The Recap - End of 2024 'til Now!

All the things I’ve been indulging in, learning, lusting after and grateful for this month.

The Recap! …

…My top ten each month. Everything I’ve been wearing, listening to, been motivated by, what has given me comfort. The things I’ve been indulging in, learning, lusting after and grateful for. This month I chat about what I actually get from my morning run, the jeans I’ve worn on repeat, the Christmas gifts I adore, a certain feeling I have about this year and the cookbook we can’t stop dipping into.

---

Wow, that was quite a whirlwind of chaos that took us straight from mid-November’s festive launch right through to Royal Mail’s last-post deadline.

How are you all post-Christmas break?

I’m wildly happy- ready for this January and all the “delights” she’s prepping to serve me (she can be a cruel mistress at times, no?) This year, I’m laughing in the face of January Blues, skipping my way through what’s often termed the most tricky month in retail, and I’m CELEBRATING because Stalf is 10 (TEN!) this year and I am PROUD.

Before we embark on a year of celebration, let’s take 5 mins to reflect, shall we? In the chaos of December, I neglected my monthly Recap post, and I’m loathe to begin a fresh new year without a little contemplation of what has passed.

1- Wearing -

It’s been a contrasting jumble of high-octane, well planned, party-appropriate attire and pyjamas for me. One day I’ve found my reflection in the mirror primped and mascara-d, manicured right down to my little toenail, hair heat-tamed and my person perfume-laden, the next I’ve spent gently toasting in front of the fire with a book, slowly working my way through the bowl of cherry jam sausage rolls stationed on the side table adjacent, without having so much as having glanced at a hairbrush.

It’s been a blissful mix- I got the balance right this festive period between out-out and in-in and, as such, I’ve really felt like going all-out when I had the excuse.

Dressed-up attire has looked like Stalf with fancy accompaniments (see LTD EDT Flutter Blouse with Sezane denim and a silk scarf and our Coat Dress with Studio Odes booties.) Both the black velvet jumpsuit and sheer silk dress (below) are old purchases I revisit every year, and on the flip side, the exceptional PJ combo comes from Dilli Grey and Sleepy Doe.

On another note, this week has (unexpectedly) been all about the Sweatshirt Jumpsuit over on the site, specifically in Grey Marl. A lovely influx of you ordered it after it was posted by Jess at The Only Girl in the House. I thought I’d quickly pull together my past wears if you’re after some quick-fire inspo.

You can get it in all sizes here.

2- Soundtrack - Talkshow Host, Radiohead.

Sam and I watched Romeo + Juliet, this has been lodging in my brain ever since.

3- Motivator - In theory, I agree with what we all suggest- January is no month to plunge head first into the depths of resolutions. No time for the purging of pleasures or the berating of one’s self.

Thing is, in reality my 100% brain loves an excuse to give myself a push in the right direction. A fresh start, a few tweaks to routine here or there… and there’s something that feels really good about the get-up-and-go energy of a new year after the languorous two weeks spread out behind me.

I’m talking more tender reflection and subsequent gentle nudges than intermittent fasting and spinach smoothies (but each to their own, ya know.) For me, it’s been really, truly understanding my relationship with exercise and the way it helps my head.

…and the way it helps my head is more apparent when I run, over and above any other exertion. This December just gone by was the first December where I refused to let the late nights and early starts at work scupper my exercise routine. I stuck to a couple of really challenging runs per week (challenging, not so much distance-wise, more in terms of adding in big hills, sprint finishes, charging up steps, getting my heart rate up, my lungs working and my brain challenged.) Even when I really didn’t want to, I pushed on through and my hormone-balanced mental-state during our wildest month of the year was the proof in the pudding.

The number one reason why I run comes into its own in the final 10 minutes of every excursion. I always end uphill, and whether I’ve been obviously stressed in my day-to-day or genuinely chilled, the exertion never fails to tease any hidden emotion out, pulls the stress from my chest and hands it to me on a plate, for inspection.

It goes like this…

My brain: This is hard. This is hard. How much further. Bloody hell I’ve still got to get up the steps yet before we’re home. I’m going to cry. I’m going to cry. I want to stop. Just a bit further. Twenty more steps.

Oh, we’re here. Thank god for that.

Cue wonderfully overwhelming wave of endorphins. Relief, happiness.

Then I usually shed a tear or two, walking round the courtyard. A few very deep breaths. The sun is usually making an appearance at this point (in Summer, the birds are singing away, or the wisteria is dappling the morning light around my feet.) The point is, I’ve released. I’ve let go of all the tension I didn’t even know I was carrying… and suddenly I’m noticing (and ecstatic about) all the lovely, beautiful, small details of the morning around me.

Getting in the groove with exercise. Really, truly understanding what it gives me and why it all helps, has made the world of difference this past year.

4- Comfort - Sunday dinners, or variations of, on repeat. I’ve seen so many people lamenting the repetition of the roast dinner over the festive period.

For me, not so.

I maintain that I could live off a roast every day for the rest of my life. As it happens, my fiancé cooks a mean roast and loves the process, so we’re all quids in.

Oh! And if the roast is sandwiched in between home made sausage rolls and tiramisu, all the better!

5- View - This was a day I relished from start to finish. A day biking with my boys at Clumber Park. A whole day in the fresh air (read: zero degrees) and not one cross word. HEAVEN!