Happy 21st, Little Sister.

Today my sister turns 21. Currently she's half way round the world, and over half way through her birthday, in Hong Kong. She's actually had the flu for the last few days so she's in her sick-bed but I think she's having a really great HK adventure and I'm proud of her for making it over there and having the confidence to do so many neat things on her own.

Happy Birthday, Lucy J!

Here's to yet another medium I can communicate to you through (we're on Facetime, Facebook, Skype, Instagram, WhatApp - it's ridiculous how many ways you can stay in touch with people nowadays)!

Smiling on Sunday :: Six

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It's been a little while since I've done one of these posts but I've just been so short of time recently. Now things are looking a little more settled in my new job and we've found a better way to walk and drive in in the mornings, it feels like everything is slotting a little more neatly in to place - even if only temporarily.

I must admit, a half-hour drive followed by a mile-and-a-half walk isn't my dream commute but it does the job at freshening me up in the mornings and it's a pretty easy thing to add to my 'fitness regime' (lol).

So, after the mega-high brought by last weekend and aside from a bit of secondhand family-related stress, everything is alright.

IRL:

• Celebrating our friend's engagement - It was so sneaky for Stacy and Pip to keep something like that a secret from us but I guess, knowing that we were going to see them and being able to tell us in person made it all the more special. I know... I'll stop blabbering on about it now but being the first of anything is quite a big deal, especially in such a close group of friends and I'm just so excited about it!
• Finding a new, shorter, less boring walk to work - Sometimes it's the little things but the new walk I've been taking to and from the car this week has been so much better. The old route was one road through a council estate, this one, yeah, it's not amazing but there's a cute woodland surrounded by fields filled with horses and cows. Not a bad way to start the day at all
• Trying to be a better friend - While everything in my life right now isn't completely perfect, catching up with a couple of my oldest girlfriends and hearing that they haven't been having the best time made me feel like it was time to just be a bit more available than I have been. It's lame to say but it's hard to keep track of so many people when they're all over the place doing different things with different time tables. It's easy to get caught up in something else or just your 'own stuff' and even if just occasionally, it's pretty good to be there for someone

Must-Try Recipes:

• Toasted Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies - After discovering the delights of Ben's Cookies and finding out that actually, with the right recipe, I can make some pretty killer cookies myself, I'm into trying out a few more recipes, especially ones with contrasting flavours. Also, I recently discovered that toasted almonds might be one of the best things ever, put them in a chicken salad a few weeks ago. Try it, it will change your life
• Bacon & Egg Shengjian Bao Pan-Fried Steamed Buns - There's a stall at the Giant Market in Oxford on Wednesdays and Thursdays that does baos for £1.80. Baos are one of my favourites at dim sum but even my mum buys them frozen rather than making them. Still, it would be neat to give them a go and they don't seem too difficult
• Peach Dumplings - 2 out of 3 sweet recipes? I swear I'm not a sweet tooth, but these peach dumplings just sound like something really special. They get bonus points for being pretty quick and simple too, this will be high up on my list of things to try out in the next few weeks

Lovely Links:

• John Malkovich Recreating Iconic Photographs - I was a little annoyed when I saw this reported in the Metro that they only focused on his celebrity portrait recreations. As a Photography graduate it was much more fun to see his portraits of 'classic art school photos', the Diane Arbus one really tickled my funny bone
• Messy 3D Typography by Allison Supron - Letters made out of cheese, you say? There's something I can devote some attention to
• Lauren's Thoughts on Packing in the 9-5 - Still feeling like I'm in a bit of a transitional period myself, Lauren's post about what it's like to run away to The Dolomites and leave a 'stable career' was pretty poignant. If it's one thing I wish it's that I could be little braver. It's the danger of comparison that can be so detrimental to so many aspects of your life too so I find her sense of adventure incredibly admirable

Hope you have a fantastic Sunday, I'll be heading back to Surrey to spend the afternoon with my mum, lunch is involved ♥

Smiling on Sunday :: Five.

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This week has been one that's been full of second-hand stress but also excitement at the prospect of new beginnings and an(other) upcoming mini-break.

