Meatless Monday {2020 – week 40}

So here we are: week 40 of Meatless Monday 2020… Still when I see 40 weeks written down I always think of a full term pregnancy, that’s how long we’ve made it into the crazy ass world of 2020 people! Congratulations to you all! Birthday meals, retro clothes and networking on Instagram, along with some yummy food and a new audiobook, it’s been a busy week! What have you been up to?

Here’s what we wore:

Me:

Day: Cardigan= TK Maxx, Long Sleeve Top = Tescos, Jeans = GAP (thrifted from eBay}, Shoes = Clarks

Evening: Vest & Necklace= Marks & Spencer, T-shirt = Jigsaw (thrifted from a charity shop – can’t remember which}, Cardigan = Tescos f&F {thrifted from Hula charity shop}, Tutu Skirt = Elsie’s Attic, Tights = Supermarket, Shoes = Brantanos

Boys: Trousers and Jumpers, Long Sleeve Tops: Various sources/gifted/thrifted or supermarkets, Gillets: Matalan, Backpacks = Skiphop, Shoes = Clarks

What’s in my ears:

I am a big fan of autobiographies, I love finding out in peoples own words, more about the person behind the public image, I have also always been a Mariah fan, so when I saw her memoir was coming out at the end of last month I knew I wanted to listen to it. Butterfly was my way into RnB music, and it made me fall in love with the genre for the first time, so I hold it in pretty high regard. I knew that Mariah was quite a complex person, a lot of people see her as a bit of a diva, but there is no denying that her voice is epic, she is one of the few artists out there who can cover the range she can, known to be up to 5 octaves! She’s also a fellow twin Mum, and I know a philanthropist and someone who Oprah holds in high regard, which to be honest, I trust Oprah’s judgement of character and if she believes in somebody you know there is more to a person than meets the eye. I am finding it a fascinating listen, she has been through a lot of trauma in her life and it makes me see her in a deeper way knowing what she has been through. I would recommend it.

Here’s what amazon says about the book:

The global icon, award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, actress, mother, daughter, sister, storyteller, and artist finally tells the unfiltered story of her life in The Meaning of Mariah Carey.

It took me a lifetime to have the courage and the clarity to write my memoir. I want to tell the story of the moments – the ups and downs, the triumphs and traumas, the debacles and the dreams, that contributed to the person I am today. Though there have been countless stories about me throughout my career and very public personal life, it’s been impossible to communicate the complexities and depths of my experience in any single magazine article or a ten-minute television interview. And even then, my words were filtered through someone else’s lens, largely satisfying someone else’s assignment to define me.

This book is composed of my memories, my mishaps, my struggles, my survival and my songs. Unfiltered. I went deep into my childhood and gave the scared little girl inside of me a big voice. I let the abandoned and ambitious adolescent have her say, and the betrayed and triumphant woman I became tell her side.

Writing this memoir was incredibly hard, humbling and healing. My sincere hope is that you are moved to a new understanding, not only about me, but also about the resilience of the human spirit.

Love,
Mariah

Amazon

Here’s my week in 4:

1. Joint Birthday Meal with my girls (abiding rule of 6): It was both mine and one of my closest friend’s Anna’s Birthdays last month and this week we had our joint friends meal, we had such a good night, it was so lovely to see these girls in person and meet someone new too. I just love how eclectic our friendship group is but each individual is a beautiful soul. We went back to the Woburn Thai and had another delicious meal, I’d highly recommend checking them out if you are in the area.
2. Throwback posts whilst networking with Twin Parents: I do love, and have seriously got into networking recently through instagram, its such a great way to meet new people with similar interests to you whilst building your accounts too. This month I have committed to posting daily for the #multiplemumsupport2020 which is being run by @just4twins, you basically have a theme for your post each day of the month and then you share with the community, using as many relevant hashtags as possible in order to connect with fellow twin and multiple parents. What has been so nice is using this as an opportunity to look back on historic photos of the boys, like the one above, their 1st time out in the buggy – mind boggling how tiny they were! But so amazing to look back at these photos!
3. Retro fun outfits to make me smile: It may be the end of #secondhandseptember but it certainly isn’t the end of my second hand/ slow fashion journey, not by a long shot. Also I just love how clothes can make you feel, and how they can be part of your creative expression, how they can lift you out of a low mood just like a good song can 🙂 this outfit certainly did that for me this week 🙂
4. Play Park Reunion Play date: We hadn’t seen these dear friends, who we’d met at baby massage when the boys were about 3 months old, since the beginning of lock down, it was so lovely to see them this week and it didn’t take the kids long at all to start playing and laughing together, it was a joy to behold, friends are so important, human contact is so so important, my fingers and toes are crossed so tightly that we don’t go back into lock down!

Video(s) of the week:

This week I stumbled back upon Red Table Talks, which I had actually forgotten all about but loved last time I had watched. Here is the incredibly poignant one which I watched this week, I will definitely be getting back into watching these again. I just love the format they are in – 3 generations of women, talking with such honesty about current and relevant things…

What we ate this week…

Breakfast:

I got in a yoga with wonderful Bird before the boys were up and then we all had hot cross buns with fruit tea and milk for breakfast and lots of tumble cuddles whilst getting ready 🙂

Lunch:

I had some kettle chips, a cuppa and an apple for my mid-morning snack and then some leftover creamy vegetable pasta from the freezer for lunch, followed by two clementines and a brunch bar, and a cookie late afternoon.

Dinner:

After school the boys had milk banana and then had their usual toast and beans with Daddy whilst I went out for a joint post birthday meal with my friends, where I had vegetable spring rolls and vegetable Pad Thai without tofu this time and it was much nicer, so I know to do that again. Such delicious and light food and wonderful company for a lovely evening.

Please check out my Pinterest meatless inspiration board: #MeatlessMonday to gather some pinspiration:

Along with the official Meatless Monday board which I am also now sharing on:

Find out how I got onto Meatless Mondays in the first place by watching this video:

And check out #meatlessmondays on this blog to see all my Meatless Monday posts and recipes. Hope you have a lovely week. 🙂

Go on Pin it!