Thank You, May

I'm writing this on a beautiful Sunday evening, with a very warm and sleepy Oscar asleep on my lap. In the blink of an eye, I've finished at my job and it's a matter of days before my US adventure; where did all that time go?!

ON MY MIND THIS MONTH

I am of course very excited, but I am thankful too for what a wonderful month this May turned out to be... As well as a beautiful sunny in Bristol at the start of the month, I thoroughly enjoyed  my solo trip to London and had the pleasure of meeting up with the lovely Siobhan from Bless The Weather. Amazingly, it was the first time I'd ever met a blogging friend in person and it was a total joy; Siobhan and I wandered around Exmouth Market and how I managed to leave without stealing her adorable little girl Rory is a complete mystery...

I also had an amazing time at the Harry Potter Studio Tour.  If you were following me on Snapchat - my username is byhermirror - you saw a few sneaky peeks at what is an essential day out for HP nerds. My favourite part was seeing the Weasley kitchen, and the fabulous magical knitting device pictured above. If you're not following along with my Snaps already, I'd head over because this Friday will see me heading to spend a week in gorgeous New York and I truly couldn't be more excited!

May wasn't without is lows, however... I try to avoid making my life appear to be a white-washed, perfect version of reality on this blog, so I think it is worth mentioning that this month was also one of the most stressful I've ever had: comparable to exam season of university at times. I suppose I am trying to say that we should never, ever assume someone is doing amazing because they have a few more shiny pennies in their life, as Jess Lively would say. My big lesson was that I need to learn to manage my time and my mental wellbeing better, and to say no when I really, really need to as I seem to get more migraines when I am overdoing it!

But that aside, let's move on to some of my favourite discoveries of the last thirty or so days...

I am so close to moving to Bristol and this burger from Three Brothers has a lot to do with it...

 

ON THE INTERNET THIS MONTH

I fell hard and fast for Carrie's blog One Pleasant Day; beautiful photography and wonderful lifestyle content in abundance.

I'm obviously obsessed with listening to Lemonade and hearing reactions and critiques about it too... (My favourite track is Six Inch by the way!) I loved the dissection of the album that came from this episode of the podcast Sampler.

I've been finding myself increasingly drawn to blogs that push the envelope and showcase great writing and this post from The Guilty Girl was one of my favourite reads from this month.

I really enjoyed following along with #mymonthofselfcare, a beautiful project started by Siobhan and Eva. Its sentiment is beautiful and so apt for me at the moment; I loved reading their introduction posts too (Siobhan's is here and Eva's is here).

This episode of The One You Feed is pure magic.

I'm already devastated about my wonderful husband Barack no longer being US president and this really isn't helping.

And last but not least -  my new yoga instructor is amazing.

ON THE BLOG THIS MONTH

4 Beautiful Ways To Nourish Long Distance Friendships
Thoughts On: Life As The Single Girl
A Trip To London

Thank you as always for your patience - things are set to be a little inconsistent for the moment on this space, but I'll be blogging and vlogging as regularly as I can manage! Take care and let's hope we all have a beautiful June...

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Thank You, April

Well hello, hello! Welcome to the second instalment of my latest series, Thank You, in which I run you through some of my favourite links and thoughts from the month and take the time to share what I feel grateful for. It's already shaping up to be something I look forward to writing, so naturally I am beyond eager to talk to you today!

ON MY MIND THIS MONTH

April saw me majorly unplug and take a step back from my online presence and honestly, I'm still working out how I feel about this. In some ways, it was a smart move; I've had a lot on my plate and removing blogging from the equation just meant I could breathe that little bit easier. That said, I really felt lost without my creative outlet and coming back feels so tricky: my internal perfectionist has me convinced I'm a charlatan and I am really trying to block that unhelpful noise out!

So I am trying to ease myself back into the saddle; with just over a month left before my US adventures I can't promise I'll be as active as I would like, but please know that I have no intentions of abandoning you! Incidentally, if you have any requests for videos or posts about my travels (and preparation for my trip) then feel free to let me know and I would love to oblige.

ON THE INTERNET THIS MONTH

I loved this beautifully open interview (English version here) on Mamanblondie with lovely Eva from House of Smilla. In particular, I admired how she talked about infertility issues, a subject that isn't given enough thought for my liking!