I'm not sure I know how to feel about finishing up my first proper grown-up job knowing that it's something that I wanted for such a long time. I'm really grateful for the opportunities they gave me and for the people I've met who have become friends. While I do feel sad about the state that it's in and leaving, I know it's the right time for me and it marks the beginning of something different.

I think it has been kind of difficult to find things to smile about this week because I've spent so much time feeling generally stressed and annoyed but there's something to be said about finding the good in bad situations.

IRL:

• Making plans for Northern Ireland - It's been pretty fun to pick and choose where we're going for our upcoming trip, naturally Pinterest has been a great help. I'm especially excited about a proper day in Belfast, as well as getting to spend some more time with some of Moon's extended family and maybe even go on my first ever fishing trip!
• Moving on to pastures new - As I said above, overall I'm not sure how to feel about it but I feel very excited about the progress that it all symbolises, maybe this time next year I'll be a real grown up
• Visits from friends - Even though we didn't manage to get even close to getting the whole 'gang' together last weekend, I do feel pretty blessed to have the friends that I do. As a self-confessed actual moody cat, I sometimes feel amazed that I've been able to maintain these friendships. It probably has a lot to do with what a great guy Moon is but I'm quite thankful for that too so...

Must-Try Recipes:

• Mexican Street Corn Croquettes - This is one I'm going to force myself to make before the day is done. I've been a bit obsessed with corn since my birthday dinner at La Bodega Negra and have wanted to try corn fritters for ages. This is the most hassle-free recipe I've found, does look like I'll be sourcing some panko breadcrumbs today though
• Blackberry Pie Bars - September is blackberry season and while I've not managed to find any brambles yet, you can bet I'm on the look out. Picking fruit is all well and good but foraging is all the more fun if you have a neat recipe to back it up
• Melty Ham, Brie and Peach Toastie - There aren't many words I can find for this one and I know it's not really a recipe but if you can ever go wrong with anything related to melted cheese I'd like to hear about it

Lovely Links:

• Clare's post about losing weight was a pretty brave one and I really feel for her both generally and because I had a similar kind of healthy-living epiphany at the beginning of the year
• Bee from Vivatramp's How to Get Out of a Reading Slump tips were really good. Having got back into the reading swing of things over the summer, it's nice to see that there are other people out there who slack in the book department sometimes too. After reading academically (yes, we do that on Photography degrees too) for such a long time up until I went away to Portugal it had been such a long while since I'd read book after book like I used to. Admittedly I put off reading my last book for quite some time but I'm hoping to be on to the next one once we're on the plane to Ireland
• How wonderful is Film4's re-brand? I must admit that I do skip over Film4 as a channel a bit because... well, films with adverts doesn't appeal but as a full-time film appreciator, their upcoming 16 shorts are really intriguing. Not only do they look stunning, they'll be full of cinematic references and the photo-nerd in me almost can't handle the fact they'll mostly be edited in-camera - can't wait!
• Emily Blincoe was featured on Mashable this week. I have followed her Instagram for a while now, I think I found her through one of The Dainty Squid's Friday Favourites posts, but I thought it was about time I shared her with you. Her work is just so satisfying to look at, I hear she's working with brands like Target now too which is so awesome
  

:: Have you entered my giveaway to win tickets to the Royal Berkshire County Show on the 20th September? ::

How Pinteresting!

I've been using Pinterest for a little over two years now and I tend to dip in and out, pinning everything for a two week period and then ignoring it for a month or two.

I think really I'm like that with most things online, and some days computers, phones and gadgets are just not the one. That said, Pinterest can be a really great place to invigorate the mind and inspire, whether it's soothing a bit of wanderlust or finding something new to cook, there are times when it's become a bit of a go-to.

Without wanting to say similar things to what has already been said, I thought I'd just share a few of my favourite pins from August with you.

I'm still not sure where I'll be going with this but it's just some more of me trying to put some things out there and get something other than photographs of days out up here. Diary posts are nice but I always think of this place as an online scrapbook.



1 // Blue Lagoon, Iceland :: I've still got that long-lasting hankering for an Icelandic break, not sure if our money-diet will allow it as the deadline we set ourselves is drawing nearer, so beautiful photographs might have to do it for now.
2 // 'A Better 'Yes' Down the Road' :: Definitely helps with some recent uncertain feelings.
3 // Vitamin Boosting Juices :: I was big into smoothies and the like a couple of months ago, I think I want to get back into it. Changes of the season and upheavals in life usually bring illness and I'd like to prevent that, please.
4 // Silhouettes on Colourful Curtains :: Design.Love.Fest never fails to inspire when it comes to photo shoots and this is just some really lovely styling. That's the kind of thing that makes me long to 'do Photography' again.

