Happy Saturday my loves! I hope you’ve been taking the *best* possible care since I last saw you 🥰 Last month I took a little newsletter break, thought about how I’d like this space to feel going forwards, and now I’m BACK with a slightly different vibe (in the same colour palette, obvs 🍭).
your mail made me soooo happy to read! 🥰 totally brightened my saturday!
i finished my year at uni back in early June and then went on my first girls holiday to Spain AND when I was there wore a bikini for the first time (!), then went to watch the F1 practice at Silverstone. I had my 18th during Lockdown and my Mum had her 50th and we had a party planned for TWO YEARS and it finally happened! SO good to have all our friends and family celebrating and in the same room. And to round it all off we also had a holiday to the USA booked for two years and that finally happened! It was incredible. We road tripped round and did New York, San Fran, Lake Tahoe, Monterey, Santa Barbara and LA. Trip of a lifetime! 💛 I’m now catching up on work for Uni, dancing the night away in Liverpool with my bffs and sitting in coffee shops until I move in with my friends to our new house down South at the end of the month! 🥰 xx
Sounds like you are living your best bikini wearing, road tripping, dancing, coffee chat summer life! Happy 20th and 52nd birthday to you and your mum! 😎
I loved your holiday updates, was so great to see you enjoy yourself, and the happiness you've found with your beautiful new person was radiating from every pore! I've had a tough year but I recently finished my first year of university after going back to get a second degree - juggling it all with being a single parent to two littles was tough. I never celebrate or shout about my own successes as I grew up in a household where bigging yourself up was seen as "bragging" and "big headed" - but with the encouragement of a wonderful new man that I've been seeing since April, this time I DID shout about it, and celebrate it, because it was hard work, and I did it all by myself. Shock horror, nothing bad happened when I let myself feel proud about what I'd done! I'm now enjoying a well earned rest over the summer with my children and boyfriend, who makes me very happy and supports everything I do 🥰
I grew up believing that ‘showing off’ was literally THE WORST thing you could do, worse even than unkindness, cruelty, how weird is that???? Here’s to blowing your own trumpet 🎺 xxxxx
Congratulations! Boastfulness is NOT the same thing as taking time to reflect on the successful completion of something that you dedicated a lot of time and energy to. Showing your kids that some things are really hard and it’s ok to be proud of yourself and celebrate when you complete them? Sounds like you’re a fabulous role model! Enjoy your down time this summer 😎
Thanks for the update Megan! And thanks for introducing us to Char, she sounds wonderful and you deserve someone like her ❤️I love that you are continuing these emails, it feels like we're a big group of pen pals :)
I've spent my summer living with my grandma in Canada, who I haven't been able to see in three years. I caught up with other family and friends while I was there too and it was great on the whole. Now I have two ish weeks before uni starts again and I do NOT feel prepared at all... I wish I had more time to prepare for my studies but I also don't regret taking the time out to just be with family. Even though I spent much of it being the family therapist and am now quite emotionally exhausted! I love them but they can be hard work haha!
Awh Anna I hear you on the emotional exhaustion! Sounds like you're all lucky to have each other and I'm also glad you soaked that up while you could - you have time for the other things 😘💜
I'm so glad you were able to have time with your family! (although, as a fellow family therapist, hopefully you're able to take a deep breath in a quiet room sometimes -- you can love them and also not be responsible for healing them!) I'm also going back to school soon and feel wildly unprepared, but I'm sure we're both going to be okay and get important things out of it. Best of luck with your classes!
I’ve been healing my nervous system from C-PTSD, had an injection in my neck for it. Been working a bit too hard on my recovery 🤓😱 But *I feel different*!!! I’m more chatty and feel good inside again, and love myself!!! It’s a new feeling. Been dating Dan…..I’m really excited again about living life again😎🎉
Woah Ruth major update!! Congrats on trying something new for your recovery, I'm keeping fingers crossed that it continues to make you feel more YOU 🥰💜
Recovery is such a tricky thing, progress is not linear… be gentle with yourself. Very glad to hear you are feeling alive, chatty and excited about living life!
I love everything you share! You're my reminder to be kinder to myself. I get to go on vacation in just 2 weeks! Me and my partner are getting married in 2 WEEKS 🤯 and we are going to Hawaii for our honeymoon! We are so excited!
Oh my goodness! Congratulations and I hope you have a wonderful time! Remember to breathe and enjoy it! (and have someone save some food for you so that you get a chance to eat during that whirlwind of a day!)
