About August...

It's crazy to think that we're now in the ninth month of 2018. Where has this year gone?

August, much like most of 2018, flew by, though it was marked by an incredible holiday. At the beginning of the month, we (as in me and David), visited Rome for the first time. We spent a week in the eternal city except for one day we spent in Naples. We visited in peak tourist season and experienced 30+ degree heat every day while we were there (and yet I have no tan to show for it!). Needless to say, we drank a lot of water (Rome's free-to-access, safe-to-drink water fountains were amazing) and ate a lot of carbs. In Naples, we ate authentic Neapolitan pizza which was David's favourite, whereas my favourite food from the trip was a vegetarian lasagna from a tucked away pasta restaurant and takeaway near the Colosseum. We hit all the major landmarks while we were there, both of us amazed by the Trevi fountain and the Colosseum, but we also took a bus out of the city centre to visit the Catacombs of St Callixtus and what an experience that was.

I could go on about the beautiful paintings in the Sistine Chapel, or the impressive sprawl of ruins that is the Roman Forum, but to continue, August has been a unique month. Both David and I have had some great news come our way which I will share later in September. We're still working on the house, but in August we finally got around to buying and fitting the hallway lighting, ordering the carpets for upstairs, and progressing with the garden. We only moved in last December, and it'll take a while to get the house how we want it, but we're getting there slowly but surely.

In August, I also finished a book which I haven't been able to say in such a long time. I'd purchased Matt Haig's Notes on a Nervous Planet after spotting it in my local Sainsbury's. The concept instantly appealed to me, especially when I flipped through and saw Matt's reflection on his experience with panic attacks. Throughout the book, Matt reflects on the unhelpful habits we've all developed including our reliance on social media. In September, I hope to 'switch off' a little bit, to be more present, and to spend my time wisely rather than wasting it by spending hours scrolling through feeds and dashboards, looking for nothing in particular.