+BONUS // Samoyed Puppy :: All the fluff.


I'm really after feedback, is this the kind of post that you enjoy reading? Should I do more of them?

Even after those 2 years I mentioned before, I feel like I'm still getting a hang of this Pinterest thing, you're welcome to follow me on the journey if you like :: http://www.pinterest.com/intoruth/

:: Have you entered my giveaway to win tickets to the Royal Berkshire County Show on the 20th September? ::

Smiling on Sunday :: Four.

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This week has felt short and long in many respects, I'm quite pleased to be hanging on to the weekend with an extra day added to my bank holiday and it only being Sunday.

There has been quite a bit to be pleased about this week, even if a lot of it has involved making grown up decisions that no one is able to make for me - a small part of me misses the time when I was always told what to do.

IRL:

• I got a new job! - After the uncertain feeling from last week, things seem to have turned around a bit, as I've noticed it seems to since doing these round-ups, maybe nothing is really worth the dramz. But yes, pending contracts and the like, I'll be a Digital Marketing Executive come the middle of September. It all marks the beginning of exciting (and scary) things
• Cups of tea post-dinner - This week I've been getting into the habit of making myself a nice cup of tea after dinner, not only that but I've managed to catch it at the perfect temperature when I come to drink it too. This is something that I tend to do more once it gets cooler but given that I've spent more nights this week with a blanket wrapped around me than not, I think it's justified
• Having the bed to myself for a few minutes each morning - What this really means is that Moon is having to get up earlier to beat traffic and coming home super-sleepy in the evenings because of it but there's something really good about starfishing out for an extra 10 minutes before it's time to make myself presentable

Must-Try Recipes:

• 21 Energy Boosting Breakfast Toasts - I think breakfast is my favourite meal of the day but I do still find my tummy rumbling at work come 11am, not good. Toast is usually what I go for but after seeing these, I recognise that what I'm putting on it might not make for the most nutritional breakfast. Definitely willing to give some of these a try, may avoid the ones with cottage cheese though
• Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup - I know it seems silly for it to be August and to be talking about soups but it's been so chilly around these parts, plus it's such a bright colour you could say it's summery. I made a stew at the beginning of the week, while I hope the weather does warm up, I do miss my staple one-pot dishes a little bit
• Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps - This is what I feel like we should be having, and on a warmer afternoon at the beginning of the month we had something very similar at my mum's. I always forget it exists, I think because I don't care for iceberg lettuce very much but as a wrap, it's a wonderful way to make a dish more refreshing

Lovely Links:

The birthday dinner party Ally from Now That's Pretty threw for her boyfriend looks wonderful. She's given some great tips for throwing your own big dinner party too, makes me wish our friends lived nearer to us so we could pull one of these out 'just because' rather than for a special occasion.

Lyzi's photographs from her Bucket List Balloon Ride are truly awesome. Going up in an air balloon is something I've always wanted to do, it looks so fun and peaceful.

Charlotte's post from her trip to Dublin had me quite excited to take a trip to Southern Ireland. With the Irish side of my family being from Belfast, most holidays to Ireland have been in Northern Ireland or more to the west. I think I've only been to Dublin once and I spent the day grumpy (because I am grumpy, not because of Dublin) and I think it's only fair to give it another go.

Next Week's Motto: 'You get out what you put in...'
What's made you smile this week?

Smiling on Sunday :: On Monday.

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I'm not going to lie to you, after the mega-high at the tail-end of last week, there have been a few things to worry about. Between job uncertainty and the sad news of Robin Williams' passing, the first half of this week didn't bring that much for me to be happy about.

That said, it was my birthday week, and having booked myself in for a long weekend at 'home-home', bagging a few interviews and making a trip up to London, this weekend has been another great one.
Turning 25 is still strange to me but I think it's going to be alright, so much has changed in the last five years that it's easy to see some progress on the horizon, and I'm quite excited about that.