Hi! I have to say seeing the joy emulating from you in your holiday pics is soooo good. It's great to see 😍.
I am excited as I have booked a stand up paddle boarding lesson as I've always loved the look of it and thought 'fuck it' let's do it. Definitely a bit apprehensive, being plus size and trying to find wetsuits that fit, my body is not the standard body you see on a paddle board but I'm proud that I'm going to do it despite the nerves. It's got me thinking about the privilege of being able to access sport and how it's easier for some than others.
Loving the sound of the new newsletter! Enjoy the rest of your week. X
Oooh Katie this is some main character energy! Get it!! 😍 Would love to hear how paddle boarding goes 🙏🏽 also do you follow Michelle (michellelelman)? Posts quite a lot of her paddleboarding joy! 💜
I missed out on surfing lessons on a trip to California because I was afraid of the wetsuit not fitting right.
Now we live in a lake town and have two kayaks and a paddle board. The water is warm enough no wetsuit required. I’ve still been scared to try but your bravery “fuck it-ness” and enthusiasm has me thinking that tomorrow is the day. This is gonna be good. Thanks Katie! Much success and piles of joy and giggles coming at you.
Do it! Do it! Do it! You've got this! And if we fall in, it's fine! We'll work it out! Please let me know if you do. We have to live this life and paddle board if we fucking want to paddle board!
It's so annoying that simple things like inclusive sizing in kit stops us from having those experiences. Sending lots of joy, fun and giggles right back at ya! 😘
Sorry for the late reply, I managed to smash my phone a few weeks ago and it's been a nightmare!
Yes I did! It was so much fun! It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions though. Was all good kneeling 🤭 but really struggled to stand. The two hours were full of me swearing followed by a splash! The issue I had (which I expected) was getting back on especially with the floatation vest. It was impossible and it was exhausting. As I was in the middle of the lake the instructor had to keep helping me and another larger lady like me, back on and suggested we wait to get back to the start where it was shallow to try again. So then I felt deflated and teary as I'm not someone to give up and I wanted to keep going but I knew I was just wasting my energy. I had a quick word with myself (how fun it was, my body was giving it a good go and I wasn't failing because I'd got out and was trying) . I enjoyed kneeling around the lake and when we got close enough to the start myself and the other lady took ourselves to the shore where I could get on and off as much as I liked. Eventually I managed to stand and I did a reasonable loop paddle boarding! I was so pleased and really enjoyed it. As I wasn't competent enough to get my level 1 certificate, they have given me another session free to go out on my own and I'm doing that Sunday. So hopefully not straying too far from the shore so I can get back on will do the trick!
Sorry for such a long reply! Thank you for checking on me ☺️ how are you? Anymore adventures out?
This is about you. You did it. YOU DID IT. I hope Sunday goes well for you but even if it isn’t enough for a level 1 certificate nobody can take away what you've accomplished and the determination to accomplish it.
I’m not sure if I could get up if I fell in in deep water. The lake I use is pretty shallow and the women I’ve now found to paddle board with don’t go out farther than chest deep so it’s easy enough if someone falls for us to paddle back to a depth level where the person can get back on. We have one woman in the group who doesn’t stand up ever and she can out paddle us all.
It’s about trying something new and being okay with being a beginner. I would say half of our group of women are living in larger bodies and sometimes we have to do things differently to make it work and that is okay. It’s normal. We are patient, we laugh, we swear, we get wet(!) and we do what works for us as individuals. No judgement. I love it. Somedays we tie our boards together and sit and talk and that is just as fulfilling in a different way for me. We moved 3000kms in Jan and I hadn’t met anybody I connected with till I found the ‘paddling queens’. Now I have people texting and a group chat going where someone is always ready to go out on the water. It has expanded to doing other activities as well.
So I owe you a huge thank you because I may have never done this if I didn’t read your post. Thank you!
Let me know how Sunday goes. I’m cheering for you.
I didn’t fall in but I didn’t quite get all the way up either. It was fun. A lesson would help or at the very minimum a video. 🤦♀️. I will be trying it again for sure.
Ahhhhh Jen, you legend! That is so amazing! You did it! You should be so proud of yourself! I am! My lesson is in 2 weeks time, any tips I get I'll let you know. The only thing I've heard is to not look down when getting up, try and look out 🤷🏻♀️.
Good tip. I didn’t get so far as to stand straight up. My hands came off the board a couple of times for a couple seconds then quickly returned for more stability.
I smiled and laughed a lot. Next time I will go in with a little more determination and someone with experience to keep those tips coming.