I blasted through the Netflix series Sense8 this month and am so close to sitting down and rewatching the whole thing again. It's been praised for its fantastic and diverse cast as well as its beautiful cinematography; if you're going to watch it, I recommend setting aside an evening to power through a few episodes as it is far more gripping watched marathon-style (a great tip from Srsly).

I really enjoyed Celina of The Celution's post on honesty; this subject is so pertinent to blogging and I thought she made some cracking points.

I also watched To Kill A Mockingbird having loved reading the book last summer and gosh, the feels. My bestie and I sobbed through much of the latter half (but full disclosure: we're big criers.) It's on Netflix and is a fabulous film.

You know by now that I adore Conflicted Beauty and Coline's post on muffin tops cemented my love once more. Honest and fabulous.

Last but not least, I wanted to tell you about a new favourite blog: Jes + Bleu is an online space I can see going really far. In particular, her post on ways to de-stress really struck a chord.

ON THE BLOG THIS MONTH

DIY: All Powerful & Natural Deodorant
My Photography Journey
Weekly Vlog V

And last of all... Thank you! Thank you for sticking with me, thank you for your kindness as always... And of course, please hit the comments and share some of your favourite things from this month; I look forward to hearing from you!

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Thank You, March

What's this... a new series on By Her Mirror?! Yes, party people, it was about time each month was given a proper sendoff round these parts and today that is precisely what we are doing.

ON MY MIND THIS MONTH...

March brought me bright tulips and rainy days, the perfect pomegranate and endless visa stress. My summer in the US is such a source of excitement, but I've nearly had a panic attack on three occasions thanks to the logistics of it all and as someone who has never excelled at organisation, it is safe to say I will relish this application being over.

This month wasn't without its highs, however; I've been more active on the video making front and your comments about my vlogs in particular were so welcome! Seeing the days gradually stretch to a respectable length and the return of beautiful spring light also brought a lift to my mood this month. I also deepened my adoration for Anna Jones recipes, evidence of which can again be found in the vlogs, and I was delighted when a beautiful package came from my lovely penpal Maria - snail mail is the coolest mail. At the time of writing I've yet to snap the beautiful cross stitch she sent me - I was blown away by her thoughtfulness!

Lastly, I took some time off social media for a little self-reflection and I am very glad I did. A chat with lovely Bridie highlighted how draining social media can be; I realised I was comparing myself a little too obsessively so logged out of everything for about a week. It's something I am keen to make my routine; maybe once every couple of months or so, with the odd weekend in between. We shall see.

A morning spent eating pancakes and listening to @jessclively - I feel so damn zen 🙌🏻 #morningslikethese #veganfoodshare #fromabove

A photo posted by Anna (@byhermirror) on Mar 3, 2016 at 2:05am PST

ON THE INTERNET THIS MONTH...

I want to marry Adriene to thank her for the 30 Days of Yoga Camp playlist - it's been the greatest thing to do each morning
Rowan's vegan millionaire's shortbread looks straight up phenomenal 
Siobhan's Snapchat is my favourite... It was the only thing I sincerely missed during my week offline. Her username is blesstheweather and you will love following her day!
I was so proud of Holly for writing this brave post on body image; it's a struggle I think we all face, but so few of us speak up about it so brilliantly
Srsly podcast is most definitely my favourite at the moment; if you're a Call Your Girlfriend fan, you will love
Rebecca's post on fearlessness really spoke to me as a fellow worrier
And last but so, so, so not least, this excellently written post by Belphoebe sums up my discomfort with the internet's treatment of Kim Kardashian

A photo posted by Anna (@byhermirror) on Mar 13, 2016 at 1:02am PST

ON THE BLOG THIS MONTH...

My Cookbook Collection	How To Tackle A Spending Problem
A Gentle Weekly Vlog	Five Blogs To Fall For
A Chatty Catchup	Weekly Vlog II
Weekly Vlog III	My Guide To Better Sleep
A Tour Round My iPhone	Weekly Vlog IV

What do you think of this series? I had a blast writing this one I have to say! Feel free to let me know how your month was in the comments... I hope it was wonderful! 

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