IRL:

• Birthday treats and surprises – I felt truly spoilt on Saturday and will have lots to share with you over the next few days. Starting with a cream tea breakfast at cat-lady mecca, Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium followed by my 'surprise gift' of a box at The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. We then had a wander around Covent Garden before heading to secret Mexican restaurant, La Bodega Negra - what a treat! Mr Moon definitely won major boyfriend points and it was just the nicest day
• Let's go to the theatre some more! – After seeing a grand total of two plays this year, Moon has finally discovered that the theatre isn't all singing hams and he quite likes it. I'm not saying we'll be regulars now or anything but it's pretty cool to see that he's broadened his horizons a bit
• Little Doll feeling better – Dolly had some kind of virus all last week, which was a little worrying. She now seems to be completely better, her third eyelids are back where they should be and she's going outside again. I'm obviously happy she's not ill anymore anyway but the fact she won't be inclined to use the litter tray for a while is one of the best things about her recovery

Must-Try Recipes:

• Sweet Potato Nachos with Smoked Cheddar and Black Beans - Mexican food is one of my favourites and if Moon and I are out to dinner and there are nachos, you can bet we'll be eating them. These sound like a great twist and while the sweet potato hype has never really hit me, you can't beat anything covered in cheese
• Summertime Tea - I kind hate flavoured teas, they always smell so delicious and wind up tasting the same as each other, at least to me anyway. Mixing it with other (real) flavours to make something refreshing and (sort of) healthy sounds pretty good to me though.

Lovely Links:

This cute illustrated 'dress like a bookworm' wishlist from HelloGiggles.com


Sophie Gamand's lovely Pit Bull Flower Power photography series has the cute-o-meter dialled up to 11. I'm a firm believer in it often being a case of bad training than a case of bad dog. In fact, all of Sophie's dog portraits are wonderful, I've really been covetting a pup of my own lately.

• This list of beautiful Robin Williams stories - I, as I've seen from so many others, am genuinely mourning for the loss of Robin Williams. It still seems strange to say that given that I'd never met him and only watched his films but from comedy to drama, his are some films that I really love and I'd always name him among my favourite actors of all time.
  I even stuck it out with The Crazy Ones because of him, and despite the show's shortcomings, he's as brilliant as ever. It breaks my heart reading new details every day but his passing seems to have marked an opening for dialogue, that it's important to realise that some of us are fighting a hard fight and we need to take notice

Today has me looking ahead to a fresh week, hopefully with new challenges and slightly more of the positive thinking that was washing over me this time last week.

#MusicMonday :: 'Light It Up'

Sharing this pretty, summery tune with you this morning to brighten up this temperamental August Monday.

Having followed Eliza and The Bear for a little while now, they just never fail to put me in a good mood and their new single, 'Light It Up', is perfect for all things summer, from barbecues to road trips. I hope they get to releasing an album soon.

I've started this week feeling all light and happy after what feels like one of the best weeks of the year. Maybe, it's the excitement of my birthday coming on Saturday but I feel like letting anything annoying just wash over me at the moment and that's quite nice.

Smiling on Sunday | What a Week!

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This time last week I was psyching myself up for a mini-break to Bruges after the most beautiful Saturday evening with my sweet boy at Secret Cinema's showing of Back to the Future.

Today we're having a family leaving party for my sister who is off to Hong Kong in just 10 days! After spending a lovely day and a half with our friend's Tom and Matt, this whole week will really have been a great one. Even the Thursday down time where I took the day off to get my life together post-holiday before popping out in the evening for a lovely collegue's leaving do and a pulled pork burger.

As action-packed weeks go, I think this was one of them and I feel like I'll be finishing Sunday up feeling rather blessed indeed - not a bad way to go in to my birthday week even if I do say so myself - just under 6 days until I join The 25 Club!

I'm kind of aware that I'm a bit behind on things as far as posting photos and stuff goes, I haven't even shared my Bruges photos with Moon yet, but I needed to get some words out there, you know... to let you know that I'm doing pretty darn well, actually.

Here are some other nice things from real-life and the Internet.

