From Category: Lifestyle

Wednesday, 4 June 2025

TXT Concert 2025 | Not Vicarious

Hey lovelies!

Unintentionally, 2025 has become the year of KPOP concerts. I won't say that it has been an entire fluke or just pure luck but more so that KPOP groups are FINALLY coming to Europe on their tours! I can't believe that it has taken some artists this long to come here but I am incredibly grateful and beyond ecstatic that I can see the groups I love and listen to on a regular basis in concert.

So far I have been to two concerts: Ateez and Tomorrow x Together! Ateez were absolutely incredible and the fact that I can tick seeing 'Bouncy' live off of my KPOP bucketlist is beyond surreal! Every single member was so powerful in their delivery of both their live vocals and their dance, and I was genuinely in awe of how hard they worked on that stage.

TXT were also such cool performers and I loved the way that they balanced the sweet, cute songs with drum solos, grungier themes, strong choreography, and...a bloody lip (poor Yeonjun). The members were so happy to be in London after such a long time and we were equally as happy to welcome them with open arms. I can actually say that I was in the same room as Soobin so I truly felt like I was winning at life because that man is one of the kindest human beings to ever exist!

Ateez and TXT might have had such different vibes but they both absolutely blew me away with their performances. They helped me start the year on such a good note and I can't wait to continue the series of KPOP concerts with Stray Kids in July, and Enhypen in August.

Until next time...

Love always, Stephanie

xoxo

Sunday, 1 June 2025

June 2025 Reading List | Not Vicarious

Hey lovelies!

Can you believe that we are already halfway through the year? For BTS fans like myself, June 2025 is one of the most important months in the history of BTS. All members will officially be returning from the military and the group will be reunited after 2 and a half years; I for one cannot wait! 💜

I felt like doing something a little bit extra for this month and centre my blog posts around BTS, KPOP, and South Korea (my travel post is in the works), with Summer content sprinkled in there too of course! I know that this might not be to everyone's taste but since I use my blog as a scrapbook for my memories and inner musings, I thought that I would really enjoy it. Who knows, I might even gain a whole new group of readers!

First up, I have my reading list for June 2025! Much like my blog, I wanted to focus my book choices around BTS and/or Korean Literature. If you follow me on my BookTok or Bookstagram then you will know that I have already read a couple of short stories within the Korean Literature genre. Unfortunately, I was left extremely disappointed so I'm hoping that I'll find something else in the genre that will really pull me in.

My goals for this month are to read/finish the following books:

BTS: Beyond The Story by BTS & Myeongseok Kang - A book written over the course of three years through interviews with the members of BTS. I'm already halfway through this book but I really want to keep going and get caught up with all the behind the scenes details from some of their most challenging times but also some of their happiest times too!

On BTS: Pop Music, Fandom, Sincerity by Lenika Cruz - This adorable purple coloured book has been on my TBR list for quite a while so I am very excited to start reading it this month. It's described as "A love letter to Korean pop sensation BTS and an ode to fandom". The book details Lenika's journey into the fandom as well as BTS's own journey into a part of the music industry that is much less inclusive.

I would love one more suggestion for my list so please leave me a comment or message me on my TikTok or Instagram! I'm wondering if Human Acts by Han Kang would be a good option, let me know!

Until next time...

Love always, Stephanie

xoxo

Sunday, 1 September 2024

Hey lovelies!

It was about time wasn't it? We needed a rebrand or a revamp of some sort after having the same look for almost 9 years, and here it is! I love it!

In a time where short form content dominates, attention spans are increasingly shorter, and the ever popular TikTok app gets our fingers scrolling for hours multiple times a day, it's not hard to think that blogs are more than likely a thing of the past. A part of me still hopes that there are some stubborn blog readers out there who are holding onto the lost art that is blog content creation.

I certainly debated on whether or not I should bother coming back to post on here, but I thought: "What have I got to lose? If I enjoy it, who cares if less people choose to read it? Do something because you love it!"

With that in mind, I'll begin to feed this blog and any potential readers with new content and enjoy the process once again. I'll be sure to fill you in on everything, what an exciting feeling! 😊

See you soon...

Love always, Stephanie

xoxo

Tuesday, 26 September 2023

Hey lovelies!!

Home. Home to me can be a person, a place or even myself. I don't believe that there is just one home for me in this universe, I think people can have multiple so they feel comfortable wherever they go.

I often find myself referencing things in my head that I view as 'home' because they either make me feel safe, loved or secure or all those things combined. I can have more than one physical home, for example: my family home and my own home, just as I can feel at home with a partner, at a BTS concert (one day), in Seoul by the river or alone dancing to my favourite music.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't have to be about a physical building in the conventional way we view a home for it to be classified as one but rather sometimes it's more about the way something feels that makes it a home to you.

I once told somebody that: I guess that home stays in your heart. When someone is no longer around (for example, a family member) they don't stop being your home because that home is now in your mind. You could revisit memories or some find comfort "talking" to that person as though they're still around. A partner can be your home and you go to them for safety, to feel comfort, etc. You can also be your own home. You simply just change which one you go to depending on what you need.

In one of my previous posts I touched on how leaving home is a shock. I know that even though it's still there and it still exists, my relationship with it has adapted slightly because I've left it, but it will always be my favourite home and where I feel most me. It was where I did all my growing up, it's where my family is and it's pretty much all I've ever known up until recently.

Over the last year, I have adapted a lot and overcome quite a few hurdles in terms of my emotional feelings about having a new home but, as time goes on, I'm learning that there should always be a balance. Things don't stay the same forever and I've learnt to both embrace and appreciate the new opportunities that have come my way. I'm bringing my sense of home into this new home and slowly but surely I've warmed up to enjoying my time here.

