Life has been busy since my last catch-up. It might be down to the cooler weather in Dubai, a delayed back-to-school burst of energy, or just a return to my normal self which is happiest doing all the things at once? I’ve been feeling really motivated to fill up on new experiences in these last couple of weeks, cross things off my to-do list and enjoy long days rushing around with a packed tote bag!

Bringing Kitten Home

Antonio Koneko (Japanese for kitten) came home with us almost two weeks ago. There have been some challenges, I am two pairs of headphones down which isn’t great as someone who constantly listens to podcasts, but it’s been SO much fun having a tiny kitten scampering around the house. He is so full of energy but also loves to curl up on my lap and purr contentedly. Antonio gets full credit for filling up my social calendar (no one can resist kitten cuddles) and for making my Instagram stories far cuter.

Adventures in Yoga

I’ve taken ten yoga classes in the last fortnight and after finishing my class package at Zoga Dubai (my favourite studio here) I stumbled across a few free classes on Instagram and so far I’ve done yoga in a park, on the beach (main picture), in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa and (most bizarrely) what turned out to be a private class in Bloomingdales Dubai Mall while being filmed and photographed…! I’ve created an Instagram highlight sharing the free classes I find each week, and studios which offer a free trial class, so do check it out if you’re based in or visiting Dubai.

10 Years Of Blogging

It is ten years since I first started the original incarnation of this blog, LilyLipstick. My first few blog posts have long since been consigned to the archives (I actually started out as a beauty blogger!) and I still look back wistfully at the early blogging days when I first met many of my now close friends and found SO much creative joy in this outlet, especially while I was training to be a lawyer in London. I lived for escaping the office to attend a blogging event, still find it incredulous that I got sent clothes and make-up and I can’t even begin to think how different life would have been if I hadn’t created a Blogger account and plucked the name “LilyLipstick” out of the air some ten years ago.

Almost 30 Ambassador

I wrote about my love for the Almost 30 podcast here, and for a long time I had their email address saved on my phone notes to contact the team to ask about a Dubai/UAE sub-group. I finally sent that email (I honesty have no idea why I procrastinated on this one for so long?!) and, along with another ambassador, we in the process of setting up a sub-group here. If you’re UAE-based, interested in meeting up with a supportive group of women to make new friends and have fun then please join! And it’s totally fine if, like me, you are “over 30”!

What else….

The Dubai Fitness Challenge is in full swing so I’m planning on attending a few more free classes including, in stark contrast to my usual yoga, a HIIT class with Joe Wicks on Saturday… I interviewed for and got accepted for a role volunteering with Expo 2020 which I am super excited about, even if I did take a wrong turn on leaving the Expo site and almost ended up in Oman… I’m in the process of arranging a market stall to sell my macrame pieces in person (hopefully at the end of November), and I’m starting a new job on Sunday and can genuinely say that I am so excited about it!

How has your October been so far?