I'm really sure they are 😊 wish I could shake the depression 'meh'. I mean it's better than being so down life doesn't feel worth it, but it's still very frustrating! 💕
Beautiful update and great to see you enjoying yourself! The format and tone are spot on and I loved the photos.
Over here I’m spending all my free time in the garden - specialty sunflowers are blooming (teddy bear and red velvet) so I have bouquets to share with coworkers and I also take tons of photos of everything for myself. My friend’s coffeehouse reopened and I’m baking there when I can, including a triple decker chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting. Just… putting out beauty and positive energy into the world and soaking up the summer sun (slathered in SPF50 because my ancestors were definitely NOT Jamaican! Ha!)
Woah Anna the sunflowers made me feel all warm inside and then the cake description made my mouth water 😅 honestly sounds like you're living in the kind of novel I'd read on holiday, love that for you!! ✨💜
I looove the new format so much! It's so great to hear from you, and so wonderful to see you happy!! Thank you for sharing and I'm excited for alll the upcoming mails! <3
Love the new format, love the new nails (tempted to give acrylics a try myself) and all the heart eyes for the new relationship. The pictures you posted of the two of you on hols were so filled with love, was gorgeous to see. Have a fab week!
your mail made me soooo happy to read! 🥰 totally brightened my saturday!
i finished my year at uni back in early June and then went on my first girls holiday to Spain AND when I was there wore a bikini for the first time (!), then went to watch the F1 practice at Silverstone. I had my 18th during Lockdown and my Mum had her 50th and we had a party planned for TWO YEARS and it finally happened! SO good to have all our friends and family celebrating and in the same room. And to round it all off we also had a holiday to the USA booked for two years and that finally happened! It was incredible. We road tripped round and did New York, San Fran, Lake Tahoe, Monterey, Santa Barbara and LA. Trip of a lifetime! 💛 I’m now catching up on work for Uni, dancing the night away in Liverpool with my bffs and sitting in coffee shops until I move in with my friends to our new house down South at the end of the month! 🥰 xx
Woahhh what a beautiful season you've had Emma!! I hope you can stay in this joy for as long as possible 🥰🌞💜
I really have! 🥰 Thank you for your comment Megan, it means a lot! 💛
👏👏👏👏
And ps multi-generational parties are THE BEST (imho) xx
it really was THE BEST!!! ❤️
Sounds like you are living your best bikini wearing, road tripping, dancing, coffee chat summer life! Happy 20th and 52nd birthday to you and your mum! 😎
I really am! Thank you so so much 🥰
I loved your holiday updates, was so great to see you enjoy yourself, and the happiness you've found with your beautiful new person was radiating from every pore! I've had a tough year but I recently finished my first year of university after going back to get a second degree - juggling it all with being a single parent to two littles was tough. I never celebrate or shout about my own successes as I grew up in a household where bigging yourself up was seen as "bragging" and "big headed" - but with the encouragement of a wonderful new man that I've been seeing since April, this time I DID shout about it, and celebrate it, because it was hard work, and I did it all by myself. Shock horror, nothing bad happened when I let myself feel proud about what I'd done! I'm now enjoying a well earned rest over the summer with my children and boyfriend, who makes me very happy and supports everything I do 🥰
SHOUT EVEN LOUDER FOR LITTLE RAYCH WHO WASN'T ALLOWED TO!! YOU KICKED SERIOUS BUTT THIS YEAR!! 🥳🥳 honestly, you've smashed it. Enjoy the rest angel 💜💜
👏👏👏👏👏
This is wonderful, well damn done!!!
I grew up believing that ‘showing off’ was literally THE WORST thing you could do, worse even than unkindness, cruelty, how weird is that???? Here’s to blowing your own trumpet 🎺 xxxxx
Congratulations! Boastfulness is NOT the same thing as taking time to reflect on the successful completion of something that you dedicated a lot of time and energy to. Showing your kids that some things are really hard and it’s ok to be proud of yourself and celebrate when you complete them? Sounds like you’re a fabulous role model! Enjoy your down time this summer 😎
Thanks for the update Megan! And thanks for introducing us to Char, she sounds wonderful and you deserve someone like her ❤️I love that you are continuing these emails, it feels like we're a big group of pen pals :)
I've spent my summer living with my grandma in Canada, who I haven't been able to see in three years. I caught up with other family and friends while I was there too and it was great on the whole. Now I have two ish weeks before uni starts again and I do NOT feel prepared at all... I wish I had more time to prepare for my studies but I also don't regret taking the time out to just be with family. Even though I spent much of it being the family therapist and am now quite emotionally exhausted! I love them but they can be hard work haha!
Awh Anna I hear you on the emotional exhaustion! Sounds like you're all lucky to have each other and I'm also glad you soaked that up while you could - you have time for the other things 😘💜
I'm so glad you were able to have time with your family! (although, as a fellow family therapist, hopefully you're able to take a deep breath in a quiet room sometimes -- you can love them and also not be responsible for healing them!) I'm also going back to school soon and feel wildly unprepared, but I'm sure we're both going to be okay and get important things out of it. Best of luck with your classes!
Oooof, that family therapist part hit home.
Yay for healing and Char….wow 💕
I’ve been healing my nervous system from C-PTSD, had an injection in my neck for it. Been working a bit too hard on my recovery 🤓😱 But *I feel different*!!! I’m more chatty and feel good inside again, and love myself!!! It’s a new feeling. Been dating Dan…..I’m really excited again about living life again😎🎉
Woah Ruth major update!! Congrats on trying something new for your recovery, I'm keeping fingers crossed that it continues to make you feel more YOU 🥰💜
Recovery is such a tricky thing, progress is not linear… be gentle with yourself. Very glad to hear you are feeling alive, chatty and excited about living life!
Absolutely and working of self compassion x x x
🥰
I love everything you share! You're my reminder to be kinder to myself. I get to go on vacation in just 2 weeks! Me and my partner are getting married in 2 WEEKS 🤯 and we are going to Hawaii for our honeymoon! We are so excited!
Woahhhhh CONGRATS 🥳🙌🏽🌞 I hope you feel so loved and peaceful and deserving of that joy!! 💜
Oh my goodness! Congratulations and I hope you have a wonderful time! Remember to breathe and enjoy it! (and have someone save some food for you so that you get a chance to eat during that whirlwind of a day!)
Thank you!! I am SO excited!
That's the main piece of advice I have gotten!
Such a lovely, gentle but joyful Saturday morning read!! Thank you for sharing with us and wishing you and Char all the happiness 💗
Love this! So happy to see you glowing and bright again. Thank you for sharing your life with us xx
Love this and love you! 💙
Hi! I have to say seeing the joy emulating from you in your holiday pics is soooo good. It's great to see 😍.
I am excited as I have booked a stand up paddle boarding lesson as I've always loved the look of it and thought 'fuck it' let's do it. Definitely a bit apprehensive, being plus size and trying to find wetsuits that fit, my body is not the standard body you see on a paddle board but I'm proud that I'm going to do it despite the nerves. It's got me thinking about the privilege of being able to access sport and how it's easier for some than others.
Loving the sound of the new newsletter! Enjoy the rest of your week. X
Oooh Katie this is some main character energy! Get it!! 😍 Would love to hear how paddle boarding goes 🙏🏽 also do you follow Michelle (michellelelman)? Posts quite a lot of her paddleboarding joy! 💜
Yay Katie!
I missed out on surfing lessons on a trip to California because I was afraid of the wetsuit not fitting right.
Now we live in a lake town and have two kayaks and a paddle board. The water is warm enough no wetsuit required. I’ve still been scared to try but your bravery “fuck it-ness” and enthusiasm has me thinking that tomorrow is the day. This is gonna be good. Thanks Katie! Much success and piles of joy and giggles coming at you.
Do it! Do it! Do it! You've got this! And if we fall in, it's fine! We'll work it out! Please let me know if you do. We have to live this life and paddle board if we fucking want to paddle board!
It's so annoying that simple things like inclusive sizing in kit stops us from having those experiences. Sending lots of joy, fun and giggles right back at ya! 😘
Katie,
Did you have your lesson? I haven’t heard from you and wanted to check in. You okay?
Hi Jen,
Sorry for the late reply, I managed to smash my phone a few weeks ago and it's been a nightmare!
Yes I did! It was so much fun! It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions though. Was all good kneeling 🤭 but really struggled to stand. The two hours were full of me swearing followed by a splash! The issue I had (which I expected) was getting back on especially with the floatation vest. It was impossible and it was exhausting. As I was in the middle of the lake the instructor had to keep helping me and another larger lady like me, back on and suggested we wait to get back to the start where it was shallow to try again. So then I felt deflated and teary as I'm not someone to give up and I wanted to keep going but I knew I was just wasting my energy. I had a quick word with myself (how fun it was, my body was giving it a good go and I wasn't failing because I'd got out and was trying) . I enjoyed kneeling around the lake and when we got close enough to the start myself and the other lady took ourselves to the shore where I could get on and off as much as I liked. Eventually I managed to stand and I did a reasonable loop paddle boarding! I was so pleased and really enjoyed it. As I wasn't competent enough to get my level 1 certificate, they have given me another session free to go out on my own and I'm doing that Sunday. So hopefully not straying too far from the shore so I can get back on will do the trick!
