Adele, Jane Austen and a duvet day

1. Two days to go until the end of my experiment. Not that I haven’t enjoyed this year but I’m ready for a new challenge.

2. Adele. Even though I’m not sure it’s the right choice when I’m being ravaged by hormones.

3. Diana Ross is doing well. She’s hating the cone of shame but her wound is healing up and she’s bearing up as well as she can.

4. Jane Austen and her world, which at times really feels like an excellent proposition for a woman.

5. A duvet day. I confess I barely left the bedroom today. Hormones were quite savage and I spent the morning crying and the afternoon nursing a headache trying to soothe myself with white rice.

Shopping, tortellini in brodo and a Pride & Prejudice novel

I can’t keep my eyes open. I’m writing this with one eye I’m so tired.

1. A successful shopping trip on the first day of sales. Uniqlo.

2. Tortellini in brodo. Not as good as my aunt’s but still sufficient to curb my craving and yet, I’m still hungry.

3. Left overs from Christmas dinner.

4. A Quest for Mr Darcy by Cass Grafton. If you’re a Pride & Prejudice fan, this is for you. She has captured the characters perfectly. And Mr Darcy is even more swoon worthy.

5. Another week off more or less. I confess I’m dreading going back.

Doing nothing, P&P fan fiction and finding something (you thought you had lost)

1. Doing nothing. Because you are a grown up and can actually spend the day doing nothing if you so wish.

2. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Have I mentioned it before? Still one of my favourite adaptations of A Christmas Carol. The script is excellent and the chemistry between Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Gardner is electrifying.

3. Any Pride & Prejudice fan fiction. I know but it’s my sickness, what can I tell you? The one I’m reading in particular is a cut above the rest.

4. When you find something you thought you had lost, even if it’s something mundane and boring, you still feel a bubble of excitement.

5. Friends who let you rant. But not for too long.

Limited choices, an understanding husband and #FirstStepAct

1. Good books and bad books. I’m grateful to good books because they are good and to bad books because they make me appreciate the good ones.

2. Fruit, pasta and yogurt. That’s it. That’s all I want to eat right now. I’m hungry every two hours and I don’t mean just peckish I mean stomach-growling ravenous. Every two hours. But the food doesn’t taste the same

3. A very understanding husband. I’m having trouble figuring out what to eat and when and he’s being so patient with me. Not everyone would have been.

4. #FirstStepAct. I tried not to get political on social media but the US senate has passed the first step in a much-needed prison reform and I couldn’t be happier.

5. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel has been renewed for a third season. I don’t think I can wait for a whole year though.

Bookgroup,yellow shoes and polenta

The flu vaccine has really knocked me. And for some reason my hips and lower back are complaining tonight.

1. My Bookgroup. For being awesome. It was our Christmas event tonight.

2. Bus drivers and public transport in general for being so reliable.

3. Yellow shoes from Boden. Sort of Mary Jane but prettier.

4. Heat patches when my lower back is hurting like right now.

5. Polenta with tomato sauce and sausages at Briciole in Marylebone. Highly recommend.

Bread, cakes and books

1. The Crimes of Grindewald. Jude Law is an inspired choice as a young Dumbledore but the script was a bit of a mess. I can’t stand Ezra Miller. He gets on my nerves and I don’t even think he’s a good actor.

2. Bread. Seeded sourdough bread from Borough Market

3. Cake. A slice of red velvet cake from Konditor & Cook.

4. Being sociable is not a bad thing once in a while. A friend from school is in town for a couple of days. I wanted to see her but at the same time the prospect filled me with dread. In the end we had a lovely afternoon together.

5. Books. I downloaded a couple of audiobooks: Jonathan Heidt’s the Righteous Mind and Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, which I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never read.

Comfortable underwear, a difficult book and prawn curry

1. Thick soft hand-knitted socks.

2. An intense and difficult book to go back to sleep if you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall asleep again.

3. Comfortable underwear and tights that don’t betray you by slowly rolling down. Whenever pieces of clothing suddenly decide not to play ball I always take it as a personal affront.

4. Colin sleeping in the cat house the husband built for him. Look at him how comfortable and cute he is. Right now he’s curled up against mamma in her box. By the way I bumped into kitten daddy this morning. He looks slightly injured with a limp paw but otherwise fighting fit. I didn’t demand child support. It felt rude.

5. An excellent prawn curry. I can’t eat meat at the moment apart from chicken. It’s not ideological. Fish is fine. I could live on pasta.

Bookgroup, freelancer life and a tail-chaser

1. A very interesting book group discussion. This month’s book was Pachinko and a great book it was too if I may say so myself since it was my pick.

2. The fact this blog challenge is almost done. Not that I haven’t enjoyed it but I’m ready to move onto something else. Also, a daily post is tough. It has certainly stretched me.

3. Getting more work when freelancing. And editing is something I very much enjoy way more than my ‘day job’. Surely that’s normal?

4. I’ve finally found the courage to start Gulag Archipelago. It’s going to be a long journey, which I hope won’t leave me too broken.

5. Colin chasing his tail for HOURS is the funniest moment of my day. Honestly he can go on in circle for ages.

The English countryside, sleep and adventures

1. The light in the countryside. Hampshire is beautiful. There really is nothing quite like the English countryside. It made me want to read Jane Austen.

2. Coming home to the kittens after a couple of days away. We left them on their own with plenty of food and entertainment. They’ve acquitted themselves with flying colours. Nothing broken. Nothing pissed on.

3. Mhairi McFarlane’s new book. Damn!!Nobody does romantic comedy quite the way she does apart from maybe Sally Thorne. I practically inhaled it. It made the train journey fly by.

4. Sleep. Does anything beat peaceful slumber? I will Be forever grateful that my experience of insomnia is very limited, touching wood. It would drive me to insanity.

5. Adventures that expand your mind. Whatever they might be. A trip, even a short one. A type of book you’ve never considered reading. Doing something you’d never done before, like having a baby.

A tasting menu, a puppy and a book

1. A tasting menu. Although I’m not sure why exactly I feel grateful considering how full I feel right now. Seven courses. I opted for the vegetarian dinner in option. I knew it was too much.

2. The chance to stay in a beautiful lodge in the countryside. It’s truly gorgeous and the sunset this evening was amazing. It’s called Esseborne Manor, near Andover.

3. Puppy. People next to us have the most adorable puppy spaniel ever and they let me get a cuddle.

4. A book. A proof I’ve been waiting for ages to read by an author I adore. It’s Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane. Everybody raves about You Had Me at Hello but I prefer Here’s Looking at You.

5. Harry Potter. I’m just grateful the series exists in the world giving kids and people of all ages the chance to get lost in magic.