The Nuances of The World
Life offers more than just taxes and paid parking tickets.
June's Challenge
I know everyone would need a little preview of what this challenge is and why am I doing it.
Lately, I have fallen into a state of depression so deep that I couldn't see the point of waking up in the morning. I knew this was not the way to live and I had to change something. This year, I have been doing a different challenge every month and I have finally become brave enough to post it online and inspire people. June is going to be a photo-challenging month. Every day for 30 days, there would be a photo with a story underneath. I need to be reminded what life is and how precious mine is. I am taking the idea form Mrs. Hinch Book and you can easily find it online.
June Day 1
LOVE
I believe love is the moving power in this world and you are lucky if you get to experience it at least once in your life. It is the force that brings things together and mends broken pieces. Cliche, I know, but the truth tends to be cheesy. Anything is better when you have a loved one next to you.
June Day 2
Gratitude
I cannot think of anything I am more grateful for than to know God and have access to His word. He loves me for who I am with all the dark, dusty corners of my life, knows all my secrets and inner shame and still hasn’t given up on me, even when I turn my back on him. Reading His world always answers my questions and reassures me. It's my personal time with Him, letting myself completely dive into what the bible says and feeling immense gratitude for the peace in my heart.
June Day 3
Nature
Look around yourself, surrounded by greenery and colours, enjoying the birds' song with closed eyes and inhaling the fresh air. Dreamy, right? Fun fact, green is scientifically proven to be a relaxed colour, therefore when we look at anything green, we get a sense of peacefulness. I love being around nature and cannot wait to get my own garden one day, so I can drink my coffee outside and read my book next to my flowers.
June Day 4
Distraction
The days I feel most calm are when I usually try to escape the real world and dive into the adventures of my heroes, reading through their pain, their 7 their special moments. This is a photo of a really small portion of the books I have read in my life. It is just not possible to post all of them in one photo. My favourite thing to read is fantasy. Since the beginning of the year, I discovered this genre with the ACOTAR series, and I can't wait to stack myself with more adventures on my shelf. In my personal opinion, the Fourth Wing is better as a plot line and characters. Sorry.
If you don’t consider books as a distraction, I recommend it highly. Another fun fact that I recently learned is that you need to have 1000 books to call it a library. I found it interesting.
June Day 5
Calm
On days when I just want to switch off, I make a cup of tea and sit next to the flowers that I successfully manage to keep alive. A little trick to keep your orchids bloom is to fill the space between the original transparent pot of the orchid and the pretty one you put it in with water half way. This way, the orchid will take only enough water to keep thriving and when the water finishes, fill it again. A lot of people think they should pour the water straight in. Looking at my little success with my plants brings me a dose of serotonin and if it’s raining outside, the faint bass of the raindrops falling on the glass window creates this serene bubble you can hide inside away from the world.
June Day 6
Flowers
Nature is beautiful, but it’s so much better when you can bring a piece of it into your home and admire it from up close. I love having flowers around the house, not because they smell, but because they add this fresh sense and pop of colour. When I move into my own house one day I will buy so many vases. I will create flower beds in my garden, planting my favourite buds so I am always reminded of God's creativity and imagination to create something so beautiful. For the record, my favourite flower is the Lilium.
June Day 7
Motivation
2 months ago I made an impulsive decision to buy a cross trainer, only because it was my favourite one at the gym. My aim was to use It every day for 30 days in order to loose some weight and get leaner. I succeeded. Now I am using it from time to time to make myself feel better, my body stronger and my mind less guilty. Considering my job is on foot for 8 hours straight, and I walk to work for in one direction 40 min. I get a pretty good cardio to keep me fit, so I try and fill the free days off work with 20 min. on that beauty. I, personally, do not like working out because it’s boring, so I always play an episode of Desperate Housewives while I am straining the muscles of my legs.
Oh, and very important. Drink at least 2l a day. It helps with digestion, skin, bloating and mood.
June Day 8
Before and After
This is such a mundane thing, but I hope I inspire you to fix your problematic space as well. For the longest time, I have had my alcohol bottles on the floor and bags full of forsaken items. At one point, I switched and decided to do something about this mess and make it look easily accessible and comfortable. It was time for a trip to IKEA. Now, many of us want this cute home, where everything is so tidy, full of decorations that match and has the perfect furniture. I wanted something perfect for that corner as well. And then I saw that black trolley and realised it's perfect. The assembling process was a pain and took way longer than it should have taken because I was stubborn and decided to do it myself despite being offered help. However, I refuse to reside in the past and now I have a cute trolley that moves and I don’t need to spend 3 to 5 business days to find something that was shoved in that corner to be forgotten.
