orchid-kisses

I'll start with what I consider the most romantic of the lot, which is Cecilia Ahern who's books translate into fantastic rom-coms that will make you sob. My personal favourite works of hers are P.S. I Love You and Love, Rosie (previously called Where Rainbows End.) I will admit that I had seen the film counterparts before the books came into my life, but I can confirm the books are better. Pure unadulterated romance that makes you gush and feel sappy, or in my case stark-ravingly SINGLE. There is a tear-jerking element to them, especially compared to the other authors and books in this post, so if you're looking for something that won't make you cry, opt for one of those instead. 

If you're unfamiliar with the story, the play is split between 2 parts - and myself and Jarrod saw both part 1 and part 2 on a Sunday. Without giving any spoilers Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tells the story of Harry Potter, and his friends, and children 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. With classic favourite characters like Hagrid, Hermione and the beloved Severus Snape, you'll also hear and see other familiar names and elements like the Hogwarts Express and a Time-Turner.

The story follows Albus Potter, son of Harry and Ginny, as he embarks on his first year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. You follow along as he makes an unlikely friend in the form of Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry's school enemy Draco. The pair tackle the unfamiliarity of the wizarding world with the same awkwardness and bravado as I tackled high school, ah memories.

The spell effects are restrained yet perfect - just the right hint of the magic you see and love in the films including spell-work, dementors and the entrance to the Ministry of Magic are all cleverly shown on stage. There's astonishing on-stage costume changes, quick-witted characters and even water scenes, plus moments that left me with my mouth agape and my bum on the end of my seat. Imogen Heap's soundtrack is simply exquisite (don't believe me? Check Spotify)



The Palace Theatre in London is the perfect home for the show - beautiful, expansive - yet still intimate - and it has a real sense of old English about it which automatically makes you feel cosy. There are old-fashioned wallpaper and plush seats (tiny spoiler here - the setting of the theatre even temporarily lends itself as part of the show).

Disclaimer:  This blog post feature items that been gifted to me, and these will be marked with an asterisk (*) Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for the copies.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I hit my Goodreads target to read 50 books this year. Yup that's right, I hit my 12-month target in 6 short months - thank you lockdown - so I've decided to up that limit to 75. For today's post I thought I'd round up five books I've read and what I thought of them




This is a story of two sisters in the aftermath of their mother’s death, but it is not your typical tale of grief and suffering. Jess is the overachiever whilst Laura seems to have always lived in her shadow. The pair are polar opposites and continuously bicker (sounds like me and my sister). I liked the flashback elements that provided context to the siblings' personalities and the relationship they share with one another. It was also interesting to see how grief affects them both with refreshing honesty from Laura’s point of view. I found myself relating to her more of the two as a fellow journalist but I found neither particularly likeable until the end, and also I found the “twist” and the issues in the story were predictable and resolved far too quickly for my liking.

It is an enjoyable story, especially as you witness Laura’s growth from allowing herself to be walked over to setting healthy boundaries and limits. Despite this, I wasn’t overly invested in the characters and felt as if specific characters were overly sold as “you’re meant to dislike them” rather than subtly implying it or allowing you to form your own judgement.

Since my 'My 5 Favourite Comfort Movies' post went down so well, I thought I'd compile a similar list of other things I've been watching/doing/consuming in this weird lockdown phase we're still in. Hopefully, these give you a little insight into what brings me a bit of joy or might give you ideas of ways to switch-off and give yourself a little me time.



As I was spending time in Wales with my family, I found myself reunited with my overstuffed bookcase including stories I loved in my early teens - yup I'm talking about the classic Jacqueline Wilson's and in my case, the entire 11 part series of The Princess Diaries. Let me tell you, nothing screamed comfort to me like re-visiting books I love in my early teens. With everything from outrageous royal drama, to dated references in celebrities and popular culture, to teen descriptions of woe (literally sexy-dancing at a party, and lack of boobs) re-reading these utter gems acted as the perfect form of escapism. Whilst its not the type of book I'd be hurrying to read on my commute anytime soon, these were great to keep my mind off the goings-on in the world and to curl up in bed with. I think re-visiting books you've read before will always bring great comfort to me - just like watching a movie you've seen a hundred times - as it's about sinking into that warmth and familiarity that comes with a story and characters you know well.


On the same thread as above, I found myself discovering old gems I once loved including a mindful colouring book, which I distinctly remembering purchase to alleviate exam stress circa 2014 and then didn't get around to using because I was so stressed - go figure. I uncovered mine along with a trusty pack of Crayola pencils and I've spent many an evening colouring in whilst watching Netflix or as an excuse to take some well-needed 'no screen time' at weekends. My particular one is animal-themed, but I know there's so many other themes and varieties available. It was actually quite nice to spend my time doing something that reminded me so much of colouring in drawings as a child at my grandparents' house.

