A year full of books, brunches and beautiful dresses
Well, it hath been a year people! I can’t believe that we are starting another new year, and even more scarily, a new decade.
While the blog has been very quiet over here at Dearly Bookish, I have been very busy. From graduating with a Masters in Publishing and starting my first marketing job to welcoming my new nephew into the world, the last couple of months feel like they haven’t stopped. Next year’s diary is filling up fast too, so I anticipate another crazy year full of exciting travel, concerts, family weddings and big birthday’s.
Although I am disappointed about my neglect of this blog, I feel I have some things to be proud of with Dearly Bookish too. To start, I finally began to feel confident enough to start this blog and its accompanying instagram. In the beginning, I felt I couldn’t share my face as I was nervous (embarrassed) for people I knew to find it. Why? Like the majority of British people, I hate drawing attention to myself, the vintage style (although I must admit, I still for the most part do it quite casually) does tend to draw attention from people. While I am less freaked out when strangers compliment my dress, I still find it awkward around people I actually know. This is definitely something I plan to work on in 2020, and I am proud to say I am making steps towards that.
In reference to this reflection I have been doing, I thought I would share some of my favourites from 2019:
Books
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
I was so excited when I first heard about this book – who doesn’t love a queer YA romance between the First Son of The United States and the Prince of England? It definitely lived up to the hype and I am eager to read more by Casey McQuiston and I really hope we see more of Henry and Alex some day too!
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Persuasion has always been one of my favourite Jane Austen books so getting to visit Lyme Regis, the site of the infamous Cobb incident, was a real treat this year. There is definitely something to be said about reading a book somewhere where you only need to go for a short walk to picture the sights that are being conjured up in the story. Anne Elliot and Elizabeth Bennet will always be my OG romantic heroines.
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
To be completely transparent, I had never heard of this book series prior to being introduced to the Virgin River Netflix series. I watched the first season of the show in two days and become completely hooked! I NEEDED to see more of Jack and Mel’s story, so I was ecstatic to discover that the TV show was based on a series of books. I read this first book in a few short hours, and am pretty sure, I didn’t stop for anything, staying up slightly too late. Even although the TV show has definitely taken liberties with the original story, I can honestly say I enjoyed both versions of the story immensely and cannot wait to see where the show takes the story in its second series.
Brunch Places
Singl-End Cafe and Bakehouse Glasgow
Considering how many times I have been to this place now, I find it really hard to believe that I was only introduced to it this year! A firm family favourite, this is the place that all visitors now get frogmarched to at the earliest opportunity. My personal favourite is The Betty although my wife tends to prefer the Veggie Baked Eggs. My first visit of the new year is already scheduled in for this weekend, and I look forward to many more visits over the next year.
Cottonrake Bakery
This place is GORGEOUS. I have yet to discover a time when this bakery is not busy with eager foodies excited to sample one of the gorgeous cakes, or sandwiches. We also started buying their rye bread to take home and enjoy. Well worth a visit next time you are in the Glasgow area. If there is no place to sit when you go, take your food to go and head for a nice picnic in the Botanics.
The Dress
Picking this one was THE hardest choice, I have found and worn some truly gorgeous dresses over the past year. From summery toile de jouy patterns and autumnal foxy skirts to a very apt shirt dress covered in books, I have had lots of fun twirling through the year. Hands down, however, in top place comes a dress that I have had my eyes on for well over a year. My lovely wife bullied me (okay so I wasn’t exactly digging my heels) into treating myself to the Tilly Prom Dress from The Pretty Dress Company for my graduation and I have major heart eyes for it!!
Well my dears, that’s it from me, I am very excited to see where this year leads us all! What are your resolutions this year?
Dearly Bookish x
Dearly Daryl 