Loving lately | june19

I don't do monthly favourites because I'm useless at remembering to do them every month, but I do like to occasionally put a post together about things I'm loving lately in all aspects of life. So without further ado, here we are...

In terms of media consumption, I've been binge-listening-to the Casefile True Crime podcast - I recently listened to the 5 part series they did about the Belanglo Pass killer and it was so so so good. I've been reading loads lately too, and I shared my recent reads lately if you're interested; still, I have to mention The Furies by Katie Lowe which is one of the best books I've ever read. I've also been watching a lot of Crime Scene Cleaners on Netflix, and my current favourite YouTubers are Soph(does nails), Tim Tracker and Elle Darby. I made a sick playlist for my trip to Gdańsk and I've mostly been listening to that, and some of my favourite songs on it have been Plans by Birds of Tokyo and girls by girl in red.

Writing up my Gdańsk travel diary has been so much fun - if you haven't read it already, check out day 1 here - there's load of other Gdańsk-content on my blog, too. It was such a fun trip and Gdańsk is an incredible city - I say this about most of the Polish cities that I visit, but I could 100% live there! Now counting down the days 'til my next trip.......

I've had a really busy few weeks, with blogging events and press meals and launch parties galore; I'm not complaining, as I feel so lucky that my hobby has grown into something that doubles up as a social life and also allows me to gain experience in this field. Bloody hell, it's tiring though. Fitting that around my pub job, my freelance work and my new creative writing group has been an absolute drama BUT I've been keeping myself on track with the mål paper 'daily goal setter'* which is lovely because it has a space to write down what you're grateful for (cute!!!!) and also what your tasks are for that day, which is helpful if you're forgetful like me. There's room for long term goals as well as monthly spreads in case you need to know things at a glance, which is something I find really helpful. It's amazing quality and retails for around £21 so it's the perfect gift, either for your friends or yourself.

I tried out a new recipe this month - I found it in a magazine, though I can't remember which one, and tweaked it a bit: pearl barley risotto with roasted sweet potato and peppers. It's so easy to do:

Fry some finely chopped onions in coconut oil, then when they're brown add your pearl barley for a minute or two.
Add some vegetable stock and white wine, and let that simmer for about half an hour until the barley absorbs the liquid. I also added salt, pepper, mixed herbs and a bit of (ground) ginger.
While that's doing that, chop some sweet potato and some red & orange peppers then pop them in a roasting tray drizzled with olive oil and whatever seasoning you fancy, then into the oven until the barley is done.
Mix it together and serve with some sort of focaccia or garlic bread or whatever you want. Honestly that's pretty much it, and it's delicious.

You'll notice I've not included any measurements but that's because I got them a bit wrong and I can't remember what the recipe said; I think for 2 people you'd need around 175g of barley, 500ml stock, 30ml wine, one onion, one big sweet potato and one of each coloured pepper. It's honestly so nice!

Bad Wolves in Manchester

Other things I've enjoyed this month - I went to see Bad Wolves, who were absolutely incredible. I'd write a blog post review of it, like I do for most gigs, only it would just be me repeatedly saying it's the best gig I've been to in years. Because it really, truly, absolutely was. I'm still on a high from it. I also saw Westlife a few weeks ago, which is the other end of the spectrum in terms of genre, but was still utterly enjoyable. Gigs and concerts are my happy place.

I think that's pretty much everything I've been loving lately - what's been tickling your pickle over the last month or so?

For a list of fantastic travel gift ideas, CLICK HERE