#LittleLoves – September 2025

Welcome to September’s #LittleLoves post, part of a blog series celebrating the positive points from each month. Whilst I originally planned to post #LittleLoves posts on the final Friday of each month, I have decided to switch this to the final day of the month as it makes things a little simpler in terms of scheduling.

September has been somewhat of a tricky month as we had to navigate new routines with J starting college and E returning to school. However, this was made all the more difficult as I spent almost half of the month in and out of the hospital, whilst poor Paul was battling with our bathroom as we were in the midst of fitting a new ensuite when the chaos commenced. It’s always when we lay grand plans that the universe seems to have other ideas, but that’s life! On that note, here are a few of my positive points from September…

Read

Having spent half of the month in and out of the hospital whilst remaining on strict bed rest following a severe diverticulitis flare-up (which was apparently brought on from a bad bout of food poisoning that I picked up whilst holidaying in Benidorm over the summer), I’ve had plenty of time for reading! As a result, I’ve managed to get through the much-anticipated final book from Elsie Silver’s Rose Hill series, ‘Wild Card’. It was such an awesome read and an excellent end to the series. I also read the first two books from Chloe Walsh’s ‘Boys of Tommen’ series, ‘ Binding 13’ and ‘Keeping 13’, both of which were an absolute delight to read, and I have already bought the next book and have it ready in my ‘TBR’ (to be read list).  However, I’m currently halfway through reading Laurie Gilmore’s ‘The Gingerbread Bakery’, which is an ideal autumn easy-read and I’m very much enjoying.

Watched

Given that I’ve spent most of my free time with my nose wedged firmly against my Kindle screen, I haven’t had a huge amount of time for watching television. To be honest, I flick the TV on and spend more time browsing the endless lists of programs, shows, and films which are available to watch. I then find myself so overwhelmed I often switch the TV off and opt for a book instead…  It was a lot easier when I had terrestrial television with four channels and fewer options! Is that just a me thing?

September brought the return of ‘The Great British Bake Off‘ and ‘Gogglebox‘, both of which we’ve been catching up with on a Friday evening whilst snuggled on the sofa as a family. Otherwise, J and I have continued to watch ‘Not Going Out‘ and I’ve stuck to my daily dose of ‘Eastenders‘ and ‘Home & Away’.

Heard

After working like a trojan for the past month, fitting new electrics, fitting new plumbing, tiling, fitting flooring and furniture,  Paul finally completed the re-fitting and re-furnishing of our en-suite. I’ve now dressed it with a few accessories, and the finished look is quite simply stunning!

Though we hadn’t planned on fitting a new en-suite this year, it became non-optional following refitting our bedroom wardrobes with inbuilt systems, as we found that our previous en-suite had been leaking through the walls for many years and had caused a fair amount of mould and damage to the walls and flooring.  Thankfully, that has all been repaired, and the en-suite has now been replaced with the most beautiful bathroom I could ever imagine.

Now that I have the dream en-suite, I have spent the past week or so listening to my ‘Bliss Out Bath’ playlist whilst soaking in the suds and making the most of this luxurious space.

Made

Having finally been unhooked from an IV line and escaping from endless hospital stays, I decided to embrace the autumn months and have given both my nails and my beloved Kindle an autumn makeover. As daft as it sounds, I love making Kindle covers/ inserts – I much prefer a personalised cover to a commercial one!

Wore

Sadly, I’ve had to ditch the Mounjaro for the time being, and though I had worried that the weight would pile back in an instant, my new diet (thanks to my recent diagnosis) simply isn’t enough to warrant that worry. I miraculously reached my target weight without any effort whatsoever, thanks to IV lines rather than weight loss jabs… it wasn’t how I intended to lose weight, but ‘it is what it is’ and I’m now rocking my dungaree dresses from all those years ago!

My wardrobe has been completely cleared – Actually, it’s been completely replaced now that we have our new in-built wardrobe system! All the dresses and tops I bought only a few months ago are now hanging off me, and so I’ve bagged them up for charity as I’m now back in sizes 10-12 rather than 14-16. I’ve spent time selecting some really lovely dresses, cardigans, jackets, and scarves ready for the autumn. Even better, now my calves are no longer ‘tree trunks’, I can now wear whatever boots I so fancy!

My Top Three Moments From The Month Gone By

September sure has flown by! My diary has been rammed with endless start dates, appointments, meetings, and all kinds of stuff since E returned to school and J started college. Here are my top three moments from the month gone by:

1. Having escaped from the confines of the hospital after begging for a few days’ respite, I was able to be present for J starting college. These past few months of GCSEs, his prom, the GCSE results, and college interviews have all been worth every effort as he got the place and the courses that he wanted to study in the college of his choice. Seeing him in his grungy/ hip student clothes all ready for his first morning of college was a real ‘lump in the throat’ moment. J has grown up so much, so quickly, and I’m so incredibly proud of him!
2. As I mentioned above, Paul has spent the past month working like a trooper to complete the re-furnishing and re-fitting of our ensuite and having a brand new bathroom has brought me so much joy, especially now that I’m back home and able to enjoy all those home comforts.
3. Now that I’m starting to recover from what has been one heck of a ‘medically manic month’, I’ve finally returned to my own routine. I am really enjoying being able to take J and his friends to the bus each morning,  then heading off to work myself. It feels good to ‘get my life back’ a little and to feel useful rather than entirely useless…

Thanks for reading my #LittleLoves post. I look forward to catching up and reading through your #LittleLoves posts