June Day 9
Scent
When it comes to scents, people are quite controversial. Spices are usually saved for the holidays, mainly Christmas; like eggnog and cinnamon. Peony and lavender for Spring, vanilla, lemon and dessert flavours for Summer, and chestnut and moody scents for Autumn. As a crazy candle fan. I have a candle for different seasons and I burn through them pretty quickly. Air fresheners are something I avoid due to reasons but candles I have in every room. My favourite scents are citrus, vanilla, and spices. I despise lavender, sea salt, wood and scents that say ‘calm’. The brands I can recommend to you are DW and LAB. Yankee Candles does burn well, but I have heard bad things about them, NEOM is horrible, in my opinion, and extremely overpriced. One day, when I can afford it I will get a Jo Mallone candle and would love to see their quality.
June Day 10
Me time
Controversially for a reader like me, I enjoy my time alone not only with books. Sudoku has been my current obsession, and I kid you not I started dreaming numbers at one point. There is something challenging in looking at the calculating process and the brain work one puts while solving a hard level sudoku. Listening to a podcast in the background while counting the numbers is a time I do not like anyone to disturb. My recent podcast is Nadcast and it’s a Bulgarian podcast, so I am sorry if you are not Bulgarian.
June Day 11
Family
Now, I know that is not a current photo of my family, but that’s what you get for living abroad and not seeing them often. However, it is worth mentioning that family is the one thing in life you cannot change or fix or forget. You don’t like them all the time, and you get annoyed by them, but also you celebrate milestones, gather to laugh, and share memories and plans. If anything, family is where you can ask for advice and they are the only people in the world who truly care for you without prejudices.
June Day 12
Coffee Lover
Now even the title explains itself without needing a photo, but In my defence, I can say that since 2024 started, I agreed with myself that I will drink caffeine only when I need it; When I am at work or have a busy day. So far, I have been complying with it and am very proud of myself. Coffee makes your teeth yellow, and it's overall not good for you, but who cares anyway? How are you going to endure your annoying co-workers if you feel sleepy, you know… I like to see it in a way that everything in moderation is okay. Also, we can all agree that it is so essentially pleasing and you look like an adult with your coffee and your computer making people think you are doing something important when you are just browsing through Pinterest.
June Day 13
Theater
It’s a passion I developed recently, but I love going to the Theatre. As an artist who has grown up with music, it brings me such pleasure to attend a performance of any kind. Last year I attended my first ballet, which is a bit embarrassing to admit since I was a ballerina myself. It was a spectacle of poise and grace. An interesting fact I recently found about England is that it’s socially acceptable to have ice cream mid-performance. It’s a tradition from the times when people didn’t have a fridge at home to contain ice cream so the only place they could actually have some was in the theatre and to this day that is still practiced. As I foreigner I found it bizarre but every country has its own uniqueness.
June Day 14
Happiness
Last month me and James did an escape route to Ibiza to rest, recharge, and slow down for a couple of days. This is us, printing photos from the trip, since we are great fans of physical copies, instead of just keeping them on our phones. Sometimes, I need a moment to understand what is the important thing in life, and how easily we take for granted daily what makes us happy. I already mentioned that love is the universal power we cannot live without, but if someone or something is making us happy, it is worth keeping and fighting for even more.
June Day 15
Narnia
I have never met a person in my life that hasn’t watched Narnia, or hasn’t heard of it. We have all dreamed of finding a magical world behind our wardrobe, and that makes me feel appreciation for the children's imagination and how strong it is. Now, when I am all grown up, I do not open my wardrobe expecting to find a hidden kingdom inside, but I have spent an excessive amount of time and money to buy so many clothes and stuff so many boxes and other items I would like to forget they exist that in the end, I always end up finding something I have forgotten about. My Narnia is when I ruffle between the hangers, trying to find something, feeling like I am falling into a rabbit hole and there is no escape. Sometimes I like to think of my little Narnia as Carrie’s wardrobe from SATC, the clothes symbolising milestones, moments, years and dreams that you can go through one day and remember. Excessive? Yes. Can I afford it? Absolutely not. However, as I mentioned in my Ibiza article, I refuse to admit financial defeat for the sake of my wardrobe.
June Day 16
Birthday
There is so much that happened in the last year that I cannot begin to explain or justify. One thing I know is that I grew up a little bit more in the last year, and I let myself feel emotions I rarely used to even let swim into my mind. My gratitude is eternal to all the people who were next to me and to my boyfriend- James, who wiped my tears, held me when I was sad, and kissed me when I was happy. Starting my 23 I wish to find a good career path that would make me feel fulfilled in life. I wish to find content in the things I do and I wish God to be with me every step of the way, reminding me of the love and laughter I am yet to experience in this journey called Life.
June Day 17
No make- up
Women tend to be super insecure when it comes to their natural faces. Some want to cover blemishes, others ache spots, third, just want to look younger. When I was younger, couldn’t wait to get my hand on make-up and be part of the grown-ups’. Only when I grew up a little bit more, did I realise how harmful make-up is for your skin if you use it excessively if you followed my IG page you would notice I have no shame in showing my naked face and letting people see the bags under my eyes or the red stains from past pimples because this is me. Any day I am not working I go make-up-free and enjoy letting my skin breathe and feel good. You should do it too, it’s for your own health and for your self-esteem to learn to love yourself.
