Looking Back and Moving Forward: 2017-18

So, I ventured off the digital grid in 2017. Stopped blogging (oops). Hopped on the BuJo train. Wrote for magazines (yep, they're still printing 'em). Spent half my time hanging upside down. And, OK, the other half staring at a screen (the quill's in the post). But still. Here's a snapshot...

2017 in 17

This was the year I...

1. Took my first (two) flying lesson(s)
2. Started writing for Healthy magazine
3. Attempted a HIIT workout on a floating board
4. Did my first real handstand...
5. And drop back from standing
6. Finally got my front splits
7. Did my first aerial shoulder stand...
8. And 'egg roll' 
9. Got my first pair of demi-pointe ballet shoes
10. Managed a four-revolution spin on the ice
11. Had a totally tropical Hawaiian Christmas
12. Meditated 252 times
13. Did 173 yoga sessions
14. Started a Harvard Computer Science course...
15. And a 6-week pole dancing course
16. Ate 3,019 portions of fruit and veg...
17. And drank 1,132 cups of tea and coffee

When I wasn't flying high or spinning around, I was mostly...

1. Making cocktails out of cold tea...
2. Muffins out of bananas, seed butters and courgettes (look mum, no flour!)...
3. Noodles out of carrots...
4. Or chocolate mousse from avocados.
5. Listening to Take That's new Wonderland album.
6. Flipping out over Prison Break coming back...
7. And the fact that you can now get matcha lattes in Primark
8. Watching back-to-back episodes of vintage Auf Wiedersehen, Pet 
9. Swanning around in a dressing gown kimono
10. Contemplating the big questions... like, could Nakd's new Lemon Drizzle bar ACTUALLY be better than cake? (yes)
11. Do lemony mince pies really deserve to be a thing? (no question)
12. Does cranberry sauce work in a cheese toastie? (yip)
13. And how about roast potatoes on a pizza? (oh, yes)
14. Mainlining seasonal coffee shop treats like they were going out of, well, season (so many flavoured syrups, so little time)
15. Being teased, tonged and tinted for Schwarzkopf's BlondMe shows
16. Bullet journalling
17. Thanking the God of all things good for putting Bailey's iced coffee in. a. can.

18 resolutions for 2018...

1. Publish work in at least one new publication
2. Send at least four pitch ideas a month to commissioning editors
3. Start work on an editing project
4. Publish at least one post a week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (and one a month on LinkedIn)
5. Get my side splits
6. Master my kickover
7. Go to gymnastics every week
8. Practise on at least 4 days out of 7
9. Pass level 6 and 7 ice skating
10. Get on pointe
11. Get my wings in tap
12. Get my 'needle' in aerial yoga
13. Try a new tap class
14. Perform in a stage show or act in a short film
15. Complete Harvard's CS50 Introduction to Computer Science course
16. Increase the average number of days I meditate from 5 to 6 a week
17. Go organic for Lent
18. Try a parkour/free running class

Looking Back and Moving Forward: 2016-17

2016 has been a busy one for me, but a quiet one for Sam Muses, since, when I wasn't off having my head shaved for some hair show or other, writing about everything from natural toothpaste to psychosis for the likes of Yahoo! Style and Woman & Home (not to mention watches for The Idle Man and musicals for Everything Theatre) conspired to keep me away from my garage door (a situation I do plan to rectify as soon as I can take my coat off outdoors without transforming into an ice sculpture)...

But in the interests of upholding tradition, here's a snapshot of my year...

2016 in 16. It was the year I...

1. Did my first headstand.
2. Finally got my braces off!
3. Actually got paid for writing.
4. Got my first undercut.
5. Tried synchronised swimming (and managed to injure myself so badly during the land session that, 11 months later, I still haven't fully recovered!)
6. But didn't let it stop me taking up ballet, tap and contemporary. 
7. Or spending Valentine's Day swinging with a bunch of strangers (well, swing dancing).
8. Aspired to dress like a Gucci girl every day - beret, pleats, ruffles, backless loafers, glasses and all...
9. Refused to buy a top or dress that would actually keep my shoulders warm.
10. Spent half the year working 9-5, shortly after declaring I didn't think I'd ever do it.
11. Gave up refined sugar (for Lent, not for life)
12. Ate more courgetti than actual spaghetti...
13. More cauliflower rice than actual rice...
14. And more ice cream made from mushed up frozen bananas than actual ice cream.
15. Did the splits in mid-air.
16. Fell in love with beetroot. 

Giving the Blues the Cold Shoulder...

Fell in love at first sight with this M&S Limited blouse last week... Piecrust collar, fluted sleeves, ribbon neck tie, cold shoulder detailing and ruffles? It's all a Gucci girl wannabe's dreams come true at once! And it's a lifesaver when you're pondering the big 'heatwave or washout' summer morning dressing dilemma...

Blouse: Marks & Spencer, Skirt: Dorothy Perkins (Past Season), Shoes: New Look

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How to Wear Summer Leather

With the weather cycling through all four seasons in one day this "summer", leather is looking like a positively sensible option... particularly when the prices of those M&S wrap skirts have been slashed in the sales... I'm wearing mine with an off-the-shoulder bardot top for a nod to the season.

Top: Unbranded (Past Season), Skirt: Marks & Spencer, Shoes: Tu at Sainsbury's

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Like a Glove

Bardot frills + block-heeled ballerinas for £30 all in? Well, 'tis the season... Sadly, I didn't have the nerve to hold out for these oh-so-Céline glove shoes to be reduced to their current price (harumph), but at least I saved £500 or so on the designer version. And at £13 full whack, you can't really argue with the price tag on this beaut off-the-shoulder midi dress now, can you? Until it's reduced to £3 next week, of course...

Dress: Primark, Shoes: Stradivarius

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