Also whilst I was at home, I turned to making tiny decorative flower arrangements. These were totally inspired by Stacey Solomon who FYI does some fab crafts on her Instagram stories, I literally love seeing what she will make with her craft stash and a glue gun. Whilst I'm not quite up to her calibre when it comes to crafting, I made 2 little arrangements using old jars and spirit bottles we had hanging around, plus a chalk pen, a saw, some twine and some fake flowers. Pretty simple, but fun to do even if for a little while - also SO satisfying to feel like you've been productive and then have a new cute flower arrangement as a reward for your work.


Now you may have seen from my previous post that I've been getting into running whilst in lockdown, but rest assured this isn't going to be another gushing post about my experience. Rather an opportunity to say the wonders of escaping your indoor space - even if only for 10 minutes - can do wonders for your mental health. Even if it's a quick walk to a nearby shop for some milk or a trek up a local mountain, don't underestimate the power of some fresh air and feet movement. Whilst in Wales, my parents and I venture out and about to explore mountainous paths or village routes, and found the more off the beaten track we went, the easier it was to socially-distance and also switch off (thank you, no mobile signal).  Like I mentioned in my running post, the app 'Map my Run' is great for keeping track, especially if like me you want to see how far you'd travelled and been active for. Now I'm not saying all days were like this, there were somewhere I'd simply put down the street to wave at my grandparents over their garden wall, and others I curled up in bed exhausted, but on the days where I was going a little stir-crazy, sticking my headphones in and wandering wherever my feet took me felt great.




Thankfully as lockdown hit, Disney+ dropped and let me tell you, I am LIVING for it. My top choice was the catchily named High School Musical the Musical the Series (totally not a mouthful). With as much drama and cheesiness as its film namesake, this series bopped to the top (sorry I couldn't resist) of my 'to watch' list and it certainly didn't disappoint. With a will-they-won't-they love drama, and the original HSM songs, plus some new extras, there was a lot to love. The perfect end-of-day chuck on and zone out show.

Speaking of Disney, I have also been LOVING watching Lucy Wood's vlogs - especially ones from her recent Disneyland Paris trip, and also her venture to Walt Disney World last summer. Lucy's down to earth Youtube videos always strike the right chord with me - whether its doughnut decorating or homey vlogs, there's something about watching a #relatable twenty-something talk about things you're interested in or are experiencing too. In her Disney vlogs especially you can clearly tell how appreciative she is of the opportunity to even go in the first place, and also she's more relaxed about the Disney experience than other Disney vloggers I've seen. I love the retro-inspired intros she makes with kitschy 90s music, and I love the overall tone and infectious enthusiasm as she makes her way around the parks. Whilst I won't be travelling anytime soon, thanks Covid-19, these vlogs let me live out a trip online. I enjoyed nothing more than curling up with one of the vlogs when the weather was a bit crap, or as a bit of escapism when social media was full of bleak stories - and besides, if you know me by now - Disney makes me happy.

My other fave lockdown pick has to be Netflix's The Big Flower Fight. If like me you're a Great British Bake Off fan, you'll love this design themed show where duos go head to head to create projects and sculptures crafted out of flowers, grasses and even foods. A highlight for me was the sea creature challenge - honestly so impressive - and I have learnt so much about different types of grasses and flowers (who knew!). Whilst I can't say I've picked up much knowledge about how to tend to plants - rip my houseplants who have been neglected - I couldn't stop smiling through the episodes and the hilarity and chaos that ensues. One thing I particularly loved is the diversity in the teams - you've got a young gay couple who are artists, wedding florist best friends, a father and son comedic duo and not to mention a Dutch best friend duo who go all out on their personal styling each week - c'est magnifique.

Also whilst I've been in Wales, I've been making the most of having family around me (both literally in the same house) and also with the surrounding village by getting in the kitchen with my mum to bake. You may have heard of Jane's Patisserie, a food blog that has every yummy baked good recipe you can imagine from gooey NYC style cookies to cheesecakes to classic sponges. I'd basically spent the beginning of lockdown drooling over her incredible Instagram feed and then got my mum roped in to make a couple of the recipes to see if they tasted as good as they looked in the pictures, and for the ones we have made I can definitely confirm that is the case. We've tried our hand at a Malteser caramel shortbread and 2 cheesecakes - Galaxy chocolate, and Cadbury Crunchie - all of which went down incredibly well with my household and extended family. I've got my eye on her brownie recipes next!



So there you have it! What have you been finding comfort in, maybe you've taken up yoga or dug out an old cookbook to make some fun new recipes for yourself, whatever it is - I hope you're doing well and looking after yourself. If you need someone to talk to, slide into my DMs over on Instagram or Twitter to chat

Kisses,
Chlo

1. You’re from my family/friends and you’re just like sure Chloe has done another blogpost
2. You’ve stumbled on this completely by accident and have no idea who I am but you quite possibly hate running and want to get into it?