I definitely haven't blogged as much as I would have liked this year. But I wanted to do a little mid year check in/catch up. And that's what we have today; my 2023 mid year catch up.
So here are some of my highlights (and lowlights) from the first half of 2023.
Freelancing full time
As you may or may not know, I've been freelancing at a few different titles over the past few years. But in the last few months I've ultimately gone full time by working 3 days at Ideal Home and 2 days at Daily Express. I also contribute to Cosmopolitan on the weekends and bank holidays, so it's been rather busy work-wise to the say the least.
That's probably the biggest reason why I haven't felt like blogging as much as I used to. But hopefully I'm starting to balance working full time and still being able to blog, as I have quite a bit planned for the summer months.
Book club
This year I really committed to getting The Scottish Sundaze Book Club going. And I'm so glad that I did. If you live near Glasgow, we meet one Sunday a month to talk all things books. It's been so nice meeting with fellow book lovers to have a good chat every few weeks. Book people are just the best.
Seeing Harry Styles
But the highlight of 2023 so far has got to be seeing Harry Styles live. Honestly, it was just such a magical evening and seeing Edinburgh taken over by feather boas, pink cowboy hats and heart eye sunglasses was something else.
Edinburgh
Speaking of Edinburgh, I've been lucky to head through quite a few times this year already. And for some exciting reasons. From seeing Harry to having a little mini-break with my Mum to celebrate our February/March birthdays. Then there was my opening day visit to the new St James Quarter Space NK, which is just the most gorgeous store. And most recently, I spent the evening on the Gleneagles Townhouse balcony to celebrate Augustinus Bader. I really do love spending time in the Scottish capital.
Erythromelalgia
At the start of the year I had a bit of a time of it with my right hand. I have a super rare autoimmune disorder called erythromelalgia and to say that it flared up would be an understatement. Up until about April -- basically once the weather started to get that bit warmer -- my right hand was red, inflamed, swollen, hot and itchy all day and night. I will spare you the more gruesome photos but that photo is just an indication of how bad it got. Thankfully once the weather warmed up a bit it went away by itself. But it was pretty concerning for a few months. Fingers crossed that hand doesn't go crazy if we have heatwave.
So there's what I've been up to so far this year.
I'm already looking forward to the remainder of 2023 (I'm just back from NYC and have a few days in London planned for August).
How has your 2023 been so far? Do you have any travel plans for the rest of the year? And what has been your 2023 highlight so far?
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