Time to start another year of monthly recap posts. I’ve been doing this in some form since January 2009 (!) and I found them a struggle last year, so I’m going to try a new format that will hopefully encourage me to take more photos and keep track of more stuff – and maybe even do another zine about my year. I’m also moving these to the 1st – quite correctly, as I finished a book on the 31st.
What I’ve been up to
A quiet start to the year and January is always a slog with terrible weather but we did get a tiny bit of snow and some lovely clear days. Nicolette was here for New Year and we went shopping in Glasgow (see next section) with a nice lunch at Pho.
But mostly I’ve been at home not getting as much done as I would like, though I did manage a lot of blogging, adding some new products to my shop and making a start on my Plans & Goals.
Purchases & Gifts
It’s been a while since I bought something random in a real shop just because I wanted it but I couldn’t put that Pompompurin water bottle down (in Primark, no less!). It’s not a great design with just a screw top but actually perfect for Zwifting as it’s easier to clean quickly than a bidon. It looks far cuter too.
I also got a cute plastic crate from the Flying Tiger sale, some new Skechers (not that cute but very comfy), and the Winter Pusheen Box was very kawaii. The ceramic mug & spoon set is the most useful item but I also loved these fridge magnets. Most excitingly, I bought some plane tickets and will be going to Belgium in April. More about that another time.
Things I Wrote
- 2026 Plans & Goals
- 2025 Achievements
- My Year in Crafts
- My Year in Books
- Christmas Recap
- Cute Characters: Kawaii Horses & Unicorns
- Kawaii Penguins to Buy & DIY on Etsy
- Winter 2025 Pusheen Box Review
- Cute Stationery for Journaling Cover Ups
- Cute Shops for Stick & Stitch Embroidery
- TokyoTreat & Sakuraco New Year Snack Box Highlights
- Kawaii Links Roundup
- Kawaii 2026 Digital & Printable Calendars
Plans & Goals Progress
There’s a new page for Books, Comics & Zines I Read in 2026. I read 8 books so I’m already 4 books ahead of schedule, mostly due to reading 3 Amazon Prime books while I had a free trial, and it being boring January. I also gave up waiting for Witch Hat Atelier paperback discounts and bought the next 8 ebooks for £30 – bargain. That should help a lot with both my reading challenge and reading more comics.
I made the Unfinished Craft Projects Master List page and will be updating it with new and completed projects. I also started working on my Christmas kit. I’m still learning Dutch on Duolingo. The rest is not really happening yet but that’s okay – don’t give up on your goals in January.
I’m still cycling too but have fallen behind on the Tour de Zwift. I don’t think I can finish it officially now but you never know. I can still do the routes after though.
Generally Good Stuff
A new section for gaming, TV, films, articles, newsletters and anything else that inspired me. I’ve been playing Animal Crossing New Horizons again (and immediately stopped playing Pocket Camp) and it’s been really fun to be back, though my villagers were unimpressed at me disappearing for 2 years and 8 months.
After all that calm downtime, their lives have been ripped up again by that crazy human who has been inviting in new villagers and redesigning parts of the island. I couldn’t believe it when I saw all the new Zelda items (GUARDIANS ARE FRIENDS) and have been working on a new themed area. The new hotel is fun too, though the game has become about 50% room/landscape designing now.
TV-wise, I blasted through the sadly-final series of The Wheel of Time during my free Prime trial, which was really getting great in its own way. Really gutting that we won’t get to the best bits of the books with this cast.
We watched the most recent Jurassic World movie on Hogmanay, which was surprisingly not terrible, plus Conclave, which was much better than the book. Mostly I have been rewatching Alias for the hundredth time (still the best!) and thank god road racing is back. Tucked up on the sofa with 2-6 overlapping races all day is my happy place.
This new recap format is partly inspired by 2 of my favourite – and free! -newsletters: author VE Schwab‘s very personal monthly newsletter (signup at the bottom) and The Weekly Yap from Smitten Kitchen. You should subscribe to both. I’m trying to keep track of links again but will have to tie that to the monthly SCK links email as I can’t go through the process twice a month.
Thanks for reading! I have comments turned off because I don’t really want random people’s opinions but if you follow my blog regularly you’re always welcome to email me for a chat.
