Birthday Week Recap

Matera

After the beautiful wedding in Ostuni, my friends and I headed to the ancient city of Matera, one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world.

The scenery was breathtaking. I’ll definitely go back.

Oh, if you’re ever in Matera, head to MAD Gelato and tell the owner, Uccio, that I sent you. 😌

Staycation

I took myself to a fancy hotel in London for some much-needed me-time.

I started the day with a 12K run around Hyde Park — as part of a running plan, not wholly by choice — and then enjoyed a cream tea:

My mum decided to crash the party:

Leeds

Then it was time for the final wedding of the my year!

There was something so special about seeing two university friends tie the knot and declare their love for one another. 🥹

It was a wonderful end to a fabulous week. ✨

Thank you so much for all of the well-wishes and coffees! 🥰

Reset & Rejig

I knew when my wedding and travel season was over, I’d only have 11 weeks until feature freeze.

So I desperately needed to crack on with coding. 😰

But I had so much life admin I had to deal with, alongside just feeling exhausted, so I decided to give myself a “reset week” and extended the feature freeze deadline by an extra week…

Of course, I didn’t get as much rest or life admin done as intended during reset week, but time is of the essence!

So, here’s what the roadmap is roughly looking like:

• Oct 5th – Oct 18th: Community/Social

• Oct 19th – Nov 1st: Merging Buddy Reads & Readalongs

• Nov 2nd – Dec 20th: UI/UX Upgrade

I mean, by the time the next issue comes out…at least commenting on reviews should be out…if not more… 😅

Horror Flick Recs

Are you a horror film fan? 👀

I need some help! 🙀

I’m hosting a mini birthday sleepover for a friend this weekend and she loves horror films.

We want to do some form of mystery selection game where we’ll read some brief pointers about a few films, without revealing the titles, and she’ll choose what she wants to watch based on that.

She’s open to a wide range of horror but I know she recently enjoyed Obsession — as did I! — and a classic fave of hers is I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Please give me your best under-the-radar recs (that are easily available to stream online)! Just the titles, please. No explanation needed, and certainly no spoilers. 🙏🏾

Daughter of the Forest Readalong

Top Three Book Club have started our first official readalong: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier.

You don’t have to be a member to take part!

If you want to get lost in a 650-page retelling of a classic fairytale alongside dozens of other readers, now’s your chance! 🧚🏾‍♂️

What I’m Reading

I’m also finishing off the trilogy of novellas my siblings and I started as part of our trip in August: The Memory of the Ogisi by Moses Ose Utomi.

Have a great week,

Nadia