IRL:

• Starting a fresh, new notebook ♥ - I'm well and truly converted to bullet journalling and it's the way forward for me as far as keeping myself productive goes. This time I've gone against Moleskine for something a bit more purse-friendly but I can tell we're going to get along just fine
• The return of Great British Bake Off - I missed the first half on Wednesday as I was still on my way back from Bruges via London but was able to insta-catch up as soon as it was over. So sad that Iain isn't nearly as good a baker as he is a beard grower but I guess time will tell. Do you have a favourite yet?
  
• Seeing Moon get a bit excited about my birthday - Because we've been together since we were quite young, have been together for quite a long time and now live together, I sometimes feel like there's less room for elements of mystery and surprises - Moon has proved me wrong. I wouldn't at all call him romantic and I quite like him the way he is but to see him get all giddy about the place he's booked for us to go to dinner on my birthday and be completely schtum about what we're doing during the day does kind of set my heart into a flutter
  

Must-Try Recipes:

• Lemonade Cucumber Spa Pops - Having just discovered the delights of Qcumber water, these really sound good to me, so easy too!
• Rosie's River Cottage Soda Bread - I just picked up a new recipe book about baking bread last week - Rosie's recipe is a bit simpler than the one in the book, I can't wait to give it a go.
• Salted Caramel Rice Krispy Squares - I'm obsessed with salted caramel lately, I blame Haagen Dazs.
• Rhubarb Upside-Down Yoghurt Cake - I've never made a yoghurt cake before and I think this one would be a good one to start with, not sure I could make one quite as beautiful though.

Lovely Links:

Kaylah's birthday posts always bring a smile to my face, such beautiful bright colours.

Rosie's short but sweet post about her and her fiancé reading together is so nice. Moon and I have been reading a lot more recently so this might be something to try when we finish our current books, makes a nice change from staying up and watching TV.

I really liked Clare's golden hour photographs of her allotment, something I love about this time of year. Even as a Photography graduate though, lighting's never really been my strongest point I wouldn't say but Clare has nailed it - her blog has also had a cheeky makeover too, which is really nice to see.

50 Songs from the 2000s That Will Instantly Put You in a Good Mood - Go for it, there are some real gems there.

Hope you have a fun-filled, relaxing Sunday. x

Happy Little Things.

I made it, I took 100 little snippets of happiness and completed the #100HappyDays challenge, and it actually really wasn't a challenge. I'm pleased to have a record of 100 Happy Days and while I was going to turn it into a Project 365, my 100th day was pretty awesome and it was pretty great to end it on such an easy high.

It's so great to see this popping up all over Instagram more recently and generally I think it's really helped me look a bit more on the bright side, particularly when the last few weeks have been a little more trying than I would have liked.

51. // Little Cat taking an afternoon snooze
52. // Easy-peasy Super-Fast Dinner
53. // Seeing a bit of Graphic Design come into fruition
54. // Quite rare to catch Moon and Doll sitting together
55. // Red-faced after the third day in the row of 10km cycling

56. // Rescued Home-grown Fancy Daffs.
57. // Friday Night Drink up in Ludlow
58. // Petting all the Animals at the Small Breeds Farm
59. // The view of lovely Ludlow from Ludlow Castle
60. // Lunch with a naughty chicken

61. // Noticing the difference a day makes
62. // Our Growing Tomatoes - now outside with tiny tomatoes taking form!
63. // Daisies popping up
64. // Game of Thrones Marathon
65. // Popping Corn

66. // Forever comfortable being uncomfortable
67. // Enjoying our new rug
68. // Lilac coming into bloom
69. // Being treated to an evening meal at The Star Inn by Moon's Dad
70. // Ferris Bueller Blue Skies

71. // Sometimes it's just really great to get into bed
72. // New flowers for the garden
73. // First BBQ of the Year
74. // Breaking my promise of not watching the new season of Game of Thrones and watching the new season of Game of Thrones
75. // Beautiful skies on an evening walk

76. // Baking brioche
77. // The Easter Bunny visited us at work
78. // Posing in The Cut after The Drowned Man
79. // Family Get-together
80. // Pub quizzing with great guys

81. // My Gran might be just as much of a cat-botherer as me!
82. // Homemade flatbreads
83. // Doll's New Bed
84. // Bluebells from Gran's garden
85. // Kids Tea

86. // Mackies
87. // Nigellissima Tuscan Steak
88. // Spring leaving like a Lion
89. // Self-fringe Cut
90. // Lilac tree

91. // Moth-Catching Cat
92. // Cleaver Date-Night
93. // Bank Holiday BBQ
94. // Sunday Dino-Golf
95. // Relaxing Bedtime Read

96. // Tomato growing going well
97. // Favourite dorky cat
98. // The time Moon came back from pubs and was sneaky
99. // Boxhill selfie
100. // One Great Groupshot ♥

Have you been taking part in the #100HappyDays, has it worked towards making you feel happier?
You can follow me on Instagram at intoruth.

