My anxious achievements – February

As I’m writing this I can’t help but feel that the beginning of February was so long ago. I suppose that’s a good thing. For someone who turns into a fun vacuum when I don’t get my daily dose of Vitamin D, the further away from the danger months we get, the better.  It’s been quite a busy month and as the weeks have passed by, the curtains of springtime have begun to open and I’ve started feeling my winter blues being cast aside. Who knows, March might just be the month I fully awaken from my personality coma and emerge from my solitary tower brandishing a pen as a sword and my imagination as my steed to journalistic success.

Now I’m getting ahead of myself, but as you might have guessed, I’m generally feeling a lot more optimistic. I would like to dedicate this new found positivity to Disney for its unwavering ability to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, the theatre for satisfying my love of live performance, my friends for bringing out the best in me and Cardiff University for proving that despite my confidence being as unstable as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, my brain isn’t quite as miniscule as I lead myself to believe. Here’s how February has shaped up:

1. I spent a few evenings at Irie Shack with my parents. The sweet potato fries are out of this world!

2.  I enjoyed a girly few days with one of my closest friends in Cardiff. Wagamama, watching Ice Princess and enjoying the rugby at the Depot was my idea of a perfect, lazy, granny weekend.

3. I finally got around to watching the Downton Abbey finale, and boy did it give me all the feels. The sooner they get the ball rolling with the movie, the better. Julian Fellowes, if you’re reading, Lady Jessica has quite a ring to it, wouldn’t one say?

4. I indulged in Bill’s breakfast pancakes. I’ll even go as far as to say, they are only denied the top spot by IHOP’s delectably calorific Strawberry Banana Pancakes.

5. I found some bargains in H & M. You really can’t go wrong with a £2 top.

6. I was in luck as my mother, sister and I decided to stuff our faces in Pizza Express on the last day our Tesco vouchers were valid. Free food is always good food.

7. I bought some lovely daffodils. It’s officially spring in the Phillips household.

8. I watched my first opera. I saw Madame Butterfly at Wales Millennium Centre. That’s one down on the Bucket List.

9. I was proud of the Welsh rugby team when they played against England. I know they lost, and the chariots swung low, but they showed some real flair. No complaints here.

10. I sipped on a few cocktails in Covent Garden with one of my most fabulous friends for Galentine’s Day. My Peach & Rhubarb Collins was one of the most delicious drinks to ever pass my lips. Well worth the tipsy rush around the underground to catch my train home.

11. I helped organise the gang’s first baby shower. My friend and I spent Valentine’s Day running around the city centre creating a mother-to-be hamper. Oh so romantic. The shower itself was so lovely and my pregnant friend seemed genuinely thrilled that we’d put in the effort to organise the day. An added bonus was that her current condition brought out our food at lightening speed and I got to play party-planning Frank from Father of the Bride for the day. Everyone was a winner.

12.  I tasted my mother’s first attempt at homemade soup. Apparently this is currently the trendiest pastime for the over 50s. Mama Phillips got to play culinary goddess and I got my five a day.

13. I let my inner Disney fan have a field day by watching Tangled. That frying pan. The smoulder. The romantic duet. The sassy chameleon. What else do you want from a movie?

14. I went to see Pride and Prejudice in the theatre. I need a Mr. Wickham in my life.

15. I found out I passed my MA in Magazine Journalism with a High Merit overall and a Distinction in my Major Project. The joy. The relief. The achievement. Let’s forget about The unemployment.

16. I wasted a good nine hours of my life watching an O.J Simpson documentary and I’d do it again.

17. I went to stay with one of my closest school friends in Oxfordshire. We spent Saturday walking down memory lane visiting Reading, my old university town. Sunday was dedicated to exploring Henley-on-Thames. We watched the rowers glide by and tried and failed to find some unworn Chanel in the charity shops.

18. I reunited with the girls I lived with last year for our annual pancake party. I’m pretty sure my plate was more Nutella than pancake, but the thought was there.

19. I was invited to my first blogging event. I’m suffering from a slight case of imposter syndrome, but I’m looking forward to new opportunities, meeting new people and using this pulse of positivity to push myself that little bit further.