk.  But I was determined to get there and it was 100% worth it.  I mean, look:

Sunrise at Barceloneta Beach

HEARD

Inspiring speakers:  As I mentioned, I was down in London for two separate work-related events this month.  The first was Questival, which I attended less than 48 hours after landing back in the UK from Barcelona.  Questival is a conference run by the company I did my therapy training with nineteen years ago.  It’s always a really fun and interesting event and this year was no exception.

There were three speakers in total throughout the day.  First was Hazel Gale – a brilliant therapy colleague who spoke about archetypes and how to use them within therapy.  She is also an author and has created a mindfulness storytelling entertainment app called Betwixt to help increase self awareness and overcome challenges.  I found her session absolutely fascinating and learned so much from her that I want to explore further.

Next up was Alex Duckworth, who shared about a model of therapy called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).  Many of my clients have tried other talking therapies before coming to see me so I found it interesting finding out what this particular one actually involves.

The third and final speaker of the day was Shauna Quigley, who spoke about trauma, embodiment and healing.  She has created a process called The Clearing Method and, having both experienced it and heard her speak about it, I’m now very keen to understand it better.

Trauma seems to be an ongoing theme at the moment.  Just three days after Questival, I went to see/hear Bessel Van Der Kolk speak at The Troxy in London (hence wanting to read his book ahead of attending the talk – I’d heard a lot about it/him/his research and approach but I hadn’t read it first hand).  The venue was amazing – an old art deco cinema/theatre/event space.  And the ‘An Audience With…’ style interview was incredibly interesting: the depth and breadth of his knowledge is phenomenal – he has 50+ years of research into trauma and experience of helping people to heal from it.  He was very funny too, which I hadn’t been expecting.

I came away from both events feeling inspired, excited and energised.  And, as a bonus, I got to spend the next day with my mum as I stayed over at her house for the night.  It was a gorgeously sunny, blue-sky day so we went on a walk to a local walled garden.

My lovely Mum in the walled garden we went to. I haven’t got a single photo from either of the events – I was too busy listening, learning and writing notes!)

MADE

A trip to Barcelona:  Did I mention that I’ve been to Barcelona this month?  Halfway through the summer holidays I realised that I hadn’t had any time off – as in, I’ve worked in some capacity in both of my businesses every single day (whether with clients and supervisees, sending/replying to emails, offering out resources, checking in with people in my therapy business, or doing photoshoots and editing images for my photography business) –  since I went to Lisbon in September last year.  I’ve not even had time to write a blog post about that trip yet.

365 days straight of working – no wonder I’m so very tired.  It’s definitely not a healthy way to live.  I desperately needed a break so I spontaneously booked flights to Barcelona; somewhere I’ve been wanting to visit for a very long time.  I had three full days to explore, get lost, be inspired, immerse myself somewhere different, have some time to myself and to catch my breath – it was wonderful.  The highlights for me were the Palau de la Musica Catalana; Montjuic; watching the sunrise at Barceloneta Beach; Park Guell; and the Sagrada Familia, which is even more breathtakingly beautiful than people described.

If you’ve never been before, go.  It’s a fantastic city.

Teleferic de Montjuic (Montjuic cable car)

The Palau de la Musica Catalana was stunning inside

Park Guell – all of the mosaics everywhere were incredibly detailed and intricate

WORE

School uniform:  But only for one out of three this year!  With Ella and now Mimi being at college and wearing their own clothes, only Lola has to don school uniform now.  I didn’t manage to convince them to let me take a photo this time around for the first time ever, so I feel a little sad about that but I suppose it’s to be expected now that they’re all getting older.

AND FINALLY…

Photoshoot:  Last month I had the honour and joy of being asked to capture a family photoshoot for my friend Grace, her partner Ben and their dog Nala.  We went to a part of Cannock Chase I’d never been to before (that I’m definitely going to have to go back and explore further).  Despite heavy rain all morning, the sun came out for us in the afternoon and we got some gorgeous images.  I feel so lucky that I get to do this as a job.  I finally finished editing their images and delivered the gallery to them – a little slower than scheduled due to things going on behind the scenes at home, but I’m pleased with how they turned out.

The location they chose was pretty special

One of my favourite images from the shoot

Manchester University Open Day:  Ella and I spent a day in Manchester right at the end of the month for the university open day.  She liked it, and I was pleasantly surprised by it.  She’s gradually narrowing down her top five choices… Three more visits to go in October!

We both liked the University of Manchester…

…and were surprised to discover a gorgeous old campus hidden behind the more modern buildings!

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Everyone is now settled back in at school and college and we’ve mostly found our rhythm with the new routine and timetables. It’s been a busy month for all of us and I genuinely can’t quite believe that we’re now 3/4 of the way through the year.

I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout September and that October promises to be full of cosy jumpers, colourful leaves and all things autumnal.

With love,

Chloe x