Weekly diary: endings, beginnings and middles
March is finally here, but nobody told the weather.
Welcome to the weekly diary! This one is for my lovely paid subscribers only, but you get a nice little preview of my week (plus an excellent orzo risotto recipe) if you’re a free subscriber too :)
Let’s do it!
Monday 11th March 2024
I start off the week by scheduling a reel to announce something very sad/exciting/emotional: the end of the Best Friend Therapy podcast, hosted by Elizabeth Day and Emma Reed Turrell. As I press ‘publish’ and watch the comments from loyal BFT listeners pour in, they echo many of my own sentiments; especially the lady who just writes, “Nooooooooo!” under the post. I feel you, sista.
Although I’ve known about this particular ending for quite some time, I still feel tearful. I’m happy to know that Elizabeth and Emma are moving on to bigger and better things, it’s the right time for it to come to a close, but Best Friend Therapy has been a huge part of my life ever since it launched in 2022 and part of me feels absolutely bereft at the thought of there never being a new episode.
Onwards and upwards; we exchange messages in the WhatsApp group and then I move on to the next task. I spend the afternoon editing a video on the history of Gutta-Percha for Sathnam’s social platforms (spoiler alert: it’s FASCINATING) and call it day at 7pm. We make homemade burgers for dinner and then I catch up on Death in Paradise and James watches a few episodes of whatever disturbing crime drama he’s watching this week.
Tuesday 12th March 2024
It’s another working from home day for me. I start by publishing a sponsored post on Instagram for Postcards from Midlife in partnership with Olay skincare and Eve Cameron, beauty director for some of the UK’s biggest glossy magazines, and then I catch up on the red carpet looks from this year’s Academy Awards.
I work with a reusable, plant-based water bottle brand and decide that it might be fun to create a ‘red carpet looks as water bottles’ post for socials, matching some of the outfits to different coloured bottles - the team love the idea, thankfully!
I’m making orzo risotto for dinner tonight but halfway through the day, I realise that we don’t actually have any orzo or leeks for the recipe, so I ask James if he can grab some on his way home. It’s such a lovely recipe and so quick and easy to make with whatever you have to hand - you could have it on the table in 20 minutes. I’ll link a good base recipe here.
We eat our orzo while watching the new series of Full Swing (I love a good sport documentary) and head to bed early. Heaven.
Wednesday 13th March 2024
Today I am pressing publish on my Substack newsletter, documenting how working with Elizabeth Day changed my life; an incredibly special post for me, mainly because I still can’t get over the fact that it actually happened.
The response absolutely floors me, and in typical generous fashion, Elizabeth shares it to her 250,000 followers on Instagram and unknowingly brings a bunch of gorgeous new faces to my Substack subscriber list. I have a small cry over the lovely comments and then start internally panicking that I’m definitely not deserving of all the praise, but James reminds me that I worked hard to arrive here and I absolutely am worthy of it all. He’s such a good egg; the very best egg, in my opinion.
Tonight is tuscan sausage pasta night - I haven’t asked James to write down the recipe yet but when he does, I will share it here, I promise! I have a glass of red wine with my pasta to toast my uncle Andy’s birthday from afar. An extraordinary day.
Thursday 14th March 2024
I am off to The Beacon this morning to have breakfast with my inspiring friend Jayne, a local councillor for Tunbridge Wells, magazine editor and co-founder of our Reclaim the Night community organisation. We organise a Reclaim the Night walk every year and also campaign for safer streets in our borough.
It’s one of my favourite venues and only a few minutes’ walk from our village, with the most glorious views of the Kent countryside, gorgeous interiors and a huge balcony that is often awash with 70s style floral, fringed parasols in warmer climes. If I was designing my dream house, I would use The Beacon as inspiration, that’s how much I love it.
We sit in a sunny spot and order coffee, apple juice and bacon and egg baps, which we tuck into as we chat away about life, work and everything in between. An hour flies by and Jayne heads off to do her local magazine editor duties, while I open my laptop and crack on with a couple of hours’ work before I head into town to run some errands. My Substack notifications are full of lovely fellow writers leaving comments on my latest post and my heart feels so full knowing that my words have resonated with people.
