I thought it’d be nice to see some changes around these parts for the end of the month post. Usually, I do monthly goals, but I haven’t been feeling those recently. What I did love was the year in review post I did at the end of 2015. And because of all the great feedback I got on it, I thought I’d take that and switch it up a bit to become a regular “Month in Review” post. So here we are!

A lot has happened in February, so much so that it’s been quite a whirlwind. I love this time of the year as we’re moving into Spring. It starts to get me more excited for the months to come, especially when all the flowers are starting to appear and the bunnies can go on the grass for a run around!

If you follow me on Snapchat, you’ll know that I’ve been feeling slightly overwhelmed these past few weeks. I’ve had late nights at work every week throughout the month, and my workload has been sky high. I’ve upped the amount I post to my blog, I’ve got a steady run of freelancing - and I’ve had two guest lectures to prepare for.

Trying to have a normal life has been kind of impossible this month, and while I’m currently run down with a bad cold, it’s taught me a lesson or two. You come first - that’s the most important thing I’ve taken away from February. Now let’s get into what happened!

Top 5 Highlights of February

1. Going on a date with my mum to see Collabro and absolutely loving it.

2. Taking a trip around the countryside with Tom and having a tasty meal to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

3. Booking a holiday to Dublin.

4. Being contacted about some great freelancing opportunities.

5. Completing my first of two guest lectures.

Blogging Achievements

1. The Blogging Breakthrough challenge finished at the end of January and I officially launched the free eBook at the start of this month. I’ve never done anything like it before and the fact I designed it and completed it is a huge achievement for me. Your feedback on it and that fact you all want to download it makes me really proud to be a blogger. P.S - you can get your hands on it at the end of this post ;)

2. I really feel like I refined my purpose with ABOH this month. Sometimes, I think we can get so consumed by what everyone else is doing that we loose our own way. It’s just part of being a blogger - we take the ups with the downs. But I really feel like getting a bit lost this month really helped me to refine what I want this online space to be, and I’m thankful for that.

3. February has given me some fantastic opportunities, some of which I still can’t tell you about yet! I’ve found some great websites to freelance for and I’ve been contacted about a few interviews that I can’t wait to share with you. My blog and personal brand has also opened me up to some fantastic public speaking opportunities this month. One is happening tonight at Lancaster University, where I’ll be speaking to Marketing students about building their personal brand. The other is happening tomorrow at the University of Central Lancashire where I’ll be talking about creating different types of content. It amazes me that two years ago, I couldn’t have spoken about any of this, but it’s this blog that got me there.

4. My last blogging achievement for this month is that I feel like I’ve connected more with you, my readers. There’s been something about the content I’ve been creating that has resonated more with you, made you want to leave comments and made you want to share it with others too. I’ve seen growth over these past two months that I haven’t seen before - that’s purely down to you.

February in Numbers

5: Places I’ve visited this month including a beautiful farm shop and cafe in the countryside and Boundary Mill, where I got some amazing bargains

19: Extra hours at work I’ve done this month due to evening events

1: Gig I went to this month

14: Workouts I did this month

600: Almost the amount of tweets posted at abranchofholly!

In February I discovered:

Bullet journaling - I’m just dipping my toes into this new way of creating a to-do list and loving it so far.
A new range of stationary at Sainsburys - because we never need an excuse for a new notebook!
Knee high boots - I wanted some in my wardrobe for ages. They go with everything and they’re the perfect winter cover up.
Pancakes with jam - who knew that combo would be so delicious?

And there we have it with my first month in review. I really hope you enjoyed it - see you for the next one!

What have been some of the highlights of your month? Let me know in the comments!