Life's shit so here are some things which cheer me up

Life is pretty rubbish at the moment. This isn't news to you. There's a pandemic, people are sick, they're dying and you haven't hugged your best friend in a year. You may not have been able to see your partner and you may be working from your kitchen table, dressing table, bed. You may not be working at all and instead have filled your time thinking I should really get a hobby, or start the Joe Wicks 90 day plan or redecorate my living space. You may be absolutely sick to death of your flatmates, your other half, your family, I was - I upped and moved out of my family home. However you are feeling, it is completely normal to feel this way. For a lot of us this is our first ever taste of 'Black Mirror' living. What I mean by that is this literally feels as if life has been written by Charlie Brooker and we're in some kind of dystopian world where toilet paper, flour and pocket sized hand sanitiser is our means of survival. We've all struggled and I have struggled massively.

I'm a social butterfly, get me to the dancefloor, give me a bar or a room full of people and just let me go. I'm like a pinball machine jumping from person to person chatting, laughing, dancing and there has been none of that. It may have been a welcome relief for you, a chance to recharge your batteries and reassess your priorities but for others this has been hell. Life has been hard, really hard, universally so and because it has been so hard I wanted to put together a little feel good encyclopaedia of things which may help. Although these things have cheered me up, we are all different, so while dancing to Mariah Carey is my therapy it may be your idea of an evening in Guantanamo Bay. Different strokes for different folks.

I have split up these feel good things into categories. Reading may not be your thing or you may only listen to radio 4 so pick and choose where appropriate for you.

Things that make me feel good

Books

I read a lot. I probably get through three books a month depending on how thick the spine is so over this period I have read quite a few feel good novels.

If you are looking for chick-lit, feel good, fluffy reading then look no further then your new favourite author Beth O'Leary. I do not say this lightly, this woman is my new favourite author and all in two books. It's because when I've been feeling rubbish I have picked up her books and my mood has instantly lifted. I'm talking that I'm lying on my bed, smile on my face, kicking my legs in the air, hugging my pillow kind of mood. Beth's books are witty, ridiculous, charming and everything in between. They're books you can cry to, laugh to and then put down feeling a different type of you. The Switch and The Flat Share are my new go-to recommends, I have literally been telling everyone to read them.

The Flat Share is about a quirky girl, bit of a mess in some aspects but actually quite switched on, she wears mustard yellow leggings with a fuchsia raincoat and smashes out work pitches. Anyway, she needs a place to live but doesn't have much cash so moves into a flat where she will be sharing a bed with a night shift worker. As in she will sleep there during the night and be out by the morning and he'll come in and snooze till evening when he goes to work and she returns. It's a crazy ludicrous would never happen type of arrangement but within this stupid scenario the most charming love story with the most beautiful characters ensues.

The Switch follows a granddaughter and her grandma who switch lives. Granddaughter is a city big shot who has a breakdown, grandma is a village busybody who needs a restart. They swap lives and that is the premise of the novel. There's heartbreak, heartache, new love, old love, grief, laughter, family ties and friendships all wrapped up in

a two word title. Put simply, this book is everything you need to forget about everything you need to.

Everything I know about love - Dolly Alderton. My favourite ever book. It's heart breaking and heart building. It's such a witty memoir and such a raw take on life which every girl can relate to. So much of this book stuck with me. I am so lucky to be blessed with such an amazing group of friends and this novel made me realise just how lucky I was. While we're all out looking for that special someone, that person to be our plus one we can sometimes forget that our soulmates are the group chat who you can tell anything to.

Songs

This list is nowhere near definitive. For some of you slipknot may make you deliriously happy or a bit of Chopin but for me these bangers have been lifting my mood.

BTS - Dynamite. The Korean One Direction have been making me all kinds of happy. I heard it first on a Samsung advert and then realised how late I was to the BTS party. They're massive like super boy band style. They're k-pop cool and I am so here for it.

Mary J. Blige - Just Fine. If you have forgotten about this song, if you have no idea what I'm talking about I urge you to head to your streaming service of choice and blast this out. Think Carlton arm swings, think lip syncing, think big hand gestures, think head bops and think sass. Miss MJ Blige knows how to deliver a song and Just Fine will make you feel more than fine.

Mariah Carey - Emotions. I live for Mariah Carey. I am the biggest fan. I adore her and I know for a lot of people she is marmite but for me she is like crunchy biscoff spread straight out the jar. Emotions is a classic and anyone who disagrees play Just Fine instead.

Podcast

I only have one podcast for this because I tend to listen to true crime, mafia, missing people podcasts. Not many of them are feel good, some are more lets double lock every door to make me feel safe but I do have one cheery podcast.

Shagged, Married, Annoyed - Chris and Rosie Ramsay. If you do not laugh at this you're made of stone. I fall about all the time listening to this, as in when I used to be able to travel by train to places I would have to bite my lip to contain my laughter. This podcast is no secret it has millions of downloads and its great down-to-earth funny. The questions from the public section can get quite raunchy/ disgusting/ wtfish so maybe listen to this one with your headphones in.

TV Shows

As there is absolutely f-all to do all of the time at the moment now is the perfect time to watch some TV and while I love a drama about serial killers, missing children and corrupt police forces in these shit times it can be nice to binge something a little less heavy. Enter stage left the TV series you have been missing:

90-Day Fiancé - I'm obsessed. I have seen every season and every spin off. This series follow couples where one party is from somewhere other than America, they are brought to America on a K-1 fiancé visa and have 90 days to marry. We've seen Thai brides, Aussie relationship coaches, Eastern European hunks, African princes - this show has everything. You can sit and watch a usually very ill-matched couple adjust to life together and it is TV gold.

Emily in Paris - Cue the controversy. Emily in Paris has not made the list because it's Golden Globe nominated it's made the list because it is the definition of feel good TV. Emily in Paris follows Emily who lives in Paris strangely. She works within a marketing agency and she has these amazing ideas which she always pulls off. She wears Dior baker boy hats and has a good looking neighbour and makes eating flaky pain au chocolat in a fur wrap look really easy. I want to be Emily.

Bridgerton - I binged this in four days which is highly unusual for me. I am not a binger, I like to take my time and absorb a series but this I devoured. From the costumes, to the good looking men, to the soundtrack which includes an orchestral version of thank u next and in my blood, this series is a 10 out of 10. Think Gossip Girl meets Downton Abbey. Watch it, love it, obsess over it, and then try find yourself a man like Simon.

So there you have it. A short list of things which make me smile. There's a lot of other things which make me smile too but here's a list of sure-fire, tried and tested things which have brought me back from the brink.

I'm sorry it's been so long. It's been 2020 and then I moved house and got a mortgage and my sister had a baby and then my boss left work so it's been life but I'm back and hopefully here to tell you so more musings soon.

Hels xoxo