A little hello to August – probably my favourite month of the year. August contains my birthday (on Sunday) so of course I get a little excited whenever it nears the end of July. Although this year I don’t feel quite as excited for my birthday – I suppose as you get older, birthdays somehow seem a little less of an occasion? I’m not sure what anyone has bought me and I haven’t asked for anything in particular, though to be honest we have our lovely house and we have an amazing holiday at the end of the month, so there isn’t much that I want apart from that, I feel lucky enough already. I’m off on Friday and Monday to make a long weekend of it and on Saturday we are going to Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace. There’s going to be baby farm animals, a street food section, an ice cream parlour and cider tents – what’s not to like? It seems like the weekend is going to revolve around food as I’ve requested to stop off at Five Guys on the way to my parents on Friday – and what I have asked for on the day is a red velvet cake. What’s a birthday without cake? (And burgers).
I can’t help but feel a little sad at the rain over the last couple of days. Although I always relish the opportunity to light candles, run a long bath and get cosy under a blanket, I also feel like August is not meant for lighting the fire and putting my fluffy slippers on (which is what I’ve done this evening!) For me, August is about barbecues on the beach, freckled noses and tanned shoulders, whiling away afternoons in pub beer gardens and spending the weekend in denim shorts and flip flops. I really hope the warm weather makes a return soon – although most of my summer wardrobe from last year still doesn’t fit me, so if it does get hot again I’m going to have to invest in some new shorts! I’m really trying to step up my fitness and healthy eating over the next few weeks before we go on holiday, and I’m now seeing my personal trainer twice a week rather than just once. Hopefully I’ll be back in those shorts in no time, but I must admit it’s seeming like such a slog to even lose a couple of inches. I’ve been enjoying the feeling of getting fitter though, and I’ve been absolutely loving playing football over the last few weeks too. I’m hoping I’ll be able to fit in a couple more lunchtime matches in August, it’s such a good feeling to burn so many calories and have fun at the same time. We played a big match on Friday and I played for most of the second half which was great, I’m starting to get my confidence up and feel more comfortable and less self-conscious about playing (even though I’m still not great!)
So at the end of August we are off to Cancun for ten days and I could not be more excited. We’re going with my parents, my brother and his girlfriend and staying at an all inclusive resort – so there will be a lot of cocktails and eating yummy Mexican food! I cannot wait to lay by the pool and devour lots of books – let me know if you have read anything great lately and I’ll add it to my Kindle. (Or if you’ve been to Cancun, let me know if you have any tips!)
Other than birthday-ing and holiday-ing I’ll be spending most of August sweating at the gym to try and feel confident in a bikini in Mexico, as well as hoping to spend a weekend with Sarah and Katy as we are well overdue a catchup. What do your August plans involve?
August photo from humphrey and grace instagram