#100HappyDays :: Part One

Do More of What Makes You Happy.

At the beginning of the year you may have seen the #100HappyDays Challenge floating around. It certainly didn't go unnoticed here and as a few of the people I follow on Instagram started to pick it up, I figured it was something I could do with too.

Being the nitpicking one I am, I gave myself January off wanting to start the new month of February with a new challenge. I must say, even passively looking at other people's #100HappyDays photos lifted my mood. We all need a little pick-me-up every now and then and it's nice to see positive things whether you have to scrape the barrel or not, I like to think there's usually some good in every day.

There have been criticisms that it might encourage even more of the showing off that social networking sites are known for, but I don't think it matters. I'm not a big one for being all that bothered about what people think of me most of the time anyway so I very much did this for me. I must admit, as my biggest critic, I am a little disappointed in myself for not going more creative with it but if my cat and food are what makes me happy, and they're pretty much in the top 5, then who cares?

Here is the first half of my #100HappyDays from Day 1 to Day 50. (Click to enlarge).
You can follow my progress daily on Instagram :: @intoruth.

1.// First Black's Burger.

2.// Lolworthy Too-Slow Shutter on Doll's Treat Munching Face

3.// Nice Tiles - Post Swim

4.// Getting in the Mornings

5.// Smiggle Gifts

6.// Doll's Indifferent Face to a Thoughtful Gift

7.// Sunshiney Walk

8.// New Slippers

9.// Candlelit Sunday Night Supper

10.// After-Work Walk

11.// Early Bedtime

12.// All the Salad

13.// Doll and her Troll

14.// Family Portrait Post-Valentine's Meal

15.// Beautiful Poser

16.// Wonderful Blue Skies

17.// Tapped Out in Bed

18.// Sausages and Sweet Potato Mash

19.// Reaching the End of Breaking Bad

20.// Special Office Cake

21.// Homemade Nachos at Home-Home

22.// Favourite Old Girl

23.// Custard Bun at Dim Sum

24.// Nail Painting

25.// The Beginning of Light Evenings

26.// Dolly Loves Helping to Wrap Gifts

27.// Catch-Up Thursday Night Dinner

28.// Road-Trip Coffee

29.// Tea in a Mezzanine Bed

30.// First Car Boot of the Year - By the Sea

31.// Dolly's 'Gimme Cheese' Face

32.// Glorious Pancake Day

33.// M4 Sunset

34.// 'Just Because' Tulips

35.// Sampling Our First Newbury Curry House

36.// Blooming Homegrown Daffs

37.// Picnic on the Green

38.// Monday Night Wine

39.// Box Appreciation

40.// Cinema Date Night

41.// Little Ladybird

42.// Laverstoke Park Farm Haul - Love Moon's New Job!

43.// Putting 'The Roof' Down

44.// Nothing But Blue Sky...

45.// Needy Kitty Post-4 Hour Shed Lock-In

46.// Retro Computer Game Lolz 

47.// Saving Daffodils

48.// Meeting Happy Bunnies

49.// Friday Beer

50.//  Beautiful Blooms

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So, somehow I've already managed get to the halfway point (and then some by now), which is probably down to the immediacy of phone photography - which the inner Photography student in me still totally resents a little despite the fact the rest of me really kind of loves it - but I've found it much easier than previous 365 Challenges I've tried and failed.

There are already talks from others of continuing the project for the full year (#365HappyDays), but we'll see how it goes, I will be pretty pleased when I get to 100 and being able to look at it in a retrospective book will be pretty neat, I can't wait!

Have you thought about or are you taking part in #100HappyDays? I'd really love to discover a few more!