Last year I ran a series of blog posts, once a month, in which I listed 5 new things I’d tried in the previous month. It meant I was always looking out for new things to try, however big or small and that I could always look back on what I’d been getting up to in any given month. It’s one of my favourite things I’ve done with my blog, so I decided to keep it going through 2017. Scroll to the bottom of the post for links to the 2016 posts.
January is always a tough month for trying new things. Everyone’s skint after Christmas, everyone’s back to work, the weather is a bit naff and mostly everyone just wants to wrap themselves in a duvet and wait until it’s all over. Fortunately, there are still a few, slightly less expensive, less adventurous things to try, and these are the ones I particularly recommend.
Yeah, I finally caved. I actually did once install Whatsapp a few years ago and just didn’t use it, mostly because I already had services that did everything it could do. Between email, text and phone calls, I didn’t need Whatsapp, so I uninstalled it. However, recently a few friends, especially those no longer living in the UK, have started to hassle me to get it again, which I have done and I’ve actually been using it this time, although not very much. It can have another couple of months on my phone to prove its worth.
Bread pakora is actually, technically, toastie pakora. It’s something that appeared on my radar shortly after the opening of Glasgow-based Indian tapas restaurant, Horn Please. I knew I had to try it and when my Anniversary came around, I suggested a trip to P. To my delight it was everything I had hoped it to be, and my concerned about it being overly stodgy or greasy were put to rest. Now I’m mostly wondering when I can go back.
I’m taking baby steps in doing this but I’m loving it so far. My bullet journal has so far proven to be useful, incredibly flexible and fun to complete. This is before I’ve even started doing fancy calligraphy or attempted pretty illustrations. My sketching is awful, so even when I get to that stage I’ll probably just opt for stickers, stencils and washi tape, but I’m looking forward to getting up the confidence to do some calligraphy on a page with a conveniently empty corner.
Winging it with a slow cooker recipe
Having picked up a leg of lamb for a Sunday roast, and then when Sunday came around realising that I didn’t want anything traditional and I didn’t want to be tied to the kitchen, I decided to do something spicy in my slow cooker instead. I couldn’t find a recipe, so made one up, but it worked really well! I’ll share it sometime soon.
Sure, I’ve been to the ballet before, but not for years and years. So I was really excited to head back when Raj invited me along to see Hansel and Gretel. While the Grimm fairy tale might have been published 200 years ago, this was a brand new ballet and was an absolute treat to watch.
Not a bad month for one when everyone’s skint and miserable! What new things have you been trying this month? Is there anything you think I should try out soon?
Posts from 2016: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Oct | Nov
In Becky's Head 
6 thoughts on “New things I tried in January”