The year that was: 2018

What happened:
Another year done, which saw me temporarily parking my writing ambitions as we're focusing on saving up to buy a house. After a stint freelancing at Sky, I accepted a permanent full-time position in the City of London which should, hopefully, bring us nicely to that house goal by the end of 2019/early 2020.

Theatre-wise, I saw School of Rock, The Phantom of the Opera, 42nd Street, Hamilton and Bat out of Hell on the West End – Hamilton was easily my favourite show of the year. I saw The Killers perform in Dublin, who were supported by Franz Ferdinand, and both were most excellent.

We've had friends and family visit us in London and we've made trips to Yorkshire and Kent to visit our respective families – including celebrating Christmas in Kent. We also welcomed another new nephew in 2018, bringing our total to six niblings between us. I had one wedding last year, my academic sister's (it's a St Andrews thing) in Godalming, which was so lovely.

As always I did a few touristy things in London – including heading to Far Far Away via Shrek's Adventure, taking a spin on the  London Eye, delighting at Christmas at Kew, observing London from the Sky Garden, exploring the Asterix in Britain exhibition at the Jewish Museum, the Picasso 1932 - Love, Fame, Tragedy exhibition at the Tate Modern, and the Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic exhibition at the V&A – plus we took holidays in Ireland, Vietnam (absolutely amazing) and Hong Kong.

What I ate:
Special mentions restaurant-wise in London go to Hakkasan Hanway Place for dim sum Sunday, Burger & Beyond for their delicious tater tots, Gyoza Guys' gyoza, Dishoom for their breakfasts, Salt Shed for amazing street food steak, Da Ja Chicken and Only Jerkin' for tasty street food chicken, Bill or Beak for their yummy burgers, Osteria Antica Bologna for a beautiful Italian dinner, City Social for a Michelin-starred lunch with a view, Blacklock for an epic Sunday roast, and Arlo's for awesome steak trenchers.

New cookbooks I recommend from 2018 are Made in India (if you're a fan of Indian food), and River Cottage Much More Veg (if you want a break from meat every once in a while).

What I watched:
I went to the cinema a whopping 47 times (Cineworld Unlimited card FTW!). My favourite films seen at the cinema in 2018 were: The Greatest Showman, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, Isle of Dogs, Avengers: Infinity War (so much so, saw this twice at the cinema), and Ready Player One.

TV-wise, the best series I watched in 2018 were Santa Clarita Diet (we watched the second season, but both are superb, and you should obviously watch season one first), The Crown (season one and two), and The End of the F***ing World. All on Netflix.

What I read:
I read 132 books this year, abandoned 31 books, and listened to two audiobooks. I've shared my full reading list here, and my favourite reads of the year here.

Hope 2018 was a good one for you. Let me know what your highlights were. x