Awesome Things I’ve Seen & Done In January

Can you believe January is over?! As dreary as the first month of the year can be, I was determined to battle the winter blues and made it my mission to fill it with as much fun as possible. Join me on a little recap of how I made the best of the longest month!

My year started with a visit to the Netherlands where I did the usual catching up with the family and friends. I also managed to squeeze in a visit to a Vincent van Gogh exhibition, it was about his time in Drenthe, which he visited for inspiration. Funnily enough, my favourite bit wasn’t the paintings, but the diary extracts where he said being in Drenthe made him alive again.

I also continued my search for the best matcha latte, but this time in Amsterdam. If you’re in the city center and are craving for one, Hummingbird is the place to be. Their flawlessly smooth and frothy, not-too-sweet drink hit the spot perfectly on that cold morning.

Back in London I went to Tate Britain. I’ve made it my little tradition that every time I visit an art museum, I give myself a silly mission – usually it’s “spot all the dogs!” and I can assure you there was no shortage of painted pups at this gallery.

Saw that there was no queue at Insta Famous Humble Crumble when I walked by, and decided to go for it … and I’m not sure this type of dessert is for me. Maybe it was a bit too much for my tastebuds.

Loved the Michael chicken sandwich at Crunch in Spitalfields. The perfect crispiness, fresh lettuce, soft bun and addictive sauce. It would probably be my go-to lunch place if I still worked in that area.

Thankfully I have a great sandwich place in Camberwell and Mondo Sando’s Club Tropicana sandwich got me through a dark day in January. It’s all about the pineapple, baby.

I find January and February to be the quietest months for revisiting museums and galleries, so I stopped by the National Portrait Gallery again. I appreciate their recent renovation – the spaces feel fresh and engaging.

I also checked out Los Gordos, a new Mexican restaurant in Seven Dials Market with a Colombian twist. Their slow-cooked beer braised beef taco was incredible and totally hit the spot, and the staff were super friendly.

I also worked on my 24 for 2024. No checkmarks yet, but progress was made as I bought tickets for a music festival happening this summer, researched growing Japanese vegetables after getting inspired by a podcast, and revamped my budget tracking system.

When I wasn’t out exploring, I have to admit most evenings were spent binging shows with takeout and tea. Some real standouts were the period drama The Gilded Age and period horror series The Terror, and films like Fallen Leaves, River and The Big Sleep. Nothing like getting lost in other worlds and eras for those dark nights.