The month that was: August and September 2019

What happened:
Oomph, long overdue, so here's a quick round-up of what I got up to. In August, I visited Kensington Palace, Leighton House Museum (it's incredible inside), went to Van Gogh and Britain at the Tate Britain, and Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams at the V&A (such beautiful clothes).

I did my first ever escape room (I was useless), cheered Olly on at the finish line of RideLondon, and we jetted off to Bulgaria for a two week holiday in Sofia, Sozopol and Nessebar. (Posts coming soon!) We headed to Dorney Lake for Olly's last triathlon of the year, saw Big on the West End (good fun but a pretty unforgettable score - don't dash to see it), and that was about it!

What I ate:
No new "you must eat there" recommendations from London, but I did have Vietnamese food from Union Viet, brunch from Hallowed Belly and brunch from The Diner. All fine, but not amazing. We also took my dad to Blacklock for an "all in" Sunday roast, which I've recommended many times before!

Some recommendations to come in my upcoming Bulgaria posts (though the food, generally, isn't amazing), but I did love MEAT in Sofia, and I acquired a taste for mussels when on the Black Sea coast. Back home, we bought Veg by Jamie Oliver (excellent if you're thinking of cutting out meat), and East by Meera Sodha (yet to cook from it!).

What I watched:
TV-wise in August we finished watching Parks and Recreations, and saw a few more episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Films watched: Juliet Naked and The Voices. At the cinema: Fast and Furious: Hobbes & Shaw.

TV-wise in September, we watched season two of The Chef Show (it's the best), some more episodes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, The Mind Explained, and started watching The Politician. Films watched: The Hate U Give, Holmes and Watson, Lost in London, Slaughterhouse Rulez, Catch Me If You Can, Welcome to Marwen, The Karate Kid Part III and Bohemian Rhapsody. At the cinema: Hustlers and Ad Astra.

What I read:
In August I read 14 books; in September I read 20 books (hurrah for holidays). 4* reads included the Sandhamn series by Viveca Sten (mostly 4*), How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne, Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver, The Lido by Libby Page, The Scent of You by Maggie Alderson, Valley of Death by Scott Mariani, Beartown by Fredrik Backman, Here to Stay by Mark Edwards, The Man Who Didn't Call by Rosie Walsh and An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.