A Somewhat Regular Blog Series #1

Not the most imaginative post title but I don’t know what else to call this… I want to be able to share an occasional life update without feeling like it has to be weekly/fortnightly/monthly.  I love the “diary” aspect of blogging and having an online record to look back on (archiving, editing and reformatting my old blog posts has been…interesting), so that’s what I’m aiming for with these posts. I feel like the last six or so weeks have rushed by and that this mid-summer update is a little overdue. 

Bali Bound!

I’m off to Bali tonight for my yoga teacher training, following a last minute dash around Dubai mall looking for a white dress which I’ll need for my graduation. H&M kids came to the rescue with a cute, lined and not see-through, lace dress for less than £20. I’ll be taking my laptop to Bali to share what I’m up to and how the training is going. 

Summer Film Nights

I’m not a regular cinema go-er but the summer heat in Dubai definitely makes indoor activities more appealing. In the last month we’ve seen Kedi at the independent cinema, Cinema Akil (I am so sad to be missing their Cat Weekend), and The Lion King at the boutique cinema at The Rove Downtown. The former was my favourite – a Turkish language documentary highlighting the plight of the street cats of Istanbul and the humans who help care for them. The Lion King was a fun couple of hours eating popcorn but pretty forgettable given the budget, famous voices and visuals. 

My Reading List

I’m almost back on track with my “52 books in 2019” goal. The first and second Codename Villanelle novels provided me with some fast, easy reads which I enjoyed. The show has changed the plot and tone significantly from the books, and this may be a rare case of the show actually being better but I enjoyed spending more time with Villanelle all the same. After watching the HBO show and listening to the accompanying podcast I read Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices From Chernobyl. I think I gained a lot more from this book having watched the show and being able to visualise circumstances better although the book is in many respects more shocking and tragic than the show.. 

You can follow me on Goodreads here. I have The Song of Achilles on my Kindle to read on my flight to Bali 

Two Years

On Monday night Harry and I celebrated our two year anniversary at the same table of the same bar that we went to for our first date. I never thought that I was a “relationships person” and assumed that I was meant to live my life as a singular unit (not unreasonable given that I’d been single between the ages of 0-almost 30). Being on my own and the increasing loneliness that this entailed as I got older always felt preferable to being vulnerable. The later turns out to be far more enjoyable, and I’m thankful everyday that I didn’t cancel our first date. 

Posts I’ve Shared

• My review of my first six months studying with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition 
• Answering some frequently asked questions and debunking some myths about life in Dubai 
• How I stopped shopping all the time
• Choosing the right yoga teacher training 
• Preparing yourself for a yoga teacher training

How is your summer going? Other highlights of mine include dog-sitting Eva the dachshund, visiting the L’Eto Secret Garden and trying the Impossible Burger at Bareburger (it’s all vegan but tastes pretty much how I remember beef burgers tasting?!). Was anyone else affected by the Mercury Retrograde? I broke so many household items and tripped over my own feet multiple times – grateful that it’s over before my travels!