My Ten Happy Discoveries of 2020.

You don't need me to tell you how much of an odd year 2020 was; unprecedented times and many lockdowns later, it was a hard year for us all no matter what continues to happen. However, there were many little things I discovered (and re-discovered) in the year that made it a little brighter at times so that's what I'll be writing about today.

Notion

Notion was my first discovery of the year and for someone who loves to be organised, this application has been a dream come true. It's my personal organisation system and it holds everything from birthdays, appointments, my weekly agenda; to my reading lists, gift wish lists and my master to-do list, and that's only a small slice. It's completely customisable and it's very much like a digital version of a bullet journal.

Made in Chelsea

What might surprise you about this is that this particular show, I was never fond of. I rolled my eyes every time I seen an ad online for it and couldn't think why anyone wanted to watch it. Turn the clocks around to the month of April and suddenly I was starting to binge watch quite a few episodes a day. I managed to catch up with the entire series a week after the first episode of the new season came out around September time, and while I shouldn't be proud of watching that much reality TV in one go, I can't help but be.

Dead to Me

I can easily say that anytime anyone is looking for a new Netflix show to watch, I always recommend Dead to Me. I started watching it mid-year and I was hooked from the get-go; I love both Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini so when I realised I had missed out on this show when it first aired, I made up for lost time and now I'm so eager for the final season to air! If you're interested in a dark comedy that edges on thriller, I highly recommend it!

Seinfeld

Don't worry, I've heard of Seinfeld before! I may be a 90's kid but it was on just a little too late for me but when I discovered it was on Channel 4's on-demand service, I knew that this was the next show to keep me entertained. It's incredibly easy to watch, most of the jokes still hold up thirty years later (I would say a percentage of them however, you would not get away with saying now) and it actually makes me laugh out loud, which doesn't happen a lot now with most new comedies that I watch.

Penpals

While I don't receive many letters addressed to me these days, I got back into penpalling this year through Reddit, and it's always nice to have a little surprise letter turn up at your door. It takes me quite a while to write one letter thanks to my very slow writing style, but there's something nice about choosing the best moments of your life at that point and sharing them with someone who you connect with in another city. (Psst... I have a blog post coming out soon about becoming a penpal again!)

Rollerskating

I wouldn't describe myself as an impulsive buyer so when I tell you that I truly thought about my purchase of roller skates, I really thought about it before I bought them. Regrettably, I didn't get to go out in them a lot last year so I'm excited for the Spring and Summer where I'm going to make more of an effort to skate around my area and improve my skills.

Homemade Breakfast Pancakes

After my favourite café closed during the pandemic (and then closed permanently shortly afterwards) there was a gap in my life for breakfast pancakes, and because we were spending so much more time at home, I tried a simple recipe from BBC Good Food and I fell in love with my own. Mine aren't as fancy with the toppings, but agave nectar and banana certainly do the trick for me. It's even become a little Sunday morning tradition to have some pancakes on the sofa to start our day.

Vegan Doughnuts

While vegan doughnuts certainly weren't a discovery overall, I had never been able to pick one up because they were always sold out, so when a local company started delivering over the lockdown, that's when I fell in love with them. If you looked at my Instagram over the Summer, you would think that's all I ate (I didn't, I promise!).

Bubble Tea

Being a huge tea drinker but not being interested in iced tea, I wasn't sure if bubble tea would ever be for me. It's one of my favourite drinks ever now! I like how it can be so customisable and there is always a way to make it vegan especially with fruit teas. I even introduced one of my best friends to it who despises tea, and she loved it too!

Cleo Harper

I went through a stage with leggings towards the end of the year where they would start to rip between the thighs. Sometimes it was due to the weight gain I had had over the year and other times, I just knew that the time had come for those particular ones. I follow quite a few Australian women on Instagram and two in particular work with a workout clothing brand called Cleo Harper. I fell in love with their ethos, their designs and their overall vibe so while their clothing isn't the cheapest, I knew that I may have to spend a little more money to get the quality I needed. When I tell you that the leggings I purchased are the dreamiest pair you could ever wear, it's incredible; buttery soft, feels thin on the body but they're certainly not thin material and it feels like they are made for your body shape. I would rather invest in a few pieces that I know will hold up, than pay £40 for leggings (which to me, is still expensive) for them not to last longer than a few weeks.

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So there you have it, ten little discoveries that brightened up 2020 when we all needed a good boost. Everyone's different; perhaps you fell in love with Tiger King or a new coffee got you through the harder days. Feel free to share yours with me and have a wonderful day! ☀️