Hey everyone!

So lots of things have happened since I did my last Life Update back in April, plus I wanted to give you head's up on why my blog schedule is changing and what I'm planning on doing with my blog, moving forward.

Sit down, relax, and enjoy the read.

Work

I've found myself a permanent job, one I will be doing for almost exactly a month when you read this (I'm sort of writing this a little bit in advance, I'll explain why in a second). The freelancing things wasn't really working out financially (luckily I'm still living at my parents' but I really want to save up for a place of my own), and although I loved certain aspects of it, I'm glad I can go back to working 9-6 at an office, come home and switch off my brain. The lines between work and relax get really blurry when you work from home and I'm not that type of person that can wake up at 8 and be sat behind my computer to start work at 8.30, I'm very much a procrastinator which meant that every free evening I was still working because I had put it off all day. It's just not healthy for me, so now I have a full time job, away from home, I can put my mind at ease in the evening.

The environment is nice, the colleagues are good people and the work I have to do is very much what I was looking for: I'm the in-house interior designer for a company that sells fireplaces and everything around it, so people will come into the showroom to have a first look, they express what they have in mind and what sort of work they want to be done, and I can then incorporate the type of fireplace they like into an entire design for their living room, and even beyond. I have to make 3D models and working drawings for the installers as well. Very interesting and all that, but I'm really chuffed with it.


Play

I still give my all at the choir and I haven't stopped all summer. Today, as you're reading this, we have our first rehearsals of the new year and I'm very much looking forward to them. I've been playing more piano than ever, but never have the intention to record, which I probably should. I'm eager to try and work on it a bit more - something I always say in these kind of posts, but never end up doing. Please someone, motivate me!

I'm also taking on my second year of Spanish classes. Because my day off is on Monday and the classes start quite early in the evening on Monday, I can still maintain it for at least another year. I haven't done crap all summer so I'm sure I've forgotten most of it. But hey, it's just another hobby and not something I HAVE to do. I'm having fun for now, and that's the best part.

Summer was quite nice and we've had multiple heatwaves, but as much as it was unbearable to come out of the house during the day, it was just as nice in the evenings to go out. Lots of pop-up concepts sprung all over the country and I've spent loads of evenings in open-air bars. It was good to be able to see my friends a bit more often, as from this month all of us are working full-time jobs so we won't have as much time for each other anymore...

I've been to two different festivals this year, Rock Werchter in July and Pukkelpop in August. Both only for a day, as I really need to save myself some money. I still had a fabulous time, lots of good music, good food & good people. What more could we wish for?

I've not been on an actual holiday, but my mum & I went to the Belgian coast for a few days and went for a one-night city trip to Ghent. I'd never actually been so I was dead excited to finally go and see what the fuss was all about! It's a beautiful city, but I'm not sure if it was what I had imagined. I think I feel alright in my comfortable bubble called Hasselt.

My oldest friend from primary school is finally back from her year in London and I'm so happy I'll get to see her a bit more often again as well. We've both left our hearts in the UK and I'm sure we'll visit again soon, hopefully together.

Now summer is over and skies are slowly turning grey, I think I can wholeheartedly say: summer 2018 was pretty awesome.

Because I will become so crazy busy with work (and knowing Autumn and Winter are upon us which means it's dark at 5pm) and I have to work on Saturdays as well (and even sometimes on Sundays), I don't really see it possible to do any blog or instagram photography other than on Mondays where I have my actual day off. That means I will have to prepare content for instagram for at least a week in advance, and for my blog as well. I'm really unsure if it's possible to maintain the two-posts-a-week-schedule, so for now I'm going to say I'll definitely do a post every Saturday, and when I have some time or an idea, I'll still post that on Wednesdays, but it just won't be every Wednesday. That way I can just focus on work a bit more and maybe - finally - have some time for my bloody music. Who knows.

I do believe I have a bit more time in the weekends in Spring/Summer, as the peak season for the fireplaces is in the colder months which means I'll have to work more hours. It's a bit confusing but I'm going to see how everything goes. I'm well excited for everything!

For the month of August I had most of it written up in July, so I could keep it on two posts a week. Just now that I'm seriously getting into the job I'm doing, I can't guarantee I'll have enough time to do all of that on the side. Don't get me wrong, I'm still so full of the blogging thing and alongside my instagram account (@charlinehasablog) it has brought me some amazing opportunities in the latest months! I was able to go to an event, which made me get my hands on some amazing products that I got to give away to one of you, and an amazing PR parcel fell into my lap back in July which I'm still so grateful for. I really want to keep doing this the way I am now, I'm just cutting back the amount of blog posts for at least the rest of 2018. We'll see once I am properly settled into my job how things are going.


Until next time!

Lots of love,