My 2022 Recap
29 December 2022
2022, how has it been for you? For the best part my year has been steady. Some highs and lows, mostly centered around my mental health and anxiety. But with the support of my friends, family and work I managed to well, manage it!
The tail end of 2022 is where it picked up speed. From leaving the comfort of the company I spent the last decade working at, to starting with another company (with a one day off gap!) in the search of new horizons (sorry I couldn't help get an Animal Crossing reference in there!). Throw Christmas into the mix and well it's been a busy time for me this December for sure.
One thing I will add with looking back over the last 12 months is how I didn't really travel far or take many opportunities to do things outside my local area. I did live in a bubble. Also my severe lack of socialising is very apparent. My aspirations for 2023 is to meet up with people more and do to more activities and experiences. Try and live my life a bit more fuller!
Anyway the best way I can recap my 2022 is to look back at the photo's on my phone and see what I got up to. So here's a round up of my highlights of the year...
January
This was a quiet start to the year. A mixture of working and on my days off enjoying crisp winter walks in the local area. I ventured around the historic town of Arundel, walked along the stony beach of Worthing and along the tranquil path along Chichester canal. Looking back the month seemed quite dry so that made for good outdoor walks. These walks were made with Dan so that was lovely to do after the busyness of Christmas the previous month.
February
I have a blog post on the Moulin Rouge performance I saw in London here...it will remain the best live performance I've ever seen (so much so I saw it again the following month). Dan and myself also stayed in Brighton later that week to see the show Come What May, a performance of songs and dances from Moulin Rouge and other inspired musicals. The rest of the month featured more local walks and enjoying Valentine's Day with Dan (yes I did put our pop up tent up in the front room for him as a cosy den on Valentine's Day).
March
The theme of walking around the local area continued with the budding of daffodils making an appearance, though I recall a walk to a newly created nature reserve in the local area and it being a clear but bitterly cold afternoon. My poor hands were stinging from the cold!
A stand out moment of March was meeting Dan's half nieces for the first time. Dan had only the previous year found his half sister (same Dad, different Mums) and we arranged to meet his nieces at our fav local café/bistro Charley Harpers. Along with Dan's younger brother, I had a lovely time getting to know Dan's nieces and learn about a side of Dan's family that we never knew existed until a few month's earlier.
The month ended with a trip to London to see Moulin Rouge The Musical (again) for an early birthday present from Dan to myself. This trip also included my mum and my sister which was wonderful as I can't recall the last time we went to London together for a day out. We had a meal at Planet Hollywood first (nearest place to the theatre we all agreed to eat at!), then went to see the show (well I say 'we'. I was feeling anxious and couldn't face going in to see the show-as much as I loved it- so I missed the first half and sat in a nearby Waterstones. I managed to convince myself to go in to see the second half- I'll add that my family were concerned about me, Dan came and sat with me in Waterstones, but I insisted that my mum and sister see the show. After the intermission I returned for the second half and I'm glad I did as I got swept up my the show again and really enjoyed it. My mum and my sister didn't know much about the storyline and they loved it!). This was followed by a hot chocolate in Starbucks to chat about the performance and then we had a look along Regent's Street, before heading back to get the train home. Despite my anxieties that day, I look back on the day fondly as it was lovely to spend that day with Dan, my mum and sister, all seeing a show I love.
April
This started with a wonderful meal at an local awarding winning Indian restaurant with colleagues from my then job at John Lewis. I had a lovely time and the food and service was just right (Masala City if you're interested). Not knowing it would be leaving my colleagues at the end of the year, I now look back and am grateful we had these get togethers outside of work as I cherish their friendship.
April brought more walks, this time in more Spring time weather. One walk was to some local woodland near Arundel full of beautiful Bluebells carpeting the ground.
The month also brought some baking, visit to the seaside and a day out to Petworth House on my birthday. Looking back at the photo's from the day, I now remember how warm it was. We had a picnic on the grounds of the house and it was about 20 degrees if I recall correctly. Perfect Spring weather.
I was spoilt with a Cricut (vinyl) cutting machine for my birthday from Dan which has given me another creative hobby to take up! Which I have since added to with a smaller Cricut machine and the two heat presses (it's not a cheap hobby let me tell you that for nothing!- I have scaled back my spending on I will add!).
