Some blogs I like
Ok, so this isn’t really a project I’ve done or anything, but I thought I’d share some of the things I like to read regularly and have, in some way or other, influenced this blog and, well, my life.
In 2009, I was working at a job I hated, not really sure what I was doing with my life and in my first year of therapy (which, let’s face it, is HARD). I searched the internet for blogs and books and ideas about being happy and after not too long, I came across this blog by Gretchen Rubin.
It was great. I read it every chance I got: during my lunch break, on the train, at home, not on my lunch break. I bought the book. What I really enjoy about this blog is that it’s not about quick fixes. Gretchen went through a massive overhaul and identified specific things through research and experimentation that helped her happiness levels. And it introduced me to the idea that life can just be a series of ‘projects’. I love Gretchen’s tone and how interactive she is with her readers.
A blog by two lovely ladies (@LollyGee and @buxtontheblue) who both like boys and are a bit mental. What I really like is that their blogs are made up of the emails they send each other about whatever they’re going through at the time. And they do brilliant drawings of themselves.
This is one of my favourite blogs not because it’s current or updated really regularly, but because Brene Brown is one of my favourite people ever. She is a shame researcher, which sounds scary, but her studies in this uber-powerful human emotion basically lead her to create a small revolution that she calls ‘Wholehearted Living’. I’m not much for the self-help, and I’m convinced that this isn’t self-help as we know it: it’s scientific, but empathic. And Brene’s work continues to make sense to me because it’s mostly about being yourself and being brave.
I was very pleased to meet Danielle Meder through @LollyGee a few months ago. As delightful in real life as she is in her blog, I really love the clarity and thoughtfulness of her posts about the turbulent fashion industry, plus the way she shows her fashion illustrations alongside. A dedicated blogger, Danielle posts really regularly and you can follow her on twitter too – @finalfashion
The Piano Project
An amazing thing happened a couple of months ago. I was given a piano for free.
One of my lifetime ambitions was to own a piano and now I do! (My neighbours were moving and couldn’t afford to take it with them. As they had to shift it pretty quickly, they offered it around the building free of charge…)
I’ve always played music, I did tons at school, playing flute and then saxophone with a bit of guitar and piano as well. But I never had piano lessons. The attitude was always “you can read music so just work it out”. Plus I think if I’d had any more lessons my life would basically have ground to a (musical) halt.
So when I got my piano I decided that I should take some lessons. I’ve pretty much stopped playing any of my instruments and I’m scared to take flute or sax lessons again because I’ll be worse than I was before. Having piano lessons seemed positive as possible having never learned formally before.
I’ve had a whole four lessons, learnt four scales and two pieces. It’s going pretty well! I enjoy learning and practicing (apart from scales – they’re annoying).
Here’s the thing: I don’t really know what I want to play. I really want to find some enjoyable stuff but I don’t know where to start. Any recommendations or suggestions are very much welcome! Leave a comment and I’ll probably just do whatever you tell me to.
I’ll keep you posted (and add a photo of my lovely piano soon).
The Jenny Project 