Ten happy things – September 20

I think it’s important to reflect on the things that I’m grateful for that and bring me joy, which is why every month I write a post on ten things that made me happy. Here are my ‘ten happy things’ for September!

A wonderful break in Capri

We were so lucky to fit in a trip to Italy at the end of August/beginning of September. We started with four nights in beautiful Ischia and then three nights in captivating Capri! It was so wonderful to have a change of scenery, a dip in the sea, great food and also lovely weather.

We also went on the (slightly terrifying) chair lift that takes you up to Monte Solaro which gives you stunning panoramic views of the island. I can honestly say I was happy to get off the chair!

Lunch with Fee

At the beginning of March I won a competition on Instagram for a £50 voucher to Hot Stone London, which is a lovely Japanese steak and sushi restaurant in Chapel Market in Angel. Of course lockdown happened and then restaurants didn’t open until July so I only recently had an opportunity to use it. I took my friend Fee from Where’s the Rooftop, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch followed by drinks afterwards in the sun (yes, the weather was lovely!).

The sushi was really excellent and I loved how they shouted ‘Irasshaimase!’ when we entered, which is very traditional in Japan. It means – Welcome, please come in!

Celebrating Nadia’s birthday

My lovely friend Nadia celebrated a milestone birthday and of course thanks to Covid she had to cancel her plans of a big celebration. So Jennie, Cath and I took her to Blame Gloria, in Covent Garden for a birthday bash!

It was so much fun! Although with bottomless prosecco and pornstar martinis it was bound to be, right? We all had a great time, a good laugh (there was a round of bingo) and lots of bubbles!

Flowers from my husband

My husband only ever buys me flowers for an occasion, such as my birthday or Valentine’s Day (which are four days apart…), so it was lovely to receive some for absolutely no reason at all! They brightened up my day.

Dinner with Jude

I’ve known Jude for many years and she is just the most amazing person – and friend. We’d hadn’t actually seen each other all year – apart from Zoom calls – so it was wonderful to meet up and have dinner at the Wet Fish Cafe in West Hampstead. The food was delicious and of course the company was fab. Jude has some very exciting plans, which I can’t wait to see come to fruition.

Started a new contract

Work has been very up and down this year. I’ve had periods of loads of work and periods of none at all. This month I was delighted to be pretty busy and I’ve started a big project with a very well known charity. It’s great to sink my teeth into a challenging project!

Discovered a local restaurant

Don’t you just love it when you discover a new restaurant in your area? I mean, the restaurant isn’t new… it’s just new to us! And it’s Italian so always a bonus. The food was pretty good – not amazing – but the restaurant décor, combined with the food, great service and perfectly chilled wine was definitely good enough to warrant us going back! Plus it’s only a 10 minute walk from our place.

Book swopping

This month I swopped two books I read and loved with two ‘new’ books from friends on Instagram that they loved. Isn’t it such a great idea to post a book to a friend and they post one back? Huge thanks to Seetal and Kassie for these great books – I can’t wait to read them!

Joined a co-working space

So sadly my co-working space closed down and, after months of working from home, I decided to find a new one. Three have opened near me so I trialled two of them and settled on the second one, called The Loft. It’s really reasonable, very modern, nice and light and only a 15 min walk from my house!

Autumn is here!

Summer is my favourite season but Autumn is a very close second. I love it because it’s just cold enough for boots and tights but not freezing! Also, growing up in South Africa we didn’t really get that very noticeable season change so I think it’s still a bit of a novelty to me. One of my favourite things to do is jump on all the crunchy leaves!

So that’s my ‘ten happy things’ for September! What made you happy and brought you joy? Let me know in the comments!