July Reflections, Highlights and Favourites

Hellooo all my lovely readers! 

I know I say this every month, but it always feels so crazy to look back and see how much of the year has gone by. I think spending most of the time stuck in my room and doing everything online might be adding to that just a little bit. Anywhoooo, July has been a very eventful month, even though nothing has happened. I both got a job and had it cancelled because of covid, which meant that I ended up not going back to the UK for, I think, the 800th time since Christmas. On the plus side, though, my plans to go back to the UK seem to be back on track, making me so excited I have a little happy party every second day. 

*mad dancing and twirling around the room*

I always love doing these monthly reflections so let me just get started! 

Favourite book – How (not) to fall in love 

Lisa Brown Roberts is one of my favourite authors. She has a way of creating such interesting and relatable characters (well, at least to a geeky bookworm like me) as well as a story that you can get really invested in. Plus, she always makes the journey exciting and not overly cliched when it comes to romance, which is fantastic. This story was no different. 

Darcy Covington is a former rich girl who never had to stress about money or anything else for that matter until her dad disappears. Fortunately, her estranged uncle flies to the rescue, and Darcy realises there is so much more to life than she realised. There is a handsome love interest and some comical moments of Darcy adjusting to her new lifestyle, but the story also has some realistic elements that add to its depth. SO for YA fans who like a bit of romance and personal growth in their stories, I highly recommend adding this one to your wishlist. 

Favourite movie – Black Widow

This was a tough one. I was really torn between this movie and Kingsman, but I went with Black Widow because I’ve been looking forward to watching it for months and given how the state of things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame, I really needed this movie in my life. This movie finally gives us more of a backstory to the illusive Natasha Romanov, and it does a pretty good job. I’m not going to say too much about the movie because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s a great superhero movie to add to your list if you need some action in your life or are a marvel fan. If you want a more comprehensive review of this movie, you can check out one done by a great blogging friend Zainab that she did on her blog here! 

Favourite moment – celebrating 4 years with my boyfriend 

One of the big reasons I’m sharing this post today and not on Saturday is because today is my 4th anniversary with my boyfriend (well, also because I’m doing the Summer Competition Showcase but the anniversary thing too). Looking back to the very start of our relationship, it honestly feels crazy that we are celebrating 4 years because it doesn’t feel that long to me. We met when I was still in Grade 11, and he was in Grade 12, and now I’m going to start my second year of university in the UK. We’ve travelled together and battled long-distance a few times, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have such a fantastic boyfriend who’s stood by me (and I can be pretty weird sometimes, not to mention my family) all this time. I’ve learned so much in this relationship, grown as a person, and faced quite a few of my fears, so babe, thank you so much for the most incredible four years. Hopefully, within the next year, we’ll be living together in the UK. Then we can start the next phase in our relationship and hopefully spend many more happy years together watching movies, making fun of each other and taking on the world! 

Favourite recipe – vegetarian chilli  

This month I’m spicing things up by not using a dessert as my favourite recipe. I’ve been experimenting with lots of different vegetarian recipes. It was tough to narrow down on one recipe because, in the last few weeks, I’ve made a vegetarian lasagna, pumpkin, corn and bean enchiladas, veggie Morrocan stew and quite a few other recipes that were mouth-wateringly delicious. However, I think the recipe that came in right at the top was vegetarian chilli. This recipe was inspired by my best friend at uni who is vegetarian and suggested I try it – well, let me tell you, I should have listened to her sooner! In all honesty, I might not even make meat chilli ever again. The veggie one was so good! If you want me to share some vegetarian recipes on the blog, do let me know in the comments section! 

July Eco-friendly challenge 

This month, my eco-friendly challenge was based in my bathroom. The first thing I did was a product audit, and let me tell you, I was surprised. The face products I use I expected to have microbeads actually weren’t harmful, but my shampoo and conditioner did have one or two environmentally harmful chemicals in them, so that’s something I’ll need to change. My research into eco-friendly swaps is still underway (I’m really tempted by Function of Beauty, but I’m not sold yet). I’ve also gotten a bamboo toothbrush and plan to do some more swaps like this. Lastly, my attempt to make homemade eco-friendly soap and deodorant did not go as planned. I think part of the problem was I couldn’t find the exact ingredients due to lockdown and struggling to find stores that sell them, and partially because I think my brothers might have done something funky to my recipes while they were in the fridge… 

Anywho, that’s how my month of July went. August poses many exciting things, but I might only share them once they happen just so that I don’t jinx them. Other than that, that’s all I have for you for this post but be on the lookout for the next Summer Competition Showcase piece on Saturday and another special post to come out this week! Can you feel the suspense, hehe? 

What are some of your reflections, favourites and highlights of this month? Has anything exciting happened? Do you have any news to share? Also, what are your favourite books, movies, moments and recipes? Let’s chat and compare!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx