A very bookish gift guide

My first job was as the Saturday girl at my local independent bookshop, a role I wangled after my mum marched me in to very sheepishly ask if I could come in for work experience when I was 15. It was exactly as idyllic and odd as you would expect, filled with eccentric customers and

How to learn languages as an adult

When I tell people that my degree is in French and Spanish, without fail the response I get is “oh, that’s amazing, I WISH I could speak another language”. As well as being great for my ego, this also shows how valuable language skills are, not just in terms of employment and travel opportunities, but

25 things I’ve learnt in 25 years

A few weeks ago I had my second official pandemic birthday, although this one was a vast improvement from the last. The sun was shining, and I sat in two different pub gardens with my family and friends, eating and drinking and opening some excellent presents. I felt very happy, lucky, and loved.  Honestly, I’ve

Time by yourself vs time for yourself

It’s Sunday 11th April and tomorrow in the UK shops, hairdressers and outdoor dining are all reopening, our first major step out of the third lockdown and back towards whatever the new version of normality will be. As we’ve gotten closer and closer to this date, my diary has begun filling up with various pub

Lockdown lessons for life

It’s been a long three months but here in the UK tomorrow we are making the first tentative steps out of our third, and hopefully final, national lockdown, so I thought it was the perfect time to share the top five lessons I’ve learnt during lockdown. I really, really don’t want to tempt fate –

Money in your twenties: the best resources and articles to get you started

A lesser-known aspect of my personality is that I love talking about personal finance. My dad is a banker, and so I grew up getting lectures about interest rates and pension plans over the dinner table which, whilst not appreciated by my 13-year-old self, has actually turned out to be pretty useful as I’ve gotten

Feeling lost in your twenties

I recently read a blog post by The Yorkshire Dreamer called Feeling Lost At 24, and when I saw the title I felt like she had read my mind. I too am 24 (for two more months…) and feeling very confused about the direction of my life, which is an unfamiliar feeling for me and

How to host a lockdown birthday

We’re approaching the year anniversary of the pandemic, and here in the UK we’re in the middle of our third, and hopefully last, lockdown. Even those who thought they’d initially got away with it (I’m looking at you, January and February babies) have had to submit to the realities of a pandemic birthday, unable to

Authentic TV shows, films and YouTubers to help improve your French

Bonjour et bonsoir à vous, mes amis, wherever in the world you might be reading this from. Something you may know about me is that I studied French and Spanish at university and so am officially trilingual. To be honest, if you don’t know that about me you’ve done pretty well because it is my

The Lockdown Blues and little rays of light

Last Monday was Blue Monday, aka the most depressing day of the year according to science, and OH BOY did I feel it. Not only are we contending with the same old January rubbish (no money, awful weather, haven’t eaten a proper meal since Christmas day), but, here in the UK, we’re bang in the