It’s been over a year of life in London (one year, 4 months and 5 days to be exact!) and things have started to open up here and become somewhat normal. The weekends have been filled with so many adventures and happiness, everything I could’ve wished for over the past year. It’s also been a real eye-opener to see how expensive life in London is! But having jam-packed weekends has truly been so enjoyable.
I thought I’d share a little bit of what’s been going on because I haven’t for a while. When I think that I’ve been in London for over a year, I still feel so amazed that I’ve been able to be on this journey, despite the hardships along the way. Living in London is finally starting to feel as I imagined it would’ve and this is exactly what I’ve wanted to share on the blog for the longest time!
Working at a beauty tech startup in London
At the beginning of the year, I resigned from my job at a digital marketing agency and joined a nail technology startup full-time, which I am loving! I have always wanted to work in the beauty space (for obvious reasons) so I was so excited when I could transition full-time into my role at Glaize. It’s been a huge learning opportunity and so much fun at the same time. I’ve been able to see the brand grow right from the beginning and that’s been incredible!
We mainly work from home, but sometimes we go into a communal workspace in London, and it’s such an adventure when we do. It’s exactly the kind of thing I’ve dreamed of in terms of working in a big city. Finally getting to get dressed and go into an office, have drinks after work and just feel like a proper Londoner is what I’ve wanted to experience for such a long time! There’s just such a fun and exciting vibe in the city with things opening up, so it’s great to be in the middle of it all.
We haven’t actually launched our product yet but keep an eye out because it’s coming soon and it’s going to blow minds!
Moving into our own London apartment
Something really exciting happened in April: Pedro and I moved into our own apartment! Looking for places in London can be really overwhelming but we settled on something close to where we were because we love the neighbourhood, and also the apartment we found is just beautiful!
Our previous place was becoming too squished with the four of us, so we all decided it was time to move on and find something separately. It’s been so much fun having our own space, just me and Pedro! Furnishing it and choosing the decor has been so exciting. It’s definitely a process because things are expenny but it’s worth it. We’re slowly creating a cute little home and it’s been one of the most special things to come out of this year! It’s also been interesting finding out what our styles are and combining them. Luckily, we have a very similar taste (although I really want a pink velvet couch). Since working for Glaize, my obsession with colour has grown and I just want splashes of brightness all around now! So, at the moment our colours are very neutral but I’m definitely going to be spicing things up with a cool rug, colourful throw pillows and decorative pieces too. Stay tuned.
Being out and about – finally
I mentioned at the top that the weekends have been filled with so many amazing adventures. I’ve never really needed a calendar before this year when things started opening in May, but it’s been such a fun necessity! London has soooo many cool things to do, you can’t do the same thing twice. Every day you see or hear of something incredible and add it to the list because you have to make the most of it while you can (at least, this is my mindset).
Over the past few weeks, our London life has included: many cool pubs, watching Grease at an outdoor theatre experience, dining in Mayfair, watching the sunset in St James Park, visiting Bristol, Bath and Wales, went vintage shopping in Shoreditch, having a beautiful date at The Ivy in Tower Bridge, going on a bbq boat ride, and that’s all I can think of right now. But wow, it’s been an amazing last few weeks and I wouldn’t change it for anything!
One of the things I was so worried about last year was making friends, especially because everywhere was closed and we weren’t going to work, etc. But this year, we’ve made so many wonderful friends that have made this adventure really special. And being out and about together has been a ball! London is honestly such a great place to experience in your 20s. I’m really hoping it just gets better and better!
