April 2019 monthly wrap-up

April wrap- up

Hello all! So this is coming a bit late (late? It’s midway through May!) – but I wanted to share what I got up to in April. Not much in terms of reading although I visited three different coffee shops, but I did a whole lot of art so there will be lots of artsy pics! PLUS I set up my own shop which is a huge step - it is called Art by Lena and you can find it here! Plus I have set up a Freebies page – so you can save my designs for your personal use.

Blog Posts:

• March Wrap-up
• Fiction Review – Nobody’s Wife
• My first every artsy give away!
• Fiction Review - Sleep

So I managed to do 4 blog posts which is quite good for me…

PLUS - a guest post for Brighter Craft: 

• HOW TO USE WATERBRUSH PENS TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK

Here are the tutorials I did for the blog post:

                Related Post: March 2019 wrap-up

Book Log:

I finished reading Sleep by C.L Taylor. It is the only book I finished in April! It was a really thrilling and suspenseful book and I totally loved it – It’s C.L Taylor’s first hardback release!!

Coffee Log:

• Dillons Coffee – Waterstones Gower Street – rating 2*

I was so excited to try this place out – it looks so cosy from the outside. However, I soon learned that this coffee shop was brimming with students and teachers from the nearby university (UCL) and the whole vibe was so different to what I was used to. I’m no longer a student and I have left behind that life – it just wasn’t doing it for me. Also, apparently they were short staffed so they couldn’t serve their coffee in actual glasses or mugs and I had to have mine in a cup (I normally avoid these takeaway cups!). The coffee itself actually was quite good – but my experience left me feeling down. If you are a student I think this is a great place to hang out – but I don’t think I will doing any time soon. Also, I bought a coffee and walnut muffin (it was quite big) but it was almost rock hard!! I struggled to get through it, it was so dry and horrible I wanted to go back and complain – but was too shy.

So my overall experience was negative I think.

• Ole & Steen Leicester - Square/Piccadilly Circus – rating 4*

The coffee here is actually lovely! I love the vibe, the décor, the bakery looks so delicious! The only downside is that it’s super busy I don’t think I could just sit and chill here. That said, I think I had an overall positive experience.

• Harris & Hoole – Uxbridge – Rating: 5*

Okay so, I’ve been to Uxbridge quite a lot and have always walked past this place but never thought much of it despite it looking really inviting. The open airy spice has always looked really nice and casual – but I don’t know why I never went it – until this month! And omg the coffee was SO good I actually had 2!! YUM. I also have a grilled veg and halloumi flatbread which was absolutely delicious – I think next time I am in Uxbridge I know where I will have my lunch! Also because it was big space and even though all the tables were pretty much taken, I could feel a cool, chilled out vibe and it didn’t make me feel stressed or anxious. Overall, an excellent experience for me!

Artsy pieces (comment below which is your faves!):