Alice Catherine

I’m writing this post on an (extremely sunny) Easter bank holiday weekend – I can’t quite believe how lucky we have been with the weather, and it’s really making me look forward to the summer months ahead…

I’ve been feeling a bit stuck with my content recently – not quite knowing what people are enjoying/want to see more of ‘sort of thing’. Sometimes the overthinking becomes a bit exhausting, and I try to just stick to my guns and stay true to myself and why I started. With this in mind, me and Catherine headed to a local water park destination to shoot some content that felt very raw and natural. We just took a few vintage outfits and a couple of rolls of film to play around with… 

I also wanted an excuse to wear this new Mango hat that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. It felt like the perfect Easter bonnet, and I’m really enjoying being a bit extra and whimsical at the moment. Anything that makes me feel like a character from a romantic drama set in the forties or fifties basically…  

The water park felt pretty magical in the twenty four degree heat – we stumbled across a little orchid and decided to shoot amongst the blossom trees. It felt worlds away from shooting in Manchester. No crowds of people to try and avoid, everything just felt really peaceful and serene… 

I guess you could say it felt the total opposite of how my head has felt recently. I mentioned it a few blog posts back, but I recently started up therapy, and I’m finding the whole transition a lot tougher than I thought I would. As someone who is quite open with my emotions, I thought therapy would be a bit of a walk in the park (or orchid in this case). I wanted to really invest in my health this year – hence the PT sessions and the therapy. I’m finally in a position in my life where I have the time and the financial backing to do this, so it feels like the most responsible way to spend it…

It’s definitely something I’ve needed for a while, but in all honesty, I just hadn’t found the right person. It’s a minefield out there, and the only option we have most of the time is to follow our guts. I’ve also felt a lot more anxious than I have done in a while because I find that I come away from sessions with a head full of doubts. Never quite knowing if I’ve shared the ‘right things’ or focused too much on an insignificant event…

I just wanted to share that incase any of you were going through something similar. There shouldn’t be any shame in therapy or counselling of any kind, and I truly believe that opening up about our thoughts and feelings should be considered an act of bravery. We help ourselves, but we also have the power to help those around us by becoming better versions of ourselves…

I also realised that in day to day life, people don’t really ask you how you feel about things, nor do they have the time to sit and listen to you in detail. That’s not to say that I don’t have great friends and family around me – it’s just that the mundane/everyday life often doesn’t cater to the deep and emotional needs we have inside us…

Starting this process has made me realise that I want to have more of those kinds of conversations. It’s also reinforced why I share aspects of my personal life on here. Sometimes I doubt whether I should be doing it, and then I remember why it’s so important to me…

I felt like a weight had been lifted over the weekend after spending some time away from my laptop and out in the sunshine. Nature somehow has this magical ability to ease the aches and pains of city life and a head full of anxieties. I realised that it’s the same anecdote that I’m chasing after when I write posts on here. 

Photographs taken by Catherine booty | Location, Chorlton water park 

Crochet jumper – Na Nin vintage (similar here), Polka dot dress c/o – Réalisation Par, Blazer c/o – Arket, Jeans – both vintage pairs, Navy blouse – SEA X Sézane (last season), Gingham blouse – vintage (similar here), Sandals – Aeydē, Hat – Mango

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