June Day 18
Organise
For the longest time, I have been struggling to arrange my bathroom cupboard on a budget without buying fancy organisers, but still make it look neat, and create easy access for everything. Growing up, I found joy in buying cleaning products and cleaning my bathroom is one of my favourite things. The fresh smell, the shining mirrors, the polished sink and the toilet bring me a high level of serotonin.
June Day 19
Garden
I would say, the biggest advantage of living in a house is its garden. What better than having your laundry out in the sun, watering your blooming roses and sipping coffee while working on your laptop? I, personally, enjoy looking at the greenery, being out in the fresh air and even when it’s cold, I enjoy the shivers that the cold causes, since it makes my blood stream faster through my system which is for your greater health. Learned that from a fitness instructor, which explains the whole ordeal with the ice baths. Only for a short while of course. Having a garden allows you a bit of freedom in this concrete world we live in. A little sanctuary, where you are sit on the chair reading a book, take a mat and do some stretching or play with your pet if you have one. Dreamy!
June Day 20
Favourite colour
I think, whoever follows me on my socials knows that my favourite colour is yellow, and I cannot be happier that my collection of yellow dresses is growing, and summer is already knocking at my door. 2 years ago I hunted the whole city for the perfect yellow coat. A year ago, I brought a yellow rose and planted in my grader, I started buying yellow candles, and made it a personal mission to find beautiful yellow dresses since I found out the colour does suit my skin tone and hair. I would literally be a walking sunshine on the street and I do not mind that at all. That brings me to my next point: How hard it is to find the perfect shade? The market offers a wild variety of yellow, but the perfect shade for me is the heavy, canary yellow, not the bright, almost white one. The intensity of the colour is what makes it beautiful, and I cannot wait to find more treasures and style them, inspiring our young ladies that the right yellow could rival the pink.
June Day 21
Memories
On one of the other days, I mentioned how much I love printing photos and storing them in an album. In fact, that was my present for my grandparents’ golden anniversary, finding pictures of all of the family for the past 10 years, after gathering close to 100 photos, I arranged them in the album, and she cried when she went through it.
For me, physical photos mean so much and they are harder to lose than just sitting in your photo gallery. I cannot count the times I have transferred photos from my phone to my laptop, just to be able to keep the past and remember it. I and James started this mannerism to store photos at the beginning of our relationship and I couldn’t be happier, because one day I can show my children and my grandchildren what we were like when we were young and green Hehe.
June Day 22
Traveling
Since moving to England, I have shown great interest in exploring the country and getting a sense of what England is like. For the past 2 years, I tried to visit a different shire every month but that was too ambitious and considering I also fly at least 10 times a year due to living abroad, I haven’t covered so much of the map. However, I enjoy those little trips that are usually 2 or 3 days, visit the local cathedrals, learn the city's history, and distinguish the accents. If I have to say which place is my favourite, I would say York. I absolutely fell in love with the cosy streets; despite the weather being quite gloomy, I still found something romantic and cute. The place I would love to visit is The Cotswolds. Typical for their yellow brings, the villages are adorable and I have yet to visit one of them. If you would like to track your travels, I highly recommend this map from Amazon.
June Day 23
Shoes
As an honourable member of the female community, I have an obsession with shoes and am constantly reminded that I have only 2 legs. It is excessive and unneedy? Yes, it is. But, bold and underlined, you need the perfect pair to match your outfit, and that is just law. Depending on your style, you buy pairs in different colours to be assured you are covered. I have 39 pairs of shoes and counting, and only 5 of them are beige, pinkish, stiletto, close shoe or a sandal, so they can fit for different weathers. I can say my biggest weakness is the sandal heels. At one point, I brought 4 pairs in a matter of a month just because they were what I was looking forward to. Contrary to some people, I have worn all of my pairs more than once and I love styling them with my wardrobe.
June Day 24
Plushies
Has anyone noticed how your whole life, you have plushies around you. Back when I was a small girl, the house was covered in them, and they all had names. Later on in life, the plushies were exchanged for notebooks and rucksacks as life naturally works. Now, being 23, I end up, again, with a pile of plushies, thanks to my dear boyfriend, and I cannot help but think, how I will keep them for my kids and tell them stories about how their dad gave them to me. It is kind of endearing and warming me inside to look at the toys and think of the future.
June Day 25
Cocktails
You can tell a lot about someone when you see their drink. A pint, a J2O or a cocktail sort of defines what you like, do you prefer to be responsible, are you fishing for fancy photos on IG or do you just need a detox? I personally love the classing gin, but also a cute, little sour cocktail does win my heart as well. Dating a past bartender does help with my fancy taste in alcohol and knowing what I like. My favourite drink of all time is 'Rhubarb and rose martini'. There is something so exquisite about it, it makes my taste buds work overtime and you cannot taste the vodka inside. If you like sweet, little sour cocktails, this one is for you.
June Day 26
June Day 26
June Day 27
June Day 28
June Day 29