Hello Everyone

I hope everyone had an amazing [insert holiday here]. But this festive season is also a sign of endings and new beginnings, and I must say, I'm pretty excited!

This year has been a rollercoaster, not of emotions, but of events. I began the final year of my undergraduate course in Interior Design, I had the opportunity to travel to not only Portugal towards the beginning of the year, but also France in the summer. I took a trip down to London and received a talk from one of my favourite architects (Junya Ishigami). And I'm sure there are many things that I have missed out in-between. 

So in order to give 2018 the summary it deserves, I've decided that its only best that I provide the best images from each of the 12 months. Enjoy

JANUARY

January kickstarted with a visit to Brick Lane, London and rather than go shopping, I took a trip down side roads in order to see the usually forgotten or unseen. Which is where the image in the middle was found. Museums have definitely become a very large part of the things that I do on days off, therefore to start the year off I took a trip to Birmingham to visit a very simple and quite beautiful exhibition on pressed flowers at the IKON Gallery.

Whenever we hit winter, I immediately fall in love with the sky come dusk. The subtle hues of blue and calming orange are what keep me going during the colder months.

FEBRUARY

At the beginning of February, I had the opportunity to go to Portugal in order to visit some architectural builds, and just all around enjoy the country. Despite the journey being fairly short, I was able to see both Porto and Lisbon, and I must say that I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't go back. They were both great for their pastries, views and architecture. Not to mention, the winter sun made everywhere feel both relaxing, and aesthetically pleasing, but it also made everywhere I looked in Porto into something out of an editorial.

MARCH

March took a turn towards self-care, relaxation and becoming more and more interested in reading. I initially made sure that I carved out the time to visit cafes, as they were a means for escape, but also great tea haha.  Even though I've never tried to hide it, since buying my Clarks in 2017, I've been in love with them ever since, so it was no surprise that my love for them continued into early Spring. Therefore, in order to reflect both the season and my inter green thumb, I found myself wearing a lot more greens and blues.

APRIL

During the month of April, I enrolled onto a work placement in Westminster, London and was able to stay with my brother for 2 weeks. I took my time exploring London on my days off, in places such as the Barbican, Dulwich, Victoria or Covent Garden. Also whilst in London, I took the time out to visit parks, and just relax (as usual), and with that fresh Spring breeze, and baby flowers, I couldn't have asked for anything better.

MAY

My love for books continued into mid-Spring and I was introduced to a book called The Book of Tea by Kazuko Okakura, which makes you question the ways in which the Western world views the East and vice versa, as well as the ways in which tea has become a large aspect of all things Japanese, be it new or traditional. After having read this book, it made me want to appreciate my surroundings and just relax with a nice cup of (green) tea, therefore I continued with my new found love for cafes, and went cafe hoping around my local area, and whenever I found myself in different cities. 

JUNE

Towards the end of  June, I went to Paris with my family, and despite having been before, it's always nice to travel anywhere with an open mind and try to seek out new things that you've never before seen. Alongside the summer sun (even though there was too much of it), everything and everywhere was illuminated in the most beautiful of ways, especially the Eiffel Tower come sunset. Another thing that took my interest this year, was photography and filming. Even though my skills aren't the best, I really want to continue with them both and see where it takes me. As usual, I was found wearing all navy, and despite it being a relatively dark colour, I've never felt more comfortable~

JULY

Once again cafe hopping, I took my mum out for a tiny afternoon of tea and cake, and oh my! It was one of the nicest cakes I've had this year. Jaffa Cake flavour, cannot go wrong!

After my friend gave it to me over summer, I finished reading Dr Qing Li's Shinrinyoku (twice), which is a lovely book giving you reasons why being outdoors is better not only for your physical health, but your mental health also, and to be honest, I feel as though I spent a large amount of my time outdoors this year, compared to the previous. So after reading, I actually bought the book again, but for myself and I turned that having read the book twice, into three times~

AUGUST

August was the month of friendships, exploration and admiration. I met one of my Japanese friend's in London and gave him the best tour I could provide of the city, as we exchanged languages, stories and cake (Red velvet this time!). Towards the end of the month I found myself in IKEA, was studying Japanese, and I met a handful of Japanese students from the University of Tokyo. So me being me, and trying to reduce the scariness around introductions and meeting new people, I spoke to them first, and despite it being a weird experience, I was able to make a good friend out of it. We went for sushi and he told me about his travelling experiences and we exchanged our similar taste in music!

SEPTEMBER

Probably my favourite month of the year so far. September, is a magical month full of transition from Summer into Autumn, meaning Nature, the sky and animals are all experiencing the same changeover, which has always been one of my favourite things, as I too feel as though I am going through a changeover. I began using my phone a lot less, which is probably why September was seen as one of the happiest months, due to me not having to deal with that feeling of needing to answer people, notifications and all of the irrelevant things in-between. Having done this, I was able to take advantage of the remaining days filled with the summer sun; and to get me ready for the coming Autumn I began reducing the items in my wardrobe and only wearing the items that I'm in love with. Hence the repetition of black, navy and grey.

In line with changes and new beginnings, I began reading Eric Sinoway's Howard's Gift, which is perfect for making you consider the ways in which you're spending your time, how you want to live your life and the mindset needed in order to achieve it.

In short, I would definitely do September again~ 

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

To no surprise, I had travelled to London again, in order to spend the day going to lectures and wandering around aimlessly. Anytime when I am travelling alone, I am completely in my element, so this trip to London was one of my favourites as I could take my time, there was no need to rush and sometimes, no talking is quite peaceful. Also in the month of November, I began reading Florence William's The Nature Fix. A wonderful book about all the ways nature can actually make us more relaxed, creative and potentially increase our lifespan (are you seeing a pattern in my reading habits yet? haha).

I went to my first Jazz performance, and let's just say that it certainly will not be the last.

DECEMBER

December. Despite it still sitting under our noses, it's been a wonderful month, and despite everyday being filled with nothing but coursework, I took advantage of the remaining winter days and the sun. I spent my time in the park picking up and analysing the ice that sat on the lake, and I went back to London and visited an exhibition on space, which featured Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden.

In short, 2018 has been a wonderful year with many changes to not only my ways of thinking, but I think also my personality, views on possession, and the importance of solitude. I hope 2019 will be a year of spending time outdoors, learning new things about both myself and all things the world has to offer. But it will also be a year of major changes as I'm due to finish my undergraduate degree, learn new languages (Mandarin, good luck to me!), and anything that I'm currently not aware of.

Thank you for sticking with me this year, depsite me being incredibly busy with university work! I thank you~

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year~

Millie x

What I was listening to whilst making this post

Kate Bush - Babooshka

All images are my own