Now that I've let time do its thing, I feel that I can start to look inwardly and improve the relationship I have with myself so I can make my home (i.e. my mind and body) more welcoming. I'll be sure to share bits and pieces with you along the way so feel free to check back in again soon.

Until next time...

Love always, Stephanie

xoxo

Thursday, 26 January 2023

New Year, New Vibes

Hey lovelies!!

I genuinely feel like the first two weeks of the year are just a practice run...actually the first month is a practice run because whilst I like the idea of having it all together before 1st January, it's not always possible.

Saying that, I have enjoyed being able to settle into the new year. The decision to take it slow, enjoy the smaller moments in life and learn more about myself and my habits is something I feel would better equip me for the rest of the year.

I'm hoping 2023 is all that I hope it will be - something about it feels right. I know that I'll go through things that will challenge me and push me out of my comfort zone but I'm going to channel the strength and confidence I had in 2019 when I had started a new job and somehow managed to not be terrified by all the new things that were being thrown my way. I think it's working...I mean I haven't had a breakdown yet so all in all, things are going well!

We all talk about goals and I really think they're important but not for shaming yourself into doing something but more so for the gentle push we all need sometimes to achieve the things we want most. The goals can be big or small but having them means that you can bring some purpose into your life and keep you focused to create a life that you love with the things and the people you love.

One of my goals is to read more and having challenged myself to read 23 books in 2023, I am ready to sit on my new sofa and bathe in the sunlight that streams into the room as I sink into the cushions and read the many books I have accumulated over the last two years but never got round to reading. I will get there and not out of sheer panic but more so because it is something that I genuinely enjoy even though I fell out of the habit soon after graduating from university.

Ease yourself into the year and don't worry if you haven't got it all figured out yet. It may be a new year but just take each new day as a chance for a fresh start if you need it. Please know that it is not the end if this first month of the year didn't go as planned, they rarely ever do so give yourself some grace and take it slow.

With that said, I hope you all have a great start to your new year and I look forward to seeing where 2023 takes us! Let's go!

Until next time...

Love always, Stephanie

xoxo

Friday, 18 November 2022

I'm Moving!

Hey lovelies!!

So the time has come to spread my wings and fly haha. I would argue that I'm still not ready but that's a different story, although I may delve into it a little bit here.

I guess this post is about figuring out why more people don't talk about the not so pretty side of moving out from their family home. We're always overloaded with photos on social media of the brand new set of keys and empty apartment/house tours but not so much the lonely crying sessions and bad days we get from being homesick.

Now that is by no means me saying that we can't post those things but in a world where a lot of us are so confident in telling the world how we feel, why is it so difficult to find somebody who is so honest about what moving out means for their relationships, their self confidence and their newfound "freedom" of living without their family?

I've been hit with the "things will never be the same" statement on more than one occasion and not in a negative "don't leave home" kind of way but more so in a factual "now that you're moving out, things will change". In all honesty, I'm not ready for change but I understand at some point it needs to happen and I've found myself in a situation that's not all bad. In fact, I'm extremely lucky!

A new home means a chance to decorate, furnish and style the place with things that you love and that complement your taste both individually and together with someone you love. A chance to be an adult and buy your own décor because who doesn't love that! On top of that, if you are so lucky that you get to live with a special someone in a new space then you can create your own life together. I know it's not all bad but I keep thinking of what it means for my current situation and what it potentially means that I might miss out on.

I love my family so much and for someone who literally cannot live without their mum it's really hard knowing I might not be able to spend time with her every single day like I do now or anyone in my family for that matter. I keep picturing myself crying in the bathroom at the new place or bursting into tears the moment they leave me as I stand in the hallway and the door closes. Dramatic, right? That's what I mean though, does it only seem dramatic because it's not a widely recorded moment or am I really just being dramatic?

In hopes of validating my own feelings, I would suggest it's the uncertainty that makes me feel like the situation is so scary and gut-wrenching. I left home to go to university but I knew that at the end of the three years I would come back. I had that end goal knowing I would be reunited with my family but this is different, once I leave...I leave. My mum keeps telling me that "this will always be your home" and I couldn't agree more - it's where I feel safest and it's where I feel most me.

I understand that I just need time to adapt and once I set things up and make the place feel like somewhere I belong then I can begin to see myself not being so heartbroken. I would like to note that my emotions and feelings on the topic are of somebody who hasn't moved out yet hence emotions are heightened and the uncertainty is at its peak haha.

I know I will confuse you in saying this but I know that it will be alright but I just don't know how it will be alright. In other words, things always have a way of working themselves out and I will be able to get the balance right between living my "new life" and keeping hold of my "old life" but the specific steps on how to reach that point are a little blurry.

I wish I had more people to relate to or someone to guide me, that's all. Online we can follow people who guide us on parenting, clothes styling, home décor, makeup, fitness, etc. but where are those people who can tell you "it's okay to feel sad about moving out from home, here are some things I did that helped me". Why on such a common thing do I feel like we are left to our own devices? I'm telling you I have no devices and I need help hahaha!

With that said, I am looking forward to this next chapter because I can finally put my BTS album in prime position! I'm totally kidding but in a whirlwind of LED desk lights, pampas grass, IKEA furniture and kitchen cabinet door options, amongst many other things, I am excited to have a new place to call home. Sometimes it's more about counting your blessings in times where you feel lost or the future is uncertain that matters most.

I am conscious that this isn't your usual "I'm moving!!" post haha but I thought I would be honest especially for those of us who don't find these types of things so easy. That being said, please do look forward to more posts about my move and how I choose to navigate this very new life change!

Until next time...

Love always, Stephanie

xoxo

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