May
May was a month for embracing the warmer weather by going to the beach for walks, going to the woods and generally making the most of the season by being outdoors. I can't recall anything of much interest from the month but sometimes it's nice to have time that is relaxed and easy going.
June
June featured a hair cut. I had a few inches cut off. I had been growing my hair long for well over a year up until that point, but it was dry and the ends were split. So despite my desire for long hair I got it cut. Refreshing to have my hair shorter and neater but I still miss my long hair! When I have long hair I want it short and when I have it short I want it long ;) This was a phase of me spending the next couple of months getting my hair cut again as I couldn't be satisfied with the style. By September I decided to let my hair grow out and see how long I can grow it before I get it cut again!
June was also Dan and myself 21 year anniversary of when we first started dating and also our 8 year wedding anniversary. Weirdly I can't remember what we did to celebrate. All I can recall is that Dan brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers that were being sold by Chichester Cathedral that were from the flower exhibition that they hold every year. We do make an effort to celebrate each others birthdays and special occasions like anniversaries. Any excuse to do something nice- not that an excuse is really needed, just be nice cos you can :)
The weather was continuing to be warm and bright, so more walks along the local beaches such as Littlehampton and Brighton and green areas remained.
A shopping trip to Southampton with my mum also featured which we both enjoyed. Growing up I never went on days out shopping with my mum as we didn't have the money to do so. So to be able to do it now is something I enjoy doing (not that we have lot's of money now- just we are in slightly better financial situations so we can have a day out like this). We had lunch in Bills and my mum had never visited West Quay shopping centre before so I enjoyed showing her around (she relishes my retail knowledge as I can advise her on good deals and promotions).
July
July was when the heat in the UK really ramped up. I don't like the heat. A warm and comfortable Summers day I can enjoy but a heatwave and 30 degree plus temps I can not. So don't ask me why but Dan and myself thought to go up to London when the temperature was around 30 degrees. The reason for the trip was to see where Dan's great Granddad several generations back lived in London. Dan had previously discovered there was some of his ancestors that lived in Bow Lane, London were quite well to do at the time. It is said if you live within the sound of the bells of St Mary le Bow Church you are true Cockney, so Dan has some Cockney blood in him! We then walked around the surrounding area and headed to Shoreditch and Spitalfields Market. Eventually the heat was getting to much and around 2pm we headed back home on the train. A lovely day out but just too hot for me!
I also decided to try my hand an some painting with acrylics and watercolour paints. I love being creative and art is a hobby I enjoy. Whilst I'm no Picasso or Monet, I do like putting pain to paper and seeing what I can (or cannot) create!
August
August continued with the warm weather, but there was moments where it was more comfortable thankfully. A trip to Bournemouth was on the cards as Dan had booked tickets to see Derren Brown's latest stage show tour, The Showman. Dan and myself have been avid fans of Derren since discovering him through his tv series Trick of the Mind back in the early 2000's. Since then Dan has seen a show from from each of his tours (I think I had missed just one year at that point). Unfortunately though I made it to Bournemouth and to the hotel, my anxieties made a reappearance and I didn't feel comfortable in going to see the show. Dan went on his own (which I still feel bad about) and I stayed in the hotel room, with a KFC and watched tv. I will say Dan is very supportive with my mental health issues, for which I will always thank him for. Being autistic Dan doesn't like changes of plans, so I can only imagine how this makes him feel when I drop out last minute. We work hard to support each others needs as we care about each other.
Dan said The Showman was an uplifting show that I would of enjoyed so I hope I might get the chance to see it for myself.
Another outing was to woods on the outskirts of Chichester for Dan's birthday. Dan loves being in nature and being outdoors and as such he had seen online the remains of an old church in some secluded woods nearby. My sister drove us and my mum to said location where we sat and had a picnic and a walk around the woods. Some people like busy and fast paced activities where Dan and myself like quiet and easy going environments, so the woods was just right for Dan's birthday to visit.
Throughout August I was also on the hunt for an outfit for Goodwood Revival as we had volunteered through my work (at the time John Lewis) to support their charity of the year, The Aldingbourne Trust.
