October Favourites

Oh October, you were a bit of a weirdo. Stubborn clouds and driving, icy rain meant I finally liberated my giant knits and coats from the back of the wardrobe, only to be nonplussed when the thermometer soared back up to 21ºC at the end of the month, leaving me sitting outside during my lunch break in a thin t-shirt, craving ice cream. I didn't have much time to sit and ponder the meteorological mayhem though, since October has been my busiest month since graduation! Here's my highlights from this month, as seen through the bleary lens of my increasingly senile iPhone:

Strolling through Westbourne Grove to peruse the Aladdin's caves of Ottolenghi (incredible caramel mascarpone cheesecake!) and Melt Chocolates. Every year my parents buy me a little bag of Melt goodies for my birthday, and I'm convinced their salted caramel truffles are the best out there. Their raspberry puree-filled white chocolate and mint truffles are pretty special too.

Realising that losing stuff on the Internet can sometimes be cathartic. I was extremely annoyed when I lost all my Chrome bookmarks as well as the contents of a few notes on Evernote due to computers not syncing properly or generally malfunctioning, but accepted the losses as a chance to start afresh. My bookmarks, for one, are much neater now...Yup, there's always a silver lining.

Scoffing a deliciously doughy blueberry cinnamon roll with Alex at the Soho branch of Nordic Bakery during their Cinnamon Bun week! Nordic Bakery is a perennial favourite for our foodie/coffee dates (I enthused about it way back in June) - I'm addicted to their pastries and wi-fi free, minimalist interiors. I made pinwheel pastries using their cookbook last Christmas, so perhaps I'll attempt making some cinnamon rolls if I'm feeling brave this year.

Learning about different industries while on work experience in two separate companies this month! I interned in the publicity department at Penguin Press, where I sent out hundreds of books, ran around the Science Museum on a research trip and helped out at a talk given by the inimitable Harvard professor, Michael Sandel. Then last week I was given a short crash course in public relations at communications company Blue Rubicon, working on eight different accounts that allowed me to write tweets, come up with a list of Roald Dahl's most memorable quotes and work out which politicians might have an affinity for red squirrels. Yep. I certainly wasn't bored this month. I had a great time at both, and hope I've learned enough to be a few steps closer to a job! 

Catching up with WIRED during my lunch break over a cup of chai and some biscuits. Tea and biscuits really do make the world a better place. And WIRED always makes me feel that I'm improving my brain a smidgen (in a way that my Cosmo habit doesn't...)

Getting my exhibition on with Alex! We went to see three different exhibitions together - Late Turner at the Tate Britain, The Art of the Brick at Truman Brewery and Sherlock Holmes at the Museum of London. I didn't have the opportunity to take any photos at Late Turner due to having to stow my trusty Canon away in the cloakroom, but seriously enjoyed it, having watched the much-acclaimed Mr. Turner in the morning before the exhibition. I'd recommend going to see both - in the same day if you possibly can! I'll be blogging about the other two exhibitions in due course.

Chuckling at a wonderful sign in the car park of the Hand and Flowers gastropub in Marlow. Probably one of the best meals I've eaten this year, I can't wait to review it! Sadly, though, the pictures suffer from dark restaurant syndrome. Clearly should've brought one of these along with me.

Developing square eyes in front of the TV! With cold weather comes couch potato season, and I've been glued to programmes like Grantchester, Doctor Who, and most of all, the new season of the Apprentice, my guilty pleasure! The contestants are all so dislikeable, though the best ever boardroom happened this week, with a triple firing of all my least favourite candidates. Also, don't tell anyone, but like the rest of the population, I went to see Gone Girl at the cinema. And I actually slightly preferred it to the Gillian Flynn novel. Bookworm sacrilege, I know... I'd love to know if there's other bookish types out there who liked the film better too, at least to assuage my guilt!

I'm behind with my Bloglovin' feed as usual, and can't wait to read all the October posts. I'm looking for more blogs to read ('tis the season to be a social recluse and choose laptopping over bar-hopping), so link me to your monthly favourites or let me know what you've been up to lately! 

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Monthly Goals: October

It's October, and our Indian summer has abruptly been replaced by torrential rain, a chill in the air and cold, bright light with little warmth. Autumn's finally here, and with it, a new host of goals to set myself this month. 

But first, let's look at how I did on my goals for last month:

SEPTEMBER GOALS

• Cook 5 new dishes - Done...kind of? •

Off the top of my head, I think I cooked four dishes I'd never attempted before - an easy tomato and beef pasta bake, roast poussins, crab and fennel pasta and a spicy vegetable stir fry. Five, if you count the chocolate and pecan cookies I posted about - though I'm not sure they quite count as a meal in themselves ;) 

• Continue to pursue my love of learning - Done! •

This was great! I went to a talk on apps building and website design (and while I didn't learn loads about the process, it was interesting to learn about the career trajectories of the speakers). I've also been beavering away at my Duolingo, revising my rusty French, Italian and German, and getting my Spanish up to level six. 

• Get serious about yoga - Done! •

I think I'm getting better at yoga, slowly but surely. I've been practising a Vinyasa flow a few times a week, helping me to ease into the mornings and wind down in the evenings, and hopefully it's bringing me some inner calm as well as balance. I haven't managed to get my hands on a yoga mat yet, but once I've saved a bit of money I'll buy one!

• Spend more time with my friends - Done! •

I spent a lot more time reconnecting with old friends this month. I enjoyed some amazing homemade treats and excellent champagne with a couple of my Cambridge friends at a housewarming party. I fell in love with Broadway Market accompanied by Jess. I saw Inez for some good old-fashioned Ghibli watching (Totoro!) and some calligraphy. And I had a good old catch-up with four friends from school. It was so lovely to see everyone and spend time with people who I have so much in common with - and made me realise that regularly seeing people other than my family and boyfriend isn't as scary as I made myself believe.

I think I was fairly good with my goals this month, and hope to continue with all of them even though September has come to an end, especially the spending time with friends, practising yoga and continuing to learn. Now let's have a look at what I've got planned for this October!

OCTOBER GOALS

• Apply for 5 jobs per week •

The job search continues, and this month I've got four weeks of work experience scheduled at various places. I'm usually exhausted when I come back after a day at my placement and liable to want to lie down with a book or my laptop, so I want to set myself the goal of five applications per week to ensure that my job hunt keeps on ticking away and I don't let October slip away from me.

• Read 5 scary novels! •

To gear myself up for Halloween this month I want to read five scary books! I'll be reading at least one Stephen King novel as well as The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, and have yet to decide on the other three. If anyone has any recommendations for any horror, thriller or true crime novels, please let me know and I'll add it to my list :)

• Continue to learn Spanish •

I'm really enjoying learning español on Duolingo and am currently on a 13-day streak. This month I aim to continue that streak and practice and learn new grammar and vocab every day for the rest of the month. 

• Get rid of things I don't need •

It's a new season, so this month I'll be clearing my wardrobe of summer clothes I didn't wear this year, as well as throwing out battered shoes and anything else that's cluttering my room, including the unpacked boxes that have been floating around my room since I moved back from uni in June. 

• Build up my stamina •

I have the worst stamina in the world. I'm also prone to hyperbole. I probably have the worst stamina in my house, anyway - when I run down the street (to catch a train, usually!) I'm usually left red in the face and panting like an overexcited puppy. I'd like to change that this month by factoring some short runs into my routine. Slow and steady...

What have you challenged yourself to do this month?

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