On summer, I’d like to say there was going to be a bucket list of the things I’d like to do but that may be futile – why lead up to what could be an anti-climax?
On summer, I think this year will be the first in a while that I’m actually looking forward to. Last year there was the anticipation of finishing GCSE’s yay! Friends yay! Going places yay! Yet until it actually arrived I just had the crippling anxiety that the long days of summer would be spent feeling lonely or surrounded by the characters in the books I’d read.
On summer, I’d like to consider you to be a part of my life I used to dread but now treat with a hopeful air of fulfillment, change and growth.
On buying ethically this summer
When writing blog posts last year I was heavily aware that most of the summer clothes in my wardrobe were bought when I didn’t buy particularly ethically, nor was I educated in how I could. I wrote my post ‘six months on’ looking at the things that I had bought and still had yet to buy ethically – shoes, and swimwear being the most applicable to the approaching summer. I’m not going away on a beach holiday this summer so I don’t feel the urge to go and buy an ethical bikini, my current ones will suffice for the days spent by the English seaside. Shoes, I don’t really need to buy any but I have broken my ethical shoe virginity by purchasing my Veja pair, I haven’t done a post dedicated to them on here so maybe I shall sometime but if you want the low down they’re a pretty cool pair of shoes. The English summer can be brief so I think I’ll stick to trainers and my old sandals from previous years. Why buy more?
In terms of new clothes, I’m going to Stockholm (EEEK) in a few weeks and have jotted the names of a few vintage/charity shops that the city has to offer so if I do see something special I may invest. As much as Sweden has a wealth of ethical brands like Fillipa K etc. I’m not sure my budget for the trip will extend to it. (Ps. if anyone has any recommendations for Stockholm shopping/eating/general seeing please let me know!!!) But in terms of what I’d like to buy for summer there isn’t much. When college breaks up for summer in the middle of July I think I’m going to sew some new bits because I think my wardrobe is calling for some more ‘Eleanor Claudie’ couture.
On travelling this summer
After reading Dalal‘s post about where she’s going this summer I was utterly jealous/in awe/ready to spend the next few hours looking at cheap flights. I’m not going anywhere beachy but I would like to hop on a plain to France to speak in French, find a french boy, fall in love… am I getting ahead of myself?! For real though, France would be nice and after learning about the culture in my French lessons there’s a myriad of places I’d like to visit there. If France is out of the question, then why not Greece and live out my dreams of being a Greek goddess and learn some Greek philosophy or go for the sun and travel to Majorca – after looking on Holiday Gems you can find some cheaper Majorca holiday here* – my tutor keeps saying we should buy a cheap holiday as we have a two week half term, it does sound incredibly tempting. But if not, I’m excited to see what a British summer will hold, the days dwindling till my work experience in Switzerland at the end of the summer.
On books I’d like to read this summer
I could write a whole blog post dedicated to books I’d like to read, most fuelled from reading other peoples reviews, Libby and Katie‘s blog posts or Instagram posts of books with pretty covers. BUT there are a few books that aren’t related to my historical pursuits and are there for when I have hours to kill and want to get stuck into a fictional haze. This isn’t all of them but my top few.
- The Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
- The Secret History – Donna Tartt
- All We Shall Know – Donal Ryan
- The Year of Magical thinking – Joan Didion
- A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams
- The Go-between – L.P Hartley
If any of you have read any of them then let me know what you thought, should I read it? Is it worth it? I’m currently reading Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes and whilst it’s fascinating and says a lot about the way we are as humans, it is heavy and I wish I’d chosen a lighter book to read around exam season. Nevertheless, I’m persevering and will continue to be enlightened by the political philosophy of 17th century England.
On confidence this summer
The photos for this post are the first I’ve ever taken without makeup that I’m uploading on my blog so yassss for self-confidence and coming out of my comfort zone, and naturally to a good skin day/VSCO cam filter that aided this period of self confidence – hopefully it is one that will extend to the rest of this summer 🙂
What are your plans for summer? Have you got anything excited planned? When you’re reading this I’ll have done my Philosophy AS exam so summer has basically, kind of started right? I’ve still got end of year exams next week that count towards my predicted grades for Uni applications but if they go horribly wrong I’m not going to be too upset because they’re not my final grade so happy days all round.
lots of love, eleanor xx
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