A look back at my month with photos, blog posts, plans & goals progress, links and more.
What I’ve been up to
June was certainly better than May, though mainly because my family came to visit. Perhaps it would have been even better without the heatwave but at least there is plenty of water and seaside breezes around here.
We spent a day around Loch Lomond, doing the boat tour again (my third time! Or fourth if you count the champagne cruise I won at work) and stopped at Duck Bay for lunch and to recreate the photos we’d taken there before. Much better weather than my first post-lockdown outing.
It was a pretty relaxed few days and I didn’t take many photos but it was nice to finally try the hot drink & a treat option at the Commodore in Helensburgh. The little crumble was bigger than I expected but I could have finished it easily, even without help.
Purchases & Gifts
We also went to IKEA for the first time in ages and even though I have very little spending money these days, you can always manage to afford some fun new things. There was no way I could resist another happy yellow vase for a mere £3. The shelf display was much cuter once I rearranged it too, you’re welcome IKEA.
The Sakuraco snack box was a good one for hot weather with a summer Okinawa theme and lots of fruity snacks. The iced tea and little pineapple jellies were especially welcome. I was also kindly sent a Freedom Japanese Market box, which had some fun stuff – the little chocolate gateaux are my favourite so far. You can get $5 off with the code SUPERCUTEKAWAII. There’s also $5 off Sakuraco with SCKAWAII but you need to use our link.
Things I Wrote
- May 2026 Recap
- TokyoTreat & Sakuraco Snack Box Highlights
- 2026 Sanrio Character Ranking Results & Picks
- Kawaii Summer Desserts & Drinks Crafts
- Kawaii Highland Cows to Buy & DIY
- Re-Ment Miniatures Round Up
- Kawaii Summer Sports
- Cute DIY Crafts for Plants & Gardens
- Kawaii Links Roundup
- Cute Caps & Bucket Hats for Summer
- Kawaii Otters Crafts & Artist Picks
- Unique & Fun Kawaii Stationery
Plans & Goals Progress
We’re halfway through the year (wait, what?) and progress is not too bad, though I am definitely going to fail some – and that’s fine.
Books: I’ve almost hit the half way point of The Count of Monte Cristo so maybe I’ll finish it this year… I took a few breaks to read other things so I’m now 5 books ahead of schedule. You can see them all in Books, Comics & Zines I Read in 2026.
Crafts: I finished my Robotime kit but the launch date is now late July so I can’t show you any more yet. The only other thing I made is this cute little origami crab for Father’s Day. The original tutorial by tatsukuriorigami includes a little ice lolly or onigiri for it to hold but I made a sign that can be swapped out for something else. I didn’t have stickers for the eyes but was delighted to have the right size of googly eyes! I definitely need to make more flowers for my new vases so that’s next on my list.
Ebay/Clearout – I listed lots more stuff on Ebay for summer including Pusheen Box, Sanrio & San-X. Have a look! I had a bit of a general clearout before my family visited too and sent a box off to the charity shop, but it’s such a slog going through stuff.
Cycling: After all my climbing recently, I prioritised some longer flatter rides to get back on schedule and I’ve now done 1030.5km/2026km. Over half way through! I’m really pleased with my progress and it’s very motivating seeing improvement in my stats. I even managed to stay in the middle of the group on a TdF group ride with the Alpecin team, instead of being insta-dropped like last time.
I’ve completed a lot of routes in the “Makuri Islands” (aka Fake Japan) since I started on Zwift so was very surprised to find a new village with a beautiful garden and lots of yokai statues. I had it all to myself as well.
Generally Good Stuff
I played a bit more LEGO Star Wars with Nic but we are SO BAD and hopeless at figuring out what to do. I eventually got through the droid factory in Attack of the Clones myself with a guide so hopefully we can finish that game off and move on. I blame Nic for choosing to do the prequels first. I’ve been playing Tears of the Kingdom a bit too but kind of running out of stuff to do.
TV-wise, I’m still getting through House of the Dragon slowly, and luckily I have forgotten everything in the book that inspired it so it’s all a surprise. It’s a bit dreary and the mix of super-slow pacing and constant time jumps is a bit jarring but I do like it overall. I must surely have watched other stuff but I can’t think of anything. None of this matters anyway, as it’s Tour de France time! RIP everything else in my life.
