May Reflections, Highlights and Favourites

Another month has come to its end, and with that, my conclusion that this year is going too quickly!! 

I have essentially finished my first year of university, 2/3rds of it from my bedroom in South Africa, the year is almost half over, and it still feels like I was celebrating Christmas two seconds ago… although the Christmas tree that stays up in my room all year probably has something to do with that…

May has probably been the greatest mix of stress and relaxation I’ve had in a while, as I had my first set of uni exams/final exams for first-year to do online. Which is absolutely terrifying, by the way – am I the only one who feels that way? But, having all my exams and summative assignments out the way also means that I am free to do fun things and relax a little after a rather hectic, if not somewhat inactive and digital, first year of university. 

A lot of crazy fun things have been happening this month, apart from the super-duper obvious one of saying sayonara to first-year (even though technically my grades haven’t been released, so I’m still holding onto anxiety that I may have to resit some exams). I’ve started making slow progress on a life-coaching course, we got our new little puppy Luna, and I was able to see my best friend, who I haven’t seen in over a year, so lots of fun going around. Plus, with it being a holiday, I’ve finally been able to catch up on reading books and watching movies, which brings me swiftly along into my favourites of the month! 

Favourite book – The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne 

Am I obsessed with Holly Bourne? Yes!!! 

And I am not ashamed of that at all because she is such an incredible author. Honestly, I still cradle a very fragile dream to be a published author one day, and if I could be even 100th as good as Holly Bourne, then I will be over the moon. What I love the most about Holly Bourne is that she writes books about real issues. She isn’t shy to write about them in ways that make you realise quite how raw and intense they are, and if that means not having the most conventional story with a happy ending, then so be it. 

This book was probably one of her most intense books, but I loved it all the same. It was such a raw, authentic story of the motions we can go through during a relationship, especially a relationship that isn’t necessarily perfect. Yes, most books don’t show perfect relationships, but I think very few show bad relationships that can be harmful and how that poison can spill into the rest of our lives. Soo, I couldn’t recommend this book enough, but I would advise having tissues. 

Favourite movie – Raya and the Last Dragon 

I haven’t seen too many movies this month, as I only finished my exams more than halfway through the month, but I did get the chance to go to the cinema with my boyfriend, and that’s when we saw Disney’s latest original animated movie – Raya and the Last Dragon. 

I am an avid Disney fan. I’m not sure if any of you have picked up on it from some of my rants or Disney-obsessed discussions? Soooo I’m going to share my honest opinion about this movie. It was great in general, with a cute story and strong message. Sisu was a phenomenal character, and it’s great to see Disney expanding their movies and princess lineup to be more culturally diverse. However, I do think there were one or two parts where the film didn’t quite have the impact that it could have, so it didn’t give quite the same punch, but that is just me being a nitpicky superfan who’s probably seen way too many Disney movies way too many times. Overall, it was still a good movie that was really powerful and funny, so I would still recommend watching it if you’re interested. 

Favourite moment – bringing our new puppy home 

How could this not be my favourite moment?? 

We got to bring our sweet new puppy home this month which means the perfect excuse to not work and just spend hours outside playing with the dogs and cuddling the adorably fluffy puppy. What’s not to love about that? 

Favourite recipe – Cinnamon rolls, but with chocolate!! 

I have always loved cinnamon rolls. They are probably my guilty pleasure of the baked goods world because they are just sooooo delicious. Layers of super soft cinnamon sugary dough fresh out the oven with melting cream cheese icing. A million calories, and earning me a hundred hours in the gym and never-ending shame from my scale, but totally worth it. 

However, a small part of me thought I was missing the opportunity to infuse one of my other loves into cinnamon rolls – chocolate! My boyfriend also loves chocolate, and with some extra time on my hands, I felt that it was time to experiment a little and see if I could make a chocolate version. They turned out quite delicious, actually, so I’m definitely planning on making them again – would anyone be keen for a recipe post?? 

Also, if reading this section has made you hungry, you can check out my recipe here for regular cinnamon rolls. 

May Eco-challenge reflection 

My eco-challenge for this month was all about saving water, or more precisely, wasting as little water as possible and was probably one of the hardest challenges I’ve undertaken so far. 

Parts of my challenge that were definitely a success were flushing the toilet less, eco-friendly dishwashing and swapping baths for shorter showers. My shower concerts were indeed cut short, but I opted for the logic that instead of having long concerts, each shower was timed to one song, so I could satisfy my musical urges and use less water. 

Only boiling the water I needed was both easy and challenging. When it was just for my big mug of tea in the morning, that was really easy. However, I live in a big family with people who constantly change their minds about how much water they want or whether they even want tea once the kettle has boiled, so that proved more of a challenge, but I think we have almost worked out the kinks. Recycling water for different uses was also a challenge because I had to remember to save all of it and use it elsewhere, but when I did remember, it felt really good knowing that the water I cook with or have before the shower is hot enough is being stretched a little bit further and limiting additional water wastage. 

And that brings me to the end of my post for today!

What are some of your favourites for this month? Any particular books, movies or moments you really loved? What about reflections? Did anything unique or revolutionary happen to you this month? Lastly, any ideas about what I should do for next month’s eco-friendly challenge? Let’s chat in the comments section! 

Lots of love

Blondey on a Mission xxx