I haven’t done a ‘months in review’ post before—obviously not here on The Grey Brunette because it’s only existed since January! But I never did one on my Suzy Turner blog either. There’s a first time for everything. So, without further ado, here’s what I’ve been up to since creating The Grey Brunette…

What I’ve been buying

Cloffice
With all the shops currently closed because of Covid, like most of the world, all my shopping (apart from groceries) has had to be done online. But it hasn’t stopped me. I’ve had a couple of mini sprees. My first was for my new cloffice. I bought a grey rug, a white chair and some pink curtains from Ikea, wallpaper for my wardrobe doors from a new site I discovered and some grey paint from CIN. I also bought a plain white wall mirror for above my bureau and some spotlights from Leroy Merlin. After creating my cloffice, I realised I also needed a smaller mirror for putting on my makeup so I got that from Amazon, and some black shelf brackets. The little mirror is bloody brilliant because it’s got 1x/2x/3x/10x magnification (which can be a bit scary lol).

Makeup
With such a fabulous new cloffice, I decided I also needed some new makeup brushes. After all, if I ever planned on doing any makeup videos for my new YouTube channel, my brushes would have to look good, right?! LOL. Anyway, I found the most beautiful ones from LookFantastic, and while I was there I couldn’t resist a new blusher and eyeshadow palette!

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A few weeks later, I added to that with some goodies from Kiko—namely a face primer, several blue and brown eyeliners and mascaras and the most gorgeous bright prink lipstick, all of which I’m delighted with.

Clothes / accessories
January is often one month where I spend a lot of time browsing the sale rails. Sadly, I haven’t had the chance to do that this year, and I didn’t really look much online either. More recently though, I picked up a few things from H&M, including a very cute pale pink blouse for the summer, a couple of vests, the most spectacular pink sequined top and a pink baseball cap. I also found a stunning strapless red swimsuit from Oysho which I’m looking forward to wearing (although I might need to do a bit more yoga first lol).
Oh, I almost forgot the mustard trainers (sneakers) that I got from Woden. I’ve worn them several times on the blog already because they’re fabulous, and have a bit of a retro vibe going on!
Not that I needed any more jewellery, but I just couldn’t resist some beautiful earrings from Happy Ginger on Etsy (image above).

What I’ve been cooking

We had the most enormous pumpkins left over from last year so we went through a phase of eating that for a while. My favourite recipe is this pumpkin curry which I add potatoes to and is absolutely delicious. We also made several pumpkin pies, but I don’t really like it very much lol. Michael loves it. I’d rather have chocolate cake.

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Speaking of chocolate cake, I have made quite a few of those since January and my most recent one was absolutely divine (if I do say so myself). This is the recipe I usually use. It’s gluten free. I use a different frosting recipe though. You can find that here. And for my most recent cake, I tried something new: I used chocolate Angel Delight in the centre and it was freaking delicious (I substituted the milk for lactose-free cream to make it thicker)!
Also on the subject of chocolate, if you’re a chocoholic like me, try this Ginger Chocolate Pots recipe. I’ve done it loads of times (including a few weeks ago) and it always goes down well, it’s especially good for dinner parties as it’s super rich, so you only need small portions.
Other than that, we’ve been having lots of vegetarian food as usual. And I’ve realised that starchy potatoes upset my IBS, as does too much rice, so we keep having to look for alternatives. We’re therefore eating lots of quinoa and corn-based food like polenta (I’m also gluten intolerant, btw).

What I’ve been creating

Well, aside from my cloffice (closet office in case you’re wondering!) and this Grey Brunette blog, I’ve also created a new YouTube channel, a new Instagram account, Twitter account, Facebook page and Pinterest account. Oh and I’m on TikTok too lol! I’m trying hard to get The Grey Brunette out there. It’s not easy, but I’m not doing too badly considering it all started only a few short months ago. I almost forgot, I also created the Neverending Style linky and the Neverending Style Facebook group which has a few members but we’ve not been posting much…yet. But it will happen soon enough!
I’ve made loads of little YouTube videos—some of which are posted above, which are mostly about style. Some of them are done using photos when I haven’t been able to create video content, but I will be doing more of that this year (actual video content, that is). Some others are about how to do gel nails at home, unboxing, shopping hauls, how to get wavy hair and some are just me prancing about in my outfits lol! But they’re all fun and hopefully as I produce more, I might get more than my current 19 subscribers LOL!

