April was a really lovely month! I think a combination of being allowed to see people in real life, and nice enough weather most of the month to allow that to be actually possible made everything feel a bit brighter. I've had some lovely walks and been able to sit in my parents' garden and our new garden furniture arrived just in time for the rule change too.
You can see some of the fun I have in my One Second Every Day video, and here's everything else I got up to...
What I did
April meant saying goodbye to MAGO where I'd been CRM Manager since November 2019. I was sad to leave the business and my team, but I was excited to start my new job at Pets at Home! Settling into a new job is always a pretty scary prospect but everyone I've met so far has been so lovely and it's just such a great company to work for - I love getting to think about pets all day!
April also brought our second wedding anniversary. I know - I don't know how it's been 2 years either! We were so lucky that the rules changed the day before our anniversary so we could have a drink and some food outside and we managed to get a booking for the beer garden of our favourite pub. It was so nice to be able to celebrate properly!
Two year wedding anniversary is cotton, so Phil got me a cotton-scented candle and diffuser and some new pyjamas (I loooooove new pyjamas!) and I was a bit sneaky and got him some "cotton" spa slippers and booked us a massage. It was soooo lovely and relaxing, plus we got a glass of prosecco after which was definitely a bonus!
April also brought the release of The Green Barbecue and I was thrilled to received a signed copy from Rukmini herself. Phil got a new barbecue for his birthday so if the weather stays nice I'll hopefully have a review up on here soon!
What I read
April was a fantastic reading month - I read so many good books! Here's what I read in April:
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Hacking the Unconscious by Rory Sutherland
- People Like Them by Samira Sedira
- Animal by Lisa Taddeo
- Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
- Saltwater by Jessica Andrews
- Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
- Paradise Block by Alice Ash
- Young Hearts Crying by Richard Yates
- Adrianne Geffel: A Fiction by David Hajdu
- The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
This was a nice mix of Netgalley proofs and also the stack of library books I've been working through since March!
Catherine House, Paradise Block, Saltwater, Young Hearts Crying and Acts of Desperation were all library books - I'm always really impressed by the books I'm able to get from the library - even really new ones like Acts of Desperation. Well done, Stockport Libraries! Acts of Desperation was also one of my absolute favourite books I read in April too.
I had a few Netgalley proofs including Malibu Rising which I was so excited about as Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my favourite writers. I don't want to say even a word about this because I know it's going to be a huge summer read! I think the same can be said of Lisa Taddeo's Animal and Zakiya Dalila Harris' The Other Black Girl which I think are two books everyone is going to be talking about this year. I also loved People Like Them which was dark and brilliant and horrible and realistic - I can't wait to hear what other people think of it!
I love everything Rory Sutherland does and as a marketer, I'm fascinated by his books and TED talks, so when I spotted Hacking the Unconscious as an audiobook on Netgalley I requested it right away. It's a little bit cobbled together (it's a series of radio shows rather than a true audiobook) and there was quite a lot of stuff in it I already knew, but I would recommend it as an intro to his work.
What I watched (films)
As good as my book-reading was in April, our film watching was even better. I definitely watched at least two of my films of the year in April.
Here's what we watched:
- Run
- Palm Springs
- The Matrix (this was a rewatch but I haven't seen it since it came out so it was like watching it for the first time)
- The Sound of Metal
- Promising Young Woman
- The Act of Killing
- The Conjuring
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Palm Springs is my new favourite film. The minute it finished I just wanted to watch it again. I know it's going to be one of my those comfort watches I keep going back to and telling everyone they need to watch (like I do now with Game Night).
I am also utterly obsessed with Promising Young Woman which was even better and darker and more horrible and brilliant than I had expected. I've been listening to the soundtrack on repeat.
We've had the Blu-ray of The Act of Killing (and its companion The Look of Silence) for over a year, and last weekend we finally decided to watch it. Wow, what an innovative approach to a documentary. Completely unforgettable.
Loads of my Twitter pals were excited for the trailer for the film in The Conjuring universe and having never seen any of them we decided to treat ourselves to a midweek film and watched the original The Conjuring last week. It was great fun!
Finally, Into the Spider-verse is one of our favourite films so we were so excited to hear about the latest film by the makers of Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines and we watched it the day it dropped on Netflix. It was super weird and fun and a laugh a minute - we loved it.
What I watched (TV)
In April we finally finished Schitt's Creek after dragging our feet because we didn't want it to be over! I completely loved it and thought the ending was perfect - though I am so sad it's over!
We also watched the Schitt's Creek documentary on Netflix which I highly recommend if you're a fan - I just wish it had been longer!
What I listened to
I absolutely caned podcasts in April and finally listened to some that have been on my podcast app for ages!
Here's what I listened to:
- Chameleon
- 30 for 30: Heavy Medals
- Bed of Lies
- Rabbit Hole
Honestly, these were all brilliant and I highly recommend them if you want a one-series-length story to get sucked into it!
What I read online
Here's hoping for good things in May!
Charlotte x
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