It’s the first warm(ish) spring day and I regret wearing my beloved Whistles black wool coat. I pop into Space NK to pick up a new cleanser to try, my favourite Ouai hair conditioner, Caudalie facial mist and a last-minute impulse purchase in the form of an Hourglass soft matte lipstick. I can’t resist the pretty pink colour and the fact that it’s called ‘Tulip’, so it goes in my basket.
I grab a sandwich from Pret (chicken and avo, in case you’re interested) and catch a bus home to get some more work done, where I discover that my Vinted bargain leather boots have arrived - a total steal at £7. I am absolutely chuffed with them. At around 5:00PM, James and I head out for a walk to shake off the day, and then we have a slightly unconventional dinner of breadcrumbed corned beef hash, mash and baked beans.
Friday 15th March 2024
James and I are both working from home today because we’ve got a house viewing at 4pm, so it’s just heads down trying to get through our to-do lists. Lunchtime rolls around far too quickly and we share a bean chilli soup (I have mine with a ham and cheese toastie covered in butter to make it super crispy, James a ham salad sandwich, ever the healthier one of the two of us).
We catch a bus across town to get to the house viewing, but it’s on a pretty busy junction and the house just isn’t ticking enough of our boxes for us put an offer in. It’s all a learning experience and we’re lucky not to be in a rush to find somewhere right at this moment, so we can take our time and stick to our non-negotiables.
After the viewing, we head to a local pub for Friday night laptop club, accompanied by snacks, beer for James and sparkling wine for me. We decide to stay for another drink so I quickly pop into M&S to grab some curries and then we head home for an episode or two of Full Swing on Netflix (I absolutely love a sports documentary, they are fascinating). The perfect end to the working week.
Saturday 16th March 2024
Today I’m meeting my lovely friend Sarah for lunch. It’s a gloriously sunny morning, so I bask in bed with a cafetière of coffee and pastries before finally getting up, showered and dressed for my lunch date.
Our table is in the covered outdoor section of the restaurant, adorned with fairy lights and medieval candelabras. We both order the battered haddock and chips and spend a delightful couple of hours catching up.
Not ready to leave each other just yet, we walk to a lovely little bar that does the most incredible mocktails; no overly sweet, syrupy concoctions here. Sarah plumps for an espresso ‘no-tini’ and I order a 0% version of the ‘Elder Cuban’ that would ordinarily contain St. Germain, rum, lime juice, mint and French sparkling. They are both equally delicious and perfect for a lightweight like me who cannot handle alcoholic cocktails. I send a little prayer up to the people at Lyres who make really good 0% spirits.
When I get home, I make breaded chicken (I bought the chicken already breaded of course, I’m not Gordon Ramsay), baked chorizo pasta and a rocket salad for dinner and before I know it, I’m collapsing into bed.
Sunday 17th March 2024
It’s a very slow Sunday morning for us; that is until James bounds out of bed to go for a swim and then to the gym. Where he gets the energy from, I’ll never know. I sit and write this newsletter on my laptop for a while and then get ready to meet James’ mum for a coffee, who has just got back from holiday in Gran Canaria.
I have a little look around my beloved M&S afterwards, mainly to snap up a crocheted cardigan I saw yesterday but didn’t buy; I also end up buying a white t shirt and a jumper by Nobody’s Child in the sale. Who knew that M&S stock Nobody’s Child?! Not me.
I join James in Sainsbury’s to finish off the Big Shop and then we rush home to do the Sunday cleaning before heading to our friends’ house for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. By the time we get home, it’s 5pm and time to get the roast dinner in the oven.
There’s something very comforting and peaceful about cooking a Sunday roast, with the radio on and a glass of wine in hand, while James watches *insert sporting event here* - the ritual of it just makes me feel very contented and happy. We eat, do the washing up and settle down to watch the last episode of Full Swing.
Thank you so much for joining me for another week! I hope you enjoyed reading this; I personally love this style of content.
Lauren x