What I’ve been drinking

My days always start with a cup of Nespresso coffee, and I have been loving their Christmas specials. Sadly, they’re no longer available, so I’m drinking their cocoa truffle, vanilla eclair and creme brulee flavoured coffee. I always take my coffee black as I’m lactose intolerant. During the day, I drink mostly water in my BeWater crystal bottle (pictured below), or herbal tea. And then sometime between five and six pm after a shower, I might have a glass of wine with some nuts and olives. It’s one of my favourite treats. I’m currently loving Mula Velha Reserva or Premium, a white wine from the Lisbon region and Joao Pires from the Setubal area (just south of Lisbon)

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What I’ve been reading

Oddly enough for me, I haven’t been reading much (apart from blog posts) these past few months. I’ve been so focussed on blogging and getting The Grey Brunette off the ground that I’ve just been knackered by the time I get to bed and end up mindlessly browsing Pinterest for fifteen minutes before I call it a night.
When I have been in the mood to read, I’m reading things related to blogging, social media and entrepreneurship. I’m currently beta reading a book for an author pal. I have started a book by Ken Follet, but it’s huge and it just seems too big to read at bedtime lol! Once summer is here, I’ll be reading loads by the pool (or while I float in it lol!)

What I’ve been watching

If you know me, you’ll know that I’m a bit of a TVaholic. I love mindlessly watching stuff either on the telly or on the computer. I just find it really relaxing to switch off like that. I also like to have something on in the background, if I don’t need to concentrate too much, that is. Here are a few things we’ve been watching over the past few months:

Vikings (Netflix & Prime Video)
We started watching this series last year. We watched all the seasons available on Netflix at the time but then discovered the rest of it on Prime Video, so we’re taking our time to finish it. Although it seems to have gone a bit weird (Ivar the boneless drives me mad), the first few seasons were bloody brilliant—not to mention the fact that it’s full of big hunky Vikings! We’re kind of hoping it might return to its former glory, but realise that is unlikely. One of my favourite characters is Floki (I always love the quirky ones) but his storyline has got us a bit wound up.

Schitt’s Creek (Netflix)
I know we’re a little late to this party but I never thought it was something I would enjoy. I guess I was wrong. It is pretty hilarious at times, isn’t it? Having said that, we haven’t even finished watching season one yet. We’re just taking it slow because I know it’ll get on my nerves if we watch too much at once lol.

The Super Vet (Channel 4)
No, it’s not a Marvel superhero show, it’s a documentary about a vet practise in the south of England. The vet in question is Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick who is also known as the bionic vet because of his work giving animals bionic body parts in order to save their lives. It really is extraordinary and quite emotional at times. We’re hooked!

The Dog House (Channel 4)
Yes, it’s another animal documentary about a rescue and re-homing dog centre in England. It tells the story of how the animals arrive there and the story of the people who want to give them new homes. If you haven’t seen this, get your tissues at the ready! It’s heartwarming.

The X-Files (Prime Video)
Yes, I really do mean the original X-Files! We eagerly watched every episode in the early 90s, so when I spotted it on Prime Video last week, I thought we might try it again. It’s quite amusing at times—I mean, Scully’s power suits are cringe-worthy and some of the action scenes leave a lot to be desired—but I’m really enjoying it again. Michael has started reaching for his phone throughout the last couple of episodes so I’m not sure how much more he can take, but I’m going to continue with it. I’d quite like to watch it all the way through until the end. But we’ll see. I might get bored too. I’ll keep you posted.

The Irregulars (Netflix)
So I’m only at episode four, I think, but this is quite up my street. Set in the times of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, this tells the tale of a group of poor yet tough, street-cred youngsters investigating strange occurrences and crimes in London. It’s full of supernatural elements which is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m enjoying it. It seems to be getting better, the more I watch it.

The Great Pottery Throwdown (Channel 4)
Who’d have thought that we would get so excited to see a bunch of British people compete in a pottery-making competition? But we do! It’s such a great show, and I just love the main guy, Keith, who gets so emotional whenever someone makes something beautiful that he actually cries. It’s a lovely show, it really is.

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Glow Up (Netflix)
I saw this last year but decided to watch it again to see if I could get any make-up tips. In the end though, Michael got quite hooked on it too. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a make-up competition and it’s brill. The make-up artists taking part are super talented and go from simple make-up to full on movie prosthetics. I just adore the judges, Val Garland and Dominic Skinner who are clearly so passionate about the art. I hope there will be a third season soon! The above image is from one of my favourite contestant’s Instagram accounts. Her name is Eve and she’s amazing (she’s on the right with the acid yellow top on).

Lucifer (Netflix)
Two words: Tom Ellis. Need I say more?

What I’ve been wearing

Like most people at the moment, I don’t have reason to dress up. However, I won’t let that stop me too much. I’ll play dress up whenever I can because it makes me feel better when I look better, if you know what I mean. Here are some of my favourite outfits from the past few months:
1. Khaki on khaki 2. Flares 3. Style Steal 4. Polka Dots 5. Birds of a feather 6. All black outfit

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And that’s it, my first months in review post! I’ve got loads more that I could say, but I’m sure I’ve probably lost most of you by now so I’ll leave it at that. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have lol. See you soon!