hello january 2024!

Hi everyone! I’m back with the New Year! 2023 was full of all sorts of adventures, and not a lot of time for writing, so I’ve made it a goal to post at least once a month to keep up with 2024’s endeavors! I’ll also include some trip highlights from 2023 that I neglected to post last year 🙂 So, welcome back and let’s get started!

january 2024 recap

I was able to go back home for Christmas this year again, and I had a blast with my family & friends. It was a whirlwind of a trip that culminated in me getting a free & random upgrade to first class (two years in a row – I should definitely play the lottery) and landing back in London on New Year’s Eve. My friends, my boyfriend, and I went on a four hour booze cruise on the Thames to celebrate the New Year. If you’re in London and looking for something to do for NYE, the Golden Star NYE Boat Cruise was a great option. The food was nothing to write home about, but it did the job of lining our stomachs! The boat moored on the river and we had a spectacular view of the fireworks and drone show. It was such a special way to ring in 2024 with my London family! It was a great way to celebrate because we skipped the lines & the crowds (though getting down to the pier was a bit of a challenge).

After NYE, I committed to Dry January – the first time I’ve done it! We had agreed that our Dry Jan would end on 27 January, when we were celebrating our friend Zoe’s birthday. I made it all 27 days! This month also marked the beginning of busy season at work, so there are a lot less events that I went to because I spent a lot of time behind my laptop screen. I still managed to have a fun month and spent a lot of quality time with my boyfriend, George, and friends. Some highlights included:

Going to Orange Theory (I fully understand the hype!) with my friends and getting brunch afterwards (though only on Saturdays)
Sunday Roast at Pig + Butcher in Islington. They have fantastic roast – highly recommend everyone visits!
Taco Tuesday at Del74 Tacos in Dalston. The best guacamole I’ve had so far in London. It was also only like 6 quid for two tacos – a steal!
Book club! We met at Editor’s Tap and discussed our latest book pick, The Christmas Murder Game. I will say that no one had glowing reviews for the book, but it kept us hooked to find out who the killer was.
Dinner at Marugame Udon on Liverpool Street. This is my second time going and WOW is it delicious. I love the chicken katsu with udon noodles. Drooling thinking about it & it’s super affordable.
GAME NIGHT! My friends and I had two game nights this month and most of us learned how to play Catan for the first time. We also played Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and I honestly don’t think I’ve laughed harder in my life.
Romanian classes! I’ve signed up for a tutor to learn Romanian, which has been pretty hysterical, trying to pronounce some of the words from Duolingo!
Dinner at La Vita e Bella in Islington. Their goat cheese salad and Caesar salad are to DIE for, but also all my friends enjoyed their pasta dishes as well. It seems you can’t go wrong here!
Celebrating Zoe’s birthday!!! We went to Mercato Mayfair for dinner, which is an old church converted to a food hall. It was awesome and I HIGHLY recommend the Steamy & Co. brisket bao buns. We had so much fun celebrating our wonderful friend. I broke Dry Jan with some delicious white wine that I thoroughly enjoyed. I made sure to drink lots of water and managed not to have a hangover the day after!
I was able to have chill weekends too, spent at home cooking with George, and enjoying nights in. It was great to take it easy after a jam packed 2023!