Sorry for such a long reply! Thank you for checking on me ☺️ how are you? Anymore adventures out?
X
Thank you for the reply. I’m so proud!
This is about you. You did it. YOU DID IT. I hope Sunday goes well for you but even if it isn’t enough for a level 1 certificate nobody can take away what you've accomplished and the determination to accomplish it.
I’m not sure if I could get up if I fell in in deep water. The lake I use is pretty shallow and the women I’ve now found to paddle board with don’t go out farther than chest deep so it’s easy enough if someone falls for us to paddle back to a depth level where the person can get back on. We have one woman in the group who doesn’t stand up ever and she can out paddle us all.
It’s about trying something new and being okay with being a beginner. I would say half of our group of women are living in larger bodies and sometimes we have to do things differently to make it work and that is okay. It’s normal. We are patient, we laugh, we swear, we get wet(!) and we do what works for us as individuals. No judgement. I love it. Somedays we tie our boards together and sit and talk and that is just as fulfilling in a different way for me. We moved 3000kms in Jan and I hadn’t met anybody I connected with till I found the ‘paddling queens’. Now I have people texting and a group chat going where someone is always ready to go out on the water. It has expanded to doing other activities as well.
So I owe you a huge thank you because I may have never done this if I didn’t read your post. Thank you!
Let me know how Sunday goes. I’m cheering for you.
I didn’t fall in but I didn’t quite get all the way up either. It was fun. A lesson would help or at the very minimum a video. 🤦♀️. I will be trying it again for sure.
Ahhhhh Jen, you legend! That is so amazing! You did it! You should be so proud of yourself! I am! My lesson is in 2 weeks time, any tips I get I'll let you know. The only thing I've heard is to not look down when getting up, try and look out 🤷🏻♀️.
Thanks! Couldn’t have done it without you.
Good tip. I didn’t get so far as to stand straight up. My hands came off the board a couple of times for a couple seconds then quickly returned for more stability.
I smiled and laughed a lot. Next time I will go in with a little more determination and someone with experience to keep those tips coming.
Looking forward to hearing about your adventure.
I will let you know how it goes.
Keep me posted at your end.
Seeing and reading about your joy gives me joy! And hope that I'll be in a better place soon (struggling with the depression/anxiety right now)
Keep going Lauren, brighter moments are coming 🌞💜
I'm really sure they are 😊 wish I could shake the depression 'meh'. I mean it's better than being so down life doesn't feel worth it, but it's still very frustrating! 💕
I felt this way reading this too, Lauren. Sending you the good vibes. I hope brighter days come soon. You will be okay ❤️
Thank you Sophie. I'm not spectacularly down, but I'm in that place of 'meh' I'm sure lots of others with depression recognise! 💕
Beautiful update and great to see you enjoying yourself! The format and tone are spot on and I loved the photos.
Over here I’m spending all my free time in the garden - specialty sunflowers are blooming (teddy bear and red velvet) so I have bouquets to share with coworkers and I also take tons of photos of everything for myself. My friend’s coffeehouse reopened and I’m baking there when I can, including a triple decker chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting. Just… putting out beauty and positive energy into the world and soaking up the summer sun (slathered in SPF50 because my ancestors were definitely NOT Jamaican! Ha!)
Woah Anna the sunflowers made me feel all warm inside and then the cake description made my mouth water 😅 honestly sounds like you're living in the kind of novel I'd read on holiday, love that for you!! ✨💜
I looove the new format so much! It's so great to hear from you, and so wonderful to see you happy!! Thank you for sharing and I'm excited for alll the upcoming mails! <3
Love the new format, love the new nails (tempted to give acrylics a try myself) and all the heart eyes for the new relationship. The pictures you posted of the two of you on hols were so filled with love, was gorgeous to see. Have a fab week!
Thank you Em!! Update us if you end up going for the claws! 💜
What a wonderful email to read this morning! It’s so lovely to see you happy Megan and I wish you nothing but pastel rainbows and sunshine! ❤️
It’s great to see you happy again – you deserve it all. Thank you for sharing your heart with us
Your newsletter is such a great way to start my week! Thank you for sharing all this joy and these gorgeous pictures😊