In exchange for our time there collecting for Goodwood's chosen charity we had free entry to the event. Being that I love vintage clothing and bygone eras this sounded like a wonderful opportunity. I scoured local charity shops, vintage shops and online sites to find a suitable outfit. At this point I hadn't committed to an outfit but looking for one was half the fun!
September
I've only been once before in 2014, so being it's only a 10 minute drive away from me, I don't know why I've not been more times! I had a lovely day, despite wearing heels all day (I'm not a heel wearer- Converse's and the like are my preference). After all my vintage clothes hunting I opted for a 1950's dress I had brought a few years earlier. I teamed this with a 1940's shrug I brought in a vintage shop in Portsmouth, a vintage handbag I brought for the event and vintage inspired heels from Collectif.
If I went again I think I'd opted for overalls/dungarees, hair scarf and flat shoes, Land Girl style. Much more comfortable!
October
October was another quiet month of day trips out to local seaside towns and embracing the changing season from Summer to Autumn. Also baking cakes for the cosy, cooler afternoons. My highlight was seeing the many colours of Autumn on the trees. I used to not like Autumn that much. To me Summer had gone and Winter was on its way. But now I embrace the beautiful reds, oranges, ambers and greens of the trees in Autumn. I think Autumn is now one of my favourite months. The temperature is more comfortable, I like wearing sweaters and jumpers and being snuggly on the sofa of an afternoon.
November
I love Christmas trees and it was Dan this year that put up our Christmas tree at the beginning of November. I then dressed it with all my cute and wonderful animal decorations. We love the Christmas trees being the only lights on when cosied up on the sofa of an evening.
At the beginning of the month I attended a book event at Waterstones in Brighton. My favourite author, Lindsey Kelk had just published her latest book The Christmas Wish and was over from LA to do a book tour to promote it. Lindsey was joined by fellow author Holly Bourne, where they both chatted to an audience of about 30 about their book career and about their latest books. This was followed by a chance to have copies of their books I had purchased that evening signed by them. Both authors are lovely and I read The Christmas Wish in one day! It's a great story and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the romantic comedy genre. In fact I sent a copy to my good friend in London as I had to share it with others!
The end of the month was my mum's 70th birthday were Dan, my sister, her good friend and my mums good friend and myself had a meal in the newly opened Ivy restaurant in Chichester. The décor is beautiful and we mused at the flowered covered ceiling in the ladies toilets! This was followed by going to see a play at Chichester Festival Theatre. The play's lead was supposed to be Caroline Quentin, but unfortunately she was unwell, so another actress stepped into the breach at the very last minute. The actress had to have a script with her on stage, so credit to her for doing this at such short notice. Whilst the play was well acted, it wasn't my cup of tea. I found it dragged in places but my mum enjoyed it and that was all that mattered.
Dan had decided to make my mum a birthday cake. Dan has made me cakes previously, all very tasty but he had never made a cake for one of my family. Being it was my mums 70th, I think Dan thought he would take the opportunity to see what he could create. Dan spent a good few hours creating a woodland themed chocolate sponge cake which not only looked very impressive, tasted delicious. It appeared to my mum it was the highlight of her birthday! Dan now has sent the bar of cake baking, as the cake was shared to friends and family who all praised Dan for how great it looked and tasted! Who knew Dan was a secret baker!
December
Up until writing this post, December has been a month of change and challenges. From leaving my job at John Lewis (I saw that Oliver Bonas was opening a shop in Chichester and thought it would be a great opportunity to work there as a change of scene and to try something new). It was sad to say goodbye to my colleagues and friends at JL as they were so sweet to me when they heard I was leaving and kept saying how they would miss me. To be honest I was overwhelmed by their kindness and heartfelt words. With only one day off between finishing one job and starting another, I fell feet first into a very, very busy Oliver Bonas and was on the tills pretty much straight away!
So who knows what 2023 will bring. I hope it brings goodness and rewarding opportunities. I would love to do something for myself that has some sort of success. I don't know what exactly. But I want something that I've created that I can feel proud of. And by that I mean work/career/hobby related. I'm a creative soul, so I'd be happy having the freedom to do what I'm passionate about and sharing it with others, much like this blog!
Thank you for reading this far! I wish you a wonderful and happy 2023!
Love Abbie xxx
